en-us https://www.intensedebate.com/users/2430511 Comments by rebelthelion http://www.worldinconversation.org/2012/04/20/voices-from-the-classroom-157/#IDComment343620333 People focus on their well being and not the well being of others because human beings are inherently greedy and pleasure seeking. We all want what is going to benefit us. Sure we’ll throw the dog a bone every now and then by giving some money to charity so we can get some sleep at night, but really all we care about is ourselves. I’m guilty, your guilty, everyone is guilty. We’re all playing for our team and we want to win every game. I was raised in the upper middle class, Catholic, lived in the south for my childhood, had conservative parents so naturally I’m an extreme right winger. Because of that I would say that I’m a hard ass capitalist. Of course I want to love what I do, but I’m ashamed to admit, but I’ll still admit that I largely define success through monetary progress. At least for myself. If someone wants to be a firefighter, and they’re damn good at it and they save a lot of lives and that’s how they define success, then they are successful. I think at the end of the day, people want to make money. We are greedy. We’re not greedy because of our beliefs so much. I would agree that religion started a lot of wars. Most of the wars from centuries ago were started from religion. Wars today are still started from religion, but now everybody worships the same deity. Nobodies a fucking atheist, so all those holier than though people standing in front of the hub ranting and raving about how there is no God can shut their mouths, because we all worship a God in some way and that God is the Almighty Dollar. Anyone at this school who tells you they don’t care about making money and just want to be happy is full of it. People will do extremely desperate things at the expense of others to fulfill their want for money. Not just individual people, but whole demographics. Not only are people greedy, but people are stupid. We have very short attention spans and in a very weird way, as technology increases, we’re getting dumber. A great example of this is music today. You can’t tell me that the shit that is being played these days is good. Artists compromise their musical values to create catchy watered down shit that is popular because for some reason, and I’ll admit, the stuff is so catchy it is almost subliminal, but its not good. Everywhere I see my musician friends putting down what they love to create this watered down shit because they want to make MONEY. The moral of this post from me is that people focus on the well-being of themselves and not others because they want to make MONEY…. Fri, 20 Apr 2012 19:06:17 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2012/04/20/voices-from-the-classroom-157/#IDComment343620333 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2012/04/03/voices-from-the-classroom-140/#IDComment333288407 Growing up with a strict Catholic background, this one really hits home for me. Having a relationship with a priest or a pastor and having your own personal relationship with God are both very important to me. Everyone has their different beliefs and religious practices and I have my own. I wouldn’t say I’m a devout Catholic, I don’t follow closely the doctrines of the Catholic church and I don’t abide by all of its rules. The reason I would consider myself a Catholic is because I was raised that way and being raised that way has shaped my values, and I’ve made some of my own values along the way. Through my life experiences, I’ve made this own idea of who God is and what he expects in my mind, and it is something I really closely believe. I think God is the creator, who expects better of us, challenges us and has a plan for us. I think God more or less is similar to the way the Bible portrays him but I think his expectations change with the way his plan unfolds. This is my interpretation of God and its very personal to me. However, I think priests have connected with God on a way higher level than I ever have, they have read all the scriptures, they’ve heard every problem under the sun and they are sworn to secrecy. When you find a good priest and form a relationship with him its almost like having your own personal psychologist but its for free and he’s always there to talk. Like I said earlier, Priests who have been at it for a while have heard every moral conflict and every problem that anyone’s ever experienced. They talk to people every single day and you got to believe that there is pretty much not a shot in hell that you have a problem that a priest or minister hasn’t helped somebody with before. Priests don’t just hear basic little everyday problems like bartenders do, priests are there for you to tell them the darkest shit that you have ever gone through. Your deepest, darkest secrets, your biggest problems, priests are there to help you out with them and they can’t tell a soul. One question that my mom always asks me is “why do you go to confession?” “Why not just pray to God for forgiveness on your own time?” I go to confession because that’s the way it was done in the Bible and that’s the way its been done for a couple thousand years. There is no feeling like walking out of confession and you’re clean of sins. Its like you just got shot five times, you go in and magically it all disappears and you’re healed again. It’s a fresh feeling of getting something off your chest that you couldn’t do anywhere else. Fri, 6 Apr 2012 19:53:01 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2012/04/03/voices-from-the-classroom-140/#IDComment333288407 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2012/03/29/voices-from-the-classroom-138/#IDComment328018547 This video was really eye opening for me in the sense that it is really easy to say you are going to do the right thing but when the time comes to do the right thing sometimes we just turn our backs. If somebody ever came up to me and told