en-us https://www.intensedebate.com/users/758876 Comments by keg5174 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/how-am-i-not-a-racist__trashed/#IDComment69959190 I don’t think that it has to do with racism or thinking that you are better than anyone else. I think it’s just stating the truth, that we as Americans have the ability to make an impact where as if you go to a 3rd world country you can see that it’s much harder for them to make an impact. I don’t necessarily think that that makes you think that you are better than anyone, just that you are more able and accessible that other people. The real question is, now that we’ve realized that we have this ability to make a difference, an ability that others obviously don’t have, what do we do with that. Is that where it ends? Do we realize that we have this ability and they don’t and then move on? That might make it a little racist. However, if we realize that we have this ability to create change and then we do something about it, how can that be racist or thinking that you are better than anyone, its using you’re eligibility and accessibility as a means of helping. I feel that the problem lies in those who think they are more able people, more intelligent, more “gifted” than other people without taking into the fact that you are just more accessible. This accessibility in no way makes people better, just able to do more with what they have been given. It all depends on how we consider ourselves better cotenants to make a difference, and how we employ this advantage and ability to make a change and a difference. That’s also where the whole “politically incorrect” thing comes into play. Just by saying that you believe you can make a bigger difference than people less able does not make you a racist, but obviously you question that motive due to political correctness. I agree that sometimes there is a fine line between what can be considered racist and what is not, and sometimes things are said incorrectly which can give them a racist undertone, but it’s all in the execution and the way people perceive what you are saying. Maybe that makes you even less of a racist that you go to these other countries, look at the conditions that people are in, and conclude that you have been lucky enough to have the ability to enforce change and make things better, maybe for the people who you feel more capable than. Its not a bad or racist thing to realize your potential and the risks and hardships that prevent other less capable of employing such change. So basically, no I do not think that what you are saying makes you a racist. I understand that if I were said in a different way, or if you realized this ability and did nothing with it that it would possibly qualify as racist. Fri, 23 Apr 2010 17:46:01 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/how-am-i-not-a-racist__trashed/#IDComment69959190 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/how-am-i-not-a-racist__trashed/#IDComment69956282 It's a difficult question but i think it just depends on how you say it, people are so touchy with political correctness. Knowing that you are able to make a change and that other people are less capable doesn’t make you a racist. Obviously some people have certain advantages and tools that allow them to make a change. The real question is are you going to do something about the fact that you are capable of change or are you just going to sit their, acknowledge your capabilities, and then do nothing. That can make it seem a little more racist because now it is like you know you are more capable of something and you judge other people for not being as capable. Fri, 23 Apr 2010 17:22:54 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/how-am-i-not-a-racist__trashed/#IDComment69956282 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/how-am-i-not-a-racist__trashed/#IDComment69956152 Knowing that you are able to make a change and that other people are less capable doesn’t make you a racist. Obviously some people have certain advantages and tools that allow them to make a change. The real question is are you going to do something about the fact that you are capable of change or are you just going to sit their, acknowledge your capabilities, and then do nothing. That can make it seem a little more racist because now it is like you know you are more capable of something and you judge other people for not being as capable. Fri, 23 Apr 2010 17:21:55 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/how-am-i-not-a-racist__trashed/#IDComment69956152 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/women__trashed/#IDComment68374141 It’s no wonder that girl today have such little self esteem. We’re socially constructed by Hollywood and society to absolutely hate the way god made us. I wish that Hollywood would just stop setting such impossible standards for women. The fact that the average size in Hollywood is a size 4 is just disgusting. We pick up these magazines of women on the cover looking absolutely perfect, beautiful complextions, perfect bodies, amazing tans. But that’s not the way it really is. These women on the covers are MADE to look that way. They all have blemish’s, everyone has scars, they’re not all a size 0 with NO cellulite. Women have all these flaws, but its what makes us beautiful. We need to stop being such a superficial society and realize that beauty is skin deep, and that perfection does not exist. Fri, 16 Apr 2010 13:48:26 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/women__trashed/#IDComment68374141 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/women__trashed/#IDComment68374124 I wish that Hollywood would just stop setting such impossible standards for women. The fact that the average size in Hollywood is a size 4 is just disgusting. We pick up these magazines of women on the cover looking absolutely