en-us https://www.intensedebate.com/users/2396471 Comments by pranoym1 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/04/19/what-americans-fear/#IDComment144898132 There are plenty of Muslims who are not bad people and do not want to kill us. However, we only see the radicals because they set themselves apart and in the forefront. Thu, 21 Apr 2011 19:57:24 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/04/19/what-americans-fear/#IDComment144898132 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/04/19/what-americans-fear/#IDComment144898118 Their actions are much louder and stronger than word. As terrorists, it is essentially their job to invoke terror through dramatic and outlandish acts of violence. They aim to make themselves known and cause fear. It turns out that they are doing a pretty good job. Violent acts like 9/11 or suicide bombings resulting in mass casualty catch out attention immediately, and the Jihad makes sure we know that they’re behind it. Watching the Twin Towers crumble downwards while people jump out of the flaming buildings is exactly what they wanted, and they cite their religious cause as their reasons. Therefore, Americans automatically assume that the Muslim religion preaches violence and anti-Americanism. The religious leaders of Jihad like Osama bin Laden or the president of Iran make such incendiary statements of their intentions and don’t hold back at all. The quotes from the video are just loaded with hatred, and designed to inspire fear. It is hard to not be afraid when somebody of another religion states that they have full intentions of trying to exterminate you for not following their religion. Thu, 21 Apr 2011 19:57:21 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/04/19/what-americans-fear/#IDComment144898118 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/04/19/what-americans-fear/#IDComment144898058 It is true that a small select group of people can absolutely destroy and tarnish the reputation of many more. It happens all of the time, with extremists who are outspoken and seem to be the face of their entire kind. For example, when one fraternity has a party and somebody gets sent to the hospital, the entire Greek system gets a negative stigma and stereotype. Similarly, the Jihad group seems to be the face of Muslims everywhere. They are so bold, brash, and extreme that they are impossible to ignore. Coupled with the fact that they preach extreme religion, it is not hard to see why Muslims are being stereotyped. The Jihad themselves state that it is every Muslim’s job to kill American heathens and infidels, so we obviously believe it because they should know their religion well. Thu, 21 Apr 2011 19:57:04 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/04/19/what-americans-fear/#IDComment144898058 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/03/24/religion-in-the-future/#IDComment141943040 Also, with science comes new proof and evidence about questions about life that previously were answered by religion. With these new answers, and less stringent social requirements, people move away from religion as answers are being found by science, and they do not have to be religious to conform anymore. I know my neighbor was forced to go to church every Sunday, and eventually just stopped because he didn’t believe in it. In older times, that would have been unacceptable, but now, it is ok to have your own views and beliefs. Mon, 11 Apr 2011 16:35:45 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/03/24/religion-in-the-future/#IDComment141943040 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/03/24/religion-in-the-future/#IDComment141943006 Religion is great for one to practice for themselves and their family, but it is a problem once somebody tries to force their views on others. Spreading the word is one thing, but force is another. Anti-Gay or anti-Muslim or anti-Abortion and Stem cell Research groups can actually hinder the world, which is not what religion was intended to do. However, the modern world also brings about change. I feel as if people especially in my generation are free to be individuals. Most of my friends have very religious families, but they themselves are not too religious or outright atheist. People can be unique and do things that would have been socially frowned upon in the past. Mon, 11 Apr 2011 16:35:36 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/03/24/religion-in-the-future/#IDComment141943006 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/03/24/religion-in-the-future/#IDComment141942945 The idea that religion will someday die out has been a thought in my head for a while. Honestly, as a completely un-religious person, I find many flaws and many benefits with religion. I do admire and respect the people that have the faith and belief to so staunchly support something with very little evidence. Religion, after all, does have good bases. I wish I could believe that lying would send me to Hell and that a reward for good behavior would be Heaven. The point of religion is to make people better. Not that I am a bad person, but religion would make a nice backbone. That said, religion also causes huge problems. The world trade center was bombed solely out of religious