en-us https://www.intensedebate.com/users/5356641 Comments by loradolan http://www.worldinconversation.org/2012/12/07/voices-from-the-classroom-220/#IDComment514729432 I thought this whole situation was very interesting. At first when I saw this picture I really did not think much of it. It looked like a bunch of girls going to a mexican party theme. Then when I saw the signs that the two girls were holding up I realized that the signs were not appropriate to be holding up in a picture what so ever. I do not think the signs were acceptable at all but I do believe that this situation was completely blown out of proportion. It become so big and known that I had people from home asking me about the sorority at penn state that is getting in trouble. I completely agree that the signs were very offensive, I just do not believe this situation was handled in the right way at all. I think that penn state should have got involved and handled it and that would have been it. I don't think it should have been on the news for everyone to see. I think that only because it is penn state, and so much had happened in the past year is why people are blowing the situation of of proportion. I think the one thing that made this picture offensive was the signs. Without the signs I don't think people could have been that mad over this picture. Some one brought up a good point about how for St Patricks day we dress in green and drink a lot and when we think of mexican theme, a lot of people where sombreros. I don't really think it should be that offensive because no one is truly aiming to harm anyone. It was simply just for fun the theme. The only thing that was definitely wrong about this picture was the signs. I heard at another school, some girls had the same theme and had signs that were so much more offensive. This did not get brought up though because it was at a small school that not many people know of. The sorority should maybe have went on probation and that was it. It should not have been this drastic. These girls probably feel horrible because the obviously were just trying to have fun and yes, they should have thought about the signs but making it this national and writing the girls names in the paper is embarrassing. It just makes penn state look bad once again. There is so many horrible things going on in this world for people to be worrying about this. People need to look around and see that there is so much worse things in this world. Sun, 9 Dec 2012 21:23:21 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2012/12/07/voices-from-the-classroom-220/#IDComment514729432 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2012/11/29/voices-from-the-classroom-214/#IDComment508162847 I thought this lecture was very interesting due to the fact that I am Jewish. Sam brought up some very interesting points that I had never really thought about before. I went to hebrew school all my life and learned all about the holocaust and how bad it was. I watched movies about how poorly the jews were treated and how person after person were being killed just for being a certain religion. I thought this was terrible and I could not believe how something like this could happen. Sam brought something up that really made me think about everything in a different perspective. He brought up about the war going on today between Israel and Gaza. He first made the point that I felt was very true about how if there was any group that would be free of this anti centrism it would be the jews because the jews know what their people have been through so they will do everything to see the world as different. They will keep an open mind about everything. I strongly support this because after everything the jews have been through, you would expect them to have so much hatred for everybody but thats not the case. They still don't want to intentionally harm anyone. Then the war between Gaza and Israel happened and you now see videos of Israel bombing and killing many innocent people in Gaza. This makes Israel look bad but can you blame them for wanting to protect their country. They have been through so much and sill do this day, people try to take things from them. Any person in this world can try to look at the good in things but there comes a point when you just have had it and need to fight back and defend yourself. If anyone has this right it would be the jews considering how much they have lived through already with everyone putting them down and hating them. I also liked the point Sam brought up when he said that this shows that know group in the world can say the won't kill because when they're under threat, anyone will try to protect themselves especially the jews considering they have already suffered so much. It is so terrible to see that after all these years after the holocaust, their is still so much hate towards the jews. The holocaust should have taught everyone a major lesson in life and yet, some people still see the jews as bad people and want them gone. It is not fair how much the jews have suffered. People make jew comments all the time but due to the fact of everything that happened in the past with the jews, these comments should not be said even if they don't mean any harm by them. People need to be more respectful. Sun, 2 Dec 2012 23:45:38 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2012/11/29/voices-from-the-classroom-214/#IDComment508162847 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2012/11/15/voices-from-the-classroom-208/#IDComment494371192 After learning about the different stages, I would have to say that the higher stages such as stage four and stage five are better to be in as appose to stage one two and three. Stage four and five you basically know