en-us https://www.intensedebate.com/users/765579 Comments by swimmer87 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/south-park-off-the-hook__trashed/#IDComment71544369 Although I have not seen this episode of South Park yet, I have heard a lot about it. I watch Family Guy, which is another controversial show, so I know that producers of these shows just like to push buttons. It does not necessarily mean that the producers believe exactly what they are portraying on the show; they just want people to think about the topics in a different, more humorous way. It is using humor to ignite conversations and thoughts. So while I kind of understand why some people might be offending, I still think that they should just take it with a grain of salt because it is just for entertainment. Fri, 30 Apr 2010 20:21:13 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/south-park-off-the-hook__trashed/#IDComment71544369 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/what-about-people-who-can-only-afford-hard-work__trashed/#IDComment71543879 Illegal immigration as we all know and have experienced in class, is a very controversial topic. However, this video brings up a good point about simply getting through life through hard work. I definitely agree that you do not always need to be rich or have a lot of money to get by in life or succeed. Of course, money can definitely assist with getting far in life, but that is not the only way to do it. While I do not really discriminate against illegal immigrants, I am still unsure about how I feel the situation should be handled. Fri, 30 Apr 2010 20:17:27 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/what-about-people-who-can-only-afford-hard-work__trashed/#IDComment71543879 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/stories-for-uplift__trashed/#IDComment71543292 And of course, the second video is so bittersweet. It is remarkably sweet to see the boy’s expression when he is with and talking about the girl that he likes so much. While it is very cute, there is a very important underlying message about being “color blind.” The world definitely would be a better and peaceful place is we all were colorblind towards races, just like these young children are. Everyday, people in love are being torn apart, judged, and tortured if they are of different races or backgrounds. It is really a sad thing to see. While this video was portraying young children and was a bit silly, we need to seriously consider the fact that this happens in reality. Like the first video, it was very inspiring and thought-provoking and more commercials and videos like these should be out there for the public to see. Fri, 30 Apr 2010 20:13:04 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/stories-for-uplift__trashed/#IDComment71543292 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/stories-for-uplift__trashed/#IDComment71543266 Dan and Myra both seem like such great and genuine people. Myra is such a great person for taking a mundane job and turning into a friendly atmosphere and make others feel great about life and wanting to do such great acts such as Dan. It was so great to see how appreciative Myra was for the deed that Dan did for her. No matter how she was feeling, she was always kind to the customers, and Dan knew her so well that he knew she was not being herself. While Myra may just be a cashier to some customers, to Dan, she is a life-changer and vice versa. With all of the horrible news that we hear about these days, I think that we should be becoming aware of the great stories such as these. It is stories that these that inspire others to do similar acts of kindness. Fri, 30 Apr 2010 20:12:50 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/stories-for-uplift__trashed/#IDComment71543266 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/stories-for-uplift__trashed/#IDComment71543227 Wow! What great videos! I was so happy to see both of these videos posted. They are both so extremely uplifting and put me in such a happy mood. I had already seen the second video in class, but it was even better watching it again for a second time around. Both videos are ones that everyone should see. The first video about Dan giving his kidney away to Myra, the grocery store clerk was very astounding. This is an amazing act of kindness; in fact, words cannot really express how kind that deed was. Personally, I do not think I would give my kidney away to a complete stranger, but I suppose the situation has never really come up. I feel that usually in places like grocery stores, the customers barely acknowledge the workers there unless they are paying or have a question. This can be understandable because people get busy and are sometimes very focused when they are shopping, but barely ever give the time of day to the employees, especially the cashiers. Fri, 30 Apr 2010 20:12:30 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/stories-for-uplift__trashed/#IDComment71543227 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/300000-whats-it-mean-to-us__trashed/#IDComment69746444 I am very glad that Ian came in and spoke to our class about Haiti and his experiences there. While we see coverage of the horrible earthquake and its aftermath on TV and online, it is always more riveting to hear the experience live from someone who was there and saw it with their own eyes. 300,000 people are an excruciating amount of people to die from one single event, and it is still very