en-us https://www.intensedebate.com/users/761597 Comments by kmp5031 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/the-tyranny-of-radical-muslims__trashed/#IDComment70013264 I am really glad that this woman posted this. I can’t generalize for everyone, but for me, deep down I know this. Just because certain people do horrible things it does not mean that that is how all Muslims are. A lot of us want to get angry and generalize this and I feel like this woman put a face to the truth that we all know deep down. It was an awakening that I think we all need to keep in mind more often. We don’t want to be grouped with people who do something simply because we have one similarity with them such as religion. Fri, 23 Apr 2010 22:39:26 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/the-tyranny-of-radical-muslims__trashed/#IDComment70013264 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/south-park-off-the-hook__trashed/#IDComment70011036 I agree with you completely. This controversy surrounding South Park is completely ridiculous. South Park most definitely does push the limits of decency and satire, and has been doing so since it came on the air. I think it is pretty cool that they took on such a controversial issue, and I am sure that they knew exactly what they were getting themselves into. I completely agree with you when you said you were happy they took on this issue because it truly tests the boundaries of free speech. I really think that it is completely ridiculous that their lives are being threatened. Fri, 23 Apr 2010 22:23:58 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/south-park-off-the-hook__trashed/#IDComment70011036 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/letter-from-an-inmate__trashed/#IDComment70008956 I think that this letter was extremely eye opening for me. Whenever Sam talked about visiting the “lifers” in class, I was always really interested. At first I was thinking how he could possibly go in and talk to people who committed such horrible crimes, but once I really thought about it I found it absolutely intriguing. I have absolutely no idea what it would be like to be so trapped. I really felt like it was fascinating the way Sam talked about these “lifers” and how much insight they had about life. I was really excited to see that Sam posted a letter from one of the inmates. It was definitely not what I expected from someone convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison. It was so uplifting to see that even convicted murderers are capable of compassion. His stories and insights made me want to talk to him and find out more about what he thinks about life. I was really surprised by this because even when Sam talked about it in class and I was interested, I never thought I would want to experience talking to a murderer. Now, I can honestly say that I would most definitely want to visit Rockview and get the experience that Sam and Laurie have with the prisoners. Reading this letter also made me so grateful for what I have. I’ve made so many mistakes in my life (obviously, not to the extent to which I could be sent to jail) but regardless; I am still able to experience life to the fullest. It seriously blows my mind to think that these people have nothing to look forward to but can still show compassion and kindness to fellow inmates. It is heartwarming, for lack of better words, to see such goodness. Regardless of how moving the letter that the inmate wrote was, I still believe that there are consequences for actions, especially actions as serious as first-degree murder. I do not disagree with the United States justice system and I think that people who commit these crimes need to pay for them. I think that as a society, we need to not shun them away and label them as “criminals.” They are still human beings and there is so much more to them than the crime that they committed. Society needs to dig deeper and try to understand these “lifers” and understand their life experiences. This man, in particular, because of his evolved understanding of himself, is absolutely fascinating. I think he is a wonderful example of how people can change and be comfortable with the person that they have become, despite their past. I thought it was really cool that Sam posted this blog for us to see. Fri, 23 Apr 2010 22:09:09 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/letter-from-an-inmate__trashed/#IDComment70008956 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/want-to-learn-chinese__trashed/#IDComment68293748 Obviously, I think that English is used the most in business transactions, but I think learning mandarin would be a wonderful language to know in the economic marketplace. My personal feelings are that adding it as a language to choose from in high school isn’t the best option. I’m friends with a family in Germany, where they learn English at an extremely young age, and they are all pretty much fluent in English. This is not the case when we start in middle school or high school to learn a language. If we really want to be fluent in a language, our education system needs to focus on it much earlier than middle school or high school. Fri, 16 Apr 2010 00:22:57 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/want-to-learn-chinese__trashed/#IDComment68293748 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/christian-invaders-the-turnaround__trashed/#IDComment68292422 I think Laurie gave everyone a good warning about today’s lecture on Tuesday. You can’t just take what Sam says as the “absolutely truth.” He’s saying things to try and provoke people. He wants you to be mad about what he’s saying, he wants you to start thinking about the other side. That’s the point. Sam isn’t saying at all that Christians are taking over the world. He’s showing how the Arabs/Muslims perceive this war. I bet that a good proportion of us think that most Muslims are radical. Sam was trying to get everyone to see that they see us the same way. Sam pokes and pries because he wants people to get rattled and to think more. Fri, 16 Apr 