en-us https://www.intensedebate.com/users/2436763 Comments by joshespo http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/04/16/the-kill-team-tragedy-in-the-middle-east-001-blog/#IDComment145188668 Reading that article was actually mind blowing from my point of view. I have heard about how brutal and moral-less our American soldiers can be, but I really did not think that Americans; people representing our country half way around the world, would be that ignorant and disrespectful. This is why it is hard for me to fully support our troops, and to fully be proud of being an American, or being a citizen of the "greatest country in the world." There are many things that make me proud to be an American citizen, let alone live right there in the nation's capital. People all around the world really have such a strong hatred for America, and what we stand for, especially military wise. What is frustrating is that most Americans can not seem to understand why the country we live in is that hated country, that "bully" country, because by reading this article, that is what it seems that we are. When I read things like this, it makes it so obvious, so in front of our faces, why America is the "big bad bully." Also, this is just one little instance in Afghanistan, on one happy, hardworking, and most importantly, innocent 15 year old boy. Things like this and all the ridiculous bullshit that we used to hear about daily is what gives America the potential to burn all the positive bridges that we do have internationally. It is very frustrating, because like many topics in the world, being an American, I am generalized. If someone from Afghanistan came to America, and I was the first person they saw, they would most likely hate me. They would hate me because of what some morons in the American military not only stand for, but how they acted on it. Just like when people say "that guys is so black," or "that guy is so white," it puts people in a stereotype, and just like every other situation like this one, it is not fair. All in all, I think that America, especially our military, has a ton of work to do. Respect is one of the most important things in anything that one does in life, and that, is what I feel like America will start to lose if they keep their military actions up. Fri, 22 Apr 2011 18:58:02 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/04/16/the-kill-team-tragedy-in-the-middle-east-001-blog/#IDComment145188668 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/03/09/the-r-word-and-the-oblivious-others/#IDComment143210903 It is very frustrating from my point of view that this "R" word, or the word retard is used so often and with such ease for people. I do not know why that it came to be this way, but it is just flat out wrong. it is the same thing as when people say, "oh, that was so gay," or anything along those lines. I will admit it for myself too, as I used to say the "R" word pretty frequently. I said it around my mom or dad one time (I do not remember which one it was though), and they told me how disrespectful and ignorant using that word in that context is. Most people use the "R" word to call people stupid or idiotic, but when in fact the people using the "R" word are the people being idiotic and making them self look stupid and ignorant. The real messed up thing about using the word is two things. For one, it is mean in the first place to call someone stupid, and it is an act of bullying, which just means you are insecure about your own self. The second and more important and troubling reason of why it is just fucked up to call someone "retarded" is that it is completely offensive and disrespectful to people who are in fact mentally retarded, or have any sort of learning disability. People who are unfortunately mentally retarded were born that way, and it is not something that they or any one else in the world has or had control of. So when people do in fact idiotically use the "R" word, it is completely out of line because it is putting someone down with a word that goes in line with someone who can not control the special and/or different way that they are. People who use the "R" word in that incorrect and offensive context are just hurting other peoples feelings, and most of the time they are not even realizing it, until someone tells them how out of line they are being. It is very sad to hear it so often still, as I am 19 years old and on one of the greatest college campuses of all time. Fri, 15 Apr 2011 20:28:33 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/03/09/the-r-word-and-the-oblivious-others/#IDComment143210903 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/03/23/managing-crowds/#IDComment141158215 I found it fascinating when Sam discussed managing large crowds in class. Before that class, I had never really thought about the factors that go into managing a large crowd, or even a small crowd of people for that matter. It is pretty interesting that when no matter how large a group is, if everyone is on the same page and everyone has the same intention and or reason for being there, it seems that it makes it that much easier to keep everyone in line and keep everything under control among the group. A great example would be a large lecture hall class, like our Sociology 001 class. There are what, three hundred students in my Sociology 100 class? And only one teacher (Sam)? If you think about it, in most cases if it was most other settings, three hundred other people against one person would result in the three hundred people getting their way. But because the three hundred, (on average), of us that are there three times a week are there for the same reason generally, we listen to Sam, or at least pretend to :p. And like Sam has mentioned a number of times before in class, the people who seem to get the most out of class on a day to day basis are the people who sit the closest to the front ( or where Sam is lecturing). And that goes along with what Sam said in class, that the people who are closer to the front or the center of the main action at any religious congregation or really any one at a rally or something of that sort seem to be the ones who are the most engaged in what is going on, and they are the people that definitely feel more of an emotional connection to what they are involved with. Sat, 9 Apr 2011 03:40:32 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/03/23/managing-crowds/#IDComment141158215 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/03/09/what-would-make-this-guy-less-white/#IDComment139285100 