gdp's Comments

World In Conversation : Voices From the Classroom

Fri, 20 Apr 2012 17:03:57 +0000

The question is flawed. Either way you look at it, it is one of the two original choices of nature vs. nurture. The culture and atmosphere in which a person is raised makes it a choice and not by birth. The atmosphere and culture are apart of the choice and certain aspects of the culture may influence a person to be homosexual or not. So, basically there isn’t a real question here other than asking if culture and the atmosphere a person is raised in does influence a persons sexual preference. Obviously the environment a person is raised in is a factor in determining a person’s sexual preference. I do not feel that the culture completely determines a person’s preference, because I feel that most people that are gay are born gay. Sam did not do a very good job of showing this with the people in the room because most of the students said they knew they were gay around age 16. However, if you talk to the majority of the gay population, they know they are gay from a very young age. (I have never asked a gay person about this, mainly because I do not hang out with them). The environment definitely plays a role for people and their preference. For more important news today is the national weed day. I am very disappointed about this because if I get the job I want for the summer, then I will probably be drug tested so my celebrations today would cripple the job opportunity. This sucks and will suck even more if I do not get the job. Anyways, back to talking about the LBGT? community. I personally do not support gay marriage and the overall community. I will not protest or act out against them, but I also do not support them. I really disliked Sam when talking about this topic. He said that people that are “cool” and “not lame” are fine and accepting of the gay community, but really that is bullshit. Being accepting of them does not make you cool, or “not lame”, it just means you do not really care. Also, Sam said he wishes he would have hooked up/slept with man when he had a chance…. I was like WTF Sam. There is a difference between being accepting and just being gay… that was gay. Like I said, I really do not care what the gay community does, I do not support them, but I also do not bother them. Sam took it way to far saying by saying things like that and that if he would hook up with anybody but his wife, it would be a man. Sorry Sam, but that is wrong.

World In Conversation : Voices From the Classroom

Fri, 13 Apr 2012 17:17:50 +0000

Finally, there is a blog that we can actually write about, instead of babbling on about some bullshit that frankly I do not care to talk about. Anyways, I feel that I question authority and the stories I hear of people that I am not familiar with. I tend to believe my friends and family, as long as the story is reasonable and not completely off the wall, more than I would believe a stranger. I feel that most people are the same way because we have bonds with people we know and we also have reasons to trust them over a complete stranger. The only place I can think of that this is not completely true is the media. I feel as if most Americans believe the media much more than they should and therefore tell stories that are not completely accurate. The media tends to skew the truth to a story that will sell, or anger Americans. Personally, I will listen to the media (mainly Fox News), but I take what they have to say with a grain of salt. The media causes many problems in American, and I would really enjoy seeing the industry be brought to justice and to only report confirmed truth and stay out of people’s lives. I feel bad for people that get torn apart by the media, when they are truly innocent. It is just fucked up what the media in this nation has become, and people involved in it really need to step back and take a deep long look at themselves in the mirror. That’s about all I have to say about that. However, back to authority, I definitely question the media, and people I am not familiar with. With the people I am not familiar with, I tend to trust people more that I can relate with more. For example, I more likely to not question somebody that has the same views as me, or is talking about something I have knowledge in. Obviously I will question them I have a feeling something is inaccurate or really off the wall, but overall I am more likely to believe that person. I am white, and I know I will believe a person that I can relate to more than I will believe somebody from the Mid-East. Even African-American people I can put faith in, and not really question their authority. It also depends on if the person is Americanized or not. People that are not Americanized tend to make me question them more than people that are Americanized. You might call me “racist” or whatever else for that, but that’s how I am. I have nothing against those people, but I know I tend to question them more than somebody I can relate to, and share common ties with. ‘MERICA.

