en-us https://www.intensedebate.com/users/759535 Comments by nzh5009 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/what-are-we-doing-here-really__trashed/#IDComment68421203 I think that this question is a very personal question in that I think everyone's goal is or should be different. We all took this class for various reasons. I took it because I had Soc 1 with Sam, and he was an entertaining guy, but also because I wanted to think more about race because I have lived in a pretty white world up until this point in my life. So my goal was to be able to see race, but not in the ways that I previously did. Now, knowing what I do, I guess I was in between the pre-awakening and awakening stages coming in, and now I have gotten further than that. I see race, but I want to know more about each person as an individual. Fri, 16 Apr 2010 20:10:48 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/what-are-we-doing-here-really__trashed/#IDComment68421203 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/what-about-the-men__trashed/#IDComment68420343 I definitely think that men do not feel the need to conform to society as much as women. Women, at least based on appearance, tend to go all out when it comes to what they look like in relation to other girls. I think for men, or at least for me personally, it is less about what the latest and greatest trend is and more just about being happy with myself. I don’t really care what other people think about the way I dress, or wear my hair, or whether I shave or not. I guess a lot of my “personal” decisions that I make regarding these things are probably based on society’s pressures, but I don’t think that the pressure put on me is more than the pressure put on most girls. Girls, for whatever reason, seem to feel the need to conform more than guys do. I think that there are a lot of girls that would rather not put on make-up, or shave their legs, or dress the way that they do, but because of the pressures put on them by society, they do it anyway. I don’t know why this is and I definitely don’t think it is fair, but it is the way it is. As Sam has pointed out many times this semester, it isn’t fair, but it is definitely a man’s world. It is more so becoming more of an equal world lately, especially in relation to history, but there is definitely a lot of room for improvement in the world to get to a point of gender equality. I think men feel the majority of their pressures based around how in shape they are in. It might not necessarily be what they are wearing, but the largest part of it probably comes from the pressure of physical appearance. Men are always “comparing sizes” with other men. If one guy gets something new, more often than not, his friends are going to be jealous and want whatever it is for them as well. It is the same with physical fitness. For the most part, every guy wants to be the most in shape person around. If you’re at the beach, you want to have the most ripped abs and the biggest arms when you take off your shirt. This is definitely a societal pressure, but I think girls care about this a lot more than guys. When a girl is at the beach, she is constantly analyzing the surrounding girls and comparing her body to those around her. As I do think that this trend is becoming more equal, I think it will still take a lot of time for men and women to have the same pressures put on them by society to conform. Fri, 16 Apr 2010 20:04:48 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/what-about-the-men__trashed/#IDComment68420343 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/the-tyranny-of-radical-muslims__trashed/#IDComment68411971 I think this girl presents a good perspective to the ignorance of many people. I'm sure there are a lot of people who think that what Osama Bin Ladin represents is the same thing that all Muslim people believe. This is very much not the case. As with any religion, there are radicals who claim to represent a certain group, but don't necessarily think or behave as the majority of the group does. There have definitely been Christians in the past, and there are currently Christians that don't act the same way as the majority and are public figureheads, very similar to Bin Laden. Fri, 16 Apr 2010 18:57:56 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/the-tyranny-of-radical-muslims__trashed/#IDComment68411971 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/this-is-totally-off-the-hook__trashed/#IDComment66462531 I definitely don’t agree with the content of this game. I guess it is not much different from shoot-em-up games and others with extreme violence, which I have played, but there is something about raping an innocent girl in a subway that is unacceptable. In no way do I think that this will provide potential rapists with an outlet that prevents these actions toward actual women. Instead, I think it simply puts the idea and the possibility of this happening into the hands of those who wouldn’t otherwise consider such actions. I am glad that these games have been taken off the shelves. Wed, 7 Apr 2010 21:10:16 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/this-is-totally-off-the-hook__trashed/#IDComment66462531 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/those-damn-dolls__trashed/#IDComment66461112 I saw this video and immediately felt saddened by it. The kids all seemed to be struggle with this question, especially the girl that was asked which one looked like her. She had to pick out the nice one, and the one that looked like her. I thought that was an especially troubling question to ask the girl and I felt bad for her. I think that the majority of the answers to the question in class were accurate. I am a male so I didn’t play with too many dolls as a child, but I understand where people were coming from with their comments as to why they would choose the white doll over the black one. Wed, 7 Apr 2010 21:00:03 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/those-damn-dolls__trashed/#IDComment66461112 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/i-really-want-to-know-also__trashed/#IDComment66317850 I think more importantly than changing your mind about things is the idea that you think about things more critically. There have been many times this semester that Sam has stated that he is not trying to change the way you think about things, but instead, he wants you to simply think about the things more than you have in the past. That being said, that really doesn't answer your question, but I don't really agree with your question. The question