en-us https://www.intensedebate.com/users/758932 Comments by jtomvp https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/tent-cities-in-haiti__trashed/#IDComment70046457 Too be honest, I expected things to be a lot worse in Haiti. Obviously this is a terrible situation, but at least Haitians aren’t just sitting in their tents all day waiting to be given their lives back, they are back on their feet, and I believe that we can learn a lot from them. I would like to think that if this happened to us, then we would keep our chins up and start back from scratch, rather than dwell on what we have lost (economically), but maybe we are too used to having so much that it would be too hard for us to start over again. Sat, 24 Apr 2010 01:22:30 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/tent-cities-in-haiti__trashed/#IDComment70046457 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/south-park-off-the-hook__trashed/#IDComment70044883 The creators of South Park really like to push people’s buttons and see how far they can go without (illegally) crossing the line. I have to admit that it is an entertaining show, because it points out the flaws in humans and kind of shows us that there are so many angry people out there. I don’t know much about the Islamic religion but I believe that Muslims consider it blasphemy to show any physical representation of Muhammad, so whether it’s good or bad? I’m not saying that Muslims are uptight or anything, but a big deal is being made over a cartoon show. Sat, 24 Apr 2010 01:16:44 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/south-park-off-the-hook__trashed/#IDComment70044883 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/300000-whats-it-mean-to-us__trashed/#IDComment70040488 I have to admit that I am one of those people who don’t really feel affected by news of natural disasters in other parts of the world. Problems somewhere else don’t seem real and don’t put speed bumps in my everyday life. I know I shouldn’t be self-absorbed, especially considering the fact that my parents adopted six of my brothers and sisters when they were orphans in the Philippines. There are ten of us total, and we all grew up thinking our family was normal. My parents in fact have said they did not plan to adopt, but when they were overseas and saw the huge need, they had an “aha moment” and went with it. They experienced a social issue up close and personal and chose a way to do what they could about it. People come face-to-face with social issues at different times and in unexpected ways. Not everyone adopts six kids just because they want to make life better for orphans, and not everyone sends money to Haiti or builds houses for Habitat for Humanity. But plenty of people do, and that’s a good thing. I’d like to think part of me is changing, and after paying attention to what is going on in the world and what is happening to others, I can start doing something, big or small, to help somebody else. Just like the girl in the video said, if somebody in my family or anybody close to me died, or if a terrible accident happened to them, I would not be able to focus on something like school. Compared to the health and safety of my loved ones, school or my part-time job would be pretty meaningless. Even if I wanted to, though, I couldn’t help every time someone needed it. Preparing myself to sort out the issues and needs and ways I can help will take more time and education than I have right now. That doesn’t mean I don’t feel anything when there’s news of a disaster like the one in Haiti. It means I can’t stop, do a 180-degree turn, and figure out what more I can or should do besides contribute a few dollars. I completely agree that we should be helping, no question about it, but why is there so much pressure to do so? There are too many causes and disasters and people who are young, old, sick, or hurt, and it’s overwhelming to think about helping every time someone asks. We can only do what we can do, and it isn't possible to join every effort to save the whales or send school supplies to young girls in Afghanistan or buy mosquito nets for kids in Africa. I can’t do it all. But I will pay attention more to what’s going on, try to put things in some kind of perspective, and do what I can. Sat, 24 Apr 2010 01:00:21 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/300000-whats-it-mean-to-us__trashed/#IDComment70040488 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/christian-invaders-the-turnaround__trashed/#IDComment68452509 It feels weird to be able to say after leaving class that I really do understand the fight against Americans now. It made total sense when Sam said that people on both sides pretty much only look at events and situations from their own perspectives and believe they are “right” or claim they are the victims. We all believe we are doing the right thing. When I read about American soldiers harassing innocent Iraqi citizens, the only thing that popped into my head was exactly how Sam put it—yes, those specific people are wrong and should be punished, but overall we are good people and the rare occasions in the media that portray us as bullies are not realistic. However, if I saw something similar to what was shown in class, like actual terrorist attacks, pictures of young Muslim children holding rifles, disturbing protests, and so on, I would probably react ignorantly and think that these kinds of images showed how many Muslims really are—evil and wishing harm to innocent people. From their vantage point, they clearly see and feel the same way about