en-us https://www.intensedebate.com/users/758491 Comments by cmaverick https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/letter-from-an-inmate__trashed/#IDComment69851001 What an amazing letter. I commend the prisoner who wrote this because I’m sure it took a lot of guts and heart to spill out his emotions and feelings toward us in this letter. The sole testimony of this man just goes to show to everyone, including us, that we are in need of unselfish love and compassion. In the midst of our own troubles and times of crap where we can easily dwell within ourselves, at the end of day, people matter. Life isn’t and shouldn’t always be about us. It should be about the person next to us, across from us or somebody we haven’t kept in touch with for a while. Everyone needs compassion, forgiveness, kindness and love to mend the brokenness that’s within them. We don’t have to be tree huggers and go green to make the world a better place. Even though I’m a Christian, I believe attending to the needs of others is important for everybody. People need to be attended to because there’s no one person that’s perfect or is living the perfect life. Yeah, we can attend to kids with cancer (THON) or those with other diseases (walking walks or running marathons), but we can also attend to our classmates and friends. Don’t just ask them how they’re doing and expect the same, mundane answer; ask them how they’re REALLY doing and hear them out. It makes a huge difference. That’s how real, genuine friendships start and are grown to be kept for a long time. I know there are some people will not put this one article and tag it as the typical “lifer,” but the fact that this man is going through this type of transformation seems supernatural and unbelievable. Don’t object so much as to what his intentions were when writing this letter or whatever; we can only take things for face value, just believe the man. And yeah, it probably doesn't have anything to do with SOC 119. Sam's the type of man who wants to push your buttons and stimulate your thinking not just about racial issues, but about LIFE issues. Fri, 23 Apr 2010 01:25:14 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/letter-from-an-inmate__trashed/#IDComment69851001 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/tent-cities-in-haiti__trashed/#IDComment69847388 The footage in this video is pretty amazing. It’s ridiculous how the economy still lives and markets are being formed. While watching all of this, I wondered how locals afforded all these resources. From watching the news and hearing things, we would expect these Haitians who have absolutely nothing to get resources like food, water, clothes and other basic necessities for free. However, we see from this video the same local Haitians who have nothing sell something. One thing that stuck out was the man who had a boom-box stereo with speakers, laptops and other electronics. You could imagine how things like that can be sold at a time like this and question what kind of condition these electronics are really in, despite their outer appearances. As Sam said, though, people accumulate resources and manipulate them in some way to repackage and resell them at a higher price. What strikes me is that it never stops; how do people still have the minds and even the resources to continue this sort of economic exchange in a devastated place where resources are so limited and with a group of people who just want to survive? I really liked the one man who used his generator for a movie business. It was cool to see how he was willing to create this type of business for the sake of helping people more than making money. I still don’t know how these Haitians have money, but I remember hearing the same man having a phone charging business to enter into the theatre that is the tent with a small TV. Like the news reporter said, Haitians have an abundance of time and it’s going to be interesting to see how these people who have been displaced will use their time in the coming weeks, months and, maybe even, years. I also wonder if refugee camps are the same as those 30 years ago. My parents fled Vietnam to the Philippines and were taken into refugee camps in Manila. Did refugee camps back at that time and in other places have economies similar to the refugee camp in Haiti? It’s hard to imagine how devastating this earthquake has been for this nation until we ourselves witness the destruction. Seeing things while not in Haiti is one thing. Being there is another. I was encouraged to see Sam’s friend speak and share his experiences from Haiti. I wish I could take up the opportunity to go down to help but I’m graduating and starting to work soon. I hope others who have time this summer can go down to witness and help. It’s a broken nation with physical, mental, emotional and spiritual brokenness, despite this revival of spirituality news reporters have been talking about. Fri, 23 Apr 2010 00:51:20 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/tent-cities-in-haiti__trashed/#IDComment69847388 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/creating-terrorists__trashed/#IDComment68898324 Reading this article was pretty intense for me; the article definitely enforced what we learned at Thursday’s “Christian Invaders” class. It’s ridiculous to see how our country has come to the point where we’re not even fighting terrorists that belong to certain organizations; the terrorists and radicals that we’re supposed to search after and bring justice to, whether in the form of a court trial or killing spree, are mostly if not all Arab Muslims. I think because of that stereotype and immediate and unwise judgment we, as Westerners, place on them, it probably gives a government like the one in the United States to say it’s OK to risk and kill the lives of innocent civilians. To hear suicide bombings in random places in the Middle East, whether in Iraq, Afghanistan, Israel or wherever, seem mundane and common these days; to hear the facts and stories behind the actual suicide bombers is something we don’t hear too often. Initially, I thought suicide bombers would be the radicals like we discussed in class, who really think that it is in “God’s Will” to destroy the Americans for the sake of Muhammad. I can see why these radicals would think that