en-us https://www.intensedebate.com/users/762145 Comments by the_situation https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/letter-from-an-inmate__trashed/#IDComment69494451 Wow this letter is truly amazing. I always figured that men in prison had some compassion, but not nearly to this extent. As I never said I would, I really have let movies and TV take over my thinking about prison. There are hundreds of hit movies that depict prison as a cold, vicious place where if you step out of line in any way, you are libel to get beaten by other inmates. Now I understand that movies are merely a blur of what reality is, but I have a reason still to think the way I do. I have spent quite a few hours watching shows on National Geographic channel about American prisons, the most notable one being “Lockdown.” This show is a documentary that travels to various prisons around the country, showing us the everyday life of an inmate. Filled with personal interviews with offenders, the show is often grim and rather intimidating to those on the outside. I have seen episodes in which they will follow a man's first month in prison right from booking. Some of the ways that other men react are very fearful, and instills a great deal of fear into the viewer. Now this may be some sort of subliminal messaging to try to scare people legal and want to stay away from jails, but I always knew in the back of my mind that this was not the case in all prisons. Back to the letter, human compassion is quite an amazing emotion, and has the ability to do so many things. I do not know about anyone else, but I have had a few times where I am just minding my own businesses walking down the street and I see someone crying on a bench. Even if I am in a hurry, I make an effort to stop and try to see what is wrong. I try to help, see if there is anything that I can do. Sometimes, just stopping to ask is all that person needed, a reminder that people are out there for them. Other times, its taking a little bit of time to sit and listen to them. Listening may be a little thing, but it can mean the world to people when they really just need to tell anyone something. And you know what, every time that I have stopped to do this, the people were grateful that I had done so. Human compassion is something that everyone, from teenagers to senior citizens, from lawyers to inmates, has inside them. And no matter how deep inside them it is, or how long it has been since it was last seen, it comes up when needed, and literally everything else, rivalries included, is thrown aside. Thu, 22 Apr 2010 00:10:45 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/letter-from-an-inmate__trashed/#IDComment69494451 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/how-am-i-not-a-racist__trashed/#IDComment69433717 Being from one of the most wealthy countries in the world, it is hard not to think in the back of our minds that we are more likely to change the world than others. We have far more resources to draw from than people in developing countries. But thinking that you are more capable to change the world is different from thinking you are better overall than ther person. I think that I am better off than most everyone in developing countries at having the ability to change the world, but since I recognize that location and society have alot to do with it, I do not find myself to be better than them. I dunno, just my thought on that one. Wed, 21 Apr 2010 21:03:41 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/how-am-i-not-a-racist__trashed/#IDComment69433717 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/300000-whats-it-mean-to-us__trashed/#IDComment69431239 Americans in general are very self-centered, and alot did not care after the Haiti earthquake. I was actually talking about something sort of similar to this in one of my classes earlier today. We were talking about how much press the Iceland volcano is getting, yet it has not taken any lives as of now. Compare this to the recent earthquake in China, in which there were enormous casualties, but never made front page news for more than a day. I think that alot of how we think has to do with our degree of exposure from the media. The news tends to follow stories about richer countries, or things that affect us personally. Some of the worst disasters go relatively by the way-side. Wed, 21 Apr 2010 20:55:34 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/300000-whats-it-mean-to-us__trashed/#IDComment69431239 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/christian-invaders-the-turnaround__trashed/#IDComment68283301 I definitely agree that this war is about oil. Or at least it started out that way. Some of the videos that Sam showed us really portrayed us in a bad light, but he did it for a great reason. We needed to understand just how Muslims our age are reacting to what they see. I’m sure it’s true that many of us believe all Iraqis are out to kill us; I will admit that thought may have crossed my mind right after 9-11. But we need to look at the facts, that many Iraqis do not have the resources that we do to see and understand each other, so they really do get a one sided view of the subject. Thu, 15 Apr 2010 22:39:27 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/christian-invaders-the-turnaround__trashed/#IDComment68283301 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/what-about-the-men__trashed/#IDComment68281496 The answer to this, well my answer to this, is absolutely not. If we were to conform to society, every guy would try to look skinny but built right? Well speaking for myself, I am a “plump” guy, and really could care less what I look like. Yeah maybe