en-us https://www.intensedebate.com/users/4279035 Comments by hugo3282 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2012/04/03/voices-from-the-classroom-141/#IDComment338527945 Muslim women choose to cover the bodies and wear modest close as a way to respect their God as well as remaining humble. They truly don’t believe in the need to express themselves sexually to the entire world. They prefer to have people focus on their personalities rather than the way they look in a bikini. This is why I believe that Muslim women find it so degrading that woman in the United States run around in revealing clothes. They see it as disrespectful because our society had led us to believe that these outfits are appropriate. This is why many women from Muslim countries look at the United States as male dominated society. In some cases I believe when girls dress to be seductive it actually empowers them and allows them to achieve e their goals. Sex appeal is something that women could use to their advantage to get what they want. For instance my friend was telling me a story once that he was sitting in class and he started to hear this huffing sound, so he turned around to see what it. Turned out the girl behind him was trying to catch the attention of the professor she was blowing down the v in her shirt to make her tits seem sweaty. This girl knew that she could use her sex appeal to help herself academically and she knew how to work it. Sat, 14 Apr 2012 01:03:27 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2012/04/03/voices-from-the-classroom-141/#IDComment338527945 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2012/04/01/the-saggy-pants-problem/#IDComment333462730 Every generation has a different style. And the older generations is almost never willing accept this change. Like Elvis, the king of rock and roll, was beloved by the younger generation for his style and his dance moves but despised by the older generation because of the way he moved his hips. The first time he was filmed on the Ed Sullivan show was from the waste up. Another note worthy change between generations was the hippie movement. The hippy movement was a different way of life. As the movement spread across the country a new style was born. In the late 90s and early 2000s punk and hip hop artist started to wear their pants low. Once again a new style was born. Although the idea of wearing pants down below your butt was kind of lost on me it was a dominate fashion trend for the majority of my life. I honestly do not understand how this law could have been passed in the United States without being major news. I disagree with the publisher’s statement that there was a direct relation between the lack of outrage over this law and the fact that the state official is black. Although the style may have been originated by minority groups who it became a fashion trend when all groups started wearing their pants low as a style trend. If this law was passed 10 years ago it would have been a huge scandal but now that the style has began to die off, so this law got swept under the rug. Personally my biggest problem with this law is whether or not it is even constitutional. The government should not be allowed to enforce a dress code on its people. We are a free country and granted the ability to live our lives the way we want. I believe that this law will be overturned and found unconstitutional because it is. Sat, 7 Apr 2012 00:40:43 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2012/04/01/the-saggy-pants-problem/#IDComment333462730 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2012/03/15/voices-from-the-classroom-123/#IDComment317981585 The natural instinct to fight other people is a primal instinct in all of us. Over the course of the world history war has been waged for a number of reasons such as exploration and power but more often than not war was a product of one region trying to take the resources of another. In those days, that was just considered the way things went. You always valued the survival of your kind ahead of another because you did not know the other people. But now as the world is becoming increasingly globalized the world is shrinking. We can no longer go into a battle with “those terrible monsters in a far away land” because we’ve know them all of our life. That being said, I do not understand the shock that people have when they realize that the United States went for war for oil. It is one of the most valuable things in the world and is essential to our economy. If something would’ve happened to the oil supply to the United States, we all would’ve been in big trouble because we are not prepared to survive without it yet. That being said, I personally feel that war is a terrible thing and should be the last possible outcome. I also don’t believe that the United States was to that point with Iraq either. We prematurely started a war with a Iraq because we found a way to manipulate the public view enough to relate them with the terrorist attacks of 9/11. For me the only thing that can justify a war is time. Time really does tell you everything. Sat, 17 Mar 2012 01:37:16 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2012/03/15/voices-from-the-classroom-123/#IDComment317981585 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2012/02/23/voices-from-the-classroom-113/#IDComment300783102 The idea of eliminating racism is a straight forward concept but nearly impossible to actually accomplish. The infrastructure of racism has been so embedded into our culture for centuries that it is almost impossible to overturn. But I do believe it is possible to eliminate discrimination to some level. In order for this to happen there needs to be an open forum for people of different mentalities to come together and communicate the problems that we are facing for racial equality. Employers need to be called out on their discrimination of minorities because I believe many of these people are doing this subconsciously rather than intentionally. If this forum brings to light that there are some companies are truly discriminating against minorities, I believe that citizens of the United States would use their buying power to make this change. As a single person we have very little power to make a change, but if we work together and use our money for the companies who are fair and equal it would force a change in corporate America. For this to be possible we need to eliminate affirmative action. Although affirmative action's intended goal is to level the playing field for minority races, I believe it only leads to further stereotyping. It leads many white Americans to believe that minorities have an unfair advantage over them. This makes them question if the minorities earned their position or whether it was just given to them. The fact that many of the minorities who take these positions are equally if not more qualified than their white counterparts becomes overlooked and allows the majority to make excuses and leads to further stereotyping. The United States was built on the concept of capitalism. This new idea based on the notion that there will be winners in losers in our economy. For