en-us https://www.intensedebate.com/users/3556467 Comments by authenticitease http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/11/15/voices-from-the-classroom-79/#IDComment224179541 I think if this were the same situation with a black person in question, it would be different. That's a no brainer. But the question is if whether or not it would've been so blown up by the media. I had this conversation with a friend and in her opinion she didn't believe the scandal would be more publicized which I also agree with but, this would've been nipped in the bud in my honest opinion. There would be no cover up, there would be no questions, he would be in jail, and the media would be talking about how the entire school was victimized and blinded by someone that was considered a legend, et cetera. It's sad, but true. None of this trash talking, badmouthing would be happening against Penn State. I think it would mostly be outcry in repulsion and support of all of us as students. However, I believe also that if he was a black man victimizing other black children this would be a non-issue. This may seem crass and heartless, maybe even too much, but it's honestly my opinion. No one would care, it would be an open and shut case. Black-on-black crime as it were is almost never reported on or taken seriously. And if reported on, it's a small snippet, like Sandusky's face in comparison to Joe Paterno's on the front of any newspaper in the United States last week. For some reason it isn't something that is ever considered a worry for every day society. I suppose our doings are simply not as dire. Sat, 19 Nov 2011 03:22:38 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/11/15/voices-from-the-classroom-79/#IDComment224179541 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/11/01/voices-from-the-classroom-60/#IDComment217056313 If I had a business I would most definitely hire illegal immigrants. Think about it, they have way more to lose than your average run of the mill citizen. To an effect, Americans are spoiled with a capital “s”. Everyone knows that. Regardless if the person is African, Mexican, El Salvadorian, Ecuadorian, if they’re illegal, they can work for me. It is a bit risky, but honestly, they get work done. They know that they can’t do anything to be in the eyes of their boss in any sort of negative way. Illegal immigrants are not criminals, they’re desperate. Just like so many Americans are so quick to write off marijuana as “not a drug” and those who get caught with it no different than any regular normal person, being an illegal immigrant is a victimless crime. If you really go up for the same job as a Nicaraguan who can’t speak a lick of English (imagine what job this would be) and you can’t do better than him, you do not, nor have you ever, DESERVED that job, at the end of the day. It’s ridiculous how some assume that illegal immigrants are taking jobs, please. American industry hasn’t wanted Americans since the 1860s. With the labor unions, the strikes, the overall bullshit, they’ve been wanting to take their business elsewhere for years. Don’t be mad because they decide to hire people who WILL do what they want. At first, it was the white people who said they’d had enough of being degraded and they didn’t want these jobs. Black people and the Chinese filled in and took the jobs. Then, Black people which was most of the labor force said they too had had enough. The Hispanics have gladly taken our place, and they do it because they have the drive as those before them had. We ought not get angry with them because they take feeding their families more seriously than real Americans do. That’s pathetic on the part of us as citizens. If I had a child, I would do anything and everything to make sure my child had a full stomach before I’d even had a glass of water in that day. That’s the way life should be. That’s the way life was. But now, everyone is spoiled. When Hispanics get tired, they get more established, they too decide not to be degraded, we’ll have another group of some sort that is “stealing” all the jobs most people wouldn’t take if it paid $18 an hour. Until then, if I had a business, and I actually wanted shit to get done without all the labor union mess, I would hire them. It’s like asking me if I want to make money. Sat, 5 Nov 2011 00:10:43 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/11/01/voices-from-the-classroom-60/#IDComment217056313 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/10/27/voices-from-the-classroom-55/#IDComment213229255 I think immigration is very important to this country so long as there is not a problem with overcrowding (which as it becomes a larger problem in the world, it is likely becoming a problem in the United States) My parents are immigrants and have been in the United States for just about thirty years, and they make the honest living a person can make. My family members are all immigrants and last I checked every one of them was making money the honest way. I think immigrants are vital, as they’re