en-us https://www.intensedebate.com/users/763081 Comments by sicbeach82 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/creating-terrorists__trashed/#IDComment69089193 Personally, I don’t really understand the whole idea of “avenging” someone else’s death. I understand that obviously when someone close to you has died, you are upset and want to mourn. However, there are so many other ways to mourn a loved one’s death than to kill yourself and others with you. Getting revenge and killing other people doesn’t seem like something that your loved one who passed away would be proud of anyway. I really don’t think there is any way I would ever avenge someone’s death by doing something so drastic as killing other people and myself by way of a suicide bomb. Wed, 21 Apr 2010 00:31:14 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/creating-terrorists__trashed/#IDComment69089193 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/christian-invaders-the-turnaround__trashed/#IDComment69087994 I think this lecture last Thursday was one of the best this semester. I usually don’t get too much out of Sam’s lectures to be honest; however, this one did open my eyes up to the whole war in Iraq. This lecture really did make me think. I never really thought to put myself in the Iraqi’s shoes and see it from their perspective. The only time I ever really thought about the Iraqis was when I realized a couple years ago that we were pretty much just going into their country and taking it over. But I never really gave that idea much thought, because then I just brushed it aside and thought we were doing it for the good of their country, instead of to benefit ourselves. Whenever I watch the news, I always feel like it is so one-sided. The press tells you what they want you to know and tells you how to think. Over the past couple years with all the news coverage on Iraq, I believe that the news has made many people, including myself, believe that we were truly going into their country to help them out. We were killing their people and invading their land and homes in order to find the bad guys, such as Osama bin Ladan and Suddam Hussein. We were destroying their government and “helping” them form a new one in order to better their country and get rid of terrorism. The news basically lied to us and rarely or never explained the other side of it. Once I actually thought about our true motives during that lecture, I realized we were going in for our own selfish reasons to benefit ourselves. The war in Iraq always had the nickname the “War for Oil” but George Bush always claimed otherwise. Once Sam actually told us to put ourselves in their shoes and see things from their perspective, it showed me a whole new side of everything. No wonder a good amount of the country considers Americans evil. If a country invaded America for similar reasons that we invaded Iraq, I would probably strongly dislike and think badly about that country just like many Iraqis do with us. Our invasion with the country started because of terrorism, but not all of the people in Iraq are terrorists or have terroristic beliefs. Many innocent people have been killed and their homes taken away because of something that their fellow citizens and leaders planned. Not every citizen in Iraq was behind the attacks on September 11th. However, pretty much every citizen has been affected by our invasion in their own country. This lecture definitely opened my eyes up, and I thought it was good how Sam made us see it from somebody else’s perspective. Wed, 21 Apr 2010 00:20:26 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/christian-invaders-the-turnaround__trashed/#IDComment69087994 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/tent-cities-in-haiti__trashed/#IDComment69087862 I really enjoyed the lecture today about Haiti. The first thing that really made me think was how every American knows the date of the terrorist attack that occurred on September 11th, 2001. However, many people in the class, including myself, didn’t know the exact date of when the earthquake in Haiti happened. I always knew that I was more aware of the United States’ history and own problems, but this really opened my eyes up more. This video on the tent cities is pretty cool, even though it is a shame that the Haitians now have to live this way. The new tent cities make for a complicated economy; however, it shows how hard-working and determined the Haitians are at still continuing on in life and not giving up. Wed, 21 Apr 2010 00:18:58 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/tent-cities-in-haiti__trashed/#IDComment69087862 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/christian-invaders-the-turnaround__trashed/#IDComment69086989 I think this lecture last Thursday was one of the best this semester. I usually don’t get too much out of Sam’s lectures to be honest; however, this one did open my eyes up to the whole war in Iraq. This lecture really did make me think. I never really thought to put myself in the Iraqi’s shoes and see it from their perspective. The only time I ever really thought about the Iraqis was when I realized a couple years ago that we were pretty much just going into their country and taking it over. But I never really gave that idea much thought, because then I just brushed it aside and thought we were doing it for the good of their country, instead of to benefit ourselves. Whenever