en-us https://www.intensedebate.com/users/2455947 Comments by kmg2014 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2012/04/16/george-zimmerman-vs-marissa-alexander/#IDComment343519712 . In the case of Travyon’s death, it is mostly due to the tragedy that the person who was shot is black, and the person who shot him was white. However, in my opinion, I don’t believe that race should have anything to do with it at this time. I think that no matter what the color of their skin, if a person is a danger to themselves or others then the situation should be dealt with accordingly. Ideally, this person should be either 302’d by someone who knows them and could have reason to believe they are a danger to others, in this case. The other option would just be locking him up until the trial is proceeding. This would probably be the most common response. (part 3) Fri, 20 Apr 2012 16:06:15 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2012/04/16/george-zimmerman-vs-marissa-alexander/#IDComment343519712 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2012/04/16/george-zimmerman-vs-marissa-alexander/#IDComment343519483 I think that most decent citizens wouldn’t even let that happen. I do think that people these days who are in the justice system are knowingly not forgiving at all. And especially in the cases of blacks and many other minorities. These are the people who are targeted the most by the justice system. I do think that this situation can be closely related to the Travyon case. I think that in general, black people and the law do not mix, but only according to the justice system. Anytime any black person is slightly out of line, they will typically get arrested. When a white person is slightly out of line, they do not get arrested, they may get a warning, or a “slap on the wrist” so to speak, but they do not get “locked up” nearly as often as their counterparts, the blacks and Hispanics mostly. (part 2) Fri, 20 Apr 2012 16:05:50 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2012/04/16/george-zimmerman-vs-marissa-alexander/#IDComment343519483 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2012/04/16/george-zimmerman-vs-marissa-alexander/#IDComment343519293 I think that this case with Melissa is actually absolutely ridiculous. The fact that she went through so much with her husband and child is extremely disturbing and almost unheard of that the justice system would not take this into account. The idea that this entire case has to do with a child makes the entire case different. Yes, the justice system could argue that the gunshot was entirely bad for the child to be exposed to, but when it comes to a life or death situation, I’d rather my child be exposed to hearing a gunshot, than be exposed to seeing their mother die, or die themselves. I think that Melissa did the best thing she could have done in that situation. She saved at least her own life, and possibly also her child’s life. I don’t know how the justice system does not see that. I also don’t understand why the justice system would not account for the fact that her husband was abusing her, WHILE SHE WAS PREGNANT. This idea is absolutely outrageous. (part 1) Fri, 20 Apr 2012 16:05:31 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2012/04/16/george-zimmerman-vs-marissa-alexander/#IDComment343519293 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2012/04/10/racist-profiling-appears-to-be-alive-in-nyc/#IDComment338232119 I also think that it is interesting that many people of black or Latino decent is in an unfortunate circumstance, not only because of social barriers but also because of legal barriers. In our society, people believe that the common, white person is the ideal, and therefore, anyone else is going to look either more or less innocent than the common white man. In most cases, for whatever reason, the black and Latinos are the ones who are discriminated against on a legal standpoint. So in this case, this is also a disadvantage to being a minority in the United States and being discriminated against. (part 3) Fri, 13 Apr 2012 15:36:07 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2012/04/10/racist-profiling-appears-to-be-alive-in-nyc/#IDComment338232119 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2012/04/10/racist-profiling-appears-to-be-alive-in-nyc/#IDComment338231969 Obviously in this article, the man has experienced people making fun of him for his race and also people not accepting him, which I think is a really big deal. If people are not accepted for their race or even given a chance then they definitely have a social disadvantage in the society that they are living in. I believe that if I were a minority in a certain society then I would definitely want to leave that society. I think it’s a huge disadvantage to make friends and even relationships. If you are a minority then there are many people who would not even give you a chance just because of your race before they even know your personality. In a society where you are part of the race majority, you have much more opportunity to get to know the majority of your society without racial judgment. (part 2) Fri, 13 Apr 2012 15:35:51 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2012/04/10/racist-profiling-appears-to-be-alive-in-nyc/#IDComment338231969 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2012/04/10/racist-profiling-appears-to-be-alive-in-nyc/#IDComment338231725 This situation is very common in the United States, from my understanding. Most people who are curious about this, in a sense that people are not so much interested in the