en-us https://www.intensedebate.com/users/768397 Comments by varun2700 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/south-park-off-the-hook__trashed/#IDComment70044571 I think that south sark is one of the best shows on television right now. It stirs a lot of controversy which is a good thing, as people become more aware of what is happening in their own country. It is one show that is not afraid to make fun of things. Most of those jokes are based on stereotypes and should not be taken seriously, I can undertsand if some people feel offended with certain episodes that target a certain genre of people. As long as the show does not encourage violence or encourage criminals, its fine by me Sat, 24 Apr 2010 01:15:34 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/south-park-off-the-hook__trashed/#IDComment70044571 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/how-am-i-not-a-racist__trashed/#IDComment70043428 This is very interesting to hear this from an American, I am from India, which is a developing nation, I agree with the person in the video. the fact is that the people living in developed countries like America and the United Kingdom are most likely in a much more powerful and influential position than the developing nations are. The people living in the developed countries have a higher level of education than the people in the developing countries. This greatly affects the thinking of the people there. Sat, 24 Apr 2010 01:11:25 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/how-am-i-not-a-racist__trashed/#IDComment70043428 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/300000-whats-it-mean-to-us__trashed/#IDComment70007754 I completely get what the person in the video is saying, it is not until anything hits us personally that we actually get up and do something about it. Haiti is a very small country and its impact on the world has been minimum, what I'm trying to say is that the situation would not have been the same if it was a country great significance like say the United States of America or the United Kingdom or Japan for that matter. If a natural disaster like the one in Haiti would have occurred in any of the major cities around the world, I think that people would have reacted differently to the same event. Not that Haiti is an insignificant country but its just that the problems that Haiti's having does not impact the people around the world personally. Most of the people around the world do not have any connection with Haiti may it be economically or personally, it does not really affect the people in their day-to-day life.As cruel as this may sound this is how the world is, most of the people would not bother to help the people that are under distress, even if they have to just sacrifice a very small part of their life. It is very common for a person to think how his small contribution is going to help to rebuild the life of some person in a different country.But what people fail to understand is that how a small part of their income or time could make a big difference in someone else's life. This does not mean that people do not empathize for them, by just feeling sorry, is really not going to help them in Haiti. For example, does not really affect me personally, it has not really affected my day to day life, so i cant I can’t stop going to class to go there and help, I can’t donate large amounts of money. It was great to have Sam collect money for this, as this gave a lot of opportunity to a lot of people in class, who wanted to donate money, but were quite lazy to use any of the other sources. I really dont know if the money that i have sent is really gonna make a difference there, but I think i have done what i could in my present circumstances to help them. Hopefully the money gets to them and it benefits them. Fri, 23 Apr 2010 22:01:33 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/300000-whats-it-mean-to-us__trashed/#IDComment70007754 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/the-tyranny-of-radical-muslims__trashed/#IDComment68441795 I'm from Bombay, India and I am a Hindu. Since the early 90's there have been many riots in my city between Hindu's and Muslim's. I have been brought up in circumstances where everyone around me really hates Muslims. I personally believe in the philosophy of one god and would not like to discriminate anyone on the basis on religion. Islam is one of biggest religions in the world, u cant really account the actions of a minority of people to set the image for the entire religion. Fri, 16 Apr 2010 23:09:19 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/the-tyranny-of-radical-muslims__trashed/#IDComment68441795 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/what-about-the-occupied-territories__trashed/#IDComment68440066 When I first saw this video I immediately thought of one Sam's lectures on us all being guilty of stealing land from the native Americans. I believe this cannot be blamed on the United States, it is the duty of the United Nations to make sure there is no injustice done to any country. I can understand that every country wants to protect its own interests, but it cannot be done at the expense of any other country or people. Thus if the United states is causing problems the United Nations can take action against this. Fri, 16 Apr 2010 22:52:40 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/what-about-the-occupied-territories__trashed/#IDComment68440066 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/creating-terrorists__trashed/#IDComment68424403 I think that it is crazy how these people kill can just kill themselves like that. I would never be able to do it no matter how strongly I believed in something. I am not saying that I would not avenge the wrongful death of a family member, I am just saying that I would not intentionally kill myself to do so. I don'e really see the sense in it at all. What is the point of killing yourself for something? Some may say to dedicate their lives to something they believe in, but I think that this is ridiculous because when you kill yourself you will never see your dreams come true because you will be dead. That woman who blew herself up to avenge the death of her husband by the Russians did it because she felt that justice needed to be served to those who had wronged her and her husband, but what she doesn't realize is that not only will she not be there to see any change come out of what she did, but she is also putting other people in the same situation that she was in. She is taking away people's family and loved ones just as her husband was taken away from her. The saying "two wrongs don't make a right" comes into