en-us https://www.intensedebate.com/users/769380 Comments by redsoxnation222 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/letter-from-an-inmate__trashed/#IDComment70007071 If your going to sit down and talk with these guys and see the issue from through their eyes and see their path you should also talk to their victims families and see the situation through their eyes and see their path before you make a one sided decision. It seems like everyone was really touched by this letter and stuff. I just wasn't because of the act that they committed and my compassion is with the families of their victims. I mean yes people change, but what they did doesn't change. The fact that the person they killed isn't going to get to enjoy the world and the wonders that are part of this world, than neither does the person that took it. I'm glad they are making good with their situation and that they are changing, but still it doesn't erase the fact that their victims won't enjoy the world so they shouldn't either it is that easy. Fri, 23 Apr 2010 21:56:37 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/letter-from-an-inmate__trashed/#IDComment70007071 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/letter-from-an-inmate__trashed/#IDComment70005471 I don't get how you feel this guy should get a second chance because of one letter. Are you that naive. Because he felt compassion that now he is ready to come back to society with the rest of us. You keep saying that these people do have feelings, that they deserve another shot because they have feelings, because they show remorse. How can you feel this way is what I ask. These guys killed someone and because they are sorry all is forgiven. You have to be kidding me. Lets not even mention the victims or the family of the victim. I'm sure they'd completely agree with you that these guys should get a second chance because of a nice letter of compassion. My only question for you is if someone murdered your brother and then ten years later felt remorse for it and wrote a letter to you like this about feeling compassion, would you still have the same opinion that he should be given a second chance, because you did say everyone deserves a second chance. Fri, 23 Apr 2010 21:46:57 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/letter-from-an-inmate__trashed/#IDComment70005471 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/letter-from-an-inmate__trashed/#IDComment70003104 So what are we supposed to feel after reading this? Sympathy for the "good" people in prison? I feel compassion for them, don't get me wrong, it would suck to be in prison for life. But seriously what are we supposed to get from this 1 letter that there are compassionate moments in prison. The thing that is killing me is how people are on here saying its too bad this guy can't get out he'd do great things in the world. How do you know that, because he wrote a letter about feeling and compassionate moments in prison. How seeing someone suffer touched his soul? He is obviously in there for murder so where was that touching moment in his soul when his victim suffered? Too many people are like awww I feel bad for these now good guys in prison. Talking about how they wish they could do something to help them out. Why not seek out the families of the victims and see if they need some help before the convicts. Sometimes Sam gets people to think so backwards in this class its unreal. Like feel bad for these guys instead of even talking about the victims families. So this guy picks compassion to talk about and tell everyone how there are real good people in jail. So why are these good people in jail for life, why did he pick compassion to write about and not the horror stories or things he may have done as well in prison. It's easy he wanted people to feel bad for lifers in which i won't do. If your guilty of murder and in jail for life and your being good in jail, well congrats to you sorry you didn't figure out that killing people was wrong before you went to jail, but I'm not going to feel bad for you when you took someones life before it was their time. I guess instead of writing a letter to students like me he should have talked about this subject with his understanding and compassionate cell mates. Yes I am also in support of the death penalty. I know Sam tried to change people's minds about how innocent people die and also his electric chair example. Yes it is not perfect and I think should only be used on people that are 100% proven guilty no doubt whatsoever. The one thing though that I was impressed was how well of a letter that man produced. I guess if I wasn't so cold his wording and stories would have had some affect on me like it seemed to have done for everyone else here, but the facts remain the same they murdered someone and are paying their dues. I feel compassion for the families, but not for them. I'm glad to see they can live civilized in prison and that they are making the best of a bad situation. Sometimes you learn the hard way I guess. Fri, 23 Apr 2010 21:39:22 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/letter-from-an-inmate__trashed/#IDComment70003104 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/christian-invaders-the-turnaround__trashed/#IDComment68443477 Well first of all of course you don't see any of the good that we are doing there because you are against war to begin with. Of course you say you'd join the extremist insurgency because that is what Sam was intending us all to say when he created this presentation. Do you think its an accident that he picked the videos that he did? Anyways if your going to say as a college student you would be joining the insurgency then you need to be experienced to all the facts. Sure we said we were after nuclear bombs. Sure we are probably still there for the most part for oil. But in the entire process we did do good for the country of Iraq. Something they like us for . We got rid of the tyrant Saddam Hussein that was terrorizing his own people. We are giving that country a brighter future