I’ll watch South Park occasionally, but I can’t say I’m a huge fan of Matt Stone and Trey Parker. I know they put out episodes that offend various groups and that they attempt to push the envelope. However, I’ve taken issue with them every since their episode “The F Word”.

This episode that’s causing so much controversy is one that features a depiction of the prophet Mohammed. In Islam it’s frowned upon to create visual images of Mohammed because they want to deter idolatry of said image. The rule basically wants to stop people from worshipping the image as opposed to actually worshipping the idea and person beyond the image. That’s why I’m a little eh over people saying “They showed Jesus, Buddha, etc!” Well, those religions don’t have a problem with depictions of their prophet, etc. Of course I’m not excusing the few crazies who want to kill over a depiction. There are many more liberal Muslims who don’t have an issue with depictions of Mohammed, but as the case with the South Park guys shows, there are people who take issue with images being shown. It’s the same with every religion I suppose. There are liberal and rational people in each religion, but the few crazies are the ones who are given media attention and as a result, people associate the crazies with every single person in the religion.

The South Park episode aired recently and the image of Mohammed was blocked out because Comedy Central decided to censor it. They did it without the South Park guy’s permission and I suppose it was due to the death threats the producers were facing. I’m not a fan of censorship and as people have repeated over and over, South Park makes fun of every group. I think it’s ridiculous to censor an image just to please one group. You can’t make a death threat because you’re offended by something. I understand that South Park is offensive at times and blatantly pushes the creator’s beliefs, but you’re only giving yourself a bad image by threatening to kill over something you disagree with.

An episode they had that really offended me was their episode about the f word and how it’s basically alright to use it because the meaning is changing. I’m changing the topic a bit but it relates to my previous opinion on the Mohammed episode. I quite like what someone said on another blog regarding this episode. “The privileged group does not get to make a statement for the oppressed group.” There are people who will argue that the Mohammed episode is a joke and shouldn’t be taken seriously, but half the time they’re the ones who use South Park as their go to political show. Kinda sad.

Regardless, many people will watch South Park and believe everything is says is incredibly clever, but a few episodes are nothing more than a way for the creators to push their beliefs. Someone(outside of this blog) mentioned a few episodes such as “Cartman’s Silly Hate Crime 2000” where they attacked hate crime laws despite the facts that prove certain groups ARE targeted and hate crime laws are designed to protect them. It makes me sick when people try to say its special privileges. Or the episode about Mr. Garrison which basically poked fun at transgendered issues. The show isn’t really that brilliant (in my opinion) but it does have its funny moments that shine a light on important issues.

Also, some of the comments here scream “ethnocentrism”. The comment that bashed Islam as bogus because of its background. I’m pretty certain the people that bash Islam have no background or any information on it save for a quick glance at Wikipedia or the minutes they can spare to watch Fox News. The fact that someone says Islam is bogus while ignoring the fact that Christianity claims Jesus was born to a virgin and came back from the dead screams of hypocrisy and nothing more than ethnocentrism. People need to get over themselves and realize that making death threats won’t solve anything, but neither will acting as if your point of view is the only correct one.

I enjoyed Thursday’s lecture and I hoped that it opened a lot of student’s minds. I was raised in a Muslim household(We’re pretty lax on religion nowadays) and grew up celebrating the Eid and Ramadan. My sisters and I even have Arabic first names. I definitely agreed with his points about the Christian Invasion. As an atheist living in a country where the majority of the people practice a certain religion, I can definitely say it often feels like a Christian invasion is occurring when people talk about the war, various political stances(from an outside perspective). I’ve often heard many people blast Muslim extremists and make incredibly ignorant statements regarding Islam. People fail to realize that Islam is set up to be a peaceful religion and there are always going to be various outliers.

I’ve always been against the war in Iraq and have firmly believed that many of the reasons for the occupation centered on oil bases in Iraq. The quotes from any politicians and oil executives that Sam showed us were shocking. It’s disturbing to think that the people we elected are embarking on a modern Crusade. I’ve always been a firm believer in separation of Church and State. I feel religion has absolutely no place in government, so to hear George Bush’s comments and the worker on Giuliani’s campaign basically saying they want to attack all Muslims nearly caused me to headdesk. I hate hate the argument that the war in Iraq is being fought to free us. Free us from what? There are other so called tyrannical governments that the United States isn’t trying to invade. What makes Iraq such a different case? Oh yea, oil reserves which equal money. Bush and his administration constantly struggled to come up with a concise reason for the US occupation in Iraq and each proved as faulty as the last. First insinuating that there was a link between the 9/11 attacks and Saddam, Weapons of Mass Destruction, spreading democracy all in an attempt to ward off the public’s increasing belief that the war was nothing more than a war for oil.

