en-us https://www.intensedebate.com/users/757197 Comments by abj5037 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/300000-whats-it-mean-to-us__trashed/#IDComment70065278 While the fact is really sad, I do believe that most Americans will not respond if some big tragedy occurs somewhere else in the world. People do not bring it into perspective, and they do not respond to it in such a way like we all did on September 11, 2001. We forget what it is like to have that gut-wrenching feeling. I think people need to take a step back and start realizing how much this affects people in our world. Like the girl said, we are all one world and it all should affect us. Whether or not it is in our own state or across the world in Morocco, we should pay attention- because if it were us that lost someone close to us, we would want others to care. Sat, 24 Apr 2010 02:28:56 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/300000-whats-it-mean-to-us__trashed/#IDComment70065278 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/south-park-off-the-hook__trashed/#IDComment70062683 South park is always out of line. They really hold nothing back, and there is no way you should take offense to what they say. They trash everyone, and I mean everyone. I am Jewish, and when they say something extremely offensive to Jews, I start to get upset, then I remember that they do it for an effect. They do it for people that have incredibly and disgustingly crude humor. Even shows like Family Guy and the Simpsons do not take it to a level that South park does. I try not ot watch the show, because I know it is written by a bunch of people that get high together and try to write things that people will find funny. Sat, 24 Apr 2010 02:19:18 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/south-park-off-the-hook__trashed/#IDComment70062683 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/letter-from-an-inmate__trashed/#IDComment70061553 I wish this letter could have been longer, going further into what he thought, and maybe and even about his development of feelings towards his punishment. I think it would be interesting to read an entire diary of a man in prison that has a realization of what is happening. What if he was the kind of person who you would never expect to be a murderer? What if he had a wife and kids that care deeply about him, who he will never be able to have holidays with or celebrate birthdays? What if his anger, just at one moment in time got so bad that one action would cost him the rest of his life? There are so many what-if’s. I wish I could meet one in person. I feel like seeing in the ingenuity in their eyes like Sam said would have even a larger impact than their words in this mans letter. Sat, 24 Apr 2010 02:14:55 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/letter-from-an-inmate__trashed/#IDComment70061553 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/letter-from-an-inmate__trashed/#IDComment70061266 I think it would be interesting to read an entire diary of a man in prison that has a realization of what is happening. What if he was the kind of person who you would never expect to be a murderer? What if he had a wife and kids that care deeply about him, who he will never be able to have holidays with or celebrate birthdays? What if his anger, just at one moment in time got so bad that one action would cost him the rest of his life? There are so many what-if’s. I wish I could meet one in person. I feel like seeing in the ingenuity in their eyes like Sam said would have even a larger impact than their words in this mans letter. Sat, 24 Apr 2010 02:14:01 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/letter-from-an-inmate__trashed/#IDComment70061266 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/letter-from-an-inmate__trashed/#IDComment70061244 I would be surprised if I got a letter from a lifer that wrote me something that really encouraged me to do something. I would not normally think that this would be anything in the least bit sincere, but after reading this man’s letter totally changed the way I feel. I cannot believe the way he opened up in that letter. It did not have the effect on me that I first thought. It actually really upset me when I was reading it. To think I always assumed that they were cold-hearted monsters, which some might very well be. But there really are those people that are able to reflect on what they have done, and it is sad to know they will never ever go back to living a normal life. I wish this letter could have been longer, going further into what he thought, and maybe and even about his development of feelings towards his punishment. Sat, 24 Apr 2010 02:13:54 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/letter-from-an-inmate__trashed/#IDComment70061244 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/letter-from-an-inmate__trashed/#IDComment70061217 This letter is very eye opening. I have not really spent much time thinking about people in prison for life. I never really thought about how they might feel. Of course at first they must have complete anger and utter denial and think that it is complete b-s that they are in there. I am sure after sometime, after realization that they will never get the chance to leave, will come to accept what they do. Of course, he deserves to be punished for a horrible crime. But this did change my perspective. They really are not all monsters in jail. He really is turning a horrible situation into a learning experience, which is incredible. I am surprised that it is nothing like the movies, the tough guys that only beat each other up. They all really do have feelings. While he can never be forgotten for what he did, I do think that people can change and be a different person than they were when they committed the crime. It really surprised me that he tries to make a difference in other people’s lives. He said that he tries to donate blood and send donations and letters to encourage and help other people. Sat, 24 Apr 2010 02:13:40 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/letter-from-an-inmate__trashed/#IDComment70061217 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/what-might-be-the-second-step__trashed/#IDComment66943936 There is of course a second step. But until we can complete step one, there can be no way to move on. Like he said in