en-us https://www.intensedebate.com/users/768128 Comments by badkarma13 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/south-park-off-the-hook__trashed/#IDComment69975781 I saw the first episode of the controversial new Mohammad episodes and find the joking that the creators are trying to do as funny and childish. the idea that they would make fun of everything they could is the heart of the show and anyone that takes it too seriously is what they're looking for. the Muslim people that find it disrespectful should be angry it is they're religion that is being ridiculed in public for the amusement of the masses. but to send hate mail and even death threats is beyond ridiculous. write a letter start a protest or just stop watching the show, it's not about being serious but about being outrageous and getting attention. the show is not to be taken seriously and I think that the creators would respect the religious canon of the Muslim's so I don't think they would ever show Mohammad on T.V. for real. I strongly believe in the right to do and say what you want and to be censured by no one but your peers not legally or by intimidation so I would never support the idea that South Park should be stopped from portraying all the people they portray as long as they do it to all peoples and all groups equally. I support full freedom of speech and that is why I say what I say in this post. Fri, 23 Apr 2010 20:01:48 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/south-park-off-the-hook__trashed/#IDComment69975781 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/isnt-migration-conflict-inevitable__trashed/#IDComment69974459 I see what your saying however the issue we need to consider now is that we did grow too strong. we are now complacent in our status as a world power and so we think we need to run every aspect of our world. we forget that this has always been a problem since the days we came here as pilgrims or legal immigrants. the problem is that we want to control the number of people who come here that we forget just how important it is to make life the best it can be. the fact that we are so ingrained with the idea that we are the best country that we forget that immigration made us so great. so we need to find a way to stop the illegal immigration and make legal immigration a more acceptable way in to the country. the people who have ever tried to get in to this country from the beginning were looking for a better life so if we summarily kick people out to keep our country as is then we lose the greatness and become the military state we all hate. Fri, 23 Apr 2010 19:50:09 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/isnt-migration-conflict-inevitable__trashed/#IDComment69974459 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/300000-whats-it-mean-to-us__trashed/#IDComment69973179 For me the whole problem seems to big and to serious to handle. I know that seems like I don't care but I just can't fathom the vast loss of life or how that would affect my life if that happened here. I remember 9/11 and that was 3,000 people but we rose in a united outrage yes it was an attack but still we should have the same horrified reaction to the loss whether it's natural or man made. I just can't wrap my mind around the number and feel like it has an impact on my day, I feel sorry and sad for the people who lost loved ones and the dead but I think if I truly felt anything outside of pity it would be at least it wasn't here or anyone I know. that may sound like I'm cold hearted and evil but I really don't think that I'm really all that different from anyone else I hate the idea of death and destruction man made or not but I can't feel like the worlds problems are all mine to deal with. so if I could I would go and help with the worlds problems but I can't even help with donations right now. I think we could all take a few days to give back but for now I don't see any way the deaths of so many could affect me on a personal level, if that makes me a bad person then I'm sorry. Fri, 23 Apr 2010 19:39:26 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/300000-whats-it-mean-to-us__trashed/#IDComment69973179 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/how-am-i-not-a-racist__trashed/#IDComment69970834 I think that while thinking you could change the world better than someone from a developing country, isn't a bad thing as long as you remember the fact that your a single person doing things for the betterment of the world not to be better yourself. people need to remember that being better capable to affect the world is not being better or superior to other people. we as Americans are in a great position to aid the rest of the world through technology and education but we need to respect the people we help they have a different outlook on life and progress. I think that if we respect the people we help and the cultures we look to help then thinking were better or worth more will be hard to do because we'll be thinking about our contribution and not about being superior. you could argue that Nazi Germany saw it's self as a world changer for the better at first but they quickly grew into monsters, I'm not saying that they were doing any good, for them it was about getting revenge but trying to help people and taking over for them to make it easier would be a simple mater in order to make fixing the problems we see easier to fix. Fri, 23 Apr 2010 19:23:29 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/how-am-i-not-a-racist__trashed/#IDComment69970834 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/the-tyranny-of-radical-muslims__trashed/#IDComment68467502 I can understand that people forget that Muslim is a faith and all faiths have strong believers that do good for their faith and ones that do evil in the name of the faith simply so they can get followers Osama is a man who manipulates people into believing that they are doing god/Allah's work and we all know that is not the way of the Muslim people as a whole. we are seen around the world as fat lazy Americans because of our T.V. shows and yet we know that's not true. the idea that Osama is the archetype of his faith is a massive disservice to the Muslim faith. if you are Christian would you want the world to look at Hitler as an archetype of Christian faith for his hatred of the Jewish faith. I think not. Sat, 17 Apr 2010 03:05:50 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/the-tyranny-of-radical-muslims__trashed/#IDComment68467502 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/what-about-the-occupied-territories__trashed/#IDComment68465409 I think it's sad that the people of Palestine have been