I think that video was absolutely ridiculous. Like someone previously said in another blog post, i could not really tell if this guy and/or video was serious or not, at all. It pisses me off a fair amount that people say things like "Oh, he acts white, or he talks white" or say, "he talks black, or acts black." Anything saying that certain races talk and or act a certain way is complete ludacris. When people say things like "oh, he acts black, or talks black" they are only basing it off of stereotypes, and that is what makes it so wrong, and such bull shit. The reason that people say "oh, he is acting black, or talking black" is because those people may be acting or talking in a "ghetto" or gang-affiliated manner. And it just so happens that a fair amount of gang members or "ghetto people" are african-american. It is completely unfair to african-american people to just put their race in a general, negative statement like that, just because one idiot who just so happens to be the same skin color as them is acting and/or talking in that idiotic way. And on the other hand, when people say, "oh, that person is acting so white, or talking so white" they are also basing their false and idiotic assumptions on stereotypes. This time, they are basing it on the fact that "nerds" or "geeks" talk and/or act in a certain, different way. Those people saying those statements are assuming that all "nerds" or "geeks" are white. Yes, there are a number of nerds or geeks that are white, but every race has people who are also geeks or nerds. Once again, it is not fair to all white people that whoever is making that inaccurate and idiotic statement is putting all white people in the category of acting and/or talking like a "nerd" or "geek", assuming that you would find that to be insulting and/or offensive. As for white people's athletic skills, it seems to be true that african-american people do trump white people in terms of athletics and/ or dance, but the type of saying like "white men can't jump" is once again a terrible generalization and stereotype that is based on not everyone in the white race. Sat, 2 Apr 2011 03:39:53 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/03/09/what-would-make-this-guy-less-white/#IDComment139285100 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/03/15/lgbt-families-theres-a-lot-of-fear-out-there/#IDComment135673780 I have such admiration for this young man. For him to stand up in the court of law, especially in a place like Iowa where I feel like there is a fair amount of homophobic people there, he really shows great character. When I watched the video, i could tell that he really meant what he was saying and arguing for. Nothing about that was phony, and he made his point loud and clear. And his point was completely correct. Homo sexual couples should have every right that straight couples have in America. I am not saying that being raised by homosexual parents would have any impact on a child, let alone a negative impact on that child, but it should not matter even if that was the case. Our country is about equality, and how does America show any equality at all if there is any debate on whether gay or lesbian couples should be allowed to raise children? That just does not make any sense to me at all. And for the people who say that being raised by gay or lesbian parents, what kind of things would happen to the child? Like what would be the negative "effects" on the kids being raised by gay and lesbian parents? It baffles me that people are so ignorant. That is what makes me so angry on this subject, and on all the other subjects like this, like gay marriage or any racism at all. All of it is just so hypocritical in terms of what the United States is "all about." From my point of view, there should not even be any dispute at all over this topic. Clearly, Zach is one case of a child who was raised by a homosexual couple, but if he feels strongly enough about how he was raised, and clearly he feels that he was raised perfectly, then what would make other gay or lesbian couples any different? Parents are there to nourish, care, and love for their children. Obviously other things too, but love is the key ingredient. If you were to say that gay or lesbian couples can not raise a children in a positive environment, then you are saying that those gay or lesbian couples can not show love for something they care even a little bit about, and clearly, that is completely erroneous and out of line. Thu, 17 Mar 2011 20:59:39 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/03/15/lgbt-families-theres-a-lot-of-fear-out-there/#IDComment135673780 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/03/01/lighting-our-way/#IDComment132188441 It is weird to actually take a few minutes and think about how living in a certain amount of light, more importantly sunlight can actually affect your mood and your daily schedule and well being. In almost all of the United States, the sun is up for about 14 ish hours a day in the summer, and maybe 10 ish hours a day in the winter. We do not really have any places like Helsinki, with the exception of Alaska. My father's best friend lives in Anchorage, Alaska. And when I talk with him and his two sons, they tell me that some days, they would not even see the sun light, because it would only be out when they were in school. When i would hear these things, I would be astounded. Here at Penn State, the freezing, dark days of winter are hard enough for me to deal with. Getting up, going to class, studying, working out, these things are all that much harder to do for me when it is that cold, and it is that dark and "depressing" outside on a day to day basis. I really can not even imagine living in Helsinki for an extended period of time during the winter. In no place in America will you find bright lights at every table, not only for the lighting aspect of them, but also just to make people happier. Something like a "light festival" happens in America for pleasure and entertainment, just because we want to. It is funny that because of where a certain place is located, like Helsinki, Finland, they NEED to have light festivals to pretty much keep the citizens sane and out of depression. I feel like if I were to live in Helsinki, I would not be able to handle it. Like I said before, doing the things that I should do, like school and working out, is just that much harder in the brutal winter her in State College. In Helsinki, it is that much colder, and that darker, and for