spite. Nowhere in any religious texts does it say to kill others who don’t believe in your religion, but extremists take it too far. Religion becomes a problem when people are attacking each other’s beliefs and even practices. Mon, 11 Apr 2011 16:35:23 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/03/24/religion-in-the-future/#IDComment141942945 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/03/15/lgbt-families-theres-a-lot-of-fear-out-there/#IDComment138893710 Gay people can raise children just fine, and gay couples would actually do a favor to society by adopting orphans and reducing the amount of suffering children. As we saw in the video we watched and in the example of this Iowan, gay couples can indeed provide all that is needed by their children adequately. Also, children raise by gay parents do not have a higher chance of being gay (not that that would matter), but would be more likely to come out of the closet if they were actually gay. The man in this video is nineteen and is no different from anybody else besides the fact that he was raised by two women. He is successful, intelligent, and a perfectly normal human being. Why should his mothers not be recognized as a couple? I simply do not understand why other people care who gets married. It doesn’t affect anybody other than those being married. There are MUCH bigger problems in America right now than who can be married and who cannot. For all I care, marriage could be legal between animals and humans. Although I definitely do not agree with this practice, not allowing the marriage wouldn’t stop a man from loving an animal. Love is an unstoppable emotional force, whether the law accepts it or not. Thu, 31 Mar 2011 17:53:06 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/03/15/lgbt-families-theres-a-lot-of-fear-out-there/#IDComment138893710 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/03/15/lgbt-families-theres-a-lot-of-fear-out-there/#IDComment138893677 This video does a very good job of giving evidence supporting gay marriage and the legitimacy of gay parenting skills as the orator had been raised by a lesbian couple himself. Honestly, I do not see why anybody would oppose the legalization of gay marriage besides those who are extremely religious, as gay marriage is indeed considered a sin in the Bible. However, church and state are supposed to be separated, so that should not have any holding against the gay couples. The orator is correct. Gay marriage being illegal does not prevent gay love. Gay people will still be gay, whether the law recognizes them as legitimate families or not. It is simply stupid to classify them as unfit to be married just because of their sexual orientation. Marriage is supposed to be the unity of two people in love (hell, even multiple people in the case of polygamy), and should not have anything to do with the sexes of those involved in the matrimony. Thu, 31 Mar 2011 17:52:54 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/03/15/lgbt-families-theres-a-lot-of-fear-out-there/#IDComment138893677 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/03/09/the-r-word-and-the-oblivious-others/#IDComment136270607 It is almost like acts that are considered vicious and heinous here, but not where they occur. In the south, dogfights are common. A part of life. Many people view it as a horrific act, but some grow up in the culture that it is OK to make dogs fight. This is why I wasn’t out rallying against Mike Vick. He grew up in an environment and culture where that was normal, almost how eating snake in Japan is normal but many Americans would be repulsed. We grew up in a society that taught us that it was acceptable and common to call certain bad things “retarded”. It truly is offensive to those with mental conditions, and perhaps they aren’t out in the forefront like gays are. However, the use of the R-word is still a problem and people should make a conscious effort to recognize that. Awareness needs to be brought out, because like myself, many of us have never even thought of the usage of the R-word and what we are really saying, but once we think about it, we realize. Sun, 20 Mar 2011 17:50:05 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/03/09/the-r-word-and-the-oblivious-others/#IDComment136270607 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/03/09/the-r-word-and-the-oblivious-others/#IDComment136270577 I’m pretty surprised I have never thought of the usage of the r- word like this before. It’s actually stunning. The word is used all the time, yet I have never stopped to think about what I am really saying. Sure, people say words like “gay” or “fag” all the time to describe things negatively, myself included, but I feel as if there is much more awareness about the political correctness and overuse of those words. In a society where gays and lesbians are progressing forward and pushing for their rights, it’s easy to see why the word gay in reference to something negative is under the spotlight. One of the main issues with the R-word is the people it would relate to. Honestly, as an Indian American student, I would feel pretty bad if the word “Indian” was used in a bad light. For example, if somebody saw a movie and thought it was terrible, they would say “that movie was so Indian”. So I do understand what it would feel like and I do understand the weight of what we say. It is a shame that our society has raised us to think this is OK. Sun, 20 Mar 2011 17:49:55 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/03/09/the-r-word-and-the-oblivious-others/#IDComment136270577 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/03/09/what-would-make-this-guy-less-white/#IDComment134942022 Also, he makes a point of being proper and inoffensive. He doesn’t mention the penis once, even though the gun clearly hangs right over it, and everybody is thinking it. However, he finds a way to work around that. He doesn’t even mention the rear, saying instead the holster lies about 4 inches below the waist. It’s almost funny how he awkwardly pauses to try and work his wordings around it. Not only this, but he makes an explicit point to make sure that everybody knows he is wearing running shorts under his pants so that people wouldn’t be alarmed. His body language is pretty “white” as well. The hand motions he makes just don’t seem typical of anything but a middle aged white man. I’ll even go as far as say he puts on his pants and belt in a white manner. He seems more of a middle age man than white man, but than again when I think of middle aged people I pretty much think of white people. Not sure why, but perhaps that’s just the way our society is. There really isn’t one thing that labels him white, but many little things that we subconsciously attribute to white people. Mon, 14 Mar 2011 23:00:30 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/03/09/what-would-make-this-guy-less-white/#IDComment134942022 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/03/09/what-would-make-this-guy-less-white/#IDComment134941989 There are many things about this guy that make him seem very white. Quite honestly, to start, even the title insinuates he is white. When I think of hunting and fishing and things of the sort, I tend to think of white people, even though I am an avid tournament fisherman myself, and I am Indian. However, there is only one black person and a couple of Asians I know who fish the Bass Pro Classics, and make up less than 5% of the white-dominated sporting event. So, the fact that he is making a review video for a concealed gun holster is pretty white in itself. Next, he has a very white way of speaking. It just has the traditional white sound to it. No accent whatsoever, and the mannerisms of a traditional American Caucasian male. For example, he uses terms like “what the heck”. Even his facial expressions seem very white. He also speaks without any slang and uses phrases like quite frankly and extra-stiff cotton which I just don’t picture anybody else saying. He doesn’t use many contractions either. He makes this a very seriously toned, almost educational video. Mon, 14 Mar 2011 23:00:19 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/03/09/what-would-make-this-guy-less-white/#IDComment134941989 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/03/01/lighting-our-way/#IDComment132485229 depressed and they hate having no sunlight. Darkness on its own is a scary thing. There is a reason children are afraid of the dark, but not the light. The light offers warmth, and a feeling of security and protection as you can see everything. The dark is a mysterious entity that covers up a lot, and you can’t see very far. Hence, people tend to be more afraid or depressed in the dark than they are in the light. People always gravitate towards better weather. It’s the reason people choose to go on vacations to tropical areas instead of places like Helinsky. The idea of the lights and the light artists is a good one. It offers something soothing and appealing for the eyes of the citizens. Light is warm and beckoning, and illuminates the darkness. Something about it just makes us feel better. It is almost like how fireworks are. Quite a genius move on the mayor’s part. Fri, 4 Mar 2011 23:03:55 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/03/01/lighting-our-way/#IDComment132485229 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/03/01/lighting-our-way/#IDComment132485194 The weather is perhaps one of the strongest “invisible strings” that there is in the world. In fact, it might as well be an invisible rope. The effect that season and weather, or even just light, has on people’s moods is incredible. It doesn’t take an exploration into Helinski for me to be able to see the effects of weather. I could wake up on a gray, dreary day with rain and just decide to skip all of my classes. The weather even subconsciously affects how people dress. Not only by warmth, but comfort. I am more likely to wear sweatpants and a hoody if it is gray out than if it were bright and sunny. The sunlight just makes people feel better in general. Friday, February 16th was a gorgeous day and I walked around smiling all day. Nothing about the day was special. It was an average schoolday. However, you could just tell that everyone was happy and everything was better about the day. Everybody chose to be outside as much as possible. Fri, 4 Mar 2011 23:03:42 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/03/01/lighting-our-way/#IDComment132485194 