hard to comprehend that. It is not only 300,000 people that are dead; it’s all of their friends and family that are extremely devastated. The mass graves say it all and are so hard to comprehend. Thu, 22 Apr 2010 14:57:22 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/300000-whats-it-mean-to-us__trashed/#IDComment69746444 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/tent-cities-in-haiti__trashed/#IDComment69746279 Wow! What an interesting story! I had no idea this type of market was going on in Haiti after the earthquake. It is amazing that these individuals who have been through so much, are taking advantage and using their economic smarts to try to move forward with their lives and make money. It was interesting to see the different types of businesses that are going on, and interesting to see that the individuals who used to be doctors or teachers, are now compensating and doing something completely different in order to survive after the destruction. I would love to see more coverage on this! Thu, 22 Apr 2010 14:56:51 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/tent-cities-in-haiti__trashed/#IDComment69746279 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/letter-from-an-inmate__trashed/#IDComment69746074 Wow this is a very intriguing post. Ever since Sam and Laurie explained to the class their experiences with the lifers, I was quite curious. To be honest, I was not sure, and still am not sure how I feel about all of it. I mean, these individuals took a human life. While they are getting redemption for it for sure by being in prison for the rest of their lives, I am still not sure about the level of respect we should give them. I have never spoken to anyone in prison, who has ever been in prison, or spoken to anyone who has spoken to a prisoner, let alone a life. So while I had and still have my misconceptions and apprehension about this topic, the letter from the life posted on this blog definitely made me think differently about it. The letter that this individual wrote for this class was actually pretty compelling, especially with the story in the beginning. When reading the story about the father who lost his son, I was picturing this happening outside of the prison. But once the setting was in the prison yard it really hit me hard, because it makes you realize that these lifers really do have family that they are concerned for and that they love. Imagine being a parent and losing a child and not being able to call ANYONE. No matter what you have done in your past, at that moment, you need someone to talk to and you really do not have the outlets that non prisoners have. I guess I have such a stereotypical vision of what a prison and its prisoners are like. I would never pictured men (who are probably capable of such violence themselves) embracing each other and offering each other help. Compassion was never a word I would have picked for these individuals. But while these individuals are inside of a prison for the rest of their lives, they still hear about the horrible disasters that happen around the world, and they still deal with the deaths of family and friends. And there is not much they can do about it. They are powerless, which they do deserve to be. Committing such a crime to become a lifer in prisoner must mean that you did something horrific, so while these individuals may be real compassionate people with feelings, they caused horrible pain for a family out there in society, possibly even multiple families. So there are many dimensions about the lifers that we need to think about. There are other dimensions that I have thought about previous to reading this letter, but this letter added another dimension that I have to consider. It does not mean I am fully for believing that the lifers can change in prisoner or can be compassionate, but it is a new topic I have to think about more. Thu, 22 Apr 2010 14:56:07 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/letter-from-an-inmate__trashed/#IDComment69746074 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/women__trashed/#IDComment68432589 So I do not necessarily think that our society needs to change how we portray beauty, I think that each individual girl has to look within themselves to figure out what they think is beautiful. But I still think that this is a very important topic to talk about, both with men and women. I really do not think this topic is ever going to go away, though. There will always be celebrities and models that many girls will look up to and perceive as most beautiful, but it just depends upon each individual girl and what they think of themselves. While the majority of the women displayed in the media are very thin, there are all different types of women that are portrayed. Hopefully in the future, this will continue and increase even more. Fri, 16 Apr 2010 21:48:07 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/women__trashed/#IDComment68432589 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/women__trashed/#IDComment68432568 My older cousin had very large breasts when she was in college. She not only got teased, but she also had back problems to go along with it (I think a lot of people tend to forget that breasts do carry some weight, which can be painful for some girls). She was in a lot of pain and very stressed out about it. So, she got a breast reduction. Her confidence is boosted, and she is finally pain free. Aside from the confidence, it was most important