I will answer is about how the way I think about things has changed. I grew up in an area that was not very diverse. I had two black kids in my entire high school. I was friends with both of them, but they were in many ways white themselves. I did not think about race very often, because it was not necessary based on the area in which I lived. When I came to Penn State, it was completely different. As white as I see that Penn State is now, my original perception was that this was a very diverse place in comparison to my home town. I first took this class because I was friends with one of the girls who previously TAed the class and she recommended it. I am really glad that I did. I have thought about things that I probably would have never thought about. So in response to whether this class has mattered to me, yes it has. I have been forced into thinking about racial issues. Probably the thing that I realized most about myself, revolved around the idea of adoption. Kids are going to be a big part of my life eventually. Sam asked a question in class about if you were going to adopt, would you adopt someone of your same race. I hadn’t thought about this until he presented the question. As soon as he said it I realized that my answer was definitely not. If I cannot have kids, I will definitely adopt a child who may not otherwise be adopted. There is a waitlist for white children. There are black and brown children waiting for a good home. That would be the greatest thing to give them a good home. I’m not saying that I would not have eventually thought about this on my own. If I can’t have kids or choose to adopt, this will obviously be something that most people consider, but I found it very interesting that my decision came so quickly and definitively. Wed, 7 Apr 2010 02:16:43 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/i-really-want-to-know-also__trashed/#IDComment66317850 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/the-white-minorities__trashed/#IDComment64746704 I found this article to be quite intriguing. I don’t think I have ever though about the future in this way. A child born of a white parent and a black or brown parent will then most likely be considered black or brown. This fact alone proves the fact that white people will soon be the minority, regardless of how many different groups of people are coming in to this country. So as more multi-racial children are born, the white race will slowly diminish. I don’t really feel a certain way about this. If I find a black or brown woman that makes me happy, I’m going to have kids with her and not think about the fact that I am not passing on my “whiteness”. Tue, 30 Mar 2010 01:48:30 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/the-white-minorities__trashed/#IDComment64746704 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/whats-the-big-deal-with-periods__trashed/#IDComment64746121 I actually have a problem with talking about this for a reason that Sam addressed in class which I completely disagree with. I have a serious problem thinking about blood, regardless of where it is coming from or what is causing it. So when Sam said that no one would have a problem if he were standing up there talking about Laurie bleeding from her finger, I respectfully disagree with that statement. I don’t want to hear about bleeding regardless of where it’s coming from. I am glad that women menstruate because none of us would be here if it didn’t take place, but I don’t want to hear about bleeding. Tue, 30 Mar 2010 01:42:18 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/whats-the-big-deal-with-periods__trashed/#IDComment64746121 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/nothing-about-the-census-is-easy__trashed/#IDComment64745201 I agree with Sam 100% on this. I find it interesting to read and hear people complaining about the racial and ethnic stereotypes. I think the people that wrote the census did do a ton of research, like Sam said, and the conclusions they came to when deciding which categories to include and which to exclude from these particular questions came from the idea that they want to get the most accurate data by making it as clear as possible to everyone. I don’t think anyone would be confused by the term “negro” being included on this form. It may cause people to feel a certain way, but I think that is better than having an older black person who only relates to the term “negro” not know which option to fill out. So many people read that and don’t think into it that far, they just automatically call it out as being offensive. The one man stated that a woman was upset because it reminded her of her childhood in the south and the repression. I understand that, but that could have been any word that reminded someone in their childhood. I think that people being to distracted by the word negro and not focusing on the importance of the census is a bit exaggerated. I am sure there weren’t too many people refusing to fill this out because the word negro was printed on it. Regardless of the categories that they used, just because race is such an issue in this country and so many people get offended very easily, I think no matter what was printed, they would have pissed someone off and the media would cover it, just as they did here. Also, regarding the statement around why white people are not further broken down. To me, this is an obvious answer, at first. I have no idea what I would select if I were given the option of many different European countries. I think that this is the case with many people in this country, not only white, but black and brown people as well. As you get further from the generation of your family that moved here, it is harder for people to track back to what their family origin is. If your parents were the people who immigrated here from another country, it would be my guess that you would have a much better understanding of your racial background whereas if it were your great- great- great- great- great-grandfather. I understand that it is good to have this data, I just wish that people wouldn’t always look so far into certain words or phrases that people use and find them to be inherently offensive. As Sam said in class, nothing is really inherently offensive. Tue, 30 Mar 2010 01:33:25 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/nothing-about-the-census-is-easy__trashed/#IDComment64745201 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/what-happens-to-multiracial-people__trashed/#IDComment63110408 I personally think that your friend would be in the black