en-us https://www.intensedebate.com/users/758970 Comments by dabusiness https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/300000-whats-it-mean-to-us__trashed/#IDComment70052556 I think for me the answer to the question is that I cannot help and affect every terrible thing that occurs across the planet. Like what was said in class, there is an earthquake and it is on the front page and everyone is sending aid and money. But then the next week there is a different disaster and the earthquake is forgotten. How are we supposed to stop our lives and mourn for a day or a week or a year every time a disaster and deaths occur? We would never lift our heads up from morning. I think this particular situation in Haiti is different just because the immense amount of destruction and death. So it would be plausible to stop and mourn and help or at least take time out of your day to think of the families in need and ones who lost loved ones. But overall maybe just pick a few causes to stop your days for and help. Sat, 24 Apr 2010 01:41:07 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/300000-whats-it-mean-to-us__trashed/#IDComment70052556 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/what-about-people-who-can-only-afford-hard-work__trashed/#IDComment70050849 This is a really tough question because after seeing the videos comparing the pilgrims to immigrants today it seems like the immediate answer should be all hard-working people who have nothing in their countries should be able to pack up and move to America where they can start new and better lives for them and their families. Sam was saying in class that the story of these people coming with nothing in a crowded ship for a journey that lasts months is such an amazing story. However how are we as a country able to support such an increase in people? We cannot. Sat, 24 Apr 2010 01:34:54 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/what-about-people-who-can-only-afford-hard-work__trashed/#IDComment70050849 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/letter-from-an-inmate__trashed/#IDComment70049595 Wow this is very interesting and amazing to me. Both times Sam brought up his interactions with the lifers I was so interested in the subject just because I never really thought much about the people in jail for life. When I did think about them, all I believed was that they belonged there. The incredible wrong that they committed in order to end up in the place where they were, I believed was what defined them for the rest of their lives and although some may feel bad for what they did, I took no pity on them, and thought nothing more about them. That is why this letter from a lifer himself is so eye-opening. It proves that the incredible amounts of assumptions we make are just that, assumptions. Sometimes these assumptions are based in fact, however that does not mean that they are always true. We, or most of us, I know I do, go around and judge people wherever we go. Based on looks, actions, labels, etc. and the judgments we make are so often wrong. This one subject that is not even really taught represents so much what this sociology class is about. Putting yourself in the shoes of others and think outside of what you are used to or what society has told us to believe. Although it may be difficult to put yourself in the shoes of a lifer, as you can not imagine committing a crime such as they did, the inmate who wrote the letter relates the world in prison to the world outside of prison, the world in which we live in. Therefore he is doing the job for us. These barbaric inmates who murdered and did things we find unimaginable show the same compassion that people on the outside do. Wow. If they show such compassion then why did they do what they did? Why are they in jail? It brings up a lot of questions that I think are hard to answer. I also find this letter interesting on a different level which concerns the last sentence Sam wrote in the introduction to this post, that this inmate never graduated high school. So much of our education, math, English, asks us to follow rules and think a certain way to find the correct answer and to earn an A in the class. The way this “uneducated” man is thinking is so high-level. His ideas and thoughts seem so profound, and it is because he is actually thinking. He has no rules to follow in order to get the right answer, he is in jail for life, which of course is an experience that I think would be difficult not to think about. Sat, 24 Apr 2010 01:30:52 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/letter-from-an-inmate__trashed/#IDComment70049595 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/christian-invaders-the-turnaround__trashed/#IDComment68294271 I think you have to open up your mind a little bit and try to see where Sam is coming from. He is tolerant of Christians like he said at the beginning of class he was born and raised Christian and his family and many of his friends are Christian. You understood that if you lived in Iraq you would think differently, you would fight to defend your family and not agree with the entire war going on. But what would you think about Christianity? Don’t you see the connection…if you are living in Iraq and you see many of our governmental figures such as Sarah Palin calling this war “a task that is from God” and George Bush saying it is a crusade, you would associate this war that is taking your oil and killing your friends and family with Christian values and originating from Christian beliefs. Then as even more proof, Christian missionaries come over and try to convert you and churches begin to pop up. I feel I would definitely connect the war with such a religion. You say that you think faith is a very personal thing and you do not push it on others. I agree with you. However many many Christians do attempt to convert people. I see it all the