some people judge me differently, but I couldn’t give two shits about what they think. I do think that it is unfair how society thinks differently about men and women, and how I am often more accepted than a woman of my same stature. But yeah to answer your question, I don’t really wake up in the morning and think, “I need to get real skinny or real ripped or wear this or that to feel accepted.” Thu, 15 Apr 2010 22:22:57 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/what-about-the-men__trashed/#IDComment68281496 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/want-to-learn-chinese__trashed/#IDComment67854805 This is a very intriguing article. I really had no clue that Chinese was becoming so popular in schools, especially as early as middle school. My high school only offered the 4 basics: French, Latin, German, and Spanish. And even then, we were only required to take 2 years of a language to graduate, and they didn’t even have to be in the same language, so people would take the easy way out by taking Spanish 1 then French 1, as they were just so easy. Basically, I’m trying to say that very few people took foreign language classes seriously at my school. However, it appears that having Chinese offered in a high school setting is getting students to think more about their future, as it seems that many of the people taking the classes are doing so because of the impending expansion of the Chinese language into the international business market. I am really surprised that so many schools are pushing this so early in their students lives. Middle school seems like such a young age to start learning a language, and even some students starting to learn a language in elementary school? I guess when I really look at it, it is not all that soon to start, and in fact, it’s probably better that we get our kids to be bilingual as early as possible. Coming from a school district where foreign language was not only first taught in high school but not stressed at all, I guess I am just not used to the idea of children learning a foreign language while they are still trying to learn some of the basics of the English language. But hey, if I am a school board member and China is willing to pay for part of a teacher’s salary for them to send a Chinese speaking teacher over, I would go for it immediately. Chinese officials are really pushing the issue in America, and I do not blame them. In my high school, Spanish was BY FAR the most popular foreign language to take, although I took German for three years. If Chinese were available for me to take during high school, I probably would not have taken it. When I was in high school, I saw myself majoring in engineering when I got to college. And back then, there was quite a large demand for engineers who could read and speak German, so I probably would just stick with that. However, if I had anticipated a career in international politics or economics at all, I would certainly have considered taking Chinese. But overall, I am glad to see that our schools are being so open minded about teaching new languages, especially as different languages are gaining importance worldwide. Wed, 14 Apr 2010 03:11:57 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/want-to-learn-chinese__trashed/#IDComment67854805 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/what-might-be-the-second-step__trashed/#IDComment66833574 There are definitely a few more steps that we can take besides just understanding. As Sam mentioned a little bit, the emergence of fair-trade chocolate has opened up a door for chocolate lovers, in particular those in the United States, to enjoy their sweets knowing that slave labor was not involved. Fair trade chocolate comes with the guarantee that all people involved in chocolate producing, especially farmers, are paid fairly for their product. However, this is still a questionable option. Although the farmers are paid fairly with their product, how are we guaranteed to know that they are using the extra profit to share with their laborers? There really is no way to regulate this, as we have learned from the past that slave owners prep their farms/factories when they are to be audited, so as to create the false impression that everyone is happily paid. In a different class, I watched a movie called China Blue. A documentary team went into a Chinese factory that used slave and child labor to make jeans and shoes for some very popular American clothing companies. They followed this one girl around for a few days, seeing her live in a room the size of a Penn State dorm room with 14 other girls, many of whom were 12 or younger. They watched her work 16 hour days for over a week straight. They watched her eat 2 meals a day, both consisting of just a small bowl of rice and noodles. Most of the workers were women, and all were coaxed into working there by the often false promises of payment. Some girls were paid, but only when the factory owner decided he had the money to do so. And after interviewing over a dozen girls, the team found that only 1 had been paid in the past year, and it was only for 1 month’s work. Anyway, I guess the point I am trying to make here is that slave labor is not just the only issue that exists in the world of the global economy right now, but child labor is also a huge issue. Back to what was talked about in class; there was also a suggestion from a classmate who said that we need to work on getting the university to buy only non sweat shop made clothing. I have seen some of the rallies in front of Old Main, and it is good to see how passionate some of our students are about the subject. So, it looks like there are a few options that we can