perfect, beautiful complextions, perfect bodies, amazing tans. But that’s not the way it really is. These women on the covers are MADE to look that way. They all have blemish’s, everyone has scars, they’re not all a size 0 with NO cellulite. Women have all these flaws, but its what makes us beautiful. We need to stop being such a superficial society and realize that beauty is skin deep, and that perfection does not exist. Fri, 16 Apr 2010 13:48:15 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/women__trashed/#IDComment68374124 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/women__trashed/#IDComment68373684 I think Hollywood makes it really hard to accept looking the way we do. Hollywood portrays women as always looking perfect, and the second you slip away from perfection you face utter shame. For instance, Jessica Simpson has always been known to be the very skinny small southern bell kind of girl. Recently she gained a little weight and it’s like all hell broke lose for her. She went from being “perfect” to being the star that let herself go. In the picture that is oh so famous of Jessica she is wearing some high cut jeans and it probably snagged the cover of over 20 magazines talking about how Jessica let herself go and how she’s fat. I have a lot of problems with people saying that but what a lot of people don’t realize is that the jeans she was wearing in that picture were a size 4!! I don’t think I’ve been a size four since I was a freshman in highschool and at that time I felt that I was awkward and skinny. However, according to Hollywood’s standards a size 4 is apparently considered fat. That makes me so sick. Why can’t we go back to a time where Maralyn Monroe was looked at as having the most beautiful body, she was a size 12, although a size 12 back then was technically a size 8 now, but even so, how often do we see size 8 women in Hollywood? Never. Its disgusting the way Hollywood portrays women and beauty today. Without body image, I believe women have a very close bond. From birth I’ve always felt that I can connect to women. Although a lot of that im sure was socially constructed, I think that women share a beautiful bond. Just like certain races feel as though they are more socially connected, women also feel that bond with other women. Women go through the same things so I think they empathize with one another. I feel much more comfortable with women than I do with men, even if we come from very different backgrounds or we don’t share the same color skin, we automatically share something even more special. We share the bond of being women. We share the fact that we have a very oppressing history, the fact that we teamed together as a gender to overcome many hardships. It’s a beautiful thing to be a women, but it’s also not an easy thing. With they way Hollywood portrays women, its not wonder that there are so many problems with self image. Its not wonder that women think they constantly need to surgically change their image. God gave us what we have for a reason. We’re all different and we’re all beautiful, some of us big, some small, some have red hair, some have no hair, either way we need to stop and realize that we are all beautiful because god made us the way he made us! Fri, 16 Apr 2010 13:43:51 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/women__trashed/#IDComment68373684 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/i-really-want-to-know-also__trashed/#IDComment66838859 People can change their mind, the only issue is if people are truly willing to change their mind. I think people can defiantly take what Sam says seriously if they’re willing to do so. It takes a stubborn person to not let the opinions of others even help them realize a new opinion. I know that by listening to others I have changed opinions about very serious issues and have lost a lot of my stubbornness. Being naïve will really get you nowhere, and not accepting that people can have different opinions and that our opinions aren’t the final saying is so stupid. I am glad that I’m willing to listen to others and I vey regularly try and get other people to do so as well. Fri, 9 Apr 2010 17:38:05 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/i-really-want-to-know-also__trashed/#IDComment66838859 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/i-really-want-to-know-also__trashed/#IDComment66838832 People can change their mind, the only issue is if people are truly willing to change their mind. I think people can defiantly take what Sam says seriously if they’re willing to do so. It takes a stubborn person to not let the opinions of others even help them realize a new opinion. I know that by listening to others I have changed opinions about very serious issues and have lost a lot of my stubbornness. Being naïve will really get you nowhere, and not accepting that people can have different opinions and that our opinions aren’t the final saying is so stupid. I am glad that I’m willing to listen to others and I vey regularly try and get other people to do so as well. Fri, 9 Apr 2010 17:37:54 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/i-really-want-to-know-also__trashed/#IDComment66838832 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/i-really-want-to-know-also__trashed/#IDComment66837933 I think a lot of people probably took what same has said this semester and had it help shape their opinions. I don’t think sam tries to mold us to think a certain thought I think he just tries to help us realize that there are other opinions out there. He tries to open our minds and get us thinking about important issues on a whole new level. I don’t think any of my opinions have completely changed in class but he has definetly helped me open my mind up more and explore new opinions. I have always been a very open person so I enjoy hearing a lot of things that he says