en-us https://www.intensedebate.com/users/757323 Comments by mmmwhatchasay https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/300000-whats-it-mean-to-us__trashed/#IDComment69943527 This question, “What does 300,000 really mean to us?” really resonated with me. That is almost 7 Penn State University Park campuses!!! I think that it is amazing that Haiti news only was on the news for a few weeks at most and even after a few days, people considered it old news and past information. Even though the earthquake is over and the destruction has occurred does not mean that the situation in Haiti has diminished or ended. On the contrary, the disaster and worst part of it all is simply beginning. Homeless families with no shelter, food, education, government, clothing, or jobs are stranded out in what is now a barren land with no organization or control. It is pure chaos gripped with uncertainty of how life will continue in Haiti. Because I have not visited Haiti, I can only view pictures and hear stories of the destruction and civil unrest. Then I imagine if I were in their shoes. I would have absolutely nothing. 300,000 people just died around me? How is that even a tangible number to inscribe in my brain? The problem is that it is not tangible, and I will never be fully aware of the gravity of the situation because I become preoccupied with my own life as a college student, daughter, friend, and cousin to so many people. Their small daily activities consume my life and allow me to forget the big picture and what is currently happening in my world, even if certain events do not directly affect me. It is easy for someone to say, “Oh, that’s unfortunate,” and move on with their lives after handing a dollar bill to a Haiti relief fund. It is also easy to say that our country is still thriving so why should we really care about others? Do not people forget that we are all humans? We are all a part of this world, despite our language barriers, our skin differences, and our cultures and ethnicities? We are united in the stride for survival, the need for love and compassion to break down our walls. We need to care for the other person as we would hope he or she would do the same for us. We are all bound by egocentrism as individualistic peoples. However, we need to experience enthocentricism and the opportunities it creates for us to open our minds and hearts to our fellow brothers and sisters on this Earth. Once we are able to open our minds in this light, we can feel a heart pouring desire to help each other. Communication, dedication, and love are the ingredients needed to establish peace between our nations. Let’s ignore those barriers and help the Haitians and others in our world. Fri, 23 Apr 2010 19:42:02 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/300000-whats-it-mean-to-us__trashed/#IDComment69943527 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/300000-whats-it-mean-to-us__trashed/#IDComment69943561 This question, “What does 300,000 really mean to us?” really resonated with me. That is almost 7 Penn State University Park campuses!!! I think that it is amazing that Haiti news only was on the news for a few weeks at most and even after a few days, people considered it old news and past information. Even though the earthquake is over and the destruction has occurred does not mean that the situation in Haiti has diminished or ended. On the contrary, the disaster and worst part of it all is simply beginning. Homeless families with no shelter, food, education, government, clothing, or jobs are stranded out in what is now a barren land with no organization or control. It is pure chaos gripped with uncertainty of how life will continue in Haiti. Because I have not visited Haiti, I can only view pictures and hear stories of the destruction and civil unrest. Then I imagine if I were in their shoes. I would have absolutely nothing. 300,000 people just died around me? How is that even a tangible number to inscribe in my brain? The problem is that it is not tangible, and I will never be fully aware of the gravity of the situation because I become preoccupied with my own life as a college student, daughter, friend, and cousin to so many people. Their small daily activities consume my life and allow me to forget the big picture and what is currently happening in my world, even if certain events do not directly affect me. It is easy for someone to say, “Oh, that’s unfortunate,” and move on with their lives after handing a dollar bill to a Haiti relief fund. It is also easy to say that our country is still thriving so why should we really care about others? Do not people forget that we are all humans? We are all a part of this world, despite our language barriers, our skin differences, and our cultures and ethnicities? We are united in the stride for survival, the need for love and compassion to break down our walls. We need to care for the other person as we would hope he or she would do the same for us. We are all bound by egocentrism as individualistic peoples. However, we need to experience enthocentricism and the opportunities it creates for us to open our minds and hearts to our fellow brothers and sisters on this Earth. Once we are able to open our minds in this light, we can feel a heart pouring desire to help each other. Communication, dedication, and love are the ingredients needed to establish peace between our nations. Let’s ignore those barriers and help the Haitians and others in our world. Fri, 23 Apr 2010 15:42:17 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/300000-whats-it-mean-to-us__trashed/#IDComment69943561 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/christian-invaders-the-turnaround__trashed/#IDComment68380080 I LOVED this lecture. I thought it was the best class of the entire semester. I finally learned what ethnocentrism is and I finally understand the other side of the story. All my life I thought Jihad and Muslims were insane and psycho because I did not know fully their motives for their actions. I did not understand that they interpret Americans’ defensive actions as threatening to their goals in life. I am not saying that I agree with Muslims or Jihad with seeking world domination and killing in order to accomplish that goal. However, it was easier for me to see their perspective once I placed myself in their shoes. The analogy “For any oil company, being in Iraq is like being a kid in F.A.O. Schwartz,” really hit me. I know exactly what it is like to be a kid in F.A.O. Schwartz and to feel overwhelmed with joy and excitement at the sight of so many toys. With this mental picture in mind, I was able to feel for the oil companies and how much they desire this oil. I finally understand their desire to do any means possible to protect it. Prior to this lecture, I was very skeptical about Sam’s Christian Invaders talk. As a Christian, I