play when you are thinking about the actions committed by these women. They are just furthering the extent of the violence and pain that the world already experiences on a daily basis. She is causing the same pain and suffering to others that she went through. It is not right if you ask me. In a way she is kind of a hypocrite, because she is using violence to protest violence. It just doesn't make any sense at all. She should have found some non violent way to get retribution for her husband, such as try to find out who did it and bring charges on them. Going to the extreme to kill yourself along with other people was an extreme and wrong decision to make. I am not saying that people should kill themselves, but if she was going to do it because she could not bear the loss of her husband she should have just done it to herself and left the innocent out of it. There is no need to bring others down with you. This woman obviously needed some counseling, because if she could have just learned to deal with her pain and let go, not only could her life have been saved, but the lives of others as well. I just could never understand what kind of mental state you would have to be in to go into a situation with the knowledge that you are definitely going to die in a couple of minutes. I don't even know how she could have stayed focused enough to go through with the attack. I would be the most apprehensive person in the world if I was in that situation. That is why I could never do it. Plus I don't believe in answering violence with more violence. That only furthers the problem and makes you just as bad as the people that you are so opposed to. Fri, 16 Apr 2010 20:38:43 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/creating-terrorists__trashed/#IDComment68424403 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/i-really-want-to-know-also__trashed/#IDComment66550645 Interesting question, I never really thought about this before, I dint really learn much from Sam about race, but I got to know of other people opinion about. For me as an International student it is more important to understand how people of other racial backgrounds think about this issue rather than racial awakening. Also some of the stuff that he spoke about women and stereotypes got me thinking about how judgmental people can be. Personally I would never be able to talk about such a sensitive topic in front of 700 students, so i learnt how to deal with such a sensitive topic. Thu, 8 Apr 2010 11:01:08 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/i-really-want-to-know-also__trashed/#IDComment66550645 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/this-is-totally-off-the-hook__trashed/#IDComment66538667 I can understand that why this is a very sensitive issue for some people. Exploiting women to create entertainment dosen't really help the world move forward. I think it is really sick and disgusting how this is still taking place in the world, but this is not going to stop by us sitting here an thinking so. I mean that the people who enjoy this kind of stuff are still going to continue producing it and if people would not have accepted this, these games would not have become so popular. We have to understand that the world outside America is not exactly how we expect it to be, women arent treated the same way as men or they do not demand equal treatment in all parts of the world, even when we say the times are changing and that women are being treated more and more as equals, it is not he same around the world. This is through personal experience that I can say that in the middle east and southern Asia, women n aren't treated the same way as around the world. They are always considered inferior to men. I think that the only thing we can do about the production of these videos is to control its spread. The internet is a very susceptible to this kind of frenzy, rather than helping the control its spread, it is a medium through which games like these are spread. This also has its advantages as people have become aware of what is going on in the world. I dont know if this is the appropriate example, but the way china controls the media, is something that we should understand, maybe it is a little extreme but the spread of such games should most definitely controlled. Maybe adults would understand the vulgar content in the games, but children would not understand the importance of respecting a woman. This could have a very negative effect on the future of the child. Games have a very profound impact on the growth of the child, and if a game has an objective of raping a woman, which a child playing the game is trying to acquire is very disturbing. Thu, 8 Apr 2010 08:47:39 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/this-is-totally-off-the-hook__trashed/#IDComment66538667 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/what-if-we-got-rid-of-welfare__trashed/#IDComment65690522 This was a very interesting point that was brought up. Most of the countries around the world do not have welfare. Coming from a developing country like India, I am not really familiar with the welfare given by the government and its necessity. I think that the american people would never let the government not give welfare. I personally believe that welfare is not really necessary and that people who are benefiting from welfare would be able to continue leading a normal life in this society. Sat, 3 Apr 2010 03:20:34 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/what-if-we-got-rid-of-welfare__trashed/#IDComment65690522 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/what-about-multiracial-people__trashed/#IDComment65688336 I think that multi-racial people are who they want to be, they cannot be forced to follow or be a certain race. I saw a video a couple of days ago of a comedian named ' Russell Peters' he said that he was born in Canada but he is of Indian origin, both his parents are from India. He says that since he was born in a predominantly black community, his daily actions are more like like white or black people than Indian. He says he is racially Indian but culturally he is Canadian. I think the culture that one was brought up in plays a big role in who people want to be when they grow up. Sat, 3 Apr 2010 02:57:18 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/what-about-multiracial-people__trashed/#IDComment65688336 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/is-quality-the-question__trashed/#IDComment65687127 I completely agree with his statement, it is a valid fact that affirmative action has its positive effects as well as a downside. The positive effects would most normally be for the people for