some of the most hard working people I have ever seen out of all races, black, white, Hispanic, etc. So I don’t quite understand where people get the “lazy immigrant” idea. If they were lazy, I don’t think they would’ve busted their asses to come here legally or illegally. Especially with all the scrutiny they get? If it was me, I would have stayed my ass home. But in any case. There’s only one problem I have with immigration. And you can call me ignorant though I don’t believe I am. Perhaps America doesn’t have a “national language” or what have you, but last I read, checked or have seen everyone has spoken or learned to speak English. Did we take the land, sure we did. Was it right, absolutely not, but did it happen? Yes indeed. And ever since then we’ve all spoken English when we got to the bank, when you turn on C-SPAN. The constitution does not have portions in French, Spanish and German as well as English, at least it did not when it was written and I believe that if that’s what they wanted to do they would have done it. My family was forced to learn English upon arrival to this country. I think it is an incredible slap in the face when I go to the supermarket and everything is in English and Spanish and on some labels Spanish is first. I don’t think so. Immigrants are free to come here and make a living however they please but changing the way the country is run in order to accommodate them is absolutely ridiculous and an insult to the immigrants that have come here over the course of HUNDREDS of years. NONE of them received special treatment and no one EVER should. I’ve gone to supermarkets, stood in line, heard a mother talking to her child in English and then go to the teller and speak Spanish because she can. My family cannot go to Walmart and speak to people in French (which is dominantly spoken in our home, between our relatives) and get the same service. And quite frankly they shouldn’t. If it was like that, it should have been easy for everyone to come here. That is the only aspect of laziness that I have seen. It needs to stop. They knew exactly what they were coming here for, catering to them is another thing, and catering to only the Hispanics is ALSO another thing. When we start catering to languages of all the major peoples in America (people from El Salvador and Mexico are not the only immigrants but of course nobody knows that) I will have no complaints. But until then, we speak English here, not German, not French, not Portugese, not Italian, not Gaelic. English. Just because it isn’t on paper doesn’t mean it isn’t national. Fri, 28 Oct 2011 02:17:00 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/10/27/voices-from-the-classroom-55/#IDComment213229255 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/10/20/voices-from-the-classroom-51/#IDComment210711458 I don’t think people who do that are posers at all, if their friends are all multicultural. If all your friends are black, there’s probably a reason for that, not going to lie. If you’re Spanish and all your friends are white, if you’re white and all your friends are Asian, there’s likely a reason and I think everyone knows what these reasons can be. Sometimes, it is blatant posing. I’ve seen girls hang out with all white people when they were of different race as if to erase their own. I’ve seen white people that only hang out with Asians because of how much they’re into Anime. If you hang out with people that are different from you that isn’t a bad thing. But I can see the issue if all your friends are one color. That…I don’t quite understand. I have friends of many races — at home, as it is quite different here — but it’s because I find people I like everywhere. But all one color says something else and sends a different message, one that usually has something to do with wanting to be someone or something else. But I think, especially in the case of one of the girls that was used as an example of stage four last week, there are cases in which you can be friends with people who are mostly one color because of your environment, and you do not forget who YOU are. Being friends with a ton of people who are mostly the same reflects on you when you start to become the people you hang with. A person once said that if you hang out with trash you start to stink, so if you hang around with all people of the same color, let’s say white, and you are white, but you become everything that your friends are, you’re a poser. Regardless of what color they are. If they’re all trash and they’re bigoted and before you met them you were not like this, you are a poser. But if you hang out with a good crowd and you remain yourself, the lot of you together ought to be just fine. Color isn’t what matters, what matters is what is on the inside. How do you see yourself? You shouldn’t see your friends in that. The reason most people see it as posing is because in this day in age that’s all people do, become other people. Listening to the Carter III, buying it, and hanging out with people who wear shirts that say