en-us https://www.intensedebate.com/users/759812 Comments by hennypenny1 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/south-park-off-the-hook__trashed/#IDComment70368730 I think this question goes along with the question Sam asked us all in class: when is a joke considered to have gone too far? I must admit that I am not a frequent viewer of South Park but from viewing other shows like Family Guy, I think I have a fairly good idea of the style of comic material the writers use. The images they portray seem to poke fun at every group you can find. Shows make fun of religion, sexual orientation, politics, and so on, all the time. I used to watch Family Guy pretty often in the past. Family Guy features the cartoon characters of God and Jesus in several episodes. I must say that I really did not find those parts of the show in the past funny. I mean, I was not totally against the show, but I do think the writers sometimes pushed things too far. I can understand why people of any certain group that was mocked by these shows would get mad. Although a lot of people may think it is wrong for writers to use this type of comedy, I guess they do have the right to express their opinions. I think that it all ties in the freedom of speech and expression and etc… The writers are free to create whatever they want. I guess they just have to deal with the consequences of their actions. I mean, when the South Park writers decided to create a part of the episode making fun of Muslims, they had to have known that someone was going to fire back at them. Getting back to the “when has a joke gone too far.” I used listen to people make offhand jokes about certain groups and not think anything of it. I mean I knew I was not they were my friends and I knew these people pretty well, so I thought there was nothing wrong with it. After having been through Soc 119, I have completely changed. I have realized that I do not think my friends were justified in saying jokes like that, even if they weren’t being serious. I now have no urge to create such jokes, however, now when I do hear people say such jokes, I tell them to please stop and explain why it is offensive and wrong. I can understand why some people do it though. I feel like when you are with people you know well, you might be more likely to say some sort of joke about a certain group. At that point, you don’t view the joke as going too far unless someone objects. I think a lot of people think a joke has gone too far when a person says a joke in public, offending many people. Although in your own little group of friends you may not be offending that group targeted by the joke, I feel that it is the same as telling the joke in public. What you say is what you say…it doesn’t really matter the context of the situation. Sun, 25 Apr 2010 03:31:29 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/south-park-off-the-hook__trashed/#IDComment70368730 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/christian-invaders-the-turnaround__trashed/#IDComment68646408 I don't get how government officials can be so stupid as to say the things they say. "A task from God." "Chase them back to their caves." I just find statements like that made by officials ridiculous. Sun, 18 Apr 2010 04:10:22 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/christian-invaders-the-turnaround__trashed/#IDComment68646408 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/the-tyranny-of-radical-muslims__trashed/#IDComment68645660 After the lecture on Thursday, I can understand why some Muslims would decide to help with the insurgency. When we voted whether we would join after hearing the lecture, I voted that I probably would support the insurgency from the Middle East. At the beginning of class, when Sam posted a question on the front projection screen asking what we think about the radicals who commit terroristic acts, I responded by saying that I think they are mislead. . I get really frustrated when I hear people talk about Islam being some crazy violent religion. I do not think that the Muslim religion is some crazy, radical violent religion…and I think a lot of Americans are ignorant to that fact that the religion is not based on those aspects. I think that many people are uninformed of the fact that Islam and other religions like Christianity and Judaism are closely related. For example, both religions are monotheistic. Islam worships Allah, which means God in Arabic. Christians also worship God! Also, both religions believe that a messiah ascended to heaven. Although the messiah ascended to heaven in different ways, the beliefs are extremely similar here. Both Islam and Christianity believe in a second coming of Yeshua (Jesus Christ). After death, both religions believe that an individual is sent either to Heaven/Paradise or Hell…the only difference here would be that Catholics believe in a third, temporary state, Purgatory. I do not think this is a war based solely on religion…obviously there is the whole oil issue. I honestly do not follow the issue surrounding oil that often, but I think if the United States focused on creating another form of fuel, our country would not be so dependent on oil in the Middle East. The wider spread use of different systems of energy could possibly ease up the situation a bit. Not being so dependent on the oil would mean less interference in the area. A lot of our problems today with the Middle East I think are due to the United States’ support of the state of Israel in 