way, given the lecture Sam gave on Thursday. We discussed that day how we, collectively as the American people, are there to take the oil from the Arab Muslims. This article, however, dives one level deeper; Arab Muslims who aren’t considered as threats are being killed left and right, leading them to take drastic measures to avenge the deaths of their loved ones. The whole issue makes me feel unsettled. Because of the stereotype we place on Arab Muslims, I’m sure Arab Muslims place the exact stereotype on Americans, specifically American Christians. As an individual living in America, it’s not hard to feel somewhat responsible for this; we pay tax dollars for our troops to be shipped overseas, but to fight for what? As a Christian, I feel like Muslims will place this negative light on me. Now I fear for those who are going on missionary trips to the Middle East. I do believe that, as believers of Jesus, we should proclaim the Christian gospel to the corners of the Earth. But if I were to be a missionary to that area, I don’t want the Arab Muslims to think I’m there solely to convert them or think I’m taking their oil. Would I avenge the death of my loved one? If I weren’t a Christian, yes. But coming from this background of faith, I wouldn’t. It’s hard not to think about something like this though. We’re talking about real people and those who are close to us. It’s unsettling. Mon, 19 Apr 2010 21:23:40 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/creating-terrorists__trashed/#IDComment68898324 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/what-about-the-men__trashed/#IDComment68302075 I believe men feel the need to conform to what society says; although I don’t believe many men will explicitly admit it (it’s probably a pride thing or something). When we see reality TV shows on MTV or hear what’s in style and what’s not or see how certain guys get girls based on their outer appearance, most, if not, all of those give us an inner drive to conform no matter what the cost may be. One of my friends asked me after class if guys ever have a self-image problem like girls do. As aforementioned, I think we guys do but we don’t talk about it. It’s ridiculous to see how the media portrays men: guys have to wear deodorant that will get not just one girl, but all the girls; guys have to be shirtless while riding a white horse backwards (relating to an Old Spice commercial); guys have to drink the right beer, wear the right clothing, have that million-dollar smile, and so much more. Women aren’t the only people affected by the media in the realm of self-image; men, too, have insecurities of what they should look like and can easily forget what inner beauty means. Sadly we live in a fallen world. Fri, 16 Apr 2010 01:46:21 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/what-about-the-men__trashed/#IDComment68302075 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/christian-invaders-the-turnaround__trashed/#IDComment68301121 This class was pretty intense. As a Christian, I wasn’t really offended by what he said and I’m glad he set the tone for the monologue before heading into it, saying he’s not against Christians given his background and culture. This talk made me think a lot about what we, as Americans, are doing in the Middle East and how ridiculous our culture has become. Like most of us, I’ve heard countless times that we’ve been in the Middle East this whole time for oil. At first, I believe it was a conspiracy with the government denying it; with the John McCain video showed today, it kind of sheds more light and truth as to what the government’s really doing. I’m from New York and right after the 9/11 attacks happened, many people in the area were discussing about how the corruption of the government at the time would lead us into war with Afghanistan. It’s amazing to see how half of the world’s military spending belongs to us, with most of that money going to wars in Iraq and Afghanistan for the control of oil. It did feel uneasy to role play as a Muslim Arab college student; not because of the stereotype Americans portray on them, but solely because of the stripping away the United States has done and continues to do. Sam hit many crucial points in how the media manipulates people; we originally see Baghdad as this run-down city with little to no resources when the reality is the carnage we see in photos is due to our doing. The Christian media also manipulates their motives as well, but not in the sense where the manipulation is driven by the Americans’ necessity and conquering for oil. Role playing as a Muslim Arab college student, I did feel like a lot was taken away from me by a people and country that had no right to. I also felt afraid and scared to death, since the most powerful country was coming after mine because we have valuable resources they need. Sam brought up a good point about the Chinese taking coals from Western Pennsylvania. He also brought up something that I found to be very prominent in the world; they only want peace. When I visited China two summers ago and hung out with undergraduate students, they did view America as this world powerhouse but didn’t talk trash about Americans. It’s ridiculous to see how our patriotism has enlarged for the wrong reasons; we’re becoming prideful for our country because we’re envious of what others have and want it for ourselves. Can we ever become a country that wants pure peace with the rest of the world? Absolutely not, unless if there are strings attached. Fri, 16 Apr 2010 01:37:13 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/christian-invaders-the-turnaround__trashed/#IDComment68301121 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/want-to-learn-chinese__trashed/#IDComment68298488 The rise of Chinese (Mandarin) in high schools is no surprise to me. This doesn’t just exist in high schools; it’s affecting the entirety of school systems. My sister has three children, one who’s in elementary school. She told me they’re offering Chinese language classes on the elementary school level, which really astonishes me to see how our culture has evolved in ten years. As an Asian-American, this definitely affects me in multiple ways. I’ve always been accustomed with Spanish-speaking natives teaching Spanish language classes; French natives