left out in the cold for years now by the world anti Israel groups use them as examples of the evil the Israeli and U.S. have caused to the Muslim world. I wrote a history paper about the Gaza strip, but I still can't see how the issue is so polarizing on all fronts. I understand Israel wants stability and security but at the cost of people who are being used as marters is not the way in my opinion. I think that if we are too be seen as a fair country we need to support our allies fairly and that includes the laws of the world. If the Gaza strip is the excuse for hostility against the Israeli people then giving it back could be the solution. I don't think spoils of war is a valid excuse anymore for any civilized countries. Sat, 17 Apr 2010 02:44:52 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/what-about-the-occupied-territories__trashed/#IDComment68465409 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/creating-terrorists__trashed/#IDComment68464335 I have always thought about how the actions of the U.S. could be perceived by the peoples of the middle east. and to see this article I see that we all have misconceptions about this war. I agreed when we went in to Afghanistan to track down Osama but now I don't see the point in staying there as an invading force we should aid in the creation of a stable government and security for the people ,then we should withdraw . this article made me think about how much good we have done there and how much of our security has cost the Afghan people , especially those that could have become suicide bombers. I think we need to rethink the reasons and rules we of engagement we follow there, as we need to strike a peace that can give those who lost peace and make us seem less like the christian invaders. someone here asked who was the real terrorists and they felt that we all could be seen as the bad guys for the actions taken by a few, I think we should truly find a hearts and minds balance so when a mistake happens as war is apt to cause that we could avoid retribution killings like we have seen. Sat, 17 Apr 2010 02:34:39 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/creating-terrorists__trashed/#IDComment68464335 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/i-really-want-to-know-also__trashed/#IDComment66921967 I don't know if my opinion has been drastically changed but I feel that I have learned and really thought about what is said. that is why I took this course to hear other peoples opinions and see if mine are different, and if so how and why they differ. for me my opinion has been questioned and even expanded by Sam's class and I think that it could in the long term change my opinion. for me I try to keep an elastic opinion, one that could be changed by the valid arguments of others but also trying to keep it wholly my own. I think that the reason I became interested in Journalism was because I want to know peoples stories, mine i write everyday but others are written away from me and there fore hidden that is what i like about this class I get to hear differing opinions and being changed by them. for me that is the greatest idea about college and the world. Sat, 10 Apr 2010 02:33:14 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/i-really-want-to-know-also__trashed/#IDComment66921967 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/this-is-totally-off-the-hook__trashed/#IDComment66920158 I admit to being a gamer and to playing violent games all the time but this to me is disturbing. I follow the games industry pretty close for a lot of reasons and have heard of the Japanese games like this one and never really thought about it. but after seeing this game and the description I can say that it's still disturbing but not my place to sensor anyone's gaming as I hate that very thing in this country, books depict all manor of violence and we yell when someone says we should stop them from being printed why should games be any different? I would not play this game for its content but if a responsible adult in japan wants to buy it and never commits the act of rape did he or she really commit anything other than a bad choice? I can fully understand anyone who is offended by this game even outraged by it's mere existence but I urge everyone to remember that thought is an exercise. I'm not endorsing this kind of game but we don't have to live with the game nor do we allow such games in this country. I believe that violent video games are just fun for the sake of playing them not for the violence I play racing games and card games like uno as well and thoroughly enjoy them all. to me games are an exercise in being someone else or somewhere else so please don't judge the games we play as evil because they are violent judge the gamer for their real life actions I fully think of myself as a pacifist, who happens to play games that people get killed in, these are nothing more than subconscious fantasies that I work through in games. that is why I feel censorship is wrong in video games or any other media, parents need to control what their kids buy and they will never see the wrong kind of game, movie, or book till they are old enough thanks. Sat, 10 Apr 2010 02:20:27 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/this-is-totally-off-the-hook__trashed/#IDComment66920158 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/what-if-we-got-rid-of-welfare__trashed/#IDComment65698323 As a kid I lived on welfare for a while when my parents lost their jobs and found that many of the people on it simply needed time and resources to get to a level where they no longer needed the help. so to get rid of welfare for me is a horrible idea because we don't give the options to people on welfare that they need to get settled and off it. not that people don't abuse the system but we need to make it so the system helps with more than just food and housing we need to fund schooling for jobs and making these services mandatory, because if you lost a job you basically grew up doing what is there for you to do latter? welfare has such a negative connotation that people on it feel low extremely low, but we don't treat them as people who deserve respect or teach them to remember that they can do whatever they want. if we help these people with job and self esteem issues then maybe we could limit or even abolish the multi-generational welfare issue. I think that people who were raised to believe that they can achieve better than their parents do. that is the lesson we need to help the people on welfare that they can and will be able to improve their lives if they want with help from the system, this is something the system doesn't really