en-us https://www.intensedebate.com/users/765499 Comments by tac239 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/300000-whats-it-mean-to-us__trashed/#IDComment69860471 A lot of people died in Haiti and are continuing to die every day. I have never thought of Haiti, heard of Haiti, nor do I know anything about it including its location. To be honest I didn’t even hear about the disaster the day it happened, I wasn’t aware until about two days later because I decided to pick up a newspaper. I am not too sure how I feel about the whole situation; I will try to not seem too cold about it. This disaster was horrifying, tragic, and life changing for those people in Haiti. My remorse for those who died, those who suffered, and those who lost family and friends, and those who remained trapped for days is immense. People never think about things like this until after they happen. However, as a student I cannot afford to personally go there and help. We also heard that the money being donated in a way is hurting the country because it is being used in the wrong way so what are we to do. It is very true that people easily forget about things like this. How could people not? Especially something that is not in our country, something that really has little connection to our lifestyle. I don’t think that anybody needs to feel bad for continuing on with their lives. Why would people choose to sit around and mourn instead of going on with their everyday life? It is a lot easier to just forget, who wants to sit down and think about all the stuff that is going on? All the people dying, all the sadness, no one really. I feel that if you can make a difference, or have the potential to make a difference you should. However I do not feel that it is necessary to sit around and think about disasters like this all the time, things that do not directly correlate to your everyday life , instead of going out and continuing to live your life. If you can help, that’s great! Do whatever you can, in this case I am far from Haiti and have never even heard of it I do not feel I need to let it affect my life. I donated money to help and left it at that. My opinion might sounds cruel but this is just how I feel. Haiti was one of the poorest countries in the World, and from what Sam said that is the United States’ fault from a long time ago. Pumping all this money into it now when they have nothing to do with it and are using it in a way that isn’t benefiting anyone in the long run seems like a waste to me. People need to collaborate and come together, this is the only way to help. People that can help great, keep helping, others who cannot I feel should continue on with their lives and not feel guilty about it. Fri, 23 Apr 2010 02:57:33 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/300000-whats-it-mean-to-us__trashed/#IDComment69860471 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/christian-invaders-the-turnaround__trashed/#IDComment68311889 This entire lecture blew my mind. This war has been going on for so long and I have never even sat down to think about it. I have never put myself in someone else’s shoes, I have never even thought what is this war about; I just knew it was going on. That being said I still do not know much of this war and what it entails but I do know the wrongs that I saw today in class. Things such as people being drove off the road and peoples’ cars being ran over. Christian invaders… it is so weird to think of this in the perspective of the Muslim people. Maybe because the war is in their country is a reason why I do not think about it/why is does not directly affect me. If this war was going on here I would know everything about it, but because it is not our country being invaded, not our civilians being killed every day I am guilty of not thinking about it. The most powerful thing I think that hit me from this whole lecture is that there is a limit set to how many civilians it is “okay” to kill in order to get the bad person we are after. How anyone could come up with such a number is beyond me. How anyone could sit there and get to choose to them what the number acceptable is, measure these peoples’ lives. A lot of these people being killed have nothing to do with the war and want nothing to do with it; they are just in the wrong place at the wrong time. I was beyond shocked when we were told that it was acceptable to kill 29 civilians, innocent people just to get one bad guy. No wonder so many people hate our country. Most of the people being killed are innocent, how is that okay? I do not understand the connection between religion and oil however. Why does it matter if people are a religion other than our own? How does that affect us personally in any way at all? I am not trying to take over the world or convert everyone to the same religion and I want nothing to do with this war. I feel horrible for these innocent people in the middle of this. My anger and hate would be tremendous if I was seeing my family and friends and people of my community being killed for no reason. I feel like the U.S is way over stepping their boundaries here. Get the fuck out of there before more people get hurt and killed. We really don’t have any business being there in the first place; this lecture really hit me hard. Fri, 16 Apr 2010 03:08:03 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/christian-invaders-the-turnaround__trashed/#IDComment68311889 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/this-is-totally-off-the-hook__trashed/#IDComment66497079 I am not a feminist in any way but seeing this game makes me very angry. To attempt to normalize