I watch the news, I always feel like it is so one-sided. The press tells you what they want you to know and tells you how to think. Over the past couple years with all the news coverage on Iraq, I believe that the news has made many people, including myself, believe that we were truly going into their country to help them out. We were killing their people and invading their land and homes in order to find the bad guys, such as Osama bin Ladan and Suddam Hussein. We were destroying their government and “helping” them form a new one in order to better their country and get rid of terrorism. The news basically lied to us and rarely or never explained the other side of it. Once I actually thought about our true motives during that lecture, I realized we were going in for our own selfish reasons to benefit ourselves. The war in Iraq always had the nickname the “War for Oil” but George Bush always claimed otherwise. Once Sam actually told us to put ourselves in their shoes and see things from their perspective, it showed me a whole new side of everything. No wonder a good amount of the country considers Americans evil. If a country invaded America for similar reasons that we invaded Iraq, I would probably strongly dislike and think badly about that country just like many Iraqis do with us. Our invasion with the country started because of terrorism, but not all of the people in Iraq are terrorists or have terroristic beliefs. Many innocent people have been killed and their homes taken away because of something that their fellow citizens and leaders planned. Not every citizen in Iraq was behind the attacks on September 11th. However, pretty much every citizen has been affected by our invasion in their own country. This lecture definitely opened my eyes up, and I thought it was good how Sam made us see it from somebody else’s perspective. Wed, 21 Apr 2010 00:11:01 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/christian-invaders-the-turnaround__trashed/#IDComment69086989 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/what-are-we-doing-here-really__trashed/#IDComment68019449 I believe that the end goal for this whole race relations idea is to know that we live in a world where race clearly exists, but where it isn’t a problem. There’s no more inequality just because of your skin color, and everyone is treated exactly the same no matter if they’re black, white, brown, or any other color. People would be able to see past skin color and just recognize that every person is a human being and deserves to be treated like one. Even though this end goal is ideal and pretty much perfect, I don’t think the people of this earth will ever get there. Wed, 14 Apr 2010 17:29:06 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/what-are-we-doing-here-really__trashed/#IDComment68019449 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/want-to-learn-chinese__trashed/#IDComment68011435 Even though I don’t completely agree that Mandarin is the best language to learn if students want to get ahead and stay ahead in the business world, I do think that it is very important for all students to learn another foreign language. In a perfect world, every person would be fluent in another language that is not their native one. This would make communication among different people and different countries much easier. However, most people only know their native language, and maybe bits and pieces of another language. Being a business major, I realize that most businesses these days are going global. Companies are constantly looking for and hiring potential employees who are fluent in another language. With China becoming a dominant country in our world’s economy, learning Mandarin is certainly not a bad idea. Especially since many people predict that China’s economy will probably one day soon surpass ours. In high school, I took Latin, which was probably one of the bigger mistakes in my academic career. I thought that taking Latin would give me a good background for somewhat understanding other languages since so many languages come from Latin. However, Latin is obviously a dead language and is not spoken at all today. After going to countries like Mexico and Italy, and seeing my friends that can communicate with the locals since they either knew Spanish or Italian, I sincerely wished that I had taken a language that is still spoken in the world today. I also wish I had kept up with it and possibly minored or double-majored in either Spanish or Italian so that I would be fluent in another language. I think being fluent in another language is so important in today’s world where foreign countries are constantly working together whether it is for business reasons or foreign policy reasons. Anyone who says that learning a foreign language is not important in today’s day and age is ignorant. So much of our everyday lives revolve around other countries now. I also think it is a good idea to start teaching children when they are young another language other than the one they grow up with speaking in their homes. Even though some may say it is too early to start teaching preschool kids or kindergarten students Spanish, I think it is a great idea. The more reinforcement someone has with learning something, the more likely they are to remember it and want to pursue that in the future. Shows like Dora the Explorer are also great since they teach kids the very basics of