time on campus. So even though you are not trying to convert you have to know that many others are which is contributing to the problem. As for my own thoughts about the class, I thought it was very provocative and I was interested the entire class. From the start, when Sam asked if he gave you the microphone how long could you talk about Arab and Muslim culture, I knew I had to pay attention because I could talk for about thirty seconds. Maybe. And those thirty seconds would probably be filled with more opinions then fact. The way he switched everything around made it much easier to “get it”, to understand what is going on in this war that I never understood. From the Chinese example to thinking like a Muslim college student, by the end of the class I was one of the people who probably thought they would be involved in the violence because what is happening there seems so unfair. I also however find it hard to believe that the sole reason we are in the Middle East is to get oil. I do not understand how all of our brave men could continue to risk their lives day in and day out when they saw that the only reason they were there was to get oil for the United States. They must be witnessing something that keeps them there. Fri, 16 Apr 2010 00:27:32 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/christian-invaders-the-turnaround__trashed/#IDComment68294271 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/what-might-be-the-second-step__trashed/#IDComment66904960 I think the second step would have to do with your individual consumption. There were slides at the beginning of class when students were still coming in with maps of the world. I remember one map represented toy consumption and it was clear the United States imported tons more toys then any other nation. Sam was also talking about the earpiece he bought, poking fun at how he spent a large amount of money even though it was not really necessary. We are so driven as Americans to consume. We always want more tangible objects. If the culture of America were to become less obsessed with things, there would be less need to produce so much in other countries, which could reduce the need for such an amount of slaves. Everyone can do that in an individual manner by just asking before you buy something if you really need it. I think the amount we all buy and consume could be drastically drastically reduced. Sat, 10 Apr 2010 00:33:34 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/what-might-be-the-second-step__trashed/#IDComment66904960 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/nothing-about-the-census-is-easy__trashed/#IDComment65439225 I agree very much with this post. The only difference of these terms is time periods. Before jumping to conclusions about changing things or just standing up for something, such as getting upset over a word on the census, you should make sure you know all the information. I think the government is not attempting to offend people and would take the term off if there were no reason at all to keep it on the document. Also the fact that negro is not the only term on the census, black and African American are also used, makes the argument slightly harder for me to identify with. People are probably just uninformed of the fact that some people would not be counted if the word negro was not on the ballet. Fri, 2 Apr 2010 04:35:57 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/nothing-about-the-census-is-easy__trashed/#IDComment65439225 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/how-can-we-ever-win__trashed/#IDComment65434926 I agree with both of you on this subject. I think it is an important point and one that Sam keeps reiterating by sitting back in his chair at the race table, when imitating a white person. Especially in this situation when he was not putting down Jesse Jackson’s work, he was just saying that there is a stage above him where race would not matter at all. That of course is an unnatural stage, because people naturally want to help the ones they can relate to, and so it is natural for Jackson to want to help other colored people. This does not mean he is any worse of a person for it. Fri, 2 Apr 2010 04:20:29 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/how-can-we-ever-win__trashed/#IDComment65434926 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/the-white-minorities__trashed/#IDComment65431336 In my English class today we were actually talking about the fact that white people are going to be the minority in the upcoming years and that 48 percent of pregnant women are not white. This subject came up because my professor was saying the underlying cause of such violent protests coming from the tea party groups might not be caused solely because of the health care reform, but because of the underlying fears of white republicans that they will soon be of the minority and out of the group of power. I think this is a very interesting thought and it seems to me like it may be correct. So while many of the white people in this sociology class do not see a problem in becoming the minority, I think it is a large fear for many people. I think a considerable part of this fear is coming from the fact that they do not know what could happen once America is not a white male’s country any longer. I however still disagree with this panic. I agree with some of the other posts that say even in 2050 when there are more colored people then white people, white people will still be the majority. Together Indian people and black people and Asian people and Mexican people, etc will be the mass. But white people as a single ethnic group will still control everything. More and more positions of power in government and business will be given to people of color. That is a definite upcoming change we are experiencing now and will continue to see in the future, which makes sense of course and is a