Free Weezy and are black does not make you black. It means you like rap. If you think it makes you “black”, you are posing. Buying a Daddy Yankee t-shirt and calling yourself El Salvadorian when you are not is posing. Putting on a cardigan and some loafers and dancing to Rick Astley calling yourself the whitest person anyone shall ever meet if you are indeed a different race is posing, even if you are half white. Call yourself yourself, and that’s who you are. It’s only posing when you change your original self to something completely unrecognizable. Fri, 21 Oct 2011 23:28:22 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/10/20/voices-from-the-classroom-51/#IDComment210711458 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/10/11/tax-dollars-at-war/#IDComment207178715 I’m not going to say this video infuriated me, because it’s ridiculous that I’m paying taxes for this and that and the other thing, because this was just things I already know put to numbers. America is like that paranoid schizophrenic that thinks everyone is out to get them including the air around the space in which they stand. I’m no hippie, I believe some wars are absolutely necessary, but the number of wars that fit that bill is quite low. In any case, this war has more than run its course and it’s annoying and completely unacceptable that we’re off sending people to war like this is Sparta when we have children to educate. There’s so many things in this country that we throw money at that we have little to no business funding (i.e. the Education Department which is one hundred and fifty percent unnecessary as education cannot be delegated by the federal government, ONLY the fifty states of within have that power) but this is the biggest. We wouldn’t have so many issues with national security if we weren’t trying to “help people” who didn’t ask us for our money, our God or our influences. But I digress. The amount of money that we spend on militarizing ourselves is better spent elsewhere. Perhaps you think this war is necessary, cool. But if you say that we could be spending the rest of our money on MORE weapons, you’ve got serious debilitating issues. I think we’re more than enough protecting. 9/11 didn’t change a thing; we were only unprepared because the government chose to take a blind eye, if they hadn’t, we would have been MORE than prepared. And yes, I believe that. We would’ve been ready and waiting. But we weren’t, and it isn’t because we were on a shortage of AK-47s. Honestly I think us buying all these weapons is to benefit those lucky arms dealers that are making money off of dead soldiers. It’s sick, it’s wrong, and it is fact, not fiction. I apologize for sounding like a rampant liberal but it’s annoying to hear people complain about how the government or the president or whatever is expecting them to come along and give us all four acres and a mule, oh and a check for $40,000 please! It’s not gonna happen. They are broke phi broke, they ain’t got it. And that would be because at the same time that we all want individual financial security (but not for THOSE people, no way, they chose that) we want them to buy more weapons to protect us from those terrorists. Perhaps this isn’t still true, perhaps people have finally woken up, but after the mockery of American government and laws between the years of 2000 to 2008, I bit my tongue, and I don’t think I could take it anymore. This person’s right, it isn’t our tax dollars at work, it’s our tax dollars at war. Thu, 13 Oct 2011 23:54:46 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/10/11/tax-dollars-at-war/#IDComment207178715 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/10/06/voices-from-the-classroom-38/#IDComment204495863 Like I was explaining to my soc recitation group, yes, one hundred percent true. Minority cultures, speaking for Hispanic and black, are harsher on homosexuals than those that come of the white persuasion. I’ll speak specifically for the blacks here first. Our culture is more sexual than white culture, and it’s simply a fact. I’m not sure why, but it is more sexual, perhaps because of the stereotypes over black men, but it is what it is. In that same right, in our culture a man has a woman, and not another man. There are lesbians in black culture but they are far more accepted than gays. Men aren’t men to us unless they’ve achieved the full measure of masculinity which is being with and having sex with females. So essentially when a man will in fact never be with another female or any female at all, he is more often disliked by more black men. They’re actually more homophobic as well, and while they may not get beat up (as I’ve yet to see that happen) more black men stay away from them, while black gays are more accepted by straight females, as it often happens. But more over, there’s the concept of families in the same argument. How accepting are they? Of the black men that I know that are gay, they are obviously so, and have never complained of family issues due to them being gay. The black