1948. As previously mentioned in the beginning, I can understand why Middle Easterners would easily support the insurgency. Sam said that many do not support it, which is nice to hear, but like I said, I can see why someone might want to support it. If we lived in the Middle East and were shown only negative images of the United States, I would not think that the United States was so great. Americans might be shown to be just as cruel. In the end, I just wish there was some way where we could all coexist peacefully. Hopefully in the near future that will occur. Lastly, I would just like to say that I pray for those who are in the military fighting in this war and I pray for their families. Sun, 18 Apr 2010 04:02:34 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/the-tyranny-of-radical-muslims__trashed/#IDComment68645660 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/prom-or-no-prom-just-dont-let-the-queer-students-dance-together__trashed/#IDComment63097564 First off, I think that the school had no right canceling its prom because a lesbian couple was going to attend. Why do the school officials care so much? What does it matter? It is just one couple…and even if it were more than one couple, it still would be ridiculous for the school to do such an action. A student’s sexual preference is none of the school’s business. People feel it is okay for heterosexual couples to display their affections in school, although I was not very fond of seeing couples make out in the middle of the hallway…too much PDA for me. However, homosexual couples, who are not permitted to display their relationships, should be able to do the same things that heterosexual couples are able to do. I question whether the school was a catholic school or something. I can see how it would be more of an issue in a religious school environment that does not believe homosexuality is right. Although I am catholic, I do not disagree with homosexuality. My take on the issue is that people who are gay were born that way. I believe that it is not necessarily a choice. Because I believe that it is something people are born with, I do not understand how God could make people in his own image (as the Bible says) just to condemn them to hell. If our God is supposed to love and care about his people, why would he create people in such a way, only to send them to hell when they die? Also, people need to realize that this is how the world is now. Homosexuality is becoming the norm, as it should be. I feel like discrimination has shifted from different ethnic groups and minorities to homosexuals. I feel like the gay community has become sort of the new “race” that others are “racist” of. An event took place when I was in high school that involved discrimination against a gay couple. Two guys kissed in our school’s cafeteria and all the students went crazy. People stood up, shouted at them… Then a couple days after the kiss in the cafeteria, students in my school learned that someone had driven to one of the guy’s houses and thrown a brick in one of his family’s windows at night. Our school really didn’t do anything involving being against what happened in the cafeteria. The two boys did not get in trouble for any reason. However, the student identified as committing the act got in trouble of course. I do not understand what would drive that person to commit such a hateful act. Why do these people care so much? They should focus on themselves and let other people be. When I read this article, aspects of it reminded me of the story previously mentioned and how students in my high school acted when they witnessed a gay occurrence. Sat, 20 Mar 2010 03:11:55 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/prom-or-no-prom-just-dont-let-the-queer-students-dance-together__trashed/#IDComment63097564 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/02/native-americans-question-one__trashed/#IDComment58904690 Before the lecture on Native Americans, I had no idea some of the information we talked about. First, I did not realize that the slaughter of Native Americans was the largest genocide in human history. I also had no idea that Native Americans had the highest suicide rates, highest drug and alcohol abuse rates, and lowest income rates. As I am during almost every lecture, I was shocked. In my school district we never discussed Native American history to its full extent. We typically learned that yeah, there were Native Americans living in North America when European settlers came over to America, and yeah they killed the Native Americans in order to acquire land and maintain their newly discovered land, and eventually white men made Native Americans move to reservations. We never discussed in detail all the violence and tragedy the Native Americans faced. I think that many American students are unaware of the extent of the struggles the Native Americans experienced. I think we definitely need to create awareness of the entire side of Native American history in students today. Students should start learning about Native Americans in early grade school, like many schools do already. However, I think that around fifth or sixth grade teachers should introduce the history of the Native Americans’ genocide and teachers should continue to teach about the history of Native Americans throughout the following years of grade school. A big aspect that teachers should talk about is where Native Americans are at today. Like I said before, I had no idea that the group had