employ as step 2, so really the choice is up to us. But as I said in a past post, I believe that nothing will change, because slavery is just a part of the capitalist economy that we Americans love. Fri, 9 Apr 2010 21:57:30 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/what-might-be-the-second-step__trashed/#IDComment66833574 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/what-might-be-the-second-step__trashed/#IDComment66844652 There are definitely a few more steps that we can take besides just understanding. As Sam mentioned a little bit, the emergence of fair-trade chocolate has opened up a door for chocolate lovers, in particular those in the United States, to enjoy their sweets knowing that slave labor was not involved. Fair trade chocolate comes with the guarantee that all people involved in chocolate producing, especially farmers, are paid fairly for their product. However, this is still a questionable option. Although the farmers are paid fairly with their product, how are we guaranteed to know that they are using the extra profit to share with their laborers? There really is no way to regulate this, as we have learned from the past that slave owners prep their farms/factories when they are to be audited, so as to create the false impression that everyone is happily paid. In a different class, I watched a movie called China Blue. A documentary team went into a Chinese factory that used slave and child labor to make jeans and shoes for some very popular American clothing companies. They followed this one girl around for a few days, seeing her live in a room the size of a Penn State dorm room with 14 other girls, many of whom were 12 or younger. They watched her work 16 hour days for over a week straight. They watched her eat 2 meals a day, both consisting of just a small bowl of rice and noodles. Most of the workers were women, and all were coaxed into working there by the often false promises of payment. Some girls were paid, but only when the factory owner decided he had the money to do so. And after interviewing over a dozen girls, the team found that only 1 had been paid in the past year, and it was only for 1 month’s work. Anyway, I guess the point I am trying to make here is that slave labor is not just the only issue that exists in the world of the global economy right now, but child labor is also a huge issue. Back to what was talked about in class; there was also a suggestion from a classmate who said that we need to work on getting the university to buy only non sweat shop made clothing. I have seen some of the rallies in front of Old Main, and it is good to see how passionate some of our students are about the subject. So, it looks like there are a few options that we can employ as step 2, so really the choice is up to us. But as I said in a past post, I believe that nothing will change, because slavery is just a part of the capitalist economy that we Americans love. Fri, 9 Apr 2010 17:57:30 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/what-might-be-the-second-step__trashed/#IDComment66844652 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/what-might-be-the-second-step__trashed/#IDComment66833432 There are definitely a few more steps that we can take besides just understanding. As Sam mentioned a little bit, the emergence of fair-trade chocolate has opened up a door for chocolate lovers, in particular those in the United States, to enjoy their sweets knowing that slave labor was not involved. Fair trade chocolate comes with the guarantee that all people involved in chocolate producing, especially farmers, are paid fairly for their product. However, this is still a questionable option. Although the farmers are paid fairly with their product, how are we guaranteed to know that they are using the extra profit to share with their laborers? There really is no way to regulate this, as we have learned from the past that slave owners prep their farms/factories when they are to be audited, so as to create the false impression that everyone is happily paid. In a different class, I watched a movie called China Blue. A documentary team went into a Chinese factory that used slave and child labor to make jeans and shoes for some very popular American clothing companies. They followed this one girl around for a few days, seeing her live in a room the size of a Penn State dorm room with 14 other girls, many of whom were 12 or younger. They watched her work 16 hour days for over a week straight. They watched her eat 2 meals a day, both consisting of just a small bowl of rice and noodles. Most of the workers were women, and all were coaxed into working there by the often false promises of payment. Some girls were paid, but only when the factory owner decided he had the money to do so. And after interviewing over a dozen girls, the team found that only 1 had been paid in the past year, and it was only for 1 months work. Anyway, I guess the point I am trying to make here is that slave labor is not just the only issue that exists in the world of the global economy right now, but child labor is also a huge issue. Back to what was talked about in class Fri, 9 Apr 2010 17:03:47 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/what-might-be-the-second-step__trashed/#IDComment66833432 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/i-really-want-to-know-also__trashed/#IDComment66589595 I’m right there with you. I pay attention to everything Sam says, and may formulate my own opinions about them, but honestly, I don’t really ever change my mind about how I think. I think this class is really quite biased, but every class is to a certain degree, and especially one about race. I