en-us https://www.intensedebate.com/users/758851 Comments by kao87 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/300000-whats-it-mean-to-us__trashed/#IDComment69997376 I think she makes a really interesting point because if something as devastating as the earthquake in Haiti happened in the United States we would most certainly stop and think and have some time to mourn. I am not quite sure if anything like this occurred after 9/11 or not but she really makes a good point that when it is people we know we stop and mourn their passing but when it is somewhere that we feel removed from, especially because we don’t necessarily know them first hand, we kind of brush it off. This kind of goes along with the whole white guilt idea, we feel bad about it but don’t think there is anything we can do. When we act like this we are dehumanizing people and making it seem like they are not worth our time. Fri, 23 Apr 2010 21:20:33 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/300000-whats-it-mean-to-us__trashed/#IDComment69997376 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/letter-from-an-inmate__trashed/#IDComment69994444 This letter was really powerful for me because I will admit that I was one of those people that think that if you do something wrong or kill someone you should seriously be punished for it because you are a bad person. This inmate is a prime example of someone who has actually been changed by his experience in prison and is truly sorry and I think that is something that should be taken into consideration. It seems that there are some people in his situation that want to make the world a better place so maybe we should let them. Fri, 23 Apr 2010 21:12:04 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/letter-from-an-inmate__trashed/#IDComment69994444 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/what-about-health-care__trashed/#IDComment69992414 I think that if the immigrants in question are illegal that they definitely should not be entitled to health care in our country. There are so many issues with health care in our country already and there are astronomical costs associated with the type of care that our country provides. I think that there are also issues with this because if our country had a different type of health care such as a national health care program, my thinking might be different. I do believe that everyone in this country should be entitled to access to our healthcare system and although there are steps being implemented currently to make sure that more people in our country have access to the medical care they need. I am a health policy major so we talk about this issue all the time. The costs alone are enough to say that we should not allow illegal immigrants to use our healthcare system but at the same time we have a law that if someone comes into the emergency room we need to treat them regardless of whether the person has insurance or not. I guess it doesnt matter who is coming in or not because there are so many people in this country that are American citizens and do not have health insurance yet they get treated when they come to the hospital so essentially it could be viewed as the same thing.This is an argument that prompts many people to discuss the positives associated with a public health system in the United States. The people that pay taxes in this country are the ones that have to take care of these costs and because of all of the people in our country that do not have insurance their taxes are raising. This issue also falls into the category of education. Children of illegal immigrants have access to the public school system because it is technically not their fault that they are here illegally and it is our duty to educate them. This is such a grey issue and I dont know if it will ever be black and white. As someone who believes that everyone should have access to healthcare in America, it is hard for me to say that I dont think we should give illegal immigrants health care. I think that there should be some sort of provision put in place to take care of people who are illegal immigrants so that costs do not go up for the people in this country that do pay will not have to pay more. Fri, 23 Apr 2010 21:05:33 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/what-about-health-care__trashed/#IDComment69992414 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/what-about-the-men__trashed/#IDComment68434005 Even though I am a woman, I think that there is just as much pressure on men to act certain ways and look certain ways just like there is with women. I think that men may not care as much as women do about what other people think about the way they look because they seem to be more content with themselves. Obviously I do not really know how men feel but this opinion just comes from observations I have made from male friends in my life. I am sure that there are some men that feel just as much pressure to fit the mold society casts for them to be macho or sensitive and other stereotypes. Fri, 16 Apr 2010 22:00:40 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/what-about-the-men__trashed/#IDComment68434005 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/want-to-learn-chinese__trashed/#IDComment68426021 I am not surprised that Mandarin classes are increasing while language classes for French and German are dwindling. It is extremely important, as Sam said, to be successful in a business career and not be familiar with Mandarin or some Chinese dialect. I think that schools have realized how important this is and along with the help from the Chinese government to subsidize the teacher’s salaries, it is too good of an offer. With the decline in jobs available and the growing labor force, in order to even get a job you have to be extremely qualified, maybe even over qualified and have an excellent academic background. It only makes sense that there would be more programs offering this language. Fri, 16 Apr 2010 20:53:32 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/want-to-learn-chinese__trashed/#IDComment68426021 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/women__trashed/#IDComment68425223 