One of the political science courses I took last year was PoliSci 003 which basically focused on various governments around the world. We were able to watch a film that centered on Iran and the way the Iranians and others in the Middle East viewed the United States. Many felt angry that the United States became increasingly richer due to the oil they reaped from the Middle East, while people in their own country grew poorer and poorer. It was a classic example of the rich getting richer while the poor got poorer. As a result, tensions grew between the Middle East and the United States. It seems like a mutual understanding of cultures is needed to help decrease the tensions between the countries.

And as for the Christian Invaders, I feel that this is especially relevant nowadays. I’ve heard about the Jesus Camp film and it’s frightening the way children are basically scared straight into being these “Christian warriors.” Even the name is terrifying. There seems to be a fascination with labeling Muslims as extremists but the same is rarely said about Christians. I get so angry thinking about the 2008 election and the way people felt that saying Obama was a Muslim was something shameful. Of course he isn’t, but it definitely showed that people link Islam to terrorism. Why would there be a big deal if he was? Though you have to remember that people made a fuss about Kennedy being Catholic. Like I said before, I’m an atheist so I’m really don’t care about religion or people’s fascination with fighting the good fight for God and the ways people will try to fight those who have a different religion. It seems to bring nothing but trouble, though I know people will get offended by that. I enjoy this quote by Richard Dawkins, a famous atheist, "The majority of children born into the world tend to inherit the beliefs of their parents, and that to me is one of the most regrettable facts of them all" People fail to question what is going around them and this is directly related to many people not understanding the situation in the Middle East. The way people blindly follow beliefs without even considering what they are following plays a big role in a lot of the lecturers we’ve have this semester. I’ll just end with this quote about religion ““Religion is regarded by the common people as true, by the wise as false, and by the rulers as useful.”

I usually go to a celebrity blog and this video and information about the game had been posted. I was shocked that such a game existed but I also noticed many people making anti-Japanese comments. There were several people who claimed that videos like these are a basic representation of the Japanese culture. Although this game and the news covering it is a bit outdated as it’s been out for a while, the entire issue of it is not. This game is not a direct representation of what all the Japanese people think or believe in! It’s just a small part of the population that creates video games like this. It’d be like watching MTV and thinking every American acted like a cast member of the Jersey Shore or the Hills. I used to read manga such as Love Hina, Peach Girl, etc and I’ve watched a few Japanese movies so the almost xenophobia I’ve been seeing about the Japanese culture is a bit off-putting. There is a serious problem with this game and the culture that surrounds it. However, it is annoying to hear people dismiss these things as a “Japanese thing” or even worse “Chinese” when it clearly says Japan if you could muster enough energy to click play and watch the video or even read the comments that state it is Japan not China. All Asian countries are not interchangeable.

The game is clearly disturbing and there are youtube videos that detail certain scenes from the game. There are some that will argue this game allows these young men who will be playing it a form of escapism. They can play the video game without actually going out and committing the crime. I’m a little wary of this view because the game sets up these women as merely cartoon characters that can be manipulated and abused. The dehumanization of the women strikes a chord with me. It may make the players see the women in this light and then they will act on it. Who says this will stop them from taking a step further. It also raises the question of can games like Grand Theft Auto, etc even be compared to this game? Many people will claim that these games promote violence and feel that people will run out and commit the same acts of crime.

I hate going with the argument that the things you see can actually inspire you to do the same act(I’ve watched the Japanese film Battle Royale but I very much doubt I’ll be going on a killing spree), but I do feel this game puts these thoughts in the player’s mind. I feel conflicted about whether the two can be compared but I want to focus just on the game and how it is such a clear view of this so called “control” over women. The main motive of the game is revenge. The character is supposed to seek revenge on the girl because she accuses him of rape. There’s even an option that forces the girl to have an abortion! It’s such a sick idea that games are perpetuating this idea that men can have complete control over women. It’s even more sickening that it allows the viewer to think that women actually want rape. The women in the game seem so encourage the male characters and it furthers this disturbing idea that many rapists have which is women who wear short skirts, have a large chest, etc are flaunting it and therefore it’s ok. This game is an attack on women and it’s unsettling that it was even created.