class, everyone has to really understand what is going on. We need to spread the knowledge of what we know from the class to others, so we can make everyone fully aware of what is going on in the world today. Most people, even me before I enrolled in this class, are blissfully unaware and completely ignorant of the horrible actions going on thousands of miles away. So until everyone knows about the situation, we will not be able to act on step two-- taking action. Sat, 10 Apr 2010 03:49:12 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/what-might-be-the-second-step__trashed/#IDComment66943936 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/revisioning-the-revisioning-stage__trashed/#IDComment65670832 I went to a predominately white high school. Maybe one or two black kids, a couple Asians, and.. that’s about it. While I was not fully aware of the black/brown or white issues, I feel like I was thrown into a revisioning stage about my religion. I forgot to mention, my school and area where I live is also predominately Catholic. I felt different from the very beginning about being Jewish and certainly got my fair share of hurtful things said about me in regards to my religion. This however, once I got older and saw the world in a more diverse way, helped me to understand all of the problems between people racially. Sat, 3 Apr 2010 00:37:39 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/revisioning-the-revisioning-stage__trashed/#IDComment65670832 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/what-if-we-got-rid-of-welfare__trashed/#IDComment65669564 While I do believe there are some, not all, people that abuse welfare, I do not think that it should be shut down completely. Instead of just not making welfare available anymore, they should change the program and have it for different purposes. I definitely am not an expert on welfare, but I think more should be done to better the people’s lives. It is like the saying, you could buy a man a fish and feed him for a day or teach him how to fish and feed him for a lifetime. I don’t understand why instead of just giving money for food and basic necessities, provide some sort of education so they can get out there and get a job. Sat, 3 Apr 2010 00:29:00 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/what-if-we-got-rid-of-welfare__trashed/#IDComment65669564 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/is-quality-the-question__trashed/#IDComment65668520 I think affirmative action in a way is a bit hypocritical. While I do not directly oppose it, I also am not completely for it. The concept of it is equal opportunity, but in the long run it really prevents some extremely qualified individuals from receiving the job or spot in a university. By enforcing quotas to meet of a certain amount of each minority is also discrimination, primarily towards white men since they are basically the ones being compared to. But then again, how will there ever be a way to rid our society of any time of nepotism and unfair employment? There is no way to ever, ever get rid of them. In a perfect world, people would not see the racial differences between one prospective candidate and the next. If that were the case, then there would be no need for affirmative action, no racism, and I guess there would not even be a need for a class such as the one we are enrolled in. Unfortunately, that is not the case, and that will never be the case. I guess this is society’s way of making it right, with affirmative action, but they are in a sense creating more of a problem. While affirmative action is extremely beneficial for me, a white woman majoring in engineering, it bothers me to think that yeah, maybe there is another person who really does deserve this more than me. Maybe they studied that much harder for their final exam and worked harder in a course that made them more qualified with me. Not that I can really complain about being able to get a job easier than others, I really do not like the fact of how I got the job. Does that mean they just needed me to meet their quota? They might not have even wanted me but needed the numbers to make their company look better. It is hard to think about it in those terms, but like I said before, this will never, ever end. When it comes to the boy in the video asking the question, while yeah, they might have to meet that “quota”, I really do not think that a hospital will employ anyone not under extremely satisfactory credentials. I think when it comes to a situation like a hospital when life and death are at stake, they will not employ someone that is not right for the job but looks good under numbers like say, a restaurant may do. That being said, I would not say that affirmative action really “lowers” the quality of people, but under certain circumstances in different fields (excluding hospitals) they may choose someone a little less qualified to meet those oh so desired quotas. Sat, 3 Apr 2010 00:24:28 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/is-quality-the-question__trashed/#IDComment65668520 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/those-damn-dolls__trashed/#IDComment64282180 I was shocked when I saw this video. When Sam said that this was the most disturbing video we would watch I did not believe him until it got to that final sections. How could this little boys and girls already feel so victimized to think that they are not as pretty as white girls? I felt so horrible when I was watching that. I think if I was presented with that situation I would not have realized and just picked which one I looked at first. I had no knowledge of any kind of discrimination until I was older and the fact that these kids are facing it at 4 and 5 years old? It just isn’t fair. Sat, 27 Mar 2010 01:53:29 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/those-damn-dolls__trashed/#IDComment64282180 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/what-are-all-of-you-thinking-about-asians__trashed/#IDComment64281737 I think this is so true. The class really does only focus solely black and white issues. I know that he also addresses brown people to include everyone else in the mix, but never the “subcategories” of brown people. Now that I fully understand the difference and struggle between African Americans and Africans, why can he not then move on to every other race’s