en-us https://www.intensedebate.com/users/760704 Comments by nnm5029 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/what-about-health-care__trashed/#IDComment70037786 I think we have to look at whether or not the immigrants are legal or not. Healthcare is something that should be available to all people. I don’t think that there are too many sick people that we will face crises on hospitals and doctor’s offices all over the country. I feel have something of an obligation to reach out and help people who come into the country. How would you feel if you walked into a bar and received no service? If you walked into your own home and no one was taking care of you? This is a big question and I think it would be difficult to have the task of deciding who and who doesn’t get healthcare. Sat, 24 Apr 2010 00:50:18 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/what-about-health-care__trashed/#IDComment70037786 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/what-about-people-who-can-only-afford-hard-work__trashed/#IDComment70036492 I feel that money is something that makes the world move. We have talked about the awesome benefits of having money and being born into wealth. I look at it like this: I would rather an immigrant have money for his or her own protection of identity to survive among the society in the United States. Our culture has based so much on power and money. I feel an immigrant would avoid scrutiny if he or she had the money. It may be really superficial, but deep down there are many people who value money as some sort of factor of acceptance. It is hard to avoid people like this. Sat, 24 Apr 2010 00:45:21 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/what-about-people-who-can-only-afford-hard-work__trashed/#IDComment70036492 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/what-about-people-who-can-only-afford-hard-work__trashed/#IDComment70036187 I feel that money is something that makes the world move. We have talked about the awesome benefits of having money and being born into wealth. I look at it like this: I would rather an immigrant have money for his or her own protection of identity to survive among the society in the United States. Our culture has based so much on power and money. I feel an immigrant would avoid scrutiny if he or she had the money. It may be really superficial, but deep down there are many people who value money as some sort of factor of acceptance. It is hard to avoid people like this. Sat, 24 Apr 2010 00:44:22 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/what-about-people-who-can-only-afford-hard-work__trashed/#IDComment70036187 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/south-park-off-the-hook__trashed/#IDComment70033682 I feel that the South Park controversy has grown to insane proportions. The show is clearly a half hour of insane antics and limit pushing. I believe that anyone who has watched the show at one point or another has taken something the wrong way. I definitely do not watch the show in search of seriousness. I would be wasting my time. I understand the outrage, but I feel that people who watch the show understand the scrutiny that the creators put certain subjects through. They have never been ones to make it known that they are preaching a certain doctrine that has to be followed. There are no secret messages that they want to spread. It is a cartoon, nothing more than that. They mean no harm. I think that if you do not want to be offended, then change the channel. They made remotes for a reason. If you have a complaint, then you can voice it. However, I feel that death threats are a little too much. Its not like Sarah Palin threatened Tina Fey’s life when she was being mocked on Saturday Night Live. I feel that death or violence is no response for whatever it is that has upset the Muslim community. We must also look at the people who have made the threats. Are they extremists? Are they in the United States? I have not researched the situation, but I feel we are missing a lot of information about who has made these threats and accusations. If we knew the whole truth then maybe we could come up with some conclusions. In the meantime, I am looking at the overall state of the situation. Parker and Stone have the freedom to do what they want. It is probably the context that makes this a discrepancy. A Muslim probably has no idea what South Park is. They probably have no idea that the show is mean for humor and sheer shock factor. I could understand that they probably feel they are being attacked. This would make more sense to us if this were a news show like 60 Minutes or Dateline. We see it as a cartoon and harmless since we already know what the show is about. It may be highly disrespectful, but we must look at the context. There is never any seriousness about the show. They have mocked every religion and celebrity on the planet. No one is safe from the show. The best way to avoid it is to just not watch. We all have the choice and we should be aware of that. There will always be something that will offend others until we are all cognizant of other cultures besides our own. Sat, 24 Apr 2010 00:35:11 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/south-park-off-the-hook__trashed/#IDComment70033682 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/what-are-we-doing-here-really__trashed/#IDComment68301696 I believe the end goal of this class is for everyone to learn how to see things from the perspectives of others. This class is meant for us to understand the happenings of everyday life and the consequences and benefits of our actions. It takes a well-rounded person to fit in with others. You cannot just go through life with a mediocre