your race and accept your race and other races around you. You understand different cultures and you are more accepting. In stage one, you don't really have an understanding of anything. You should have an idea of different races and different cultures so stage one is definitely not a good stage to be in. Stage two it seems that you are just very confused and don't know much either. You are basically just learning the different races around you and getting more knowledgeable about them. Stage three seems the worse because this stage you really look into your race and others. You might think your race is better than others and you may also not be comfortable with different races. In this stage you don't really know what to do but racism is definitely a bigger issue in this stage. The fourth and Fifth stage are the best stages because your finally at stages where you are very knowledgeable of different races but your also more accepting. You want to meet people of different races and this will help with life in general when your not as judgmental. You create relationships with everyone. Although your race might be more important to you, you still accept and want to learn about other peoples cultures and races. Even though I believe that the fourth stage and the fifth stage are most important, this does not mean that every stage isn't important. i believe that you need each stage to you the the fourth and fifth stage. It is a learning process and you will need each stage to get you to a point where you want to learn about others races and you want to make relationships with other people. When your younger you do not know much about anything. You do not know between different races but as you get older you begin to learn about everything. It takes some time to get into that stage where you are very accepting but that is normal. It shows that you are learning and you will at some point get to that stage. Not many people can just start out being in the fifth stage unless they grew up and that was all they knew. For most people it takes a lot of going through life and learning about the different races and cultures to get to that certain point. I liked learning about the different stages. I thought it was very interesting and I tried to relate it to my own life and where I would fit. Sun, 18 Nov 2012 22:11:08 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2012/11/15/voices-from-the-classroom-208/#IDComment494371192 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2012/11/06/voices-from-the-classroom-204/#IDComment487455346 The past Tuesday's class really made me think about the issue of being gay and if people are born like this or if it is their choice. I believe that you are born gay and being gay is not a choice. One of the guys that spoke in class tuesday really made me think about this. He said that when he was younger he would be more attracted to boys than he would be to girls. He kept saying to himself that he wanted to like the girls so he would be "normal" but he just kept going towards the boys. He was 4 years old when this happened so therefore there is no way he could have chosen to be gay because at 4 years old you would not know how to make a decision like this. I believe that some gay people try to tell themselves that they are not gay. They will act straight most of their lives but they are going to realize at some point that they are gay. I do not believe that people choose to like the same sex. This just causes a lot of stress because of everyone in this worlds different opinions on gays. It just happens this way that they wind up liking and being attracted to people of the same sex. People need to learn how to accept this because it is not fair to discriminate against people that might be different than you. As I stated earlier I do not believe that it was their choice to be gay, it just happened this way so there is no reason to look down upon people that are homosexual and think anything differently of them. I think that some people have difficulties in their lives and they might go through a stage of liking the same sex but I think in the end, you are born like this and you can't try to change how you are. I thought it was interesting what one of the guy's on Tuesday said that his dad wound up being gay. This might have been because he was trying to not admit to it but eventually just had to. It's is just like any straight person, we do not chose who we are attracted to. We are simply just attracted to certain people and this is exactly how it is for homosexuals too. They don't chose who to like, it simply just happens this way. This is why no one should treat any homosexuals different because in reality they are very similar to anyone else who is not gay. People in this world are too judgmental and that is the problem. People need to learn to accept other people's differences. Sun, 11 Nov 2012 22:20:28 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2012/11/06/voices-from-the-classroom-204/#IDComment487455346 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2012/11/01/voices-from-the-classroom-201/#IDComment480703909 When Sam brought up a major issue of rape and pregnancy I completely agree with the statement that people need to have more empathy for this major issue. Some people are so quick to judge and come to a conclusion when they are looking at other people or they are looking at the other side of things. We must take the time to really put ourselves in the position and how we would feel if we were being judged about this issue. When it comes to Rape and abortion, it is a woman's choice whether or not to have the baby and I do not think anyone else can really have that much of an opinion on it because it is not