the highest suicide rates, lived in such poverty, and abused drugs and alcohol so much. I had no idea about this information due to what I learned in my history classes in high school. After discussing the movement of Native Americans to reservations, my school district pretty much ended teaching us about Native Americans and where and how they live today. In our discussion group, I stated that I really forget about Native Americans and that they still are around today. I do not think I have ever seen a Native American in my life. Schools definitely need to raise awareness about the history and current status of Native Americans today. Also in our discussion group, we talked about how professional sports teams use images and names of Native Americans in different ways. For example, the Washington Redskins were brought up in conversation. I learned that the term redskin was a highly derogatory term. I was not aware of this, I think, mainly because of my lack of knowledge about Native Americans. We talked about how some people are very upset by the fact that the United States uses images of Native Americans for teams and names teams after different native groups. Before our discussion, I experienced absolutely no feelings of anger or frustration when I saw images or heard names of sports teams named after Native Americans. Then, after our discussion, I realized that it is not right for us to keep images and names like that around. In conclusion, relating back to the video response, I think that people are okay with these icons and names because we lack the awareness. We NEED to start educating students about the continuing history of the Native American peoples. Sat, 27 Feb 2010 02:09:43 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/02/native-americans-question-one__trashed/#IDComment58904690 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/02/why-is-the-conversation-always-about-black-and-white-people__trashed/#IDComment56593335 I agree that we (black people and white people) have a history based on slavery. However, I do not think that the issue is solely based on slavery. I think that there is a lot more to it. I think it is pretty safe to say that a great majority of white people are ashamed that the United States let such a horrible act occur in our history. I think that a lot of times, white people may be hesitant to communicate with black people because the issue between races has not been solved. In the real world everyone is not treated equally. There are still inequalities that have not been fixed. Like we discussed in our lecture last Thursday, black people have had to overcome so many obstacles before they can even get to the same level white people start at. That is not fair at all. The United States supposedly believes that everyone should be given equal opportunities; however, this does not seem to happen in the real world. If everyone was given equal opportunities, then the chart that shows income among ethnic groups would not have major differences distributed among those groups. I think that it is great that we had civil rights movements in America, but I feel like the recurring thought of slavery still weighs too heavily on our conscious, causing us to feel different, and causing people to go back to the black v. white when it comes to the multicultural conversation. Slavery is something that we will never be able to look past because there is nothing we can do to make up for the fact that it happened. Every effort to achieve equality will not make up for the fact that blacks were enslaved. There is uneasiness on both sides. There’s an unfounded guilt among whites because slavery did happen and it is obvious that blacks have been mistreated and a lot of white people feel uncomfortable talking to black people because there is a huge uncertainty of how black people view white people. For example, do the black people still think that all whites are guilty, or only the ones in the south, or are they mad about civil rights, or they do not care and have moved passed the issue. The fact that there is such a misunderstanding on both sides about what the other people are thinking makes the discussion gear towards black and white because no one knows what the other race thinks exactly about it. There is a giant misunderstanding on both sides so everyone talks about it because they want to know. There are unresolved differences between races. I think that it is all a combination of lack of civil rights, unequal opportunities, and mistreatment. Sat, 13 Feb 2010 04:00:26 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/02/why-is-the-conversation-always-about-black-and-white-people__trashed/#IDComment56593335 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/01/racism-looks-pretty-good-on-this-side-of-the-atlantic__trashed/#IDComment54426996 I am amazed at this video. I had no idea that football fans displayed such racist acts. The entire organization needs to do something about this. First off, security should not allow fans to bring air horns into the stadium. Prevent fans from having air horns would stop them from being heard as well. The man in the video with the air horn who is shouting insults and racist remarks to the black player saying that the player is garbage is ridiculous. The only person who is garbage there is the man with the air horn. The people throwing bananas onto the field are the ones who should be eating those bananas…they are the ones who are the monkeys. I know that it