feared that he was going to bash Christianity and rant about how our God is not right or our beliefs do not make sense. I was completely wrong, however. I found it extremely interesting that the Middle East considers all Americans to be Christian because we collectively pray for our country and many of us honor God. However, if they placed themselves in our shoes, they would know that the United States is a blend of thousands of religions and beliefs. From their perspective, we are trying to take their oil, and because of many of Americans are Christian, they link two unrelated subjects together and instantly associate Christianity with stealing oil. Therefore, they cannot understand that by praying and honoring God we are not in anyway trying to hurt them. In a similar way, I often associate Islam with terrorism and heinous people. This is because I, too, only little information through videos and television about Islam and it is usually negatively portrayed. Therefore, I finally see that we, Muslims and Christians, Middle Easterners and Americans, are all the same. We have the same mental processes and judge each other by our network framing. We associate neutral subjects such as religion as negative and threatening by what we see through a biased media in our country. If we all could open our minds and realize that we are fighting over lack of communication rather than oil, Christianity, Islam, land, or world domination, maybe our world would finally achieve the peace it deserves. Fri, 16 Apr 2010 19:05:17 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/christian-invaders-the-turnaround__trashed/#IDComment68380080 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/christian-invaders-the-turnaround__trashed/#IDComment68380249 I LOVED this lecture. I thought it was the best class of the entire semester. I finally learned what ethnocentrism is and I finally understand the other side of the story. All my life I thought Jihad and Muslims were insane and psycho because I did not know fully their motives for their actions. I did not understand that they interpret Americans’ defensive actions as threatening to their goals in life. I am not saying that I agree with Muslims or Jihad with seeking world domination and killing in order to accomplish that goal. However, it was easier for me to see their perspective once I placed myself in their shoes. The analogy “For any oil company, being in Iraq is like being a kid in F.A.O. Schwartz,” really hit me. I know exactly what it is like to be a kid in F.A.O. Schwartz and to feel overwhelmed with joy and excitement at the sight of so many toys. With this mental picture in mind, I was able to feel for the oil companies and how much they desire this oil. I finally understand their desire to do any means possible to protect it. Prior to this lecture, I was very skeptical about Sam’s Christian Invaders talk. As a Christian, I feared that he was going to bash Christianity and rant about how our God is not right or our beliefs do not make sense. I was completely wrong, however. I found it extremely interesting that the Middle East considers all Americans to be Christian because we collectively pray for our country and many of us honor God. However, if they placed themselves in our shoes, they would know that the United States is a blend of thousands of religions and beliefs. From their perspective, we are trying to take their oil, and because of many of Americans are Christian, they link two unrelated subjects together and instantly associate Christianity with stealing oil. Therefore, they cannot understand that by praying and honoring God we are not in anyway trying to hurt them. In a similar way, I often associate Islam with terrorism and heinous people. This is because I, too, only little information through videos and television about Islam and it is usually negatively portrayed. Therefore, I finally see that we, Muslims and Christians, Middle Easterners and Americans, are all the same. We have the same mental processes and judge each other by our network framing. We associate neutral subjects such as religion as negative and threatening by what we see through a biased media in our country. If we all could open our minds and realize that we are fighting over lack of communication rather than oil, Christianity, Islam, land, or world domination, maybe our world would finally achieve the peace it deserves. Fri, 16 Apr 2010 18:41:00 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/christian-invaders-the-turnaround__trashed/#IDComment68380249 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/christian-invaders-the-turnaround__trashed/#IDComment68383274 I LOVED this lecture. I thought it was the best class of the entire semester. I finally learned what ethnocentrism is and I finally understand the other side of the story. All my life I thought Jihad and Muslims were insane and psycho because I did not know fully their motives for their actions. I did not understand that they interpret Americans’ defensive actions as threatening to their goals in life. I am not saying that I agree with Muslims or Jihad with seeking world domination and killing in order to accomplish that goal. However, it was easier for me to see their perspective once I placed myself in their shoes. The analogy “For any oil company, being in Iraq is like being a kid in F.A.O. Schwartz,” really hit me. I know exactly what it is like to be a kid in F.A.O. Schwartz and to feel overwhelmed with joy and excitement at the sight of so many toys. With this mental picture in mind, I was able to feel for the oil companies and how much they desire this oil. I finally understand their desire to do any means possible to protect it. Prior to this lecture, I was very skeptical about Sam’s Christian Invaders talk. As a Christian, I feared that he was going to bash Christianity and rant about how our God is not right or our beliefs do not make sense. I was completely wrong, however. I found it extremely interesting that the Middle East considers all Americans to be Christian because we collectively pray for our country and many of us honor God. However, if they placed themselves in our shoes, they would know that the United States is a blend of thousands of religions and beliefs. From their perspective, we are trying to take their oil, and because of many of Americans are Christian, they link two unrelated subjects together and instantly associate Christianity with stealing oil. Therefore, they cannot understand that by praying and honoring God we are not in anyway trying to hurt them. In a similar way, I often associate Islam with terrorism and heinous people. This is because I, too, only little information through videos and television about Islam and it is usually negatively portrayed. Therefore, I finally see that we, Muslims and Christians, Middle Easterners and Americans, are