skill-set and expect to just coast through everything. Should we choose to listen, we are being taught how to explore circles of people who we have never been in contact with. It is up to us to get to know others and to figure out what happens in other cultures. Fri, 16 Apr 2010 01:42:17 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/what-are-we-doing-here-really__trashed/#IDComment68301696 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/women__trashed/#IDComment68300467 Women have more responsibilities than most men would like to admit. I respect women as much as possibly can. Even if it just holding the door open for them. It is nowhere near enough, but its something I do everyday. They have to bear children and lug a huge stomach around for nine months. They have to deal with cycles and menstruation. I feel like they have way more pressure to deal with than men do. I don’t know if I could handle all that pressure. When it comes to looks, they should not have to deal with such harsh judgment. I just want my wife to be a good role model and mother to my children. That’s it. If she looks nice, but can’t tell the difference between baby formula and baking powder...its over. Fri, 16 Apr 2010 01:30:27 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/women__trashed/#IDComment68300467 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/christian-invaders-the-turnaround__trashed/#IDComment68299679 After today’s lecture I found that Sam delivered to us something that was pretty important. If you were offended in any way, you obviously were not playing any attention. I myself was taken back at first, BUT it was imperative that you look at the situation from the view of an Iraqi or Afghani citizen. If you were able to do so, then you were able to embrace Sam’s point. All year people have been complaining about the lectures. This was probably the simplest one to understand and relate to. I do not know how people were able to mess this up. It is almost sad to see that there are people who are taking this class and are still not open to a different point of view. This was I feel was nothing short of a great effort to give us one last chance to grasp an idea and actually reflect on it. I thought about how I would respond if I were in their shoes. It was definitely tough, but on the other hand we have to be able to do this on a daily basis in order to understand what is happening around the world. There will always be more situations where we need to step back and think about the people being affected by the actions of what we involve ourselves in. I can clearly see why the Iraqi citizens are so angry. I can also see why they anger us. We base our hatred on total misunderstandings. I have seen and heard many stories of people who go to foreign countries and are totally surprised by what they see. Not all foreign countries are lackluster and undeveloped. Our assumptions are based on what we see in the media. If we were all able to see what really happens in everyday life, then none of the misconceptions and stereotypes would be clouding our judgment. I remember visiting Mexico when I was little and I expected to see rundown homes and dusty old towns. This is only because this is how it is portrayed in movies and in the news. We need to experience these things first hand so we can develop our own opinions. We are not over there experiencing bombings and violence. Why do we have the right to say anything in the first place? I cannot say enough about how proud I am about my country. I love the America. I would be the last one in the room to bring it down. I am, however, very frustrated in how people represent us. You would think that we would all be understanding and open. This is certainly not the case though. We are very blessed to be here and we should show some sympathy and at least let the people speak for themselves. Fri, 16 Apr 2010 01:21:42 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/christian-invaders-the-turnaround__trashed/#IDComment68299679 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/this-is-totally-off-the-hook__trashed/#IDComment66888175 I thought stuff like Hentai was freaky deaky enough, but this has to take the cake when it comes to ridiculousness. I would never imagine a game about rape making it into any market. I have a mother and sister who I care about a great deal. I do not even like it when guys refer to someone getting “raped” after they get torched in a video game or after they lose a game. As for the question of playing it with my boys while throwing back some brews… I would never. I feel like I would be adding to the problem with this game. It shouldn’t not have any kind of following that would encourage its sale. Fri, 9 Apr 2010 22:37:35 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/this-is-totally-off-the-hook__trashed/#IDComment66888175 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/i-really-want-to-know-also__trashed/#IDComment66886928 Unless someone has been thoroughly involved in Sociology or it is part of his or her major, I do not think that they can say that they knew everything. Especially since we have gone over so much different material. You must be a pretty perfect human to have already had a great understanding of all the aspects of diversity and race relations. But like Sam said, we are here to think. I have thought about a lot of what he has to say. Even if you just take the time to reflect what has been taught, then you will have a new understanding of something. If you feel Sam is bullshitting, then you must know everything then. Why bother showing up to class? You already have a perfect grasp of society and what is happening around the world, right? Fri, 9 Apr 2010 22:28:34 