teaching French; real Germans teaching German, so on and so forth. When I read the article and saw the picture of a White woman teaching Chinese to her students, I was pretty amazed to see how far the American culture has come to the education of other languages. When I took Spanish in high school, I called my teachers, whom were somehow all female, “señora” or “señorita,” followed by their last name. To me, it made sense and felt right, especially with their genuine, Hispanic or Latino last names. It’ll be really difficult for me to imagine that in a Chinese language classroom setting with a non-Chinese native, or even a non-Chinese American for that matter. Can I envision students calling their teachers “Schwartz Lao Shi” (Lao Shi means teacher in Chinese) or “Richards Lao Shi”? To set the record straight, I’m not saying that this is a bad thing or something I oppose; rather, from an Asian-American (specifically a Chinese-American) perspective, the transition to plausibly having Chinese, not Spanish, the most dominant foreign language taught in a classroom setting with the aforementioned scenario seems rather odd to me. I’m grateful to be a Chinese-American born and raised in the United States under the care and guidance of native Chinese; being able to know and speak Chinese (for my case, Cantonese) in America has been a huge plus for me in social interactions with first generation Chinese densely populated in certain pockets of New York, where my roots lie. It’s very, very interesting to see how more Americans are curious and desiring to know this foreign language and culture. Last night, dinner at East Halls featured Asian Night. I thought of this class right away when I entered through the doors of the dining commons; seeing different stations of various Asian foods with your typical servers behind the food wearing Asian teepee-looking hats that are totally fake and plastic, being dumbfounded by the poor attempts of Chinese calligraphy on huge colorful banners, and hearing Asian-sounding music through a jukebox (probably played by one of those Chinese harps) rocked my view on how Americans view the Asian culture. I could’ve been easily offended, but I’ll give them an A for effort. Fri, 16 Apr 2010 01:09:48 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/want-to-learn-chinese__trashed/#IDComment68298488 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/i-really-want-to-know-also__trashed/#IDComment66312296 This is a pretty deep and bold question to ask. Props to whoever asked this. I’ve taken Sam’s SOC 001 class before and, as he said in the beginning of this semester for SOC 119, his intention is not to push anything down our throats nor change the way we think; rather, he hopes for our minds to be more stimulated and our thinking to go deeper than usual. Just to set the record straight, these sociology classes I have taken with Sam have been the most intellectually stimulating classes I’ve participated and privileged to be a part in at Penn State (this is coming from a senior graduating not too long from now). Sam’s words have changed my opinions, especially my perspectives and opinions of certain racial groups and people. To me, he offers lenses that go beyond the superficialities of what we see on a normal basis. As a third, non-related party to the whole concept of the White Team vs. Black/Brown Team, though I’m still not sure whether I would be considered on the Black/Brown Team since I am an Asian-American, I guess you could say I have a better understanding of White and Black people and their interactions towards each other. Growing up with stereotypical immigrant Asian parents, I was immersed in a culture where I was told these certain things about White people and those other things about Black people, most of which were negative. Rooted in the highly, ethnically diverse New York Metropolitan area and going to the largest state school in the majorly White Pennsylvania was, and sometimes continues to be, an interesting transition, where my views of White and Black people change every day. In conjunction with my stereotypes of certain people, my opinion of how their children end up at certain colleges changed as well; as Sam spoke about earlier this semester, we should think about living in a middle ground between choosing decisions and being affected by factors and forces outside of our control. One thing I realized is that people of certain racial groups don’t just choose and attend certain schools because they want to but they’re also affected by circumstances and their surroundings. Has anything Sam said made a difference to me? It most certainly has. If it weren’t for this class or the other class I took, my thoughts about life wouldn’t be at this point. This SOC 119 class isn’t your typical major or general education class; it’s a place where we’re learning and discussing about everyday things we don’t normally learn or discuss about. There must be a reason why this is the largest race relations class in the country; people are interested and long to know answers to deep questions about what matters at the end of the day: people. Wed, 7 Apr 2010 01:24:37 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/i-really-want-to-know-also__trashed/#IDComment66312296 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/this-is-totally-off-the-hook__trashed/#IDComment66297002 The production of this video game is pretty absurd. Growing up with other Asian-American adolescents during middle school and high school, I was exposed to Manga (Japanese comic books) and Hentai (porn in Manga) on the internet. Thus, I’m not surprised that Japan pulled a card like this, where they would make a video game out of this kind of culture. Correct me if I’m wrong, especially to Japanese and Japanese-American students reading this, but I believe Japanese women, like all women in this period of time, are vulnerable and subjected to be treated as objects, not as real beings. I think Sam’s right about the lack of some outside-the-box psychologist behind the origins and creation of this game; this game was probably created by video game producers who, like most human beings, have warped views of a woman and her identity. In the United States, the porn industry is exponentially growing with online videos and movies with women making