en-us https://www.intensedebate.com/users/4217644 Comments by kikisweetheart1 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2012/04/17/voices-from-the-classroom-151/#IDComment343922314 I think it is very safe to say that if the parents of a homosexual child are homosexuals as well then they would have no choice but to accept their child. This is because if they are homosexual chances are they have already been through all of the teasing and name calling so they know how it feels and are more than likely able to guide their child. And to make the child understand that there are some people in this world that are mean and look down on others who are not like themselves and that is life. But they can try to prepare their child for the worst based on experience and hope for the best. They would also be there for the child no matter what; this is because they are very understanding and knows how to deal with this situation. Honestly if they were to look down or discourage the child they would be total hypocrites because they are trying to fight against something that they believe is right and that they are involved in everyday of their lives. On the contrary, if there was a child that had parents who were very strict and religious, more than likely the parents would be less accepting, but there are some parents that are very religious but will accept their child for who they are. I can understand the reason why the parents wouldn’t accept their child because according to the bible a man is supposed to be with a woman not another man, and a woman is supposed to be with a man not another woman. So it is considered a sin but we walk around sinning all day long well at least I know that I do. Don’t think I’m proud of that I am just being truthful. But the bible also says that you shouldn’t judge anyone, this is a contradiction within itself. Because as I previously stated it’s a sin to for a man and a woman to have same sex partners, then it turns around and says not to judge. So the parents might feel like if the child continues to live in sin they will go to hell and they may want the child to go to heaven which is where they might think they are going. So the parents might have a legitimate reason for not liking it but at the end of the day that is your child. And no matter if they choose to be a homosexual or not as the parent you stand by them because they are already getting teased by strangers and people that they know, they are at least supposed to have their parents to back them up. That’s why I don’t judge anyone as long as they don’t try to make a pass at me I am fine with it. Sat, 21 Apr 2012 03:51:11 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2012/04/17/voices-from-the-classroom-151/#IDComment343922314 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2012/04/12/voices-from-the-classroom-147/#IDComment338505685 This was a very interesting question and I was kind of surprised to be asked it. When I first heard the question my immediate response was that I would save my mother no if ands or buts about it. My friends that were around me all said that they would rather save their child. Because their mothers would not want them to risk the childs life in order to save hers they even tried to convince me that my mother would want the same. But I am not sure what my mother would want me to do in a situation such as this one. The way I see it is like this, in this world you are only blessed with one mother and once she is gone you will never get her back. Your mother is the most irreplaceable person in the entire world, there is nothing like a bond between a mother and daughter. She is the woman who carried me for nine months, gave birth to me, raised me and took care of me. Because of her I am the woman that I am today. To leave her stranded and left to die sounds so absurd to me and I dont know if I could ever live with myself if I were to be in that situation and leave without my mother. She has never left me thus far and I truly believe that if she were the one in this situation she would not leave me on a sinking boat to die. This may sound bad but it is what it is. If I had to choose between my mother, and my husband I would obviously choose my mother, here is why. As I stated above she is the one who gave birth to me. My husband can easily be replaced by another man. There are millions of men in this world so it wouldnt be hard to find another one that is just like him if not better than he is. So that is why I would choose my mother over my husband. And as bad as this may sound I can always get pregnant and have another baby, maybe more than one this means that the baby is just as replaceable as the husband would be. That was my first reaction, now that I have had time to process the thought, I am not sure if I would save my mother or my child. My feelings are still the same for the husband because at the end of the day he isnt really important and if he were a real man he would be willing to risk his own life in order to save the life of his child and myself. Sat, 14 Apr 2012 00:18:10 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2012/04/12/voices-from-the-classroom-147/#IDComment338505685 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2012/04/03/voices-from-the-classroom-141/#IDComment333544942 I am a Christian woman and I believe that people are allowed to say and wear whatever they feel is appropriate. I will say that there is a time and place for everything, for instance you wouldn’t go to a job interview or to church with just a bikini on. If it is the summer time and a female is comfortable enough with her body to wear a bikini walking down the street it is 100 alright with me as long as they are wearing it on a strip in Miami or anywhere that