happening to them. Until it happens to that person or a loved one of theirs, they do not really know what to say and how it feels. Abortion is a major issue in todays world and it is very controversal. People have very strong beliefs and things to say about this issue. Sam brought up that we must have more empathy for these issues because think about if it happened to your 12 year old daughter or mother etc, you might have a different answer to this issue not that it has hit close to home and you have to deal with it. Now your not just looking at this extreme issue from and outsiders prospective. I think it is completely that person's choice and I also think that when we look at other people with these same issues, we have to have the same approach to looking at them in the same way we would look at our mother or sister if this happened to them. Some people look at abortion in such a negative way and very mean about it when they hear someone got abortion. Everyone is different and everyone has different stories so you must try to find empathy for every single person or you will always have a negative view towards people because you will only believe what you want to believe. If your 12 year old daughter got raped and got pregnant, most likely you would want her to get an abortion but before this you might have looked at abortion in such a negative way. This is why you must always put yourself in someone else's shoes. No one can decide for someone else whats right for that person when it comes to a child. No one can say "Well it was their fault for not being on birth control." You don't know that persons life or story and if it happened to your younger sister, most likely you would not be saying it's her fault. You would help her to make the best decision possible. Mon, 5 Nov 2012 01:47:46 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2012/11/01/voices-from-the-classroom-201/#IDComment480703909 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2012/11/01/voices-from-the-classroom-201/#IDComment480589361 When Sam brought up a major issue of rape and pregnancy I completely agree with the statement that people need to have more empathy for this major issue. Some people are so quick to judge and come to a conclusion when they are looking at other people or they are looking at the other side of things. We must take the time to really put ourselves in the position and how we would feel if we were being judged about this issue. When it comes to Rape and abortion, it is a woman's choice whether or not to have the baby and I do not think anyone else can really have that much of an opinion on it because it is not happening to them. Until it happens to that person or a loved one of theirs, they do not really know what to say and how it feels. Abortion is a major issue in todays world and it is very controversal. People have very strong beliefs and things to say about this issue. Sam brought up that we must have more empathy for these issues because think about if it happened to your 12 year old daughter or mother etc, you might have a different answer to this issue not that it has hit close to home and you have to deal with it. Now your not just looking at this extreme issue from and outsiders prospective. I think it is completely that person's choice and I also think that when we look at other people with these same issues, we have to have the same approach to looking at them in the same way we would look at our mother or sister if this happened to them. Some people look at abortion in such a negative way and very mean about it when they hear someone got abortion. Everyone is different and everyone has different stories so you must try to find empathy for every single person or you will always have a negative view towards people because you will only believe what you want to believe. If your 12 year old daughter got raped and got pregnant, most likely you would want her to get an abortion but before this you might have looked at abortion in such a negative way. This is why you must always put yourself in someone else's shoes. No one can decide for someone else whats right for that person when it comes to a child. No one can say "Well it was their fault for not being on birth control." You don't know that persons life or story and if it happened to your younger sister, most likely you would not be saying it's her fault. You would help her to make the best decision possible. Sun, 4 Nov 2012 22:19:59 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2012/11/01/voices-from-the-classroom-201/#IDComment480589361 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2012/11/01/voices-from-the-classroom-201/#IDComment480584313 When Sam brought up a major issue of rape and pregnancy I completely agree with the statement that people need to have more empathy for this major issue. Some people are so quick to judge and come to a conclusion when they are looking at other people or they are looking at the other side of things. We must take the time to really put ourselves in the position and how we would feel if we were being judged about this issue. When it comes to Rape and abortion, it is a woman's choice whether or not to have the baby and I do not think anyone else can really have that much of an opinion on it because it is not happening to them. Until it happens to that person or a loved one of theirs, they do not really know what to say and how it feels. Abortion is a major issue in todays world and it is very controversal. People have very strong beliefs and things to say about this issue. Sam brought up that we must have more empathy for these issues because think about if it happened to your 12 year old daughter or mother etc, you might have a different answer