World In Conversation : Voices From The Classroom

Thu, 5 Apr 2012 20:57:45 +0000

First I would like to say I am writing this from a Roman Catholic perspective, and that is why I am not using more general terms. However, I believe that the general ideas that I am saying can be used for other faiths and religions. I personally do not feel a need to go to my Priest in order to have a connection with God. I believe that people go to Church as a supplement to what they already do in their lives. The Church is a place that reinforces the ways that people live and the choices they choose. The Church is great, and has teaches wonderful things, but I do not feel that the Church in necessary to have a connection with God. I also feel that the reason of having a Priest and Church is to help people see a way to live their live. Catholisism teaches to give to the poor, respect thy neighbor, and to love. (Yes, I know all these things have not happened throughout history… crusades and war, but it is a way of life to follow.) I do not go to Church often and I do not seek my Priest for guidance most of the time. But, I govern myself and try to follow the ways of the Bible. The Roman Catholic Church is old fashion in many ways, but it is also tradition. I feel that many people are like me in terms of their faith and religion. They do not go to Church or seek the Priest for guidance, but they are still followers of Christ and are still good people without the Church’s assistance. Times have changed, and the old way of going to Church every Sunday is not happening as much. Shit. I still have sixty words to get on this damn thing. Anyways, I am writing this as they talk about the Haiti people in Haiti and how they need assistance. Our group should just donate five dollars a piece instead of the stupid cookie idea. This guy talking has a lot of pride and I want to help Haiti more now because of this guy. The Church is a good thing, but people do not need higher powers in order to have a connection with God. To finish up, I would like to request better blog questions. I do not mean any offense to the people that come up with the questions, but lately they have been very difficult to write about compared to the questions at the beginning of the semester. I feel guilty in a way saying this because Sam is currently about four feet away as I am typing this. Either way, the blog questions could use some work to get more interesting responses, because this one is rather boring. Go America.

World In Conversation : Voices From The Classroom

Fri, 30 Mar 2012 00:01:28 +0000

Yes, I completely believe the video would have been just as offensive if Russian or other white people were used instead of the Asian students. It is wrong to blatantly call out students based upon their accents and their lack of knowledge of the Pac 10. The Asian students are probably much smarter than the reporter and are most likely going much farther in life than him. I feel that if the video had been taken of random students on USC’s campus, and an Asian that has trouble speaking was interviewed, and then it would not be considered racist or discrimination. It would have been funny, and I would have laughed it was just by chance that an Asian of limited sports knowledge was interviewed. That was not the case however. The reporter and his crew searched for Asians that struggled with English and had limited sports knowledge and targeted those individuals. This is completely wrong and the reporter and whoever authorized the broadcast needs fired because it is embarrassing for the Asian students, FOX, and America. So, basically, yes the video would have been just as offensive to other people no matter if they were white or not. I’m all for jokes (even racial ones), but there is a line, and on this occasion the line was definitely crossed. Then, for the second part of the question, would I be offended watching this video if I was in Asia. Well, yeah I would have been rather pissed seeing this. It is in no way, shape, or form right or American. The reporter, his crew, and whoever authorized this are all wrong and being from another country, I would want them to be fired for their acts. The acts are highly prejudice, and unjust against the Asian population. So again, to answer this question, yeah I would be pissed seeing this. To address things in class… first of all the kid in the red who said “this is funny” is an idiot and needs to learn when to shut the hell up. I’m a white Christian, from a white town, so I have little knowledge of race. But I know that he needed to shut up. He instantly dug himself into a hole that he could not get out of, so I really do not feel bad for him. Then, the African American girl in the back of class was rather hostile towards the subject. I do not know about you, but I would stay away from that. On other notes, the new black guy that helps Sam is pretty cool, and looks like Waka Flocka Flame back when the new guy was in stage three. That’s irrelevant, but oh well.

World In Conversation : Voices From The Classroom

Fri, 23 Mar 2012 01:12:39 +0000

I grew up in a mostly white town and to be completely honest I am not sure what stage I am currently living my life. My town is a little north of Pittsburgh and my high school graduates about 650 kids a year with about 20 being anything other than white. So with that being said, Penn State is the most diverse area that I have lived in so far. Back to the stages, I am really not sure what stage I am in because I definitely do see race, but I do not always judge on it. I can look at white people and sometimes I think they are absolute trash (some are). I can also look at a colored person at see that they are just an overall shitty person. I am not calling all white people and all colored people shitty, but every race has people that are just awful people. With that being said, there are many colored people in the world that I have a lot of respect for and would love to have a conversation with them about anything. The same goes with a lot of white people. I judge people based on what they do, how they present themselves, and the choices they make in life. There are good white people and bad white people. People that make a positive difference in this world, and people that I frankly do not give a damn about. The same goes with people of color. Some people of color are great for this world and make positive changes. Then, there are some that I have no respect for and just do not give a damn about. This might leave me in stage one because political correctness is not my specialty, but I can also look past a person’s skin color and try to see what kind of person they actually are. One of my best high school friends was black and he was a great kid. He worked hard in school, on the football field, and he made good moral decisions about life. Brandon Taylor is an awesome kid and I could look at him beyond the fact that he was black. Even here at Penn State I have no problem having friends that are minorities as long as they are of good character and work hard. Some people say I am not politically correct... and I believe they are correct by saying that about me. I lack a filter most of the time, but “if the truth hurts, then change it.” So, that leaves me questioning which stage I am currently living in. I would like to complain about the choices this week for the blogs. There was a very limited selection that was very tough to write about if you were not colored or not at stage two or three.

