I agree that boys should be educated on menstruation too so that it's not such a taboo subject. It really does just go to show that this is still a man's world because it's not brought up. It's looked on as fross and something that makes the female gender weaker.
Still, I don't think that it will ever become a topic in middle schools because it's still a "don't ask, don't tell" sort of topic. It's just not appropriate for civilized conversation, and in that aspect I don't think it would be a popular topic even for men if the roles were reversed.

I can't say that I have any Asian friends. I have a ton of Latino and black friends, but no Asians. At least for me I think that Asians would be a great topic for the class though, because I know nothing about them. When I think of Asians (thought I know this is a stereotype) I think of a little woman who barely speaks English who works at the laundromat or the local Chinese restaurant. I know nothing about their culture or what they feel or if they are discriminated against. I don't really have an opinion on Asians because I never thought about it. I do know that they seem to take a lot of white American jobs. It's a good point though.

I think this issue would have been addressed differently had Laurie been the one to bring it up. I'm not sure that in class it's so much that women have an issue talking about it, but the fact that Sam was talking about something that wasn't his to share. I guess it ties in with a white man telling a black woman that he knows what she's going through because he's heard about it, and he sympathizes.

One of my favorite books when I was growing up was called the Red Tent. It tells the story of a woman, in a biblical time period, and how starting your bleeding, and continuing to bleed, was revered among women in tribes. Women, when they were bleeding, were sent into the Red Tent. In this place they didn't do work or worry about anything. They were taken care of and allowed to relax while their bodies did they women's bodies are naturally supposed to do. Can you women imagine living in a world like this? "No, of course you don't have to work today. Actually take the next 3-5 days off til you 'feel better.'" Yeah, not happening.

I'm not afraid to talk about my period. But then again, I haven't had one in 4 years. If we're really getting into women and their "bleeding" this is what we have come to. It has become such a burden that we have pills to completely take it away. I'm all for the pill (remember that woman shown in class who came from a family of 22 kids? Example A where BC should definitely have been used). But my gyno says that periods at that point are just for piece of mind because they make women feel right with their bodies. But if I don't want that part of being a woman, I don't have to have it.

Now, though I am in no way, shape, or form complaining that I don't "bleed" anymore, I'm not on the pill that I'm on just for this reason. I have PCOS (polycystic ovarian syndrome) and this pill keeps my cysts away; that and my "bleeding" was every 14 days, the annoyance of which I cannot even begin to describe. But still, I'm happy that I don't have to worry about where I'll be or what I'll be feeling like because I'm burdened by this. I can be just like any man. I can go where I want, when I want. I can have sex when I want and not have to plan it around my cycle. I can swim in the ocean or hike a mountain. Go camping and not worry about bears (yes, that is something that you're warned about).

So like I said. As you can see from my post, I'm not afraid to talk about it, Sam. Hell, I'll talk to the whole damn class about it... if I feel that it's something that needs to be addressed.

College has really opened up my eyes in that aspect too. My parents would disown me if I married a person of color. No questions asked, I'd be out the door. I grew up in a small town in western pa and there was one person of color in my entire high school, and he never acted the stereotype. I'm so thankful that I came to college, for much more than just the degree. I've made friends of all different colors, otientations and backgrounds. People that my parent's never would have let me meet in our small circle. I'm so grateful because I now can look past color to the person beneath.

I agree with you to an extent. I understand Sam's point in class. Still, I know the person that is mentioned in the video and he relates to both his white and PR sides. He is proud to be Puerto Rican, don't get me wrong, but he's proud of both sides of him. In the sense that he does look Hispanic (though very light) I guess that would place him more in the brown category, but I do not think that he should have to relate to one or the other. He's PR/American. So why can't he just be American?

Very good post! I was thinking about that the other day actually. I've heard non-white people make fun of and harass white people before. But nothing is really said about it. If the white person defends themself (yells back or says something derogatory about them) other people will suddenly get involved because that is "wrong". This enters into stages that I don't think Sam has talked about yet. If someone was doing something like this to me and I yelled something back, I wouldn't think two seconds about the fact that they were black, brown, purple, or turquoise. A person's first response in such an instance is to defend in any way possible.

And yet the non-white person would be "justified" in the eyes of those who have no idea what is going on. Only because they are not white and therefore whatever the white, "privileged" person was doing must be wrong. I don't agree with political correctness, and in this case I think that it is the major problem. We are taught that blacks and hispanics are "minorities" and therefore must be treated with some sort of elevated status. We are not permitted to treat them the same that we would treat other white people because we must be sensitive so that we don't hurt their pride or feelings. But what doesn't seem to be understood right now is that it goes both ways.

If you insult my mother, I'm going to fire back. It's just nature that says that I should defend people like that. That doesn't give me the right to fire back with something about your skin color or ethnicity (though skin color seems to be the major thing that we are talking about here). But it does on some level give me the right to fight back. Which should not be looked at as racism because that isn't what it is about at all. I could care less what color your skin is. I could insult your mother back or say something about your shoes or clothes, but that would still be taken as racist. White people are penalized for speaking in this instance.