would be difficult for security to prevent fans from bringing bananas into the stadium with them, but anyone who is caught throwing objects onto the field should automatically be ejected from the game. No player should have to put up with having bananas flung at them during a game or not. I mean these people are so uncivilized. If they think they are better than those black players, they are fooling themselves. They think they are so much better, but they are definitely not. Those fans don’t even come close in comparing to the black football players. Those men deserve respect, just like any other player. I mean these men are incredibly talented. Those Europeans look like they are still in the 1940s. If I were to see pictures of swastika flag in the crowd without reference to the time period, I would think that it was still around the time of World War II. People in Europe need to stop being in denial and realize that the stuff they are witnessing is real. They also need to realize that it’s not only a few rowdy fans who are displaying these obscene racist acts. To say that there is not a problem is an understatement. Also, the coach who said that Henry was a piece of shit is a huge hypocrite. The only piece of shit I see in that situation is that white coach. Henry is an amazing player. The black football players are so much better than the people who try to put them down. Have the Europeans reverted back to the time of Hitler and Mussolini? They look like a bunch of Nazi and Fascist idiots. I think that it’s a great idea that the team will be penalized due to their fans actions. It’s the team and country’s responsibility to stop radical fans from displaying acts of hate. I just don’t understand how fans could treat a player so badly. Those players are just like every other player on the team, if not better. How can you call yourself a fan if you don’t support your team’s players? I think that those new regulations should apply not only to the players, coaches and officials, but to the fans. Those fans should be ashamed of themselves. They are making fools out of themselves, their team, and their country. They need to change. They need to show pride in their team and in their country. They are embarrassing their team and country. Sat, 30 Jan 2010 01:28:42 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/01/racism-looks-pretty-good-on-this-side-of-the-atlantic__trashed/#IDComment54426996 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/01/last-name-begins-with-s__trashed/#IDComment53866358 Squirrels Tue, 26 Jan 2010 00:31:11 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/01/last-name-begins-with-s__trashed/#IDComment53866358 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/01/clubbing-the-bejesus-out-of-rationality__trashed/#IDComment53247204 I think that Pat Robertson’s comments about the horrible tragedy that occurred last week in Haiti are absolutely ridiculous, not to mention extremely heartless. He is basically saying that Haiti deserved this or that the people in this country had this coming to them due to his absurd claim that the Haitians made a pact with the devil in order to gain freedom from France. I am not evangelical but I am Christian, and as a Christian I would think that his heart would go out to the people in Haiti who are suffering or have died if he is such a holy and devout man. Personally, I would think that he would want to help the Haitian people because Christians are supposed to believe that God loves everyone and they are taught that they need to love and help their brothers and sisters. Again, if he is such a great Christian, why would he say such horrible things about his fellow “brothers and sisters”? If he wants to be a good shepherd and follow in the ways of God, he should be praying for the Haitians or helping to aide them in some way. He (and I as well) has no idea how much the Haitian people are suffering. The country just suffered the worst earthquake in 200 years. On the news there are images of truckloads of bodies just being dumped into dirt ditches. Those people who died will never receive a proper burial. No one will know what happened to them; whether they died or are still missing. I think Robertson’s preaching is so ignorant. I do not think anyone I know who is Christian would make comments like his. People would probably wonder what the heck was wrong with me if I said a comment like that to them. I mean are there seriously people who think Robertson is right? Like I said before, I am a practicing Christian, but I do not buy into these ridiculous and extreme claims. It actually really bothers me when I hear about people like Robertson. People like him try to push religion on you. If your view does not agree with his, you are automatically wrong. I get so frustrated when I hear stories about such ignorant religious followers. Quite frankly, I am tired of hearing their crap. And as for Keith Olbermann’s response to Pat Robertson’s comment, I agree with some of the things he said, but I think he should have said them in a different way. Some of the things he said were pretty low. I mean I do not agree with Robertson’s views but I do not “wish [him] to hell.” That is a little extreme. But on the other hand, I can see how Robertson’s comments and heartlessness would infuriate Olbermann, causing him to say such things. Fri, 22 Jan 2010 01:39:39 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/01/clubbing-the-bejesus-out-of-rationality__trashed/#IDComment53247204