those who win, they will find themselves met with great success but those who find themselves to be losers are not likely to live a very comfortable life. I believe this core concept cannot be overlooked when it comes to racial equality. In order for affirmative action to become pointless the United States needs to do a better job with the education system. If all citizens, no matter your up bringing, were given the proper tools to become a winner then their should be no need for affirmative action. In the end it should come down to the person who does or doesn't earn the job given the same advantages academically than their counterparts. The United States has been historically refereed to as the melting pot of all cultures. There are very few Americans who can trace their origins to the United States before it was the United States. Most of the people who live here now can trace back their history to other countries. This has caused a lot of conflict over our history. Nearly every culture upon arrival was met with discrimination. But as time past and their differences were settled. As more time passed people began to reproduce with other nationalities until their hermitage was nearly indistinguishable. The exception being the black and brown community in the United States. I believe in time, that it will become even more socially acceptable for white Americans to reproduce with these cultures until our heritage is completely indistinguishable. Fri, 24 Feb 2012 20:18:52 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2012/02/23/voices-from-the-classroom-113/#IDComment300783102 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2012/02/16/voices-from-the-classroom-108/#IDComment295306268 Historically professional sports in the United States were dominated by the people who made the rules. The segregation of the black community from major league sports allowed whites to dominate the game for a long time. Then something shifted. After a few outstanding athletes with undeniable talent emerged from the black community people all across the country began to realize that there was a whole new demographic of talent that was untapped. Although black and brown people displayed talent, their presence in major league sports was extremely controversial. Then figures like Jackie Robinson entered major league sports and paved the way for so many others who wanted nothing more than to prove their talent on the world’s biggest stage. Currently in America different races have began to dominate certain sports. The National Basketball League has become driven by the talent of black Americans, hockey is dominated by white people and Major League Baseball is controlled by brown people from the Caribbean. The explanation for this is rarely touched but I believe that there are many contributing factors. I honestly believe that culture comes into play just as much as race. Some cultures just value curtain sports more than others. When people from Europe come to the United States to play a professional sport they are looking to play hockey or basketball because these sports are more cherished in their communities than football and baseball. On the other hand in the Caribbean sports such as baseball are among the most popular. These cultures have, in a way, specialized in these sports creating a more competitive environment which in the end encourages more competition and better players. When African Americans stepped into the spotlight for the first time in the United States for professional sports it was for baseball and basketball. They were the most popular sports in the United States at the time. Also, baseball fields and basketball courts are common all over the United States and the equipment required to play these games are relatively cheap. Over time they have grown to dominate the game. In the end I do believe that genetics and race do come into play for the domination of a sport. People from different parts of the world have always evolved to fit into their environment. Whether it is the color of your skin, body hair or shape of your nose, ultimately your body features come from years of evolution that your genetics have made to help you adapt to your environment. To me it seems foolish to think that those attributes have had no affect on sports. The way our bodies develop and the way that our muscles react has a huge effect on your potential as an athlete. The trick is to find your niche to have any hopes of being successful. Sat, 18 Feb 2012 02:13:20 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2012/02/16/voices-from-the-classroom-108/#IDComment295306268 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2012/01/31/voices-from-the-classroom-93/#IDComment289301448 The first people to stand up and condemn other people for speaking a different language in our country are the people who see themselves as true Americans. But I have no idea how history was lost on them. The United States was founded on new principal of freedom for all and along with that came the freedom to speak any language that you desired. I do not see the United States changing a fundamental principal that our country was founded on. Although the majority of the population in the United States will claim that English is their first language, the demographics are shifting. In my life time, more likely than not, Hispanics are going to become the predominant race in this country and when they bring their culture into our country their language will be sure to follow. This raises the question of what we should do. I personally believe that the United States needs to reform our school system to incorporate foreign languages because children are able to learn languages easier than adults. Plus, if they grow up with multiple languages, by the time that they are adults it will be like second nature to them. Now you might ask, but what about adults? I think businesses need to give their employees incentive to learn Spanish and other languages. Given that the United States economy is mostly a service industry, it does not make sense that it would not benefit many companies to have bilingual employees. With the increasing Hispanic population in the United States it seems nearly imperative for their success. This idea may be lost on many United State citizens, but if those people are that set so set in their way and not willing to accept change they mine as well be a dinosaur. In the long run this will not only help us communicate with our neighbors to the south, and the millions of people in the world that speak a different language, but I think it would benefit us substantially economically. How can a country full of people who predominately speak one language compete in a global economy? In the long run, they can’t. Sat, 11 Feb 2012 02:40:55 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2012/01/31/voices-from-the-classroom-93/#IDComment289301448 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2012/01/25/post-from-staffer-brenton-joo-mitchell/#IDComment283037487 Without knowing somebody's life story and the hardships that they've had to endure over their lifetime it is difficult to fully understand them. Many of