all the same. We have the same mental processes and judge each other by our network framing. We associate neutral subjects such as religion as negative and threatening by what we see through a biased media in our country. If we all could open our minds and realize that we are fighting over lack of communication rather than oil, Christianity, Islam, land, or world domination, maybe our world would finally achieve the peace it deserves. Fri, 16 Apr 2010 15:05:17 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/christian-invaders-the-turnaround__trashed/#IDComment68383274 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/christian-invaders-the-turnaround__trashed/#IDComment68381681 I LOVED this lecture. I thought it was the best class of the entire semester. I finally learned what ethnocentrism is and I finally understand the other side of the story. All my life I thought Jihad and Muslims were insane and psycho because I did not know fully their motives for their actions. I did not understand that they interpret Americans’ defensive actions as threatening to their goals in life. I am not saying that I agree with Muslims or Jihad with seeking world domination and killing in order to accomplish that goal. However, it was easier for me to see their perspective once I placed myself in their shoes. The analogy “For any oil company, being in Iraq is like being a kid in F.A.O. Schwartz,” really hit me. I know exactly what it is like to be a kid in F.A.O. Schwartz and to feel overwhelmed with joy and excitement at the sight of so many toys. With this mental picture in mind, I was able to feel for the oil companies and how much they desire this oil. I finally understand their desire to do any means possible to protect it. Prior to this lecture, I was very skeptical about Sam’s Christian Invaders talk. As a Christian, I feared that he was going to bash Christianity and rant about how our God is not right or our beliefs do not make sense. I was completely wrong, however. I found it extremely interesting that the Middle East considers all Americans to be Christian because we collectively pray for our country and many of us honor God. However, if they placed themselves in our shoes, they would know that the United States is a blend of thousands of religions and beliefs. From their perspective, we are trying to take their oil, and because of many of Americans are Christian, they link two unrelated subjects together and instantly associate Christianity with stealing oil. Therefore, they cannot understand that by praying and honoring God we are not in anyway trying to hurt them. In a similar way, I often associate Islam with terrorism and heinous people. This is because I, too, only little information through videos and television about Islam and it is usually negatively portrayed. Therefore, I finally see that we, Muslims and Christians, Middle Easterners and Americans, are all the same. We have the same mental processes and judge each other by our network framing. We associate neutral subjects such as religion as negative and threatening by what we see through a biased media in our country. If we all could open our minds and realize that we are fighting over lack of communication rather than oil, Christianity, Islam, land, or world domination, maybe our world would finally achieve the peace it deserves. Fri, 16 Apr 2010 14:52:10 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/christian-invaders-the-turnaround__trashed/#IDComment68381681 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/christian-invaders-the-turnaround__trashed/#IDComment68381480 I LOVED this lecture. I thought it was the best class of the entire semester. I finally learned what ethnocentrism is and I finally understand the other side of the story. All my life I thought Jihad and Muslims were insane and psycho because I did not know fully their motives for their actions. I did not understand that they interpret Americans' defensive actions as threatening to their goals in life. I am not saying that I agree with Muslims or Jihad with seeking world domination and killing in order to accomplish that goal. However it was easier for me to see their perspective once I placed myself in their shoes. The analogy "For any oil company, being in Iraq is like being a kid in F.A.O. Schwartz," really hit me. I know exactly what it is like to be a kid in F.A.O. Schwartz and to feel overwhelmed with joy and excitement at the sight of so many toys. With this mental picture in mind, I was able to feel for the oil companies and how much they desire this oil. I finally understand their desire to do any means possible to protect it. Prior to this lecture, I was very skeptical about Sam's Christian Invaders talk. As a Christian, I feared that he was going to bash Christianity and rant about how our God is not right or our beliefs do not make sense. I was completely wrong. I found it extremely interesting that the Middle East considers all Americans to be Christian because a few of us collectively pray for our country and many of us honor God. However, if they placed themselves in our shoes, they would know that the United States is a blend of thousands of religions and beliefs. From their perspective we are trying to take their oil, and because of many of Americans are Christian, they link two unrelated subjects together and instantly associate Christianity with stealing oil. Therefore, they cannot understand that by praying and honoring God we are not in anyway trying to hurt them. In a similar way, I often associate Islam with terrorism and heinous people. This is because I, too, only see little information through videos and television about Islam and it is usually negatively portrayed. Therefore, I finally see that we, Muslims and Christians, Middle Easterners and Americans, are the same. We have the same mental processes and judge each other by our network framing. We associate neutral subjects such as religion as negative and threatening by what we see through a biased media in each of our countries. If we all could open our minds and realize that we are fighting over lack of communication rather than oil, Christianity, Islam, land, or world domination, maybe our world would finally achieve the peace it deserves. Fri, 16 Apr 2010 14:50:40 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/christian-invaders-the-turnaround__trashed/#IDComment68381480 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/christian-invaders-the-turnaround__trashed/#IDComment68380374 sociologyyyy Fri, 16 Apr 2010 14:41:29 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/christian-invaders-the-turnaround__trashed/#IDComment68380374 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/christian-invaders-the-turnaround__trashed/#IDComment68380322 I LOVED this lecture. I thought it was the best class of the entire semester. I finally