for her to be pain free. No one should go through life with physical pain, so this was a great procedure for her. So everyone has their own issues with how they feel about themselves. Even if we think they are the most beautiful girl in the world, they probably still have parts of themselves that they feel insecure about. Fri, 16 Apr 2010 21:47:52 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/women__trashed/#IDComment68432568 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/women__trashed/#IDComment68432522 This is definitely a touchy and quite controversial topic to talk about, and I am glad that it was opened up in class the other day. The play that was written by Laurie and performed by the three girls was a great addition to the lecture and creatively portrayed the reality of the view that some girls have on themselves and beauty. Hopefully more skits like this will be written and performed for different classes, because it was very powerful. Putting a twist on the idea that having a bigger chest is the only way to be beautiful was a very good idea because it made me think about this topic in a very different way. I thought it was good that the girl who made the comment about the fact that being on the other side, like having larger breasts, can be detrimental to someone and their confidence as well. We cannot just look at a girl and assume that she is happy or confident just because her breasts are bigger, or the “ideal size.” Everyone feels different about parts of their bodies, and I think it is important for everyone to realize this. Fri, 16 Apr 2010 21:47:35 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/women__trashed/#IDComment68432522 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/want-to-learn-chinese__trashed/#IDComment68113377 This was a very interesting article and I think that it is great that more schools are offering Chinese. It is about time that schools are offering to teach kids one of the most popular languages. This step forward will definitely help out the future of these students and increase their ability to do more business and such oversees. However, while this is a great step forward, we are taking a step back when we are decreasing the amount of languages that are being offered. While I may not remember much of the Spanish that I took in high school, I think that it was important to learn at the time. Learning a language takes skill and uses different parts of the brain that I think was a great experience to have. Thu, 15 Apr 2010 00:21:24 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/want-to-learn-chinese__trashed/#IDComment68113377 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/what-about-the-men__trashed/#IDComment68112346 This is definitely an interesting question and a very important one considering we talked a lot about women conforming to society during the last class. Even as a girl, I very much agree with the fact that men conform to society. While a lot of guys give off the attitude that they do not care, I have spoken to a few of my guy friends and some of them look at guys and celebrities in magazines just like some women do. Maybe they do not do it to the extent that women do, but I am sure that with the media, men can be aware and can even be subconscious about how they appear to others. Thu, 15 Apr 2010 00:12:31 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/what-about-the-men__trashed/#IDComment68112346 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/i-really-want-to-know-also__trashed/#IDComment66888816 I am really glad that this question was posted for everyone. It is something that I have never really asked myself before. I mean, I have deeply listened to every lecture that Sam has had, but I never sat down and asked myself if my opinion has been changed. I do not believe that Sam wants us to change our specific views or opinions on the topics, but as a sociologist and teacher, it is his job to make us feel something about the topics, and take a look at them in a different light. My opinion hasn’t been changed yet, but I have definitely thought about things differently since taking this class. Fri, 9 Apr 2010 22:41:34 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/i-really-want-to-know-also__trashed/#IDComment66888816 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/this-is-totally-off-the-hook__trashed/#IDComment66887068 In America, there are horribly violent games which involve killings and prostitutes, so it is not just in Japan in which there are video games which are threatening to society’s values. Violent video games have been studied and proven to lead to violent acts by children who play them. So with this being said, hopefully no children can get their hands on this Japanese fantasy rape game, because it would be such a horrible influence on them, let alone on anyone who plays them. Also, hopefully in the future games like this could not be created and sold to the public, and that the games that exist right now and are able to be downloaded can someone be removed. This news cast really opened my eyes to the fact that we all need to take a step back and look at our morals and how just a “game” can be negatively influencing. Fri, 9 Apr 2010 22:29:28 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/this-is-totally-off-the-hook__trashed/#IDComment66887068 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/this-is-totally-off-the-hook__trashed/#IDComment66886992 . How did the