World In Conversation : Voices From The Classroom

Fri, 16 Mar 2012 18:20:11 +0000

I fully support our troops and the war in general. I dislike Obama, and will never support him, but in terms of the war and the American troops, I support them completely. The war should be about terrorism though. The war should not be about oil, but unfortunately it is about oil. Regardless, Sam did his job and gave me the perspective of the other side. Yes, I do not like them, and I probably will not change my opinion of that. However, I do understand why the insurgents fight and why we will never win or lose this war. If America was invaded, you can be damn sure I would grab my AR-15 and pick off enemy soldiers from a distance. Hopefully I would not get caught/shot but I’m good up to 400yds with my rifle, so at least I can have a head start. Anyways, like I said, I completely understand the reason they are so hostile to us and why we will never completely win this war. The enemy is not defined and we are truly fighting an entire country’s population. If I were them, I would use the same tactics (except for suicide bombing), and hate the opposing country the same way they hate us. Also, it is sad that civilians die, but unfortunately it is apart of war. I know there are a lot people in the Middle East that are not violent and simply want better for their family, but there are a lot of people that will shoot U.S. soldiers in the back the moment they turn around. Like I said, all of the Muslims are not bad, but there is not a clearly defined enemy. Many are civilians by day and soldiers by night. I feel that the United States does an excellent job overall of following the Geneva Convention and will continue to due so in the future. Sam critizes the 29:1 ratio, but I’m curious to how many civilians a member or a terrorist organization would kill just to kill people. Sam also mentioned that when we pray for our soldiers we are praying for the death of other soldiers, and yes, this is indirectly true. As General George S. Patton once said “Now I want you to remember that no bastard ever won a war by dying for his country. You won it by making the other poor dumb bastard die for his country.” Frankly, I think Sam’s talk about us praying for the death of the enemy was slightly dumb, because we are not directly saying that. We are simply asking for the safety of our soldiers. God bless every one of our soldiers, and if it was not for several torn ACLs I would be apart of the armed forces. ‘MERICA.

World In Conversation : Voices from the Classroom

Wed, 29 Feb 2012 21:53:21 +0000

I think that the fact that somebody is more likely to get a call back simply because their name is a standard white name is completely wrong. There is nothing fair about choosing somebody over another person simply because of his or her name. I completely agree with Sam saying that black and brown people need to stand up for themselves and stop letting white people get away with this. Yes, I am a white person talking here. I am a firm believer in hard work, doing the right thing (even when nobody is looking), and standing up for justice. The racial discrimination based on somebody’s name is so wrong and needs changed. I (along with everybody else) feel that if both people are equal in terms of their resume, then they both deserve a call back. This does not guarantee the person of color a job, and it is not racist if they do not get the job. Both parties deserve a call back and additional interviews need done. However, Sam brought up a point that sometimes people choose somebody slightly less qualified over somebody that is more qualified for a job. He said this is completely wrong, but I disagree. I believe if the person that is slightly less qualified is still qualified for the job, then it does not really matter if the other party is more qualified or not. A large part of working is the social aspect and working with other employees. If a person of race was extremely qualified for a job, but was a complete asshole/douchebag/whatever else, then I would not hire him over a still qualified, but less qualified white person. The same is true if the white person is extremely qualified, but a complete ass. I would then hire the slightly under qualified person of color. I talked to my uncle about this topic before about the type of people he hires. My uncle is a part owner in a multi million dollar software company. He was originally one of the creators of the company and built the company into what it is today. However, talking to him, he said he would often rather hire somebody from a school that is not quite as prestigious as others because many of the people that graduate from top schools feel that the world owes them something. (The world doesn’t owe them shit.) He has found that many people from very prestigious schools are slightly arrogant, and frankly he does not want to deal with that. Basically, he puts a large emphasis on the personality of the person as long as they are qualified. If you played sports, or worked in long group projects, you know that teams/groups that get along and communicate the best will succeed. The team with the better players isn’t guaranteed success, and it works the same with business. In the end, the racial discrimination based strictly on somebody’s name needs to end. It simply is not fair and is not justice. However, personality definitely plays a large role in interviews, and I feel as if Sam felt that it is strictly qualifications.