to this issue not that it has hit close to home and you have to deal with it. Now your not just looking at this extreme issue from and outsiders prospective. I think it is completely that person's choice and I also think that when we look at other people with these same issues, we have to have the same approach to looking at them in the same way we would look at our mother or sister if this happened to them. Some people look at abortion in such a negative way and very mean about it when they hear someone got abortion. Everyone is different and everyone has different stories so you must try to find empathy for every single person or you will always have a negative view towards people because you will only believe what you want to believe. If your 12 year old daughter got raped and got pregnant, most likely you would want her to get an abortion but before this you might have looked at abortion in such a negative way. This is why you must always put yourself in someone else's shoes. No one can decide for someone else whats right for that person when it comes to a child. No one can say "Well it was their fault for not being on birth control." You don't know that persons life or story and if it happened to your younger sister, most likely you would not be saying it's her fault. You would help her to make the best decision possible. Sun, 4 Nov 2012 22:09:37 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2012/11/01/voices-from-the-classroom-201/#IDComment480584313 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2012/11/01/voices-from-the-classroom-201/#IDComment480583454 When Sam brought up a major issue of rape and pregnancy I completely agree with the statement that people need to have more empathy for this major issue. Some people are so quick to judge and come to a conclusion when they are looking at other people or they are looking at the other side of things. We must take the time to really put ourselves in the position and how we would feel if we were being judged about this issue. When it comes to Rape and abortion, it is a woman's choice whether or not to have the baby and I do not think anyone else can really have that much of an opinion on it because it is not happening to them. Until it happens to that person or a loved one of theirs, they do not really know what to say and how it feels. Abortion is a major issue in todays world and it is very controversal. People have very strong beliefs and things to say about this issue. Sam brought up that we must have more empathy for these issues because think about if it happened to your 12 year old daughter or mother etc, you might have a different answer to this issue not that it has hit close to home and you have to deal with it. Now your not just looking at this extreme issue from and outsiders prospective. I think it is completely that person's choice and I also think that when we look at other people with these same issues, we have to have the same approach to looking at them in the same way we would look at our mother or sister if this happened to them. Some people look at abortion in such a negative way and very mean about it when they hear someone got abortion. Everyone is different and everyone has different stories so you must try to find empathy for every single person or you will always have a negative view towards people because you will only believe what you want to believe. If your 12 year old daughter got raped and got pregnant, most likely you would want her to get an abortion but before this you might have looked at abortion in such a negative way. This is why you must always put yourself in someone else's shoes. No one can decide for someone else whats right for that person when it comes to a child. No one can say "Well it was their fault for not being on birth control." You don't know that persons life or story and if it happened to your younger sister, most likely you would not be saying it's her fault. You would help her to make the best decision possible. Sun, 4 Nov 2012 22:07:44 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2012/11/01/voices-from-the-classroom-201/#IDComment480583454 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2012/11/01/voices-from-the-classroom-201/#IDComment480581561 When Sam brought up a major issue of rape and pregnancy I completely agree with the statement that people need to have more empathy for this major issue. Some people are so quick to judge and come to a conclusion when they are looking at other people or they are looking at the other side of things. We must take the time to really put ourselves in the position and how we would feel if we were being judged about this issue. When it comes to Rape and abortion, it is a woman's choice whether or not to have the baby and I do not think anyone else can really have that much of an opinion on it because it is not happening to them. Until it happens to that person or a loved one of theirs, they do not really know what to say and how it feels. Abortion is a major issue in todays world and it is very controversial. People have very strong beliefs and things to say about this issue. Sam brought up that we must have more empathy for these issues because think about if it happened to your 12 year old daughter or mother etc, you might have a different answer to this issue not that it has hit close to home and you have to deal with it. Now your not just looking at this extreme issue from and outsiders prospective. I think it is completely that person's choice and I also think that when we look at other people with these same issues, we have to have the same approach to looking at them in the same way we would look at our mother or sister if this happened to them. Some people look at abortion in