learned what ethnocentrism is and I finally understand the other side of the story. All my life I thought Jihad and Muslims were insane and psycho because I did not know fully their motives for their actions. I did not understand that they interpret Americans’ defensive actions as threatening to their goals in life. I am not saying that I agree with Muslims or Jihad with seeking world domination and killing in order to accomplish that goal. However, it was easier for me to see their perspective once I placed myself in their shoes. The analogy “For any oil company, being in Iraq is like being a kid in F.A.O. Schwartz,” really hit me. I know exactly what it is like to be a kid in F.A.O. Schwartz and to feel overwhelmed with joy and excitement at the sight of so many toys. With this mental picture in mind, I was able to feel for the oil companies and how much they desire this oil. I finally understand their desire to do any means possible to protect it. Prior to this lecture, I was very skeptical about Sam’s Christian Invaders talk. As a Christian, I feared that he was going to bash Christianity and rant about how our God is not right or our beliefs do not make sense. I was completely wrong, however. I found it extremely interesting that the Middle East considers all Americans to be Christian because we collectively pray for our country and many of us honor God. However, if they placed themselves in our shoes, they would know that the United States is a blend of thousands of religions and beliefs. From their perspective, we are trying to take their oil, and because of many of Americans are Christian, they link two unrelated subjects together and instantly associate Christianity with stealing oil. Therefore, they cannot understand that by praying and honoring God we are not in anyway trying to hurt them. In a similar way, I often associate Islam with terrorism and heinous people. This is because I, too, only little information through videos and television about Islam and it is usually negatively portrayed. Therefore, I finally see that we, Muslims and Christians, Middle Easterners and Americans, are all the same. We have the same mental processes and judge each other by our network framing. We associate neutral subjects such as religion as negative and threatening by what we see through a biased media in our country. If we all could open our minds and realize that we are fighting over lack of communication rather than oil, Christianity, Islam, land, or world domination, maybe our world would finally achieve the peace it deserves. Fri, 16 Apr 2010 14:41:00 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/christian-invaders-the-turnaround__trashed/#IDComment68380322 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/christian-invaders-the-turnaround__trashed/#IDComment68380027 I LOVED this lecture. I thought it was the best class of the entire semester. I finally learned what ethnocentrism is and I finally understand the other side of the story. All my life I thought Jihad and Muslims were insane and psycho because I did not know fully their motives for their actions. I did not understand that they interpret Americans’ defensive actions as threatening to their goals in life. I am not saying that I agree with Muslims or Jihad with seeking world domination and killing in order to accomplish that goal. However, it was easier for me to see their perspective once I placed myself in their shoes. The analogy “For any oil company, being in Iraq is like being a kid in F.A.O. Schwartz,” really hit me. I know exactly what it is like to be a kid in F.A.O. Schwartz and to feel overwhelmed with joy and excitement at the sight of so many toys. With this mental picture in mind, I was able to feel for the oil companies and how much they desire this oil. I finally understand their desire to do any means possible to protect it. Prior to this lecture, I was very skeptical about Sam’s Christian Invaders talk. As a Christian, I feared that he was going to bash Christianity and rant about how our God is not right or our beliefs do not make sense. I was completely wrong, however. I found it extremely interesting that the Middle East considers all Americans to be Christian because we collectively pray for our country and many of us honor God. However, if they placed themselves in our shoes, they would know that the United States is a blend of thousands of religions and beliefs. From their perspective, we are trying to take their oil, and because of many of Americans are Christian, they link two unrelated subjects together and instantly associate Christianity with stealing oil. Therefore, they cannot understand that by praying and honoring God we are not in anyway trying to hurt them. In a similar way, I often associate Islam with terrorism and heinous people. This is because I, too, only little information through videos and television about Islam and it is usually negatively portrayed. Therefore, I finally see that we, Muslims and Christians, Middle Easterners and Americans, are all the same. We have the same mental processes and judge each other by our network framing. We associate neutral subjects such as religion as negative and threatening by what we see through a biased media in our country. If we all could open our minds and realize that we are fighting over lack of communication rather than oil, Christianity, Islam, land, or world domination, maybe our world would finally achieve the peace it deserves. Fri, 16 Apr 2010 14:38:30 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/christian-invaders-the-turnaround__trashed/#IDComment68380027 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/this-is-totally-off-the-hook__trashed/#IDComment66821070 Let me first start of with, “WHAT THE FUCK!?” With that being said, words cannot still describe how infuriated I am as a woman to see that video. What kind of irrational, sick-minded, psychotic freaks created such a game that devalues everything about being a woman!! Do they not realize that rape is the worst crime one can possibly commit?! Not only are rapists robbing women of their deepest, most inner self, but they are also taking away innocence, the sacredness of sexuality, their dignity, and self-respect. I suppose that men do not understand fully how deep this crime is because they do not CONSTANTLY fear it. One in every four college women are raped. It is a constant fear and concern for females everywhere. Everyday, no lie, I make sure that I have someone to walk home with at night when it starts to get dark. I cannot take shortcuts in the night because they are not usually in populated areas, and ever since I have been a young girl, I was taught NEVER to go into dark isolated areas by myself. Therefore, the time it takes to usually walk home from the Hub or downtown in the freezing cold will take twice the amount of time so that I can take