Spanish. Even though the young viewers might not understand the importance of learning a foreign language at such a young age, it sets a good foundation for the rest of their lives. Wed, 14 Apr 2010 16:40:23 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/want-to-learn-chinese__trashed/#IDComment68011435 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/what-about-the-men__trashed/#IDComment68003536 Even though I am not a male, I do think that men feel the need to conform to society, just not as much as women do. I think that there is a certain stereotype for men that they have to be manly or “macho” and also not be very feeling or emotional. Men are supposed to like sports, especially football, and like when women wear basically nothing and are practically naked. Even though I do not think that all men feel the need to like football and naked women, I do believe that some men exaggerate their liking of these things in order to fit in with other males. Wed, 14 Apr 2010 16:10:15 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/what-about-the-men__trashed/#IDComment68003536 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/what-if-we-got-rid-of-welfare__trashed/#IDComment66121277 I definitely don’t think it is a good idea to cut off welfare completely. There are people in our country who do need legitimate monetary help in order to stay alive and exist. However, I do think that there should be more of a screening process or selection process on who receives welfare. I don’t think that 100% of the people who receive welfare fully need it or deserve everything that they receive. I also think that we should establish a better monitoring system for the people who do receive welfare. There should be more of a focus of getting these people back on their feet and providing for themselves instead of just simply giving them money to keep them existing. Mon, 5 Apr 2010 23:21:56 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/what-if-we-got-rid-of-welfare__trashed/#IDComment66121277 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/i-really-want-to-know-also__trashed/#IDComment66120729 Many of the things Sam says in class, I feel like I already knew in a sense or are common sense. Sometimes in class, I think that the things Sam says are totally off the wall or bizarre, and I really don’t agree. But there have been a couple times during the semester when I thought Sam did make a good point. The class that probably opened my eyes up the most was the LGBT issues class. Before the class, I always thought that I was open to everyone despite their sexual preference. After the class, I realized that even though I am “open” to them, I still wasn’t fully comfortable, or didn’t understand the whole LGBT thing. After that class, I definitely changed my opinion and had a better understanding about how their way of life is really no different than a straight person’s. Mon, 5 Apr 2010 23:17:26 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/i-really-want-to-know-also__trashed/#IDComment66120729 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/this-is-totally-off-the-hook__trashed/#IDComment66119635 Throughout my college career, I have had to sit through countless hours while watching my guy friends play video games. I really don’t enjoy watching them play any video games. Fifa bores me, and Grand Theft Auto made me dizzy while watching it. Grand Theft Auto was probably the only one I didn’t mind too much, and I actually thought it seemed pretty cool since it’s very realistic. However, I didn’t enjoy the violence or sexual content in the video game. On the other hand, I could never stand any of the shooting and war games. I just never really understand why all the violence is necessary, and I also didn’t get what joy they found in blowing people up. I know most guys like video games that contain violence, sexual references, and depict war-like activity, but I never really understood the big deal about them. The fact of the matter is that these games are proven to increase violence, especially among today’s youth. When a young kid plays or watches his or her older sibling play a video game where they are shooting at people and blowing them up, they sometimes think it is okay to do the same thing in real life. Where do they draw the line between a fictional scenario in a video game and a real-life situation? This video about the video games in Japan that allow the players to rape the fictional characters in the game is incredibly disturbing. The whole time while watching the video I kept wondering what kind of people actually enjoy and find pleasure in raping these imaginary video game characters. Rape and violence should be something that people cringe at and wouldn’t want to “pretend” to engage in while playing these video games. Just like how some people can’t draw the line between acting out violence in video games as opposed to real life, how will some people do the same with rape. Just because it is “okay” or acceptable to rape these fictional women in the video games doesn’t mean it is okay to do so in real life. This video didn’t make me want to write any anti-Japanese comment; however, it did make me question Japan’s government’s role in the video game industry. The fact that government officials wouldn’t even return calls or acknowledge these video games is pretty crazy. I also don’t understand the woman in the video who said that these