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/02/21/stranger-kidnapping/#IDComment130221046 This “abduction” doesn’t even really seem like an abduction. The fact that the man gives up so easily and walks away casually, smiling, leads me to believe it wasn’t a serious attempt. It is definitely weird, and not something you see every day, but a full on kidnapping? However, the media portrays it as a huge crime, and makes it sound like the nanny beat down a swarm of trained ex-SWAT extraction team men in order to protect the child. I’m sure the man in the video saw this on the news later and was completely confused. Honestly, if I wanted to abduct a kid in a similar fashion, I’d grab him and run out of there fast as possible. And if foiled, I would still run out of there fast as possible. In conclusion, this seems to be the media over-exaggerating things as usual. Thu, 24 Feb 2011 01:55:43 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/02/21/stranger-kidnapping/#IDComment130221046 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/02/21/stranger-kidnapping/#IDComment130221038 The numbers don’t lie. Stranger abductions are incredibly rare. However, the media of course needs its stories. And if they present stories with the low incidence rate of stranger abductions, they do not get the same frenzied effect they desire. The news does in face change lives and the behaviors and actions of people. However, most of this is due to people simply following whatever viewpoints and twists the media offers, rather than their own opinion formed from their own research. Thu, 24 Feb 2011 01:55:40 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/02/21/stranger-kidnapping/#IDComment130221038 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/02/21/stranger-kidnapping/#IDComment130221002 The media is expert at playing the statistics game, as statistics are easily manipulated, hidden, or presented to favor one side. I feel that Americans have a natural tendency to over-react and over-compensate for actions, and the media causes as well as takes advantage of this. For example, I do think some of the policies that the airlines adopt for security are meant in the best interest of passengers, but are truly ridiculous, unnecessary, profiling, and invade the privacy of fliers. Thu, 24 Feb 2011 01:55:30 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/02/21/stranger-kidnapping/#IDComment130221002 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/02/21/stranger-kidnapping/#IDComment130220980 I believe fully that the media causes the public to fear much more than they have to. For example, the swine flu “epidemic” or even some ridiculous measures against terrorism. People were buying Gas Masks in fear of SARs and anthrax. The media simply takes any event, and then twists it into something exciting. It is good for the media, as it grows interest and attracts viewers, as people flock to anything deemed extraordinary. However, it is bad for the public because they are somewhat misinformed. It causes almost a hysteria effect on the populace simply for views and ratings. Thu, 24 Feb 2011 01:55:20 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/02/21/stranger-kidnapping/#IDComment130220980 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/02/04/the-not-so-invisible-structure-that-shapes-us/#IDComment128712184 Mankind is progressing towards a more globalized world, as opposed to a world sectioned into different countries. Eventually, Americans will need to learn to see themselves as one small part to our enormous earth, and integrate with the rest of our fellow human beings Fri, 18 Feb 2011 02:16:32 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/02/04/the-not-so-invisible-structure-that-shapes-us/#IDComment128712184 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/02/04/the-not-so-invisible-structure-that-shapes-us/#IDComment128712151 However, it is ignorant to think that America is all one should ever know. In different countries, things can be so much different it blows the mind. I have been to India, Spain, Denmark, and Dubai amongst many other countries. Every experience is totally different and memorable. People have different customs and act differently. I feel as if the more one experiences, the more worldly and knowledgeable they are. It is important to have knowledge of the world because we are all one large human race, and we are all connected in one way or another. Knowledge of Chinese culture picked up from visiting China could prove to be very useful in business. Similarly, knowledge of Indian customs would be useful in dealing with employees overseas. The NBC TV show “Outsourced” does a great job of pointing out huge cultural differences and how they relate to interactions and relationships across the world, with a comedic twist. Many times, the differences are prominent when the Indian employees come across different American perspectives while attempting to sell American novel products. For example, the concept of gag gifts confounds the workers, while the boss doesn’t truly understand the customs and holidays of his employees. Fri, 18 Feb 2011 02:16:23 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/02/04/the-not-so-invisible-structure-that-shapes-us/#IDComment128712151