do well and so we have the issue of multi-generational welfare families. welfare is necessary to aid the people who have been struck down by circumstances beyond their control, so I support the system just not the implementation of the system. Sat, 3 Apr 2010 03:55:27 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/what-if-we-got-rid-of-welfare__trashed/#IDComment65698323 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/what-about-multiracial-people__trashed/#IDComment65694723 For me I would say that if you were raised as a Latino then you should identify as a Black/Brown person if you feel the pull towards that group, only because you are a part of that group and most easily identify with them. However if you are a person of multicultural decent then you have every right to identify with whoever you want it's your right to be who you want. the idea that people see you as white and not Latino then you should correct them if you want, but the idea that it matters is disturbing because we want to be one big happy country yet we still feel that our race dictates who we are. I mean we should be proud of our heritage but I think we should accept that there is no need to divide ourselves up in to teams. the idea that one should pick a side White, Black, Asian, whatever is outdated and ludicrous. Sat, 3 Apr 2010 03:40:51 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/what-about-multiracial-people__trashed/#IDComment65694723 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/nothing-about-the-census-is-easy__trashed/#IDComment65690999 I can totally understand the confusion in the wording of the census. I haven't seen it yet but I do think that the bureau could have taken the time and the space necessary to clarify the terms or at least include an instruction sheet. despite the confusion I do understand the need for the census and the clarity that comes from breaking down the racial make up of the various cities and towns. The idea that people could be put in a box is outdated by today's standards, and they need to make it more indicative of who we the people they're trying to count are. we as people don't want to be placed in to narrow boxes such as white, black, or Hispanic. They need to consider that with technology we could easily report on our selves and our communities via the internet and then maybe we could be clear on who we are without the aggravation of words we find inappropriate. on the issue of whether or not Negro should be included I think that if people still identify as Negro then the term is valid however it is still a volatile term and the anger associated with it's use is understandable. Sat, 3 Apr 2010 03:25:28 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/nothing-about-the-census-is-easy__trashed/#IDComment65690999 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/those-damn-dolls__trashed/#IDComment64293181 I think it's truly sad how little we have progressed over the years to teach our kids that being who they are is most important. as a guy I played with GI Joe's but for me I thought my sisters were crazy for trying to be just like barbie. I always wanted to be like the Joe's but they were diverse. and I always saw barbie as white and the black version was like her friend not her or a positive image in any case. and to see that kids still think that is sad . I never considered the black doll bad but i knew it wasn't the proffered one and it felt wrong if i were to choose it, looking back I think I found the idea of a doll that looked like me to be comforting but I thought everyone would think that way. I never thought that Black kids would think that they didn't have a connection to the black doll till i saw this clip. I can see what some of the women were saying that they feel like they don't know their cultural past so they lost something, but I think they were robed of a piece of their identity when they're taught to prefer the lighter skinned doll or to wish to be lighter skinned. now as a man I look at women and think of the beauty that's present and yes White women are more pleasing to me often than not but I find that women are all beautiful to me and I've dated several since I started liking girls as a kid. this is what I think when I saw this clip that we need to change the cultural perception to include all people as pretty and good, and not make the White doll good and the Black one bad. we have evolved as a country and I think we have far too far to go to be where we think we are. Sat, 27 Mar 2010 04:02:04 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/those-damn-dolls__trashed/#IDComment64293181 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/what-are-all-of-you-thinking-about-asians__trashed/#IDComment64291074 I grew up in a fairly progressive family so for me people are all different people , but i still find that stereo types seep into my perception just by osmosis so what I think of Asians as a whole is that they tend to be very driven and focused in whatever they do. again stereo types have made it into my perception so I don't say this to offend but to inform I find that many of the east Asian peoples are difficult to distinguish between in facial characteristics from a distance or at a quick glance. when I was a kid I thought they all knew martial arts later i found that most of the Asian world is as diverse as can be. Sat, 27 Mar 2010 03:37:58 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/what-are-all-of-you-thinking-about-asians__trashed/#IDComment64291074 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/if-men-could-menstruate__trashed/#IDComment64290068 to address the issue of education for men on menstruation just look at our cultural issues with sex . we never really get the education we should. people in this country are sexually repressed in comparison to other country's and that is why men don't get the education we need to understand menstruation. also as a guy It's really not something we want to think about because it's a system of the body that relates to baby's and sex and neither of those subjects is all that fun when you think about the process of how they work. I don't mind the idea of the education for everyone to understand the systems of the body. the culture we live in just isn't ready to see the female body in that sort of light very often. as to if men menstruated would tampons be free? i figure that they would be just for the convenience, sure it's a double standard but that's the world we live in. Sat, 27 Mar 2010 03:26:04 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/if-men-could-menstruate__trashed/#IDComment64290068 