guess the idea is to go to every class with an open mind. You never know, one day Sam may say something that really does have an affect on you and change your mind about everything. Despite the fact that the class is not changing my opinions, I am still glad I am taking it, because I never really saw the other side of race relations until now. Thu, 8 Apr 2010 14:47:57 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/i-really-want-to-know-also__trashed/#IDComment66589595 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/what-about-multiracial-people__trashed/#IDComment65083757 You know what, this poses a legitimate point. What if someone was born to a white father and a black mother and looked really white, but grew up only with their mother’s side of the family. They might consider themselves black, if they grew up in a majority black neighborhood with black friends and black family, but to the unsuspecting eye, they appear white. I honestly don’t know what to say in this situation, because they are half black, but look white and most would say white. I guess it is entirely up to the person what race they would associate with, even if it is not what most of the public would view their race to be. Wed, 31 Mar 2010 22:31:44 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/what-about-multiracial-people__trashed/#IDComment65083757 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/nothing-about-the-census-is-easy__trashed/#IDComment64952169 I’m not even going to talk about the Negro argument, if I can recall Sam already addressed that during class. I would like to point out the confusion on the race boxes on the Census. I filled the Census out with my roommates as we all sat together. It was easy for 3 of us, just check off white. But when it came to my Mexican American roommate to fill it out, we were all a bit confused. So we understood he was to check off the Mexican box under Hispanic origin, but what about the second part of that? Is he supposed to check off white? But he’s not “white,” he’s rather dark skinned. I don’t know it all just seemed quite confusing to me, and I think could have been worded a lot better not only to save us time and make it easier, but also to gather more accurate information. This was the first Census that I actually “took part” in, as it was the first one that I was actually able to understand and fill out. I really hope that the Census Bureau takes note of everything that Americans are saying about problems with the process and do something to change this. I think that video clips like the one in the blog are vital to relaying important information and issues from the general public to people of power who can act on these concerns. This CNN video should spark some debate within the Bureau, and if they are smart, we should see some changes in the 2020 Census. Perhaps the Negro issue should be revisited in another ten years to see if the term is still applicable to anyone in America, and if so, I suppose it should remain. And perhaps they should add another section for white people to elaborate on their ancestry, even if it is merely marking what region of the world then hail from. I mean you could very easily have included a box that has a checklist for white people only having choices like Eastern European, Western European, Australia, South America, Russia, etc. I believe that these choices would be sufficient to satisfy those two women who spoke earlier addressing the fact that they feel it is almost too easy for them to fill out the form. Ok I lied I guess I will touch up on the Negro issue. It was actually quite interesting to see that first woman’s reaction to the fact that the word Negro was on the Census. She got very wide eyed, and you could immediately tell she was offended. I know it can seem like a racist term to some people of color, but they need to understand that it is still a word used by older folks to describe themselves. Once people understand this, we will be able to sort out the public’s issues into real issues or just misunderstood ones. Wed, 31 Mar 2010 03:40:43 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/nothing-about-the-census-is-easy__trashed/#IDComment64952169 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/the-white-minorities__trashed/#IDComment64945670 I’m not going to lie, this article really does not surprise me. We all know that population in the United States has been fluctuating ethnically, which a recent steady increase in non Caucasians. And this ‘problem’ seems to grow exponentially as these minority citizens give birth to more and more children. We also have to think about how we are in a sort of anti-baby boom phase of white mothers right now, where there are fewer than in recent years. Couple this with the fact that people have been migrating from Hispanic nations in the past decade more than ever, which inevitably leads to the birthing of minority children. It would not surprise me to see this line reach the 50-50 mark during 2010, and it’s hard to believe that pretty soon white people are going to be the minority in the U.S… Wed, 31 Mar 2010 02:45:21 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/the-white-minorities__trashed/#IDComment64945670 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/if-men-could-menstruate__trashed/#IDComment64215037 This is a great question, and I definitely agree with dal5110. Health classes during our generation did a terrible job of informing both genders about the other. I believe my first health class was in 4th grade maybe? I do not really remember and it’s not all that important. But what is important is that boys and girls were split up, and taught about each