is along a beach then that is fine. But if a person is just wearing a bikini around a neighborhood that is nowhere near a beach or something of that nature than that is unacceptable, like I said there is a time and place for everything. As a female I think that we should complement each other and we should not feel inferior to another female because she has a nice body or shape and is happy to show if off. As females we already have our insecurities especially when it comes to our bodies; that’s why I don’t hate on the next chick because I can do the same thing. That is the problem with a lot of people nowadays, they are so self-conscious about their own selves that they are willing to bring others down with them or at least try to in order to make themselves feel better. That is really sad but it’s true. So I do not think that wearing a bikini depicts whether you respect yourself and your body or not. I thought that Muslim women only wore over garments and kemars because their fathers or male figures in their lives, didn’t want their bodies to be exposed. To now learn that they wear these type of things because they practice being modest in their culture is very interesting. And even more so that they rather have a person be interested in them by getting to know them, and a feel of what type of personality they have than to just want to get to know them because of their appearance is very fascinating to me. I have family members that are Muslim and I never even bothered to ask them how they felt about wearing kemars and garbs. I never even thought about asking them why they wear them due to the fact that I already had my very own perceived notions as to why they wore them. I would have never guessed the reason as to why these items had to be worn. But I respect them for that because I know it is hard for them to be covered from head to toe especially on days when it is like in the high 90’s and even the 100’s. Sat, 7 Apr 2012 02:54:53 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2012/04/03/voices-from-the-classroom-141/#IDComment333544942 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2012/03/27/voices-from-the-classroom-136/#IDComment328106972 I think that it is very interesting that you noticed that this occurred because me personally I didn’t even realize that an Asian guy spoke out I only remember hearing the Asian young lady address the situation. But if I would have been paying attention when the Asian guy spoke and said that he thought that is was a funny video I would have asked him the same thing that the other girls asked the white young man. After some more hardcore thinking about the situation I believe that the Asian kids that were laughing probably thought it was funny for them but it shouldn’t have been for others. What I mean by this is that, you know how some African Americans feel as though it’s ok for them to call themselves the “N WORD” but others would be like crucified or viewed as being a racist if they said it? I think it’s sort of the same thing even though no one should make jokes about race its does happen and sometimes the jokes are funny and you can’t help but to laugh it’s just a part of our human nature. So maybe that’s why only one Asian young lady got offended by the video. And some of the others may not have felt as though it applied to them because they can speak English pretty well. I am an African American female and honestly I felt very uncomfortable for the Asians that were in the room as we watched the video. At first I thought it was funny but not because the Asians were unable to speak English fluently but rather because I thought the video was supposed to be a comical video. After seeing the third person or so struggle with trying to understand the question in which they were given I knew that there was a catch as to why the white man in the video only targeted Asian students. What had me especially mad was when the interviewer kept continually making them say things that they couldn’t say then as he began to twist their words into something that they were not trying to say. At that moment I began to become extremely frustrated and I just wanted the video to be over. I felt like the man that was interviewing the Asian students, was being a bully and I dislike anyone that has the nerve to try to control someone. When the Asian students in the classroom where asked to speak up on the video I honestly thought that none of them would be brave enough to do so but I was wrong and I am happy that I was because I totally agreed 100% with everything that the Asian young lady said. Fri, 30 Mar 2012 22:49:17 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2012/03/27/voices-from-the-classroom-136/#IDComment328106972 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2012/03/01/voices-from-the-classroom-117/#IDComment312485068 As an African woman I am very irritated that the place which I have been calling home for the past two years really doesn’t bring to me much comfort. I for one am a very picky person, when it comes to my hair, eyebrows, and fashion, with that being said, kills me every time I have to think about the fact that I have to wait until I go to Philly in order for my needs to get met. If a person relocates to a new area they should be able to find a new hair dresser but this statement is not true in my case. This is due to the fact that about 99% of the hair salons in State College and Caucasian owned and they do not specialized in African American hair this means that they may not be capable of treating and black female. We as a culture already have so many differences amongst us such as the hair products that we use on our hair, the different hairstyles that we decide to get and a lot of black females love to wear weaves