such a negative way and very mean about it when they hear someone got abortion. Everyone is different and everyone has different stories so you must try to find empathy for every single person or you will always have a negative view towards people because you will only believe what you want to believe. If your 12 year old daughter got raped and got pregnant, most likely you would want her to get an abortion but before this you might have looked at abortion in such a negative way. This is why you must always put yourself in someone else's shoes. No one can decide for someone else whats right for that person when it comes to a child. No one can say "Well it was their fault for not being on birth control." You don't know that persons life or story and if it happened to your younger sister, most likely you would not be saying it's her fault. You would help her to make the best decision possible. Sun, 4 Nov 2012 22:03:58 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2012/11/01/voices-from-the-classroom-201/#IDComment480581561 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2012/10/25/voices-from-the-classroom-197/#IDComment475001065 When I see this African American man, I do not think of him any differently then anyone else. Maybe some people may think he comes off intimidating because of his hair and maybe because he is not the same race as them, but he seemed like a very nice guy. If he had came off rude and not nice then I would think differently about this guy. I try my best not to judge people on the way that they look, but by their personality and the person that they are. If someone came up to me that was an African American man but was very nice, easy to talk to, and was very respectful, I would not think any differently of him just because he is African American. On the other hand, if a African American male came up to me and was very rude and ignorant, I would not like this but it would be strictly due to the fact that he was not a nice person, not because he was a different race. When this black male spoke, he seemed like a nice guy and he seemed approachable. I like being around people that are happy and funny, no matter what their race or ethnicity is, or even if that person is very different it does not matter much to me. What matters is how that person is deep down and how they present themselves and come off. If a person is to come off very friendly, I will talk to them no matter what their background is. In our world today, people need to be able to open up and need to be able to be more willing to accept different people. There are a million different people in this world and not everyone is going to look the way they do because this should not shy them away or make them intimidated to talk to because that "intimidating" person might be one of the nicest people you will meet. You must give people chances and not judge so quickly or you will never be able to see the good in people and people that do this will miss out on some extroardinary people. The more people get out into the world and meet different people, this mans appearance will be nothing new and you won't even think twice about it. If you go to jamaica there are many people with dreads and also so many other parts of the world, these people are some of the coolest people so this did not scare me away just because this man is and African American and has dreads. Honestly, the more I talked to this guy I would probably find him very interesting and I would like talking to him. Sun, 28 Oct 2012 18:17:42 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2012/10/25/voices-from-the-classroom-197/#IDComment475001065 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2012/10/16/voices-from-the-classroom-186/#IDComment469244804 Last class when I heard this Native American come and talk about his own life, it made me feel very upset and sorry for him. In class we learned how the Native Americans land was taken from them. There was a questioned asked in class which was, "Do you believe that Native Americans even generations back should be able to have their land back?" What are you thoughts on this? I also felt a lot of emotion when the speaker was talking to us about his own life and his own family. How all of this effects him. This really hit me hearing it from someone that is a Native American and who had to go through this. He definitely had a lot of anger in him due towards the way people treat Native Americans but I could not agree more with him. Anyone who has everything taken for them will have a lot of anger in them. It was devastating to hear about how the Native Americans are some of the poorest people now and because of this, these people go to bad extremes to handle this situation. He talked about how people are heavy drinkers and this causes people to become abusive. It also was very emotional when he talked about his thirteen year old causing overdosing on pills and killed herself. This is something no one should have to go through and I can't imagine how terrible that was for this man. If I was able to ask him a few questions, my first question I would ask is a little about himself. How is your life now? Considering he was in State college made me wonder what he does with his life. I would also ask if he thinks things will get better as time goes on. Will people change and start trying to help these poor Native Americans? One thing that really stuck in my head was when this speaker said something like, Our president is helping all these other countries and everything but what he needs to do is help some of these poor people and help these Native Americans. From what I can see, not many things are being done to help these Native Americans. I would ask this speaker, what