I think that this person is right in saying that Hollywood is now starting to portray women of multiple sizes and backgrounds much better than they were in the past. There seemed to me to be a period of time where all you saw were extremely thin women and most of them were white. Unfortunately I think that the way media portrays women negatively affects the way women perceive themselves. It was being shoved down our throats that to be beautiful you had to be tall, tan, and a size 2. It is good to see that people are fighting back about this issue. For example, many designers will not hire models anymore who have eating issues or are sickly thin because this is not the population that they are even trying to sell their products to. They also realize that they are not sending the right message out to the public. It is as if they are endorsing eating disorders and distorted body images by having people model their clothes that don’t have a real looking body. Also many people do not take into consideration that countless photographs in print ads are airbrushed. Many celebrities are now speaking out against this practice and want people to see their real bodies because that is what they feel is beautiful. I think that once women see that Hollywood now realizes how unrealistic it is to continue using only extremely thin women with small boobs in their print ads and campaigns, people will feel better about themselves. On the flip side, we should not let Hollywood and the people we see everyday on television and in the movies affect how we see ourselves. I think it is extremely important to share this message with the younger generation because they seem to be severely affected by the way the media is telling us in order to be considered beautiful. There are so many young girls that have issues with their weight and have eating disorders that many of them blame on the pressure to be thin. Girls need to be educated on how to live a healthy lifestyle and that everyone is shaped differently and is beautiful in their own way. It is up to you to make yourself feel beautiful. It is great to see that there are more women with curves in Hollywood today. Everyone is beautiful in their own way and although every woman is different, we all go through the same daily struggles on our journey of life and this is what connects us. Fri, 16 Apr 2010 20:45:53 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/women__trashed/#IDComment68425223 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/what-might-be-the-second-step__trashed/#IDComment66895930 I am not quite sure that there is a second step. Although the video was extremely effective in raising awareness for us that this type of thing is going on, I think maybe the only other thing we could do is to write to major chocolate companies asking that if they use plantations such as the one shown in the documentary, that they make sure that these things aren’t happening there. It would be nearly impossible for a person to go through life and only purchase products that did not contain materials or ingredients that were not touched at some point by slaves. It would be a perfect world if we could do that, but I think the public needs to make the companies aware that we are aware of what is going on and are not okay with it. Fri, 9 Apr 2010 23:29:31 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/what-might-be-the-second-step__trashed/#IDComment66895930 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/this-is-totally-off-the-hook__trashed/#IDComment66895076 Along with almost everyone else that has commented on this blog entry, I agree that the fact that the Japanese government has not stepped in and banned the sale of these atrocious video games already. It is definitely giving people the wrong impression that women are not viewed as valuable people if they are allowing this type of material to be purchased or viewed on the internet. The fact that technology today is so advanced, I find it hard to believe that it would be that difficult to find all of the websites where these rape games have gone viral and shut them down. It takes less than 24 hours for copyrighted material to be blocked from you tube and other such sites, so I don’t understand why it hasn’t been done yet if the government knows it is going on. Something else I do not understand is why people are so appalled that this type of degrading material is being purchased and viewed by the public when there are so many awful video games and other types of multimedia that is available for purchase in our country that is equally as bad. It may not be a fantasy game allowing people to rape and assault women, but games such as Grand Theft Auto allows you to purchase prostitutes and kill innocent people. Although the United States has implemented a rating system for video game content, games such as these are extremely profitable and popular with the general public. Simply because there is a rating on something does not stop people from purchasing these kinds of games for people that are too young to do so on their own. If a video game is created that allows the player to rape women, this evokes a lot of emotions from a lot of different groups of people, yet when games are released that contain extreme amounts of violence and degrading behavior, it does not make headlines on CNN. I think that if the people of this country find it so awful that games like these are available, you cannot pick and choose which ones to be so vocal about. I think that games that allow you to shoot police officers and purchase prostitutes are just as bad as a game that allows you to rape women. I am not saying that all people are okay with games like Grand Theft Auto, but I don’t understand why they are still sold in our country if they contain content like the rape games sold in Japan. I think that the Japanese government needs to step in and at the very least prevent these types of games from being downloaded on the internet as easily as they are. Fri, 9 Apr 2010 23:23:25 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/this-is-totally-off-the-hook__trashed/#IDComment66895076 