en-us https://www.intensedebate.com/users/767581 Comments by jela1988 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/what-about-people-who-can-only-afford-hard-work__trashed/#IDComment69944089 I did not understand your question at first, so I apologize for the previous comment. Exactly, not all immigrants can afford to get in the US legally. I know that what happens in Latin America is not fault of the US. In latin America there is racism, discrimination and inequality. For those of you who do not know, Latin America is the perfect example of inequality, is the continent where there is more income inequality. So do not think that it is all rainforest and poor people, but also do not think that there is prosperity and fairness. There is a lot of both. There are beautiful cities but also very poor neighborhoods. What I am trying to say is that the US is not responsible for all the disparities in the Southern continent, but as a big country and a large economy should help poor people that do not find opportunities in their countries, to get a job and have a better life. As some people say, this is the land of opportunities. In Latin America the greatest problem is that the opportunities are not available to everyone. In Ecuador, we do not even talk about racism, sometimes people never talk about inequality, and that is sad. So, I do believe that immigrants who want to work really hard should have an opportunity in the US, and many other countries of the world. The US should give the opportunity that they had in the past, when they just got here. In fact, native latin americans should be treated with respect. In the past they were oppressed and treated badly. Again, I am not saying that the US should feel responsible for what is going on in other countries, but politicians and every citizen should agree on the idea that immigrants do deserve a second chance. In the case of Ecuador, the greatest earnings for the country comes from oil, but the second thing is remittences. Remittences are the money that immigrants send back to their country. There are approximately 3 million ecuadorians around the world, and our population is 12 million. SO there is a lot of hard working ecuadorians, who had no money at all, that are now being productive and do not only help their families but also the whole country. I am very aware of the Latinos that come here just to be part of gangs or drug cartels. But they are only a small part of the millions and millions of latin americans who work hard and are always looking to have a better standard of living. Please, lets stop racism and discrimination. I am from Ecuador but I am not native american, I am hispanic and not from low or middle class. I do consider that we need to make a difference in our my country, and we need to stop inequality. But most of you are from the US, and i can assure yoy that I would do the best I can to make a change in my country. Please, do the same in the US. Fri, 23 Apr 2010 15:44:40 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/what-about-people-who-can-only-afford-hard-work__trashed/#IDComment69944089 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/what-about-people-who-can-only-afford-hard-work__trashed/#IDComment69941463 So, you are saying that poor people should not be allowed to come in to the US?In case you did not hear what Sam said in class, the european immigrants who came to the American continent, had no money at all. Who are we to tell someone else not to come to America? I am taking Econ 471, in that class I learned that there is always a benefit of migration for the two countries, the one that sends immigrants the one that receives them. There is always an economic benefit, so the problem is more cultural or political. What do you guys think? Is it because there is a lot of racist people? or it is because they are thinking about the jobs that Americans are loosing? ... which is not true? Fri, 23 Apr 2010 15:25:55 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/what-about-people-who-can-only-afford-hard-work__trashed/#IDComment69941463 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/300000-whats-it-mean-to-us__trashed/#IDComment69940685 I totally agree with the person that made the question. We should help, not only because it is "one world", but also because it happened 1 hour away from Miami. For those of you who do not know where Haiti is... is not too far away from the borders of the US. As part of a big country and the largest economy in the world, people should feel responsible for the people in need. If we have the ability, we have the responsibility. There are many ways in which people could help in Haiti, there are no excuses and it will makes us happy. Does everyone agree with me? Who thinks that we do not need to help poor countries like Haiti? and Why? Fri, 23 Apr 2010 15:19:18 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/300000-whats-it-mean-to-us__trashed/#IDComment69940685 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/what-about-the-men__trashed/#IDComment68016535 I certainly believe that men feel the need to conform to what society wants. We are not in the same level as women, but we dress and do things that are acceptable in our culture. As Sam said on thursday, if you walk around campus or downtown, you will see basically one type of clothing for men. Everyone dresses in the same way. Well, not everyone... but at least the majority does. I said, not everyone, because there is a lot of men who dress differently, because they come from different countries. I