or brown category if he had to chose one or the other. I am white, but if any part of me was not, I would probably consider myself to be on the black or brown team, as Sam would say. In contrast, however, if your friend doesn't consider himself to be a black or brown person, I would expect him to answer as if he is on the white team. I think a lot of it has to do with skin color and physical appearance, but also where he is from and what his family is like. Sat, 20 Mar 2010 03:52:03 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/what-happens-to-multiracial-people__trashed/#IDComment63110408 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/does-this-rudeness-thing-cut-both-ways__trashed/#IDComment63104855 I kind of agree with this post. I don't think it is necessarily the fact that it is a bigger deal when a white person makes an off comment on the forum. I think that there is more of an uproar over it because the black and brown people are more willing to stand up and say something about the off comments by white people. When a black and brown person makes an off comment, there has been less attention called. I'm not sure why this is though. I think it might have something to do with what Sam has been talking about in the past few classes. It kind of relates back to his Oakland example. White people are usually quick to be slapped with the racist label, as Sam was in the discussion group. If a white person stands up and says the wrong thing in class, I feel like it would be a lot more likely that they would be labeled as racist than when a black or brown person says something about the off comments on the forum. I feel like it is a lot less likely in our class than in the general public because the people in the class have heard Sam's story and are trying to overcome things like that, but I still think it would happen to an extent. So maybe that is part of the reason that white people don't speak up as much as black or brown people. On a slightly different note, I am sick of people wasting time and attention by saying these "funny" comments on the forum. This legitimately could be an awesome tool to be able to share ideas and thoughts and people are taking away from that by trying to say something clever. Yes, it may get a few laughs, but if everyone would keep the stupid comments to themselves, I think it would make for a much better experience in class. Sat, 20 Mar 2010 03:36:32 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/does-this-rudeness-thing-cut-both-ways__trashed/#IDComment63104855 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/prom-or-no-prom-just-dont-let-the-queer-students-dance-together__trashed/#IDComment63097325 I find this story to be really disturbing. I'm not sure what this area is like that this girl lives in, but to cancel the prom because a girl wanted to bring her girlfriend to the prom is absurd. This girl is going to be hated by much of the student body because of the cancellation. I can't think of any defense for the school. This is simply unacceptable. If they are going to ban a same sex couple, they should simply ban anyone from coming to the prom with a date, whether they are of the same sex, or opposite. Sat, 20 Mar 2010 03:11:28 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/prom-or-no-prom-just-dont-let-the-queer-students-dance-together__trashed/#IDComment63097325 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/02/native-americans-question-two__trashed/#IDComment59678234 I think it is less about personally accepting the wrongs that were done directly by you and I and more about our responsibility as current American citizens to educate our youth about the truths of what occurred here. My ancestors came to this country a long time ago and may have personally had something to do with the wrongs that were done, but I don’t feel like I have more of a responsibility than you to do something about what happened. It is what we can do from now on that matters more than what we could have done in the past. Thu, 4 Mar 2010 03:49:59 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/02/native-americans-question-two__trashed/#IDComment59678234 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/02/whats-with-the-theme-parties__trashed/#IDComment59677218 When I first heard this video, I got a bit fired up. I am a white male. I have hosted theme parties (none of which were based around racial stereotypes or did anyone attending stretch the original idea of the theme to include a racial stereotype). The comment pissed me off and I was ready to defend myself with a short response. I didn’t think I had enough to say about this comment to post a full blog response. That being said, I read through all of the comments looking for someone to agree even slightly with the girl or hoping that this girl would write something to further explain herself. After reading them all, I was a little disappointed. I really want to understand further what this girl (or possibly some other person who shared similar feelings) meant and what were all of the racially themed parties that she has been to. Until taking this class, I probably would have just taken this comment with a grain of salt and that maybe she just had a bad experience with a themed party and leave it at that. Upon reading the first half of Making Peace Between Our Colors by Laurie, I really want to understand more fully where this comment and question stems from. I am in section 33 so I don’t get a chance to discuss this further. I wish that this comment would have been posted before I did my race relations project so I could have discussed it there with more people. That being said, I hope that this comment sparks more of a conversation in class or that the girl that posted this responds with either another video or a blog post that talks more in depth about her thoughts. Another thing that bothered me while reading through the posts by everyone else is that they don’t see how certain themed parties could be seen as racist and that she is simply overreacting. I have a problem with this. Just because someone’s intentions weren’t to hurt someone, that doesn’t mean that someone’s feelings couldn’t be hurt by something viewed as perfectly innocent by another. I think that this is an ignorant way of viewing it. I think a lot of people were responding with anger about her posts and weren’t thinking very rationally into it. If you make the argument that if you find something to be innocent or not racist, it isn’t, you’re lying to yourself. I don’t think anyone would say something like this, yet