me the situation: “you are walking with your whole family and all of a sudden you come up on a kid who is sawing off a bike chain clearly trying to steal it…what are young going to do about it?” I would tell you that I would give the kid a warning telling him if he doesn’t leave the bike go I’m going to call the cops and I would think in my mind that I was going to call the cops for sure if he persisted. However, if the situation actually presented itself, I wonder what I would really do. Seeing the video made me doubt myself a little bit. As for the black actor. I got to say, I felt really bad for that kid. He acted his part and when we saw him and when he started the tone was light and it seemed pretty funny in a way. After the whole act was over and he saw all those people call the cops he seemed totally devastated and it was obvious that the experience really affected him. Seeing that happen really affected me too, after the video, all of a sudden I put myself in the criminals shoes and by criminal I don’t mean the kids acting, I mean the people who called the police on the black kid. The people that were walking by the white actor and the black actor were all basically the same people… same neighborhood, same demographic, same whole nine yards. The people that called the cops on the black kid would not have called the cops on the white kid. They like to believe that they would have, but we all know it wouldn’t have happened. So when I saw that, I asked myself, would I have called the cops on the black kid and not the white kid. It really made me question my values and my view on race. If somebody were to ask me, I would say, hell no am I a racist. But all of a sudden now, I see myself as the criminal and I wonder… am I inherently racist? I think it was interesting what that one girl said in class about her teacher who said that we are designed to react differently to black people without really noticing it. Maybe she’s right, maybe its just in our blood as the majority… I wonder if it would be the same if the tables were turned an I became the minority, I’m sure it would. Fri, 30 Mar 2012 19:50:54 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2012/03/29/voices-from-the-classroom-138/#IDComment328018547 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2012/03/22/voices-from-the-classroom-131/#IDComment322896638 There are really any positives about kids experiencing racial issues at a young age. And I feel as though they don’t really experience racial issues. I think it is still the same as when Sam hung out with his buddy Art Lu. Kids don’t really think about that stuff, there’s no black or white or Asian or Muslim when you’re a kid, there’s just hanging out and having a good time. Kids grow up and all of a sudden the adults corrupt them a little bit by making race a thing. IT shouldn’t be a thing. Unfortunately this Soc 119 class is necessary, it is a necessary evil. Because racial boundaries exist, we have to talk about it to relieve some of the mysteries or tensions that we might feel. Stereotypes also come into light as you get older. When you go through middle school, you might start to realize that Asians get really good grades. When you get your license, you might start to realize that women can’t really drive well, except for Danika Patrick. These aren’t things that a child’s mind thinks of. I mean, if kids are in fact facing more racial issues at a young age, I guess the only positive is that it prepares them for the inevitable. Race aside, I feel like everything is starting to happen at a younger age. 4th graders have cell phones, freshmen in high school are smoking pot and having sex, 8th graders are growing beards. I feel like our world is turning kids into adults at way to young of an age. Those years of ignorance and innocence are so important to the children’s psyche and later on they are also extremely important to the adult psyche. Why is our world pushing kids to grow up so quickly. In a Ken Robinson TED talk, he was talking about children being accepted into kindergarten. Accepted into kindergarten?! Is that a fucking joke?! He was saying that a kid who is 4 years old, literally has to somehow explain, or have his parents explain why he should be in the school, what he’s accomplished. What can you accomplish in 48 months of living. I can’t believe that they are literally treating Kindergartens and elementary schools like colleges. Kids are being pushed too hard. I know this started as a race thing, and now its just a rant about how the world is pushing kids too hard, but I’m still going to go with this because it pisses me off. I’ll give you a prime example of being pushed too hard as a kid. When I was young, 2nd grade, I was diagnosed with “ADD” and I put that in quotes because in MOST CASES it’s a fictitious disease. Drug companies pushing doctors to make them money… They put me in a room with psychologists who asked me ridiculous questions like “Do you believe superman can fly?” I lashed out and started crying, because I felt like a freak. They made me feel like something was wrong with me and that I was different from the other kids. Really, when I was zoning out, I was listening to music in my head. Later in life, I made a 3x high school battle of the bands winning band…it never occurred to those doctors that maybe I didn’t have ADD and maybe I was just a musician. Fri, 23 Mar 2012 19:57:54 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2012/03/22/voices-from-the-classroom-131/#IDComment322896638 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2012/03/15/voices-from-the-classroom-123/#IDComment317830755 My prospective on war has just been reinforced these last few classes. I took Soc 001 with Sam, so it could have been that my perspective of war coming into this class was previously shaped by that. My biggest thing about America and war is that it’s a dog eat dog world, everybody is playing for their own team. I’m playing for team America, it’s the