identifications? It is not appropriate to focus on just one minority and leaving out another. That makes those being left out even more victimized and left out which does not help the situation and the feelings of those individuals. Sat, 27 Mar 2010 01:49:04 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/what-are-all-of-you-thinking-about-asians__trashed/#IDComment64281737 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/if-men-could-menstruate__trashed/#IDComment64280696 In response to the girl’s final question, would tampons be free if men had menstrual cycles too? Personally, I think this is kind of a stupid question because they obviously would not be free. We pay for everything else that girls and guys use in common. Everyone uses tissues, and we pay for them. Plus, only guys wear condoms and those are not free. You always have to pay for everything, so assuming free tampons would come about if and only if men had menstrual cycles is a silly question. Like Sam said, if men menstruated, it definitely would be more open to talk about but nothing to the extent of free tampons. While yes, men have it easier than women when it comes to periods and such, but it is much harder for them in the long run. Saying men are not “educated” about it is a rationalization. Honestly, there is not too much complexity to periods. It is pretty simple, and not very difficult for anyone to understand. Even though men do not want to talk about it does not mean they are not educated. Yeah, they may not be aware of the actual feeling, with lack of a better word, of it, but it does not mean they do not understand it. Men especially understand the PMS side of it, mostly because they have to bear the grunt of it. Girls usually do not notice other girl’s bitchiness since they have it too, while boys.. well they notice it. I almost feel bad for them because there really is not anything they can do. They can not yell at you for being bitchy since you are pms-ing since you can’t help it. And in response to everyone’s reactions about how they should not be weirded out about periods. Honestly, yeah they are natural and all, but it is gross. I think it is gross and I get periods. So why is it so so bad that boys think it is gross too? It is not like it is disrespectful to us. I do not understand why we always blame boys for being freaked out. It is not their fault. Other bodily functions are gross too, why do we not yell at anyone for saying that is gross ? It all just seems like such a stupid issue to debate about and make into a whole ordeal. It really is not worth it. Men need to stop being blamed about not wanting to talk about periods. I do not want to either so stop saying they are sexist. It is not a big deal, how is it really impacting your life, talking about periods? Bottom line is, it is not. Sat, 27 Mar 2010 01:36:27 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/if-men-could-menstruate__trashed/#IDComment64280696 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/what-happens-to-multiracial-people__trashed/#IDComment63077570 I was actually thinking this when he proposed the two questions. It was either, you identified with White, or Black. I know that a majority of the class is one of those two categories, but what about the rest that aren’t? Why do they have to make the decision to choose between their two races to answer the question? Posing the question like that made it seem a little more insensitive to what we are ultimately trying to achieve, complete equality between everyone. But, as almost leaving an entire group out, it makes it nearly impossible to see everyone as equal. Sat, 20 Mar 2010 00:52:33 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/what-happens-to-multiracial-people__trashed/#IDComment63077570 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/prom-or-no-prom-just-dont-let-the-queer-students-dance-together__trashed/#IDComment63077074 I was completely shocked when I read this story. How could they cancel a school prom just because a girl wanted to bring her girlfriend? Not only is this girl going to get completely blamed for the situation, but it makes the school look absolutely horrible. Should we not being moving on from this discrimination? I really thought we were over it. This is the same thing as saying that they will cancel the dance if an Asian girl wanted to come. It is the exact same discrimination. Any person, no matter who they are, if they wear sweatpants and a hoodie, should be allowed to attend prom. Sat, 20 Mar 2010 00:47:47 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/prom-or-no-prom-just-dont-let-the-queer-students-dance-together__trashed/#IDComment63077074 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/does-this-rudeness-thing-cut-both-ways__trashed/#IDComment63076486 Let’s be honest, how often do you ever hear any black person being called a racist? It is almost always, always, always a white person being called a racist. Why that it? I have no idea. It makes no sense because it does not matter what color you are to make a rude or degrading remark. It happens both ways. When the white people were texting their responses to the board, which who even knows if white people were the only ones responding, any little remark was taken with such a blow. Then, when it was the black people’s turn to text, every comment was taken as funny, even if it was pretty offensive, everyone laughed. I did not really understand why that was happening, but even my friend sitting next to me (who is black) noticed it. Most of the white people’s responses were quite mature, except a handful while a lot of the black people’s comments were along the lines of “if you white, you Ben Affleck”. While I could not stop laughing when that came up on the board, I feel like maybe this is when the whole “white guilt” thing came into play. None of the white people outraged when something extremely rude was posted about them being white, but when a comment was posted, such as the one of the girls in the computer lab, there was a complete and utter out roar. Sam would comment about how that is inappropriate, but when the offensive comment towards white people came up Sam said nothing, nor did anyone else. I think that is kind of interesting when you look at it. Why does this happen? The exact same thing came with both scenarios—the rude comments, but