video games didn’t offend her. To me, these video games are very disturbing and make me wonder how many people enjoy raping these fictional women and how many then think it is okay to have the same attitude towards women in real life. Basically, I think that the Japanese government should play more of a role in restricting the content in their country’s video games. Mon, 5 Apr 2010 23:08:41 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/this-is-totally-off-the-hook__trashed/#IDComment66119635 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/the-white-minorities__trashed/#IDComment65101253 Even though the statistics say that it is predicted that white people will be the minority by 2050, I somehow find this hard to believe. Maybe this is just because I am surrounded by practically all white people on a daily basis, but I still find it hard to believe that whites won’t be the largest race. Being white myself, if this were to happen, it doesn’t disturb me or make me uncomfortable at all. Thinking back to the video we watched in class with the black man who said we needed to exterminate all white people, I highly doubt that will ever happen. I don’t think anyone can really have that kind of influence over people nowadays with everything that happened during the Holocaust. Therefore, there is no reason for white people to fear being the minority. Thu, 1 Apr 2010 00:55:32 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/the-white-minorities__trashed/#IDComment65101253 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/those-damn-dolls__trashed/#IDComment65100543 I found this video that we watched in class to be pretty disturbing. It is very sad how so many children picked the white doll to play with over the black doll. Maybe this is because white dolls are considered the “norm.” Still, I would think that children would want to play with the doll that looks more like them since you can associate with that doll more. I also think it is crazy how the little black girl in the video said that the black doll was the bad doll just because it was black. This video really opened my eyes to how much little kids are influenced by race at such a young age, and they are often getting the wrong impressions. Thu, 1 Apr 2010 00:50:02 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/those-damn-dolls__trashed/#IDComment65100543 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/nothing-about-the-census-is-easy__trashed/#IDComment65100100 The United States has been dubbed the melting pot of the world for a couple centuries now. People from all over the world have come to this wonderful country we live in for better opportunities and to escape oppression and seek freedom. Therefore, it makes complete sense that all the people that live in this country come from various races. The number of races of the people who live in this country is probably infinite. People from tons of different backgrounds live here, and many of these people have multiple races in their make-ups. Because of this, the United States census is bound to offend at least some people. It would be practically impossible for the census to list all of the different races and combinations of races on the census. If they did do this, the census would be probably hundreds of pages long and no one would want to fill it out. The census is designed to be simple and easy to complete. Therefore, the United States census committee cannot please everyone and list everyone’s exact racial background on it. Even though I can understand why some people may be offended by some of the terms on the census, I also think it is somewhat ignorant of them. I think people need to understand that just because a term that is listed on the census offends them, it doesn’t mean it offends everyone. Also, some people may be offended by the term not being on the census. This is the case for the term “negro.” I understand that some blacks may think back to when the term was derogatory and, therefore, still think it is deeply offensive. However, their older counterparts may look at the census and think “Why isn’t negro listed on here? I don’t identify myself as Black or African American.” Because of this, I think everyone should take into account that two people who may be the same color still can identify with a different race. Also, maybe this is just because I am aware that the census committee did extensive research to find out what terms were best to use on the census, but since they included the term negro, there was probably a good enough reason why they did that. Hence, the census people probably know best what they are doing. I also think that the term white used on the census is a very general term. Like the guy in the video said, many “white” people in the United States claim that they have Native American in their background. But for someone that is multi-racial, for example half-Hispanic and half-Native American, what box would they check on the census? For these people, the terms could seem offensive or too generalized. I guess the census is more just checking off the box of whatever term you identify with the most. Thu, 1 Apr 2010 00:46:19 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/nothing-about-the-census-is-easy__trashed/#IDComment65100100 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/in-her-own-words__trashed/#IDComment64236588 Personally, I don’t really agree with Sam’s