en-us https://www.intensedebate.com/users/768514 Comments by ilovesoc https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/christian-invaders-the-full-lecture__trashed/#IDComment70068658 I agree with the above post that the solution to most religious problems would be better and more efficient communication. People automatically write off other people's religions because they are close minded or ethnocentric. Ironically however, a lot of religions have the same foundations. I think that is pretty funny because people assume they are so different and that their's is the only "right one". I myself am Christian but even certain Christians claim to be better than the other which is bizarre. That is actually the main reason my mom converted from Catholism to being a Presbyterian when she married my dad. She just felt like certain aspects of the church were a little on the corrupt side and she did not want to be a part of it anymore. I think I consider myself pretty tolerant of other's religions. I do not really judge a person based on what his or her religion is. Sat, 24 Apr 2010 02:42:54 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/christian-invaders-the-full-lecture__trashed/#IDComment70068658 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/women__trashed/#IDComment68235737 The play that was performed last class was very eye opening for me. They portrayed the flipside of the "big chest" obsession and made it seem bizarre to us. When Sam's wife explained that after the play, you should have had a ethnocentric wake up call, I really understood it better. Once we see a situation from another point of view, it is easier for us to recognize how different our cultures really are. Although, when talking about the media and how they portray women, the answer is pretty similar across the board. The ideal look for women on television today (in order to look "sexy") is: blonde hair, tall, thin, big boobs, flawless skin, and perfect teeth. Is that really what most women look like in our country? No, of course not. Women that actually resemble that description only make up a tiny percentage of our country, yet it is what we see most often on television and the big screen. We also see this look repeatedly on the covers of magazines, such as Cosmopolitan, Allure, Vogue, and more. The women featured on these covers each month maybe differ in one area every once in a while- their hair color. Most of the time, it is celebrities on the covers of these magazines. Celebrities obviously feel the pressure from Hollywood to look perfect and will basically go to any and every measure to achieve that perfection. However, it is sending the wrong message to fans and readers. Beauty should be based on what is on the inside, rather than how much you can flaunt on the outside. That is why I really enjoy and respect advertisements like Dove. They use real women in their ads both in magazines and on television. They use women that are older, saggier, heavier, and natural. While those adjectives may sound very unappealing to you, take them out of context for one second. Older than the 23 year old sticks you see on covers; saggier than the plastic, perked up models; heavier than the 100 lb, 5 foot 11 mannequin; and natural as in not enhanced, air brushed, or completely made up. Now these ladies seem more attractive already, once you have compared them to an air brushed goddess. I think it is said that a lot of women have these unrealistic expectations of how their bodies "should" look based upon what they see in the media. But I also do not think the media is completely to blame, because everyone has their own free will as well. Different body shapes, hair styles, and clothes have been popular over time. Now more than ever though, we are seeing the "need" to be more thin. It is very scary because a lot of bad can come from that "need". Many women and girls have developed an array of eating disorders over the years in an attempt to achieve their unrealistic view of beauty. Again, I believe this play was very eye opening and important for people to see because it showed how ridiculous the expectations to look "sexy" are. Thu, 15 Apr 2010 17:21:23 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/women__trashed/#IDComment68235737 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/i-really-want-to-know-also__trashed/#IDComment66245913 And although he tried to explain himself during the next class, the damage was already done. Yet, even after all that, I can still see his underlying point (which was distorted by so many other graphic statements, haha). He meant that both women and men should be able to talk about things that happen to them without being embarrassed or without feeling that they will be judged. I think very little topics should be considered "off limits", especially after taking this class. Everything and anything is worth taking about because you can learn a lot by just listening to someone else and his or her experiences. It is very eye opening. So, yes, I have learned to change some of my opinions by taking this class. Tue, 6 Apr 2010 17:44:12 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/i-really-want-to-know-also__trashed/#IDComment66245913 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/i-really-want-to-know-also__trashed/#IDComment66245865 I would never mean it in a cruel way at all, but a lot of my friends and people I know just use words like "nigger" , "spick", "bitch", or "faggot" as a general term to say hello to someone. I now understand a little better that this is not okay and that it actually offends a lot of people, directly and indirectly. Although my opinions have changed in some respects because of what Sam says in this class, I can agree that a lot of what he says is