very positive thing so that growing groups will be heard. Still though, after non-white people now fill more positions, I think it will be very far past 2050 until white power truly declines and people of color get to see and feel and truly be considered on the same equal playing field as whites. It is clear that ideas about race are so firmly hammered into American society and individuals’ brains as was made clear by the video about the colored and white dolls. While some white people are panicking, I am really quite excited to see what is going to happen and if some of my predictions will prove to be correct. It is hard to imagine what a United States will be like when it is not dominated by white people, white power, and white beliefs. Equality will have to become more prominent. There will be no other choice. I also feel proportions of colored people will rise at an even steeper rate as the years go on because interracial marriages will increase. Fri, 2 Apr 2010 04:07:25 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/the-white-minorities__trashed/#IDComment65431336 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/what-are-all-of-you-thinking-about-asians__trashed/#IDComment64254894 I partly agree with this statement because it seems to me from the view of a white person that Asian people do not normally experience some of the harsh stereotypes or discriminations that black people and other races experience. The stereotypes that Asian people are smart or like math and science majors do not seem as detrimental as other stereotypes that include violence or other more derogatory things put on other races. On the other hand I have never been Asian and I really have no idea what they feel or experience. As we saw in the commercials played on Thursday, when the actor put on an Asian accent and had an Asian name, that person was still rejected for renting an apartment. Fri, 26 Mar 2010 21:50:58 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/what-are-all-of-you-thinking-about-asians__trashed/#IDComment64254894 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/those-damn-dolls__trashed/#IDComment64253406 My mom is a psych major and just a few months ago, last semester she sent me an email with this video urging me to watch and think about it. I showed it to my friends and I was glad to see it sown in class because it had a large impact on me and I think it is so disturbing and another eye opener for me, a white person. A video that brings me out of my white world for a few minutes and shows me the perspective of other races. The results of the study were very surprising to me and it helped to hear what my classmates had to say when answering the question of why the young children overwhelmingly picked the white dolls. I wish I could have heard what more people had to say. Fri, 26 Mar 2010 21:40:20 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/those-damn-dolls__trashed/#IDComment64253406 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/flip-the-script-for-a-moment__trashed/#IDComment64252710 I agree with Sam on this topic of questioning the things that we do or say or feel and I think it was very interesting that he felt so strongly about this subject during class, and the questioning was the reason. I only fully understand that after reading this post by him, it was not just about women or their periods that he got worked up about, it was the fact that people do not stop to ask why they feel so uncomfortable around the subject. I also liked the fact that he brought up bleeding again at the beginning of Thursday’s class when it caused such uproar on Tuesday, so much so that people got up and left. I can imagine what those students were thinking, “Why should I sit in this race class and listen to Sam rant about his wife’s bleeding.” But they did not really get what he was passionately talking about and after he brought it up again on Thursday, maybe some more people got that it is so important to question things, like why we feel uncomfortable talking about a bodily function that every female goes through. I liked the point he made about if it was a female world, things would be such different, such as heating pads and couches in bathrooms. I never thought about this, I considered the world to be more evenly a woman’s world, not completely, but I did not consider it a total man’s world. This made me think just how much it is a world run by men. Then when he talked about women being silenced, I never even considered our hesitance to talk about our bleeding as a silence. Last semester I took the course BiSci 003 and that was the first time I think I really started to question things in my life that I took for granted or just assumed was correct such as our American system of schooling and college. Since then I think that I do ask so many more questions about my daily life. I ask why and because of that I feel as if I am discovering things that I never would have discovered if I just stayed in a previous mindset. Things never change if they are not questioned. An example of that Sam used was the race issue, if no one questioned race relations they would have never improved. There are so many other examples as well such as how the food industry in America is now being questioned. Because of this, we as Americans may begin to receive healthier food and animals may begin to be treated with more respect. These changes only occur however if someone decided to ask where our food came from. It is Sam’s job as a teacher to expand our thinking by asking the tough questions. Fri, 26 Mar 2010 21:33:57 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/flip-the-script-for-a-moment__trashed/#IDComment64252710 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/is-anyone-else-getting-this-stuff__trashed/#IDComment63068828 I very much agree with this video comment, I am right there with her. This