in class. I guess Im also not super strong in any particular opinions so im not set it my ways. I think part of your problem is that maybe you’re a little too stubborn and naïve. It takes a very stubborn person to not take in the opinions of other people and stand so strongly on their own opinions. I don’t appreciate people that are so strongly set in their ways that before even really listening to the opinions of others they already are set in the fact that their opinion will not be changed. It’s people like that that make racism so prevalent in our society. Its 2010 and there are still people who act like it’s 1950, so set in their opinions its sick. I understand feeling so strongly about something that it’s hard to change you’re opinion, but I think people should always be open to hearing the opinions of others. We need to be more of an accepting society not against listening to others and accepting that people will have different opinions. Actually this is funny that this comes up now because I had a bit of an argument with a man last night that would not change his opinion about anything. He was so set in his ways that any time I would make any argument he would just laugh and ignore any possible sense that I was actually making. It is one of the most frustrating things when people are like that. Then, on top of being so set in his ways, he was just a complete racist asshole who used more racist terms and sexist jokes that it was disgusting. Instead of accepting any of the things I was saying, he mainly replied with “I’m not going to change my mind, this conversations going nowhere but you can’t walk away because you want to fuck me.” I have never been more disgusted than I was by this racist virgin. He claimed he still held his virginity tight because of his religion….i call bullshit. The truth is no one will sleep with a racist asshole who won’t accept the opinions of others and just already have this pre disposition about how white christians are the superior race…okay virgin Hitler. Fri, 9 Apr 2010 17:33:01 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/i-really-want-to-know-also__trashed/#IDComment66837933 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/what-about-multiracial-people__trashed/#IDComment66088036 i understand what you mean. i am hispanic as well but i have always been kind of confused how to identify myself because i am only half. whenever i say my last name people look a little confused because it is so hispanic and i do not look like it at all. my father is 100% mexican but have extremely fair skin, red-ish blonde hair and hazel eyes. i am the same way but with light brown hair. even though we are technically Mexican, even when we go to our house im Mexico people seem to be confused when we speak Spanish. it's always been hard to identify myself as one way or another, i've never really been able to do it so i usually try to just avoid it but i am not sure if that i necesarily the right thing to do. ignoring it does not get me anywhere. Mon, 5 Apr 2010 19:23:06 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/what-about-multiracial-people__trashed/#IDComment66088036 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/is-quality-the-question__trashed/#IDComment66082211 i agree with this. i didnt necesarily know the legistics of affirmative action but i too agreed that i did not think it would lower the standards of job employers. i think affirmative action can only take you so far, and then qualificaitons settle in. especially in such a serious field like the medical field. No one would hire a doctor who was less qualified, it isn’t something like getting accepted into college. Even grad school I think is more strict than under grad school when it comes to affirmative action. No standards will be lowered in the medical field because of affirmative action. Mon, 5 Apr 2010 18:31:34 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/is-quality-the-question__trashed/#IDComment66082211 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/is-quality-the-question__trashed/#IDComment66081722 I undstand what your are saying but I am not sure that I really agree with it. When it comes to college, I understand what you mean by affirmative action taking those less qualified for reasons based on their race ethnicity or gender. I don’t really know what my stance is on affirmative action, I kind of think it is a good idea. Maybe I just think it is a good idea because I feel like I benefittef from it. Although I did have good grades and a lot of extra curricular to put on my college applications, I got into schools that some of my friends did not get into even though they had better grades or better test scores. I don’t want to say that I got into college based on the fact that my last name is Gonzalez and I can put Hispanic on my college applications and test scores, but I definelty do believe that it had some influence on determining where I got accepted to. Same thing went for my sister, she was not as qualified as others to get accepted into Berkeley for her under grad or Columbia for her masters, my sister even received a Hispanic female scholorship. The funny part of it all is that my sister and I don’t even really speak Spanish. If you were to look at us you would think of us as white even though we are 100% Mexican, she has blue eyes and blonde hair and I have green eyes and light brown hair. However, because we check a certain box we are seen as something else and judged based on that check mark. Obviously, I benefittef from affirmative action but I don’t really know if I am okay with it. I don’t think that affirmative action would effect the standard of our health care. I think affirmative action can only take you so far, eventually you definetly need to show that you are the most qualified for a certain position in order to get it. I don’t think that