the long way home to be safe. Over spring break, my friend Emily and I wanted to go swimming at night or walk on the beach around 10 pm. The number one rule was that after dark, women could not travel without at least one male. So therefore, we had to stay back in our hotel room and watch movies. The fact that men must protect us at all times and we are hampered to make our own independent schedules around the fear of being raped is COMPLETELY RIDICULOUS! What has this world come to? My life as a woman is very affected by this fear and I know that I speak on behalf of all women. Therefore, what NERVE do these Japanese Gamers have that could possibly consider producing a rapist game to be socially accepted in this world? How could they not think about how this game could infuriate and insult the other half of the population of our world!? Not only are these game producers heinous, but also if more people play these types of games, they will think less of the actual crime of rape because they are so used to seeing it repeatedly on their television screen. Women have made a huge impact in the Feminist Movement and securing rights to play sports, to go to college, to seek great jobs, and to ultimately decrease the inequality barriers between men and women in our world today. How then will this game fit into the progress my female ancestors fought for? It simply does not. It only emphasizes how much men still have a huge role in our world and how they subordinate women to the point of disgust. This video game is the most disturbing thing I have ever seen. I am so beyond disgusted to share the same earth as those bastards who created the game. Fri, 9 Apr 2010 15:47:00 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/this-is-totally-off-the-hook__trashed/#IDComment66821070 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/those-damn-dolls__trashed/#IDComment65562650 This video was extremely disturbing. I cannot believe that these young children associated skin color with good and evil characteristics. As a child, I always picked out dolls that resembled my own features, not what I thought represented good or bad. However, maybe this is because I am white. I did not HAVE to think about the differences in skin tone. Rather, the only differences that I would have to choose between were eye and hair color of a doll. Interestingly enough, when I did not possess the same features as the favored Barbie, I felt a small pang of insignificance and I questioned why I did not look like her. While playing with my dolls, I liked to live vicariously through my doll and give her the best opportunities, clothes, relationships, and accessories in my imaginary land of Barbies. When I was at the age of most of the children in the video, the main Barbie that lead the other dolls was white and had blonde hair. Because I had brown hair, I felt that my characteristics did not fit the leader stereotype. The dolls with my brown hair and blue eyes did not come with names on their packages. They were just labeled –Barbie’s friends. I was brought up as a down-to-earth girl so I was fine with having my doll be second-in-command to materialistic, high-maintenance, Blondie-Barbie, but it did bother me that my features did not match the favored doll’s features. As I grew older, more diverse Barbies were produced such as Hawaiian Barbie, Japanese Barbie, African-American Barbie…etc. As I aged with confidence into my early teen years, I began to appreciate more fully my differences than the traditional blonde-haired Barbie portrayal. I liked to be unique and I therefore became interested in finding other Barbies that exemplified different features other than a typical white-rich girl. I invested in lots of Asian and Black Barbies, as well as ones with red-hair. I did not come to full confidence with accepting my own self-image and occupying a keen interest for differences until I was at least twelve years old. Prior to this age, I was surface-leveled and only recognized major differences that stood out from the norm. For example, more white dolls were produced when I was five, and among the white dolls there was more variety of faces and types of white dolls. On the other hand, the black-doll section was only limited to a few dolls. Therefore, I can see why the black children wanted the white doll instead of the black doll. White dolls were produced more frequently, creating an imbalance in racial variety. Because black dolls were produced less frequently, it almost seemed like they were made as an exception to white dolls, rather than to represent another human race. I believe that children need to be educated as young boys and girls that they are so important and they are so unique that they will NEVER exactly resemble a doll and they should not invest their self-confidence evaluation of appearance on a plastic model. Therefore, they will look beyond one’s outer appearance and really learn to gaze inside of people’s hearts when they grow older. Fri, 2 Apr 2010 15:05:57 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/those-damn-dolls__trashed/#IDComment65562650 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/whats-the-big-deal-with-periods__trashed/#IDComment64201335 First of all, I give you a HUGE credit for announcing that you are bleeding in front of hundreds of college students. I do not think that I would have the guts to say that. Secondly, I agree with being proud and happy with my period. I did not get my period for two years because I had thyroid issues and during those full two years I was so scared that I would never be able to have children. Many guys do not understand how important a period is to a girl. Its presence identifies if you are fertile or not. Almost every girl’s dream is to produce a mini-version of herself to grow, to love and to watch mature just like we all (guys and girls) did. If you take away that opportunity, it is devastating. Therefore, having said that, periods should be respected, and not looked down upon as being dirty, filthy, disgusting, or gross. With regards to openly talking about periods in a mixed gender environment, I feel that guys should be educated about the menstrual cycle. They should know what the process is, what a female goes through each month, and what the side effects of having a period are such as bloating, cramps, and nausea. If they know these side effects, maybe they will respect girls more often and realize it is not an easy thing to go through each month. Guys should also know that girls have to adjust their schedule according to their periods. When my friends want to go to Dorney Park and Wild Water Kingdom over the summer, I cross my fingers that I will not get my period when we go. But if I do, I am constantly paranoid that blood will seep through to my shorts or bathing suit and it becomes a constant distraction from living freely