idea that people are seeing things the way that a certain race sees things. I think it’s really interesting how there’s such a difference between people who are of a certain race that is uncommon in their area, and people who are the majority in an area. For instance, I’ve never really been in an area where white people are uncommon. I’ve also never realized how much it may affect people who are in an area where they are the minority. I think one of the main reasons why white people have somewhat of a reputation of being racist is because we are naïve. I’d be willing to bet that most white people who are racist have never been in a culture where they are the minority and may feel uncomfortable about their race. I think that in order to relieve racism from primarily white societies those white people would need to experience being the minority in a primarily non white society. In general, it just makes sense. Also, I think it could be really unfortunate to be a minority. (part 1) Fri, 13 Apr 2012 15:35:25 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2012/04/10/racist-profiling-appears-to-be-alive-in-nyc/#IDComment338231725 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2012/04/01/the-saggy-pants-problem/#IDComment333219221 An idea like this though is uncalled for, and this is one of the many reasons why people would want to identify our gov’t as corrupt. These rules and laws just keep on adding on top of eachother an now that we start to realize this, we are at the same time realizing how much our government really is controlling us, without us even realizing it. And while they tell us how free we are, we then experience the idea that maybe they aren’t telling us the truth and maybe people are not actually living as freely as they think. It seems as if the government slips in right from under our noses without us even noticing the influence they have on our actions.( part 3) Fri, 6 Apr 2012 17:52:20 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2012/04/01/the-saggy-pants-problem/#IDComment333219221 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2012/04/01/the-saggy-pants-problem/#IDComment333219069 So when us Americans think about how “free” we are, we should actually think about the fact that in a lot of other countries people can wear as little or as much as they want, their government doesn’t tell them what to wear. This isn’t all countries, but a lot of them. A lot of them do have rules, mostly religious rules that may shape the way they dress. And the government of these countries probably controls this to an extent. And other things and actions that people do in these countries are controlled too, But the fact that America is now starting to have rules similar to these countries in which their government is knowingly corrupt, this is something that should probably start to scare us. Our government isn’t corrupt, in a lot of people’s minds, also in other’s minds, it is very corrupt. (part 2) Fri, 6 Apr 2012 17:52:02 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2012/04/01/the-saggy-pants-problem/#IDComment333219069 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2012/04/01/the-saggy-pants-problem/#IDComment333218829 I think the saggy pants problem is an interesting one, especially to be covered in the legal system. I do think, however, that it can’t really do any harm. I think that since this law is new, and it doesn’t seem to be particularly specific, that the law enforcers should be pretty forgiving at first. By this, I just mean that they should give a warning before they actually cite people for this. I think that a lot of states would benefit from having this law passed also, however, it’s obvious that this may not be the situation that would be most ideal for states which have big urban cities where there is a lot of diverse dress. There may be many more problems for people who do this regularly and now will be penalized for their dress. I think this also has a lot to do with the idea of freedom in the United States. If states are starting to make laws like this now, by the time my generation is 60 there will probably be a country dress code. (part 1) Fri, 6 Apr 2012 17:51:35 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2012/04/01/the-saggy-pants-problem/#IDComment333218829 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2012/03/18/benefits-of-being-bilingual/#IDComment322794738 This situation is proving that most people are not all that smart until they are aware of what is going on. Sometimes I think that a lot of people are like the fact that they may be considered smart for reasons like being bilingual for instance. This probably makes them feel empowered and feel like if they are suppose to be smart then they will probably subconsciously make themselves smarter without realizing it. This is a situation that makes me think that if Hispanics knew that this bilingualism makes them smarter then maybe they will make themselves smarter not knowing or realizing it at the time. This situation is easy for all of us to understand. (part 3) Fri, 23 Mar 2012 16:48:05 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2012/03/18/benefits-of-being-bilingual/#IDComment322794738 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2012/03/18/benefits-of-being-bilingual/#IDComment322794501 . For instance, we consider Middle Eastern people very smart maybe medically and scientifically. We consider Asian Americans very smart when it comes to math and science as well. I think it’s interesting that we don’t think of bilingualism as a contribution to this, because I think it