extreme sexual violence on women is beyond wrong. It makes no difference that this “rapelay” game was removed because it is still available to download and play. There are no laws that restrict video game themes which need to be taken care of. The game censored enough so that you cannot see genetalia but this seems a little ridiculous because if the purpose of the game is to rape the girl you are doing the raping action so what difference does it make if you can see specifics or not. I realize that this is a Controversial subject but this is something that needs to be talked about. To me it seems a little shady that no one in the Japanese government would comment on the subject. To me this is showing that they know it is wrong but just don’t care or think it is important enough to even comment on. The person who commented said they realize it is a problem, if this is true then it needs to be taken care of immediately. These games include sexual violence, sexual torture, rape, stalking and more. I am not sure why anyone would want to play or partake in these games. I do not see how that could be fun or enjoyable. This seems like something someone in prison would come up with. Women are not disposable people, you cannot portray them as objects instead of people. Global availability of these games including graphic interactive scenes can only be promoting rape and violence. I realize that there are plenty of video games out there promoting things such as war, gun violence, and even car theft. I am not saying that these games are okay. They are just that… games. However these games do implant ideas that is it fun to shoot people and steal cars and although not everyone playing these games will go out and do them, some people might which is reason enough to take a second look at them. People trying to socialize, normalize, and make it acceptable for a subject so personal like rape is unthinkable. Rape is defined as the unlawful compelling of a woman through physical force or duress to have sexual intercourse or any act of sexual intercourse that is forced upon a person. Lucy in the video is acting completely casual about the whole thing but she might feel differently if she has ever been raped. She might be a little more sensitive to the whole idea of people playing this as a game. Maybe she should put herself in the shoes of someone who has been through this and she would think twice about it. All of these games need to be removed permanently from internet and stores. Thu, 8 Apr 2010 01:45:29 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/this-is-totally-off-the-hook__trashed/#IDComment66497079 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/what-about-multiracial-people__trashed/#IDComment65091507 What if you are biracial? As a person of two races I have asked this question many times. I always whisper to my friend next to me in class, “Which color should I answer for?” when we are doing text-ins and questions. I am half white and half African American. I grew up with just my mother (who is white) and in a predominately white society. I understand what he is going through because what about people with more than one race? How should we identify? Should we choose one side, should we choose another side, should we just switch back and forth? Should I call myself white because I grew up in a white community with one white parent? I do not think so. Personally I do not think race questions should be asked of anyone unless it is for the census. Applications should not ask race, why does this matter? How does your race have anything to do with the quality job you are capable of doing. Where I work back home the company I work for gets in trouble for not having enough diverse people. They get awarded “diversity points”. To me this is crazy. It isn’t that the company is discriminating but honestly how many black and Hispanic girls want to be Abercrombie models? As a company that is allowed to discriminate based on appearance they are very persistent about having a quota of diverse people, even when those people aren’t really interested in the company. I feel that in this society people classify themselves as one thing, even if they are biracial. I think they just recently added a box saying biracial, and allowing people to check more than one box which is a good thing. America is called the melting pot and I think people should be proud to be more than one thing, and it should be talked about. So maybe some people do not see this as an issue but it is somewhat an identity crisis. I have spent a lot of time, if not equal time with both of my races, black and white, so why should I have to choose one? I always get annoyed because Sam seems to assume people are on the “white team” or the “black and brown team” it is a lot more common now for people to be mixed. In a way it is its own discrimination. As a biracial person I am choosing to use both races to define myself, any person struggling with this maybe because I don’t look black doesn’t mean I can’t relate or know anything about the community. I urge the person asking the question and all people with multiple races to be proud. Stop separating people by “teams” also, that is just promoting segregation. Wed, 31 Mar 2010 23:38:19 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/what-about-multiracial-people__trashed/#IDComment65091507 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/if-men-could-menstruate__trashed/#IDComment64229270 I understand people being uncomfortable talking about this subject. Men and women for the most part don’t really talk about this. I was actually kind of shocked that Sam