on a summer day. If guys knew this information, I feel like they would treat girls more respectfully and not just think of the menstrual cycle as a way for girls to act emotional for a few days. However, I do not like to openly discuss my period with guys because to me, it is a private issue. I feel like they should be educated about girls’ cycles as a whole, but I am not going to personally describe what I go through each month because that is too much information. I feel like guys should know what their wives go through or a serious girlfriend, but I am not just going to tell all of my guy friends so much information about my period because it is a special, private process that I personally go through each month and I feel like only those who I can fully trust and who love me should know. Fri, 26 Mar 2010 14:14:55 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/whats-the-big-deal-with-periods__trashed/#IDComment64201335 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/02/a-long-long-way-indeed__trashed/#IDComment59684339 Wow! This person is totally right! We have grown very far with acceptance of black people over the years, and now we are even celebrating their achievements and admiring them as celebrities, sports stars, and now, the president of the United States! This is SO HUGE! I recently watched the Lil’ Wayne Documentary on MTV and I remembered that he was quoted saying, “I am going to be the best rapper ever,” before his major debut as a solo artist. His hero, Jay-Z, another successful black male rapper, inspired Lil’Wayne to achieve his goal and chase after his dreams. Let’s pause and just look at this situation: Black people admiring other black people! How great is that?! Black people do not have to necessarily look up to white people to become the king of their desired mountain. Therefore, white people are not the only ones achieving success in society nowadays! What I truly appreciated by Lil’Wayne’s story was that although he grew up in a poor section of New Orleans, was influenced by drugs and alcohol, and grew accustomed to carrying guns and gratifying violence, he still conquered his mountain. He did not let these socio-structural factors hinder him from success. He had a goal to become a successful musician and he worked for years until that day finally came and he did not let his race limit his potential. Rather, he EMBRACED it. He stayed true to his black culture and revived the world of hip-hop and rap! What is most interesting, however, is that his success in the hip-hop world has broken down racial barriers. For example, have you ever noticed how many white fans Lil’Wayne has? They populate a HUGE percentage of the crowd at each of his concerts! As a white person, I have to admit I know many of his lyrics and get extremely excited when one of his songs comes on the radio. Does this mean that whites are “blackifying” their culture? No. Rather, we are opening our white selves to a new window of perception. We are allowing ourselves to learn more about the interests of the black population such as hip-hop, and therefore, we are more likely to SHARE those same interests with them as a united culture. We can now see WHY many aspects of their culture are cherished if we simply open our stubborn minds to experience them every once in a while. Just with the many growing fans of black musicians such as Lil’Wayne, I can personally see that people are becoming more open to others’ cultures in today’s society. If this continues, more black people will rise to power and their discrimination and racial obstacles will only become notes in a history book. Thu, 4 Mar 2010 04:46:57 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/02/a-long-long-way-indeed__trashed/#IDComment59684339 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/02/inequality-class-question-three__trashed/#IDComment58813284 As a white person, I would look at you as another human being. I know that stereotypes about people continue to exist and falsely accuse blacks of being hip-hop dancers, rappers, thugs, threats to society, or drug dealers. However, I truly believe that if you portray yourself in a certain light, that is how people will judge you. You, for instance, are well dressed with jeans that are not hanging below your waistline, you do not have ten-pound tacky necklaces of dollar signs around your neck, and you look like a person who would respect people. When black people demand respect when they walk around cities smoking weed, drinking, wearing huge clothes, and playing with guns, I believe they are just asking to be called a potential threat to society. When white people wear too much bling, oversized clothing, and the “gangsta get-up,” they look ridiculous and I treat those white people differently than I treat a white person who dresses respectfully. In my opinion, they are not showing any respect to themselves, so why encourage this behavior? Also, if they want to portray themselves as high school dropout rejects or juvenile delinquents, red flags instantly spring up in my mind to warn me to stay away from them because they appear to be “bad news.” Hip-hop and R&B style artists often speak of four main themes in their songs: sex, money, violence, and drugs or alcohol. These idols seem to glamorize these ills in society, objectify women, and demoralize ethics as a whole. Because many blacks are involved in the hip-hop and R&B scene, I believe that by association with these genres of music, they often get dubbed as thugs or aggressive people. I believe that by dressing respectfully, black people will face less discrimination and be viewed as intellectual, tenacious human beings. This is not to say that by changing their dress code they are conforming to white society standards. In my opinion, there is no such thing as “white society.” Just because people do not dress like thugs, does not mean that they form a society. There are plenty of white people who dress horribly. For example, white girls that wear miniskirts up their butt or high cleavage shirts are only setting a low standard for the respect they want to receive. Because they do not respect their own bodies enough to cover their parts, why should people walking by them treat them with high levels of respect? Obama is a great example of a black man who dresses respectfully, conducts himself with well manners, and speaks intelligently in full sentences. He is not becoming “whiter;” rather, he is simply respecting himself and those around him. He does not have to put on an act, a rap, or be different from other politicians just for the sake of being different. He knows he is different culturally, and he embraces that part of him with intellect and pride. If all black people conducted themselves in this manner, white people would be more open to listen to them and be less afraid to see them in the street at