am from South America, and I certainly do not wear the same stuff that everybody wears, like hats and huge jeens... I dress according to what my culture and what is acceptable in Ecuador. The girl on the video never said anything about clothing. So there are a lot of things that we could talk about. Alcohol is something more connected to men than to women. For men it is harder to make friends if you do not drink. For women it is more acceptable and you can still make friends if you do not drink. In my country, it is not the same as in this town. Peer pressure is something unbelievable in State College, you are no one if you do not drink. So, in the case of alcohol I do believe that men feel the need to do what everybody does. If we talk about taking care of our body, for obvious reasons, women are more likely to do more things than men. I am not saying that men do not like to take care of their bodies. You can see thousands of men everyday in the gym just in State College. Women use lotions and special shampoos, conditioners, etc. everyday. Women go to the hair saloon, they fix their nails, etc. Women do all that not only because they want to look beautiful, but also because they feel the need to do something that every women does. They want to look like the girl in the magazine, or the one in the movie, or maybe like her best friend. As someone said in class on thursday, women are more likely to talk about other women and judge. I am not trying to be sexist, because I am not... I have 2 sisters, but women are more likely to talk about other women and feel the need to do things so people do not talk about you. And if they do, then it better be good things. I am generalizing, all women are not like that, but most of them. In the case of men, there are a lot of guys who talk and judge other people because of the way they dress or because of the things thy do. if you go to NYC, I am sure that men will feel a greater pressure of dressing like everybody does, maybe, more elegant. Wed, 14 Apr 2010 17:06:32 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/what-about-the-men__trashed/#IDComment68016535 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/what-might-be-the-second-step__trashed/#IDComment67330893 There are many things we could do to show our disagreement towards slavery. One of the "second steps" could be, joining organizations that are directly fighting against this issue. We need to give our support to this organizations that are constantly trying to change the status quo. It is not easy to start an organization like that, but it is really easy for us to just become part of those things that already exist. I googled anti slavery and I saw many websites that had to do with organizations, and groups of activists. It is not hard to get into these groups and take your second step. All of you should join one of those groups. Mon, 12 Apr 2010 00:05:22 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/what-might-be-the-second-step__trashed/#IDComment67330893 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/want-to-learn-chinese__trashed/#IDComment67329970 Do not get me wrong, I really admire people who want to learn things from a different culture and even better if it is another language. I really think that people who understand that the world is not just about one country or even one continent. I am from South America, and I speak two languages, spanish and english. I am not perfect in english but since I was a kid, I have been interested in learning another language. Mandarin is an amazing language, and really complex. People who can learn mandarin, must be really smart and have enough time to study the language. But again, i do not believe that mandarin is the future language. Sun, 11 Apr 2010 23:57:49 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/want-to-learn-chinese__trashed/#IDComment67329970 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/want-to-learn-chinese__trashed/#IDComment67329142 First of all, chinese is not a language, and I do not agree with Sam and other people who say that we need to learn mandarin in order to ensure a future in the marketplace. English is the language that is widely used for business purposes.There is no reason why things will change. Even if Chinas population grows and new Chinese businesses emerge, english will be used for business purposes. Maybe in hundreds of years or even later in the future we will see a new language being used, but as long as me and my children live, english will still be used. The whole world is so used to the use of english. Sun, 11 Apr 2010 23:51:20 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/want-to-learn-chinese__trashed/#IDComment67329142 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/what-about-multiracial-people__trashed/#IDComment65669647 There are so many races, that it is impossible to number them. So, is it really easy to categorize people into 3 different categories? Again, I just heard Sam talking about White, Brown and Black; he never uses any other color. It is OK to be multiracial. And you do not need to categorize yourself as white or brown. You are Puerto Rican and your father is "white", thats it. I have never though of myself as multiracial. I am from Ecuador and in the past some of my ancestors where Native americans and mostly europeans. But I do not think of myself as multiracial. Can someone comment on this post? Please... what do you think about multiracial people, and latin americans. Sat, 3 Apr 2010 00:29:52 