me, it would be that much more depressing. Thu, 3 Mar 2011 20:36:37 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/03/01/lighting-our-way/#IDComment132188441 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/02/21/stranger-kidnapping/#IDComment130407822 Yes, talking to strangers is dangerous for little kids, let alone anyone, but what we saw in the movies is not a common occurrence for the most part. I can see why people, and mostly parents would tell their kids over and over to not talk to strangers, but that is only because of the paranoia that seems to have swept over our country. The attempted kidnapping in the video above happened on the streets of New York City, one of the biggest, craziest, and unsafe cities in the United States. As frightening as it may be, I am not surprised that that happened in New York City. Obviously, you are going to put your kid at more risk if you bring him down town to New York City with you, even if he is within your vicinity. For me, I grew up a little differently. I grew up in a suburb of Washington D.C., far away from the crime and violence that takes place in the nations capital. My parents did not encourage me to talk to strangers out in public, but they never put a grey cloud above my head that said "DON'T TALK TO STRANGERS EVER." I feel like a large number of parents scare their children to death with these types of rules, and by the time their kids are in their teenage years, they have less social skills and have trouble talking to anyone really. It seems like kids miss out on so much if they only talk to the people that they are completely comfortable with and who they know. Yes, you can't have your child talking to a random man on the street at 11 pm at night, but at the same time, you learn the most from the people you barely know, or the people you don't know at all. Think about all the amazing experiences, cultures, or whatever you can learn about if you talk to people outside of your comfort zone. The way you grow as a person is to go outside of that comfort zone, and learn how to deal with it. How to deal with that uncomfortable feeling. In the long run, it teaches you a lot more, and I feel like you are better off that way. Thu, 24 Feb 2011 20:30:22 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/02/21/stranger-kidnapping/#IDComment130407822 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/01/30/conformity-rules-the-day/#IDComment128960469 I find it amazing that for the most part, human nature is for people to do what the majority of the people around them are doing. It is so interesting that even grown men, like the man in the video, can't be independent of each other. Even the simplest things, like the man wearing or not wearing his hat, is determined by what the men around him are doing. What most people don't realize, is that conformity is an everyday, all the time thing that surrounds us. A great example is in class, sociology class in particular, not everyone takes notes. I've noticed that certain sections of the lecture hall take notes, while others do not. The main reason behind this is because when others around you are taking notes, it pressures you to take notes yourself, because you do not want to be the odd one out. And the same thing goes for the other way. When no one around you is taking notes, and you realize that you may be the only one who is taking notes, it makes you more likely to re-think your actions and to not want to take notes, because once again, you do not want to be the odd one out. Conformity is certainly not necessarily a good thing. The taking notes in class is a perfect example. Obviously, when you are in class, you should be paying attention and taking notes. Just because the people around you are not taking notes, does not mean that you should not be taking notes. People make decisions based on the wrong logic. A majority of the time, people make decisions based on what will make them "fit in," not on what is necessarily the right thing to do in the situation. That is what I find so funny about sociology, and how people interact. Their actions are determined by all the wrong people, the people surrounding them, and not the right person, and that right person is yourself. Decisions should be made based on your own views, what you think is right, not what everyone else thinks the right thing to do is. Sat, 19 Feb 2011 00:14:42 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/01/30/conformity-rules-the-day/#IDComment128960469 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/02/04/the-not-so-invisible-structure-that-shapes-us/#IDComment127456239 I’m one of those Americans who is planning on never leaving American soil. There are lots of reasons for this. I won’t fly anymore – too expensive and too much hassle. My country is beautiful and I love it and I can go anywhere here and see all of it, without having to deal with passports and checkpoints and borders. It’s fun to just get in the car and drive. And for most people, they want to spend that vacation time with family, and family tends to be here, not there. Plus, and this is personal but others might feel this way, I sort of feel like I should learn and see my own country before I spend that time and money on other countries. We would love to travel to other countries much more than we do now, but it is difficult in the US to have both sufficient time and money for extended travel plans. Previous generations of US citizens seemed to be able to take longer vacations. If they were employed for many years or had union jobs they could take something like five weeks vacation or accrue and swap for more time off. Typically now, we only get two weeks (and our employers may not allow them to be taken consecutively). Sat, 12 Feb 2011 02:20:14 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/02/04/the-not-so-invisible-structure-that-shapes-us/#IDComment127456239 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/01/15/blog-1-freedom-and-toddlers-in-tiaras/#IDComment126071713 I feel very bad for these young girls that are participating in these beauty contests. You can say that they have the choice of not participating, but when you really think about it, they have no control over it at all. The way I see it, our society creates an idea that looks are the only things that matter. That is why people who are good looking seem to be more successful than others. Even if you don't realize it, it is natural for people to find a person annoying even if they are the nicest person you could meet, and