night. Fri, 26 Feb 2010 15:38:28 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/02/inequality-class-question-three__trashed/#IDComment58813284 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/02/lgbt-class-question-four__trashed/#IDComment57632483 Before I answer this question, I would like to propose a thought: What is marriage? According to the Merriam Webster’s Online Dictionary, marriage is defined as a heterosexual bond between a man and a woman in a consensual relationship recognized by law. It also adds “the state of being united to a person of the same sex in a relationship like that of a traditional marriage” or “an intimate or close union.” This intimate union or bond, therefore, is accepted to be a strong relationship between either homosexual or heterosexual couples. However, note that the same-sex definition does not mention being recognized by law. Therefore, gay couples do not receive the same benefits and tax reductions as heterosexual couples. When it really boils down to state laws recognizing marriages, I say heck with the taxes! I am a strong, devoted Christian and I believe marriage is a religious institution to complete a bond between two people that love each other. However, I believe that there needs to be a separation between church and state. Although the church advocates heterosexual marriages, it does not fully dismiss gay marriages; rather, the state does. Why should the state determine who can or cannot love each other? By placing laws interfering with marriage, the state objectifies the act of marriage. It turns trusting love into a contract system. A marriage is already a spiritual contract, so why must paper contracts flood the couple with stress while they are trying to focus on their relationship? Coinciding with a state’s marital consideration, I believe that gay marriages should be accepted if heterosexual marriages are accepted. My roommate is a lesbian and she is in a committed relationship to a girl back in her hometown. She is truly in love and has found her life’s partner. However, they do not know where they are going to live, whether or not they will have the opportunity to host a wedding, or how they are going to receive marital rights in a homophobic environment. It is so sad to see her struggle in a judgmental world and she constantly hides her relationship so that she is treated as equally as any other heterosexual woman in today’s society. Before rooming with her, I did not realize how difficult it is for gay people to live life. I went to a straight talk with her one night and I heard a speaker say one of the most influential things that still resonates in my mind. When a lesbian was asked are you ashamed that you love a girl? She responded, “I do not care if I am in love with a girl or a boy. The important thing is that I am in love with a person.” That was when it really hit me. If gay people love each other, how are they inflicting terror or threats to our society? The answer is that they are not. They are only spreading love toward other human beings, be it same sex individuals or not, in our already selfish world. Therefore, they should be allowed to express their love and have it recognized as a marriage in any part of the world, let alone a free country such as the United States. Fri, 19 Feb 2010 15:07:11 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/02/lgbt-class-question-four__trashed/#IDComment57632483 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/02/why-is-the-conversation-always-about-black-and-white-people__trashed/#IDComment56493312 Black and whites all around the world still, in my opinion, face the largest racial barriers and gaps that lead to public discrimination of both groups. When one thinks about discrimination, blacks are nine times out of ten the first group that comes to mind. Images of slavery and subservience are instantly rise to surface, and therefore, many people still feel that because of the horrors of slavery that took place many years ago, blacks are still trying to make up for the justice and equal rights today that they lacked generations ago. Why does racial discrimination continue to exist today? Did not the Civil Rights Movement and the Emancipation of Slavery allow blacks to have equal rights as whites? If these took place years ago, why then today do people continue to belittle blacks? In school we are required to read books like Uncle Tom’s Cabin and write research papers on Harriet Tubman or Martin Luther King, which emphasize black civil rights. Because schools emphasize so greatly the importance to open our minds to what blacks went through, we are not looking at the present times when other cultures are being discriminated right now. Other racial groups such as Hispanics, Indians, and even whites are not being studied, and therefore, are still subject to discrimination today. With black education as a priority in most schools, are there still really that many white people who discriminate blacks? Well, as a white person, I do not feel that white people are belittling or racially segregating black people. Many times, I believe that the racial discrimination is making a 180 and targeting white people. In high school I was friends with one of the only black girls at my private catholic academy. Obviously I knew she was black, but whenever we hung out I never thought of her as black, meaning completely different than me, because we had a lot in common, and I thought of her as just another human being. Perhaps she already felt threatened by the flood of white rich girls in this environment, but many times she would initiate racial barriers between us. For example, when we would talk about boys and potential dating partners, I would honestly respond that I am too busy with school right now to get into a relationship. She would always argue, “You don’t want to date my friends because they are black,” or “You’re too white for my neighborhood. You probably want a rich white boy. What would your mom say if you dated a black guy?” These accusations really made me feel insignificant and worthless. She made me feel horrible for simply being white. She was pulling these external factors about our skin color and applying them to situations that had nothing to do with racism in the first place. Yet by her belittling comments, I felt left out of the black culture. I wanted to be black because she seemed to have authority over me with her comments. I envied black people and why I could not be accepted among them just because of the color of my skin. This example further explains that white and black racial barriers continue to exist, but the white people are not always the initiators of racial segregation and black people need to know that. Fri, 12 Feb 2010 14:03:47 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/02/why-is-the-conversation-always-about-black-and-white-people__trashed/#IDComment56493312 