team I was born into and the team I support regardless of what the rest of the world thinks. One of the veterans who spoke the other day encapsulated my views on war perfectly when he said, “If someone came into my kitchen and tried to start something, I would fight back.” Over in the Middle East, we’re going into their kitchen, just like they have come into ours in the past. We’re taking their oil because we need it to thrive. Like I said, this is a dog eat dog world. We’re dogs, they’re dogs, people are inherently pleasure seeking and need seeking and they will do whatever they need to in order to fulfill their needs. This is a survival of the fittest world, if they needed something from us and actually had the strength and ability to take it from us, you better believe they’d be over here messing shit up. It seems to me that we’re over there for two reasons, to get what we need for the well-being of our country and to keep them from coming here and trying to get what they need. Am I against war? Of course I’m against war, I’m a human being and I hate the idea of lost life, but no matter what we do there will always be war. There will always be the war on drugs in our country, there will always be war throughout the world, and there will always be crime. This is the way life is. And in conjunction with that we will always need brave men and women to defend the greater good. Sorry JFK but the day where the “conscientious objector enjoys the same reputation and prestige as the warrior” will never come until the world ends. That might be some stuff that God saves for Heaven but that won’t happen on Earth. There is too much human nature for that to happen. There will always be rotten people with rotten intentions and we will always need the warrior way more than we will every need to hear the conscientious objector. I agree fully with Ronald Regan. Regan loved the idea of world peace, but he knew its was so distant and the only way to achieve peace in our land (which to me is more important than any other land, because remember, this is OUR team) is to fight and protect our interests. The idea of war to me boils down very simply to this last example. There’s a loaf of bread at the end of the hallway. You and another man are starving and so are your families. You can’t split the bread, your family needs the whole thing or they start dying. What are you going to do about it? Are you gonna let him have it? Or are you going to do anything and everything you can to ensure the well-being of YOUR family? Fri, 16 Mar 2012 21:00:38 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2012/03/15/voices-from-the-classroom-123/#IDComment317830755 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2012/03/02/the-kiss-seen-round-the-web/#IDComment306526572 Look, there is a reason don’t ask, don’t tell used to exist and its not because the higher ups and people in charge give a shit about sexual orientation. Here’s the deal, in the marines, the goal is to create a brotherhood bond. There are programs designed through Officer Candidate School and Basic Training, that have the pure intention and 100% goal of uniting men to become brothers so that they will function for the well-being of the team, accomplish missions and ultimately take bullets for each other. I am pretty open to gay people, had a lot of gay friends in high school, I can’t say I like seeing them kiss, it makes me real uneasy, but that is besides the point. There are marines out there who are very homophobic and very testosterone fueled who simply can’t accept the idea of taking a bullet for another gay man. It sounds sad, I’m not justifying that, but it is true. Homosexuality in the marines very well could compromise the integrity of certain marine teams and companies. I have a ton of buddies who are doing the marines and I’ve asked them about don’t ask, don’t tell…very few of them are against it. Most of them say the same thing, “I don’t really have a problem with it, but I sure as hell know a lot of people who would, and I don’t want to see my team compromised.” I’ll never forget when Barack announced that he was going to repeal don’t ask don’t tell in one of his State of the Union addresses. Let me put it this way; that Secretary of Defense looked fucking pissed. I mean while Barack does run the country, the Secretary of Defense knows what is best for the military. He knows that by repealing the don’t ask don’t tell policy, his military is going to be compromised. Another thing that is besides the point of the military… to the marine in the picture, you guys won, don’t ask don’t tell is gone, great…don’t be taking pictures of a suggestive kiss and try to rub it in to all of your marine buddies. Great…your gay, well either the marines your trying to have see this hate that or they simply don’t give a shit. I agree with the guy in the video, gay or not, I hate public displays of affection. The only picture like that I actually enjoy and think is American as hell, is that classic picture of VJ day where the Navy guy is kissing his babe of a girlfriend. Its not overly suggestive, it’s a classy kiss and its something that the general public can embrace and have feelings for…plus we just won one of the most brutal and insane wars of all time…to me that deserves a kiss and trying to display and rub in your sexuality to make a point certainly does not. Fri, 2 Mar 2012 20:59:43 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2012/03/02/the-kiss-seen-round-the-web/#IDComment306526572 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2012/02/23/voices-from-the-classroom-115/#IDComment301056908 I totally agree with Sam. Affirmative action is bullshit, but it is something that will never be eradicated. After the civil rights movements in the 60’s affirmative action was a politically correct move made by the government. I feel like now we are at a place where it is no longer needed. At the time, it was probably a necessary move to implement it. But at the