en-us https://www.intensedebate.com/users/767552 Comments by workwhatyagot https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/what-about-people-who-can-only-afford-hard-work__trashed/#IDComment70060385 I think that if you are thinking about hard work to get health care, there are a lot of jobs that include health plans in them which would mean that there would be health care provided to them. This would mean that you don’t necessarily only need money to get health care but you should look for a job. It doesn’t even need to be a great job my friend has healthcare with his job at a family fun center which doesn’t need a ton of experience but still gets him the healthcare that he needs. I don’t think that it makes it to unreachable in that case. Sat, 24 Apr 2010 02:10:36 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/what-about-people-who-can-only-afford-hard-work__trashed/#IDComment70060385 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/what-about-health-care__trashed/#IDComment70058426 I think that health care should be an equal right to everyone who is legally living in this country. Even if they are here on a visa and are not US citizens they should have the right to have health care that is the best that they can afford. Just because they weren’t originally born here doesn’t mean that they should be unable to have health care. I was two years off from being born in Hong Kong but I have lived here forever and I can’t imagine coming back to the states and not having the option of healthcare. Sat, 24 Apr 2010 02:03:29 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/what-about-health-care__trashed/#IDComment70058426 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/south-park-off-the-hook__trashed/#IDComment70057615 I think that it is ridiculous that there are so many groups who take offense to TV shows especially ones like South Park. This show makes fun of everything you can possibly think of and any scandal that comes up in the media. For Muslims to take so much offense to one episode because it makes fun of their culture and they don’t get riled up when our culture makes comments just seems hypocritical to me. There are so many people that probably do take offense and make comments about what is said on this show and others but it isn’t talked about as much because they aren’t such a smaller group of people. I feel like this is another example of racism but in an alternative way. If someone who was catholic had mad a big deal about an episode then it would not have been such a public showing in the media and people probably wouldn’t have cared as much. I think it is also in a way showing how people in smaller religions who feel as if they are being attacked make things seem like that all the time even if that wasn’t the original intention. I am not saying that what was said on South Park isn’t wrong and that it isn’t slander but it shouldn’t always be made to be such a huge deal. I realize that there as been a lot of emphasis and criticism of Muslims especially since 9/11 and the events that have happened since then and they are probably on their guard. I have no idea how it would feel to be lumped in with a group of people for that reason but I do know how it feels to be lumped in with a group of people. There are always stereotypes that come with different cultures and religions and even here on campus there are stereotypes that go with groups. I am in a sorority and there are some very obvious assumptions made about us such that we are sluts and only care about alcohol and are ditsy. Also, even within sororities specifically there are tiers and people are lumped in with their tier and are surprised when someone is prettier than they should be according to their tier. Overall, I think that it must be very hard for Muslims to take on so many hits just for following a religion that has a lot of radical people in it that are terrorists. However, I don’t think that this means that they should always be so on the offensive about things especially about a show like south park that makes fun of anything that can breath for the most part. Sat, 24 Apr 2010 02:00:10 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/south-park-off-the-hook__trashed/#IDComment70057615 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/women__trashed/#IDComment68452649 I enjoyed the play that was put on in class but I personally have always felt that when girls get implants because they don’t feel well about themselves that in a way it is cheating. My cousin has a great body but wasn’t happy with her boobs so she got implants. The frustrating thing for me is that if I wanted to have her body I would need about 7 plastic surgeries or a sever diet and a strict work out regimen and she doesn’t need any of these options she is just naturally petite and gorgeous. I don’t know, is plastic surgery cheating in a way? Sat, 17 Apr 2010 00:57:03 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/women__trashed/#IDComment68452649 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/what-about-the-men__trashed/#IDComment68452420 I totally think that men feel the pressure to conform to what society establishes as the norm in our generation or any generation. Whether it is wearing baggie clothes or leisure suits men have always been dressing with society just as much as women have. Even though men may have an easier time covering up a non perfect body, they still feel the pressure to look good and feel good about themselves. If they didn’t, there wouldn’t be tons of men at the gym all the top checking themselves out in the mirrors and attempting to make themselves bulk up to please other people with their appearance. Sat, 17 Apr 2010 00:54:36 