This video definitely was one of the more disturbing videos we have watched in class. I could see the children’s pained expressions as they were told to choose which doll was more beautiful and which looked like them. I do think it’s pretty disturbing that we live in a world where children are so affected by this so called standard of beauty at such young ages. They’re made to dislike their skin color as if it makes them ugly or less than someone with a lighter skin tone. I feel like a lot of it does come from the Disney movies and tv shows. Children grow up only seeing television shows that are dominated by white children and they feel that they must become white or they yearn to look white in order to make it in this world or to be accepted. I feel that more shows need to feature minorities, etc. I’m thinking of many of my favorite movies right now and they are heavily dominated by white actors and actresses. Positive role models can play a major part in the way these children see themselves. If they grow up watching movies or tv shows where the minority characters are seen in a negative light or not seen at all, chances are they probably will have a negative view of how they look. I’m glad that there are more children shows such as Dora the Explorer, Maya and Miguel and Ni Hao Kai Lan. These shows include characters that are white but the main character is a minority. I think it’s especially important that we allow children to see a positive representation of their race. I have a niece that is two and the video made me think of the dolls that she has. It seems like it is too often that people are bombarded with shows that have minorities but they’re only the “token character” They have little dialogue and don’t contribute to the plot in any major way.

I also remember a girl’s comment during class that there are skin issues in the black community as well. I definitely know where she’s coming from as some people I know also claim they don’t want to have children with very dark skin as if it is something that is negative. Many movies also have blacks with lighter skin as opposed to blacks with darker skin. There was a big article about the movie precious and the casting for that film. I’ve read the book and the characters that help her are described as having very dark skin or something similar. However, the movie only featured the black characters with light skin as the positive characters.

There obviously needs to be something done about this idea that having dark skin is not beautiful. Maybe it is people’s fascination with the so called standard of beauty that needs to be changed or as I said earlier, more representation of minorities. I think these ideas can possibly help these children realize that they don’t need to change their skin color to fit in with society. I have a niece who is only two but she has dolls of various skin colors, etc, but her favorite dolls are a pair of black doll twins. I hope we can advance as a society and allow these children to see that they are beautiful and should be accepted for who they are.

Apologies for the multiple comments

I’m familiar with the Tea Party protestors and their so called struggles against the Obama administration and “socialism”, but I usually ignore them. I just see them as a few radicals who spew speeches and words with no real backing. They just enjoy riling people up and causing a stir. However, ignoring them doesn’t seem to be an option as this blog post proves. There are some protestors that proudly shout about assassinating Obama or like the blog said, depicting him as Hitler or equating him to a terrorist or Osama bin Laden. The constant comparisons to Hitler remind me of Godwin’s Law. It pretty much says “It states: "As an online discussion grows longer, the probability of a comparison involving Nazis or Hitler approaches 1."
Maybe it’s just for shock value, but I’m pretty sure there are some people who actually believe this. A lot of these tea party protestors are regular watchers of Glenn Beck and Fox news. Fox News isn’t exactly known for being the most trustworthy news station and a lot of these protestors tune in without fact checking. As a result, this growing fear of us. against them spreads and they take it to such an extreme level. They also use racism and homophobia as a shield against ideas they may dislike. I heard about many of these protestors using offensive terms at the Senators and for what reason? I don’t care if you dislike Obama or didn’t vote for him, but to go so far and brand him a terrorist and demean him says something about your so called patriotism.

It’s not just the tea party protestors who shout offensive things but sometimes it may even come from the Senators. I watched the Health Care Debate take place and it got especially heated as it grew closer to voting time. A Texas Representative, Randy Neugebauer shouted “baby killer” during the debate for the health care bill. The idea that those in power aren’t immune to being so immature to stoop to petty name calling also says something about our current state of politics. There was also booing by the Republican Senators when Nancy Pelosi mentioned Obama’s name and you can’t forget the infamous “you lie!” comment made by Representative Wilson. Politicians really need to grow up and realize you’re representing districts and people and shouldn’t let your own bigoted personal views get in the way of this. I’m all in favor of protests but everyone knows there’s a wrong and right way to protest. This is the United States and we do have the freedom to protest, but people often abuse this freedom by holding racist and homophobic signs. It’s time people used their brains for once and before heading outside with a sign comparing Hitler to Obama, take a step back and actually question what you’re doing. You can blindly follow a particular movement with few logistics and go the way of Ann Coulter, or you can question what you’re doing and actually do your research before protesting something you have no idea about.