concept of family is very strong, and cancels out sexual orientation. Whereas, I have white male friends who have come out as gay to their family and have had their fathers try and beat it out of them. I’ve talked to many females who have gay uncles, and laugh about it, saying their uncle brings an important dynamic to their family and has never been a problem. I was even told “every black family has one.” I do not, but that’s for a different reason. There are different types of blacks, such as Caribbean, and African. In my native country it is still a crime to be homosexual, and it’s no wonder I don’t have a gay uncle. So it also depends on the ethnicity of the homosexual person, be it African, African American or Afro-Caribbean. On the Hispanic side of this argument, I have heard accounts of friends, and they’re not incredibly accepting either. Though I have a roommate who is Hispanic and is gay, she was accepted. As far as males go, I’m going to go out on a limb and guess that they are not. The males that I’ve talked to have the same uncomfortable view towards gays, and from speaking to a friend I’ve been told that their culture is heavily embedded in Roman Catholicism, which more or less isn’t okay with anything. So to me, other races are less accepting, though it all depends on the situation. I’ve heard worse accounts from white individuals, etc. It all depends. Fri, 7 Oct 2011 20:13:46 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/10/06/voices-from-the-classroom-38/#IDComment204495863 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/09/27/voices-from-the-classroom-26/#IDComment201190358 I asked this question, and I figured it only right if I answer it myself. As you can plainly tell I’m a black female, west African, actually. There’s tons of stereotypes on me, such as being an African I must be of a science major (bingo) I must be able to run really fast (hey, it’s genetics) and I…must be a starving person with a potbelly full of worms (wrong). That’s just the point. I’m not those things because I’m black. I’m a science major because my father worked in a hospital, and I love to help people, I do it all the time. I can run really fast when I’m scared, lightening like actually, and I am well fed, like every African I have ever known. But let’s talk about everybody else. What they are, and what they are not. White people. Caucasians. The majority. They’re more pink than they are white, but they’re called white. I don’t see any kind of Asian in them and sometimes, they’re the minority in a group. Things they are. There’s a lot of things I know about them, a lot of them are my friends. But the one thing they always tell me, always ask me to help them with, is this “fact” that they can’t dance. I don’t believe that. I don’t care, I’ve danced with plenty of white men and it’s kind of painful, no lie, but I don’t think it’s because they inherently don’t know how to dance. I think the pressure of everyone telling them that they could never dance is what makes them not dance. I think the idea of having to dance with a black girl with a curvy butt makes them concentrate far too hard on – well, I’m not sure – but it’s about how much they think about things. No idea why they do it, but they do. It’s not about them being white. It’s about them thinking dancing is something that’s learned. It’s something that can be taught, but you have to feel it inside, or you’ll never be able to move an inch. I also don’t believe all men are hard, and unemotional. I’ve met a lot of guys here at Penn State and every single one of them has gotten emotional around me and more frequently than I. I’m more likely to get angry, get frustrated, get annoyed, but they get sad more frequently than I have. They’ve been hurt more than me, and sometimes they react with anger, but I’ve seen them look low. Men are not at all what people think they are. They have hearts too and every day I discover that, because I can be ignorant of it. But I feel like society doesn’t allow them to feel any kind of way and when something happens to them, they don’t know how to handle it. I’ve seen them feel some sort of way about things for the longest amount of times, even when I myself wouldn’t care anymore. They’re so different. They’re soft on the inside, and to be honest? That isn’t wrong in the least. Fri, 30 Sep 2011 05:40:56 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/09/27/voices-from-the-classroom-26/#IDComment201190358 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/09/27/voices-from-the-classroom-26/#IDComment201166674 I just had to butt in here — I've heard of a few white people having a grudge against blacks because they got jumped by a few black guys, and it angers me because I feel like it makes us all look bad and then it angers me because I think there was a reason the person was beat up, but you never know. That makes me sad, and worse, it makes me feel slightly unsafe. I don't hate anyone, and it hurts that people think that about us. I'm not making it personal, it's just so