World In Conversation : Voices from the Classroom

Thu, 23 Feb 2012 00:28:49 +0000

To begin… I hate this class. If this class was not worth four credits, I would definitely drop it without a second thought. The reason why SAT scores are generally higher with wealthy families is because they are generally smarter people. They are wealthy for a reason, whether it is old money, or somebody busted their ass and made something of their self. People that are wealthy and work for their money in an honest and legal way deserve to be there and deserve send their children too more expensive colleges. Some people will say that this is unfair, and it is. Equality under the law is completely different than financial equality. I completely agree with equality under the law and I do feel that some races receive the short end of the stick and get screwed. This does need to change because it is not right and not American. However, some previous students stated that everyone should receive a free education, and that is so wrong. What ever happened to making something of yourself? Doing something special? And just being somebody? It makes me sick how people honestly think there should be “free education.” There need to be differences financially in society. Some people need to be doctors, lawyers, and running big business. On the same hand, other people need to be farmers, carpenters, and laborers. I am almost willing to bet that my family is in the lower quartile in terms of wealth compared to other students at Penn State. I am here because I am making something of myself and one day I will be (hopefully) an orthopedic surgeon. I just do not get how people do not have pride and are not being American. People need to stop feeling that the government owes them something and everything is a right. Everything is not a right. A general education (high school) is fair, and people can make a living with only a high school education. “Good work is not cheap, and cheap work is not good,” you get what you pay for with an education. Yes, it is getting harder to do this, but trade school is another route instead of college. Americans just need some pride and to stop feeling that everything is owed to them. Then, for the people that bitch about being here, how they are treated, and about how unfair this nation is… then there are many other countries to live in. If you do not like the American way of life and working for what you have, then leave… really it will do us all a favor. Now, for the actual question… it is sad to say but I feel like there will always be differences because of race. It is sad to say, and I wish there is a way to change it, but people will always notice the skin color of the person. With noticing the skin color, there will be stereotypes that follow. People will always judge, to an extent, for the color of another’s skin. The only way to really break this barrier down is to have children be with children of different races. I feel that if a child grows up with other races, then that child will not be as prejudice. But really… I hate this class. ‘MERICA.

World In Conversation : Voices from the Classroom

Wed, 15 Feb 2012 21:14:23 +0000

I am not atheist, but I am also not a creationist. I am somewhere in between, and slightly unsure on what is correct. In my opinion, there is a God, but he does not interfere with life and does not have anything to do with what happens here on Earth. With that being said, I believe that life on Earth has evolved from organic molecules that bonded together to form a simple form of life. These molecules came from different parts of space and through millions of years they were able to create simple prokaryotic cells that eventually evolved to form eukaryotic cells. Science has proved that it is possible for life to start this way, and organic molecules have been found on meteors in space. Once the prokaryotic cells evolved into eukaryotic cells, then the planet really started changing. The eukaryotic cells were able to grow beyond a single cell and created multi-cellular organisms that evolved into the earliest multi-cellular organisms. Most of what I have stated is in many biology text books, and being a biology major, I believe that life was created this way. I also firmly believe in evolution, because it has been proven and is constantly changing the world around us. Yes, this might sound unreasonable, but it is possible, and frankly, the whole Adam and Eve story is bullshit. Along with Noah’s ark, and Jonah and the whale… they’re completely made up in order to explain something the people did not have a reason. I feel that the Bible in general did not actually happen, but the stories are in place because they teach a lesson that people should follow. The Bible teaches morals, and a way of life that makes somebody a good person. As for the universe, I do not feel that God created that either. This is all purely opinion, and there is no actual scientific reasoning behind any of this. However, I feel that the universe was created trillions of years ago through the big bang theory. There is no possible way of anybody knowing exactly what happened to create this universe when we do not even know what is out there. We know there are other galaxies, but in terms of knowing what is in the galaxies, we have no idea. I feel that there is life out there, but where and when we will encounter this other life, I, nor anybody else, has any idea. Again, this is all opinion, and I could be completely wrong, but I can tell you that man, woman, and everything else on this planet was not simply put here one day by God. There is more to it than God simply putting us on this Earth, and if he did, they please explain the dinosaurs.