2010 00:10:10 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/christian-invaders-the-turnaround__trashed/#IDComment68292422 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/women__trashed/#IDComment68291171 I also really enjoyed the play that was put on in class. It was very interested to see the roles reversed and having smaller breasts be more desirable. I agree with a lot of people who already posted and said it was like an “icebreaker” and opened up this topic for women to talk about. Obviously, I think that women are so much more than breast size, or their appearance in general, but it is without a doubt an issue. For some, it is a comparison between themselves and friends. A “Do they look better than me, I want what they have” mentality. For others, it is trying to draw the attention of men—“what will make them look at me more” or, more than likely, a mixture of both. No matter what a woman’s reasoning is—it happens. Many women may claim that they are completely secure with themselves, however they cannot deny the fact that it affects other women and that it is an extremely widespread issue. I consider myself someone who does not care what others thinks about me. I don’t care how I dress. I wear sweatpants and sweatshirts that are too big for me everyday and have never felt any sort of pressure to impress anyone. That does not mean that I do not think about my body and compare myself to other people. While I am not completely flat chested, I am pretty close to it. I constantly say that I would love to be a little bit bigger. I think that every woman, in some ways, has these insecurities. This idea that even if I am just a little bit bigger or smaller, it would be so much better. It really is an interesting topic to contemplate about. In some women this insecurity is magnified to the point that they cannot see one beautiful thing about them. How do we change this mentality? Part of me thinks that as humans we have this competitive nature to be “the best.” It is our society, however, that defines what is the best. I think women feel the need to conform to this societal demand much more so than men do. To be completely honest, I have absolutely no idea why that is. I also have no idea how it would be possible to change this yearning in women. I think Laurie posed that question in class. Yes, we want everyone to be comfortable with themselves and perceive themselves as beautiful, but how do we get there? It is truly saddening that no one was able to answer that question. I wish more women could think like the girl who posted this that said that it doesn’t matter shape, size, or culture, every women is beautiful as she is. Thu, 15 Apr 2010 23:56:42 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/women__trashed/#IDComment68291171 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/i-really-want-to-know-also__trashed/#IDComment66447292 I also think that this is a good question because I’ve thought about it too. Personally, I don’t think that anything Sam has said this semester has changed my opinion about anything; however, Sam has definitely made me think a lot more about things and has also made me question things. Someone else said that in the beginning of the semester Sam made the comment that he isn’t here to change our opinions about issues but to at least get us to think about things. I think this is absolutely true. I feel as though SOC 119 has opened my eyes to things and made me think harder about my own beliefs. Wed, 7 Apr 2010 19:22:09 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/i-really-want-to-know-also__trashed/#IDComment66447292 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/this-is-totally-off-the-hook__trashed/#IDComment66406626 This absolutely made me sick. I cannot believe that anyone would actually create this game and think it was a good idea. It is absolutely appalling. This “rape fantasy” video game has taken it to the next level and I think that the Japanese government has to take some action to prevent such crude, tasteless, and sick video games. I agree with many posts that say that this video game is teaching men how to rape women. It is putting such disturbing ideas into the heads of people who are clearly already disturbed if they see this game as fun. I was really appalled at the two “gamers” from England, one of which was a female. I honestly can’t believe that Lucy and Jim think that there is nothing wrong with this “rape fantasy” game. WHAT IS WRONG WITH THESE PEOPLE?? I really think it’s a disgrace that Lucy finds nothing wrong with this game at all. Listening to them defend the game really, really angered me. This post reminded me of the sex doll article that Sam posted earlier this semester. The idea is all the same: they are giving men the opportunity to control women and do whatever they want to them. Creating products and video games that just further satiate this disturbing mentality in men is only making the problem worse. There are many people in the world with sick thoughts and I feel as those these products and video games is simply egging them on. I mean seriously, what is our word coming to?? With video games such as the “rape fantasy” coming out, I think that not only the Japanese government, but also governments around the world, need to do something to put a stop to this. I understand that the same could be said for violent video games that are prevalent anywhere but I really believe that when it comes down to a video game where the object is to “rape women,” it has gone entirely too far. I honestly have no idea what sort of action governments could legally take on this issue, but I definitely feel as though something must be done about this absurdity. The availability around the world to this video game is unbelievable. Watching this CNN clip honestly made me sick to my stomach. It’s horrible that this is even an issue in the first place. I think the majority of people would agree with me on that, but it’s that small minority of people, like Lucy and Jim, that enjoy this and perpetuate the life of video