someone would get a job in a hospital based on their race or gender, I think that at that point the most qualified person would get the job. But I do agree that at a point in the beginning of the process affirmative action does take affect and helps determine who will be given what opportunity. Since I benefited from affirmative action, I do somewhat appreciate it but I also do have a side of me that thinks it should go away. Not only does it not create an equal opportunity for everyone, which is what America is apparently about, it also leads people like me to question if I really deserved to be accepted where I was accepted and I I deserved to be in the penn state class of 2012. Mon, 5 Apr 2010 18:27:10 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/is-quality-the-question__trashed/#IDComment66081722 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/in-her-own-words__trashed/#IDComment64275083 At first I thought it was weird that Sam brought this up in class, but with Thursday’s class it made much more sense to me. It is really funny how since it’s a women thing, its something to keep quiet about or not bring up, but everyone knows that if it were men that had periods, it would be a completely different thing. Instead, women go through it, rarely discuss it with anyone male because usually their response is to be disgusted. I read a comment somewhere that said someone felt bad for their girlfriend that she had to go with some of the pain that periods bring monthly, and I definelty appreciated that. Whenever I make a comment about cramps or anything my boyfriend gets really grossed out and immedietly changes the subject. Sat, 27 Mar 2010 00:34:12 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/in-her-own-words__trashed/#IDComment64275083 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/those-damn-dolls__trashed/#IDComment64274611 I agree that the movie was very very sad, unfortunate, and horrible, but I cant say I was surprised. I remember growing up and I resented my heritage because I wasn’t white, I was Hispanic. I resented how I could never check white Caucasian, it was always Hispanic, not white. I realized this when I was really young, as im sure that many others did as well. It is a very unfortunate part of our society, and I do agree that the media is at a lot of blame for this. Without the medias depictions of what is beautiful, I think little girls everywhere would have a much more positive view on what it means to be beautiful, its so much more than the color of your skin. Sat, 27 Mar 2010 00:29:27 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/those-damn-dolls__trashed/#IDComment64274611 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/those-damn-dolls__trashed/#IDComment64274156 This really affected me. It was so sad to see the girl in the end, pick out the black doll and resent it so much. It is just so hard for little girls because Barbie really is what everyone grows up with, every little girl starts comparing herself to this so early on. It goes along with this idea of “whiteness” and how in our society we have set having white colored skin as the norm. through this, things like what toy we grow up playing with really affect our judgements. I have really curly hair and I don’t think I have let my hair be naturally curly since I was very young. I remember being in elementary school and I would have my mom straighten my hair randomly and I LOVE IT! It was as early as being twelve years old that got my first straightener, and from there I have never worn my hair down straight, just because for as long as I remember straight hair was beautiful, curly hair was different. Its not just our society that is like this. I grew up in Spain and I rememeber it being exactly like this. In fact, Europe is very well known for being very racist. I don’t rememeber even seeing a black doll or a Hispanic doll until I moved to the states in 1996. And, even though I am Hispanic, and there was a Hispanic Barbie, I never once owned one, the only other Barbie that I owned that wasn’t blonde was the Pocahontes Barbie. I think it comes with later age that people finally come to terms with their appearance and realize that there are different definitions of whats beautiful. Unfortunelty, so many girls go on in there life and never think they are beautiful, and feel trapped in a body that they feel unfortunate to inhabit. Like I said earlier, I am Hispanic. All my family is Mexican, as my dad said it, “you don’t have one little piece of white in you.” The only thing is, my fathers side of the family is originally northern Spain which is very light skinned people. My father looks like a leprocaun, he has light skin that burns in two minutes, red hair and light brown eyes. My mother is similar, although she doesn’t have as light of skin, she doesn’t look “Mexican”. With that, I have never looked Mexican, I have green eyes and naturally very light brown hair and somewhat fair skin. I remember growing up my cousins would always comment on my appearance, they would say they were jelous. Most of my cousins look traditionally Mexican, dark hair and dark skin. They always said that they wished their skin was as light as mine, or that they wish their eyes weren’t dark brown. I never asked why, I rememeber it made sense to me, I was closer to what “women should look like”. Sat, 27 Mar 2010 00:24:32 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/those-damn-dolls__trashed/#IDComment64274156 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/does-this-rudeness-thing-cut-both-ways__trashed/#IDComment63018948 i thought it was an interesting question as well and I thought the whole anonymous part played a very siginificant role. People think they can say those things and get away with it when its anonymous but if there name popped up with it im sure no one would say anything racist