themselves vulnerable to men. People are talking but there’s really no uproar regarding this issue because many (especially men) believe masturbation or self-orgasms is natural to their sexuality. I believe Japan has the same mindset; as the CNN reporter exclaimed, much Hentai content consist of women being raped and overpowered by men. Therefore, the Japanese believe they can enhance the Hentai readings by creating a game that offers a better outlet and more pleasurable experience, with players having the power to do anything with a woman with one click of the button. This thing that’s going down in Japan can most certainly be related back to our country, where we have videos, movies, and even desktop programs that replace the old Playboy magazines and good-but-not-good-enough sexual media outlets in the palm of our hands. I don’t think people should judge the Japanese so easily; they, like us, are immersed in a culture where pornography is the norm and the feeling of male dominance over a woman is OK, no matter what outlet it will be. I’m also not surprised by how the Japanese government is reacting; this is a country that’s too proud to answer anybody’s questions about their own culture, especially after what happened in World War II. Asian countries like to keep their profiles on the down-low, like China; they totally deny anything and everything that happened in Tiananmen Square 30 years ago. What I would like to know is if anyone in the United States would be daring enough to buy a game like this. Would they be so desperate to find another outlet of defiling their eyes through the unclothing and digital raping of women? I mean, American porn is so self-gratifying that there has to be a limit where people need to turn to other outlets... Wed, 7 Apr 2010 00:12:07 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/this-is-totally-off-the-hook__trashed/#IDComment66297002 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/what-about-multiracial-people__trashed/#IDComment65992268 I guess I’m somewhat in the same position as this guy; I’m an Asian-American and I’m not sure myself whether I’m on the White or Black/Brown team. In the classroom setting, I assume I’m on the Black/Brown team when we do those texting polls or speak about certain issues or volunteer to go up and be a part of Sam’s examples; it’s like White people versus everybody else. Honestly, it’s up to you. This whole concept of two teams is just a concept; it isn’t something that’s written in a tabernacle or a law. This whole class is designed so that Sam makes us think about these issues so you make it to however you want it to be. This issue that the student brings up is pretty sticky; he’s half-Hispanic and half-White and claims his ethnicity is Puerto Rican but his race to be White. If I were in his position, I would choose whichever group I’d feel most associated with. It’s just like the half-Black half-Chinese guy from the class; he looks completely Black but half of him is made up of Chinese blood. As aforementioned, these teams are conceptual; choose whatever you feel is most comfortable because these “teams” don’t define who you really are. As I continue to sit in this class, race relations is quite complex and there’s somehow gray area wherever you go. I hope we can all better understand the complexities of ourselves in relation to race and ethnicity as the semester winds down. Mon, 5 Apr 2010 03:46:52 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/what-about-multiracial-people__trashed/#IDComment65992268 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/flip-the-script-for-a-moment__trashed/#IDComment64897648 Ever since taking SOC 001 with Sam two years ago, I never stopped asking questions. It’s not like I didn’t before taking that class but I always kept those questions to myself and let it be. It’s crazy how we are entrapped with so many questions and issues about anything and everything. As an Asian-American, I wondered why my eyes were smaller than most people’s… maybe it is “just the way it is,” but why is that we are made this way? As an American, I wondered how we came to the quota of using certain words as derogatory or profane, like the f-bomb; maybe it is “just the way it is,” but people have to ask themselves those kind of questions sometimes, whether it reaches on a dynamic or small-sized scale. As a devout Christian, I would ask myself and even God why there’s so much brokenness in today’s world; when I first stepped into the faith a few years ago I questioned God’s presence, asking how a good God let murders, crimes, suicides, depression, and other forms of brokenness happen in the world. After questioning that multiple times to not just God but to older men who are wise and knowledgeable in their spiritual walks, as well as reading books by renowned authors and professors, I came to some sound and valid conclusions, which I won’t discuss right now, but asking tough questions to figure out the things in life are pretty crucial. We’re given minds and hearts for a purpose and we weren’t programmed to be like robots. We’re human beings. It’s good to ask questions, no matter what race, ethnicity, gender, or background you’re coming from. Tue, 30 Mar 2010 20:03:52 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/flip-the-script-for-a-moment__trashed/#IDComment64897648 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/nothing-about-the-census-is-easy__trashed/#IDComment64884771 I will have to agree with Sam with his point that the people writing the Census are not incompetent; it’s hard to give everyone what they want and the government put billions of dollars into this project to make sure each American answers to his or her best ability. I’m glad to see the research was done in the New York Metropolitan area, for that part of the country is itself a dynamic melting pot. As a side note, I’d like to say that as a New York native, I believe the research was made to the right group of people at the right setting. I was encouraged the answers to the following question Raquel, the interviewer, repeatedly asked in her research: “Do you think that these racial categories represent the true composition of what America is today?” The people she asked in the video said that they don’t, given how many people are of mixed races