us. When you consider it that way, everything seems to fall into place. Not that it directly solves anything, but if more people could understand how typical people identify with and support the purpose and legitimacy of their own group, like I recently managed to understand, we might start talking more and attacking less. It really changes your perspective. Others want what we want, and that is to live a normal, terror-free life that allows us all to be safe and healthy. Unfortunately, the circle of world events seems to continue without anyone effectively trying to understand the view from the other side. I don’t get why anyone might think one religion is better than another and converting your enemy is the only way to resolve conflict. Because I am a relatively non-religious person, it is easier for me to see things more neutrally. I am not biased toward or against any religion and have no problem accepting that people worship differently. Like I said before, I just don’t get it; live and let live. These fanatics are very creepy, traveling overseas and basically disguising themselves to be Muslims. They say that doing this is worth the risk because eternity in heaven is better than eternity in hell, but would their God be a fan of their actions to deceive people? Personally I don’t believe Christianity has anything to do with U.S. involvement in the war on terror. I think oil simply translates to power, and if your enemy is living on the land directly above such a source of power, then it attracts attention and competition and fear. But more to the point, I think people in Middle Eastern countries DO believe Christianity is the basis of the war. If we switch words around a little, I think most Americans would agree tha\\ Islam and Muslims who practice it fanatically ARE at the core of the conflict. Again, it’s probably all about perspective. Sat, 17 Apr 2010 00:55:40 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/christian-invaders-the-turnaround__trashed/#IDComment68452509 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/the-tyranny-of-radical-muslims__trashed/#IDComment68446534 I used to be guilty of generalizing a group of people based on the actions and words of even just one person in that group. Although I knew it was wrong and I knew that not all are like that person, the thought still did cross my mind, unfortunately. One evil person does not count for all of the people in the same religion or culture. It’s just that the bad is what we look for, and all of the good things are looked through as if they don’t make up for the chaos that the other one caused. I hope that your husband doesn’t get any hate for this. Fri, 16 Apr 2010 23:54:57 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/the-tyranny-of-radical-muslims__trashed/#IDComment68446534 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/what-might-be-the-second-step__trashed/#IDComment66920709 I think that step two is a step that people aren’t expected to take. I think that it is something that requires you to take action to try and liberate these slaves. But something like that would take so much for a person to accomplish that it really isn’t something that people would consider doing and therefore not considered a step. You could ask many people who are in step one if they would travel to these plantations and do whatever it took to free the slaves, but I think that they would try finding another and safer way to do that, yet less effective. There isn’t much stopping us from doing that other than determination and our own greed for a candy that we apparently think is more worthy than the lives of innocent people. Sat, 10 Apr 2010 02:24:30 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/what-might-be-the-second-step__trashed/#IDComment66920709 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/this-is-totally-off-the-hook__trashed/#IDComment66900704 I am somewhat a fan of shooting games like Call of Duty, even though they are based on violence, because I actually like the strategy and good guy/bad guy aspects. That said, I think these “rape games” are in a different, totally disturbing category, and it’s pretty wild to know there are people who actually pay to play them. Now I actually feel better about myself playing shooting games when there’s this crazy group out there playing gruesome rape-to-win games. It’s hilarious for anyone to say that this kind of game would help potential rapists vent their desires without actually raping anybody. I really doubt that deviant people could be satisfied with virtual rape. The way I see it, violent, pornographic games are only going to fuel sick desires to do this in real life. I wonder if fans of these games have a voyeurism thing going on and feel safe watching and playing sick games as part of a really unhealthy lifestyle. I also wonder how game creators would respond to news that their games provoked somebody to rape someone. I’m not a violent person, yet I play shooting games. I suppose you could argue that an individual isn’t a rapist nor does he (or she) want to rape somebody but enjoys playing rape games. But when you think about that, rape is just plain creepy. How would anybody get joy out of that kind for forced brutality? At least in the shooting games I sometimes play, there are goals other than killing. You play to win the battle or war or territory. How does somebody win a rape game? Do you have to get away with it? When you think about someone you care about getting beaten and raped, there’s no way a game like that could be okay to play. To answer the last