views on women getting their periods. I also don’t really understand how it fits into the whole race conversation. I think it is simple: women get their periods every month so they can procreate. Since the beginning of time women have gotten their periods, and it really isn’t any different than what happens today. I do agree that the whole talk of women getting their periods shouldn’t be a taboo conversation; however, I think that Sam kind of dramatized the whole thing and made it seem like a bigger deal than it really is. Fri, 26 Mar 2010 19:20:21 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/in-her-own-words__trashed/#IDComment64236588 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/native-hawaiians-ever-think-of-them__trashed/#IDComment63927812 Hawaii has always been one of the many places I want to travel to before I die. The beautiful landscapes, warm temperatures, and island atmosphere intrigue me, and I would love to go there someday. However, I never knew behind all the beauty of this state that so many Native Hawaiians were being oppressed and didn’t have complete rights. It is quite interesting how we always hear about the Native Americans whose land we took over, and we never really hear anything about the Native Hawaiians. I didn’t even know that this kind of injustice went on in Hawaii, and it is pretty crazy to think about. I never really thought about the Native Hawaiians whose land we took over and kicked them out of when we conquered the state over 100 years ago. The part of this article that stood out to me the most was how the Native Hawaiians are the last remaining indigenous group in the United States that haven’t been allowed to establish their own government. I don’t understand how the right to government can be granted to everyone else except this one group of people. It’s interesting how the government has tried to help pretty much every other group in the country whose land they took over, besides the Native Hawaiians. America is supposed to be the land of the free. People have come to this country escaping the oppression in their homelands for over a hundred years now. It just doesn’t seem fair that people come here to escape oppression, but yet are still being treated inhumanely in this country. The whole idea seems absolutely absurd, and I still don’t understand that if this great country we live in has been around for over 200 years now, and still not everyone is treated the same. The Native Hawaiians seem to suffer very similar injustices like Native Americans. Both groups earn less money, live shorter lives, and are more likely to be incarcerated than other ethnicities. However, I think that even if this bill is passed, the lives of the Native Hawaiians will probably not even improve that much. I think that if their lives do improve it will be a very slow process. The Native Hawaiians will need a large amount of land and money in order to recover. I also disagree with Jamie Story’s quote in the article that it is not the government’s job to make up for what has happened in the past. I think that the government should play a large role, if not complete role, in fixing what has happened in the past. So many people look to the government for guidance, and if the government isn’t doing anything to correct the injustices, not as many people will care. Wed, 24 Mar 2010 23:58:27 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/native-hawaiians-ever-think-of-them__trashed/#IDComment63927812 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/what-are-all-of-you-thinking-about-asians__trashed/#IDComment63923995 It is interesting that Sam doesn’t really discuss Asians very much in class. He seems to only talk about white or black/brown people. I don’t really consider Asians to be a part of the brown category. I guess some Asians can be considered brown; the ones from India and the surrounding areas. However, whenever I think of Asians I always think of people from China or Japan. Sam has brought up an interesting point in class how Americans tend to group Asian Americans with Asians. Therefore, we tend to intermingle them all and have certain stereotypes that hinder us. For example, the fact that Americans would want to have an Asian American president the least. For me, I think the biggest stereotype I have of Asians is that they are over-achievers and extremely smart people. I think as a society that we need to get over our Asian stereotypes in order to move forward and fully accept everyone. Wed, 24 Mar 2010 23:24:37 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/what-are-all-of-you-thinking-about-asians__trashed/#IDComment63923995 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/what-happens-to-multiracial-people__trashed/#IDComment62701460 I do find it weird that the phrase “people of color” is supposed to apply to everyone who is not white. However, just like the kid in the video said, I consider white a color. Therefore, this term is kind of confusing. People who consider white a color might not understand why whites aren’t included in the phrase “people of color.” Also, I think the phrase could be degrading to some of these “people of color.” It is kind of like saying, we don’t know what else to call you and since you’re not privileged enough to be white, here’s a term to describe you/separate you from the whites. It’s also interesting that this kid’s friend doesn’t 100% fit into either