I guess what I'm saying is that although I'm not one-hundred percent against these types of games, I would rather see them incorporated better in a video game plot rather than make it seem to children that the only way to get vengeance on those who have wronged you is by raping them.

Another thing that should be addressed is the culture in which these games come from. Japan and America are obviously not nearly on the same page when it comes to this issue, as well as many others. In Japan, these games are obviously selling so from an economic and cultural standpoint, I don't see how groups in American feel as though they have to right to tell Japanese game-makers what they can and can't do. I guess what it really comes down to is that in our culture, rape would most likely never be put in any video games in which our children could get their hands on them. We just need to do a good job of keeping it out of reach of our children.

As you could probably guess from the title, these games contain a storyline which features committing more than enough crimes to satisfy ones urges which include: murder, arson, grand theft auto, assault, as well as drug-dealing and drug trafficking. I happen to enjoy this series very much, and although it does include a number of things I probably wouldn't want my child to be exposed to until a certain age, I can't say that I feel as though the game has a negative impact on society. Taking a step back from that, I have to say that rape is a very touchy subject in my eyes when it comes to video games. Creating a plot which revolves around raping the woman who fired you from your job just seems a little ridiculous to me.

When it comes to video games, there are many different genres one can choose from. Whether it be a role-playing game, or a sports game, the gamer can escape into a world in which they control the outcome of virtually everything. Now that game-makers in Japan have come up with the brilliant idea of adding rape to that list of genres, it is no surprise that we as Americans are the first to speak against the idea. When the video first started playing, I must say that I had an immediate disposition to the idea of raping a virtual character in a videogame. If a child were to be exposed to this, I feel as though it is sending the wrong message altogether. On the other hand, as the video went on I began to kind of get the 'mixed emotions' feeling about these such video games. Think of it like this: here in America, one of the most prolific video game franchises of the past decade has been the Grand Theft Auto series.

This video reminded me a lot of another video that Sam showed earlier in the semester during class. It had to do with customers' reactions to a hired actor making very racist comments to an Islamic woman trying to purchase something at a deli (or something of the sort). Although they're two completely different situations, both videos give insight into areas of some Americans' mindsets about middle-easterners in our country. I just don't understand why some people continuously categorize middle-easterners as 'terrorists' based on the clothing they wear, or the dialect with which they speak. Abercrombie and Fitch obviously has a re-occurring problem within their organization in dealing with these misconceptions, as the video stated that this wasn't the first time the company has been in a legal dispute having to do with the headdresses of its employees. The fact that they have been sued before for virtually the same thing just goes to show that they haven't learned their lesson and they deserve to have to deal with these legal problems all over again. It's one thing for a single person to represent close-mindedness, but what does it say when it's coming from inside the company itself, as the video explained the decision to fire her came from corporate headquarters.

When do we as customers stand up and say, “Enough is enough?” Why do we continue to purchase shirts, pants, etc. from a company that has a past, and a present for that matter in discriminating against our fellow Americans? It doesn’t make sense to me. In order to really send a message to Abercrombie and Fitch I feel like we, as consumers are going to have to step up and show this company that we’re not going to let this take place anymore. I’m glad that this issue wasn’t just swept under and that FOX News decided to cover the story. In my opinion, this video is as frightening as it is shocking, I mean, the girl refused to have her face shown because she has had death threats over the incident. For people to be sending her death threats is just downright disgusting, she didn’t do anything to deserve the way she’s being treated. It doesn’t make sense to me that this girl was fired for a reason that was not only completely unfair to her, but that people would be threatening her life because of it. If I was in her position, I would be doing the exact same thing. Not only is this a testament to the closed-mindedness of some people in our society, but it is discrimination in its purest form. The only thing we can do is hope that her fight against Abercrombie and Fitch causes them to change their ways, and opens some eyes within our society.

I think, as Professor Richards has said multiple times during class, that the first step we need to take towards raising Americans' awareness as a whole, is to acknowledge what we have done to Native Americans in the past. When it comes down to it, we did steal THEIR land. I guess growing up I never really looked at it in that way, nor did I ever stop and take a moment to think deeply about the movies/television shows I watched as a kid portraying the Plains-Indian Wars. I remember whenever I used to visit my grandma and grandpa as a kid, I used to always watch a movie called Son of the Morning Star. It was based on the battle of the Little Bighorn (Custer's Last Stand), and now that I take a different perspective while watching it, I realize that this country really does have a negative view towards Native Americans. It really baffles me as to how we have come to view Native Americans with such a negative stigma. What we need to do is issue a formal apology to these poor people. For over two-hundred years we've taken their lands, killed off their main sources of food, and overrun their land with factories and other sources of industry, leaving them with just a mere shadow of what their culture once was. All the while, we have allured them with false promises of gold, property, and equal opportunity. Oh yeah, and not to mention the millions and millions of innocent men, women, and children we have killed while doing so.