same time I feel like in some cases it still could be necessary because of the point Sam made about black names vs. white names. Maybe the extra 5 points Toshequa would get would put her on a level playing field with Kaitlyn. I remember my sister dealing with this issue on the reverse side when she was applying for colleges. Her name is Lindsey and we are a white family. However, when applying for colleges that actually put us behind the curve. My sister really really wanted to go to the University of North Carolina. It was her dream school and she had all of the credentials to get in to it. Her GPA was near perfect, she had ridiculous amounts of extra curriculars on her resume. Her Indian friend with a slightly less GPA and a slightly less amount of extra curriculars also applied and sure enough she got the spot at UNC (although, Lindsey is not too upset because she went to Penn State as a result). In a way, affirmative actions most popular market is colleges these days. Schools are emphasizing diversity so much more and understandably so. By promoting a diverse culture, people become more educated to different walks of life. Colleges do not want to be like the suburbs of New York where I am from…99% white. Coming to the WinC chats has opened my eyes to issues of race so much because, growing up in a white town, I never really faced race before. Fortune 500 companies are a lot different then colleges however. It seems as though many of the business (Supply Chain/Finance) companies my friends and I are applying to, have very set standards in terms of the culture that they want to radiate throughout the workplace. The other day Sam’s analysis of PWC and the applicant who shows up with a brown belt and black shoes on was dead on. If you even thought about showing up to a Goldmann Sachs, McKinsey or Deloitte interview wearing anything other than a Brooks Brothers suit, they’d throw your resume in the trash in less than 5 seconds. I want to say its bullshit, but maybe its not, because people of like minds tend to accomplish things as a team more. I feel like that is the standard that companies are trying to set in terms of who they hire. While culture should have a role, race certainly should not. Sat, 25 Feb 2012 04:27:18 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2012/02/23/voices-from-the-classroom-115/#IDComment301056908 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2012/02/23/voices-from-the-classroom-115/#IDComment301036697 I totally agree with Sam. Affirmative action is bullshit, but it is something that will never be eradicated. After the civil rights movements in the 60’s affirmative action was a politically correct move made by the government. I feel like now we are at a place where it is no longer needed. At the time, it was probably a necessary move to implement it. But at the same time I feel like in some cases it still could be necessary because of the point Sam made about black names vs. white names. Maybe the extra 5 points Toshequa would get would put her on a level playing field with Kaitlyn. I remember my sister dealing with this issue on the reverse side when she was applying for colleges. Her name is Lindsey and we are a white family. However, when applying for colleges that actually put us behind the curve. My sister really really wanted to go to the University of North Carolina. It was her dream school and she had all of the credentials to get in to it. Her GPA was near perfect, she had ridiculous amounts of extra curriculars on her resume. Her Indian friend with a slightly less GPA and a slightly less amount of extra curriculars also applied and sure enough she got the spot at UNC (although, Lindsey is not too upset because she went to Penn State as a result). In a way, affirmative actions most popular market is colleges these days. Schools are emphasizing diversity so much more and understandably so. By promoting a diverse culture, people become more educated to different walks of life. Colleges do not want to be like the suburbs of New York where I am from…99% white. Coming to the WinC chats has opened my eyes to issues of race so much because, growing up in a white town, I never really faced race before. Fortune 500 companies are a lot different then colleges however. It seems as though many of the business (Supply Chain/Finance) companies my friends and I are applying to, have very set standards in terms of the culture that they want to radiate throughout the workplace. The other day Sam’s analysis of PWC and the applicant who shows up with a brown belt and black shoes on was dead on. If you even thought about showing up to a Goldmann Sachs, McKinsey or Deloitte interview wearing anything other than a Brooks Brothers suit, they’d throw your resume in the trash in less than 5 seconds. I want to say its bullshit, but maybe its not, because people of like minds tend to accomplish things as a team more. I feel like that is the standard that companies are trying to set in terms of who they hire. While culture should have a role, race certainly should not. Sat, 25 Feb 2012 03:48:17 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2012/02/23/voices-from-the-classroom-115/#IDComment301036697 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2012/02/10/voices-from-the-classroom-101/#IDComment289211941 Sorry Sam, I loved the latest lecture and I was very entertained, but I don’t think I’m buying this one. I think you could have gone to a licensed doctor and gotten the same treatment and your ankle would’ve been better. The Shaman probably knew some ancient fix for your ankle that is also taught in med school. Sam was also talking about how Shaman access “the source of life” for knowledge and how they had to use some sort of drug for a “pathway” to get to their nirvana or whatever you might call it. Of course they have to use drugs to get there. There is not really another alternate universe they can access, really they’re just fuckin high and they want to feel some