others bodies by faculty members of the same gender. I’m not saying that having a female teacher teach young boys about the female body would have really helped that much in elementary school, but I definitely think that it would have made a huge difference in a high school health class. I don’t know about other guys, but I know about menstruation, and I’m not nearly as clueless as many of you females think that I am. I will admit, I reacted the same way almost everyone did when Sam told us his comments. But you have to admit, the way he went about saying it was just very, very odd. Menstruation is not weird, and like the video on the post before this said, it really is part of the miracle of being able to have a child. I don’t understand why more women talk about it, because when I was a freshman, girls in my dorm (whom I met at the beginning of that year), were not shy at all talking about their cycles around each other and even around us guys. I had many female friends in high school who would joke around about their cycles, while still maintaining some seriousness about the subject. So, I’m really not that used to having women be so quiet about their periods, and I am really surprised at how some people acted when they made comments via microphone after Sam made his “comment.” Onto the issue of if men had periods would tampons be free? I highly, highly doubt that this would be true. I just looked this up on wiki, tampons in some way, shape and form have been noted to be used as early as the 5th century B.C. And even then they were “made from lint wrapped around a small piece of wood,” which essentially was free. However, tampons, along with every other created object, are marketed to make money. Nothing in this world is free anymore, and now it is apparent that this includes water. But I do like that you put forth this question, since Sam mentioned the other day that this is a “mans” world, and with that in mind it would be a wonder to know whether or not tampons would be free for all if men were to bleed. Fri, 26 Mar 2010 16:23:33 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/if-men-could-menstruate__trashed/#IDComment64215037 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/is-this-just-a-few-bad-apples__trashed/#IDComment63736010 You know, it doesn’t really surprise me to see this today, as we all know that there are racist assholes living among us. But these signs, in my mind, have well surpassed the line between freedom of speech and a direct threat to public officials. Others will disagree, saying that the freedom of speech is covered in these signs, but come on people, they basically say “I am not afraid to kill Barack Obama.” Derogatory phrases being shouted are to be expected at a rally like this, but it appalls me that someone can spit on an official and not get arrested. This is unacceptable in any forum, especially the United States government. Tue, 23 Mar 2010 23:08:26 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/is-this-just-a-few-bad-apples__trashed/#IDComment63736010 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/native-hawaiians-ever-think-of-them__trashed/#IDComment63734996 This is only fair. I mean we have to think about all of the hell we put native people through, whether they are Native Americans, Alaskans, or Hawaiians. We have already recognized the first two by allowing them to establish their own government, but why not Hawaiians? This is something that needs to be done, rather has needed to be done fore years, and I am glad to see that this could be passed sometime this year. We stepped in and imposed on their land, throwing out the government they had, and tried to turn them into something that they aren’t. It is only right that we let them have their own government, if we should even be allowed to control that. Tue, 23 Mar 2010 23:00:02 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/native-hawaiians-ever-think-of-them__trashed/#IDComment63734996 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/prom-or-no-prom-just-dont-let-the-queer-students-dance-together__trashed/#IDComment62879139 Wow. All I can say to this story right now. You know, it still appalls me that a high school, or in this case it seems an entire community, could have their heads so far up their asses to go and pull a stunt like this. Canceling a prom because a lesbian student wants to go with her girlfriend? A lesbian student who pays taxes to the community in order to get an education, and who pays taxes to get all the perks that every high school student should get, including the chance to go to prom. It pleases me to hear that the ACLU has quickly intervened in the dispute and has taken Constance’s side. It is stories like this that make me think I led a sheltered life, because this kind of stuff never happened in my hometown. I never lived through any racial or sexual hatred within my community, I guess because I come from an upper middle class, white community. The second big part of this article reminds me of the movie “Mean Girls,” where Janice Ian wore a tuxedo to the spring fling (although I believe she was straight in the film). I’ve heard stories from many people about females dawning tuxes to school dances, and some of those stories come from my own, middle class, conservative high school. They never had a problem with it, so why is this Mississippi high school turning this into a national story? Something inside me wanted to chuckle when I first read that this school is located in Mississippi. I know this is a stereotype and stereotypes are bad, but am I the only person who just gets that gut feeling that sometimes the south is so far behind in global issues, especially