question Sam asks, I honestly would not play this video game with a bunch of my male friends. I wouldn’t even watch “normal” porn (without violence) with my friends. That just seems so weird to me and not much of a bonding experience with my buddies. If these responses were anonymous, I think there might actually be some guys out there who would do this, but maybe only for a sick laugh. I don't mean to laugh at the fact that women are being raped, but more so because games like this are actually being created in the business world. I think (hope) most people would not buy this stuff but would laugh at those who buy and play it. I know I keep comparing shooting games and rape games, and I am okay with the former but not the latter. I can think of a few reasons why. First, the war games I play feature players who are armed and ready for battle. There’s strategy involved, like I said, and the fight is not a surprise to anyone. Rape games are vicious and pointless. They are about someone exerting power over somebody weaker and hurting someone who is innocent and unarmed and who didn’t expect it. It’s not a fair fight and it’s sick and illegal. Sat, 10 Apr 2010 00:04:00 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/this-is-totally-off-the-hook__trashed/#IDComment66900704 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/is-quality-the-question__trashed/#IDComment65684551 I’m not sure if hospitals or medical schools base much of their employment and student acceptance through affirmative action. But if they did I can see how it could downgrade the quality of their care, because they could very easily decline an excellent upcoming doctor and choose one that may not pull through in the end all because they were following the codes of affirmative action. Although I don’t believe affirmative action occurs (or at least that often) in the medical fields, but I’m sure there isn’t a huge (negative) result from it. Nepotism is just an unfair action but I don’t think there are many ways around it. Sat, 3 Apr 2010 02:20:00 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/is-quality-the-question__trashed/#IDComment65684551 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/what-if-we-got-rid-of-welfare__trashed/#IDComment65684057 It kind of makes me think about in the history books, people didn’t have welfare then, but they seemed to make it through the day. These people worked, and worked their asses off, and I think that those who went through that without welfare should be the ones to have the right opinion on it. I’m not sure how one can expect to learn how to become a hard worker when things are given to them (I know it’s not much, but still…). I don’t know what the people on welfare are going through or how badly they all need it, but think about whose money is being taken away. Sat, 3 Apr 2010 02:14:14 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/what-if-we-got-rid-of-welfare__trashed/#IDComment65684057 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/the-white-minorities__trashed/#IDComment65669283 I was pretty amazed to read that minority births could surpass non-Hispanic white births almost any minute now. I never stopped to think about it but would not have guessed that the country could not be anywhere near that point. I’d like to think that the rate of minority births keeps increasing at least partly because there are more interracial marriages. I would hope that means there’s a gradual increase in the respect and kinship people feel for others, right? I also imagine there are people out there who would take the news that non-Hispanic whites are on the verge of becoming the minority in the United States as a bad thing, rather than irrelevant news like it really is. Personally, even when non-Hispanic whites dip lower than 50 percent of the population here, I will have a hard time thinking of myself as part of a minority. I wouldn’t be in denial of the fact; I would just feel kind of shocked. Anyone who makes a big deal about this may think that whites are losing control of the country, and people who “don’t belong here” are taking it from us—in a more natural and much less violent way than WE took the country from the Native Americans, however. Do you suppose there are people out there who worry that whites will be put on reservations and have absolutely no power in the future? I can’t really predict what non-whites might do or say when their numbers become the majority in the United States. I suppose there might be some (not many I hope) who would possibly want revenge for grievances that took place long ago. I hope nothing as radical like that would ever happen, but I know there are extremists in every group and they can cause harm. I also wonder if some minority people who feel persecuted by white society will start to blame some other group for their lack of success when a white majority no longer exists. I hope some positive things will happen when non-Hispanic whites become the minority. Maybe racist white people out there will be able to see past their ignorant ways after spending more time with non-whites (at work, in the community, etc.) and realizing that this country will run just as well if not better when the numbers shift. Maybe with this change, people who focus on racism will be able to see that this country is not secretly making decisions based on race and that skin color really doesn’t matter. All in all I welcome this change, because I honestly think that if anything does shift, it will be better for humanity and hopefully will broaden people’s views. Sat, 3 Apr 