sort of enlightenment. It seems like these guys aren’t much different then that stoner down the hall who says, “duuuddee…this stuff will make you find a new meaning to life.” Being high or drunk feels good, but its not reality. Many would argue that perception is true reality. I disagree, I think if you take this sort of ignorance is bliss approach, you will let down the people around you. It would be so cool if “the source of life” had all the answers and you could access it yourself. That seems like its straight out of Avatar and I love that movie. I want to believe this Shaman business is true but I just don’t know if I can buy it. Then again, I come from a very strict Catholic family who is set in there ways. I’m not a guy like Sam who is trying to discover what is out there. I’m content being safe and secure with the customs I am used to and the values I’ve been raised on. Therefore, something like this Shaman thing seems like such an alien concept to me. In a sense when it comes to looking at race, I guess I take the “ignorance is bliss” approach. I don’t really feel compelled to travel and discover different things because I am so happy with the way I feel in the society I am living in now. So I guess I am just going to keep doing what I am doing and uncover all the secrets of life through the “source of life” and my academia and binge partying habits and good ol Penn State. But hey, if the Shaman really think that they are getting what they want out of life by using drugs to access an alternate reality and that’s what gets them through the day then more power to them. I’m sure they too would look at the way I live and what I do and probably ask themselves “what the hell?” but its all about being content and getting through the day in your own way. Sat, 11 Feb 2012 00:13:33 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2012/02/10/voices-from-the-classroom-101/#IDComment289211941 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2012/02/02/voices-from-the-classroom-98/#IDComment283259713 I’m literally about to go to town on your question kinky girl. The reason that black girls would straighten their hair and white girls would curl their hair is very simple; women are never satisfied…ever. They are always chasing after things that are not within reach. They are always concerned with looking like a model. Women are always getting highlights, hitting the tanning beds and going to step classes to shapen that butt. Of course there are those holier than thou hipster chicks that promote women empowerment, and say that appearance does not matter, but it sure as hell does. The weird thing is that it matters to other girls almost more than it does to guys sometimes. A perfect example is one of my good friends who just dyed her hair. Almost every dude I know agrees with me that chicks shouldn’t dye their hair. 9 times out of 10, it looks like shit. God Gave you your hair for a reason, keep it that way! But women seem to say things to each other like, “Hey girlie! Love those highlights!” I guess women feel the need to change their appearances to appease to their friends in the same way that dudes might try to look tough around their buds. It gives a sense of fitting in. Asides from that, I think that girls, especially the ones from my demographic are obsessed with trying to obtain what they don’t have. I’ve never been with a girl who stays content with the same routine or even when I’m overly nice. Girls like what they don’t have. That is why a black girl might try to put on skin whitener or a white chick might hit the tanning bed. Whether its light skin, dark skin, curly hair or straight hair, women want to get the attributes that God did not bless them with. I just wish people, guys and girls would be happy with what they had. Sam’s comment about that curly hair or the dark skin preventing that girls’ ancestors from dying in the sun was very sobering. God made you a certain way for a good reason. One of my favorite lines from Henry Rollins, the lead singer of Black Flag is, “is it such a crime to look a year older than you did the year before?” People are always trying to look younger, sometimes going to great lengths like costly plastic surgeries to look different than the course of nature intended them to. Why can’t people just embrace what is? Why do they push so hard to be something they’re not… I wonder how much cooler and more interesting the world would be if people did not try to conform to the stupid standards that others set. Sat, 4 Feb 2012 01:19:05 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2012/02/02/voices-from-the-classroom-98/#IDComment283259713 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2012/01/26/voices-from-the-classroom-92/#IDComment276318691 For me, as a Penn State student these last few months have been some of the most trying that I’ve ever endured. I’ll preface this by saying I’m not just an ordinary Penn State student. My father, mother, sisters, cousins, aunts and uncles have all attended school here. For the Hume family Penn State is not just a name on a degree, or a team we root for every Saturday in the fall, it is a way of life. Its not too outrageous for me to say that every value my dad has taught me in life stems from Joe Paterno’s character. My father’s career is literally built upon the core value that Joe taught through his life; integrity. I have had two heroes in my life, my father and Joe Paterno. All of sudden, when the world makes you question your hero, and yourself, the mental torment can be crushing. Not only have I learned so much about my school and my family through this, but I’ve learned about myself. It is impossible for everything to be fine, when the main exhibitor of the core values you’ve been taught your whole life is in question. I had my doubts, for a while I played Judas to Paterno, thinking that the media was right. For a couple of weeks, they had me convinced. I would run by the statue like I have every day since I’ve been here and put my head down. Looking back on that, I feel terrible. The more the situation has emerged the more I’ve realized the media is full of shit and that Joe Paterno is my hero and will continue to be my hero. Now, I’m going to move on to what I’ve learned and how I will apply it. I’ve learned that this world can be extremely cruel. 