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/i-really-want-to-know-also__trashed/#IDComment66886928 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/how-can-we-ever-win__trashed/#IDComment65670863 I did not feel the LL Bean photos were meant to offend people or make us think something of what black people should not be. I do agree with what you mean about “winning.” It seems like people of color are always making a sacrifice or some how selling out when they make certain decisions. I feel that some people are never going to make everyone happy and leave people content with what is happening. It may have seemed like the photos were meant to make us laugh, but I feel that they were there to provoke a reaction that would show us where we stand in the spectrum of the Stages. Sat, 3 Apr 2010 00:37:58 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/how-can-we-ever-win__trashed/#IDComment65670863 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/is-quality-the-question__trashed/#IDComment65669268 I do not think that affirmative action happens like this. I feel that they look at equals and then decided how they will choose to pick their new employee. It is not about slapping an incompetent into a position where they have no business being. This would be defeating the purpose of trying to find people of different racial backgrounds who can do the job correctly and excel. I cannot say that I have been in a situation where I have seen that affirmative action has degraded the efficiency of certain job positions. I have not had trouble with my doctor or any type of medical professional. Some of the worst doctor’s on the planet are white. Saying that people of color are taking positions they are not fit for seems like a bit too much. I feel that affirmative action is something that is beneficial to society. It seems like there are not too many problems that have risen up from the effects of affirmative action. The one problem I do see is how people interpret how people got into college and into their jobs. I feel that people assume some people got into their schools because of affirmative action or some form of nepotism. I think that nepotism is a negative and harmful thing for society. I am sure that to some extent it is somewhat acceptable. When Sam mentioned that half of the acceptance to Ivy League schools is reserved for the children and grandchildren of alumni, I was not surprised at all. You hear of how legacies have it easier and that they are going to get in with the phone call of a family member or a close family friend. I can honestly say that I had no such circumstances or hook-ups when I applied to Penn State. Had I wanted to go to an Ivy school, I would be frustrated to know that I was beat out by someone who had the luxury of someone making a large donation or being from a family of legacies. It just does not seem fair at all. When nepotism is influential in how a person’s career will pan out, I feel that that is too excessive. I would understand giving a job to a struggling family member, but calling in favors when they are more than capable of doing it themselves seems ridiculous. When will these people do something for themselves? When you are handed everything from early on, who is to tell you that life will not always be like that. I feel that the entitlement will only make the person believe that they can rely on others all the time. There is a lack of self-sufficiency and independence. They are the type of people who seem unfit to do well in society next to those who worked very hard and achieved success without the help of others. Sat, 3 Apr 2010 00:27:15 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/is-quality-the-question__trashed/#IDComment65669268 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/if-men-could-menstruate__trashed/#IDComment64292076 I feel like tampons would not be free. Its not like band-aids are free. Its not like condoms are always free. Men are not that endowed with knowledge of the cycle because that is now what we talked about when the boys and girls were separated for health class and sex education. Men will have a rather difficult time to get to know about the cycle. It is not something that men usually bring up in normal conversation. This probably stems from a feeling that we should not talk about feminine things and problems. Men are not inclined to talk about what women feel and this is certainly a big problem. Women should be understood completely. Sat, 27 Mar 2010 03:49:33 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/if-men-could-menstruate__trashed/#IDComment64292076 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/flip-the-script-for-a-moment__trashed/#IDComment64287288 I feel that the whole bleeding conversation in class was not bad at all. I just feel like we could have been warned. It has nothing to do with the content of the menstrual cycle. I think we just had a little adjusting to do when it came up. I had no clue what the class was getting into. I saw a dude enjoying his sandwich for a minute and the next he was totally disgusted. It is just the sheer moment of when we should talk about these things. I definitely would not want to be the guy stuffing his face while listening to the phases of the menstrual cycle. Sat, 27 Mar 2010 02:52:26 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/flip-the-script-for-a-moment__trashed/#IDComment64287288 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/those-damn-dolls__trashed/#IDComment64284180 I think that deep down we all have some sort of feeling that we want to be something that we are not. It may not even be that we want to be a different skin color, but it may have to do with the type of people we