2010 00:27:24 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/the-white-minorities__trashed/#IDComment65669283 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/in-her-own-words__trashed/#IDComment64287651 I don’t completely understand to what extent women go through every cycle that they have their period, so I obviously can’t relate to any sort of feelings they have about it to be honest. I get that some women want to “compete” with men but have many things that get in the way such as having a period to deal with. I didn’t fully understand how or why women would schedule a big part of their lives around that monthly cycle. I guess I take the stress-free life of being a guy for granted now that I think about menstruation. Sat, 27 Mar 2010 02:56:53 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/in-her-own-words__trashed/#IDComment64287651 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/those-damn-dolls__trashed/#IDComment64285537 I think that a lot of the people, mostly the girls who had a comment about it during class did not completely understand the video. In the end, the little girl was asked which doll looked bad, and she pointed to the colored one. Right after she was asked which of the two dolls that looked like her and you can see that she wanted to pick the white doll, but points to the colored one instead. The message that I got from watching the black children in this experiment was that they believed that white people were better (looking) than colored people. Sat, 27 Mar 2010 02:31:44 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/those-damn-dolls__trashed/#IDComment64285537 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/if-men-could-menstruate__trashed/#IDComment64283474 I’m not sure why anyone would think tampons might be free if men had periods. How many commercial products in this world are actually free? Both males and females who smoke pay for cigarettes, they get their hair cut, pay for doctor appointments and parking tickets. The list goes on and on, so when it comes to something natural like menstruation, I can’t imagine tampons would be free for males. Actually if you’re a girl, you probably have a decent chance of getting a free meal on a date, so we could argue about who gets a better deal sometimes. Business is business and people want to make money and aren’t going to give away things for free just because there might be a gender-related issue attached to them. I remember when I was in fifth grade, we had the first of several (in school) “lessons” about sex and the human body. I think because this occurred at a relatively young age for us, we didn’t really take it that seriously, and at the time thought about sex and specific body parts as a disturbing topic to discuss. The next time I can remember sexual reproduction was taught to us was in high school health class. Even then, we were pretty immature about it, which is probably not that surprising. We tend to act like idiots sometimes to mask feeling embarrassed or stupid about a topic. Obviously women have a better understanding about periods than men do, since it does happen to them after all. Most guys probably figure that girls don’t want them to know about something like that, because it’s personal and sort of a taboo topic. You don’t chat about it standing in line at McDonalds or read stories about it in the newspaper. Growing up, kids get the message that it’s kind of off-limits in regular conversation. We learn to be grossed out at the thought of it. In a similar way, even something as simple and natural as sweating isn’t something that I would want to talk about with a girl. Yes, obviously girls sweat as well, but go outside on a hot day here at Penn State and I guarantee that you will notice sweat marks on the guys a lot more than the girls. Girls just look and smell better than guys do when they sweat. If women really want men to know everything there is to know about periods (which I doubt), then okay; but don’t expect every man to be totally comfortable with it at first. And just because we might know everything about it wouldn’t mean that we’d completely understand what women go through. As it is, we also don't really understand what women go through during pregnancy and childbirth … but that’s another topic. Basically, I think we should probably just give girls some support and sympathy if it helps with all this. Sat, 27 Mar 2010 02:08:00 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/if-men-could-menstruate__trashed/#IDComment64283474 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/does-this-rudeness-thing-cut-both-ways__trashed/#IDComment63094675 Personally I think that the rude things were because these people are trying to be funny, and they think they are funny. What they do is get some sort of pleasure out of stirring the pot, and if they can do that without getting caught, even better for them and they will keep doing it I guess. Usually the rude messages coming from black people were in retaliation after what the white people said, and maybe some people think that because it’s just “getting even” then it’s okay? Who knows though, we will have to find out by letting black people send their messages first next time. Sat, 20 Mar 2010 03:04:41 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/does-this-rudeness-thing-cut-both-ways__trashed/#IDComment63094675 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/what-to-do-about-white-guilt__trashed/#IDComment63092544 Well taking slavery and other race related issues in our history doesn’t necessarily mean that