because they don't have to live in fear of their ruler anymore. So whatever you want to say about peace this peace that the truth is there are bad people in this world terrorizing there country and others. Saying you would join the extremist is saying you would become a terrorist as well. Because if I recall it was Muslim extremists that crashed planes into the World Trade Center Buildings, the Pentagon, and field of Pennsylvania. we don't know what exactly is going on in the Middle Eastern countries and I am so tired of people assuming that they do. If you really want to know whats going on there ask a soldier and start supporting your troops. Fri, 16 Apr 2010 23:25:02 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/christian-invaders-the-turnaround__trashed/#IDComment68443477 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/christian-invaders-the-turnaround__trashed/#IDComment68441733 Yes we are probably over there for oil. Let me ask you one thing though. If your playing the role of being a Muslim college student would you really fight the Americans? Why? You have to also remember that we went over there and took out there own home grown terroristic tyrant of Saddam Hussein. You can't say that you wouldn't fee l gratitude towards America for that. What else are they doing? They have men and women risking their lives to rid your country of Muslim extremist who are a threat to the United States seeing how we are majority Chrisitian and if you need more proof of why look at videos of 9/11 to see what Muslim extremists can do. Fri, 16 Apr 2010 23:08:50 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/christian-invaders-the-turnaround__trashed/#IDComment68441733 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/christian-invaders-the-turnaround__trashed/#IDComment68440906 Alright first off this would be my second time listening to this exact same lecture. My friends last semester took this class, said Sam was real entertaining and apparently that this class was going to be the best as Sam would say every class. So when I sat through this lecture I knew exactly what was coming and I think it helps to hear it twice, you don't leave quite as confused as some seem. First Sam isn't saying that Christians are trying to take over the world. You need to understand that we were supposed to be Muslim college age students being exposed to video clips that the insurgency wants us to see. Mainly getting brainwashed. I did not say I would join the insurgency instead I said not at all. Yes there are some knuckleheads in the military that shames all the good our men and women in the military do. I honestly feel that this class Thursday disrespected them in a way. Yes if I was exposed to all that material I would feel an urge to join the insurgency. The thing is though that not all Muslims are exposed to that material. They say "we love America" and "America is good" and want American students to take a picture of them as a gift because they are thankful for what we did and are continuing to do. I am not saying we aren't there for oil because I honestly believe we are. But you can't say that while over there our troops aren't keeping people safe that may be living in fear of this same insurgency. They may be thankful and offering gifts because they know that we are after the people that they fear and trying to rid them of the same terrorists. If you tell me the war in Afghanistan is pointless though all I have to say is check out youtube videos of 9/11 and maybe that'll remind you why we are there. Although I do not agree with being in Iraq for oil, I do agree with helping rid them of these extremists because we have been attacked by Muslim extremist's and we shouldn't forget that because of this lecture. These extremists didn't just appear in Iraq because the Americans came over to "spread" Christianity. It takes years to get to that level of extremist where you resort to violence and to rid the world of those who speak ill on Islam. So I support our troops and the work that they do. We probably are there for oil but don't forget that in the process we are helping the citizens get rid of those that they fear as well. Overall interesting lecture. Fri, 16 Apr 2010 23:00:14 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/christian-invaders-the-turnaround__trashed/#IDComment68440906 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/those-damn-dolls__trashed/#IDComment65564640 I kind of feel the same way. I really wished that the children would have been asked why one doll was good and why one was bad. Because at this age honestly it could be for various reasons why one is good and not the other. It could be because they associate their decisions from a show they watch where there is a white good guy and black bad guy. Children are easily influenced the only part that was gut wrenching was you could see the inner struggle in the one boys eyes when he was asked which was good and which was bad. You could see how hard it was for him to pick. Fri, 2 Apr 2010 15:22:04 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/those-damn-dolls__trashed/#IDComment65564640 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/those-damn-dolls__trashed/#IDComment65563713 Do you feel like it is really how you are raised or the society that we grow up in? I get what you mean that you would choose the white doll and not feel bad about it because you were raised associating with white people so that is what you are comfortable with. Thinking more into it your probably right that it has more to do with family life than society influence especially at that age. I guess there really isn't much you can do about it except continuing to try to change the image of what race is good and what race is bad. Fri, 2 Apr 2010 15:14:41 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/those-damn-dolls__trashed/#IDComment65563713 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/those-damn-dolls__trashed/#IDComment65562711 I wouldn't keep using the word disturbing as the best way to describe this video, like