I had never thought about the souls and thoughts of convicted murderers. I always thought that it sucked to be placed in jail for the rest of your life, but I always remembered that it was for something tremendously illegal and inhuman. However, I have thought about peers who had been expelled or given detention. Even though these people had done something they knew they shouldn't have done, they had been punished for it. I do believe that most people are good, they just do stupid things. Some things much more stupid than others. I think that it's incredible that this man has such deep thoughts about compassions and love for other human beings after being sentenced in prison for life. I guess if you're in jail long enough, you've had a lot of time to think. It touches my heart that this man sees and realizes and thinks about the compassion that the people around him show for each other. That shows a man very in tune with himself and the world around him. I wonder if his jail mates understand and see the world in the same way that he does. What sort of thoughts and experiences must this man have gone through to make such conclusions after being sentenced to a life or boredom and misery? Maybe he's learned not to be bored and miserable. Maybe these wonderful thoughts about compassion keep him alive is such a horrid place. It is incredible that even people who committed a murder can be so wonderful and understanding of love and life. I hope that I can one day be as in tune with compassion as this man is. I do believe that everything happens for a reason. Could it be possible that this man committed a murder so he could be put in jail to arrive at these amazing truths about life? People are very interesting creatures. I wish that all men sentenced to a life in prison can arrive at the same thoughts as this man. I wish that all people, prisoners or not, could see the world of compassion as this man does. The world would be a much better place if people realized that happiness is found in the compassion of yourself and others.

I believe that the West Bank and the Gaza Strip should belong to the Palestinians. Palestinians live and breathe and have families in those territories. There is no question in my mind that Palestinians living in the occupied territory should have control over their own land. It is their home. However, I disagree that there is no hope of them getting their land back. I very strongly disagree that the Unites States wont change the circumstances and disputes between Israel and Palestine because the United States wishes to maintain an ally in the Middle East. Many strategies have been set on the table. The Camp David Accords in 1978, the 2000 Camp David Summit, and the Taba negotiations in 2001 are all evidence of the United States attempting a solution with Israel and Palestine. Both Israel and Palestine agreed that the Taba negotiations were the closest either side had been to agreement. Unfortunately, a compromise has yet to be settled on. When the 2000 Camp David Summit occurred, a sensible agreement, in my opinion, was discussed. However, the Palestinians rejected the proposal. The Palestinians again rejected proposals during the Taba negotiations. It may be true that no major negotiations have recently occurred, but a conflict as entangled as this one is going to take time to un-knot.
A poll was taken that concluded that 74% of Palestinians and 78% of Israelis are willing to accept a two state solution. If this many people on either side of the conflict agree to live in acceptance with this solution, a greater effort should be made to ensure this compromise occurs. It seems to me as though leaders on both sides of the conflict are being stubborn. Israel, at the moment, is unwilling to compromise with Palestine after Palestine had rejected previous negotiations. Maybe this is where the United States needs to step in. Someone needs to compare the pros and cons of compromise to the opposing sides. Someone needs to remind the leaders of the opposing sides about what the majority of their people want. The outcome and ultimate safety of a country is not about what its leaders think; it’s about how its people wish to live their lives.

I was heartbroken and saddened while watching the video about the dolls. Every person should feel as though he or she is beautiful or handsome, no matter what skin color. Every person is beautiful. Skin color is part of what makes you beautiful. When I saw children at such a young age choose the white doll as the more beautiful and the good doll over the black doll, I felt empathy for these kids. Especially since children with darker skin chose the white doll over the black doll for being more beautiful and good. What is going through these kids’ heads to make them think that the white doll is prettier and better than the black doll? It must be the media, I thought to myself. Media shapes Americans’ lives in a tremendous way. Little girls see Barbie and Brittany Spears. They forget about Zoe Saldana and Beyonce. By picking the white doll over the black doll, an inner voice was revealed. These little kids must not think that they are as beautiful as people with light skin.
This broke my heart. If children don’t realize at an early age that they are beautiful, it must be that much more difficult to realize it as a teenager and young adult. I’ve listened to stories of my friends admitting that they don’t look beautiful and that they don’t feel beautiful. What they were saying was crap. They were two of the most beautiful people that I have ever met, inside and out. What made them think that they weren’t beautiful? The same thing that made these children pick the white doll over the black. Our society. Our media. Our peers. Ridiculous. Societies should embrace people for who they are. What would the world be like if we all looked the same. Boring. Differences make us beautiful. We live in such a world that people are so afraid to be themselves because they do not want to be seen as different, as ugly. Different is not ugly. Different is beautiful.
People have to be confident in them selves. People have to help each other find this confidence. People have to realize that different is beautiful. These little girls and boys who picked the white doll over the black have to be told that they are beautiful. They have to be told that they are good, wonderful people. The media has to embrace differences. One person can start the chain of different thought. If one commercial, one television show, one movie, one artist, one song, embraces different as beautiful, the world will see the truth. The truth will catch on, and people will know that they are beautiful, despite differences.