racism and LGBT? I feel like the south, especially the rural south, treats everything like it is still the mid 1900s. But I cannot say I am surprised that a high school in the south would be the one to do this. The south has a reputation of being so conservative, and this only adds to that reputation. In response to Constance’s comment that she think the canceling of the prom was retaliation to her request to bring a female date, I do not really think that this is the case. I have a feeling that this decision was not made swiftly or strictly by the school board, but likely was under heavy pressure from parents of students. We had a blog about this earlier in the semester highlighting that some parents are so immature and oblivious to what homosexuality is that they would nearly start a war to keep their kids away from a gay/lesbian child. This kind of behavior appalls me, and I really hope that as we move on into the future our attitudes can progress as well. Fri, 19 Mar 2010 02:53:41 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/prom-or-no-prom-just-dont-let-the-queer-students-dance-together__trashed/#IDComment62879139 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/does-this-rudeness-thing-cut-both-ways__trashed/#IDComment62832791 I have to agree with you, I found some of the comments used to describe white people offensive and very stereotypical. Yet, when all of these were being listed up on the screen there was no mumbling about them amongst the students. I grew up middle class, but that doesn’t make me over privileged cause I know I need to work hard to get to where I’m going. My parents grew up in the Chicago inner city, and worked their butts off to get where they are today. I’ve taken note of this a long time ago and know that hard work can accomplish almost any dream. So tell me, why are we as white people not more upset at the comments that were posted up there on that screen? Thu, 18 Mar 2010 20:41:08 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/does-this-rudeness-thing-cut-both-ways__trashed/#IDComment62832791 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/what-happens-to-multiracial-people__trashed/#IDComment62831388 I have to agree with you that most mixed race people I know identify themselves with the minority group. But another thing that I have noticed is that they often describe themselves as both races, but to the extent that they are 100%. For example, I have a friend who is half black, half Mexican. When an issue comes up about Mexico, he will react and affiliate with people as though he is 100% Mexican, and the opposite when a black issue arises. But this question overall is quite a doozy, and I am interested to see how mixed race people in the class would answer this. Thu, 18 Mar 2010 20:31:31 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/what-happens-to-multiracial-people__trashed/#IDComment62831388 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/02/why-is-this-racist-really__trashed/#IDComment59311699 To be honest, I can kind of see where Moose is coming from. Basketball, especially in recent years, has become a black dominated sport, and mediocre white players have a very tough time making in not only the NBA, but the college realm as well. I’m not a medical professional, so I do not know if there are physiological reasons to explain this, but the NBA just is not into decent white folk, but would rather spring for a young, high flying black person to ‘wow’ the crowd with dunks. The reason for this is because dunks are what the majority of the fan base wants. So, with that in mind, is it really wrong for Moose to please a different fan base by having a slower tempo, “white” style of game? The one thing I don’t agree with Moose on is a strictly white only league. There is a difference between and white only league and a white style of play league. Just as there are many high flying white basketball players excelling in the pros, I’m sure there are many black players who prefer to play a slower tempo game and would fit right in with the AABA skill-wise. Personally, I only watch college basketball, because the game is rounded and is not centered on trying to get a dozen or so of the best players to do dazzling dunks or blocks all game every game. The NBA used to be like this, but ever since our technologies have grown and nearly every game is on television, priorities of the sport have changed from the love of the game to strictly pleasing the crowd. I maybe watch 4 full NBA games a year, all in the playoffs, just because of the playoff atmosphere of any sport. As we talked about earlier in the semester, basketball is one of those sports that everyone can afford to play, so everyone should get a chance to do so professionally. If the market exists for a low tempo game, I say let it happen, even if its creators are insisting on it consisting of strictly white, American players. In fact, maybe the black community should respond by creating a black only league. They would likely have the fan base, and it would not surprise me at all if a good deal of the fan base consists of white people looking for what they view to be a super fast paced game that likely ends with very high scores. So, although I may agree with Moose that a niche exists in this country for a professional, lower tempo basketball league, I really don’t agree with his decision that it should be whites only. If both black and white players can play fast-paced basketball, I’m sure there are tons of black and white players who play “white ball.” Tue, 2 Mar 2010 06:00:33 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/02/why-is-this-racist-really__trashed/#IDComment59311699