that could be because they find the person to be ugly.The emphasis on looks puts fashion shows on the map. Most little girls dream about being America's Next Top Model, or maybe as pretty as Jennifer Aniston. The reason that girls are this way is because of the success that good looking people somehow turn out with throughout their lives. It is not even fair, because looks are something that come naturally to someone, mostly. These little girls really have no choice, because they are growing up in an environment where the most important female in their life is putting such a large emphasis on "beauty." The sad thing is that they are becoming shallow, and are completely ignorant to the fact that beauty can come from within, not just based on looks. What is even more ridiculous is that these little girls, who should be learning how to read, and how to bond with their friends and family in a positive way, are being judged by complete strangers on their looks. These girls are not even close to hitting puberty yet, so for them to be judged on their looks in the first place is completely out of control. This is another perfect example of why America is just not the "free-est country in the world," and how most Americans are just completely ignorant to that fact. Things like modeling shows, let alone modeling shows for LITTLE GIRLS shows how stuck up and ignorant we really are. These girls are pretty much "trained" to take part in something that even if they want to be in, they never really had a choice not to in the first place, that is the sick part. Sat, 5 Feb 2011 04:18:58 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/01/15/blog-1-freedom-and-toddlers-in-tiaras/#IDComment126071713 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/01/19/rise-in-national-guard-and-reserve-suicides-whats-it-all-about-soc-001-blog/#IDComment124180331 I can not say that I am too surprised that the suicide rate among members of our military is at a high level. Being in any military is a stressful and mentally and physically training job, but especially in America. America's military has a strong reputation to keep, and as of recent years, is often in the middle of a brutal and important fight. Killing people for a living is not exactly a relaxing and mind-easing way to live your life, so it does not surprise me that many soldiers go crazy and decide to kill themselves. If you are around killing and violence all day, it gets to you, it takes it's toll. It is not an easy thing for a soldier to get up everyday knowing that their job is to hurt others, and put their own lives at risk, especially in the beginning. But once they start getting used to their surroundings, and seeing what war is like, the killing and the violence that only they see as routine, just does not seem like a big deal to them anymore, it just seems like a way of life. I feel like soldiers lose sight of reality once they are in war for so long. They rarely ever see their families; their husbands, their wives, their kids, their parents. I can completely understand why so many soldiers go mental when they are in the military, and I feel like I would fall to that too. Another reason why the suicide rate could be so high is because of the lack of appreciation the men and women in our military receive. Sure, everyone says "Support Our Troops," and may stand up at the beginning of a sporting event and give them a standing ovation, but besides that, not many people really show any appreciation, or even take the time to have sympathy for what the soldiers do day in and day out. If I were in the military, that would make me feel terrible. Knowing that I put my life on the line every day just so everyone else back in America can live safer and better lives. All of these various factors from within war and from the country our soldiers our fighting for make suicide, drug and alcohol use, and violent behavior seem like it just makes perfect sense. Thu, 27 Jan 2011 20:53:04 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/01/19/rise-in-national-guard-and-reserve-suicides-whats-it-all-about-soc-001-blog/#IDComment124180331 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/01/15/what-does-it-mean-to-be-free/#IDComment122596702 After reading the letter that this inmate wrote, I realized how ignorant most of man kind really is. Day in and day out, we make simple decisions, like what we are going to eat, or what we are going to wear. Like this inmate said, he doesn't have those freedoms anymore. He makes the excellent point that as a whole, us people take things for granted way too often. It is hard to imagine waking up every morning and not being allowed to make such simple decisions like the ones he listed. Growing up around Washington D.C., it was pretty much drilled into my head that America is the country with the most freedom in the world. In some cases, one could say it is true. But in many others, you could say the exact opposite. The summer before junior year of high school, I traveled around Israel for 5 weeks. I saw a completely different culture, and I felt like I was surrounded by people who live their lives with much less tense than the citizens of America. In America, most people live their lives by how much money they have, and although technically everyone has the same opportunity to make as much money as anyone else, most people know that is just not the case. I appreciate what this inmate took the time to do. A lot of prisoners just give up on life when they go to jail, because they figure not much can come to them for the rest of their lives. This man though, he really took the time to look deeper into the freedoms that we have, and that he is missing out on. He makes so many good points about how people take way too many things for granted and how being in prison, although it may sound crazy, can be the most free experience one can have. It amazes me that this inmate made the best of his situation, and that he really found such an amazing theory; the theory that the biggest freedom anyone could have is the freedom to be the person that YOU want to be. Thu, 20 Jan 2011 21:48:48 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/01/15/what-does-it-mean-to-be-free/#IDComment122596702 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/01/10/last-name-%e2%80%9ce%e2%80%9d-%e2%80%93-intense-debate/#IDComment122158119 soc 001 Tue, 18 Jan 2011 22:41:37 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/01/10/last-name-%e2%80%9ce%e2%80%9d-%e2%80%93-intense-debate/#IDComment122158119