can we do to help these people? Also coming from his point of view, if he could do anything to help, how would he help? There are many ways to help but what direction would he start in/ For example, would you try getting people out of the places they live in? Or would you try and rebuild and help all these people that are struggling with financial issues? What can the Native Americans do to better their lives? Sun, 21 Oct 2012 15:57:46 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2012/10/16/voices-from-the-classroom-186/#IDComment469244804 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2012/10/10/voices-from-the-classroom-183/#IDComment463679272 After watching the video of Tammy and her sons I had many thoughts running through my head. I was wondering why she did not try harder to get a job and how she lives the way she did. I could not believe she walked 10 miles to work everyday even if it was storming out and the weather condition was bad. I kept thinking why did she not try harder to live a better life but then I thought about her background. She came from a very poor family with 22 brother and sisters. When you have 22 brothers and sisters that your father has to support you are most likely not going to have much money at all. Tammy could have tried very hard in school but her dad probably would not have had the money to send her to a good school where she could get a good education and then hopefully come out and find a good job. This lifestyle was not available for her so she was basically born into poverty and it is much harder to get out of this. Along with being poor, there are things she could have done to try and get her life together which is not had three boys to have to support. If you do not have a lot of money, you should not have kids unless you know you are going to be able to provide a good life for them. I understand birth control might not have been accessible for her to use but there are other ways. If she was sitting in our SOC 119 class right now I would ask her if she thinks she would ever be able to get out of her situation and live a better life. Figuring out how determined someone is says a lot. If someone is really willing to do everything it takes to try and become wealthy, they have a better chance of making it than someone that thinks there is no way possible that they could ever get out the situation they are in. I would tell Tammy that if she really is determined and tries hard to get a better job, it is possible. Also, she should not doubt her son. She kept getting mad in the movie that her son thought he was better than them but she should want her son to live a better life and she should motivate him to do this instead of telling her son that he is not better than them. She needs to be more positive towards her children so they will hopefully be able to get better jobs and make more money to support themselves. Your parents are your biggest role models and if you have your mom telling you that you are not going to make it, you are most likely not going to try and accomplish anything. Sun, 14 Oct 2012 15:52:37 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2012/10/10/voices-from-the-classroom-183/#IDComment463679272 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2012/10/03/voices-from-the-classroom-176/#IDComment457593320 In class when we did the activity to see who makes the most money and has the highest salary, Whites and Asians were on top and hispanics and African Americans were on the bottom. I was not surprised by this because in our world today, most White and Asian families make more money then any other family. It has been that way for years and years and I don't see things changing that much. The reason I do not see things changing is because when we did an activity in class where Whites and Asians were at the top and Blacks and Hispanics were at the bottom, we had to try and come up with a way that these blacks and Hispanics could make it to the very top just like the Whites and Asians are. If you really think about this process, it would be extremely hard for Blacks and Hispanics to make it to the very top when the White and Asian people already have a lot of money, many connections and probably come from a good education. When that Hispanic or African American tries working hard, they might get a little bit higher to the top but that White and Asian person are just going to continue to progress too. This is why it would be very hard for the groups on the bottom to make it to the top. Looking at the top of the chart and who is on the bottom, you have to factor in many things to why Whites and Asians are on top while Blacks Hispanics and Native Americans our at the bottom. After really thinking about this in class, I got a good sense to why this is. When your younger you are either born into a wealthy household or poor household. More whites and Asians then any other group are born into the wealthier homes. Due to this fact, they already start out higher on the chart then any other group. This allows everything to be easier for them because they will not have trouble paying for things, they can go to a good school and get good education which will lead them to get good jobs. Not only will they get better jobs, but these wealthier people probably have more connections. This creates them to be higher on the group. Now we look at Black, Hispanics and Native Americans. These people might not have the money to go to good schools and get the education they need to be successful. All these factors contribute to the reason why Whites and Asians are on the top of the chart. These at the bottom of the group can work very hard and try to make it to the top, but they still will not have