games where the object is to rape women. This CNN news clip made it very clear to me just how sick of a world it is that we live in. Wed, 7 Apr 2010 15:33:33 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/this-is-totally-off-the-hook__trashed/#IDComment66406626 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/flip-the-script-for-a-moment__trashed/#IDComment65586308 I agree with Sam that it is so important to question everything. I also can see what he was saying about flipping the script. This idea of race being an uncomfortable topic that we ignored for so long is in fact somewhat similar to the idea that we don’t want to talk about a woman’s natural cycle. There should be no reason why we should feel “suppressed” and unable to talk about this topic because people are uncomfortable about it. I know that I, personally, do not mind talking about my bleeding with people. Society places certain norms on what is proper to discuss and what is not, and in many circumstances, those norms need to change. Fri, 2 Apr 2010 18:26:34 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/flip-the-script-for-a-moment__trashed/#IDComment65586308 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/nothing-about-the-census-is-easy__trashed/#IDComment65576977 I do not think that the U.S. Census is trying to offend everyone. They are simply trying to take a count of our country. The problem here is that no matter what, someone is not going to be happy about something. That is just the way that life works. You can’t please everyone. I think that the U.S. Census has done a fairly good job at trying to incorporate everyone in the country. Is it perfect? No. Does it still offend people? Obviously. I think it’s just a fact of the world and something that isn’t ever going to really change. Fri, 2 Apr 2010 17:05:27 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/nothing-about-the-census-is-easy__trashed/#IDComment65576977 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/those-damn-dolls__trashed/#IDComment65576047 Sam was definitely right that this video was shocking. It absolutely broke my heart watching it, and it really opened my eyes to a whole new world. I honestly never thought that having “white skin” was a form a beauty, nor did I see it as even being promoted in our world as what beautiful is. Boy, did this video change that view for me. Seeing the innocence of these young children so torn and broken by what they have been told to be true is absolutely torturing. I definitely agree with many other posts when they say that the media is to blame for this. The media portrays an extremely small proportion of the human race and proclaims them as “beautiful.” I think that in many instances, blacks and whites alike, dream to look like people whom they are not. However, in the case of these women talking, and these little children, it’s their skin color that makes them feel ugly, inferior, and, as a little girl pointed out, “bad.” It is so sad that this is the world we live in. That people look at themselves in a specific way because of the color of the skin. I think what was so disheartening about this video was trying to figure out how I can change this perception. How can you make someone see that they are beautiful, despite what the media is saying? It is so tough to change someone’s perception of who they are and what constitutes beauty. I think this is something that, if we want to see change, has to be addressed with our media. As a white little girl, I loved Barbies. I must admit, the majority of them were white, however, I had an obsession with wanting a black Barbie doll. I was very young and I did not refer to it as wanting a black Barbie doll. This doll was wearing blue and I referred to her as my blue Barbie doll. I loved her because I thought she was exotic and different—to me, she was absolutely beautiful. Thinking back to my own experience, after watching this video, was somewhat enlightening, for lack of better words. I can’t exactly explain why, perhaps it was because after watching this video I felt as if children were not the naïve, innocent little beings I had once thought. Instead, the video demonstrated the power of media and how tarnished these children’s childhoods are. I think that this is something that we can change, that we NEED to change, to get children’s innocence back. There should be absolutely NO reason why a young child associates the color of his/her skin with “badness.” This video truly opened my eyes. Fri, 2 Apr 2010 16:57:45 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/those-damn-dolls__trashed/#IDComment65576047 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/whats-the-big-deal-with-periods__trashed/#IDComment64200159 I agree with you. I definitely think that having a menstrual period is a beautiful thing and I am not ashamed of it at all. At first when Sam was talking about it, I was a little put off, as well. I think it may have been because “bleeding” has such a negative connotation to it. But I am interested in what people (mainly men and those women who have such a hard time talking about it) think about this. I wonder whether men are really disgusted by what happens or if they are simply taught to feel uncomfortable about the situation. Fri, 26 Mar 2010 14:02:40 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/whats-the-big-deal-with-periods__trashed/#IDComment64200159 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/if-men-could-menstruate__trashed/#IDComment64199265 I completely agree with you, as well. I definitely think that it is something that society has set the norms for and schools have adopted. This idea of separating matters of the male sex and separating matters of the female sex are only contributing to the problem. A more comprehensive sexual education course at the elementary or middle school level is necessary to just put the topic out there. We need to be able to make it a topic that can be talked about, instead of being so hush hush about it. I think that this would definitely help educate more males on