it will become “all white history”. Even how it is now, we see in the textbooks that slavery wasn’t just about black people, because if it weren’t for white people then that wouldn’t have occurred in our nation (most likely?). White guilt can be caused by many things, I know I feel it. I’ve felt it strongly as a child when I first learned about race and how much evil history we have in this world revolved around it. That guilt slightly faded as I grew older and able to have friends who were able to experience life just as I have no matter their skin color. Sat, 20 Mar 2010 02:57:35 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/what-to-do-about-white-guilt__trashed/#IDComment63092544 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/prom-or-no-prom-just-dont-let-the-queer-students-dance-together__trashed/#IDComment63084772 I suppose some people will see that this occurred in Mississippi and may not be completely surprised by the ignorance and homophobic actions the county took to prevent same-sex couples from going to their own prom. High school is a place for kids to become adults, but this high school is basically teaching its students to hide anything controversial, lie about reality, and only smile and talk about socially acceptable things. Apparently homosexuality is wrong. What kind of high school doesn’t want its students to be able to express themselves truthfully and learn who they really are? This kind of attitude is why so many gays and lesbians are still in the closet and afraid to live as they would like. The school board members would rather cancel the entire prom than accept that some of their sons, daughters, neighbors, friends, and maybe even themselves are homosexual. They are teaching their students to despise homosexuality and believe that all it does is cause a disturbance in the lives of “normal” people. The school thinks there may be other students at the prom who would feel uncomfortable seeing two girls dancing with each other, but that reasoning has nothing to do with two girls dancing with each other; it is all about others who might feel uncomfortable around it. Their ignorance would best be corrected now rather than later when they would make fools of themselves and realize how many people know that it is okay to be homosexual. There are going to be so many real challenges and decisions that these high school students will have to face as adults in the real world, so why not help them prepare for a world that is not in wrapped up in some kind of cocoon? Help them make a healthy transition to adulthood. High school is supposed to be some of the best years of students’ lives. Sadly, these two girls may look back at their high school years and think how they were actually some of their worst years. They possibly might even regret coming out during high school, all because of a school’s narrow-minded decision that gave the student body a reason to hate them. Their intent to shelter students from encountering anything out of the norm pretty much ruined high school (and maybe more) for these two young girls and harmed the social growth of everyone in the school district. They gave other gays and lesbians who were already hesitant about coming out a reason to feel like outcasts and keep their secret even longer. I’m just thankful that this didn’t go down in my high school, otherwise I would be embarrassed to tell people where I graduated from. Sat, 20 Mar 2010 01:58:17 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/prom-or-no-prom-just-dont-let-the-queer-students-dance-together__trashed/#IDComment63084772 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/02/when-do-we-do-or-say-something__trashed/#IDComment59968008 When the kid commented during class that he would move on with his day without saying anything, I really didn’t know what to think at first. I guess it kind of shocked me that somebody would feel that way about what was happening to the woman. If I remember correctly, the class as a whole reacted the way I did, too, so I know I wasn’t alone with my surprise. Even though the simple and correct reaction to me would be to stand up for the woman who was being verbally attacked, I can (very slightly) understand why some people wouldn’t do anything about it. It’s normal for people to want to avoid confrontation. Standing up for somebody else means you risk creating a bigger scene or risk being attacked yourself, and nobody enjoys being in that position I’m sure. It’s a lot like stories you may hear about an abusive parent, when that parent tends to focus his/her aggression on one child more than the other. There may be one child who isn’t getting the worse end of the abuse but may be too afraid to stand up for the sibling who is abused no matter how badly they want to help them out. When you think about that scenario, it may be hard to imagine what you would do if a stranger is the one in need of your help. Of course it is hard to compare the two, since one is physical abuse and the other is verbal, but not everybody has the courage to put others before themselves. I want to believe I would take the high road, and most people are probably the same. We may think it’s bogus for somebody to say how much of a hero they would be, but if we imagine ourselves in a scenario like this, then, in our heads, we would not hesitate to take action and stand up for the woman who is being treated so unfairly. Who really knows how they would react until a situation like this really happens. Even so, it’s very weird that he would say he wouldn’t do anything in the bakery because