the resources that the people at the top of the chart have which makes it very hard for them. Sun, 7 Oct 2012 16:20:13 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2012/10/03/voices-from-the-classroom-176/#IDComment457593320 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2012/09/27/voices-from-the-classroom-174/#IDComment452239417 It was brought upon in class that guys like all girls to shave all the hair on their on their bodies besides their heads. My opinion to this is that I believe most girls do shave all the hair on their body besides their head but I am not opposed to girls that do not. One girl in class stood up and said that she does not shave her leg hair or her hair underarm hair. I applause her for saying that in front of so many people because many people and many guys especially would be thinking in their heads that is gross. It has basically become accustomed for most girls to just shave all their hair because that is what most people do. Guys like it better when girls shave all their hair and most girls want the guy to find them attractive so they do what the guys like best. In many cultures and in many religions people think differently about things and it is acceptable when girls do not shave all their hair on their body. It is not fair to look down upon them just because they do things a different way then what most people would say is "normal." Everyone is human and everyone in this world thinks and believes in different things. One girl might think that is okay, when the girl next to her thinks that is the grossest thing. People have different opinions about all different kinds of things and many people just have a strong opinion that shaving all your body hair besides your head is the right thing to do. Most people in this world today find it more of an attractive and cleaner feeling when they shave. It makes them feel nice and when it comes to the guy aspect of it, they know that is how the guy will like it. In our culture today we have basically accepted that, shaving your body is just what you do and most girls do not think twice about. Other girls think differently and do not feel the need to shave. If that is what that girl likes, then people should not dwell on it, they should move on because it is what that girl choses. She should not be classified as gross or ugly just because she chooses to be different and not go along with what the majority of the people do. In this world today there are many religions and many different cultures. If we do not accept that many people do things different then what "normal" people do, you will always be looking down upon people when you should be accepting their differences. Sun, 30 Sep 2012 16:50:23 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2012/09/27/voices-from-the-classroom-174/#IDComment452239417 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2012/09/20/voices-from-the-classroom-169/#IDComment447000901 When Sam showed us this quote today in class, I was completely taken back. I read the first quote not thinking much into it but then when I saw what the quote actually was saying and by whom said it was not right in any way. I understand that this statement made my Franklin Graham's was said right after september 11th but there is still no reason someone in government that is very close to the president should say something about religion like this. 9/11 was one of the most traumatic days and people did not know what to do or say after this occurred. People were a mess and know one knew how to jump back after something as tragic as this. Franklin Graham could have been so distraught by everything going on and made some stupid comments like this, but what I do not understand is that when your someone almost as high up as the president, things like this that might of not have been intended to hurt anyone, should not be said. This man should have known better to think before stating this comment that really frustrates most people. You can not put all muslims in a certain category as "bad." It is not fair because their are many innocent muslims out there. Just like there are good people in this world and bad people. If one person does something bad, you can not pin point those certain bad people and say everyone from that religion is bad also. Someone so close in power to the president should no better not to say something like this. I honestly never even knew until this quote was presented to me in class that their was a spiritual advisor for the president. I do not really understand why a spiritual advisor is needed and what is their job, I would like to know more about what this person does. Someone that is supposed to be a spiritual advisor I feel should equally accept all religions and not be bi-ast. Franklin Graham should be trying to help people not look down upon muslims after 9/11, not be going against them. What people need is hope, and not have to think all these people are bad. It was embarrassing that someone high up in government would think that solving the solution is violence or I think he said "mass destruction." Not all of these people are bad. After 9/11 he was probably very angry, but Franklin Graham should have been able to try and show people that we can't look down upon muslims because not everyone is like these terrorists. There are some people in this world that are just crazy and want to do harmful things, but that doesn't mean everyone from where that person is from is like that. There are a lot of nice people out there too that do not want destruction and that should have been said by the spiritual advisor. Sun, 23 Sep 2012 19:16:35 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2012/09/20/voices-from-the-classroom-169/#IDComment447000901 