book, even more then some of the classes we experience with Sam, made me perceive situations differently and really think about what people that are not white are thinking, as well as what I as a white person is thinking, and may not have fully realized it. I also think it was an influential book for many other students as well because at my discussion group different stories from that book were brought up at least four or five times. People kept going back to that book in order to explain what they were feeling or to express surprise in learning something new. Fri, 19 Mar 2010 23:34:35 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/is-anyone-else-getting-this-stuff__trashed/#IDComment63068828 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/does-this-rudeness-thing-cut-both-ways__trashed/#IDComment63068028 I agree with your point here that it seems unequal that colored people can say offensive things with little attention, but when a white person says something racist, the reaction is very different. I think we have to take into account however that the racist comment said towards colored people was more offensive and disrespectful then any of the slightly rude comments texted in by colored people. I also want to express the thought that I rarely get offended if a colored person says something rude about white people. Maybe I know that anger is directed at a group of people who still have a ways to come before equality is reached. Maybe it is the white blame thing I feel. Fri, 19 Mar 2010 23:27:15 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/does-this-rudeness-thing-cut-both-ways__trashed/#IDComment63068028 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/what-happens-to-multiracial-people__trashed/#IDComment63066990 I agree with you in that Sam is doing the best he can in attempting to divide the class into groups. It would be impossible to sit through class if Sam were to try to ask all races what their opinion on a certain matter are, or at least impossible in a class that lasts one hour and fifteen minutes. Other people that responded to this question seem to be offended or accusing this way of classification as just more proof that the world is set up as all colors versus the whites. However, that is how the world is set up, we have been talking about that all year. So, in this race relations class Sam is recognizing that and therefore encouraging talk between the two groups in society. I do not see that as a negative thing or derogatory towards the colored people. As far as the other comment left in the video, about colored being used as a term that describes everybody, now that is an interesting point to think about. Some people were talking about why people with one white parent and one colored parent were considered colored for example Obama, and I think most people who were half white like that would not consider themselves white, because when someone would see them they would instantly categorize them as non-white. Therefore that non-white person would experience some or all of the same discrimination that full or mostly colored people would experience. They would identify more with the colored community then with the white community. It brings up that line or barrier that I discussed before in why Sam talks about either colored people or white people, you are either I or you are out, you are white or you are not. I think if a half white person were to claim they were white the most automatic response from any race of person would be, “no you are not.” Although Asians and Indians and Black people all have very different experiences and ideas, the overall general perception is always the white people against the people of color. The fact that white is a color is sort of a very interesting point to think about, it makes everyone seem very much more equal and just the same. Especially when you start thinking about half white people and then if you are three quarters white and then if you just think what if one black or Indian or Mexican person was introduced in my blood line years back. That line I was previously talking about is suddenly blurred and it becomes clearer that we are all just the same. People with parents and an ancestry and culture and the color of our skin making us any different from one another is absurd. Fri, 19 Mar 2010 23:17:16 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/what-happens-to-multiracial-people__trashed/#IDComment63066990 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/are-whites-the-only-people-willing-to-humiliate-themselves__trashed/#IDComment59939895 Wow I have never even thought about the fact that the bachelor show has almost all white people. I do not regularly watch this show or any like it but I have seen the commercials and the fact that I have not thought about it is slightly disturbing in showing how natural it is to me that white people dominate the tv. The point about the VH1 shows including many ore people of color is an interesting point. White people are shown as the mature beautiful people while the people of color are placed on channels less watched and shows that have less respect or people who citizens would rather compare themselves to. Fri, 5 Mar 2010 21:16:24 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/are-whites-the-only-people-willing-to-humiliate-themselves__trashed/#IDComment59939895 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/fired-for-a-scarf__trashed/#IDComment59939228 I completely agree with this statement because I feel just as shocked and disgusted. It is embarrassing that this company that is so popular with American teens and in some ways represents our style and country would discriminate in such an obvious manner. It seems as if the manager did not even try to blame the firing on something else, saying the reason for unemployment was the hijab. If she was told at the beginning of