his parents brought him up not to be disrespectful; and he thinks he backs up his position by saying it’s not his store. It’s like he believes it’s okay for people to say whatever they want and serve whoever they want if it’s their property. It isn’t okay. Discrimination has to be everybody’s business. If your parents brought you up to be respectful, then I’m sure that they also taught you to treat everybody fairly. And when you see somebody treat another person unfairly, then it’s your job to point that out and do something about it, even if it’s showing quiet but clear support for the victim rather than doing nothing at all. Sat, 6 Mar 2010 01:24:34 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/02/when-do-we-do-or-say-something__trashed/#IDComment59968008 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/02/native-americans-question-two__trashed/#IDComment58920246 I don’t see how somebody right now can be blamed for something that happened to another person’s ancestors a very long time ago. Unless I look far back into my family history, I couldn’t tell you whether or not somebody that I was related to did anything to harm or destroy the life of a Native American. Even if there was a connection with that, just because of a family relation with that it doesn’t mean that I am at fault for what happened, and there is little that I could do about it. I hope that everybody can understand that not one person currently is responsible for what happened so long ago and a family connection does not put them in charge of making it up to them. Sat, 27 Feb 2010 04:52:46 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/02/native-americans-question-two__trashed/#IDComment58920246 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/02/inequality-class-question-three__trashed/#IDComment58919655 I honestly can’t think of a first impression that I would make by just looking at you. I wouldn’t say that you dress like a thug, drug dealer or a rapper. Why is it that “white people” are the ones that would think that by looking at you and no other people though? I think that the whole idea that most black people are athletes is kind of drawn out and not something that most people would think of by just looking at a black person. For me, by just looking at your outfit and ignoring your skin color, I wouldn’t place you in an ethnic category, since many different people dress in many different ways, so not one outfit style can be linked to somebody’s skin color. Sat, 27 Feb 2010 04:46:57 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/02/inequality-class-question-three__trashed/#IDComment58919655 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/02/native-americans-question-one__trashed/#IDComment58904432 I think that learning about something as huge and devastating as genocide may not be the best idea for very young students. I just don’t think that children in elementary school (maybe middle school as well) can really understand the situation and fully grasp what was forced on the Native Americans without also including pretty graphic details that they may not be ready to absorb. I remember learning about the “Trail of Tears,” which was basically the United States government relocating Native Americans to the midwestern part of the United States. This relocation was a very brutal process for the Native Americans, causing a lot of suffering, death, and disease. I only learned about this once in my school career prior to college, and at the time I don’t recall that the story made me feel a lot of empathy for the Native Americans, because the textbook story only touched the surface and I didn't understand the significance or the pain. When I learned about the relocation, I didn’t realize it was something that was against the wishes of the Native Americans, and I definitely don’t remember that it was a destructive, deadly show of force. I did not understand the situation as much as I do now, and even now I am still learning about how horrible it was. When I got to high school, we learned details of the Holocaust. At that point, I had matured more, so throughout the unit, I was able to understand the seriousness of the event and how merciless things were for Jewish people and any other group Nazi Germany did not feel deserved to live. Because the Holocaust happened after the Native American genocide and actual photos were possible, we saw disturbing pictures that created a definite, realistic impression. There were personal stories (Anne Frank), too, about the Holocaust that made it real and horrific, so we felt the impact of the whole historic nightmare. Usually if people compare the two genocides, they don’t think Native Americans suffered as much as the Jewish population. Actually, we know there was horror and death for both groups. Native Americans are still struggling and represent the lowest socio-economic class in the nation with high rates of poverty, suicide, alcoholism and other medical conditions. Many people don’t know this. Although my education may have been very different from others, I personally believe that if you are going to teach young students about Native Americans while they are in elementary school, you need to present an accurate story but a level of details that they can handle. Then the subject should be taught again when students are older, can think about it on a larger scale, acknowledge the ugly history, and analyze it and learn from it. Sat, 27 Feb 2010 02:07:37 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/02/native-americans-question-one__trashed/#IDComment58904432