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/is-quality-the-question__trashed/#IDComment65623903 I don’t necessarily agree with the statement that qualifications become an issue when it comes to affirmative action. I find it very hard to believe that a medical school or something like that would accept an unqualified student simply because they would help their affirmative action statistics. I think it is much easier to do this at the undergraduate level and I’m not sure how often this even happens but I just really do not think they are letting people go to med school to become doctors who are not competent enough to do so. Medical schools are mostly private any way and do not necessarily need the funding that comes from complying with affirmative action as well. Fri, 2 Apr 2010 21:30:34 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/is-quality-the-question__trashed/#IDComment65623903 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/what-if-we-got-rid-of-welfare__trashed/#IDComment65622828 I think that if we were to get rid of welfare it would probably be more of a burden than people may think it already is. Although there is that saying that it is hard to break the cycle or the cycle repeats itself, if we got rid of welfare, there would probably be many more homeless adults and children and that is not something that the public can just ignore. Homelessness is already a huge issue and although it may seem like nothing is being done about it, the amount of people who would have no place to live without welfare would skyrocket and just end up costing more money to try and place people in shelters or even build enough of them to house everyone. Fri, 2 Apr 2010 21:26:55 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/what-if-we-got-rid-of-welfare__trashed/#IDComment65622828 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/what-about-multiracial-people__trashed/#IDComment65621788 I believe that it is truly up to the person to decide which “team” they want to be on or associated with. I am sure it is a difficult process to decide which part of you you feel that you best associate with or feel some sort of strong pull towards but who is anyone else to tell you that you are wrong in the way that you feel? I bring this back to the discussion we had in class a week or so ago about the young Korean Americans identifying as white or American rather than Korean. It is not our place to tell them that they are wrong to fell a certain way. When we did that pole in class asking the white team whether they identified as white, Caucasian, or a specific ethnicity I was one of the ones that said they would tell someone who asked “ what they were” that I was Irish, not American or white or any of the other options. I do not ask other people to justify this decision even though I can not exactly say why I feel this way more so than another way. I think it has a lot to do with whatever your focus was culturally growing up. If you have a strong influence of your ethnic culture, you would probably feel a specific connection to that. In this man’s case, he grew up very close to his mother’s Puerto Rican family and was obviously influenced by that culture. It makes perfect sense that he feels that he would identify with the “ brown” team because of this upbringing. I am not positive but I think he would probably identify with the “ white” team if he grew up with a strong influence from his father’s side of the family. I just don’t think that multiracial people should feel that they should or should not pick a side. I do not know very many multiracial people but I think it would be difficult not to feel more inclined towards one of your two races or cultures or whatever it is you are feeling conflicted with. I think that ultimately, the way someone feels is their decision whether the rest of the world agrees with it or not. It is because of this that I think that it is no ones place to tell anyone what category they feel they belong in. Why do we need categories at all? I guess people feel more content with knowing that everyone fits into their own little group and belongs in a sense but I say just do what makes you happy! Fri, 2 Apr 2010 21:23:25 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/what-about-multiracial-people__trashed/#IDComment65621788 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/if-men-could-menstruate__trashed/#IDComment64254084 When we had health class and the topic of periods came up, all the boys in the room squealed and were disgusted. I would not expect anything less from a group of 13 year old boys. I’m not saying this is right but girls would squeal when the teacher said the word penis too. I think sex and things that go on “ below the belt” are made out to be so secretive and stuff that you shouldn’t say. Maybe that is why we have so many STDs going around because the timing when most people get education in a school setting it is at a time when everyone is immature. This, coupled with the fact that people don’t normally talk about that stuff at home and it is not properly talked about in the media, lead to the attitude men have with periods. Also, it is a great thing men don’t get their period because I think men would be much worse with it than women are ( in terms of moodiness and being able to tolerate the pain from cramps etc). Fri, 26 Mar 2010 21:47:00 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/if-men-could-menstruate__trashed/#IDComment64254084 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/what-are-all-of-you-thinking-about-asians__trashed/#IDComment64253499 I think being able to distinguish between different Asian ethnicities or cultures is the same of being able to distinguish any other culture simply takes a person who is actually interested in learning to identify certain differences in features or looks. Every ethnicity or culture has distinguishing features such as eyes or nose placement and size but I guess that could also be considered grouping. It is just as difficult to figure out what a white, black, or brown person identifies with. Sam was talking about