I think that this is a really interesting question. It is also a question that I have thought about throughout the course of the class. I think the best suggestion that I have is to define as the color you most associate with or are most comfortable with. If you are half Puerto Rican and were brought up with a stronger Puerto Rican background than a white background, then why not define as brown. However, the color of your skin also comes into play. If you are half Puerto Rican, but you have very light skin and have been viewed as white all of your life, then you may associate more with being white. The friends you spend your time with also play a large factor. If you are half Puerto Rican, have darker skin, but spend most of your time with white people, then you may consider yourself white. It is a difficult subject. On one hand, you want to define as something to answer Sam’s questions, but every time you answer a question, you may feel like you are not answering from a different part of you. Maybe Sam should ask people to answer his questions from three different “teams.” There should be a black and brown team, a white team, and a mixed team.
My cousins are half white and half Puerto Rican. One of my cousins, I think, would define more closely to Puerto Rican. My other cousin would probably define more closely with white or mixed. If they were asked to choose with “team” to answer for, I think that it would be difficult for them to choose. However, in the state of Pennsylvania, I think that they would choose to answer as Puerto Rican because of the small number of brown people in Pennsylvania compared to the number of white people.
I think that eventually, Sam will not be able to ask people to respond for one team or another. I think that eventually, so many people are going to be mixed that this wont be an issue. However, I think that when the majority of people living in America are mixed, other issues will arise in regard to race relations. People will either be too much of one race or too much of the other. The race relations issues will never stop because people like to find flaws in other people.
Ultimately, I think that people should define with whatever they feel most comfortable. Although what people feel comfortable with may depend on the question and these peoples’ experiences, answer these questions however you please. If you want to be Puerto Rican one day and white the other, go for it.

I think that it is terrible and just silly that a school would cancel a prom because of one lesbian date. It makes no sense to me. Why would you cancel an entire prom that was meant for an entire student body to prevent one couple from going? McMillen was right. Kids at school are going to hate her for this. If the school were that adamant about not having a lesbian couple attend prom, the smart thing to do would be to have the prom, but tell the girls that they cannot attend as a “couple.”
These high school students do not live in a world where there are no homosexual couples. Why would a school claim that a lesbian couple attending the dance would make the other students uncomfortable? Although the lesbian couple may certainly make other students uncomfortable, this is not going to be the first time students will encounter a lesbian or gay couple. I think that it is silly for a school to deprive their students or learning and experiencing real life.
I just do not understand it. Lesbian and gay couples are not a secret phenomenon. Students are aware of these relationships. I think that it is childish for the school to prevent a homosexual couple for attending prom.
I also think that it takes a great deal of courage to do what McMillen and her date did. McMillen and her date knew that the school did not want two females or two males attending the dance together as a couple. McMillen and her date decided to ignore this rule and pursue what they thought was right and true for themselves. I respect that. It could not have been easy to tell that school that they wanted to go as a couple with the realization that they were going to have to deal with the consequences.
I wonder how many schools actually have this rule that no homosexual couple can attend prom. I am sure that it is more than we think. Hopefully this story will encourage other gay and lesbian couples to speak out when they are being discriminated against, especially at the high school level. I believe that if more younger people speak out, more older people will speak out too. Adults will have a greater realization that we have a problem.
If my high school told the student body that a gay or lesbian couple could not attend the prom, and then canceled it. I am sure that there would be uproar from the student body. I would also like to believe that there would be uproar from the community. I understand that all circumstances and outcomes are based on the surroundings and the community, but no matter where one live, all people should have equal rights.