Japanese government allow such a horrific game be brought out into the public and sold for play. What kind of morals and values do these people have to let such a game be created? But I do not personally know the ins and outs of the Japanese government, nor do I fully understand their culture, so while I am outraged by this horrible video game, more needs to be researched and found out about the true reason behind such a game to be created. I was really surprised that the British couple said they tried the game because they were curious about it. I guess they were just being honest, but it still shocks me for someone to admit that they tried such a game and were not really shocked or offended by it. But while this type of game is obviously horrendous and the nature of the material in the game is extremely controversial, this may be the time to take a step back and really take a look at video games everywhere. Fri, 9 Apr 2010 22:29:00 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/this-is-totally-off-the-hook__trashed/#IDComment66886992 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/this-is-totally-off-the-hook__trashed/#IDComment66886955 Wow this is such a ridiculous game that has no reason to even exist. How could anyone in their right mind create such a game. The creators of this game should be checked out because they must not be normal. What normal person would even think of creating a game such as this, one that is so demoralizing to women and to everyone who is aware of it. After watching this CNN video about the Japanese rape fantasy game, I could not believe what I was hearing. Although these games have been taken away from being sold at stores, they are still out there and easily able to be downloaded for everyone to play. Who in their right mind would want to play this game and not feel disgusted about themselves afterwards? It was horrifying just watching the few clips that were showed in the newscast Fri, 9 Apr 2010 22:28:44 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/this-is-totally-off-the-hook__trashed/#IDComment66886955 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/those-damn-dolls__trashed/#IDComment65650338 Maybe it is the way that these dolls were advertised that is part of the problem. From my experience, I only remember the Barbie dolls that were advertised in the magazines or tv as being the white ones with blonde hair. So maybe if they start using advertisements that include all racial groups, young children of different ethnic groups will see this and see that all ethnic groups are beautiful. This is a complex topic, and there may be many reasons why these children chose the dolls that they did. Either way, it is something that as a society, we should do something about. Whether it is teaching our children that everyone is beautiful, or changing the media portrayal of beauty, something needs to be done. Fri, 2 Apr 2010 23:32:14 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/those-damn-dolls__trashed/#IDComment65650338 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/those-damn-dolls__trashed/#IDComment65650322 As a white woman, I do not know what it is like to be a black person. I do know, however, that a lot of the belief that only white is beautiful, comes from the media. The media has always been everywhere, but in today’s society, it is increasing ever so much because of the availability of technology and all the media access it has to offer. It seems as if everyone has access to technology and the media, especially children these days. Younger children more than ever are starting to watch more tv, listening to music on their ipod, using a cell phone, and other forms of technology. These forms have easy access to the media, and are media themselves. There are falsified views of beauty in all of these forms of media, and it is ruining everyone’s vision about how they feel about themselves. If people look or dress differently than the beautiful celebrities, then they may not think they are special or beautiful themselves. Fri, 2 Apr 2010 23:32:02 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/those-damn-dolls__trashed/#IDComment65650322 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/those-damn-dolls__trashed/#IDComment65650133 This was a very disheartening video and study to watch because it really brings out the views that children have about race and beauty. Most often, we talk to adults and adolescents about racial issues, but I think it was important that we all saw this and realized how very young children view themselves and race. I have heard about a video like this from a friend, but you really have to watch it to get the real impact. Just watching the poor children’s faces as they decide which doll is “beautiful” or which doll is most like them is heart wrenching, because all children should view themselves as beautiful (and so should people at every age) regardless about what they look like or where they come from. It was terrible to hear the children answer that the doll that they chose is “beautiful because they are white”. This view that only the white dolls or white people are beautiful is a poison that should be kept away from their minds. It would be very interesting to hear the children being interviewed further about their thoughts about this, because this video was just so hard to watch. Fri, 2 Apr 2010 23:31:12 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/those-damn-dolls__trashed/#IDComment65650133