young Koreans and Korean Americans and how they simply call themselves white. So in actuality, we are grouping everyone at all times, because the way we see a person on the outside is most likely not what they identify with. Fri, 26 Mar 2010 21:41:18 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/what-are-all-of-you-thinking-about-asians__trashed/#IDComment64253499 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/in-her-own-words__trashed/#IDComment64253003 As a woman, I agree completely with the fact that what we have to go through every month should be better understood, especially by males, but I don’t necessarily know if I agree with the idea that we need to go around parading that we have our periods when we do and expect people to do nice things for us more so than they would normally do. I think that unfortunately it is the was society is programmed and I think that it would be really nice if we got extra sick days when we couldn’t go to work for really bad cramps and all of that stuff. If this were to happen, men would probably want extra days off to watch March Madness or something similar. We want a world where women and men are treated equal so I don’t think that is going to happen because it is in favor of women. Now don’t think that I am not all for better and more respectful treatment of women but I am just being realistic because we live in a male dominated society and although it is starting to improve in the littlest bit, I personally wouldn’t even be comfortable if our world was as open as Sam was making it seem like in class. That may have been to simply grab our attention and make us realize that it is a subject that is basically ignored, but I just don’t know if I agree with the statements like people talk about growing their hair or clipping their toenails so why can’t we be really open about periods? I personally don’t even talk about when I clip my toenails or the fact that my hair is growing with people, and I talk about periods when the conversation topic arises (which it rarely does) but I think I am going to have to chalk this up with the topic of pooping. There are just certain things that we do every day that are things you may want to keep private. It makes people more mysterious. I don’t think I would like to know every single time my boyfriend goes to the bathroom and what goes on in there. Maybe it is simply another instance where we have been programmed by society to react and not talk about this in such a way. We don’t go around announcing that in civilized company so I don’t think it is my boss’s business to know when I have my period. Fri, 26 Mar 2010 21:36:30 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/in-her-own-words__trashed/#IDComment64253003 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/are-whites-the-only-people-willing-to-humiliate-themselves__trashed/#IDComment61799978 I consider myself a reality tv junkie, however bad that may be I am intrigued with these shows and why they put themselves in the lime light to be scrutinized. I always wondered the same thing while watching these shows and there is another show that comes to mind for a similar reason. Momma’s Boys was an NBC show where mothers helped their sons find a girlfriend. It was similar to the Bachelor but 3 boys picked from the same pool of girls with the help of their mothers. To get to the point a woman of color made it as one of the final two girls for one of the contestants and I vividly remember the mother not wanting her son to pick her because she was not white and did not share the same religion as their family even though the son liked her better than the other contestant. He ended up picking the mother’s choice and I was shocked, as I’m sure the rest of viewers were. Ultimately, it is the media in general and not just this specific show that is keeping the cycle of racism going. Sat, 13 Mar 2010 04:34:20 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/are-whites-the-only-people-willing-to-humiliate-themselves__trashed/#IDComment61799978 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/the-world-is-full-of-surprises__trashed/#IDComment61798731 I am not Jewish so I am not positive about this but I was under the impression that Judaism was passed down through the mother. Is it because this particular group was traced back to the high priests that migrated to other areas that they are allowed to be considered Jewish? Or is it more of a cultural thing for this tribe? I think that this particular group of people is extremely interesting and also wonder how they are accepted by other tribes in their areas that do not share the same beliefs. I would also be interested in learning whether the numbers of people that considered themselves Jewish in their tribe has increased or decreased over the years. Sat, 13 Mar 2010 04:22:18 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/the-world-is-full-of-surprises__trashed/#IDComment61798731 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/prom-or-no-prom-just-dont-let-the-queer-students-dance-together__trashed/#IDComment61797255 Unfortunately, I am not surprised to hear about this story in general. There are probably many other schools in areas similar to where Constance lives that will do all they can to try to stop homosexual couples from attending dances and other functions in high school or middle school. This is just one instance that has been brought to the public’s attention by the media. It interests me as to why we have not heard about this in our news and it was featured by BBC. This is something that should outrage people in our country just as much as the story about the judge in another southern state refusing to marry an inter-racial couple. Although I am not surprised this kind of prejudice is still around, I was surprised to hear it was not a private school that was canceling the prom because of the lesbian couple. I attended a Catholic high school and same sex couples could not attend together. I knew of only one person that was actually openly gay in high school (many more came out after graduation) but they were forced to take a friend of the opposite