and backgrounds. One White woman claimed that she had a “drop of Indian” yet she still classified herself as White. How and where do we draw the line then? What if she had a “drop of Indian” but didn’t look White whatsoever, even though the majority of her family line was “White”? I recall there’s a guy in our class that sits in the front of who looks completely Black but he claims he’s partially Chinese. Do we draw a line to the extent where we say he is a Chinese man or do we just write off the whole Asian thing because he doesn’t look a hint of Chinese at first glance? It was funny to hear the White guy in that four-way CNN conversation to say that almost all White people claim to have a little bit of Native American in them. Can the rest of this class, specifically Whites, testify to this? It was very interesting to hear the CNN reporter start off with the conversation by saying that he wasn’t offended when he saw “Negro” being placed in the Census, whereas the Black woman from New York who looked like she just bought Bvlgari sunglasses profess that “Negro” meant “slave.” It goes to show that the majority of the country can’t write off Black people under a universal stereotype because not all Black people are the same. The third Black man who participated in the conversation on the streets of New York brought up a good point about how the placement of names on the Census is a response to being politically correct and trying its best to meet the needs of everyone. As aforementioned, not everyone will get what they want and people will cry over it, but that’s just life. Tue, 30 Mar 2010 18:25:16 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/nothing-about-the-census-is-easy__trashed/#IDComment64884771 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/those-damn-dolls__trashed/#IDComment64712363 Watching this video in class made me think of a lot of things. It wasn’t as disturbing to me as Sam made it to be, but I could somewhat understand where he’s coming from. The story he shared with his friends and their daughter coming home from school was really sad and hard to hear. I wonder if there are similar situations in which Black people have felt that way while growing up. As an Asian-American male, there were times in my childhood when I wanted to become a White person. Initially, the fact that Whites were the majority didn’t phase me because for the first few years as a child, I grew up in a ethnically diverse neighborhood where Asians (Chinese, Korean, Indian) and Hispanics were the majority. However, I moved to the town over where Whites (Jewish) were the majority and have lived there ever since (it’s been about 15 years). There were times when I wanted to become White because I was one of very few Asian-Americans at the elementary and middle schools. I wanted to become one with the majority so I wouldn’t get picked on so easily because of my background, “small eyes,” and sometimes funky accent. It was not until high school when I ceased to think about becoming one with the majority, rather started to appreciate my race and culture from spending time with other Asian-American people. It was really interesting and eye-opening to hear Blacks speak out in class on Thursday in response to this video; I didn’t really know how discouraging it was for Black women to not be counted as “beautiful” because they don’t have “white skin with blonde hair and blue eyes.” It’s amazing to see how minorities, even at a young age, can be greatly affected by the media’s twists of what a beautiful person should look like. I remember vaguely hearing an Asian/Asian-American woman speak up after the video about how she would’ve picked the White doll as well since they didn’t make the Asian-looking dolls look as good as the White ones. I assume that Black females initiated and studied this research from the video. I wonder if results would have been different if the research was conducted on the same group of Black children but White girls asked them face-to-face the exact same questions. If that were the case, there could’ve been a possibility where ALL the Black children picked the White doll because a White person was there. I wonder how the minority of the children who picked the Black doll came to their decisions; they must’ve been influenced by their parents, friends or the culture around them in order to choose the Black doll. Mon, 29 Mar 2010 21:19:55 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/those-damn-dolls__trashed/#IDComment64712363 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/what-to-do-about-white-guilt__trashed/#IDComment63959969 The whole concept of White guilt intrigues me. As an Asian-American, I never knew that White people could feel so guilty towards certain racial groups and ethnicities. When Sam brought up the racial identity stages for White people, especially Revisioning and Reversal, I was completely taken aback by how White people could feel such a way. Sam explained the manifestations of “White Guilt” entail a feeling of burden of responsibility for the “suffering” of other groups, as well as a feeling of shame for aspects of one’s own life. When I look back at history books, I do agree that some things went wrong towards minority groups. However, I would never expect to hear an admission or confession from a White person about this type of guilt. When Sam played the role of the average White Joe, it was intriguing to see how White people will originally put up a façade and have their chin up with the denial of such a feeling of remorse or regret. But when the conversation penetrates into their minds and hearts, they’ll let down their guards and admit this guilt. I can better understand this concept though, given the history of these United States. A lot of mistakes have been made that have undermined minorities and their rights and voice; slavery and full-blown discrimination of Black people, concentration camps on Asians and other discriminating actions towards others led to much brokenness between Whites and the minority groups. As young as this country may be compared to others, I believe White Americans will feel this guilt and be entrapped in it for many generations to come. Yes, there is a way out through the stages following the Revisioning stage; however, the damage done to previous