that was pretty much what I read in a lot of the posts that people put up. Thu, 4 Mar 2010 03:41:05 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/02/whats-with-the-theme-parties__trashed/#IDComment59677218 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/02/whats-with-the-theme-parties__trashed/#IDComment59672709 I think you posted this on the wrong blog... Thu, 4 Mar 2010 03:02:50 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/02/whats-with-the-theme-parties__trashed/#IDComment59672709 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/are-whites-the-only-people-willing-to-humiliate-themselves__trashed/#IDComment59671592 I want to reply to the statement that "as a white person, I don't really feel a responsibility to positively represent my race." This was my initial answer to this question as well. Originally, I didn't think about the similar shows on MTV and VH1, but was just simply trying to find an explanation of why white people would expose themselves to this kind of programming. My reasoning initially was that perhaps white people in general do not feel obligated to represent themselves and perhaps black and brown people do. I think this is a completely naïve way of thinking about it simply because I am not a black or brown person, but that was my thought. Thu, 4 Mar 2010 02:54:28 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/are-whites-the-only-people-willing-to-humiliate-themselves__trashed/#IDComment59671592 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/02/question-on-discrimination__trashed/#IDComment58883978 This is another good question. I would like to know what the statistics are surrounding this question. My guess would be that the results would be similar to the stats in the example that Sam talked about in class with the distance between two people who are sitting in front of one another and the fact that the black person’s distance was the same no matter whether the person was white or black whereas the white person sat further away from the black person than they did the white person. So I would think that the black person would probably be a bit more objective. Fri, 26 Feb 2010 22:41:54 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/02/question-on-discrimination__trashed/#IDComment58883978 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/02/native-americans-question-one__trashed/#IDComment58883311 I think that this girl brings up a great point. When should we start the education of what has happened to Native Americans? I mean, I knew that it happened to some extent before this class, but I really didn’t think about it that much until it came up in here. I knew very little about it. I don’t think the education of the genocide can start at the grade school level, but we can definitely start with more facts about Native Americans in grade school and work up to the genocide that occurred at the high school level. Right now, it is easier to simply avoid the topic, but we need to start educating at an earlier age. Fri, 26 Feb 2010 22:36:06 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/02/native-americans-question-one__trashed/#IDComment58883311 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/02/when-do-we-do-or-say-something__trashed/#IDComment58882706 I have very mixed opinions about the comment that the kid made in class, and what the two people in the videos stated. In a sense, I agree with the student that made the comment in class. I understand that it is disrespectful and I would like to think that I would stand up for someone like the woman in the video, but I understand what the kid in class was saying. If someone that owns a store refuses to act in a certain way, I think it is their choice. They can or cannot serve someone for any reason they choose. Their hard work got them to where they are and it is their property. I don’t think it is right for someone to be disrespectful and make comments about them, but I think it is their right to serve them or not. I think it is a matter of respecting other people’s property and the efforts that they put in to get them to where they are. In the same sense, however, if I’m saying that these people deserve to be respected, they in turn have to be somewhat respectful to those people who they are refusing to serve. That being said, the particular example that we saw in class, with the Muslim woman being refused service, does not apply. That guy did not deserve to be respected, because he showed the woman no respect. This reminds me of the sign that Joe Vento, the owner of Geno’s Steaks in Philadelphia, put up in his store. The sign read, “This is America. When ordering speak in English.” There has been a lot of controversy surrounding this sign. This was originally stated by Theodore Roosevelt in 1907. Apparently he has never refused service to anyone for not ordering in English, but he wants to make sure that everyone gets the sandwich that they order. I find this to be a very similar situation. I don’t find any problem with this sign. It is his store and as long as he is not refusing service to anyone or acting like the actor in the video we watched, I don’t see a reason for him to take the sign down. In contrast, I think it is because the sign doesn’t affect me that I don’t think it should be taken down. That sign is probably hurtful to many people in that area. That area of south Philly has a high population of Mexican people. Even if they have learned English, I would think that a sign such as that would cause them hurt, so in that respect, I don’t think it is right for Joe to keep the sign up in his restaurant. Fri, 26 Feb 2010 22:30:30 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/02/when-do-we-do-or-say-something__trashed/#IDComment58882706 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/02/lgbt-class-question-six__trashed/#IDComment57585924 As a man, I think the reason that lesbians are more acceptable than gay men is because of the fact that men tend to voice their opinions to others more about things that they disagree with. I also think that without a doubt, men are much less accepting of gay men than they are lesbians. In fact, I think many men strongly support lesbian relations, whereas the idea of two men being intimate is probably close to the last thing that most straight men want to think about. I think that is the main reason that most people are accepting of lesbians and less accepting of gay men. Fri, 19 Feb 2010 06:35:06 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/02/lgbt-class-question-six__trashed/#IDComment57585924