it really was only reacted towards one way. I think since, like I said earlier, white people are much more likely to be “deemed” as racist, they held all those comments in, also as a resort of white guilt. Black people are more lenient about what they say because the chance of a white person calling a black girl racist? Slim to none. Chances are, the white girl that called the black girl racist, will now be seen as “that racist girl that accused someone else of being racist.” I can almost guarantee that happens. I really do not think that is fair. I understand why people are uncomfortable about talking about black people, I understand something horrible happened to them in the past, but the world all together is growing, so why can we not grow out of these stereotypical thoughts? While I do believe some sort of political correctness is necessary, it should be equal among every color. Which, in reality, is what we are striving for in the first place, equality. Sat, 20 Mar 2010 00:42:02 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/does-this-rudeness-thing-cut-both-ways__trashed/#IDComment63076486 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/fired-for-a-scarf__trashed/#IDComment59975889 This is not the first time I have heard this being a problem with these big named companies acting racist towards a certain type of people or religion. It is incredibly sad that Hollister has to "uphold" their "white" look. Obviously, they are being blatant that a "white" look is the only thing that is acceptable. Not only does it infuriate the people who hear about it, but it makes them look shallow and ridiculous to just about everyone. It is clear that they are not very accepting and they should really start rethinking the way they treat their employees. Sat, 6 Mar 2010 02:42:57 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/fired-for-a-scarf__trashed/#IDComment59975889 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/02/whats-with-the-theme-parties__trashed/#IDComment59975438 Maybe I am not going to all of these themed parties that she was talking about. Themed parties have been ABC, Jersey Shore, beach party, or anything like that. I honestly cannot think of one time I went, was invited to, or even heard of anyone going to a party that seemed in any way racist at all nor do I think I will ever encounter one. People don't make up parties to be racists, they don't even have racist themes. It does not make sense where this question came from because I am pretty sure they are just neutral themes that have nothing to do with anything. Sat, 6 Mar 2010 02:38:47 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/02/whats-with-the-theme-parties__trashed/#IDComment59975438 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/are-whites-the-only-people-willing-to-humiliate-themselves__trashed/#IDComment59974954 This blog question was rather surprising. Honestly, I would have never even noticed if a show was particularly diverse or not. I also would not have thought to have asked this as a blog posting. Seeing as I have never noticed the level of diversity in any of the shows I watch or hear about, I was quite surprised to see that this was completely true. Why that happens? Who knows. I do not think that it is intentional and on purpose. I guess it could be, with the producers thinking that a diverse cast will turn viewers away. But seriously, who turns on a dating show and sees a black or asian contestant and thinks to themself, "Wow, there is no way I can watch this show with an asian girl on it." It just does not happen. And if it does, seriously, stop taking shows so seriously. Why does it matter what color someone is on a tv show, and with that, why does it matter at all. Love is blind and it is stupid to think that they should not include racial diversity on the show. To be perfectly honest, if they casted people of all different colors, I personally think that they would get more viewers. We are starting to go into a time where it really does not matter anymore. The old way of thinking is being lost with every generation and people are becoming more and more accepting. I never thought of ABC being particularly non diverse until right now. Thinking back, MTV is extremely diverse and I really like it about their shows. They have every color of people, gays, lesbians, it lets you see the real people and most of the time it breaks the stereotype which is important for hard headed people to see. If you are really that against seeing someone on tv that looks different than you, seriously just turn it off. You are not forced to watch anything so stop complaining if there is a black girl on a show. The only thing about this post that I did not understand is the title, Are whites the only people willing to humiliate themselves? This kind of confused me when I read that. I have never seen the show so I am not sure how they act. Are they obnoxious? I guess on MTV they act pretty crazy so I will just compare it to that. I feel like if the show was more diverse, there would be no different attitudes and behaviors between girls of different races. It is the show that makes people act as they are, not the race of the people that causes them to act crazy. Sat, 6 Mar 2010 02:34:13 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/are-whites-the-only-people-willing-to-humiliate-themselves__trashed/#IDComment59974954 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/02/native-americans-question-one__trashed/#IDComment58910160 I think it is definitely important to start education early. I do not mean to teach the kids about all the brutal murders and other horrible things done to the Native Americans, but to begin to teach against discrimination and the stereotypical ideas about other cultures. Obviously, people are becoming more aware of discrimination. Now instead of sitting "Indian style" in kindergarten, you sit "criss cross apple sauce." The teachers think that this is enough. In phrasing it in more of an appropriate way, I think the kids would take to the stories of the struggles that have happened on this land in the past. Even if we start with the basics, it will eventually lead to long-term understanding of what really happened. Sat, 27 Feb 2010 03:08:03 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/02/native-americans-question-one__trashed/#IDComment58910160