61 years of service could get you fired over the phone. However, through this I realized that, no matter what cards you’ve been dealt by society, the best solution is to always speak softly, carry wisdom and handle every bad situation with grace and humility. Speak the truth and own it. Never lash out at people. Stay calm. Handling a situation with grace can be the most powerful way to fight back and make the rest of the world realize that you are better than them. Retaliation puts you on there level. Another thing I’ve learned is the importance of living for something that is bigger than yourself. For me that is music. Live for something and devote 110% of your focus to it. The Board of Trustees were the gunmen and cancer was the bullet. Joe simply couldn’t live without Penn State football. Yesterday night I had a big show to play (I’m a singer-songwriter). After the ceremony and before my show, I was walking out with my mother with tears in my eyes. Eventually the tears stopped because all I could hear in my head was Joe’s high pitched, tough Brooklyn voice saying, “quit crying for me kid. Get on! Ya got a show to play!” My mom (my biggest fan AND toughest critic) who was also in attendance at my show yesterday said, “The was one of the best shows, I’ve ever seen you play. I don’t know how you did it.” Maybe it was, and I don’t know either BUT it doesn’t much matter anymore because next Thusday… I got a show to play. Done with one thing and immediately on to the next. That is what I’ve learned from Joseph Vincent Paterno. Fri, 27 Jan 2012 23:11:09 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2012/01/26/voices-from-the-classroom-92/#IDComment276318691 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2012/01/20/questions-from-class/#IDComment270038436 The American Dream is whatever you want to make of it. Immigrants naturally value the American Dream a little bit more than people who have lived here their whole lives because they know what else is out there. They know that this land has the most opportunity of any because they’ve come from lands of less opportunity. Because of this, they would be more grateful than people like myself who haven’t known anything different. I have heard about other places and I have heard stories of people who are immigrants and I am very thankful for everything I have here in America. I do not take the American Dream for granted, but I feel as though other people do. I see it every day when I watch news networks like CNN and NBC. You see these people on Occupy whatever who take the American Dream for granted. When my little brother was touring University of Georgia he told me he saw one student lash out at an Occupy UGA student. His words were something along the lines of, “Get your grades up, take a shower and get a decent job. Quit being a fucking waste and stop bitching.” I couldn’t agree more. The Occupy people are the epitome of people who need to remember what the American Dream is about.. The American Dream does not embody complacency or laziness, to me the American Dream means benefitting yourself and your country. Productivity and progression are what the American Dream is about. Not laziness and sloth. I’m not really informed enough to give you my views on illegal immigration laws or any of that. There is one thing about illegal immigrants that I do know. They work fucking hard. They come here, not always being able to speak the language or knowing American customs and they bust their asses to adapt so that they can find some degree of success and feed their families. Everything about that is respectable. They look out for their families and they benefit our nation by appreciating it and working extremely hard in it. I’m not saying we should let everybody and anybody in, but we should definitely loosen up the laws and be a little more accepting. Sat, 21 Jan 2012 00:51:40 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2012/01/20/questions-from-class/#IDComment270038436 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/04/21/if-prison-has-taken-anything-away-from-me/#IDComment145227361 This is definitely one of the darker accounts I’ve read from all of the prison blogs. Usually these guys seem to feel that they deserve to be in prison. They also usually stress that while they live behind bars, they have hope, love and the ability to teach and change others to hold on to. However, M. in this account expresses his hopelessness. He expresses his ultimate fear that he will never experience love; a need that I feel everyone needs to experience in life. Come to think of it, this is a fear that has plagued me in my years as a young adult. I couldn’t imagine how much more intense my fear of never experiencing love would be if I knew I had to live the rest of my life behind bars. I think the saddest words in this expert are “I stepped into the pit. And I will never know love.” I couldn’t imagine trying to live my life knowing that I would never be able to experience love. Interestingly enough, until I read this, its not something I ever really put thought into. As a typical, partying college student in my freshman year, love is something I never even considered. Its sort of like my career plans. While I want to have a successful career, I have no clue what I actually want to do. In the same light, while I know I want to get married, I have no clue to whom and when I will make that step. At least I can go to bed every night knowing that I have the freedom to do these things. I hope I can continue to go to bed every night knowing that. This guy goes to sleep every night trying to avoid the silence. Because as soon