World In Conversation : Voices from the Classroom

Sat, 11 Feb 2012 03:56:05 +0000

Sorry Sam, but I’m calling bullshit on this one. Yeah, that is cool they go out in the wilderness and “talk to plants” to gain knowledge. Then, they do shrooms or other drugs to tap into another world in order to gain more knowledge. Yeah… ok… that makes sense. You can call me ignorant, but I truly believe that this is just plain stupid. I do not believe that the Shaman can transcend this world and gain knowledge by talking to plants, or doing drugs. Sam said that the Shaman man went into the wilderness and thought about life, and then magically came out and drew a double helix. What really happened was this guy went into the wilderness, took some really good drugs, and was tripping. Once, he was tripping, he thought of a cool shape and this shape he drew was a double helix. That is option one. The second option is he went out into the wilderness and read a book about genetics. I do not know about you, but I feel that he probably read a book or whipped out his secret Iphone and looked up DNA. As you could guess, I do not feel that the Shaman’s way of learning is a legitimate source of knowledge. You can (and I have) learn a lot about life by being in the wilderness, but you do not learn that DNA is in the shape of a double helix by hanging out around plants. If you want a legitimate way of gaining knowledge about science, then go to school and learn something. After going to class, and spending hours in the wilderness, I have come to the conclusion that plants do not speak. The Shaman think they are learning because they are tripping hard and think plants are talking. I find it slightly ridiculous. Furthermore, Sam’s high ankle sprain just miraculously healing is another story that I just do not quite believe. Sprains are stretched out ligaments and take time to heal. The best way to heal the injury is ice with occasional therapy. After playing football and wrestling, I have had numerous sprains, and they take time to heal, especially high ankle sprains. For example, Adrian Peterson was out for several weeks due to a high ankle sprain, and he is one of the best athletes in the NFL. I feel that the Vikings would have the Shaman fixing Peterson’s ankle if their work was legitimate and an actual way of healing a sprain. Ligaments do not go back to normal right away like Sam said his did. In conclusion, I feel like the Shaman story time was entertaining, but completely false. Also, I am sorry to say that Sam’s loony ideas such as this are making dislike this course more and more. Maybe I am being to ignorant to the Shaman ideas, but I still feel its stupid and stuff like them makes me dislike the course.

World In Conversation : Voices From The Classroom

Thu, 2 Feb 2012 04:52:34 +0000

‘Merica. Look, I am not saying that learning another language is bad or un-American, but people should speak the dominant language in this country. I feel that no matter where you live, you should learn the dominant language. For example, if I were moving to Germany for an extended period of time, I would learn German to the best of my ability. If I spoke a language other than English, I would learn English if I came to the United States. I just do not feel that we (English speaking Americans) should accommodate people that refuse to speak the language of the country. Again, I am not saying it is bad to learn a second language and it is beneficial for business reasons, but people should learn the English language if they live in the United States. People will make the argument of America being a “melting pot” and speak of “freedom,” and yes both of these are true. However, if you cannot read the Declaration of Independence, or even understand the words when somebody reads them to you then are you truly a part of this Nation. The same situation goes with the National Anthem. What would football games be like if the Star Spangled Banner was sung in Spanish? Personally, I would be disgusted if I heard that. I do not know how others feel about one day maybe hearing two National Anthems, one in English, and the other in Spanish, but I could not fathom this act. However, Sam said about Americans paying millions and millions to keep Spanish-speaking people out of this country, and this I disagree with. We should increase security, but because many Americans have become too good to work on farms and put in an honest days worth of work, we need illegal immigrants to work farms. I’ve worked on farms for years, and despite what the farmers said in Colbert’s video, Americans can work just as hard as Mexicans. We just choose not to work that hard for $10 an hour. Even though we allow Spanish-speaking people in this country, we should not accommodate them by learning Spanish. If anything they should learn English. Actually, on second thought we should make some accommodations for Spanish-speaking people. We should help them learn English by offering classes teaching English. Universities and colleges could have these classes as training for English and education majors. This would help both the students of the university, and the Spanish-speaking people. This idea came from a friend of mine who’s family speaks primarily Spanish and would like to learn more English. The other thing that bothered me during Sam’s speech is when he talked about not fighting it and just going with the flow. America was not built on going with the flow. To be a winner and to succeed in life, you cannot just go with the flow. Stand up and do something and when you see something that needs done, do not go with the flow and just walk by, just do it. ‘Merica.