her working experience that she could wear her hijab in certain colors, then that is what she is allowed to do. We need to become more accepting to other cultures. Fri, 5 Mar 2010 21:10:24 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/fired-for-a-scarf__trashed/#IDComment59939228 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/02/native-americans-question-four__trashed/#IDComment58899981 Like most other students education seems like the first step to helping right the wrongs that the Native Americans have been put through. Stories of life on a reservation or just interviews with current Native Americans concerning what they are now feeling should hit our news and papers, making citizens more aware of the situation at hand. I feel as if the Native Americans felt more respected and cared about as the initial founders of our country, they would be happier to become a part of our society, while still maintaining their own identity and land. If the anger and injustice they felt was dissipated slightly, the alcohol and suicide numbers in their communities might decrease as well. Sat, 27 Feb 2010 01:19:48 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/02/native-americans-question-four__trashed/#IDComment58899981 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/02/when-do-we-do-or-say-something__trashed/#IDComment58899199 I feel like this issue goes back to what we learned in elementary school during bullying lessons run by the guidance counselor. Bystanders are just as guilty as the bully. By just watching an injustice occur without standing up for the person being targeted or for what you believe in, you might as well be the bakery employee. There are many things you can do if you feel so uncomfortable speaking up, such as simply leaving without buying any of the bakery products or telling your friends or family what you have witnessed in order to allow them to make their own decisions about giving business to that particular bakery. Therefore there is really no excuse to sit back and watch such an injustice occur. Sat, 27 Feb 2010 01:11:32 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/02/when-do-we-do-or-say-something__trashed/#IDComment58899199 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/02/native-americans-question-three__trashed/#IDComment58844832 I agree with everything in this post and I certainly feel the same way about Native Americans and our knowledge about them. I almost never think about Native Americans, I do not know any Native Americans and there are no reservations near me. My dad’s mother has always felt a connection to Native Americans. She goes to celebrations on reservations, reads books written by different tribe members, and knits hats and gloves for kids on reservations. Although I have always known this about her, I did not really ever fully understand why she did what she did. I have of course heard of the high suicide and alcoholic rates in reservations as well as the terrible conditions some of these people live in, and therefore I assumed she was giving to these Native American people because they were a group that was financially not well off. I was wrong about this and now it is beginning to make sense. She went to talk to the people, understand what they were feeling and why they had some of the societal problems they do, learn about their culture, and help them by providing clothing for the children, something she saw with her own eyes that was needed. She felt the hurt and realized what had been done to them, and she was doing what in her mind would help, like Sam said in class, you need to figure out what to do, for yourself. She was also trying to acknowledge the genocide by spreading her knowledge to my brother and I. For Christmas we would get dream catchers and books by Native Americans. I thought she was just interested in the culture, but now when I think back to the stories she told me, she was trying to teach me, make me aware. The fact that we are all so unaware as Americans of the genocide that happened on our land is very upsetting to me. One thing that always caught my attention were cultures that schooled children in such a biased manner to brain wash the kids of that particular nation, so they grew up with lies that they thought were truths. I always went through my history classes and tried to find, to make sure, that we as members of the United States were learning the truth. Well here is the lie. It is so disturbing the more and more I think about it, how we were never taught what injustices were done to the Native Americans, what slaughters were committed. Such time is spent describing the horrors of the Holocaust, which of course was incredibly horrific, but why is there no famous movies and books written about the genocide on our own land. Why didn’t Brad Pitt choose that role? And then to top it all off, we mock the Native Americans by using them as our mascots. Fri, 26 Feb 2010 18:21:32 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/02/native-americans-question-three__trashed/#IDComment58844832 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/02/lgbt-class-question-six__trashed/#IDComment57549604 I think lesbians are more accepted then gay men because we have been conditioned to think so as a society. From the time we were born we learned from movies, television shows, books, our friends, our parents, our relatives, and just the strangers talking besides us that lesbians are hot and gay men are unnatural. It is hard to change something that is so jammed into a culture. Also I think the factor that men have such a strong sexual drive, they want everything sexual without giving up their manliness, which is also part of our culture. Two women is sexual while two men is disturbing. Fri, 19 Feb 2010 01:26:37 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/02/lgbt-class-question-six__trashed/#IDComment57549604