in their hair, me being one of them, if there is no one up here that can relate to us in that aspect and that has the capability to do such we feel lost well at least I do. Which makes me have to wait until I get to Philadelphia which might not be until a break so I have to go at least two months with out getting my hair done, and I am not use to this because I like to keep up with my appearance by getting my hair done every two weeks, that is a huge difference than every two in a half months just thinking about this makes me upset. I recently found out that a perm can make a white females hair get curly while if a black female was to get a perm it would make our hair get straight. If you ask me State College should have more of a variety of hair salons for everyone. I live in Philadelphia and we have a variety of different hair salons that anyone can choose from. Such as, Caucasian, African American, Dominican, Jamaican, Asian and the list goes on. So for me to come from having all of these options to not having any at all; is ridiculous if you ask me. I believe that Penn State should do something to make the minority students that are attending this university a little bit more comfortable, this will make us (the students) want to stay i.e., the school will make a lot more money this way. I am pretty sure that I am not the only minority student at this university whom feels like this. Fri, 9 Mar 2012 22:07:50 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2012/03/01/voices-from-the-classroom-117/#IDComment312485068 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2012/02/23/voices-from-the-classroom-115/#IDComment301036524 This is a very very touchy subject for me as an African American woman. It brings a lot of pain to my heart knowing that my siblings and I may have a hard time getting ahead in life due to the name that our parents choose to give to us. I feel like the white people that are in higher positions in today’s society, just want another reason to see African Americans suffer. First my people couldn’t get ahead sometimes because they didn’t look the part, meaning because they had a darker skin tone than acceptable. Now it is because of a name, to which they may seem as ghetto. If you ask me, the fact that people can tells someone’s ethnicity just by hearing their name is straight up racist. Every time I hear about things such as this the wise words of Shakespeare always seem to creep into my mind that is “What’s in a name? That which we call a rose by any other, smell as sweet”. This is one of my favorite quotes of all time and it relates so well to this topic. Just like the saying you don’t judge a book by its cover; all of these types of saying real do go well with real life situations. For instance, there could be a female named Becky and a female named Shabotta. We can all agree that the name Shabotta is very ghetto but just because the name is ghetto that doesn’t mean that the person is. Becky could be the nastiest person on earth, attitude wise, and Shabotta could be the sweetest person ever with the most incredible personality but because she doesn’t have a name that most people can relate to, the person that should not get the job will end up getting the job. I agree one hundred percent of what Sam stated in class, because it is not about getting a hand out it’s really about getting a fair chance to move on in life. I want to know that my hard work and intelligence got me to where I am today not the color of my skin. Nor that my name may have given me an unfair shot at something good in life just because the people who reviewed my application judged me based on my name and how unfamiliar it was to them rather than on my appearance, personality, ability to perform tasks, and how well I did on my interview. Those are the factors that really matter the most not because of a name or because of the color of a person’s skin tone this is not professional at all. I just believe everyone deserves a fair shot, I mean come on like I thought was American people. Sat, 25 Feb 2012 03:47:56 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2012/02/23/voices-from-the-classroom-115/#IDComment301036524 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2012/02/15/voices-from-the-classroom-105/#IDComment294352477 I was brought up going to church every Sunday, and going to bible study. I remember in the summers there would be like a week-long bible study session, that all of the children in the neighborhood including myself, would attend from 7pm-9pm each night. It was very fun and this experience made me enjoy learning about Jesus Christ and all that he has done for me, which makes me who I am today. Due to this reason I wouldn’t necessarily say that I am a Christian because my entire family is I would like to say that I was introduced to the religion by my family but I discovered God on my own time. Because of the weekly bible study classes that I took, I was able to learn about Christianity by myself in addition to gaining more knowledge about my religion through my grandmother. So yes I do believe that God is my creator, and that Jesus Christ, is his son whom died on the cross for our sins. Also, that if you believe in him you will have eternal life. That’s why John 3:16 is my favorite scripture. I have just proved that in my case it isn’t true that I am just following my parents or grandparents religion, so there may be others out there who found religion on their own. I know some people who are straight up atheist and they gave me some reasons that I cannot remember at this time, however their parents are hardcore Christians. So I just mainly think if your parents do not bestow this idea upon you, then you would be able to find out what religion is best for you. If