World In Conversation : Voices From The Classroom

Fri, 27 Jan 2012 02:02:29 +0000

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2012/01/22/1057341/... This is the link to the article that was brought up in class and in the previous blog. I would not recommend reading if you are easily offended.

World In Conversation : Voices From The Classroom

Fri, 27 Jan 2012 02:01:10 +0000

This is a very interesting and difficult question that does need an answer. There are many sick and twisted individuals in this world that commit sex crimes against children. Personally, I do not know anyone that has been a victim of these crimes, but this is not something that people willingly talk about. Before answering what actions I will take in order to combat these crimes, I would like to say that reading the article “F**k Joe Paterno” did give me a different view of the situation and helped show seeing both sides of the story. Before reading, yes I sympathized for the victims, but I did not realize their side of the story like I do now. I will never know how they feel. I recommend reading the article even if you are a supporter of Joe Paterno. I went to every event honoring Joe Paterno, and I consider myself a proud supporter, but the article givens the perspective of the victims. Regardless of the Joe Paterno situation, there needs to be more support for the victims of these sex crimes. The best way to deal with these crimes is to stop them before they happen. Parents need to step up and just have a little more sense about where their children are going and whom exactly they are with. This will help some cases but many of the sexual predators seem like ordinary people such as Jerry Sandusky. In addition to the parent paying more attention, teachers should do the same. Many teachers turn a blind eye to children that seem to be having problems such as the girl in the article that was previously mentioned. Another way of stopping the problem before it happens is to have counseling for people that are having these sick thoughts. I believe that somebody else mentioned this idea also, but I agree with the idea. Psychiatrists should be able to help people feeling these sick emotions. They might already do so, but if so then there needs to be more encouragement for people to go seek help. I would hope that many of the rapists know that the acts they are committing are horrendous and would realize that they need help. Now hopefully, they will seek help before a child is molested. The main problem with the potential criminals seeking help is that they feel judged or embarrassed to admit they have a problem. Again, that is an issue. Personally, to help raise awareness about child molestation, I think it would be beneficial to have an accurate list of sexual predators posted somewhere in the community that many people will see. The list should say why the person is a sexual predator, and give a specific area of where the person lives. The list should not give the exact address, but for example just a housing plan.

World In Conversation : Alabama's Migrant Workers - Colbert's Perspective

Fri, 20 Jan 2012 19:33:36 +0000

First and foremost, I absolutely love the Colbert Report and there are many points that are valid. I think it is complete bullshit that Americans will not work and pick vegetables. With unemployment so high and so many people complaining about the government and losing jobs, they should go pick vegetables for a day. Personally, it pisses me off when we as Americans feel that we are “entitled” to more and are to good to work some lower paying jobs. I have worked on farms for years (granted I am only nineteen), but I have worked seven days a week and put in seventy plus hours picking vegetables. I was doing the exact thing of “bending over” and working in the “hot sun” all day. Yeah, the pay is not the best, but it is better than being on welfare. On top of the physical labor part, many Americans are in need of work out. So, the real problem is not the migrant workers; it is the lazy Americans that are to good to work in a field. I understand the farmer’s needs for cheap labor and thus the need for illegal immigrants. It is borderline pathetic that Americans will not work in the fields for $10 an hour. There are many young Americans that work fast food, or some other low paying job that requires very little physical activity. There is nothing wrong with an honest days worth or work for $10 an hour. While I was working on the farm, the highest paid laborer was around $9, but we all loved being there. Despite the heat and sweat, we had fun picking ‘maters and driving in trucks. So, I am sure there are young legal Americans that are able to work these farms to some degree and the farmers would probably enjoy having hard working legal Americans on the farm. Then, the law that caused the tomato problems in Alabama needs reversed. It is sad to say, but we need the illegal immigrants to pick the vegetables. The farmers that have worked so hard throughout the years need help and the law is going to crush the agriculture sector of Alabama. Also, the idea of having criminals work in place of the illegal immigrants is just an awful idea. They are in jail for a reason, and deserve to stay there. Personally, I believe a swift capital punishment should be in effect as a deterrent and to reduce the number in criminals in jail, but that is a different topic. There is literally no chance that the criminals will put in a solid days worth of work compared to the illegal immigrants. The criminals will not replace the illegal immigrants and will also cost the state more money in hiring prison guards and police to patrol the fields with the criminals. Yes, the criminals should do something, but also the worst punishment is doing nothing for an extended period of time.