even brought it up. For me I never thought about it being strange that people do not talk about the menstruation cycle because you just never hear people having conversations about it. In a way this is understandable that it makes some people uncomfortable, men mostly. Men do not understand really what is going on which is probably a big reason why they do not talk about it. Maybe if people educated themselves about the menstruation cycle, a healthy, natural, normal thing that occurs people would be more willing to talk about it. I personally do not like talking about things I do not understand so I can see where the men are coming from. Perhaps if women talked about it more, after all it is happening to them, then people would learn and just get used to the topic and hearing about it. The question brought up about what if this cycle happened to men not women is a very interesting one. I agree that everything would be different. Like Sam stated, men rule the world and that is just the way it has always been. If they had to go through the discomfort every month most likely they would talk about it. I am not so sure if tampons would be free but I feel that it would be out in the open. Men wouldn’t have to hide them in their pockets (like women in their purses) I feel like they would be comfortable just carrying them around. So in a way it is kind of a double standard that it is happening to women but we can’t talk about it because it makes people uncomfortable, but we pretty much know if it were men going through it, menstruation would be constantly a norm for conversation. I kind of wish there was a way that men could understand and have to go through it even just once but that is impossible. I am not angry that people don’t talk about this subject more openly and constantly because if people did start to talk about it I feel that it would be awkward for a while and something you would have to get used to. However I would like to see a change in people’s attitudes about the subject. As Sam stated in lecture, bleeding is something natural that occurs in the body like the sensation of hunger or being tired. It is not something in which women need to be ashamed about or hide in any way. Fri, 26 Mar 2010 18:18:32 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/if-men-could-menstruate__trashed/#IDComment64229270 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/02/question-on-discrimination__trashed/#IDComment59443165 A survey proving that employers are most likely to hire a white person over a person of color unfortunately doesn’t sound all that shocking because as most of us know, discrimination and racism still exist; most likely, it probably always will. However when I saw the survey/experiment presented in class about a white man and black man with exactly the same resumes and clothing go after a job opportunity I was intrigued to see what the outcome would be. People often try to excuse their behavior as not being racist but there is no explanation for this… You could not say that these men didn’t have the same opportunity because they did. You cannot say that these men didn’t have equal education, because they did. So what is the excuse for this outcome? Wouldn’t you think maybe they would have an equal shot? Or at least close to equal? How about they throw in a criminal record on just one resume, wouldn’t this make a huge difference in the outcome if one man has spent time in prison? They make a criminal record for almost a year in jail and the charge of possession and intent to sell cocaine, there is no way you would think to hire this person over the person who has no record, hands down. But then they threw color in, they made it so that all the white men had this criminal record, the black men had clear records, perfect you could say. It was at this point that I was thinking no one in their right mind would hire someone who has been in prison and connected to drugs over someone who hasn’t. When I heard the outcome that they STILL hired the white man with the criminal record over the black man with equal education and no record my jaw dropped. I was beyond shocked at something like this. I frankly just do not understand racism; to me the concept makes no sense. Someone is more tan then you what is the big deal. How does that change anything at all? To see that this level of discrimination still exists however blew my mind. I mentioned the statistics to my boyfriend and he was not shocked at all. I guess I just don’t understand how people could see the world in such a way. How someone would that harshly judge someone before even talking to them is just sad. Also the whole subject of how people don’t get call backs or hired because their names are different is absurd to me. How can you discriminate against a name or its spelling?! How are we ever supposed to get anywhere in the world if there are bad people like this? How will anything ever change if people are so stubborn and racist? Why can’t people just look beyond the surface, some people may be tanner or more pale than you, get over it it’s not a big deal. Wed, 3 Mar 2010 00:11:05 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/02/question-on-discrimination__trashed/#IDComment59443165 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/02/native-americans-question-two__trashed/#IDComment58555938 I kept hearing comments from a lot of people saying things like, “I didn’t do this”, or “my ancestors did this why am I being blamed for it” in regards to the largest genocide to occur. I will be honest, the first thing that crossed my mind is, “why are you yelling at me and talking to me like I