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/what-about-the-men__trashed/#IDComment68452420 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/want-to-learn-chinese__trashed/#IDComment68451958 I think that learning mandarin would be very beneficial to our generation and those that are going to be preceding us. China is going to be taking over our technology and products even more as time goes on and it will be important for us to have that connection. When I was younger I lived in Hong Kong for 5 years. While I was in my international school one of the classes that they taught us along with art and English was mandarin. When I was learning I became practically fluent at the age of five. If we could possibly start to teach children different languages when they are much younger then they will most likely grasp more. When we moved back to the states I basically lost all of what I had learned because my parents didn’t speak it and no one in my new school in Lancaster PA knew how to speak it which was not all that surprising. My brother is now continuing his mandarin courses at Penn State and I am jealous of him in that he is able to learn the language that I lost. He is going to shangai this summer to study abroad and he is so excited but mainly he is excited to really get the language down by being immersed in the area and actually grasping the core of speaking it. I think that the only true way to grasp a language well is to go to the country that it originates from and be around it and be forced to speak it at all times. I took French in high school and my teacher always worked very hard to make sure that we were only speaking French the second we set foot in his class room. This became very frustrating to me because I am not very skilled at the language but I think it did help in the long run. The older you get, I think the harder it becomes to learn a new language especially since you have been speaking the same one for so many years. I am lucky in that my major doesn’t require me to speak a language otherwise I would be having some serious issues when it comes to my classes and truthfully I don’t enjoy learning new languages as other people might. Overall I think it is a great idea to start figuring out languages and learning them at younger ages and I think it is also great to start giving kids more option at a younger age instead of having them choose from three languages such as French German and Spanish, which was all that my high school happened to offer to us. Sat, 17 Apr 2010 00:49:58 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/want-to-learn-chinese__trashed/#IDComment68451958 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/revisioning-the-revisioning-stage__trashed/#IDComment65679645 When I grew up I was aware of slavery, I didn’t understand however the extent of it. I could understand that you don’t want to introduce the harshness and the horror that occurred with slavery but I don’t know exactly you could introduce the topic of the native American issues without scaring children. However, I feel like there has to be a way to prime kids for the topic so that they can get to high school or college and at lease be aware of what is going. Sat, 3 Apr 2010 01:42:15 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/revisioning-the-revisioning-stage__trashed/#IDComment65679645 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/revisioning-the-revisioning-stage__trashed/#IDComment65679570 The main topic that I feel could be introduced to children at a younger age is the topic that we have learned about in regards to the native Americans in the U.S. I never realized that they Native American’s had it that terrible during the present. When I was younger I learned about the French revolution and things like that but I never realized that the racism of that nature was still carrying over to the present times. I don’t know exactly how you can introduce to our younger generations without it getting very graphic and harsh but I think it is possible. Sat, 3 Apr 2010 01:41:16 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/revisioning-the-revisioning-stage__trashed/#IDComment65679570 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/revisioning-the-revisioning-stage__trashed/#IDComment65679545 When I have talked to a lot of people, they seem to think that there is no way to talk to children about different race issues. I however feel that when children are younger, they are simpler and they take things at face value rather than judging what is going on. Even though kids do ask a lot of questions, they are still more ready to accept different situations than adults problems. When I was younger even though I registered that a lot of my friends were different than me I didn’t question that I should be friends with them. Children have an innocence that although I don’t think you should take advantage of a child’s innocence, it might be a good time to at least introduce them to race topics that they can take at face value. Sat, 3 Apr 2010 01:40:55 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/revisioning-the-revisioning-stage__trashed/#IDComment65679545 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/revisioning-the-revisioning-stage__trashed/#IDComment65679516 I grew up with a family that has always been pretty open to race and we have done a ton of traveling. I have become very open to different cultures through my travel experiences and it has made me very comfortable with many races of people. When I was 2 my family moved to Hong Kong and my first real memories were at a school that was an international school. My best friends were from everywhere including Korea and Japan and I didn’t really think twice about it. Dance