for pure shock factor. I do not really believe every word that comes out of his mouth because a lot of his statements are absolutely ridiculous, but most of them make you think which is what he wants. Some of the things he says are pretty offensive though, like when he started talking about his wife's period. That was a little weird. Tue, 6 Apr 2010 17:43:49 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/i-really-want-to-know-also__trashed/#IDComment66245865 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/i-really-want-to-know-also__trashed/#IDComment66245769 I lot of my friends have taken this class before so I was told that it is a class that will definitely make you think. And it does. A lot of the issues we discuss seem to be common sense (like avoiding stereotypes, watching our slang usage, and discussing lesbians, gays, bisexuals and transgenders). However, the way we act as a society shows us that we act completely differently than what we write down on paper during a survey or talk about in class. We judge people and that is just a fact of life. I am sure Sam would like us all to change our actions and alter our views on certain issues, his point really is just to make us think. I can honestly say that I have learned a lot from just the few months I have been in this class. And to respond the blogger, I have changed my opinions on a lot of things. I will admit that I used to throw certain slang words around that disrespect other races or cultures without even thinking about it. Tue, 6 Apr 2010 17:43:08 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/i-really-want-to-know-also__trashed/#IDComment66245769 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/how-can-we-ever-win__trashed/#IDComment65087804 It is natural for humans to mentally seperate those of color and stereotype. I do not think it right, but it is definitely a hard thing to change in someone. I do not know if I will ever get to the stage that Sam is in, but I am sure it would be a peaceful place. But as long as tensions between our races and cultures still exist due to wars, poverty, and inequality, the majority of people will be stuck in the first few stages of development. Wed, 31 Mar 2010 23:06:10 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/how-can-we-ever-win__trashed/#IDComment65087804 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/how-can-we-ever-win__trashed/#IDComment65087772 I agree with the post before me that if you did get offended by these photos, you are still stuck in the Immersion stage. I do not necessarily think that the Immersion stage is bad, it is actually healthy. But after a while, you need to realize that people are not always trying to offend others. If anything, it is the exact opposite. Sam is obviously past the Immersion stage and probably in the early phases of the Humanitarian phase at this point. People like him are rare though. It is almost impossible to go through life without having your perception of color alert and always thinking. Wed, 31 Mar 2010 23:05:48 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/how-can-we-ever-win__trashed/#IDComment65087772 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/how-can-we-ever-win__trashed/#IDComment65087725 However, I do know some black families that dress in a "preppier" way, as shown in the L.L. Bean catalogues and they would not be offended by the pictures shown in class. It really just depends what area of the country you are from too. I, personally, did not take any offense to the pictures shown in class because it did not seem strange to me. I see people dressed like that at home, black and white, so it did not phase me. Wed, 31 Mar 2010 23:05:21 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/how-can-we-ever-win__trashed/#IDComment65087725 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/how-can-we-ever-win__trashed/#IDComment65087670 But in doing so, sometimes other races can actually get offended because they feel like they are being "whitewashed". So where is the happy medium then? When we do not include blacks, we get ridiculed. When we do include blacks (or other races for that matter), we get ridiculed. No one really wins. But then again I guess it all goes back to the different stages for different races that we learned about it class. People cannot really fully understand "equality" until the very last stages of their lives. I am not even sure what stage I would consider myself to be in because I see common views in a few. Wed, 31 Mar 2010 23:04:45 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/how-can-we-ever-win__trashed/#IDComment65087670 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/how-can-we-ever-win__trashed/#IDComment65087640 If it were up to me, I think it would be ideal for everyone to be in the Humanitarian stage. That way people do not see color, they just see people. Or at least that is what I got out of the description of the Humanitarian stage. However, I can definitely see why some black people who are in the Immersion stage laugh at some of the images in catalogues like L.L. Bean. They're funny. If you are black, you know you do not really dress that way, so why pretend like they do? Well that is one way in which advertisers try to appeal to all ethnic and racial groups- by included all of them. Wed, 31 Mar 2010 23:04:33 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/how-can-we-ever-win__trashed/#IDComment65087640 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/native-hawaiians-ever-think-of-them__trashed/#IDComment64107078 There is so much more going on in our country that needs immediate help, like our school systems, health care, and employment levels. This has been an issue in Hawaii for decades and will not go away any time soon. Maybe