whom it has been brought into effect. The negative effect has to do with the quality of professionals that are being affected by this affirmative action. This happens because Darwins theory of 'survival of the fittest' is not allowed to take place as the government intervenes in the process for the benefit of the people who are having problems with their survival. I come from India, it is a country which is filled with corruption. There is corruption at every level of society, also there are people of many religions that live in India. It is a secular democratic state. The education system in India for medical is a very badly structured system. Students who want to work in the medical field face a lot of competition as there are only a limited seats available, this happens not beacuse of lack of funding or anything like that, but it occurs because there are caste reservation. So if a who does not qualify for the quota has 90 % in the entrance exam and another student who qualifies for the quota has 75%, the person who qualifies for the quota would be taken. This will most definitely affect the future medical personnel of India. It is not only that, the corruption in the state has let student with lower grades get through with bribes and social class. This causes an inefficient system and the the best student aren't chosen. I do not agree with this process as it brings out the age old problem of discrimination based on caste, religion and sex. Since the various revolutions we have tried to eliminate this discrimination, but using affirmative action and reservations just adds to the discrimination. I think if everyone is treated equally then the chances of having inefficient professionals is reduced. This is not only limited ot the education system, but all parts of life. Sat, 3 Apr 2010 02:45:21 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/is-quality-the-question__trashed/#IDComment65687127 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/does-this-rudeness-thing-cut-both-ways__trashed/#IDComment63075691 I believe this has a lot to do with stereotypes and oppression that happened earlier. I don't believe that white people were oppressed by anyone. They were never really forced to do anything so, I don't really think this works both ways. A person of African origins would not try to be politically correct when he or she is speaking to a white person, whereas a white person would always have that at the back of mind when he or she is speaking to a person of African origins. I dont think this would work in the same way when black and brown people are having a conversation though., Sat, 20 Mar 2010 00:34:54 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/does-this-rudeness-thing-cut-both-ways__trashed/#IDComment63075691 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/what-to-do-about-white-guilt__trashed/#IDComment63074082 I haven't done my grade school or high school in the US, so I cant really talk about the system here, but there is a similar situation in India, where I have studied for the past 16 years. I wrote my theory of knowledge essay on this topic, the first movement of freedom in India against the British oppresion in 1857 was known as the freedom in Indian textbooks but it was called an act of terrorism in British textbooks. I think both the governments try to prove that they were right in whatever they do. They don't like to show their government in a bad light. Sat, 20 Mar 2010 00:20:05 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/what-to-do-about-white-guilt__trashed/#IDComment63074082 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/prom-or-no-prom-just-dont-let-the-queer-students-dance-together__trashed/#IDComment63055167 I think that it is crazy that they would not let a couple go to the high school prom just because they are of the same sex. I think that it is a very cruel and unusual act. A high school prom is supposed to be an enjoyable and memorable experience for a young adult, and depriving them of it because of their sexual orientation is not only wrong, but also embarrassing and degrading for that person. I can only imagine how bad they must feel having all of that negative attention brought on them. This is definitely an act of discrimination and this school should be evaluated for making such poor decisions. I am surprised that this kind of thing would even happen in this day and age. Schools are supposed to teach kids that everyone is equal, instead this school is choosing to discriminate and alienate someone just for being different. This not only hurts this persons moral, but also sets a terrible example for the other kids in the school. I mean if the school doesn't accept people for who they are then why should the students have to? This kind of act will only further alienate homosexuals from the rest of society. A prom is something that everyone should be able to enjoy despite their sexual orientation and it irritates me that this poor girl and her partner have to go through this humiliation. It just isn't fair.Whoever is making this decision is obviously a bigot and I wonder how they would feel if their kid was a homosexual and someone else was trying to prevent them from being normal members of society. I am sure that they would be pretty unhappy about it. No one has the right to keep people out of public events just because of something as minor as their sexual orientation. I am of the belief that we should all try to get along and not discriminate against each other. I can't see why people still feel the need to make others feel bad just because they live their lives differently from them. I mean who would it hurt to let these two girls go to the high school prom together? No one. I think that everyone should be more aware of situations like this and speak out against them to prevent things like this from happening in the future. It is just not right that someone should have to go through this. I am glad that she decided to fight it because someone needs to stand up against these bigots and put them in their place. So that is what I think of this article and the situation that it addresses. I am glad that articles like this are published because it makes the public aware that there are still many problems in our society and it will encourage people to step up and make a difference in the world. Fri, 19 Mar 2010 22:26:44 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/prom-or-no-prom-just-dont-let-the-queer-students-dance-together__trashed/#IDComment63055167 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/this-is-getting-to-be-too-much__trashed/#IDComment59971102 I was really surprised to hear about something like