was directly involved in this genocide”. I was thinking much like the other people around me. I think that the first reaction to hearing something as strong as this is to defend yourself as a person; did you go out and kill these Native Americans? Did you steal their land and bury them? Did you make them the poorest most suicidal group of people in America? The answer for most of us would be no. Directly we did not kill anyone, we did not steal land. However much needs to be considered when thinking about this subject. Although we did not directly stab or shoot these people, our ancestors did. To me this doesn’t make much sense because the majority of our ancestors were not native to this land, they immigrated here to find a better life. So our family members came here to America and there were already people here. We came to a land that was claimed; shouldn’t we have been the ones considered intruding? Shouldn’t we have been the ones getting killed for being ignorant and pretending like we were the first ones here? What I don’t understand is why this genocide happened. This was their land, they were here first. They had established land and homes. Was there not enough room for them and us? Not having enough room still doesn’t justify massacre, and what is worse is that there was plenty of land for everyone we just did not want to share it with people who were different from us. This to me is in a way ironic now-a-days bearing in mind that America is considered the melting-pot, filled with all different races and mixes of different kinds of people. I wish I could go back to the time this was occurring and just ask, “What the fuck are you thinking?” After hearing all the lecture and keeping an open mind, avoiding the instinct to automatically defend myself I realized how ignorant these thoughts were. Yes our generation did not kill, murder, massacre these Native Americans directly. However living on this land that is stolen and Red Land does make this our problem. Living on this stolen land makes us a part of this just as much as our ancestors who stole the land. So stop denying and being ignorant claiming that you have nothing to do with this, because in fact you are just as guilty as those who did the killing. Wed, 24 Feb 2010 22:46:43 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/02/native-americans-question-two__trashed/#IDComment58555938 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/02/lgbt-class-question-three__trashed/#IDComment57469150 I am not sure how I feel about the statement that everyone is bisexual. Exploring isn’t for everyone and I’m not too sure I would agree with the statement that it is “natural” because it’s not. I do not look down upon anyone who is comfortable with themselves and honest and brave enough to admit who they really are, gay. I think it’s great that people can do this with a since of pride, and for that I look up to them. I learned a lot from this lecture dealing with the issue of are you born gay or is it a social issue. I always kind of thought it was both but it was kind of cool to hear the evidence proving this. However, to go out and try things with people of the same sex to see if you are straight doesn’t really make sense to me. I guess that is one way to do it, but on the other hand if you have never had feelings for anyone of the same sex why would this be necessary? Why would you even need to check and see? I believe that some people, gay and straight, are comfortable with their sexuality and shouldn’t be referenced as bisexual when they are not. If you know you are a gay man, why would you want to go make out with a straight girl? You already know what sex you like/prefer. In that sense I think in a way people who actually classify themselves as bisexual are not confused, they know they like both sexes. In reality they might enjoy one more than the other, or like certain about one sex, and certain things of the other. I do not think you are born bisexual I think you just realize one day you have feelings for both. I would say bisexual people are the opposite of confused, they know exactly what they want, however eventually they will have to choose. I guess I agree with the statement that you can be straight and hook up with the same sex, but only in certain situations. Prison would be one of these situations that makes sense because you have no other choices, or trying it once doesn’t make you gay either. I thought it was kind of funny that those people that were most homophobic in the study done were the ones most aroused from the gay porn; it just goes to show you those closed minded people are the ones who should open their minds and think about issues from both sides. I would classify bisexual as someone that has had repeated experiences with both sexes and does not want to just pick one side, they are not confused. Thu, 18 Feb 2010 16:37:15 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/02/lgbt-class-question-three__trashed/#IDComment57469150 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/02/negros-of-the-world-unite__trashed/#IDComment56283562 I think it’s foolish and unnecessary to have so many different ways to classify people. I think we need to stop trying to separate and segregate people, it is not helping anything. Personally I couldn’t care less what people call me or what people want to be called. To spend so much time worrying about one word such as Negro seems to me like a waste of time and effort. You can never make everyone happy so just stop wasting your time. I do not understand why if the word negro was already an option on the census along with black and African