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2012/09/12/voices-from-the-classroom-162/#IDComment440708115 To answer this question, I think that would be awesome if everyone just accepted these differences in their own lives, but it's not as simple as that. When I see someone in a wheelchair for the reason that, that person is disabled, I try to look away and not stare because that person might think I am staring at them for different reasons. Everyone realizes that these people are different, but people still have the tendency to look and judge these people differently. For example, if you walked into a bar and you saw someone in a wheelchair as oppose to someone just standing there at the bar, you might be more willing to talk to the person not in a wheelchair because you do not know how to approach the person in the wheelchair. If people were to just accept differences like this, we would live in a better place. A lot of times when I walk past someone with a disability, I try not to look at that person because I feel like that person might think I am staring at them. It's hard for me to figure out what your supposed to do in a situation like this because if we are supposed to ever get comfortable with these disabilities being around us, we need to look and interact with these people instead of avoiding the situation. When walking past these people with disabilities, I find myself feeling so sorry for these people and it makes me very upset that people have to live like this. Right there, I am still not accepting the fact that people have these disabilities. I think if people were around these kinds of disabilities everyday and communicated with these people, it would become normal seeing people like this out. It would not have to be that awkward situation when your trying to avoid looking at the person in fear that, that person may think your judging them and staring at them. It should not be like this. Agreeing with what Sam said, you must interact and really learn about these people with these certain disabilities. You must get to know their differences and learn the way they feel about things. It's like with any other situation in life, avoiding the situation and trying to not confront it, will never solve anything. If we really want to accept these differences, Sam was completely right, we must bring these differences to our attention and really think and learn about them. Talk to these people that have these disabilities. After discussing and learning about it, these disabilities will not seem as different to you and you will be able to walk into a place and not have to avoid staring at a person in a wheelchair. It will not be as un-farmiliar to you and you will not have to think so much into it. You will have accepted it and moved on. Fri, 14 Sep 2012 15:43:44 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2012/09/12/voices-from-the-classroom-162/#IDComment440708115 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2012/08/30/voices-from-the-classroom-130/#IDComment435586076 Why do blacks have tougher skin? This question can go way back to the time of slavery. Black people have always had to endure harsh comments and hearing that they are not good enough. Every since slavery occurred, people still look down on African Americans as if they are not as good as white people or as smart as, say a white person. I completely disagree with the way our society is today with racism. When you are in school or hanging around a group of people, you always hear people make rude comments about black people. There are so many jokes that people use all the time. Some black people may not show that it effects them while others you know not to say anything around because it really makes them angry. This is not fair that African Americans even have to go through this. People should not make the jokes they do about blacks in any circumstance because it truly is not fair but how our society works, this probably will not happen. Due to the fact that blacks always have to hear negative things about the color of their skin and the way they look, you would think African Americans have tougher skin. This is not always true. Like I stated earlier, some people can hide their feelings, while others will not hide how they are feeling and get very frustrated with all these rude remarks. I think because of the way our society is and how people are most likely going to continue to make jokes, black people should have tougher skin. Looking through the eyes of a white person, blacks have it very difficult in this world because of all the racism that this world is full of. This is a difficult question because every person is different in this world. Everyone handles situations differently and takes things in different ways. One person may say something that will really offend a black person, while the other black person may think it is funny. I think this question really depends on the person you are talking to. I would be wrong saying all black people have tougher skin because some black people may be really hurt by all these comments but not show it when that person is around his or her friends. Another black person may be so used to these critical remarks and not let these stupid jokes really hurt that person. Since these comments are always said, most people may have the mind set that these African Americans hear it all the time, they do not care. This might not be the case for many blacks. Because of all the harsh comments by people these days, blacks should have tougher skin but that does not necessarily mean they do! Thu, 6 Sep 2012 17:45:11 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2012/08/30/voices-from-the-classroom-130/#IDComment435586076