at all. Half the time im not really sure that people actually mean what they are saying, I think they are just trying to be funny and immature. The texting activities are very interesting because we often don’t think about our society as still being very racist, but the comments that have been posted in class obviously show us that there is still significant racism in society today. Fri, 19 Mar 2010 19:04:14 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/does-this-rudeness-thing-cut-both-ways__trashed/#IDComment63018948 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/does-this-rudeness-thing-cut-both-ways__trashed/#IDComment63018868 i thought it was an interesting question as well and I thought the whole anonymous part played a very siginificant role. People think they can say those things and get away with it when its anonymous but if there name popped up with it im sure no one would say anything racist at all. Half the time im not really sure that people actually mean what they are saying, I think they are just trying to be funny and immature. The texting activities are very interesting because we often don’t think about our society as still being very racist, but the comments that have been posted in class obviously show us that there is still significant racism in society today. Fri, 19 Mar 2010 19:03:41 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/does-this-rudeness-thing-cut-both-ways__trashed/#IDComment63018868 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/does-this-rudeness-thing-cut-both-ways__trashed/#IDComment63017631 I noticed that within the class as well. There were rude things said by both black and white students, but it seemed that what the white students said came off as more offensive. I think that this goes with what we discussed in class, the whole idea of political correctness. Although what the white students were saying was in no way politically correct, the response to it was. I think that people don’t think its okay that black students say rude things, but I think that people believe they are more justified to do so. Rudeness does go both ways but it is obviously responded to differently. Im still stuck on the fact that people are so rude and nieve say those things in the first place, I would hope that we were above that by now but apparently we are not. I think the response to the rudeness makes sense, I just wish that there was no rudeness to begin with. It seemed like when white people said something racist the entire class would sigh or become a little tense, I would often here “that’s so fucked up” or “I cant believe someone said that.” But when black people would say something rude you would rarely, if ever hear people say it was rude or offensive. Students would often laugh at what the black students were saying, or they would agree with the stereotype that was presented. Its definetly not right but its understandable in our society since it’s obvious that people like to tip toe around race issues. In order to change these responses we, as a society, need to do a lot of work. We need to get past political correctness and we need to get past racism in general. The people who wrote those things only did so because it was completely anonymous. Had their name come up with it, or their phone numbers, im sure the case would be very different. Its very cowardly that they would have the animosity to write such a strong thing and do absolutely nothing to back it up. They probably wrote it, showed it to their friends so they would find them funny and witty for 30 seconds and then crack up when it came up on the screen. As for the black students, I don’t think that’s necessarily what all of them did. I feel like they took it much more seriously. The whole thing also has to do with the obvious lack of maturity that goes with 20-something year olds. At this age I don’t think many people take racism very serioiusly or don’t see it as a problem. With age hopefully people gain consciousness and lose the nievness that comes with young age. Fri, 19 Mar 2010 18:53:34 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/does-this-rudeness-thing-cut-both-ways__trashed/#IDComment63017631 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/02/a-long-long-way-indeed__trashed/#IDComment61564176 its hard to tell what slave owners would think. im sure that they would most definelty be shocked. it is amazing that we have created such a gap in our society, but its still not perfect. we have a long way untill we have completely closed the gap, and im not sure that it ever will be closed, its an unfortunate quality in human beings. i am extremely proud of how far we've gotten, i just know that it could be so much further. It is going to take huge steps in peoples regards towards difference, but with each and each generation we get closer to extinguishing the differences. Fri, 12 Mar 2010 01:49:29 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/02/a-long-long-way-indeed__trashed/#IDComment61564176 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/02/whats-with-the-theme-parties__trashed/#IDComment61562915 i completely agree with what you are saying. i think that it may have started off as white kids making fun of other kids, but it seems like now everyone is involved in the making fun of one another. i dont really see a cure to this "problem" and i think that we shouldnt take it as a slap in the face or a racial thing. its true, if these parties are really offensive to you the way that some people describe them to be, then dont go, go to a different party, forget about it and leave. the reality of it is that it certainly wont stop, despite whatever efforts to stop it, i find it hard to believe that it ever will. Fri, 12 Mar 2010 01:38:41 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/02/whats-with-the-theme-parties__trashed/#IDComment61562915