are. We may want to be more outgoing and “cooler”, we may want to appear more intelligent. It may be our view of what we think are inadequacies that makes people want to become something else. These children have been influenced to believe that they are inadequate. I feel that many of the students were right when they were talking about how outside influences will shape the way we think. I feel that the children are the most vulnerable to such influences. When we heard some of the students talking, they shared experiences of when they were much younger. It is difficult to have a sense of the person you are when you have yet to experience life the way you have when you are older. Kids face a lot of challenges and it was evident from what some of the students said. I myself had not realized what I was until I was much older. I was often confused about where I was supposed to fit in with different groups at my school. I was always with the white kids and I actually considered myself one of them. I had not grown into any self-awareness until sometime in middle school. It took me a long time to get a grasp and gain an appreciation of my culture and the way it had shaped me. I do not feel like we have to blame someone for this. We just need to react proactively. The video depicts something that is terribly saddening and depressing. These little children have been robbed of innocence that most children are able to grow up with. It makes me think really hard about the mindset I have today. I can truly appreciate what I have. It is horrible to know that these kids have the idea that they are “bad”. There has to be some sort of change that will come about to show children that any sort of heroes and actors that they look up to are all equals. There needs to be more of an emphasis on diversity instead of glorifying certain groups of people. We all can learn from what these children have experienced. Anyone can become a victim of influence in society. We need to notice this vulnerability and do something about it. It may take a lifetime to get this out there and to begin to change the way people think of the world and the people who are the most important to it. Sat, 27 Mar 2010 02:16:07 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/those-damn-dolls__trashed/#IDComment64284180 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/does-this-rudeness-thing-cut-both-ways__trashed/#IDComment63089406 I feel like we cannot really take those texts seriously. Anyone, white or black, could have been writing all those rude things. That’s the first thing that we should take into consideration. It would make sense to make an assumption that both the white and black people are being rude if we knew this for a fact. It is hard to place blame when we are not even sure if the selected groups were actually doing these things. The second thing is that we are making this a white and black conservation. There are not just white and black people in the class. This question has blatantly pointed out a problem between whites and blacks. I find this to be odd and it makes me wonder about how truly “offensive” our students are. Sat, 20 Mar 2010 02:42:42 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/does-this-rudeness-thing-cut-both-ways__trashed/#IDComment63089406 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/this-is-getting-to-be-too-much__trashed/#IDComment62876946 I feel the student in the video did a very poor job of representing the students at UCSD. I am from California and I know plenty of students at the school and there is no way that the campus has the racial tension that the students are talking about. It is just something that has been certainly blown out of the water. The incident with the theme party was certainly ridiculous but now too many things have piled up and caused too much trouble among the students and staff. It seems to me that all the students on campus are reacting too quickly. They need to sit back and try to adjust to the situation. Fri, 19 Mar 2010 02:37:24 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/this-is-getting-to-be-too-much__trashed/#IDComment62876946 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/women-and-sports__trashed/#IDComment62875882 I believe that a woman head coach is the best thing that could happen to football. It was somewhat of a parody a while ago when Goldie Hawn starred in a movie where a woman was appointed to be the head football coach in an inner city setting. Now it is nothing like that and there I would hope that all the stereotypes have died down. I think that football is just going along with its evolution into a sport that becomes more appealing to the world as time goes on. I feel that this is a great thing to happen to the game and it proves that it is a diverse sport even though it may not be represented this way. I feel women have a big say and influence in how teams operate and perform. I start with the wives of the NFL players. They are a huge supporting cast in the lives of the players. Women are worth so much more to the game than people think. What would these men do without wives? Football eats up so much valuable time and steals away from time with the family. A strong wife is definitely a plus and so many women step up to such a challenge. They face long seasons and time periods away from their husbands. Without a supporting wife, the player would be partial to being an emotional wreck and possible distraction to himself with things that he would not find in a stable marriage. Take a look at Kurt Warner’s wife; she stood by her man for years before he made it to the NFL. She was always supportive and did whatever possible to be supportive of his lifelong dream. Without her