generations on certain racial groups was so dynamic that even generations today have been affected by the discrimination. If the ripples from all of this have reached out to now, think of the impact it could have later on, especially since discrimination and racism continue to exist. I would pose the following but don’t expect too much feedback, since I don’t believe there are any problems between these two groups of people: do White people feel guilty when being around Asians/Asian-Americans? Do they feel guilty about dropping atomic bombs on the Japanese and devastating their whole land to the extent that this group of Asians had to rebuild from scratch? I’m not Japanese-American so I never got to experience family pains of something like that happening, but I wonder how Whites feel about Asians and if guilt runs in their blood when they see them like if they saw the Native American reservations or interacted with Black people. Thu, 25 Mar 2010 04:35:20 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/what-to-do-about-white-guilt__trashed/#IDComment63959969 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/native-hawaiians-ever-think-of-them__trashed/#IDComment63955743 I never knew that native Hawaiians still existed and actually petitioned for rights. I guess I overlooked the fact that when Americans took over the islands of Hawaii, they took land from people that already lived there. I had no idea about the native Hawaiian kingdom and how it was overthrown by the Americans when they decided to annex the archipelago into a state/American territory. The whole thing about “hundreds of thousands who died from diseases spread by foreign explorers” seems so familiar with how the European explorers came to the Americas and mostly eradicated the existence and “species” of Native Americans. I think it is great how the American government, the state of Hawaii, and agencies like the Office of Hawaiian Affairs are stepping in to give back the rights of those who first inhabited the state before it even became a state. When the resident from Keaau Beach Park, Bert Beaman, said “Whatever Hawaiians can get, get it and be grateful,” I was somewhat taken aback from this statement. I’m not too exactly sure what he meant and what kind of tone he used when he was asked and interviewed about this issue. I’d like to ask Penn State students who have grown up in Hawaii or currently live in Hawaii if that’s the stereotype of how Hawaiians handle a receipt of any sort, whether it’d be a gift or something ridiculous like a passed national bill for an indigenous group to establish its own government. There seems to be an issue with the homeless in Hawaii, as some of them are Native Hawaiians and live “beneath plastic tarps in beach camps or in shelters”. Should the bill be passed and allow Native Hawaiians to initiate and develop their own government, are the Native Hawaiian homeless taken into account? If anything, can these specific homeless people even be identified? Furthermore, where would Native Hawaiians set up this new government? I’m not exactly sure where they live as a collective whole (maybe on a largely uninhabited island), but should the bill pass, would these indigenous people be based out of Honolulu, the capital of Hawaii, or from their tribes possibly filled with tents? Like the writer of the article emphasized, the passing of the article will be followed with so many unanswered questions and unknown prerequisites the Native Hawaiians are looking for. We can only assume that “affordable housing, their (Native Hawaiians) own culturally focused education system, health centers and full-time jobs that would include teaching hula or Hawaiian language” could happen. If this bill were to pass, how long would these aforementioned rights and possibilities be fully restored and, more importantly, assimilated into this group of indigenous people? Thu, 25 Mar 2010 03:53:40 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/native-hawaiians-ever-think-of-them__trashed/#IDComment63955743 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/whats-the-big-deal-with-periods__trashed/#IDComment63889764 I’m a dude so I don’t really have any bias whatsoever as to observing a public talk about women’s menstrual cycles. It did make me somewhat uncomfortable, even as a man, because this is something is not widely and usually spoken. When you walk on campus you might hear eavesdrop on conversations that are very surface-like and school-related, but you don’t hear too much about “bleeding.” I think that’s why initially only three girls raised their hands to admit they were bleeding at the time; I don’t believe it’s something most girls want to talk about in public and I think they’re entitled and free to say what they want to say and refrain what they want to refrain. I wonder if women talk about it amongst themselves – I can’t imagine women talking about it with men; no girl has ever come to me about it. That would be super awkward. The whole topic of menstrual cycles should be kept amongst women. Someone from one of the first posts said that the problem is gender specific, where men know nothing about periods nor should they have to; I totally respect that and I believe it should be kept that way. Men have problems with pornography and masturbation, for example, but they don’t openly talk about; they hope to seek accountability and help from men and ONLY men should they want to escape from those traps. I hope talks like this don’t happen more often; this had absolutely nothing to do with race relations and racial issues. Sam is right; we’re blessed and fortunate to be here because women have to go through menstrual cycles. But let’s keep our opinions, our “times of the month” and things of that sort to ourselves. No need for further commotion amongst a class of 700 students. Wed, 24 Mar 2010 18:59:52 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/whats-the-big-deal-with-periods__trashed/#IDComment63889764 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/does-this-rudeness-thing-cut-both-ways__trashed/#IDComment62714827 I’m an Asian-American, so I’m not exactly sure why colored people, particularly Blacks, create such uproar when White students would text rude and profane things that offend them. I guess I could understand a little