American why the hell someone would go out of their way to write it in. Yet another waste of time in my opinion. People need to stop worrying about what other people think or how people are classified in general. We need to stop making up all new kinds of groups. Simplify and specify the census to only a few choices. If people are unhappy and don’t see the word they think describes them then they don’t need to worry about even filling it out if they are that passionate and serious about it. Maybe the census should just be a blank line. People can identify themselves as whatever they want to be, people are most likely multiple things which is why this is a waste of time and effort. We are called the “melting pot” for a reason. It is great that they allow people to check more than one race box because that is how you will get accuracy and clarity as to who is answering the census. It is easy to see that we have come a long way since the first census that asked only about one race, white. I understand back then we needed the census because the antidiscrimination laws written in the 1960s and the affirmative-action policies that followed needed to know the counts but I am not too sure why we need one now knowing how inaccurate it actually is. I don’t really understand why only 2.4% of the population checked more than one race when in reality; probably over 50% of people are mixed in one way or another. To me this signifies that people just want to be seen as one thing, white. That way they will not be questioned, get jobs easier, be the “dominant” race or whatever it is people say. I understand wanting to be proud of who you are and where you come from; avoiding it isn’t the answer, and neither is refusing to check a certain box and writing it on the line instead. I feel that people make the world more complicated than it needs to be. Here’s an idea… stop trying to separate people into different groups it will never work, there will never be thousands of boxes on a census. “Every man is created equal”. Thu, 11 Feb 2010 03:32:51 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/02/negros-of-the-world-unite__trashed/#IDComment56283562 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/01/the-enlightened-west-knows-best__trashed/#IDComment55354191 If less than 2000 women wear the burqas why are they making such a big deal about it? If this is what the women want to wear than let them wear it. However it is a totally different situation if the men around them are forcing them to wear these burqas. This would be subjugation on many levels and would be wrong. People have the right to wear what they want, whether it is baggy jeans, skinny jeans, or burqas. If it is religious beliefs then I don’t see why it should be banned. IF they want to wear these and feel more comfortable with their faces covered I say go for it. If they are being forced however I could see how that could be uncomfortable and hot and how people would stare. The woman in the video is right. Passing a law against burqas would take away fundamental rights and be wrong. Some Muslims are even against the full vale which surprises me. They state that it says nothing in the Koran about women having to fully cover with a vale but what if that is how they are most comfortable? How would you feel if you had a favorite outfit you loved to wear and felt comfortable in and someone told you it was against the law to wear it? Personally I would be upset, even though that doesn’t even compare because some of these women claim they are doing it for their religion. They are trying to pass this so that if a woman is wearing a full vale she cannot have public service such as purchasing anything from food to a bus ticket. How can you discriminate against someone because of what they are wearing that is ridiculous. Also they are trying to charge a $1000 for wearing one in public. This is to me just stupid. People sometimes wear things that make me uncomfortable but should they be fined for it? This just to me seems likes discrimination and racism. I think it is respectful that these ladies say if need be they will show their faces for identification purposes, what else could you ask for? What other reason would there be to tell people they can’t wear something if they are willing to show their face for identification what would be the reason that they couldn’t wear these? If any law is passes against wearing the full vale it would most certainly be challenged in court and most likely would not be in affect too long. Even the police stated that if this law was passed it would be difficult to enforce it. I feel bad for these women who are just trying to follow their religion or just trying to feel comfortable. The thought that a law like this could be put into place in the year 2010 where we have come so far with rights and respect for others religion is shocking. Thu, 4 Feb 2010 17:48:07 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/01/the-enlightened-west-knows-best__trashed/#IDComment55354191 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/01/racism-looks-pretty-good-on-this-side-of-the-atlantic__trashed/#IDComment54027770 I think it is beyond ridiculous and inappropriate that a coach would say or think something like that. A coach’s job is to coach and encourage, not to talk smack and make raciest comments about opponents his team is going to play, especially to his players. Fining him $5,000 was not enough. Maybe if they would make examples out of people like this who say and do terrible things, people would think twice before speaking what is on their mind. He should have been suspended. The fact that