female bleeding. Fri, 26 Mar 2010 13:54:14 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/if-men-could-menstruate__trashed/#IDComment64199265 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/in-her-own-words__trashed/#IDComment64198533 I also thought that Laurie’s monologue was very interesting. I think it brings up very good points. I know that my outlook on how much I talk about my period is extremely different from how much my mom thinks is appropriate. I think that it really demonstrates just how much of a male-dominated world it is and how that is slowly changing. I have no problem talking about my period to my boyfriend and anyone else for that matter, but I still found it strange that Sam would announce to such a big class the details of his wife’s bleeding. I cannot explain why I was so put off at first; perhaps I was just reacting similarly to the class. I think it is so funny, though, because compared to my friends, I have no problems talking about everything associated with my period. If I have to go to the bathroom, I do not hesitate to whip out a tampon in front of guys. My mom, however, watches me do so and constantly gets embarrassed by my behavior. She always tells me the story of when she was in middle school at a friend’s house and she had her period. Her and her female friend invited one of their male neighbors over to hang out. Her friend’s dog got into the bathroom and took out my mom’s dirty pad and was running around the house with it in front of her male friend. Whenever my mom tells me this story she tells me how horrifying that experience was. She is able to laugh about it now, but at the time, she was completely mortified. So, she really finds it hard to believe how open I am about having my period. But, how open am I if I felt Sam went a little too far in class? It really makes me think. I understand that Sam exaggerated some things (like looking in the toilet at the art) to get people stirred up. Now that I think about it, I completely agree with him. Laurie’s monologue has so much truth in it. This natural occurrence of suffering and the world just keeps going. Would the world be different if men bled instead of women? It is such an interesting thing to speculate. This is where you can see the real rift between our sexes in the world. We would all like to pretend that we live equally, however, if bleeding was celebrated if men had it and not so if women had it, how equal are we? I think that this was a good point for Sam to bring up in class because it got everyone riled up and thinking about gender differences. Fri, 26 Mar 2010 13:47:29 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/in-her-own-words__trashed/#IDComment64198533 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/prom-or-no-prom-just-dont-let-the-queer-students-dance-together__trashed/#IDComment62849165 I think that this whole story is very disheartening. It really demonstrates how further we still have yet to go for LGBT issues. I think that this young lady is unfortunately going to experience a lot of backlash for an already traumatizing experience, but I am really proud of her that she can stand up for herself and her rights. That really has to be such a tough thing to do. Along with having a lot of backlash for it, though, I think she’s also going to have a lot of strong support for her cause. I really do think it’s awesome that she was able to take a stand against an extremely close-minded school board. Thu, 18 Mar 2010 22:49:19 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/prom-or-no-prom-just-dont-let-the-queer-students-dance-together__trashed/#IDComment62849165 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/women-and-sports__trashed/#IDComment62847953 I think that it is awesome that Calvin Coolidge High School in Washington named Natalie Randolph as football coach. At first when I watched this video, I was a little bit apprehensive about it. I tried to reason why I had such mixed feelings about it and the only thing that I could come up with was that it was just plain different. Much of the time people reject things that are different. Hearing Natalie talk, however, is so reassuring because of her confidence and love for the sport, as well as for teaching youth. Although I am a female and have never played football before, I have still seen the dynamics of coaches in a wide variety of sports. Even if it is different that Natalie is a female coaching football, I do not think that it compromises her ability to be a successful coach. I believe that Natalie has all of the qualities necessary to be a successful football coach. Her interview truly seemed genuine and authentic. She is extremely passionate about football and has a long history of playing the sport, which I think is crucial for a coach. She also discusses in the interview how she has high expectations set for herself and does not seek to prove people wrong. I think that this is what makes women successful; when they do not let the judgment of others affect how they do their job. Natalie also has a passion for teaching youth, which is so important for a high school coach. You would truly be surprised at the amount of coaches who lack in this area and cannot connect with their players. Natalie has a bright outlook on her future coaching experience and I think it will really enhance the football program for the community. I think that people who do have a problem with having a female football coach do for the same reason that I was apprehensive when I was first listening to her story: it’s just different. I think that Natalie is capable of proving to everyone just how apt she is, probably much more so than some male football coaches. Seeing all of the aggressive pictures of her playing football yet hearing her talk with such a sweet, caring voice was so strange. I think seeing her playing many wouldn’t be able to differentiate whether or not she was a man or a woman. I really think, though, that it demonstrates that when she gets on the field to coach, she will get down to business. This is really a