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/native-hawaiians-ever-think-of-them__trashed/#IDComment64288969 I knew very little about Hawaii's acquisition before reading this article but I did know that the U.S. effectively stole the islands from the native people and overthrew their government. so when reading this article I was pleased to read that we could be giving back the land stolen as a good faith gesture. I support such initiatives not just out of guilt for what our countries past generations did but also in order to help preserve the culture that could very well be extinct simply because we hampered the culture for our own financial benefit. I realize that the financial hit the state will inevitably see is considerable. but I think we should look more to the benefit of the people who need it the most, the native Hawaiians. if the numbers are correct the Native Hawaiians might not see the benefit immediately but given time they could find their lives vastly improved, the idea that these people are down trodden is evident so giving them the right to live as they want as a separate nation is the best way to give them something to fight for. returning their sense of self and of their people, a cultural identity revitalization as it were. look at the Native Indian tribes who run their own casinos they make money and sustain themselves in their own way this is all the Hawaiians will be getting a sense of being who they are again. Sat, 27 Mar 2010 03:12:53 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/native-hawaiians-ever-think-of-them__trashed/#IDComment64288969 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/the-world-is-full-of-surprises__trashed/#IDComment63114637 I find this discovery interesting in light of the recent Dan Brown novels not because i don't believe the tribe was lost and found 3,000 years later but because it makes you wonder what else we missed in the history books that could be true about the traditions of the various religion. this stories sounds so much like it came from Hollywood that if there wasn't evidence we could measure it would be unbelievable but also because the bible and other religious texts are written by men who want to further their religion so you can find numerous misdirecting stories that could easily be as unlikely as this one. the fact that a tribe that could well have had the Ark of the covenant for so long is in Zimbabwe is awesome for the history but also for the cultural diversity they display they identify their religion as christian and their culture as Muslim yet they practice many ancient rituals of the Jewish faith. i find that diversity refreshing considering those three groups are in a mortal struggle everyday in the middle east. I think this story could be used to show how the three faiths are so similar in their teachings that the disputes they have with each other could be resolved through the example of this tribe Sat, 20 Mar 2010 04:07:21 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/the-world-is-full-of-surprises__trashed/#IDComment63114637 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/prom-or-no-prom-just-dont-let-the-queer-students-dance-together__trashed/#IDComment63108590 this is a sad and disgusting example of what people see the us south in stereo types. the school board needs to grow up if people want to go to a prom in a same sex coupling than that's their business. the kids at the prom are going for themselves not to see others making out. people should allow everyone to be who they are without harassment. and the school board decided to harass that girl by canceling the prom they made her the scapegoat for everyone to blame. this kind of thing was discussed at my school for prom and we just decided if people wanted to bring a same sex date then good for them for getting a date and coming to the prom. my school would have even allowed the girl to wear a tux we simply never concerned ourselves with such sad displays of hatred. this girl should get a real monetary settlement out of all this for the embarrassment and subsequent harassment she was probably subjected to afterward. I just find this kind of thing sad and demeaning to the girl the lgbt community and the U.S. as a whole. Sat, 20 Mar 2010 03:46:17 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/prom-or-no-prom-just-dont-let-the-queer-students-dance-together__trashed/#IDComment63108590 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/what-happens-to-multiracial-people__trashed/#IDComment63102414 I thought about that too and i found that i would want to be in the larger group for the vanity of it and in the colored group to honor my heritage and the question really got me thinking am i the only one who would have said white just to be in the culturally accepted group or would i have gone colored? I am of a vastly diverse background so i am often perceived as white im pasty even but i can trace my family around the world Europe Africa and every where in the us including several native tribes so for me i want to say colored because i want to honor my family's diversity but i fit in as white in physical characteristics. so do other people who could pass for white feel like i do or are you able to go with colored proudly? Sat, 20 Mar 2010 03:24:35 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/what-happens-to-multiracial-people__trashed/#IDComment63102414 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/02/native-americans-question-four__trashed/#IDComment58921403 The first thing I would do is educate kids earlier and better as to what the true history is and how that has led to the current situation for the Native tribes. the first step is to accept reality and stop the false belife that the Natives of this country were savages and we brought them civility when we brought savagery far more than civility and then we purpetuated the savagery for centuries. the next thing I would do is to endorse the Tribal casino's that many tribes have started in order to fund their people this won't solve anything but it will be a start. people fight these casino's in order to prevent the gambling or the crime but also to prevent the tax exemptions that the tribes are privy to. we need to work with the tribes to get them better support for schools and whatever else they need so they can thrive as they want to. we also need to educate people as to how the reservations work it's a mystery to most people me included. we need to remember that any suffering they feel is a direct result of our indiscretions both in the past and today. Sat, 27 Feb 2010 05:04:51 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/02/native-americans-question-four__trashed/#IDComment58921403