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/what-about-multiracial-people__trashed/#IDComment65669647 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/what-about-multiracial-people__trashed/#IDComment65668933 I totally agree with Miss Fancy feet. We do not need to identify with a team, we do not need to call ourselves black, white, brown, yellow or whatever. Actually, what would Asians be? White? Brown? Those categorizes do not even completely cover all of the "colors" and races. We do not need to identify with a team. It is better to label people according to their nationality. I am not Brown, and I am Ecuadorian. I am not White and I am ecuadorian. Many people who see me, think I am Italian or Spanish. I am Ecuadorian, I do not think that being white is better, brown is worse, it is just that I do not want to be label as any of them. Sat, 3 Apr 2010 00:25:59 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/what-about-multiracial-people__trashed/#IDComment65668933 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/what-about-multiracial-people__trashed/#IDComment65667598 This is a very relevant issue for me personally, because I go through this sort of identification problem myself. I am 100% international student here at Penn State. I was born in Ecuador, and both my parents are from the country in question, although just by looking at me you would think that I am white, european. In Latin America, we went through a different historical period of colonization, where the spanish that came to the new word did not seek to eliminate and suppress the native peoples. Rather we inherited their culture, language and religion; and in doing so, many of the european and native blood lines became mixed; in my country, my heritage is known as mestizo. I know that I have native blood but I can also trace my lineage back to Spain, and the same can be said for many people in the Latin American continent, and most of my Latino friends here at Penn State. In my consideration it is very difficult if not impossible to strictly qualify a person in a single ethnic group, specially if the criteria in question is only sin color. I believe that a person of some shade of light skin can combine many histories embodied in his/her genetic composition. In the case that it is absolutely necessary to categorize people under one criteria, it is far more simple to do so by nationality. In this particular point in time, I dont think The United States of America has the capability of doing this. In Latin America, when identify yourself in front of a diverse group of people, you would only do so by mentioning your nationality, not your ethnic background. Maybe, it is a difference in history. We had a relationship with our colonizers for a little over 300 years, which has been enough time, for the ethnical lines to be blurred, I do not think the same can be said for America. Many years ago, there was a Roman influence in England. There has been Arab presence in Spain. There has bee Greek colonies in Middle East (mesopotamia). Due to our common human history, I believe that it is difficult to say that anyone is purely white. We all come from the same mother land. I really do not like when in class we talk about White, Brown, Black, etc. As I said, no one is completely white. If someone wants to categorize people by color, we do not have to think about where they come from and where their parents come from. If you are white, if you look white, you are a white person, if you are almost black but not white, then you are brown. But we should not categorize people in different colors given our ancestry. Can anyone tell me if I am right or wrong. Does anyone feel like this? I dont really like to label people. Sat, 3 Apr 2010 00:21:19 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/what-about-multiracial-people__trashed/#IDComment65667598 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/flip-the-script-for-a-moment__trashed/#IDComment64225220 I want to also comment on pcommerford posting. I do not really understand what are you tired off? People talking about race? We are not the same, and some people are smarter than other, as well as richer than others. There is inequality and we need to be aware of it so we can make a change. I am from Ecuador, and I see inequality, believe me, if you think that there is in inequality in the USA, you should go to Ecuador to see how many people live in poverty. We never to be aware of the differences that exist among people so we can make a difference in our countries. Fri, 26 Mar 2010 17:48:12 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/flip-the-script-for-a-moment__trashed/#IDComment64225220 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/flip-the-script-for-a-moment__trashed/#IDComment64224673 I want to comment on what SB32 post. I did not like at all the comments made by Sam on class. Actually, 3 girl friends from Ecuador came to visit me and they heard all of it and felt annoyed by his comments. I am a guy, so I do not really care about his comments, although I do feel that they were not necessary. However, I want you to understand what I got from all of that, which is why do we not talk about some issues? I am not saying that we should talk about bleeding, I am just saying that we need to ask ourselves why do we simply not talk about some things. He never said, we should talk about bleeding, he just wanted to know why things are how they are. Fri, 26 Mar 2010 17:42:37 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/flip-the-script-for-a-moment__trashed/#IDComment64224673 