unfortunate, you know? Fri, 30 Sep 2011 04:20:46 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/09/27/voices-from-the-classroom-26/#IDComment201166674 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/09/20/everyone-respond-to-this/#IDComment197783881 At first I was a little confused with as to what I was supposed to be doing here, but with some thought I think I understand the plight of the project. It’s better to fund the entrepreneurs of a country in order to get it back on it’s feet using the money in it rather than taking the money from it from buying imported goods, which we spoke about in class with the whole American versus Haitian rice debacle. In any case, I watched a view videos and I suppose I’ll go in chronological order. I watched Manouchka’s video, where her business was based around familial trinkets like photo frames, and accessories like hair barrettes, bracelets and other things for women. I love this because women are always the more heavy-handed consumers, and this will gain more revenue. Women all around the world like to feel and look beautiful, so her business is a good idea to fund, because things like hair products and accessories will fly off the shelves. The family photos will also be popular I think because Haiti has a very family oriented culture and things like this would be prized there. I also watched Madame Lamour’s video. Marriage is also something that would be, I expect, big in Haiti. Since family is a big thing, marriage ought to come hand in hand, so marriage decoration is a given. This could and would be very marketable for this reason. It’s made by another Haitian, and the things she makes are gorgeous, though not necessarily over the top like more than half of the things seen in David’s Bridal. I think with expansion and funds she too could go far. Lastly I watched Suze’s video. As a kid I loved candied peanuts so this was definitely a favorite of mine. I think this is marketable just because it’s a sweet treat and everybody loves those. Candied peanuts are delicious and pretty cheap so she could definitely get this out to masses easily if she had more production. It’s pretty big for what it’s worth already, yet still I could use some help. Again, it’s a good idea to start an economy from the bottom up with the citizens of the country itself. Have Haitians buying from Haitians. Out of all of these projects I would have to say my favorite is Madame Lamour’s shop. It’s the best out there because people are always going to get married and need things for a wedding, but certain materials can go out of style (photo frames, etc) however Suze’s peanuts are also an adequate choice. The wedding business is very big in America and could be just as huge in Haiti after a lot of diligence and harder work. This could be a very lucrative market. Sat, 24 Sep 2011 02:50:21 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/09/20/everyone-respond-to-this/#IDComment197783881 http://www.worldinconversation.org/our-projects/haiti-entrepreneur-initiative/madame-lamour/#IDComment197759333 Just saying -- I think if you want credits for a blog you have to put it in sam's "everyone respond to this!" video post! :) Sat, 24 Sep 2011 01:53:53 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/our-projects/haiti-entrepreneur-initiative/madame-lamour/#IDComment197759333 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/09/15/voices-from-the-classroom-16/#IDComment196999489 I was in Bigler too...It was huge then, I think moreso on the 2nd floor than on the 4th where my friends lived. Smh. Thu, 22 Sep 2011 21:34:12 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/09/15/voices-from-the-classroom-16/#IDComment196999489 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/09/15/voices-from-the-classroom-16/#IDComment196998712 I am incredibly late to this party, but the terrorists portion? Cracked me up. But I'm not exactly sure if I should be insulted by the fact that you said we're too busy playing sports, making up new dances or tweeting to be playing that game, it's like a backhanded compliment. Thu, 22 Sep 2011 21:32:13 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/09/15/voices-from-the-classroom-16/#IDComment196998712 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/09/13/voices-from-the-classroom-7/#IDComment193322759 I agree with the person above to an extent but I hear this from my white friends all the time. We may all be people, and we may all be the same when it comes down to basic science but that doesn't mean we aren't different in almost every other way. I'm one of those people who doesn't believe the "N-Word" should be spoken by any race, because I'm tired of everyone assuming because they bought the Carter 3 that it's acceptable to "nigga" this and "nigga" that. I saw some asians screaming it at the top of their lungs at each other, I guess a fresh pair of Jordans is all that is required to make someone black (think again). But I think if you aren't born of the race of which the word even originated for (not