sex in order to participate in prom. I do not agree with this nor do I agree with the idea that because they are private institutions and can make their own rules that they should be able to make people feel as though they are doing something wrong. It just boggles my mind that a public school is able to get away with doing that but then again who would have thought a judge could impose his own views on his job. It would be interesting to see what the children that attended the school and were eligible to attend the prom thought of this issue. It was stated that the lesbian couple would be asked to leave if it made other students uncomfortable. I am not sure why they cancelled the prom in the first place if they previously stated that they would just be asked to leave, which is also wrong. I hope that one day soon that teenagers that identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, whatever, will not be made to feel different. The years people are in high school are already difficult enough I cannot imagine having to deal with negative feedback from people just because you are gay. Hopefully the school board will turn their decision and keep the prom along with allowing Constance and her girlfriend to attend. Sat, 13 Mar 2010 04:08:07 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/prom-or-no-prom-just-dont-let-the-queer-students-dance-together__trashed/#IDComment61797255 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/02/1880__trashed/#IDComment58729150 The fact that oil was found on the reservation is obviously a positive thing for the people living there right now. One of my concerns is what is going to happen when all of the oil is drilled. The casino manager made a comment that he told the tribal elders to not spend too much at the casino and make sure they save some money for something useful. Even if everyone that has profited from the finding of the oil saved money, I am afraid that the reservations financial status will go back to the way it was before the oil was found. Forty percent of the people there lived in poverty not long ago. I hope they are able to find another lasting way to bring prosperity to the people of the reservation so they are not left destitute when the last of the billion barrels of oil are drilled. Fri, 26 Feb 2010 01:36:39 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/02/1880__trashed/#IDComment58729150 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/02/inequality-class-question-two__trashed/#IDComment58553726 I most definitely think that the amount of money you have is proportionate to the amount of time you are going to spend in jail regardless of what race you are. Our judicial system is screwed up enough with regards to the statistics that Sam showed in class about blacks being sentenced longer than whites for the same crimes. There are so many examples in the media of people who either got out of jail time completely or got a really short prison sentence because they were rich and famous. For example, Donte Stallworth who was a big time NFL player was charged with DUI and second degree manslaughter last April. He spent 24 days in jail out of his 30 day sentence. In Florida where he was convicted, vehicular manslaughter while DUI carries a maximum sentence of 15 years in prison. Although I realize that the 15 year sentence is the maximum, I wonder what would have happened had Stallworth not been a wealthy professional athlete and just you’re regular Joe Schmo. Even though we discussed drug charges the most in class, I thought that this was an example of a time when someone seemed to get off easier because of the amount of money they had. I am positive if it were to be researched, there are many other famous athletes, actors, models, etc that have received lighter punishments because of who they are. I think that the statement made by the girl in this video poses an interesting question. Going to court in and of itself costs a decent amount of money. When you add a lawyer into the mix it is hard to afford when you are a middle class person. You are probably more likely to be treated fairly when you have a lawyer present. They are trained to know the law and the loopholes and hopefully be able to help you. However, if you come from a low income area and are white, black, brown, red, or purple, you probably can not afford a lawyer to represent you at your trial. This is unfortunate because you have a much better chance of being taken advantage of without legal representation. Overall, while the statistics state that blacks receive more jail time than whites for the same crimes, I think it would be interesting to see what the statistics were if they were broken down into affluence and then color in order to compare it to the statistics brought up in class. The judicial system in the United States is broken and corrupt and also needs to be fixed. Wed, 24 Feb 2010 22:26:04 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/02/inequality-class-question-two__trashed/#IDComment58553726 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/02/native-americans-question-three__trashed/#IDComment58535412 I agree that people in our generation and maybe the one before that do not stop and think about what is going on with the Native American people and the hardships they have had to face. Although it is not directly our problem, we should still feel something about the fact that these people are being treated in humanely and forced to live in conditions that are unbearable. It was government policies that confined Native Americans to reservations, so why not let them know that it bothers us that it is the way it is. If enough people become involved through writing letters to politicians they will realize that our generation does not want to sit idle and accept what was done to the Native Americans. Policy change is one of the only ways I foresee there being any change in the treatment of this group of people and this is an easy way to let your voice be heard. Wed, 24 Feb 2010 19:56:37 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/02/native-americans-question-three__trashed/#IDComment58535412