classes as well were totally mixed and I was just that much more focused on the class itself when I was younger as opposed to the people that were actually in my class. Sat, 3 Apr 2010 01:40:32 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/revisioning-the-revisioning-stage__trashed/#IDComment65679516 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/what-about-multiracial-people__trashed/#IDComment65668211 I feel like although you may technically be considered mixed, the family that you grew up with is what you will most likely connect with an also who what you would consider yourself as, here it would be Latino. People tend to make assumptions based off of skin color so it may not be something to take offense to. If I were you I would explain that you are mixed but you grew up with your mother and that is the part of your ethnicity that you can most relate to. I cant imagine how you must feel because I personally don’t have too many questions about my background because im only English but that’s all I can really offer up. Sat, 3 Apr 2010 00:23:13 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/what-about-multiracial-people__trashed/#IDComment65668211 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/the-white-minorities__trashed/#IDComment65666140 I don’t personally feel any fear of what will happen if white people become a minority. I find it interesting that we are moving in that direction because I think it will come as a shock for those people who have not begun the awakening process that we have discussed in class. I think that there are many areas where people are moving in that direction. I have a lot of family that lives in Arizona and there are a ton of brown people there. Even though a lot of them do more of the hands on work they still are beginning to increase greatly in numbers in that area. Sat, 3 Apr 2010 00:16:21 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/the-white-minorities__trashed/#IDComment65666140 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/what-happens-to-multiracial-people__trashed/#IDComment63069468 It would be tough to be multiracial because although you would consider yourself half white half black for instance you wouldn’t want to offend your heritage or your parents in some way by associating yourself more with one side or the other. I remember on a TV show I watched when I was younger, The True Jet Jackson, and one of the girls on the show was considered black but her father was white and she got offended when someone considered her to be only black because she had another part to her. It would be tough to know how to associate yourself, I personally am straight up English on all sides so I have never really had to deal with mixed heritage or race questions. Fri, 19 Mar 2010 23:39:51 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/what-happens-to-multiracial-people__trashed/#IDComment63069468 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/does-this-rudeness-thing-cut-both-ways__trashed/#IDComment63068938 I think that there is always some way that comments can turn into racist or offensive, but like Sam said nothing is truly offensive, it is only how we take things. There are a lot of people out there that always want to try to start shit. These people need to learn that not everything is meant in a racist way or is offensive. I am not disregarding the fact that there are racist people out there but I just don’t think that everything said needs to be taken in that direction. There were quite a few comments made on the comment board by the non white people that could be considered offensive to white people but they weren’t called out on it like the white people were. Even though I do think the comment about the loud black girls was very rude there were comments made about white people that weren’t acknowledged that could have been equally offensive. In some ways, I feel like colored people don’t get called out as much when they make racist comments because it all goes to political correctness. Also, if you were try to argue against the comments that were made they might very well bring up anything that is said in the past and call you out on the same type of b.s. I think there are only a small number of people out there who are still racist on both ends of the scale, white people and colored people. These people totally wreck it for the rest of us and it sucks that stereotypes continue even when there are hardly any people discussing or using them. There are black and brown people who can be just as offensive when they talk to people and make comments but it is less obvious a lot of times because people don’t feel like bringing up the fact that they may be offended. When someone refers to someone as a white girl it isn’t supposed to be taken the wrong way but if someone referred to someone as a black girl there are a lot of people who would take that offensively. Sam was saying in class how we have learned not to acknowledge race because of political correctness. In a way we are taught that it is offensive to associate people with their race but I think there are also a lot of people who take a lot of pride in their race who would want to be associated with their race. So many times people will dwell on political correctness and the rudeness that was acknowledged I think was a pretty clear example. A lot of times people seem to feel that they must tip toe around minorities and they cant call them out but people are willing to call out white people for every little thing that is said. Fri, 19 Mar 2010 23:35:29 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/does-this-rudeness-thing-cut-both-ways__trashed/#IDComment63068938 