your life's experiences shape the outlook you have on the world. I would assume that these people who are so closed minded to other cultures have witness or even personally experience hardships that they contribute to these other cultures. For instance if your in the police force in an area that gets hammered by crime by a certain race, you are more likely to racially discriminate against theses type of people, even if you are of that race. Unfortunately, when it comes down to it, many of these people in the video are either too set in their ways or to ignorant to change. I think it is always beneficial to keep an open mind and understand life from another perspective because life is a different experience for everybody. I find it interesting to try and understand life from their perspective. Understanding people with a different a thought process as mine helps me stay objective keeping me open minded to life. I was one of those people who just assumed illegal immigrants were a huge detriment to our society until I did a report of social security for one of my classes and I came across the statistics on how much money theses illegals are paying into the system and will never be able to collect. Although the government still loses money in an attempts on controlling the illegal population, I believe that one day we will find a way to make a mutually beneficial relationship. When I was packing my things up for school my sister gave me advice that I may never forget. She told me that when I went to school there are going to be people different than you. They are going to have different values and do things that you wouldn't, but just because they are different than you, it doesn't make them bad people. Illegal immigrants in the United States is a heated problem that is nearly impossible to solve. Many of these people are not open to seeing the positives that illegal immigrants bring to this country. Whether it is the money that they pay into our government threw taxes or a more affordable workforce willing to do the dirty work that many citizens aren’t. If the United States can find a way to encourage illegal immigrants to come to the United States on work visas and not just illegally, I believe we can be mutually beneficial from each other, but only time will tell if this will ever happen. Fri, 3 Feb 2012 19:30:39 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2012/01/25/post-from-staffer-brenton-joo-mitchell/#IDComment283037487 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2012/01/25/ill-eat-a-taco-thanks-pal/#IDComment276249890 The history of the United States is covered with wide spread racism, which is extremely ironic to me considering the descendants of the majority of our population can be traced back to another country. Up until the civil rights movement, in most cases, people made little attempt to hide their feelings towards other cultures living in the United States. But now over 50 years after the civil rights movement, racism still exists in the closets. I personally believe that this makes it even more dangerous. You use to be able to simply ask somebody their feelings towards other races and they would just openly tell you the truth, but now it is hidden. This ultimately makes it more difficult to weed out those people who are racist from public service. The mayor’s comment about eating “tacos” was clearly insensitive towards the Latino community and does not help East Havens current situation. I don’t understand how an elected official could say something like that about his own constituents. The comment mirrors the accusations of harassment and abuse being charged toward some of the policemen and certainly won’t help them in the eyes of the public. It seems that the towns’ public servants are openly stereotyping the Latino community. The accusations on the policemen lead you to believe that they must be guilty of some crime, but the Mayor made no real acknowledgement toward the potential victims in this case. I believe he did this because if the mayor threw the policemen under the bus, then it could potentially hurt the trust that the citizens of East Haven have in the police force. I find it hard to believe that they alleged activity of the accused police department could’ve gone overlooked and unaddressed for years until the point that they FBI would have to get involved. It was clear that changes must be made to their system to prevent this behavior in the future and the town has already begun to implement them. If this charges stick I would expect East Haven to see some big changes. Fri, 27 Jan 2012 21:31:30 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2012/01/25/ill-eat-a-taco-thanks-pal/#IDComment276249890 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2012/01/19/alabamas-migrant-workers-colberts-perspective/#IDComment270096328 America has come a long way from its humble beginnings in which we were primarily an agricultural society. Weather it was the industrial revolution, that changed people from framers to factory workers, world war I and II, which helped create the middle class, or the global economy the facts remain that we continuously evolving and need to find a way to adapt. The manual labor jobs that use to be a standard occupation for American citizens has now become undesirable and would not support our current standard of living. Many Americans view illegal immigrants as a blunder to society. They believe that they take jobs away from American citizens and drain our government financially. But in reality, this could not be further from the truth. Under the current conditions of the global economy, many of Americans have began going to college I hopes of getting a white collar professional job. The American kids who don't find themselves in middle class jobs. This has created a void for the much less luxurious jobs that help drive this country. Illegal immigrants come into this country and take the jobs that American citizens are not willing to. In the process they pay into social security and pay many other taxes, which they will never be able to collect upon because their not real citizens. Having a labor force that is willing to work for minimum wage helps create domestic jobs instead of outsourcing them to other countries. This in turn helps create many more white collar jobs for the American citizens. Colbert makes a strong point that, although we do have the potential work force to harvest our own crops, United State citizens and criminals are not motivated enough to actually do it. If the United States truly plans on flourishing in this global environment then we must find a way to take advantage of the labor of illegal immigrants in a mutually beneficial way. I believe that the United States should make work visas more readily available more people in Latin America. Even though these jobs seem extremely undesirable to the Citizens, the work conditions alone make any job in the United States more appealing than the majority of the unskilled labor jobs in Mexico. Sat, 21 Jan 2012 02:16:24 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2012/01/19/alabamas-migrant-workers-colberts-perspective/#IDComment270096328