everyone else has. The only way to describe it is that it is truely sad that young children are feeling this way. The most shocking part of the clip was when they chose the "nice" doll and the "bad" doll. To see the young black child pick the white doll as the nice one and the black doll as the bad one, was sort of gut wrenching. I have to admit at first I was pretty surprised. I was wondering immediately, why would he pick the white one it doesn't make any sense? Then I started wondering how these kids feel about themselves. Did that boy think he was a bad person because he too was black. That was probably the toughest thing to think about because no child should grow up assuming that they are bad based on their skin color. I could understand the little girls liking the white dolls more. I remember some pysch classes talking about this and how most children pick the dolls that they either see themselves as or want to be like. So taking this into consideration does that mean that the children in this video want to be white. That may be the case. That is sad because people should like who they are whether they are black, brown, or white. When i heard about this whole concept of black girls choosing the white doll in these types of experiments, before this class and video, I thought whats the big deal. They are choosing the one that they like. I felt like we were looking to much into things like usual. But now after this video I feel that there is something wrong with our society that children are growing up with these viewpoints. You can't blame the children for their views, but the society that forms their views. We need to continue to fix our societies views and the messages that we portray on young children so that one day we can run this experiment and they won't choose a bad doll or a good doll. This whole video was very eye opening to the inner pain some children have about there skin color and their race when in all actuality I feel everyone should be proud of their race and where they came from and where they are. There is so much culture that goes with every race its sad to see some people not being taught to appreciate it and learn it rather to hate themselves possibly because of their skin color. That is what I saw in this film especially the look in the little boys eyes when having to choose a good and bad doll. I saw the pain and inner struggle to do so. He seemed ashamed of being the race that he was and that was the hard part about this clip. Fri, 2 Apr 2010 15:06:25 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/those-damn-dolls__trashed/#IDComment65562711 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/prom-or-no-prom-just-dont-let-the-queer-students-dance-together__trashed/#IDComment63081206 Are you surprised that homosexuals can be fired in 23 states or so? I mean think after the civil war it wasn't like racism was just magically gone. Just because some people agreed that racism was wrong doesn't mean everyone did and that prejudice just disappeared. Homosexuality has been an issue for awhile, but right now it is in the process of breaking through and being accepted by the majority in our generation. Everyone has been raised differently our parents were raised to think different things about homosexuality then we were and there parents the same. So yea it'll take time and thats why i'm not shocked by this article, although I do think it was wrong. Sat, 20 Mar 2010 01:25:30 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/prom-or-no-prom-just-dont-let-the-queer-students-dance-together__trashed/#IDComment63081206 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/prom-or-no-prom-just-dont-let-the-queer-students-dance-together__trashed/#IDComment63080046 Is it weird to say that I'm not surprised that this happened? I mean as much as our generation has accepted gay/lesbian culture, our parents generation and those who run the school may not have. It is terrible that this happened because lets face it prom is for the students. It is supposed to be a night that you remember from high school and enjoy it to the fullest for each person attending. I know at my school you could go in groups say 3 girls don't get a date they all can go together and what not. So what is the weird part about having an open lesbian couple go together. Is it that odd to see girls dancing with each other at these events? Might as well stop that too. I won't say I'm surprised by this but I do find it wrong. Sat, 20 Mar 2010 01:14:52 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/prom-or-no-prom-just-dont-let-the-queer-students-dance-together__trashed/#IDComment63080046 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/women-and-sports__trashed/#IDComment63078082 Ok so when I read what this story was about I was thinking really someone is hiring a woman to coach football. I thought, that's going to be a mistake because its not something the players are used to and they may not want to play for a woman and think well heck I know more about football then her. I played football all the way up till college and I'll be honest it would have been weird to have a woman coach. But as I was listening to the video I started thinking you know the coach of a team doesn't need to be able to play with the boys, didn't have to be a star player in there day, all a coach needs is knowledge of the game and be able to teach it to the players and get the most out of the team. So I started to think why not have a woman coach football. She doesn't need to know what it's like to play men's football. All she needs to know is the game. I have so much more respect for this woman for finally being the first woman to break through and coach boy's football. She downplayed it a lot, which didn't surprise me at all. There is a ton of pressure on her and if the entire country was to find out about her, she'd be watched like a hawk and would be scrutinized if she failed and praised if she did well. This step is monumental because she seems to be the testing subject of if women can coach the men in football. What