a person talks down upon my religion, without any knowledge of it I would feel some type of way but this America and people are free to say, think and believe what they want to believe and I cannot have any control over that. I just feel like it’s not up to me to convert anybody to think the way that I am thinking. But on the same note I do have control over my actions so I can decide to listen to them as they express themselves or I can decide to walk away from them and to never look back. As Sam said we do not know if everything in the bible is correct but we solemnly rely on faith, and I do not think that anything is wrong with that. But I believe in my heart that every word in the bible is true and that is all that matters and with that being said, nobody on this earth can ever take that away from me. Fri, 17 Feb 2012 00:22:03 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2012/02/15/voices-from-the-classroom-105/#IDComment294352477 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2012/02/10/voices-from-the-classroom-104/#IDComment289372910 I am black, white and Indian however; my skin color is light-skinned for this reason I consider myself black, because when people look at me and they see the color of my skin they assume I am that just black. I was raised in the city of Philadelphia in a predominantly black area. Throughout my life I have attended schools that were predominately black as well. In this area if you told someone that you were mixed but your skin color said otherwise, they would not believe you and think that you were a liar. This would make you as a kid want to provide them with some sort of proof and it would make the person that you were telling this to, to grow anxious to see it. You would show it to them but not because they deserve it but because you wanted to prove a point and then see them with that salty look on their faces. Even though I have some of the characteristics that white people have such as: turning red when I am either cold, angry or excited and even being able to easily view the veins that are embedded in my hands and feet, I still consider myself to be black. My mother and father both consider themselves as being African Americans; my mother never told me that we were something other than that. I am not sure why she doesn’t mention these things I don’t know if it is because if you look at her you would say that she is black, or if it’s because she herself isn’t aware of it. I honesty never really thought about this but now that I am thinking about it I will ask my mother about this and see what reaction she gives me. I didn’t find out that I was part Indian and white until one day curiosity made me ask my nana (my grandmother). I would say yes I was raised to be a strong African American woman, my mother always instilled the importance of this idea in me and she continues to do so today. I am proud to identify myself as being African American. My other ethnicities are rarely discussed; the only time that I know they are talked about for sure is when I ask questions about them. But I haven’t asked questions since I was at least 13 years old that was seven years ago. I guess my skin color really grew on me so that’s the reason why I claim it to the fullest. The last time I had a one on one discussion about this was three years ago when I met my boyfriend, and that was only because when you meet people sometimes they want to know almost everything about you and you sometimes want to know the same. Sat, 11 Feb 2012 04:40:02 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2012/02/10/voices-from-the-classroom-104/#IDComment289372910 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2012/02/02/voices-from-the-classroom-98/#IDComment283332965 I am an African American female so I cannot speak for the white female population so I am going to make a hypothesis. Nor could I speak on the entire black female population so I can only give the reasons why I decide to get purmes. The first time that it was brought to my attention that a purme would make a white person’s hair become curly was after I watched the movie “Legally Blonde”, before then I never knew that white women used purmes. I would prefer a purme or either a deep conditioner to make my hair straight. I don’t want to be like any white person in any way, shape, or form when I choose to get something done to my hair whether it’s weave, purme, straightened, etc. it’s for me half of the styles that us black women get in our hair, a lot of white people wouldn’t even think about getting those styles. It’s not that I don’t like the hair type that I have it’s just that I would like my hair to look nice and with certain hairstyles in order to do so, your hair has to be straight so that it would blend properly. There is a lot of planning and time that goes into getting a hair style that actually looks good on you. You have to make sure you have the proper facial structure, hairlines, and length of hair; it’s a lot of work and very confusing. There are some African American women that would prefer to leave their hair natural than to have chemicals and heat put to it. I am from Philadelphia and out of the 20 years that I have been on this earth I have seen more African American women on this campus alone with natural hair, than I had ever seen in Philadelphia .I am assuming that white women decide to get purmes because they want to also change their hairstyles. No one wants to look the same forever or in essence have the same hairstyle forever. And if humans weren’t made to explore all the different hairstyles and hair colors I am pretty sure that there would be no such creation, but since there is everyone has the right to explore their options. I just can’t believe that white women get curls