They say that whites are privileged because they can get away with anything. Having white skin is a get of of jail free card. But when you are around people who are trying hard to be PC, this isn't true at all. They will defend harshly because they feel that guilt that has been talked about in class. They feel bad for people because of the history that their people had. But it's not about a person's ancestry at all. I believe that everyone should be held accountable for their own actions. That means that it doesn't matter what your parent's did, or if your great great grandparents were slaves, you aren't, and you never have been. Therefore I don't think that I should have to treat you like I was the one who enslaved you. I had nothing to do with it.

And who exactly are you planning on stealing that land from to give to the Native Americans? It's not the fault of whoever lives there currently. They probably weren't alive when the land was taken. But you want to say to the people currently on the land (which includes a few very large military bases), "Okay, we understand that this land provides your life and your livelihood, but we're going to take it all away and give it to someone else who had it taken away first." That just puts a whole new group of people into the same situation that the Native Americans are currently in. Which would completely backfire your point. Because then how would those people who were displaced from land that was also "technically" theirs be compensated?

And as for who the land "technically" belongs to. It might have originally been red land, but now it's more pinkish land because it's partially white land. Who is really to take this "blame"? The people who live on the land and didn't actually take it? They aren't squatting; they have the paperwork and the land was probably handed down to them from their forefathers. My ancestors, like Vinny's, weren't here when the displacement was occurring. My family has always lived in Western Pennsylvania after we got off the boat, and so the displacement to the west was not our doing either.

And if you say that "we" should take the blame, who exactly are you saying when you say "we"? Is that anyone who isn't Native American? I don't think that we as "the white Americans" should take the blame. People who are first generation call themselves "American" and who is to say that they are wrong. But if your family is white and grew up in Singapore and you have an American accent but aren't from here. But now you're an American citizen. Does that mean that you therefore assume a part of the blame for being a white American? It's suddenly your fault?

I didn't cause the alcoholism of these people either. Why do most of them turn to alcoholism? Asking them to get a job and support themselves the same way that we all do isn't asking them to go against their culture. Culture has been used as an excuse for Native Americans for years. And I realize that they didn't choose to be in the situation that they are in. But in all honest, that could be what any teenager could say as well. Just because you don't think that it's fair that you're in the situation that you're in doesn't give you the excuse to not conform and get a job and become a productive member of society.

Native Americans might currently have it pretty bad, but just sitting back and feeling sorry for themselves isn't helping. Whatever happened to those of us who believe strongly in the American Dream? You can be whatever you want to be, as long as you work hard and work to overcome any and all obstacles that are in your way.

But are white people who listen to country music actually a race? I don't think that they could be considered as such, it's more of a preference and at most a culture. I've also never heard of a CMT vs. BET party. That would be terribly interesting to see though.

In the end the parties are just about having fun. I don't think anyone really takes offense for the most part. Do you really think a CEO walks in and is angered by kids making fun of "his culture"? And if you do get mad cause they are "making fun of you", then don't be stereotypical... cause the stereotypes usually aren't good anyhow.

I do wonder if that's the truth. Is the demographic they are catering to mostly white people? I'm sure that even other reality shows like "Survivor" which also usually has that "token" black or Asian person would be interesting to more than just middle-aged white people though. I don't watch the Bachelor, but reality shows in general on major networks do seem to host predominately white people. Maybe it's because white people like watching other white people and people of color like watching white people make asses out of themselves?

I think it is an interesting question, thought the atmosphere for these slave owners would be very different. Could you imagine what that same slave owner would even think of a television?! I don't think that even turning on a television is necessary to get the culture shock that would be the goal. I thinking bringing that same person into a class like ours would be an interesting experience in itself. Not even for the conversations that we have and the topics that are discussed - but for the people in the class. Within a group of 700 people at Penn State, there are people of all different races and ethnicities. He wouldn't know what to do with the fact that white people sit next to black people and chat and laugh. That black kids are allowed to attend school and are competition for the same jobs as his friends on the "white team". Unimaginable.

The best way we could actually do this experiment here in the this day and time would be bringing someone from another society (take any of the slave owners in the book who still keep slaves because of skin color or ethnicity, like the White Moors) into our society and letting them see our class. I would venture to guess that there are people in the class who can trace their ethnicity to almost every country in the world. Especially those of us "mutts" who are 5 or 6 different ethnicities. I would love to hear what they think of this American, more accepting culture that we live in. I would guess that they would think that we are too liberal, and that whoever should be on top (i.e. whatever "team" that person is on) has forgotten their place in society.

I smiled at the end of the video clip though. It is "pretty crazy" how far we have come from the "white men own the world" philosophy. That might be what some people in the older generations believe, but most people in our generation, and even more so in the generations following us, are becoming desensitized to the color barrier. I realize when the person that I sit next to in class in Latino or Indian or black, but that doesn't mean that I look at them as any different of a person than I am. And I think that is becoming more common.

And I know what you're thinking. "Look at the stats in class! There is still a bug barrier! Look at the difference in who gets jobs and who gets arrested." But I think it's necessary to take into account when the "people in control" grew up. Most of the CEOs and VPs are people who grew up in the times of segregation. In the back of their minds, that color bias still exists. But I firmly believe that in time, as people in our generation grow into those positions of power - the positions that decide who gets hired and fired - the lines will begin to blur and everyone will start to be looked at on the same page, regardless of the color of their skin.