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/is-anyone-else-getting-this-stuff__trashed/#IDComment63036656 I really enjoyed reading Laurie’s book because even though it discussed a lot of race relations it was neat to have someone’s point of view displayed on the side of white people not intending to be racist but we get accused of that a lot. I also thought it was a good point on Sam’s part to advise us not to try to argue ourselves out of being accused of making a racist comment. It can be very hurtful to be accused of being a racist so I think a lot of people would want to try to defend themselves against an accusation like that. Fri, 19 Mar 2010 21:14:36 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/is-anyone-else-getting-this-stuff__trashed/#IDComment63036656 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/are-whites-the-only-people-willing-to-humiliate-themselves__trashed/#IDComment59843991 I have never been one to have racist ideals or jump at the chance of calling people racist but that may also be because I am white and I don’t look for it constantly from the people who are around me. I don’t know how it feels to be completely defensive in multiple situations but I don’t think that it makes it fair for us to always feel that we have to be on guard when it comes to making comments because I think that is what created people censoring how they talk in most situations around people of color. Fri, 5 Mar 2010 05:50:53 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/are-whites-the-only-people-willing-to-humiliate-themselves__trashed/#IDComment59843991 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/are-whites-the-only-people-willing-to-humiliate-themselves__trashed/#IDComment59843975 The show dancing with the stars which is also on ABC has many people of different race and color and from many different parts of the world. It is an enjoyable show and yes although there are more white people than black people it does not make ABC racist in any way or make them discriminating in any way. This to me is an example of how people of color tend to look into situations and search very hard to find situations of discrimination. Although I don’t disagree that there is still discrimination on tv and all over the world it doesn’t mean that we need to search it out. I know that Sam gave us a statistic that involved there being more white people on tv and they were more than there are in the world doesn’t mean that a certain station is racist because of one show. There may not be people on the show because they feel that they are looking for someone of the same race and they don’t want to risk having the bachelor or bachelorette be white when they are looking for someone of their same race. This in turn could make the people who are not on this show racist as opposed to white people being racist. Fri, 5 Mar 2010 05:50:47 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/are-whites-the-only-people-willing-to-humiliate-themselves__trashed/#IDComment59843975 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/are-whites-the-only-people-willing-to-humiliate-themselves__trashed/#IDComment59843955 It seems like there are a lot of people on the show such as the bachelorette who are more white. However, if you watch shows like the love of ray jay there are quite a lot of people of color so I don’t think it is fair to insult the bachelor and take offense to that if there are other shows that are predominantly dominated by people of color. There are also other shows such as flava flav which have a lot of women of color or telia tequilia who was not only bisexual but a person of color and she had a show which was dominated by people of color. I think that there are other shows on ABC who have people of different races so it is pretty unfair to judge based off of one show. Fri, 5 Mar 2010 05:50:33 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/are-whites-the-only-people-willing-to-humiliate-themselves__trashed/#IDComment59843955 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/02/whats-with-the-theme-parties__trashed/#IDComment59837082 I have attended many themed parties and I have yet to been one that has intense racial undertones and intention. There are a lot of themed parties at Greek events and I have noticed that most people of races tend to join frats and sororities with people of the same race. This being said I don’t think that it means that when there are social events they are hosted by white people because they have them at Greek events that most blacks aren’t apart of. Having a themed social of 80’s or a toga party isn’t racial or offensive and I am sure no one has the intention of that being so. Fri, 5 Mar 2010 04:36:20 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/02/whats-with-the-theme-parties__trashed/#IDComment59837082 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/02/why-is-this-racist-really__trashed/#IDComment59835516 I feel like people always feel that it is racist for anyone who is white to set up any kind of function that excludes black people. However, if white people set up an event excluding other people of different races then it is considered racism. I am not racist by any means but I have noticed that there always seems to be a double standard when it comes to race situations. If a person of race sees someone who is white they can refer to them as white girl or white boy and it is considered okay. However, if I saw someone of color and referred to them as black girl or black guy people will notice and think about it as possibly racist or that it might be offensive to someone who is around. Fri, 5 Mar 2010 04:17:07 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/02/why-is-this-racist-really__trashed/#IDComment59835516