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/flip-the-script-for-a-moment__trashed/#IDComment64224102 I want to tell everyone something about my country, Ecuador. It is sad to see that some people just do not like to talk about race relations, but it is even worst to see that a whole country does not talk at all about race. Things are just how they are and no one cares about asking questions and changing things. If you live in the USA, you are lucky. If you think that discrimination is a big deal in the USA, you might be wrong if you compare it to other countries. In Ecuador we never talk about race relations. I can even say that we never talk about discriminations and the "minorities", who are not really minorities, do not even care about changing the status quo. Again, minorities who are not really minorities. That is why the situation in Ecuador is bad, because not the majority is controlling. Somehow, it makes some sense that the majority rules, right? That is what happens in the USA, the majority of the people is white so they rule, they are on the top of the mountain. In Ecuador, the minority rules. The native Ecuadorians and the African Ecuadorians do not have power at all. The ones in power are the decedants of the Spanish and other Europeans. In Ecuador we do not even talk about discrimination because people just accept how things are. I have to admit that in the USA things were worse because of slavery, that did not happen in Ecuador. I am part of the "minority" that rules in Ecuador, but I truly want to see the minority to have more power. I really want to see the day when discrimination and inequality are over. It is sad to see how many people suffer and how many people work so hard to only earn a couple of dollars a day. Discrimination, inequality and race relations is something that everyone in any country should be aware off. What I really want is that the poor people in my country speak up and ask questions. Why do they have to suffer? Why do they have to struggle every day while other people earn millions of dollars a year? It would be better to have millions of educated people who can afford a nice house and good food, instead of uneducated people who dont even play a part in the economy of the country, because they cant afford a good house, car, or food. If the MAJORITY of ecuadorians would start to ask questions, they would understand that they could be the true leaders. At the end, they are the ones who elect our presidents. They could fight for their rights and for their freedom. I wanted to relate this issue to Ecuador, because it is something that I have always thought about. Why do people never talk about discrimination and race relations, and there is so much evident inequality? Fri, 26 Mar 2010 17:37:30 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/flip-the-script-for-a-moment__trashed/#IDComment64224102 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/the-world-is-full-of-surprises__trashed/#IDComment61718074 I want to comment on “phi” post. I have always asked many people if there were black jewish people. In fact, not even my jewish friends were aware of the existence of this tribe. Maybe it is something they heard but they just don’t feel related to them, so they completely rejected the idea or issue. When was this tribe first known? When did the existence of the tribe came to the light? As “phi” says, Judaism is a culture as well as a religion, and a race for some other people. It would be interesting to compare the traditions of the tribe and a regular jewish family in Israel. Fri, 12 Mar 2010 17:43:12 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/the-world-is-full-of-surprises__trashed/#IDComment61718074 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/the-world-is-full-of-surprises__trashed/#IDComment61718015 I want to comment on ctm post. I believe that if this tribe survived for more than 2000 years, it is impossible for this tribe to disappear. In fact, there is no reason why this tribe should disappear. I do not know how many people there is in this tribe, but if they emerged 2000 years ago, there should be a lot. In fact, it is interesting to think about that there are huge amounts of people around the world who do not consider themselves Jewish, but have Semitic blood. I want to know what other people think about this issue. If you are jewish, do you really feel connected and related to this tribe in Zimbabwe? Fri, 12 Mar 2010 17:42:48 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/the-world-is-full-of-surprises__trashed/#IDComment61718015 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/02/why-is-this-racist-really__trashed/#IDComment59827775 I totally agree with npeffer, and his/her idea about "underrepresented group". In the case of the NBA, white people are not underrepresented, so there is no reason to create a new basketball league. The NBA, as it is, its really exiting, I would say that it is the third most popular sport in America, after football and baseball. Nothing should be changed in the NBA. Diversity is a good thing. If there are players who are not as good as the ones on the NBA, then, find another sport, or get a job. Basketball, as any other sport, is a competition!!! It is obvious that some people will be better than others. And if another league needs to be created, good, but why only whites? Fri, 5 Mar 2010 02:58:51 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/02/why-is-this-racist-really__trashed/#IDComment59827775 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/02/why-is-this-racist-really__trashed/#IDComment59827310 