better if White people said something offensive about my heritage or culture, but that hasn’t really happened in our class yet. I’m also not White, so I can’t understand why they don’t speak up or show their offense (if they have any) should colored people text their responses and offend White people. It’s hard not to think of these two groups stereotypically; honestly, I believe the Black and Brown teams have this perception of Whites to have class (since they are majority and, according to many people in class, are believed to be rich, wealthy and superior), whereas Whites could look down on the minority groups. Just because you’re part of the majority and don’t like the minority doesn’t mean you have to speak up, which is why I think Whites don’t tend to be very outspoken should colored people offend them, especially on an anonymous texting service. The White team is the majority of the class and the whole country, so why bother if one White gets offended when the rest of the team will back him/her up? Being a minority, I know that it’s not a good feeling to be targeted by people who make up the majority. Regardless of all that has been said, people in our class should honestly stop taking advantage of this texting system and have the decency of providing essential feedback for Sam and his students. It’s not cool when we have excessive profanity, especially targeted towards a certain racial group, to not just hold up the professor’s lecture, but add oil to a fire of racism that has been in flames for way too long. Thu, 18 Mar 2010 03:51:25 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/does-this-rudeness-thing-cut-both-ways__trashed/#IDComment62714827 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/this-is-getting-to-be-too-much__trashed/#IDComment62713261 Wow. Reading this article and watching this video left me originally speechless, but many things can be said from all of this. It’s astonishing to see how the San Diego campus of the University of California has very dynamic sides of advocating and opposing racism towards Black people. Like UC San Diego, Penn State has a very low percentage of Black students; however, you wouldn’t find things like the “Compton Cookout” in the State College community. I could also understand how Blacks would get upset at the satirical campus television program that broadcasted a segment of the party and used racial epithets to denounce Black students. The noose, however, strikes confusion to me. How could the hanging of a noose strike the wrong chord and create such uproar from Black people? I’m still in awe of how racial boundaries can be so easily crossed at a campus like the University of California in San Diego. I wonder if it’s a West Coast thing, where people are more open and outspoken to do what they feel is on their mind. As aforementioned, I haven’t seen a “Compton Cookout”-like scene or any racially demeaning events that are held on or off the Penn State campus. I remember Sam saying in SOC 001 that he believes everyone is a racist; if that holds true, that means EVERYONE, including Penn Staters and those attending UCSD, is a racist! But do you see the majority of the nation acting out like the students at San Diego? Like the chancellor said, we would all like to believe that racism was a thing of the 60s. However, that is not the case at this institution, where the student body seems to be in a time freeze where it’s okay to take advantage of the first amendment by ridiculing minorities not only by what the majority says, but by how they act. The video didn’t really help any cause whatsoever. According to the caption of this video, the interview was intended to discuss ways to ease some racial tensions at UCSD. However, I don’t feel like anything got resolved or the issue has decreased in any way, shape or form. Racism and race relations are on-going things that will never have an end. There won’t be a day where everyone will get along and world peace will happen; people will always have differences from each other and the only way we can “ease racial tensions” is gaining a better appreciation of each other’s backgrounds and cultures. Classes like SOC 119 do a pretty darn good job in addressing these issues and bringing people of all ethnicities and backgrounds to the table in a hopefully peaceful manner; violence and outward oppression doesn’t solve the problem, it is the problem. Thu, 18 Mar 2010 03:37:45 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/this-is-getting-to-be-too-much__trashed/#IDComment62713261 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/prom-or-no-prom-just-dont-let-the-queer-students-dance-together__trashed/#IDComment62636758 After reading the article and this blog Sam posted, I see that oppression towards the Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transsexual community continues, even on the secondary school level. I could understand from the school board’s perspective; since the majority of high school students are supposedly heterosexual and have dates of the opposite sex to bring to the prom, it can be understood that some would feel uncomfortable should a homosexual couple attend the prom. To further that thought, if the prom actually happened, Constance McMillen and her date would’ve been under dramatic ridicule from the other students and probably great scrutiny from the staff, teachers and chaperones. Either way, Constance was heading into a lose-lose situation, prom or no prom, the moment she decided to choose a female as her date. In fact, she even stated that a bunch of kids at school would hate her for causing the cancelling of their high school prom. I feel bad for this girl because she is probably the only person in the school that’s going through something like this. I’m sure there are other homosexuals in that high school, but I wonder if they will “come out of their closets” after this sort of event. I’m not a homosexual, but what if you placed your shoes as a homosexual in that same high school and your high school prom got cancelled because of a fellow lesbian’s sexual identity? I’m not sure if this educational institution has had instances where homosexuals rose to the occasion but were figuratively shot down because they were the minority. For the sake of argument, assume that Constance McMillen