because they want to be like black women, no black woman has naturally curly hair, so why would a white women’s decision to get curls even be considered to be because they want to be like African American women. I am going to assume that there are some white women who would rather keep their hair naturally straight than to have it curly because of personal preference. Sat, 4 Feb 2012 03:09:19 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2012/02/02/voices-from-the-classroom-98/#IDComment283332965 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2012/01/26/voices-from-the-classroom-92/#IDComment276473113 Since the events that has transpired in November of 2011. I have learned so many lessons that I believe will help me throughout my life; I honestly don’t know where to begin. The most important thing that I have learned from this entire experience is that nobody is perfect, everyone makes mistakes but it takes a very courageous person to own up to their mistakes. This is something that I have always done so far and I will continue to do so. Another important thing that I have learned is that no matter what people my say or think of you, you always keep your dignity, self-respect and never lose faith in yourself because if you give in the people that are by your side will lose faith. I feel like I also learned that in some cases a good deed never goes unpunished. What I mean by this is that you may think you are doing the right thing or making the right decision but what’s right in your eyes may not be right in other’s eyes. But as I stated before never ever lose faith in yourself. The media is never 100 percent accurate with nothing that they report, and if they find a story that they believe will bring them to the top they will without a doubt take it and run with it. No matter who you are they will butcher you name and make you out to be an evil villain when in all reality you could be a law abiding citizen. I have been seeing this for what seems like forever, especially with all of the celebrity’s. I cannot think of one person who is in the public eye that the media hasn’t at least said something bad about once and I am 20 years old. I understand that reporters have a job to do but would it hurt to get a little more research on things before there 12 o clock deadlines??? That’s just a question that I had in mind. Another thing that I have learned from this experience is to watch people very closely around my loved ones whether it’s my younger sister, brother, cousins or even my own future children. Some people are just plain sick and are out to hurt young children and I will be damned if any of my loved ones will fall victim to any of that madness. And if so that person will wish they had never meet my family. You cannot trust people nowadays it’s a shame but it’s true whether the accusations are true or false people should still be aware that these things are occurring and children are afraid to speak on them. Sat, 28 Jan 2012 03:03:33 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2012/01/26/voices-from-the-classroom-92/#IDComment276473113 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2012/01/17/voices-from-the-classroom-90/#IDComment269681416 I believe that people in today’s society feel the need to self-identify themselves because that is what’s all around us. What I mean by this is that nowadays everyone wants to your ethnicity, whether you are filling out an application for a job, school, in some cases even when you are taking some form of test. I think it is said that we have to do this but its life. I am a strong black woman and I am proud to be the person that I am today and I am not afraid to let the world know it. I identify myself as African American but I have White and Indian in my blood however when a person looks at me the see by skin color which is brown skin and they know that I am African American. I am not sure of the percentage of any of my ethnicities I should probably speak with my mother and find that information out. As Sam stated in class today people do tend to gravitate more closely to people that think and look like themselves. I think that we as people tend to feel more comfortable around people that look like ourselves because we feel like we can relate to them more on anytime of level. I can certainly admit to that. I have a lot of friends and I would say that a good 90% of them are of African American decent. However I have friends that are all different ethnicities. I have cousins who are Dominican, Mexican, White and Black. My significant-other happens to be a blend of ethnicities as well he is more African American than anything else, however he also has some Indian, Italian, and Cuban blood in him. But instead of marking other when he is filling out an application he decides to check the African American option. I feel like nobody is going to care what other ethnicity you are, they are going to judge you by the color of your skin so why bother to explain to them that you are x,y,and z. it makes no sense to me. I have never dated a white boy before, but I secretly used to want to before I got into a committed relationship. But I believe that white guys are afraid to approach black girls I don’t know why I feel this way but it is what it is. I feel like in order to date a white boy being a African American female I would have to initiate it so that the person can know that I am interested in a white guy. Hopefully one day I will feel just as comfortable around a white person as I do around a black person and maybe one day if me and my boyfriend don’t work out I will try to date a white boy. Fri, 20 Jan 2012 15:39:51 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2012/01/17/voices-from-the-classroom-90/#IDComment269681416