she does now may affect the future hiring of other women in this sport. Am i saying that it should be that way? No. But in our society that is the case. Any time something new occurs and people aren't used to it they see if it works or not. If it does they are more likely to invest in it, but if it doesn't they would avoid the same mistake. I'd compare it to checking reviews for say a new TV. Skeptical people will wait to read reviews and these reviews will affect their decisions. The other part worth talking about is that she was hired hopefully because she was the best candidate. I assume that's the reason and it wasn't some publicity thing because she really does seem to know her stuff, feel comfortable with being the coach, and earned the respect of the players. Gender and race should have nothing to do with the hiring process for any sport. The best women's basketball coach as of now is a man, but have you noticed there aren't any women coaches in men's basketball? May be a double standard, you make your own judgment on that. So now whats my view on this? Why not, gender shouldn't matter. The best for the position is all that matters and if it is a woman then it's a woman society needs to be ok with that. Sat, 20 Mar 2010 00:56:55 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/women-and-sports__trashed/#IDComment63078082 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/02/when-do-we-do-or-say-something__trashed/#IDComment58872064 I agree with you on the fact that I too believe that if most people were put into that situation whether they say they'd stand up for her or not they'd most likely stay quiet and it wouldn't be because they thought the store owner was right and should do what he wants or because their parents told them to mind other peoples property it's because they would be afraid of putting themselves out there when they don't know what the others around them are thinking. They don't want to be judged like the woman is and most people don't have strong enough self confidence to do something like stand up for a stranger. Public speaking is the number one fear for the majority of people so I too question all these people who say they'd easily stand up for the woman. I don't think they actually thought through it all the way. Fri, 26 Feb 2010 21:07:25 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/02/when-do-we-do-or-say-something__trashed/#IDComment58872064 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/02/when-do-we-do-or-say-something__trashed/#IDComment58871351 See the problem though with your view is you don't take into fact something very powerful and that is fear. What is the number one thing people are afraid of? Public speaking. I agree with you that I'd rather someone be straight with me from the start if you don't like me than just say so I won't lose sleep over it. The only part of that is not everyone is like that. Not everyone can overcome the fear of speaking there mind in a public place in front of people and know that what they say will be judged. Fear is a powerful thing and whether you believe something or not the fear of what others think is a powerful silencer. Fri, 26 Feb 2010 21:02:17 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/02/when-do-we-do-or-say-something__trashed/#IDComment58871351 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/02/when-do-we-do-or-say-something__trashed/#IDComment58867118 I really enjoyed this part of yesterdays class. I found that the experiment was very interesting, but there are some things I would have liked to have also seen in the statistics. I would have liked to have seen like one person in class suggested, that they change the girl to a guy and then see how the numbers change. I feel that more people would stay quiet than anything and less people would stand up for the guy than so for the women. I don't know if it is because in the United States that more people associate the word "terrorist" when they see a Muslim man walking around dressed as a Muslim or if it would be because subconsciously they'd think, he's a grown man he can fend for himself, where a woman may need someone to come to her aid. The other thing that I would have liked to have know are the ages or range of the people who were involved in this study. If younger people stood up to the clerk more or were younger people the ones staying quiet because they may not feel comfortable or be mature enough to realize the injustice and know they can stand up for another individual. I also would have liked to have known how many men came to her aid, or stayed quiet, or supported the clerk as compared to women. To get to the question about how can someone not stand up for this woman? How could nobody do anything about it and just stand there in silence? Well lets see not everyone is as vocal and comfortable speaking up in front of others and taking a stand for something. If you really want to look into it how can people see someone getting beat up or raped and just walk by like nothing is happening. Why do people teach girls that if they are getting raped to yell fire and not help I'm being raped? Its because fear can keep someone quiet and from helping. Fear of what others may think of you when you do say something. I know it may sound stupid like how could someone really think badly of you for standing up for this women, but think if you were in that store and that happened and the entire place just stood there quiet would you be willing to be the person to speak up? It would probably be tougher than you think. I'm comfortable with myself and the fact that I don't really care what people think of me or if people like me that I know I'd be able to stick up for her, but just because I'm like that doesn't mean everyone is. So I feel personality has a lot more to do with it then those people who stayed quiet just didn't care. Fri, 26 Feb 2010 20:27:11 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/02/when-do-we-do-or-say-something__trashed/#IDComment58867118 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/02/lgbt-class-question-six__trashed/#IDComment57706166 