could be. With this theory, that would mean that Hispanic people are just as smart as the Asians and Middle Eastern people. This is something that I’m sure many people have never thought of. I think that most people who are Hispanic who are bilingual are probably unaware of all of the good things that this knowledge is doing to their brain. Maybe once these Hispanics are aware of the fact that this makes them smarter, they could take more advantage of the situation. I think that most people are not aware of this, and therefore they may be smart for other reasons, the Asians and Middle Eastern people. (part 2) Fri, 23 Mar 2012 16:47:37 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2012/03/18/benefits-of-being-bilingual/#IDComment322794501 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2012/03/18/benefits-of-being-bilingual/#IDComment322794309 I think this article is very interesting, but it doesn’t surprise me at all. I think there are obviously going to be benefits of bilingualism; it’s just that now we know what they are. I think it is extremely interesting that we have found what is actually happening in our brains when we know how to speak and understand two different languages. I think this thought may actually conflict with what most of us, as white Americans think about Hispanic people. Most of us white people think that Hispanic people aren’t all that intelligent. However, these results may prove us wrong in some cases. For instance, I would say that most Hispanics in America are bilingual because they most likely speak Spanish in their homes or amongst their family, and they speak English outside of the home, to Americans and in public. I think this is something interesting that we should think about regarding the intelligence of different race groups. When we think about it, most of the other bilingual race groups in America are considered really smart in certain subjects, stereotypically. (part 1) Fri, 23 Mar 2012 16:47:14 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2012/03/18/benefits-of-being-bilingual/#IDComment322794309 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2012/03/13/prejudice-can-give-a-person-a-disadvantage/#IDComment317599746 This is really unfortunate that some people are not happy with who they are because of the opportunities they are not allowed to be available for. This is a situation based on the idea that a lot of people are not given the opportunity to show what they can do for the world. There could be a brilliant black person out there who is never accepted into a program that shows all he has to offer. Whereas, when a white person is applying for programs, they will most likely be accepted. A brilliant white person has the opportunities available to them to put fourth effort, as usual. This makes it even a bigger deal when a black person is notices for their intelligence, or other skills, because it is harder for a black person to pull that off compared to a white person. (part 3) Fri, 16 Mar 2012 15:15:33 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2012/03/13/prejudice-can-give-a-person-a-disadvantage/#IDComment317599746 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2012/03/13/prejudice-can-give-a-person-a-disadvantage/#IDComment317599587 Prejudice is basically the act of racism. This means that not only are these thoughts going on in people’s minds, but they are actually being acted upon also. This is when everything gets a little touchy. It’s one thing to have thoughts in mind, and another to actually discriminate against people of another color, or nationality. This thought basically tells me that people in that situation are extremely hard to probably reach on a professional level, considering they are probably, considerably bitter towards the idea of being discriminated against. This thought is quite a bit unfortunate when it comes to dealing with the possible life consequences of being a black person, something you can’t help; I guess these people are just expected to live their life through the wishes of being a white person. Not all black people hope to be a white person, obviously, but I bet most of them wish they had the some opportunities as white people. (part 2) Fri, 16 Mar 2012 15:15:14 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2012/03/13/prejudice-can-give-a-person-a-disadvantage/#IDComment317599587 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2012/03/13/prejudice-can-give-a-person-a-disadvantage/#IDComment317599394 Prejudice is a word I think we all like to avoid. Whether we’re the one experiencing it, or the one just hearing about it, in general, it’s a touchy subject. In all reality, the world in which we live doesn’t favor the minority in most situations. This idea is thought to be very much so hard for people who negatively experience prejudice to sit well with. A person could be a straight up American, born and raised, with a minor difference: skin color. This is something most people don’t like to talk about, however, it’s important to talk about so that we can learn and understand. It’s completely unfair for those Americans who have lived here all their lives and are still scrutinized and looked down upon just because of their skin color. The more I think about it, the worse I feel about the situation. We should all be open-minded, especially when it comes to life changing opportunities. It is unfair that a black person may not get a job that they are completely qualified for just because they are black. (part 1) Fri, 16 Mar 2012 15:14:52 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2012/03/13/prejudice-can-give-a-person-a-disadvantage/#IDComment317599394 