we could focus on improving our economy and other, more prevelant issues first before we set aside that much money to set up a government. Once we're more stable as a country (financially), we can make Hawaii more stable as a government. Thu, 25 Mar 2010 22:29:47 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/native-hawaiians-ever-think-of-them__trashed/#IDComment64107078 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/native-hawaiians-ever-think-of-them__trashed/#IDComment64107051 This is a very interesting topic to discuss because it is not one that many know a lot about. I know that before I read this article, I would have just assumed that the Native Hawaiians have their own government, especially after hearing that the Native Alaskans do! However, I do understand that Alaska is not nearly as common to vacation in than Hawaii, but that does not mean they do not deserve the same rights. I am a little torn on this issue because while I agree that the Native Hawaiians should have their own government, I think the monetary amount to do so is too high and could be used for better things. Thu, 25 Mar 2010 22:29:31 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/native-hawaiians-ever-think-of-them__trashed/#IDComment64107051 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/native-hawaiians-ever-think-of-them__trashed/#IDComment64107005 However, one of the major drawbacks to building this government is the money involved. $300+ million is a lot of money to spend on 20% of land that would take away from future tourism and more monetary benefits. Ideally, I believe it is only fair that the Native Hawaiians get their own government because their land was taken from them so long ago. I just do not know how likely Congress is to want to spend that amount of money on an issue that they are already putting on the backburner for other, more "important" issues. Is the equality of a race not important to our government? Or are we just so focused on bettering the status within our natural borders to deal with the issues that effect our WHOLE United States? Thu, 25 Mar 2010 22:29:07 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/native-hawaiians-ever-think-of-them__trashed/#IDComment64107005 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/native-hawaiians-ever-think-of-them__trashed/#IDComment64106991 I am very surprised that we have not talked about Native Hawaiians yet in class, considering how much we talk about Native Americans and the inequality they face today still. It amazes me that these Native Hawaiians are the LAST indigenous tribe to receive their own government. I think a lot probably has to do with the fact that we do not see Hawaii as needing any more rights because they pull in so much money through tourism and vacationing because of their beautiful and secluded beaches and islands. It is easy to see now how this underlying issue could be so overlooked for so long. The fact that President Obama was born in Hawaii seems like it will really help the Native's desire to have their own government. He has more empathy for the situation because it hits him more directly than others. Thu, 25 Mar 2010 22:28:59 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/native-hawaiians-ever-think-of-them__trashed/#IDComment64106991 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/does-this-rudeness-thing-cut-both-ways__trashed/#IDComment63044333 We talked about this a lot in my section meeting. Why should white people have to monitor what they say when black people talk so freely like we're not supposed to offended? Well after talking to a black girl in my section meeting, it became a little more clear to me. She said, "it's because of a little thing called slavery". And she's right. White people will never fully understand the oppression that black people and their ancestors had to endure for decades in a country that we consider "free". However, I do not think that black people should be able to say whatever they want and not feel guilty. I believe that each person has the free will to choose his or her words wisely, so as not to offend any one person or culture. And I think if that applies to one group, it should apply to all. There is no reason why we all can't monitor what we say more and begin to put ourselves in someone else's shoes. It is pretty much common sense. Do unto others as you would have them do to you. It is really just a matter of respect, and we all need to have that for one another. This class has really opened my eyes to that. Even when I'm in private now, I think twice about the words I use to describe others. It honestly makes you feel better about yourself as well. I do not think it would be a lot fo ask of people to at least cut back a little on the offensive slang used to describe others. It is a huge step in the right direction. Also, I think black people feel like they can rip on white people more easily because they never had the chance to before. And it's not like we can say anything back to them like, "now that's racist!" because most likely they will just through slavery back at us. And you know what, they're right. They have every reason to still be bitter about that but something's got to give. We all need to realize that we're in this together and that the only way to receive respect, is to give it first. The girl in my section meeting really helped me to understand things from her point of view. I know understand where she is coming from and can see why black people don't get as much crap for ripping on white people. I do not know how fast these changes in attitudes will come about. Who knows, it may not even be in our life time. All i know is that the only thing you really can change is yourself and how you speak and act. Even recognizing