To make a difference in the lives of Native Americans, I think that the average person can play an enormous role. By simply telling other people what you know and educating people on this subject is an enormous help. Education is the key. Because the average American and student is unaware of the genocide of Native Americans and the living conditions in which these people now live, the average American and student, therefore, does not know that something needs to be done.
Once people become aware of this situation, they will then talk about it to their friends and families. If enough people talk about Native Americans’ living conditions, the world will see that this is a serious problem. Since the average person isn’t talking about it, the needs of Native Americans are being pushed aside. This can be related to LGBT issues. Since the average person and people who are LGBT were not talking about the issues in society caused by orientation, nothing was being done to fix the issues. Once the LGBT community and the average person started talking about it, changes started to be made. I believe that the same thing has to happen with the issues Native Americans deal with every day.
Aside from simply spreading your knowledge, the average person can help Native Americans in many other simplistic ways. Students can visit reservations and find out what the living conditions are really like. This will allow for a greater sense of knowledge to be spread. You can donate used books to schools are reservations, or write to your local politician voicing your concern about Native Americans. Ultimately, what that average person can do is spread his or her knowledge about Native American living conditions as well as your concern for their well-being. It is important to make people realize that Native Americans are people who have been shoved aside in our society.
I also think that once people spread their knowledge about Native American issues, educators will eventually hear this and teach their students about these conditions. It is important for people to learn about these issues when they are young. This way, young students can spend a life time (if needed) thinking about what to do. This allows the younger generating to come up with solutions that may be better than any of the older generation.
Ultimately, my thought about making a difference in the lives of Native Americans is to simply spread your knowledge. Without knowledge of the on going situation, there is no way a person would know to do something about it. This, I think, is our biggest problem.

I do not think that there is any difference among a gay parent or couple adopting, a lesbian parent or couple adopting, or a heterosexual parent or couple adopting a child. As long as the parent or parents to a child is loving, nurturing, and caring, the child will turn out just fine. I know a lesbian couple that had their own child. This little girl is one of the most confident, smartest, capable children I’ve ever met. Although she is only seven now, she has no problem at all with having two mommies. From what I can tell, she does not think anything of it. I do not think she will ever have a problem with having two mommies. Both of her parents are loving, caring, and nurturing people. This little girl expresses herself in whichever way she feels. She once told me that her favorite color was pink and that she cannot wait to start dance class. Although her preferences are not important based on her parents’ orientation, my point is that they are not influenced. Her mom’s favorite color happens to be pink as well.
Although I do not know a gay person or couple who has adopted a child, I do not see any reason how or why the adoption and the well being of the child would be different from the lesbian couple I know who had their child.
I can understand, however, that at some point in the child’s life, the child may be uneasy by his or her parents’ sexual orientation just because the child’s parents could be seen as different, and different could be seen as negative. But from what I’ve viewed and heard, the adopted child will turn out just fine, and I have no problem with homosexual adoption.
It seems silly to me that people would have a problem with homosexual adoptions. Like Sam said in class, homosexuals have a child because they want one, where as heterosexuals may have a child by accident. Parents who want a child will treat him or her the way a parent should treat his or her child. It also seems silly to me that people would be more okay with a lesbian person or couple adopting than with a gay person or couple adopting a child. Parenting depends solely on the type of person you are, not on your sexual orientation. Quite frankly, I think that it’s great that gay and lesbian people or couples want to adopt a child. All children deserve a comfortable and loving family to be a part of.
If people are uncomfortable with gay or lesbian parents pushing their sexual orientation upon their adopted children, there is no need to worry. This is not going to happen. Like Sam said, if anything, an adopted child adopted by a person who is gay or lesbian who happens to be gay or lesbian him or herself, will probably be more at ease coming out to his or her family.
This issue is not something for the public to be uncomfortable with.

I do agree that since the northeast has been able to see African Americans bring their plight to the center of American culture, this makes the issue consistently arise in race relations. Since people are aware of the situation that happened relatively recently, this topic is a familiar discussion. People feel as though they have the facts to speak about it; especially since there is still tension between black and white people today. However, I do not think that this is the only reason the black and white issue consistently comes up. I believe this issue consistently arises because what people have to say, especially people who are not black, is superficial. People like to talk about what they know, what pertains to them, what they know. Since the majority of the country is white, they have a role in the discussion about blacks and whites. But most importantly, this subject is what history classes in American schools focus on the most. The civil rights movement and the recent battle for freedom is an important subject for schools to teach their students. Unfortunately, Hispanic, Native American, Middle Eastern, Indian, and multiple other cultures are not taught in the public schools in the same amount of depth as African Americans. Therefore, I believe that most Americans will not feel as comfortable expressing their views and feeling on these race subjects. Not because they do not want to, but because they just do not know. This is the reason I believe the race relations conversation will always come back to black and white, especially in America.
On the other hand, I do believe that the civil rights movement played an enormous effect on the culture of freedom. When I participated in a Middle Eastern dialogue outside of the country, the civil rights movement did come up by a person who was not American. However, the person who brought this up had been well educated in the subject. Had he not been there, I doubt that the issue between black and white people would have ever arisen. This piece of information stays consistent with my view that people will speak about what they know. People will speak about issues in witch they feel they understand and can bring a valid point. In accordance to that, people will talk about what they hear other people talk about. This creates an enormous cycle of black and white dialogue.
I agree that when people say that the reasoning behind always returning to black and white is in relation to slavery is not as significant as the civil rights movement. Again, slavery is still, unfortunately, what people think of when they think black and white. Truly, I believe that this is the only excuse that people can come up with when asked why the conversation always comes back to black and white today. People are not educated on the race relations issues of today.