I have to agree with you on why lesbians are more widely accepted than gay men. Straight men tend to be more homophobic than straight women. Straight women are more understanding of the situation then straight men. Straight men are more accepting of lesbians because it is a turn on. How many times do you see straight men paying girls to make out with each other or daring them, it's something they enjoy seeing, like you said with the porn industry. Men do not want to see gay men show public affection it disgusts them. So because of the fact that women tend to be more understanding of both lesbians and gay men and straight men are more understanding of lesbians and not gay men leads me to believe that lesbians are more widely accepted. Sat, 20 Feb 2010 01:57:05 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/02/lgbt-class-question-six__trashed/#IDComment57706166 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/02/lgbt-class-question-six__trashed/#IDComment57705631 So do you feel that lesbians are accepted more freely by society as a couple or gay men? I agree that movies and television have been trying to bring homosexuality out of the "closet" since it is now such a prevalent thing in society, but they never display it as an accepted norm. I also agree that society is becoming for and more accepting towards the gay community but the question is who do you think they are more accepting towards and I feel that answer is lesbians. I feel this is because men are more accepting towards women showing affection for each other then they are about seeing men while women are more accepting of both lesbians and gay men. Sat, 20 Feb 2010 01:51:50 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/02/lgbt-class-question-six__trashed/#IDComment57705631 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/02/lgbt-class-question-six__trashed/#IDComment57703498 I first want to start off by saying that I agree with this belief that lesbians are more accepted then gay men. I feel that this all boils down to how straight men feel about the situation. Women seem to be a lot more understanding on the issue of accepting gay society, both male and female then men are. I feel that they are more likely accept both gay men and gay women than men are. Now here is the key to the higher acceptance norm for lesbians than gay males. Straight men are more likely to accept lesbians then they are to accept gay men. Straight women are more likely to accept both which offsets the balance. Why are straight men more accepting of lesbians then gay men? I believe that it has to do with most straight men find lesbians as a turn on. They like seeing women kiss each other and don't want to see gay men demonstrate affection for each other. Also because they are males they may not understand how someone can be gay. How someone can be attracted to another male. I know I don't understand it. The lack of understanding may cause a lack of acceptance and as a society people are taught that being gay is wrong and immoral and usually when they are taught this gay men are usually used as an example. I know I used to think that people who are gay chose to be that way and usually for rebellious reasons or because they were confused. I have grown to start thinking that it isn't a choice, because honestly why would someone choose to be put down by society all the time, if anything I feel gay people would pretend to be straight. I feel that the lack of acceptance from straight men is the reason why it seems that society accepts lesbians more then they do of gay men. I feel an interesting question would be what would society be more likely to accept, a gay male couple raising a child or a lesbian couple raising a child? I feel that society would be more comfortable with a lesbian couple for the fact that women are seen as more nurturing. There could also be a side argument that a gay male couple would be better to raise a child because a child may need a strong father figure or protector in his/her life. I'm not too sure about this and just thought I'd throw it out there since it kind of just came to me and I'm sure that's what Sam would do. Kind of just kick it out there and see what else people think. Sat, 20 Feb 2010 01:32:16 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/02/lgbt-class-question-six__trashed/#IDComment57703498 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/02/animals-vs-humans-vs-welfare-cheats__trashed/#IDComment56588527 The fact is people will get over it because generally the people that he will have offended are those on welfare and how many of them will get their voice heard. Unless they get Reverend Jesse Jackson at the front line this thing will blow over and all he will get is a little media bashing but that will be all, becuase there is no loud voice complaining. He didn't offend those with the power. I do think there are those that take advantage of the system so I do think he is right to say we have to solve it and maybe he is right with the drug test and parent teacher meeting, I'm not sure. Sat, 13 Feb 2010 03:07:36 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/02/animals-vs-humans-vs-welfare-cheats__trashed/#IDComment56588527 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/02/animals-vs-humans-vs-welfare-cheats__trashed/#IDComment56587830 Yes he did make a mistake, but you can't down play a mistake like this when you compare a human being to an animal making it sound like they are trash and we should have nothing to do with them. Yes we have all said things that makes us cringe and hope no one heard, but in all seriousness how many times does something like this slip out and how many times does a thought like that actually enter your head. He is lucky that it wasn't about race or religion and was just about the poor because in our society that will just earn you a slap on the wrist. Sat, 13 Feb 2010 02:59:54 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/02/animals-vs-humans-vs-welfare-cheats__trashed/#IDComment56587830