positive step in the right direction for women. It shows that times are definitely changing, along with gender stereotypes. I really hope that Natalie Randolph receives the respect she deserves at Calvin Coolidge High School as their new football coach. Thu, 18 Mar 2010 22:39:12 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/women-and-sports__trashed/#IDComment62847953 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/does-this-rudeness-thing-cut-both-ways__trashed/#IDComment62824414 I think that it is hard to judge by reading the different texts in class because there are constantly shots at both whites and blacks, and we really do not know the source of those texts. For all we know, a racist comment against whites could have been sent by a white person trying to be funny or stir up drama. I do agree, though, that when those comments are made, it is obvious that more black people get offended at comments made at them than white people. I think black people are faced with more discrimination in their lives than white people and, therefore, take offense to these comments. I think that white people sometimes shrug it off because they feel as though they shouldn’t be offended even if they are. Thu, 18 Mar 2010 19:38:54 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/does-this-rudeness-thing-cut-both-ways__trashed/#IDComment62824414 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/this-is-getting-to-be-too-much__trashed/#IDComment61588191 I agree with you when you say there are multiple ways to justify both sides of this argument. I think that this particular party crossed the line with its lengthy, detailed note, but I think that there are parties thrown, similar to this one, all of the time. The problem is that people don’t see it as being offensive when they aren’t personally offended about it. That doesn’t mean that it doesn’t bother someone else though. It’s hard to tell where you draw the line for what is okay to do and what is going to be offensive to someone else. Fri, 12 Mar 2010 03:33:58 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/this-is-getting-to-be-too-much__trashed/#IDComment61588191 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/02/whats-with-the-theme-parties__trashed/#IDComment61580931 First, I don’t think that it’s only white people who have themed parties. However, I’ve read many posts that say that they’ve never heard of any themed parties that are being racist toward any group, I think that is completely wrong. I’ve been to, and heard of, many “gangsta” themed parties at Penn State. When I’ve attended them, I’ve never really thought that I was being racist. These parties were more meant to reflect a culture rather than a race. Now that you’ve brought it up though I completely see how it can come across as offensive even when those attending it are not consciously thinking that. Many different themed parties can be offensive and I think that if they don’t offend us personally we see nothing wrong with it. I think that is where all of the racial tension in our country stems from, our insensitivity. Fri, 12 Mar 2010 03:08:46 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/02/whats-with-the-theme-parties__trashed/#IDComment61580931 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/fired-for-a-scarf__trashed/#IDComment61574068 While I have never worked for Abercrombie, I know many people who have. As a young teenager, I thought working for Abercrombie was a dream job because I loved to shop at Abercrombie, as well as Hollister. Looking back now, I do not know why I obsessed over this company that sells cookie-cutter clothing and so obviously discriminates against its employees. It truly is sickening. When I often told friends I was interested in finding a job at Hollister, they strongly cautioned me against it. They told me about the strict dress code that went along with working there. One thing I particularly remembered was having no nail polish on at all, which isn’t too weird to think at a professional job, but at a teen clothing store? Really? I also found out that they “recruited” people to work there based on their “good looks.” People shopping at the mall were approached and told they had “the right look” to work at either Hollister or Abercrombie. I really just can’t understand how a company who goes about recruiting potential employees in this way can stay in business! I was surprised that this woman was so blatantly discriminated against, but I was not surprised that it was Abercrombie doing the discrimination. I really think that it is absurd that they are still able to stay in business while practicing such injustice. The woman accompanying the young girl in the video described the multiple incidences involving Abercrombie and discrimination. The fact that this has already happened so many times shocks me. How are they still in business? Abercrombie’s “look policy” is completely ridiculous. How can a business be successful when they recruit their employees based upon their “look?” Clearly, this large company has simply had a slap on the wrist in these other lawsuits considering they are continuing to do the same thing. I think that their behavior is inexcusable. I really hope that those who have the power really make Abercrombie see the errors in their terrible, terrible judgment. I think what I really find most ridiculous about this story is that they hired her in the first place and told her that wearing her hand scarf was absolutely fine. Then, the district manager comes in and fires her? Wow, way to go Abercrombie. You guys just really blew any dignity you had, which I guess wasn’t much. If they were so adamant about a dress code then don’t hire her in the first place. I really feel awful that this poor girl has to go through this whole ordeal. I have never been discriminated against and I really think this is such a horrible thing to have to go through! It really is extremely traumatizing. Fri, 12 Mar 2010 02:44:34 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/fired-for-a-scarf__trashed/#IDComment61574068