there would be no magical Super Bowl appearances for the Rams and Cardinals. Other women who are a staple among teams are usually owners. Without a decent and credible owner, teams would crumble under a constant pressure. When the Rams beat the Titans in Super Bowl XXXIV, the owner was a widow. She waited many years for her team to bring home a Super Bowl. She was a super supportive and an exuberant leader for the team. Women have played a supportive role and now they will break into the main workings of the league at some point or another. It is just a matter of time until there are more and more female coaches. There will probably be more high schools that take the step to hire female coaches. However, I feel that it will take longer for a female college coach to come into the picture. It will certainly take an even longer time for it to happen at the NFL level. I do feel that this is a great thing to happen to the sport. Women will have their stake and claim in the game. Fri, 19 Mar 2010 02:27:03 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/women-and-sports__trashed/#IDComment62875882 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/02/when-do-we-do-or-say-something__trashed/#IDComment59827117 I think that we all have the right to what sort of actions that we wish to take. I do feel, however, that we have a responsibility to look out for others and their safety and well being. We cannot stand aside and just let injustices go on. We would be upset if our rights were violated and no one was there to back us up. So why leave someone to fend for themselves when they should not be subjected to such harsh treatment? I am pretty sure that we can make a difference with a few choice words. It means so much to a person if you lend out a helping hand and stand up for them. Fri, 5 Mar 2010 02:51:45 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/02/when-do-we-do-or-say-something__trashed/#IDComment59827117 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/02/why-is-this-racist-really__trashed/#IDComment59826466 I believe that the Moose had a good idea when it came to white basketball players. There was a recent segment on ESPN that actually talked about the problems and the low percentage of whites that are in the NBA. It has become something of a joke in some circles but others take the problem very seriously. I could see Moose’s point, but I did not see the necessity of his quote. It was pretty offensive since there are certainly plenty of players that do tote guns and fight in the stands. That seemed too excessive of a point for me. I play ball all the time and I do not think I am going to up with a gun pulled on me if it is a black player that is my opposition. That sort of generalization is way too unnecessary. Fri, 5 Mar 2010 02:45:36 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/02/why-is-this-racist-really__trashed/#IDComment59826466 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/02/whats-with-the-theme-parties__trashed/#IDComment59824771 I was pretty upset when it came yesterday that people are planning this Cinco de State holiday. I can’t see why we need these sorts of themes. Aren’t we content enough with what we have? Do we really need a theme to get trashed? I do not think so. I think it is unfortunate that we have to stoop to the humiliation of other people’s cultures and stereotypes. It should not be a standard among students. We have already seen what happens at colleges when people want to throw these sorts of parties. UCSD and the University of California school system have seen what these parties have done to create tension among the students and staff at the schools. I understand that people may think that this is done all in good fun, but there are hundreds if not thousands of students who are upset and taken back by the ignorance of others. I myself have been offended with the whole idea for the Cinco de State day. People were talking about wearing mustaches and sombreros and drinking tequila. If this is the perception people have of us, then I am obviously breaking the mold. I am not a gardener and I have no donkey and I do not sit under a large sombrero and sip tequila. I find it very offensive when people are so willing to post all of this all over the Internet. I figured this university would have some class and respect for all of its students. I am not a fan of the stereotypes that are being aired out all over invitations that soar through the web. As a respected school, we have a responsibility to be fair and treat all people equally. I worked very hard to get to where I am today and to be ridiculed by an ignorant holiday would upset a college experience that I have enjoyed very much so far. I am not saying that we can’t have fun with a holiday, but we should avoid the stereotypes and really sit back and take care our judgment. Respect should be something that we students should be held accountable for. We are all grown up and should begin to act like adults. I don’t see anything good that can come from having this sort of holiday. I am not a joy kill or anything like that. I enjoy a great night out with my friends as much as any of you would. I am just not running around shouting and dressing out stereotypes like an ignorant jerk. There needs to be a great percentage of people who find this offensive. For those with the argument that this is just for fun, you should really think about how many people you are offending. Last time I checked, Pennsylvania is nowhere near Mexico. How can the whole school know about the culture and the people who represent Mexico? Fri, 5 Mar 2010 02:28:53 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/02/whats-with-the-theme-parties__trashed/#IDComment59824771