this fact is a huge step. If you start to make more of an effort, your friends will start to notice as well. Fri, 19 Mar 2010 21:48:38 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/does-this-rudeness-thing-cut-both-ways__trashed/#IDComment63044333 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/02/1880__trashed/#IDComment62420753 It does not seem fair to put these people at work and disguise it as a "positive thing". Essentially, these Native Americans are destroying their land so that they can afford to live on what is left. This concept seems very ironic to me. We want to help those without jobs, but what about the land they were promised? Does that mean nothing? I feel very fortunate to live in a place where my parents aren't forced into employment in order to pay for our land. Although my dad did lose his job of 18 years in the middle of my freshman year, he bounced right back and got a new job within two months. For that I feel very fortunate because he had a choice of what he wanted to do next. These Native Americans on the other hand, do not. I really hope that their situation can improve in the future because it would be completely devastating to lose a whole culture because our country is so focused on making a profit instead of making everyone happy. Tue, 16 Mar 2010 16:54:34 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/02/1880__trashed/#IDComment62420753 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/02/1880__trashed/#IDComment62420718 Even today to see a certain race still being pushed around is mind-boggling to me. When I think of different races being discriminated against, my mind immediately goes to Blacks or Browns. It is hard to imagine that Native Americans till live on the reserves of their ancestors and are in such poverty now. It makes me want to do something about it but I have no idea what difference I could make. The government is controlling the drilling in these regions and the most I feel anyone could do is petition. While it is good that these American Indians are now finding more jobs because of the drilling, the negative effects that it has on their health makes it almost not worth it. We are all suffering the job devastation and lack of employment together. Tue, 16 Mar 2010 16:54:20 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/02/1880__trashed/#IDComment62420718 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/02/the-xxx-bible-who-wouldve-thought__trashed/#IDComment62416676 Also, I think it is not only normal, but healthy to question other faiths, even your own. Why would anyone want to go through life only believing one thing, only knowing one political affiliation, and only being friends with those of the same race? You need to explore what is right for you in order to be completely happy with your life. I just happen to have the same religious views as my parents, but I am still undecided on how I feel politically. I think that points from both sides of the spectrum (Republican and Democrat) are valid and speak to me more than others. Some of these points however are contradictory, and that is where I have to decide which is more right to me. It is the same with the Bible. Yes, there are some condracticting verses, but you also have to understand that the Old Testament and the New Testament are from completely different times. A lot of rules and practices within the Old Testament were done away with in the New Testament. Some religions still practice the views of the Old, but even I consider most of it outdated. EVeryone has their own interpretation of verses and scriptures, it is just up to you to decide what they mean in your life. Tue, 16 Mar 2010 16:24:27 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/02/the-xxx-bible-who-wouldve-thought__trashed/#IDComment62416676 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/02/animals-vs-humans-vs-welfare-cheats__trashed/#IDComment62414573 We all need to be more careful with our choice of words, whether we are around the group being slandered or not. i know that when I now refer to a group with a slang term, I immediately feel guilty and regret saying it. Just as you wouldn't wish to hear bad things being said about you, other people of different backgrounds feel the same way. What might not be offensive to you can be a huge insult to someone standing right next to you. If we were all more careful about the words we choose when we speak about people, there would much less hostility between other cultures. In order to build the bridge to understanding others, we need to understand that we have to work on ourselves first. I doubt this change will happen anytime in my life, but I hope to at least start it. It may sound a little cheesy but it's true. Tue, 16 Mar 2010 16:08:23 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/02/animals-vs-humans-vs-welfare-cheats__trashed/#IDComment62414573 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/02/animals-vs-humans-vs-welfare-cheats__trashed/#IDComment62414555 To add to my earlier comment, I think that we can all learn something from this incident. Since enrolling in Sociology 119 at the beginning of the semester, I have learned that being "politically correct" and using the right terms is harder than we think. However, it is something that we all need to learn so we do not offend those around us. For example, my friend is Polish and I had no idea that the term "Polak" to refer to Polish people was derrogatory in any way. She told me that her mom had been called that at work by one of her male employees as an attempt to insult her. Her mother was offended so much that she quit. Tue, 16 Mar 2010 16:08:13 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/02/animals-vs-humans-vs-welfare-cheats__trashed/#IDComment62414555