as the silence steps in, his mind is probably flooded with the negative thought, “I will never be able to know love.” Without love, we’d live life like machines. I guess the best thing this guy can do is embrace the people who he meets in jail and try to make changes in their lives. Fri, 22 Apr 2011 22:07:42 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/04/21/if-prison-has-taken-anything-away-from-me/#IDComment145227361 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/04/07/war-vets-and-ptsd/#IDComment143160158 The military really has itself in a very tough spot regarding these suicide issues. They have to train young men, some of whom I would still consider kids, into emotionless, calculative killing machines. There is no way that can’t take a serious mental and emotional toll on a human being. Add the fact that you are far away from your family and friends and realistically may never be able to see them again and there is a recipe for disaster. War has become so much more of a complex machine in all facets. Back in the day, it was as simple as drafting a ton of men, and teaching them to kill the enemy. I remember in the video we watched a few weeks ago about Post-traumatic stress from the war, one of the victims of PTSD said, “50 years ago, if I was talking like I did, they would have taken me in the back and just shot me, no questions asked.” That’s the difference between war back then and war now. War now seems much more confusing, with more emotional consequences coming from both sides. I think the biggest factor in these suicides is the broken relationships. Many of these men overseas only have the hopes of their wives and kids to get through the trying times that they are dealing with. If those are suddenly taken away from them for whatever reason, there hope is completely stripped away. It brings to mind a scene from Shawshank Redemption when Red says, “hope is a dangerous thing, hope can drive a man insane.” Beneath the cold, calculative, and killing attitude of a solider, there has to be a ton of hope, or else they would lose sight of why they’re fighting. As soon as something interferes with that hope, that is where the suicides happen. I don’t really think there is a way to prevent it from happening without compromising the quality of our military. I just think its one of those new side effects of a new, developing type of war that we are just going to have to put up with. Fri, 15 Apr 2011 16:53:26 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/04/07/war-vets-and-ptsd/#IDComment143160158 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/03/27/family/#IDComment139238051 The jist of what C. is trying to say in this expert about family in prison is that adversity unites people. I’ve been on teams and in bands where me and a group of close friends experience tough times. But its because of this that I can call a lot of these kids that I am talking about my brothers and sisters. Family goes deeper than blood. These guys may have moms, dads, brothers and sisters, but being that they’re in prison, its not really likely that these people cared about them enough to influence them in a positive direction. Those people are not really family. Family are the people who you live and die for. Not to sound cliché, but family are the people who you would take a bullet for without asking any questions. To me that’s what C is talking about. The guys that are his little brothers or the guys that seem like his father, C would probably do anything before. The bottom line is, you relate to people who are in similar situations. Prison seems to be something that outsiders just don’t understand. Obviously that would create a huge disconnect between the families and the people who are serving life. It seems to me, in all of these excerpts I’ve read about guys doing life, that they are content with their lives now. They have accepted their fate, and many of them believe that they have to be there. Many of them couldn’t cope on the outside, without their family. The scene from Shawshank Redemption comes to mind where Brooks is finally released from jail late in his life. He is like a lost puppy, scared and alone in the world. His family was gone and he would never see them again. His blood family were probably all dead. He literally had nothing. As a result, he finally offed himself. Life on the outside was just something that he didn’t understand. Being released from a life sentence must be like being put on another planet. The last time these guys have seen free life they were kids. Sat, 2 Apr 2011 00:34:15 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/03/27/family/#IDComment139238051 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/03/24/would-you-date-someone-like-me-119-blog/#IDComment137572745 I'm a freshman, white male and I can answer this question pretty easily. White guys generally don't date black women because of the same reason black women don't generally date white men; both groups are sociologically different and people want to be with others who are like them. Relationships tend to be founded upon certain commonalities that bind two people together in a way where they want to be around each other all the time. Usually white men and black women have different interests. As much racial harmony as there is today, it still doesn't change the fact that we are involved in different things. Sure, there are many things black people and white people agree on and can bond over, and I'm sure there is a black girl out there that is interested in the same things that I am and that I could spend the rest of my life with. However, to be blunt, the chances of me finding a black girl who is into hard rock music, hockey and likes preppy, skinny white guys like me are pretty slim. That is all this boils down to. GENERALLY (big word), white dudes and black chicks like different things. Again, that is not to say that all white guys like the same things and all black girls like the same