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2012/02/22/voices-from-the-classroom-109/#IDComment306349003 . If we all talked about race, minority and majority groups alike, then we would all be more comfortable with each other and we would all be more open to each other’s differences. Race is something that is very hush hush, because of the past that it has within our country. Especially with black people because of slaves. This situation is one that is hard for a lot of us white people to deal with, because we feel that it is unfair for us to be accused of being racist, when we clearly are not. I think the fact that we get accused of this actually is what makes us racist, because if you’re accusing me of something I’m not then I’m very much so likely to not prefer to be around you. This is also a trait that a lot of black people have, saying things like,” you’re only saying that cause I’m black..” etc. (part 3) Fri, 2 Mar 2012 15:59:05 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2012/02/22/voices-from-the-classroom-109/#IDComment306349003 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2012/02/22/voices-from-the-classroom-109/#IDComment306348769 Obviously having a difficult racist upbringing will probably lead to the child being racist also. This is not a good situation. However, some people are known to question what their parents believe and they may be very much so open to learning about other races and being very independent on their views. This is a persona that I believe everyone should take on. The idea of removing all other voices from the situation and coming up with your own opinions, this is something that is hard to do, because of the fact that we have these predetermined thoughts, and many of them may be based on what others think. This idea is very easy for us to imagine because we think that we can get rid of these socialized thoughts, but without realizing it, they are present in all cases and can sometimes be a distraction to our original thoughts, thoughts in which we believe we came up with on our won. (part 2) Fri, 2 Mar 2012 15:58:39 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2012/02/22/voices-from-the-classroom-109/#IDComment306348769 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2012/02/22/voices-from-the-classroom-109/#IDComment306348507 There would be so many differences in society if we took the race conversation seriously. In general, race is something we all have an experience with at some point in life, so shouldn’t we talk about it? Race is something we can all relate to, whether we are the minority or not. I believe that minority groups think that they experience more negative effects of racism. While this is probably true, the majority groups in society are also experiencing racism, this could be because of the minority groups. For example, we may not know how to treat people of a different race if a majority would live a certain life, like a sheltered one, or one of which the parents are racist, and the child is exposed to a lot of different races in the future. This situation could be just as hard for a majority member as it would be for the minority member who is being discriminated against. (part 1) Fri, 2 Mar 2012 15:58:11 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2012/02/22/voices-from-the-classroom-109/#IDComment306348507 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2012/02/23/voices-from-the-classroom-115/#IDComment300649663 I know that it makes the university look better when there are a large variety of diverse students; however, this situation is just simply unfair. I agree with Sam about the name situation, however. If a black applicant has an extremely black name, then they are much less likely to be chosen for a job. Whereas a white person, with a white name, is extremely likely to be chosen for a job, over a black person. This is extremely unfortunate for black people with very black names. On the other hand, a black person could have an advantage because of their name, if the company would like to show its diversity. The whole situation is unfair, on both ends, but I’m not sure there is a fair way to fix it. (part 3) Fri, 24 Feb 2012 16:34:11 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2012/02/23/voices-from-the-classroom-115/#IDComment300649663 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2012/02/23/voices-from-the-classroom-115/#IDComment300649418 This, unfortunately, causes us whites to be discriminated against, in turn. It seems as if a white person and a black person have the same resume then the black person may have the advantage just because they are black. This is clearly something that is unfair to whites. On the other hand, before this, the white applicant would have the upper hand, and they would get extra “points” just because they are white. I’m not sure what the best solution for this issue is, but in my mind, I’m not sure that it’s anymore fair with these rules in place. This is also a problem when it comes to college applications. Last year I had a roommate who was Latina, was not smart at all, didn’t get good grades in high school, and she was out of state. If that was a white person who had all of those traits then they would not have gotten into Penn State, however, since she was a Latina and the university needs to accept a certain percent of diverse applicants, she was accepted. (part 2) Fri, 24 Feb 2012 16:33:47 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2012/02/23/voices-from-the-classroom-115/#IDComment300649418