category. I guess the best thing to do is just identify with whatever group he’s most comfortable with. Thu, 18 Mar 2010 01:58:20 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/what-happens-to-multiracial-people__trashed/#IDComment62701460 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/does-this-rudeness-thing-cut-both-ways__trashed/#IDComment62700162 Personally, I think that the texting your messages in class idea is pretty cool, but I like it better when Sam just goes around and asks people what they think. The whole anonymity factor makes people think that they can say whatever they want since no one will know who texts what to the board. Like Sam said in class, people wouldn’t say some of the rude posts out loud, so what makes them think it’s okay to just simply text it in? Some of the things people said from all races were obviously offensive to other races. I think part of the reason that there was more of an uproar when a white person said something offensive as opposed to a person of color is because the whites were the ones that went first in the whole texting thing. Also, I do think that there is a slight double-standard thing going on where people think it is more offensive and wrong for whites to say something rude than people of color. Thu, 18 Mar 2010 01:47:38 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/does-this-rudeness-thing-cut-both-ways__trashed/#IDComment62700162 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/prom-or-no-prom-just-dont-let-the-queer-students-dance-together__trashed/#IDComment62684573 I think that even though it is 2010, many stories have come out in the news in the past decade about gay couples wanting to attend proms together and school boards forbidding it. It is ridiculous that gay rights at proms are still coming up in today’s day and age when gay rights were more of an issue a couple decades ago. As a country, we should be past the point where we have an issue with gay couples being out in public together and attending social events, such as proms. After high school, there would rarely be a time where a gay couple couldn’t go to something together. For example, many colleges, unless they’re extremely religious, wouldn’t ban gay couples for attending events together. Also, it would be extremely rare for gay couples to not be allowed into restaurants or bars together. Therefore, it is ridiculous for high schools to not allow gay couples to attend, since these kids are practically going to be in the adult world in a year or so anyway. Many high schools even hold separate proms for gay couples now. An all-girls high school near my house actually held one for lesbian couples that wanted to go to prom, but weren’t allowed to go to the regular one. I think this is a good option if schools won’t allow their gay students to go to the normal prom; however, it is still pretty ridiculous. Schools should just allow any student, regardless of sexual orientation, to attend a prom if they so desire. It shouldn’t matter if you go to prom with someone of the same or opposite sex. If schools are afraid of gay couples engaging in promiscuous activity and offending other students, they can certainly restrict the activity that goes on. They should be doing this for heterogeneous couples as well. I also wonder if where the high school was located played a role in why the school board was so strict. The high school is located in Mississippi, and the south is known for being more religious and strict; therefore, southerners usually aren’t as accepting of homosexuality as other parts of the United States. Also, it is extremely unfair that because of one student’s request to bring her girlfriend to prom that the other students aren’t allowed to have a prom. It is wrong that the school board is punishing everyone else for McMillen’s request. Because of this, like she said in the article, a lot of students are probably going to be angry at her and blame her for cancelling their prom. This whole thing is utterly ridiculous since gay rights shouldn’t even be an issue in today’s world. Also, it is absurd that they are ruining prom for everyone else just because they don’t agree with one student’s requests. Thu, 18 Mar 2010 00:14:58 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/prom-or-no-prom-just-dont-let-the-queer-students-dance-together__trashed/#IDComment62684573 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/02/a-long-long-way-indeed__trashed/#IDComment59668816 I think that the slave owners who lived over 150 years ago would be very shocked, but also angry, at how different today’s society is compared to during Civil War times. The kid that asked this question is right in that we have come so far in race relations, and things are drastically different today. I don’t think a slave owner could ever picture a white person and a black person side by side engaging in the same activities. This is why I think a slave owner would be shocked by today’s society, but it is also why I think he would be angry. Slave owners lived in a world where they thought it was not right for blacks and whites to be equal. For a slave owner today to see both races participating in the same sports or to be standing next to each other on television, I definitely think that would anger him. Thu, 4 Mar 2010 02:29:17 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/02/a-long-long-way-indeed__trashed/#IDComment59668816