things but as I said GENERALLY...they do. This is why it is less common to see interracial couples. Another interesting point that I feel as though I should bring up is the fact that most people are attracted to people who look like themselves. I noticed one day that my mom and dad share many similar features. People tell me all the time I look like a scary clone of my mom, and then they see my dad and say I look like a scary clone of him. But the fact is, my parents look a lot alike themselves. Interested, I looked into my theory and it is indeed true that people are attracted to those who look like them because it is what they're used to. This theory is definitely plausible in the explanation about interracial couples. Fri, 25 Mar 2011 21:16:58 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/03/24/would-you-date-someone-like-me-119-blog/#IDComment137572745 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/03/07/who-am-i/#IDComment135408780 As I expressed previously, it still baffles me that a person who seems to be so forgiving about the prejudice he had endured could end up in jail for committing a crime like murder. However it could be that his experience with murder made him realize that he needed to become a "citizen of the world" in order to succeed in life. Maybe, it was a "learn from my mistake" situation. Unfortunately, there is no way of knowing, and that is why many people undeserving of life in captivation are living behind bars. Wed, 16 Mar 2011 21:24:34 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/03/07/who-am-i/#IDComment135408780 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/03/07/who-am-i/#IDComment135408761 The situations that JVG described were everyday portraits, but he made them seem so special. It made me feel as though I take a lot of my freedoms for granted. The freedom to live with different people and to bring good vibes to them is what JVG seemed to have made so special. Little situations like being in the record store, or the doughnut shop, or meeting the parents make me realize that there is only one way to live; with a light heart. The guy in the doughnut shop, and the father, both judged JVG based off of the color of his skin, but it didn't seem to bother him. In a way, he killed them with kindness. The father called him a "spic" and had a preconceived notion about how his personality would show through at dinner. Little did he know, he was pleasantly surprised by how well-mannered JVG was. Wed, 16 Mar 2011 21:24:27 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/03/07/who-am-i/#IDComment135408761 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/03/07/who-am-i/#IDComment135408657 This is the first getting life that I've read that wasn't actually about being in prison. The excerpt made me realize that prisoners are able to write some of the coolest literature. Perhaps it's because they have all the time in the world, to think about the world. It's sad to me that they will never be able to spend time out in the world, even though all they do is think about what they would do if they had time outside of the walls that entrap them. JVG seems as though he is very passionate about coexistence. I'll bet if he could, he'd be out traveling, living from country to country while getting to know the inhabitants of each region that he visited. The kid seems so enlightened and enthusiastic about life and people. It's a mystery to me, what he possibly could have done that would have landed him a life sentence. Wed, 16 Mar 2011 21:23:50 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/03/07/who-am-i/#IDComment135408657 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/03/07/freedom/#IDComment134060699 “Because in the blink of an eye, one wrong choice, and you will have to learn to create your own freedom…..” One wrong choice. This man and all the other lifers I’ve read about during this semester have made me realize that all it takes is One Wrong Choice. You make one quick decision, someone could get hurt or die, and all of a sudden, you have to redefine the way you internalize freedom for the rest of your life. Before I read the accounts lifers, I thought all of them were terrible people that deserved to be locked up for what they have done. The thing that many people don’t realize is that a man can change drastically, especially after 20 plus years of being caged in one of the worst environments possible. This man 24 years later is not the same as the kid who committed the crime. Still, he’s gotta live with it. He has to live knowing that there is nothing else. However, in this account, it seems as though there are no limits for him even though his “movement is limited.” He still carries out the acts of a noble human being... caring for his family, tutoring the less educated, talking to students and trying to be a better person. Freedom to me is doing what I love. Playing music, being with my friends, skiing, hiking and being excited about life. That is the greatest freedom to me, being excited about living. This means putting smiles on peoples’ faces, and making them just as stoked as I am. No matter where you are, this freedom is always accessible. You could be in the worst place imaginable, like prison, and still find something to be excited about and something to make other people excited about. Freedom is all about sharing the moment with somebody. Laughing together, crying together, inspiring and being inspired together. Freedom is about the interactions we have with different people that make living so interesting and fun. Life is very short and we should always be in anticipation for great things. We should always be hoping and praying that something is going to happen. Escapism is very much freedom to me. And an even higher level of freedom is when you finally reach that destination that is fantasized in your escapism. Fri, 11 Mar 2011 05:57:43 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/03/07/freedom/#IDComment134060699