I think that it is truly disgusting that the French government even think of creating a law depriving Muslims of wearing the “niqab,” “abeyya,” or “hijab.” Personally, I do not believe that it was up to the government to tell people what they can and cannot wear. If Muslim women choose to wear the “niqab,” “abeyya,” or “hijab,” they should be able to. This law would be exactly the same as telling any westernized citizen that it is unlawful to wear a long dress. Many “westernized” conservative women choose to wear dresses on a daily basis. How absurd would it be to create a law banning women from wearing dresses? This law could be categorized with such absurdities as not allowing a Jewish man to wear a yarmulke or a Hindu to wear his headdress. It seems ridiculous to me. It should not be the job of the government to tell its citizens what they can and cannot wear, especially with respect to religion.
I have several friends who choose to wear the “niqab,” “abeyya,” or “hijab” simply because they wish to follow the laws of their religion. To not allow them to wear this would take away from their heritage, their religion, themselves. This law, I believe, is also extremely inconsiderate of citizens as a whole. To have a government ask me to do something outside of the laws of my religion, let alone make it illegal, would tremendously upset me. The naiveté astounds me.
The television clip by CNN stated that these women being interviewed who wish to wear the “niqab,” “abeyya,” or “hijab,” would easily comply with removing their headdress for identification purposes. This seems extremely reasonable to me. However, to completely strip these people of their right to wear what they please and to deny the following of religious traditions, does not seem fair.
Additionally, I do not see the reason as to why the sudden proposal for this law arose. To my knowledge, there have been no substantial incidents with women wearing these specific outfits. Although these outfits may not fit the status quo, it is imperative to accept people for who they are, not what they wear. This law seems to me that the French government is taking two steps backwards in the race relations world rather than the needed steps forward. The law would simply tell French citizens as well as the rest of the world that it is simply okay to tell people and religions what they can or cannot practice. If the practices aren’t offensive or detrimental, I do not see the problem.
Lastly, I do not think that by changing the appearance of religious Muslim women, is the French government is going to “..turn you into enlightened French citizens.” I do not see the logic in this statement.

I think that it is completely understandable that seeing a young boy wrapping himself in teffilin would unnerve someone. If I did not know what teffilin was, I would surely be unnerved. However, I am slightly upset over the fact that a flight attendant is unaware of what teffilin is; especially a flight attendant who is flying out of La Guardia Airport. I, myself, have flown out of La Guardia Airport on several occasions, and almost every time I’ve flown, I’ve seen a male praying and wrapping himself in teffilin. This practice is certainly not an uncommon practice in the New York area.
Although I am upset by the circumstances, I admire the pilot’s instincts to follow protocol and land the plane. It is understandable that the pilot and flight attendant felt in necessary to land in plane for the safety of the other passengers. However, when I read the article, I was wondering to myself, were the passengers on the plane aware of what this teenager was doing, and were they uncomfortable with it? Had the flight attendant on the plane asked someone else about what she saw, would she have been notified of the teenager’s practices? It baffles me that people, especially people who work with other people on a daily basis, are unaware of certain practices.
I believe that to solve this problem, airline employees should be obligated to take a class that teaches them about different customs they will see on a plane. However, quite unfortunately, while reading this article, the thought went through my mind that the flight attendant was aware of the teenager’s custom of wrapping himself in teffilin. Could it be possible that the flight attendant purposefully told the pilot about what she saw because she wanted the pilot to land the plane simply because there was a Jew on the plane?
I think that the teenager and his family dealt with the situation very well. It was very mature of the teenager and his sister to have remained calm while on the plane and being investigated. Ultimately, I do not believe that this family should have to have dealt with this situation. It is a shame that people are unaware of certain rituals and practices. If people were more aware of their surroundings, I think that there would be less fear in the world.
This article brought me closer to the realization of terrorism and being sought out for looking or acting differently than the status quo. It’s a shame that people should be looked down upon or feared for doing something that people are unfamiliar with. Although understandable, safety precautions need to be definite. Planes can’t be landing for something as simple as a religious practice.