I’m familiar with the Tea Party protestors and their so called struggles against the Obama administration and “socialism”, but I usually ignore them. I just see them as a few radicals who spew speeches and words with no real backing. They just enjoy riling people up and causing a stir. However, ignoring them doesn’t seem to be an option as this blog post proves. There are some protestors that proudly shout about assassinating Obama or like the blog said, depicting him as Hitler or equating him to a terrorist or Osama bin Laden. The constant comparisons to Hitler remind me of Godwin’s Law. It pretty much says “It states: "As an online discussion grows longer, the probability of a comparison involving Nazis or Hitler approaches 1."

Maybe it’s just for shock value, but I’m pretty sure there are some people who actually believe this. A lot of these tea party protestors are regular watchers of Glenn Beck and Fox news. Fox News isn’t exactly known for being the most trustworthy news station and a lot of these protestors tune in without fact checking. As a result, this growing fear of us. against them spreads and they take it to such an extreme level. They also use racism and homophobia as a shield against ideas they may dislike. I heard about many of these protestors using offensive terms at the Senators and for what reason? I don’t care if you dislike Obama or didn’t vote for him, but to go so far and brand him a terrorist and demean him says something about your so called patriotism.

It’s not just the tea party protestors who shout offensive things but sometimes it may even come from the Senators. I watched the Health Care Debate take place and it got especially heated as it grew closer to voting time. A Texas Representative, Randy Neugebauer shouted “baby killer” during the debate for the health care bill. The idea that those in power aren’t immune to being so immature to stoop to petty name calling also says something about our current state of politics. There was also booing by the Republican Senators when Nancy Pelosi mentioned Obama’s name and you can’t forget the infamous “you lie!” comment made by Representative Wilson. Politicians really need to grow up and realize you’re representing districts and people and shouldn’t let your own bigoted personal views get in the way of this. I’m all in favor of protests but everyone knows there’s a wrong and right way to protest. This is the United States and we do have the freedom to protest, but people often abuse this freedom by holding racist and homophobic signs. It’s time people used their brains for once and before heading outside with a sign comparing Hitler to Obama, take a step back and actually question what you’re doing. You can blindly follow a particular movement with few logistics and go the way of Ann Coulter, or you can question what you’re doing and actually do your research before protesting something you have no idea about.

I’m familiar with the Tea Party protestors and their so called struggles against the Obama administration and “socialism”, but I usually ignore them. I just see them as a few radicals who spew speeches and words with no real backing. They just enjoy riling people up and causing a stir. However, ignoring them doesn’t seem to be an option as this blog post proves. There are some protestors that proudly shout about assassinating Obama or like the blog said, depicting him as Hitler or equating him to a terrorist or Osama bin Laden. The constant comparisons to Hitler remind me of Godwin’s Law. It pretty much says “It states: "As an online discussion grows longer, the probability of a comparison involving Nazis or Hitler approaches 1." The numerous fall
Maybe it’s just for shock value, but I’m pretty sure there are some people who actually believe this. A lot of these tea party protestors are regular watchers of Glenn Beck and Fox news. Fox News isn’t exactly known for being the most trustworthy news station and a lot of these protestors tune in without fact checking. As a result, this growing fear of us. against them spreads and they take it to such an extreme level. They also use racism and homophobia as a shield against ideas they may dislike. I heard about many of these protestors using offensive terms at the Senators and for what reason? I don’t care if you dislike Obama or didn’t vote for him, but to go so far and brand him a terrorist and demean him says something about your so called patriotism.

It’s not just the tea party protestors who shout offensive things but sometimes it may even come from the Senators. I watched the Health Care Debate take place and it got especially heated as it grew closer to voting time. A Texas Representative, Randy Neugebauer shouted “baby killer” during the debate for the health care bill. The idea that those in power aren’t immune to being so immature to stoop to petty name calling also says something about our current state of politics. There was also booing by the Republican Senators when Nancy Pelosi mentioned Obama’s name and you can’t forget the infamous “you lie!” comment made by Representative Wilson. Politicians really need to grow up and realize you’re representing districts and people and shouldn’t let your own bigoted personal views get in the way of this. I’m all in favor of protests but everyone knows there’s a wrong and right way to protest. This is the United States and we do have the freedom to protest, but people often abuse this freedom by holding racist and homophobic signs. It’s time people used their brains for once and before heading outside with a sign comparing Hitler to Obama, take a step back and actually question what you’re doing. You can blindly follow a particular movement with few logistics and go the way of Ann Coulter, or you can question what you’re doing and actually do your research before protesting something you have no idea about.