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/02/avatar-and-the-white-mans-burden__trashed/#IDComment55487846 David Brook’s theory that white men and women are almost always the reoccurring hero to black or brown people in movies and society is known as “the White Messiah.” This theme is extremely applicable to James Cameron’s recently produced movie, Avatar. When I first saw this movie over my Christmas break, I will admit that it greatly reflected Disney’s Pocahontas in terms of plot and characters. In both movies, arrogant, white, usurping men threatened and sought to steal the indigenous, peaceful, and nature-loving people’s lands. In Avatar, a white man saves a beautiful native and her tribe from the American military. As any cheesy movie, the white man first sides with his military and army, but once he gets to know and understand the ways of the natives, he falls in love with their culture. After noticing the first signals of love interest between the white man and the native woman, I have to confess that I thought, “Why would they have a white man instead of a black or brown man fall in love with the woman?” Not only is white still commonly known as the “superior race,” but also men still maintain a great role of authority over women, socially speaking. Therefore, to have a white man fall in love with a black woman was extremely revolutionary. To some, this setup may have seemed to be needed to break down racial barriers and gender inequalities. However, to the majority of society still locked in a world of stereotypes, and racial and social segregation, they perceived this setup as a further demonstration of white male superiority. This “White Messiah” theme also resonates in Disney’s new cartoon movie, The Princess and the Frog. This movie was so popular and controversial because it produced Disney’s first black princess. Who ended up saving her at the end but a white male! Many people erupted with emotions at this plotline because it seemed that the movie producers felt almost too bold to have not one, but two (oh gosh!) black people in the same cartoon! Therefore, to please society overall, they must have thought, “Well, if we put one black chick in there, we will prove our point of diversity.” Unless we stop this “White Messiah” ordeal, generations are only going to keep growing in a cycle of racial injustice. After opening my eyes as a white person to the amount of racial inequalities that still exist in many forms of entertainment today, I was shocked at so many example of prevailing underlying messages such as the “White Messiah.” Maybe Avatar’s purpose was not necessarily to further racial barriers, but I agree with Brook that it did make a racial impact on audiences. Setting aside racism, perhaps Avatar is also revealing another societal message, to have an open mind and to learn about others’ cultures before judging them. Once we open our minds, we will be able to connect and understand with other ethnicities, races, genders, and cultures and become a more unified world. Fri, 5 Feb 2010 15:27:25 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/02/avatar-and-the-white-mans-burden__trashed/#IDComment55487846 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/01/the-enlightened-west-knows-best__trashed/#IDComment54316398 After watching the CNN news clip about France banning Muslim women’s burquas, I became very angry with the French government. Many people worldwide segregate Muslims because they do not agree with their religious principles. Many irrationally believe that the sole purpose of a burqua is for women to sneakily remain hidden from society because their faces are not easily recognizable under the burquas. Some may interpret this seemingly sneaky act as link to terrorism or other hidden crimes where the faces of criminals will never be revealed. This assumption is extremely false and judgmental. The French government is mainly scared that because Muslim women are so bold to wear their burquas, they could act against the government and not coincide with society in other aspects such as the law. The true reason Muslim women continue to wear their burquas is to honor and respect their religion out of piety and modesty. Rather than remaining hidden from society, they are not afraid to wear burquas as an open symbol of their religion. As a Christian, many of my brothers and sisters in Christ wear crucifixes around our necks in honor of Jesus Christ’s death on the cross. Although this cross may be smaller and less noticeable than a burqua, it is still religiously significant to me and therefore, of great importance to my attire. Although Christians cannot be as easily pinpointed because the crosses are so miniature, Muslims receive all oppression and judgment because their burquas are very obvious to the public. To suggest that Muslim women wear alternative clothing is completely insensitive to their culture. Just because the French government does not favor the burquas, does not mean they should have the authority to “make” women wear different attire. What happens if the French government did not favor wedding rings, or tattoos, or lockets? The reasons people wear these articles of clothing, like the burqua, or get tattoos is because the underlying symbolism of each is of great importance to their respective human’s culture, beliefs, and values. The French government has no right to justify what is acceptable or not. If it held that position to critique, one might ask, who else’s possession should be judged acceptable? Before we all know it, babies will no longer be allowed to hold their binkies, teenage girls will no longer be allowed to wear ripped jeans, and men will no longer be able to wear baseball hats walking around the street. Coinciding with the actual dress of the burqua, many women continue to wear to it out of piety and respect. Nowadays clothes are only getting tighter, shorter, and thinner. Perhaps modesty is old fashioned, but I respect Muslim women for staying true to their culture and not conforming to society’s accepted skinny jeans, size zero leggings, low cut V-necks, and string bikini fashion trends. The French government should stop worrying about preventing meaningless threats from women who wear religious symbolic attire. In fact, they should spend more time worrying about actual military threats and learn to build up their army so they can actually fight their way out of a brown bag in the next war. Fri, 29 Jan 2010 07:19:04 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/01/the-enlightened-west-knows-best__trashed/#IDComment54316398 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/01/last-name-begins-with-s__trashed/#IDComment53882764 heyoo Tue, 26 Jan 2010 03:26:53 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/01/last-name-begins-with-s__trashed/#IDComment53882764