I want to comment on the post of jay. I totally agree with you. What does this guy "Moose" refers to as traditional basket? What is that? There is only one type of basket. In tennis, soccer, basketball, NFL, etc. the speed of the game has increased dramatically, but thats how it should be. It would be really funny, if someone proposes a new tennis league for only white females, because no one can handle the Williams sisters. Funny right? It is the same here. Every sport naturally evolves. Things are changing because the training is harder, equipment is better and sometimes lighter, etc. I totally agree that this is an act of racism, there is nothing else to say about it. Fri, 5 Mar 2010 02:53:53 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/02/why-is-this-racist-really__trashed/#IDComment59827310 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/02/why-is-this-racist-really__trashed/#IDComment59826457 I am not black, white, or brown; I am hispanic and latino, and to hear this guy talking about a only-whites basketball league, is really annoying. I am a huge basketball fan, actually this weekend I will watch the Heats vs. Hawks. I just want to make sure you know how much I like basketball. I totally agree with the black guy on the video, it would be a step back to allow this to happen. Actually, it is a step back that someone is proposing something like this. It is not racism? If is smells like a dog, runs like a dog and eat like a dog, it probably is a dog. IT IS RACISM, and stupidity, because it is not even a good business idea. Basketball is a a game played by many different people. In the NBA there are players from every continent, if there is a player from Australia, Oceania. There are players from Asia, Africa, South America, Europe and obviously, North America. Now days, the best players are black, but there are great white players too. If there is not space or no competition in the NBA, then a new league could be created but why only whites? It is a stupid idea. I would not watch that league. There is a league in Spain and it is as diverse as the NBA. It is in Europe and it is not only whites, why should it be only whites? Aside from racism, there would not be any dunks, any emotions... anything. It would be awful. NBA cares, have you heard about this? Have you seen all the commercials? Why does the guy on the video talk about guns? They are good guys, but obviously they sometimes do things wrong. The NBA has a great prestige, and its great prestige is for many reasons, one of them being diversity. Actually it would be really interesting and funny to see how many sponsors would this guy get, and also the amount of people supporting the creation of this new league. This proposal is stupid, and it sounds like an idea that could be heard 100 years ago. I could say that I respect the "promoter's" points of view, and if there is people who would actually see the league, thats cool. But I still think that this idea would segregate people, and it would be a step back in, probably, the most diverse country in the world. It would be really interesting if someone could comment on my ideas. Am I the only one thinking like this? Am I being too intolerant? I really do not understand the reason for proposing that. It would also be interesting to see what the NBA and NBA players think about this issue. Does somebody know about this issue in more details? Tell me what do you guys think. Fri, 5 Mar 2010 02:45:30 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/02/why-is-this-racist-really__trashed/#IDComment59826457 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/02/when-do-we-do-or-say-something__trashed/#IDComment58861583 I have never been in a position where I had to defend someone from discrimination and ignorance. But just by watching yesterdays video in class I really felt anger, I really wanted to say something. I would definitely speak up, not insulting and yelling, but I would definitely say something. I really feel bad not for the people being discriminated but for the racist and discriminatory people. Maybe it is not their fault that they are so ignorant, maybe they just grew up in an environment where there was not tolerance for other cultures. I feel sorry for them... it must be really sad to feel hate and anger towards other people. I would definitely say something in the videos situation. Fri, 26 Feb 2010 19:44:46 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/02/when-do-we-do-or-say-something__trashed/#IDComment58861583 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/02/when-do-we-do-or-say-something__trashed/#IDComment58860925 I totally agree with "zana". Yesterdays class was the most interesting and thoughtful class. Specially because I am from South America, and I really hate when people generalize. I know it is not the same as with people from the Middle East, Arabs, Persians, etc. I hope more people comment on these videos, because it is really interesting what most of the people have commented. We need to speak up and defend other people against ignorants. People should read nespapers, watch the news, watch documentaries and travel. It is the best thing to do, to travel. To understand how other people feel when they are discriminated, to understand how does it feel to be minority, and most importantly to understand what other cultures are truly about. Fri, 26 Feb 2010 19:38:28 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/02/when-do-we-do-or-say-something__trashed/#IDComment58860925