The whole texting in class may seem like a good idea but there will always be certain people who take advantage of it. I had to inwardly groan when I saw the topic “What does it mean to be white” because I knew a few idiots would make certain comments just to cause an uproar. It reminds me of the scene in Jurassic Park, the one with the shaking water glass that warns of the incoming T-Rex attack. I knew something bad was going to happen as soon as I saw the topic and I was proven right as people started to text comments just to get a laugh out of the people in the class.

I don’t really understand why some people are saying such a big uproar from all over was made when comments about the black students were made. There were a few yells and shouts of disbelief but it’s not like people were boycotting the class or getting into screaming matches. Many of the comments from the white students came before the question was posed to the black students. People weren’t expecting so many of the dumb comments and that’s why a lot of students felt angry. The question that was given to everyone of color came afterwards and people were probably expecting a few of the comments. An outrage was already made and people had calmed down. I felt the reactions were matched for all of the comments.

Also, I agree with one of the posters that comments such as “Whites can’t dance” or “Whites only like John Mayer” don’t really match up to harsher comments like “Whites are the superior race” or responding to the question what does it mean to be white with statements such as “better”. There are some people who complain that they’re being called privileged or that they have an easier life, but we’re talking about the majority not individual case-by-case issues. You can look at the chart of family incomes and then wonder why some people are texting privileged or that so and so race has an easier life. At least people were answering the question without going off base with “Those loud black girls in the HUB and Computer Lab.” The point was made in class that Penn State is a predominately white school. There are fewer minorities so of course many people are going to get irritated when many racist comments are posed. The minority vs. majority issue. The minority feels threatened because of comments that where posted by the majority. Many people felt uncomfortable especially realizing the size disparity. People also get offended because even comments on this message board like “Blacks get more offended by racism” or blacks can tell racial jokes without any repercussions. It all goes back to stereotypes and people passing judgment.

Seeing as the people texting these comments only want to get a rise or a laugh from the class, it’d be best to just ignore them and not give them any attention. It only ignores the comments that actually respond to the question and cast a light on the offensive comments. I’m not in this class to waste my time reading text messages sent by people who only want to test their joke making abilities. People need to grow up and actually text a response to the question or don’t bother coming to class until you’ve graduated from the second grade.

I feel that the school board was completely wrong for canceling the prom because a girl just wanted to bring her girlfriend to the prom. It’s always a bit of a jolt to realize how backwards our society really is despite the progress we have made. It’s also a realization that we still have a lot of work to do regarding equality for all.

The school board should be ashamed for refusing to allow this girl bring her girlfriend to the prom. They claim that it wrong be a distraction to the educational process and cite this as a reason that they canceled the prom altogether. Last time I checked Prom wasn’t exactly an educational experience. We really can’t move forward as a society if we continuously discriminate against those we perceive as different than us. Prom is supposed to be a fun experience and a last get-together for many students. However, the school is basically telling this girl that she can’t be who she is and has to hide her true identity. Great message from a school, right? Also, it’s sad she can’t even be completely comfortable in school while her heterosexual classmates get to proudly flaunt their boyfriend or girlfriends around. The school needs to get over their inner prejudice and realize not everyone has their backwards opinions. I know this issue was raised earlier where a boy at a Catholic school fought to bring his boyfriend to the Prom, despite the objections of his school. The court case Marc Hall vs. Durham Catholic School Board gained public attention and I hope the same is for this case. I only recall this case because it was also turned into a movie. He won the case and I hope the same is for Constance McMillen.

I’m also personally offended by the school stating that they reserved the right to ask Constance and her girlfriend to leave if anyone at the Prom complained of feeling uncomfortable. That whole statement that the school made is so ridiculous. Why should one couple change who they are to fit with a few prejudiced people. We shouldn’t bend to the needs of those who still harbor intolerant views and refuse to grow up and get over it. I’ll never understand why people are so concerned with someone else’s sexuality. You don’t want to bring a girl to the prom? Then don’t and don’t try to rain on someone else’s parade. I went to an all girls school and some girls attended the prom with other friends in the school, mainly because it was cheaper to take someone from the school then to take someone outside of the school, but a big fuss was never made. Schools should be a place for you to feel safe and it’s clear Constance is being made to feel ashamed of who she is and is being put in a prejudiced environment. She even fears that kids will hate her for having Prom cancelled when it’s clearly not her fault at all. Shame on the school for making it seem like she caused this commotion when they’re the ones making a big deal around *gasp* two lesbian girls going to the Prom together. I hope the school is forced to overturn their ban on same-sex couples attending the Prom together and realize we’re supposed to be moving forward and not going back.