this. I know that racism still exists but i dint think that it is so obviously brought out. Also this was in a very reputed college. People who are in some way racist are more than usually people who are not very well educated. But this happening in such a reputed college, has truly shocked me. I always thought that when a college has such a multicultural campus the student are used to having people of different color . Sat, 6 Mar 2010 01:56:15 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/this-is-getting-to-be-too-much__trashed/#IDComment59971102 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/this-is-getting-to-be-too-much__trashed/#IDComment59970859 The education you get in college helps you to get acquainted with the origins of the people not similar to themselves. I don't think that throwing a party with a ghetto theme is really racist , it happens so often that in movies stereotypes are used to show the characteristics of an individual. For example, in many movies stereotypes of black people are used like Chris Tucker in the movie 'Rush Hour'. If people don’t consider that to be racist then how can they do the same for this? It’s not only that black people wear this type of clothing, some white people do as well, so you really can’t call it racist . Sat, 6 Mar 2010 01:53:39 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/this-is-getting-to-be-too-much__trashed/#IDComment59970859 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/02/when-do-we-do-or-say-something__trashed/#IDComment58920934 I think that the situation shown in the video brought out something that i din't really think existed, or maybe i wanted to believe that it dint happen. But if something like this were to me I wouldnt really expect someone to come and help out or intervene in this situation. I personally think that this is not fair and it is very sad that people can differentiate on the basis of race and color. It is weird that people of black and brown color are considered inferior to white people in some cases. I believe even if we dont belong on this or if they think that we shouldnt be staying here, they have no right to treat anyone like that. Sat, 27 Feb 2010 04:59:39 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/02/when-do-we-do-or-say-something__trashed/#IDComment58920934 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/02/question-on-discrimination__trashed/#IDComment58915847 I think that the point made in this post is very interesting. according a person is very comfortable to work with people who are similar to themselves. I'm an international student here and from my experience of living in another country, I think that even though i din't really have problem staying, I'm still more comfortable staying in my own country. I think that is partly because the people there are similar to me and we have more in common to talk about then I would have with a person who is not similar to me. Sat, 27 Feb 2010 04:10:15 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/02/question-on-discrimination__trashed/#IDComment58915847 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/02/inequality-class-question-one__trashed/#IDComment58724855 I think that this kid makes a pretty good point. I think that there is more crime in suburban areas than in urban areas because these areas are often less patrolled by cops, and some people these days have tendencies to join gangs because they think that it is the cool thing to do. They feel that they need to represent their neighborhoods in a gang. Its almost as if they feel that they are expected to do this by society. Cops don't often suspect that there would be more crime in a suburban area because you would naturally think that the majority of crime would take place in the urban areas. When they let their guards down people feel that they are more free to commit crimes, because they think that they can get away with it more easily. Its not really a race thing. Crimes are committed by people of every race under many circumstances. Another reason that there are more crimes in suburban areas is because there are more poor people that live in suburban areas. Many of them are struggling to make ends meet especially with the tough economy that we have in our world today, so they resort to a life of crime to fulfill their financial needs. Its actually kind of sad when you think about it that people have to resort to this just to be able to survive. Yes there are many poor people in the city as well, but its easier to get away with crime in the suburbs, so people tend to take the risk even more often there. Not to say that there isn't a lot of crimes in urban areas, its just that the suburban areas tend to have a little more of a problem with crime. Its kind of bizarre when you think about it because you would never really expect this to be the case. I used to always just assume that the urban areas were much worse than the suburban areas when it comes to crime rates. It seems that whenever you hear about gang crimes occurring in the United States they seem that they are always in the city. I think that the majority of the people would also be very surprised to hear this statistic as well. Usually you just associate crimes with cities, you don't really think of suburbs as major areas of crimes, but it is the areas that you would never suspect that usually turn out to be the worse. I agree with some of the points that Sam made in class, The stats that he showed regarding the percentage of colored individuals that were imprisoned compared to the white people who committed the same crimes really, showed on this topic. i dint really think it was to do with race, rather I was always of the belief that more to do with the social status of an individual. Fri, 26 Feb 2010 00:55:59 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/02/inequality-class-question-one__trashed/#IDComment58724855 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/02/lgbt-class-question-one__trashed/#IDComment57706086 This is a very interesting question as it brings out the age long debate of gender equality. I personally think that male and female genders should be treated equally but there are certain things that men are better at and there are certain things women are better at. like taking care of a child is more of a female activity. I'm not saying that men should not do it, but women are more caring in general, I definitely think that a child needs a woman in his upbringing. I think a mother plays a major role in the personality of a person Sat, 20 Feb 2010 01:56:19 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/02/lgbt-class-question-one__trashed/#IDComment57706086