was the first person in her high school to come out of the closet and bravely go through the pre-prom rituals of finding dresses/tuxedos with an individual of the same sex. Would you, as a role-playing homosexual, rise to the occasion and speak up about the injustice that’s being served to your sexual identity? Since this altercation happened in Mississippi, it can be assumed that this school system, like many others, is somewhat Christian-driven. Mississippi is one of the “Bible Belt” states, located in the Southeastern United States. On my Spring Break, I went down to Panama City Beach, Florida to talk to college students primarily from universities in Tennessee, Georgia, North Carolina, and Alabama, asking them about their spiritual backgrounds and what their current systems of beliefs were. Many of them grew up in Baptist or Protestant backgrounds which definitely play a role in the way they interact with people and view the world, even though some of them aren’t fully devoted to their faith right now. My point is the school board is probably similar to something like this, but I could be wrong. Wed, 17 Mar 2010 17:58:51 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/prom-or-no-prom-just-dont-let-the-queer-students-dance-together__trashed/#IDComment62636758 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/02/why-is-this-racist-really__trashed/#IDComment59623308 Watching this video made me laugh; it’s amazing to see Don “Moose” Lewis, a White man who looks like he can’t play basketball for his life, initiate something like this. I could see why he would mean business: it’s all for himself. I think by creating this league he thinks he’s doing something for White people. The quote somewhat startles me. Surprisingly, I know the people he’s probably talking about. Former Washington Wizards guard Gilbert Arenas carried a gun and played around with it with his teammates in the locker room, and current Los Angeles Lakers forward Ron Artest attacked fans in the stands when fans were taunting his teammates while playing for the Indiana Pacers. If any of you don’t know, these aforementioned players are African-Americans. What does “going through the motions of playing the game”? Does that signify something horrible about Black people? I think “filling the market niche” is a cover-up for a business of racism. This man’s serving such a small niche of racists that it shouldn’t be very significant in the grand scheme of things. This won’t revolutionize the game of basketball. Like Sam said in class, Black people are stereotypically and majorly better than White people in basketball not because of an “extra bone/muscle” or because of genetics, rather they play and practice more. There are White Americans like Jason Kidd, Chris Kaman, and Mike Miller and former players like Larry Bird, John Stockton, and Jerry West who could keep up with Black players. As the great Allen Iverson once said, “You’re talking about practice…?” It’s all about practice! To be honest, this business will run to the ground. In addition to the NAACP man who spoke in the interview, many more Black people will rise up to speak about this issue. There’s so much racism going on in America that the creation of this league will add more oil to the fire that is already out of control. Wed, 3 Mar 2010 20:26:45 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/02/why-is-this-racist-really__trashed/#IDComment59623308 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/are-whites-the-only-people-willing-to-humiliate-themselves__trashed/#IDComment59497236 I definitely agree with mikehrom in how shows like “A Shot at Love with Tila Tequila” and “For the Love of Ray J” focus more on non-White characters, which possibly could be due to the fact that these shows are aired on cable music and video networks aiming toward younger and plausibly more diverse groups of people. Are White people the only people willing to humiliate themselves? I don’t think so; the aforementioned shows are a lot worse than The Bachelor and The Bachelorette, and to reiterate, shows like Shot at Love and Ray J have casts where the Whites are minorities. In response to this post originally posted by mikehrom, I feel somewhat similar to what he felt when he studied in Ireland and traveled throughout Europe. This is actually a two-fold issue for me. As an Asian, I definitely feel the need and obligation to not disgrace my race and uphold the integrity and intelligence that Asians stereotypically possess. As White as I can be, I’m Asian enough to not take bold risks without the consent and possible reputation of my family being at stake. I can’t go on American Idol, Shot at Love, or even Deal or No Deal without thinking in the back of my head the possible reputation I have to set for Asians in a majority White environment. So as an Asian, and solely an Asian (not Asian-American, which I will talk about later), I would not be willing to humiliate myself. As an Asian-American, the issue gets stickier. Because I am an Asian born and raised in the United States, where the nation and its culture are majorly White (and to add, I am from Long Island, New York, a predominantly White and Jewish environment), I have fairly assimilated to the White culture. I’m an avid fan of all professional sports in America, especially baseball, I used to watch The Simpsons very often when it was good, I like hamburgers with a mug of beer at times, and I watch Sportscenter on ESPN practically every time I turn on the tube. Because of this, I feel like I have to uphold the American (White) side of my identity. Three and a half years ago, I traveled to Asia for the first time. When I was on a three-day boat tour of the Yangtze River in China, the tour was predominantly made up of about 300 native Chinese people with a small group of about 8-10 White Americans. The natives could definitely tell I wasn’t from China because of my face structure and complexion, and when they asked me where I was from, I told them I was from Hong Kong (as instructed by my mother). Why? Because of the exact stereotype mikehrom spoke of earlier: that Americans are obnoxious and brash. Wed, 3 Mar 2010 06:01:27 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/are-whites-the-only-people-willing-to-humiliate-themselves__trashed/#IDComment59497236