FROM) the words shouldn't ever leave your lips. And honestly it's even MORE offensive when people think it doesn't mean anything. If you haven't had someone openly discriminate against you, your opinion is one hundred percent invalid. I'm not sure why black people decided to take the negative and turn it into a positive but to a certain degree it makes sense. You're called something all the time, and it's incredibly offensive, at some point to try and make oneself feel better it almost makes sense to try and turn it into a positive, to try and let the word roll of your shoulder, to let people know, hey, we say it too, and it doesn't matter to us. But the moment the word changes hands and is dealt in the way it was originally spoken (connation doesn't matter, sorry) by the people who created it as a way for blacks to feel sub-human, we all feel the exact same way. It doesn't sound right coming from you and I apologize, that's the way it is. It's not your fault and no one is blaming every white person in my SOC 119 class (as I'm unaware if any of you personally owned slaves, if so, this is not for you) but the truth is the truth. Because as the saying goes, if you’ll say the word in good company the moment things go south you will use it as an insult and that goes for every derogatory word used ever. Think about it. If you’ve ever joked around as a female with your female friends calling each other “bitch” and “slut” the moment she walked around and started acting funny you used those same words to describe her. It’s just human nature and that doesn’t make it right but that does make it true. So most of us (the educated ones, usually) would prefer if it was not used. I don’t ever want to turn on my television and find Anderson Cooper using it with other newscasters. Honestly, as long as this is understood in the way I just explained I would feel better if my white friends abstained from using the word out of respect for me, and I’m open enough for an explanation of why I dislike the word with a person of any color. Honestly that's better than anything, and it’s very considerate. Listen to rap music, it's catchy and it's great. But you aren't a rapper. You are not Lil Wayne. You don't have a derogatory word, and that is a really, really, good thing. Wed, 14 Sep 2011 15:04:04 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/09/13/voices-from-the-classroom-7/#IDComment193322759 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/08/30/why-your-religion/#IDComment188598375 I’m agnostic. Not necessarily a religion, but that’s the answer to your question. I’m Agnostic because as a child I was peddled to churches by my mother because she assumed God would save our problems. Not only did I know better, I also knew that the churches I went to were doing something wrong. I couldn’t understand why a priest who had no other job, giving Sunday school in a wooden structure hardly fit to be called a church could have such a nice watch and a nice suit, great looking shoes. Somehow I knew the Goodwill didn’t carry what he wore and, it helped since I saw him taking from the offering basket. I never offered again, needless to say. I also noticed a correlation between people who were down and out suddenly becoming religious. Every time I hear a family member mention how much they believe, etc, I assume they’re near depression and so far I’ve been right. I have nothing against religion, I’ve read Dan Brown, watched plenty of the History channel, had tons of discussions and I come to the same conclusion. Anybody can take advantage of anybody, religion has NOTHING to do with it. But I can’t shake the way I feel about the church and I’ve decided the moment I feel the want to go to church I will go. My freshman year of college I met a wonderful guy who convinced me that I could believe. I joined Alliance Christian Fellowship and while I can’t call myself a true Christian quite yet I’d like to think I’m working on it. I’m not an athiest because too many coincidences just create a little thing called faith, I’m not Catholic because Catholic church is a lot like a weekly funeral and I’m not Muslim because I know nothing of Islam, I’m not Jewish because I don’t see myself fitting in a synagogue, I’m not Hindu because you cannot convert to Hindu, you are born Hindu or you are not Hindu as the religion is written and I am not Buddhist because it’s not something I’ve compelled to and the Buddhist’s I’ve met are a bunch of hipsters who are looking for the next cool thing. Religion may not be huge in my life as of yet but the moment I procreate I’m teaching my children faith and the teachings of the Bible, Quran and anything else I can get my hand on that will teach a child to live morally. I think that’s more important to every religion than believing in any God. As far as this goes, as simple as your question was, it was quite insiteful, though it could’ve just been a cool joke. Thu, 1 Sep 2011 03:35:04 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/08/30/why-your-religion/#IDComment188598375