The most important thing we need to do if we're going to break this cycle of unfair treatment of Native Americans is to educate our youth early and often about their hardships. I feel as though when I was growing up, schooling almost glorified Indians versus Cowboys types of things. I mean, one of the most glorified rivalries in all of sports does just that with the Dallas Cowboys and the Washington Redskins. How ironic I might add that our nation's capitol, the city of Washington D.C. so proudly cheers for the Redskins every football season. Back to my point, if we never let our children know what really happened to these poor people, genocide, then how will they be able to help them out any more than we have? Native Americans today are suffering all over the United States from poverty, alcoholism, and high suicide rates. The reservations in which Native Americans live on today try to continue the traditions of their ancestors, but with such a tough transition into our culture, their struggles remain. I feel as though something has to be done for the benefit of the Native Americans who grown up dealing with such struggles.

I think that there are a few reasons why lesbians are more ‘accepted’ in the world we live in than gay men. First, and most importantly, I think that the porn industry has taken advantage of a natural phenomenon amongst males in which they like to see two beautiful women fooling around. I mean, if I had to guess, I would say that well over sixty percent of males watch porn, maybe not on a regular basis but nonetheless. When you take into account how many porn websites and porn movies are available to the general public, it’s hard to argue the fact that they push for female on female action. For some reason men love seeing it and I do not see that changing anytime soon. Although there is ‘gay’ porn (male on male) out there, I feel as if no straight male would ever sit on their computer and watch it. However, I can’t speak for ‘bisexual’ males, or anyone who is testing the waters and may be interested in that sort of pornography. Second, I feel as though gay men are so much easier to target than lesbians. For instance, some gay men are very feminine and really put themselves out there. It’s no fault of theirs they’re just being who they were born to be. However when you openly display your sexual orientation like that, you’re kind of asking for trouble. It can be quite dangerous to come out of the closet, for some reason in our society some people feel like they have to make gay men fear for their safety, which just isn’t fair. Many gay males are physically assaulted just because of the fact that they are gay. This really isn’t seen as much amongst lesbians because quite frankly, no male, or should I say no male with a soul is going to savagely beat up a woman just for being a lesbian. When it comes to lesbians, I feel as though it’s harder to pick them out amongst the crowd. I personally don’t think I would be able to pick out a lesbian from a group of ten or more people. My third and final point has to do with gays and lesbians in the limelight. I feel as if gay men are more likely to fight out against opposition just as Harvey Milk did. I rarely hear of any lesbian women starting ‘revolutions’ to the extent that Milk did in San Francisco. This leads to a more vicious opposition against gay males. The fact that you’re a male, and you’re gay is just more dangerous in society today due to the fact that males love to fight for what they believe in, and when it comes to the gay/lesbian discussion sometimes that fight turns physical.

Let me start by saying that before I watched this video, I had little to no idea how racist some of the European soccer fans really are. The fact that they actually throw bananas at black players is absolutely appalling. I'm not saying that that the United States of America is perfect or has had the perfect past when it comes to racism, all you have to do is ask your grandfather or grandmother about how African Americans were treated when they were growing up to see that. With that said, Europeans really need to take a good long hard look at themselves and at what they're doing to the players on the field. I mean, I understand that most Europeans take a lot of pride in their cultures and in their countries, but at some point you have to be open to some sort of change.

I think that what the FIFA President and organization is doing is a step in the right direction, but more severe precautions should be taken against such pure discrimination at soccer matches. Players shouldn't have to be subjected to such things as bananas being thrown onto the field, racist chants and signs of hatred such as the swastika. I just hope in time that changes are made for the sake of the players.

Dumb. That's exactly what I thought when I read over this article for the first time. After reading it a second time however, I thought the exact same thing. How can an elected official ever be so naive in this day and age? First off, you're a white male representing thousands upon thousands of other... White males. You have to be conscious and responsible for what you say 100% of the time. Second, you're also representing African Americans! I mean, show some respect when dealing with these types of situations. You can’t parade around throwing words like negro out there for public consumption. In his defense, I’m sure he grew up in a far different time period than myself or any of my fellow classmates. Where things were different and blacks were treated poorly because of the color of their skin. Still, he’s grown up in the same time period where blacks have broke through the barriers and persevered through hard times. The ancestors of what once were slaves are now doctors, lawyers, teachers, etc