he doesn’t think he did anything wrong makes it even worse because this just means he will continue to do this. As to the player who returns fascist solutes to fascist fans, he should not be allowed to do so. This is encouraging these fans even more. In football in America the players are not even aloud to do victory dances, this behavior would never be tolerated at an American sporting event. I don’t see how anyone could enjoy attending a sport event like this, it looks dangerous not only to the players but to some fans as well. I am stunned that these people are calling others animals and monkeys. Just because someone is tanner than you are how does that make them a monkey or an animal? It is ironic in a way because if you look at the behavior of the fans (the people saying these awful things) they are the ones that look and sound and resemble animals…not the black players. My opinion is if you are that offended by these black players and hate them so much that you feel the need to throw things such as bananas on the field and make animal noises and loud remarks just don’t go to the game! If you don’t want to see these men play then don’t go and ruin it for everyone else, it’s that simple. People need to be kicked out of the stadiums and not allowed to return. I cannot imagine being one of those players playing and how difficult that would be. These fans are being blatantly raciest and it’s disgusting that people could ever act like this. I am glad that these guys did those ads and they are absolutely right. People need to start speaking up when we know something is wrong. I think it is preposterous that FIFA took so long to intervene. How long can you ignore a problem as big as this? The president of FIFA stated that if people shouted raciest statements at the world cup that he would shut it down and that there would have to be something wrong with society if that happened. Well look around you idiot obviously something is wrong in your society if this is occurring at your sporting events in your country and not in ours…Grow up people, people are tanner then you, people are more pale then you, this is life. I hope all those fans get what’s coming to them. Wed, 27 Jan 2010 03:32:54 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/01/racism-looks-pretty-good-on-this-side-of-the-atlantic__trashed/#IDComment54027770 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/01/last-name-begins-with-c__trashed/#IDComment53868926 anything Tue, 26 Jan 2010 00:53:58 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/01/last-name-begins-with-c__trashed/#IDComment53868926 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/01/clubbing-the-bejesus-out-of-rationality__trashed/#IDComment52860940 I think it is absurd to believe that a something titled a “natural disaster” could be anything but that. There was no pact with the devil involved (because that is not possible). Those people in Haiti who are suffering from this natural disaster did nothing to deserve this. I believe that everything happens for a reason and these things tend to work themselves out. I have personally never watched the 700 club and after hearing his comments most likely will never watch it unless I need comic relief. It is people like Pat Robertson that should think before they speak. If you know that you have loyal viewers and people who respect your opinions and listen to you for advice I find it distressing that you would not think twice before just blurting out something so crazy. To blame a country for something they had no control over is on so many levels disrespectful. Furthermore if a pact could be made with the devil the only way you would know about it is if you talked to the devil yourself, so where does that put you Pat Robertson? I find it even more distressing that people listened to this man and think that he is telling the truth. People need to take responsibility for their actions and statements because they will influence others. I think he needs to donate all of his money and the money his show makes to the people of Haiti and take back his statement. Personally I do not think that Pat is ill, I just think he is stupid and not quite sure what he is talking about. Olbermann was very harsh and he seemed very angry. I wouldn’t say this is an outrageous reaction considering it was made about an outrageous comment… He was simply stating his opinion. I think that race has nothing to do with this and making snippy remarks about our president is not helping anyone in this situation it is beyond rude not only to the man who is in charge of the country you live in but to those people in Haiti also. McCain lost… GET OVER IT ALREADY. The only thing that people should be worried about is helping those people out of this horrible disaster, they shouldn’t be discussing how our president will benefit from this, did anyone say anything about Bush when 9-11 happened? No. It is great to see how people do come together in situations such as this and help others with no personal agenda. The donations are greatly needed and appreciated. I myself have never been to Haiti but I do sympathize and hope for the best for everyone. It is hard to watch the news and events on this natural disaster because we have so much here we could never imagine what it would be like to be in a place like that or have a disaster occur like that. We should all be generous in times like these and do all that we can, after all this could have easily happened in our country… Wed, 20 Jan 2010 01:19:10 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/01/clubbing-the-bejesus-out-of-rationality__trashed/#IDComment52860940