en-us https://www.intensedebate.com/users/758252 Comments by Ler5097 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/south-park-off-the-hook__trashed/#IDComment70071677 South Park has been an extremely controversial show for years. My brother and his friends used to always want to watch it when they were in like 7th and 8th grade (now they are 22), and my parents would never let him because they thought it was so inappropriate. South Park is extremely inappropriate, but it is what makes it humorous. They usually relate the topics to events that are going on in the world today and what people can relate to. The thing that South Park does, it targets ALL forms of races, religions, people, and groups. It never singles out and targets one and only one group. It ranges with the various episodes. It is unnecessary for people to take offense to this show because it is not meant to be offensive, just funny and making almost a parody off of certain people. Its a group of supposed third graders, that curse, know more about sex than most, but are still children at heart. The topic South Park chose to do was use Mohammed as their next "victim" as some people might want to say. It is simply making fun of muslims and discussing their religion. It is making the show funny and for people to enjoy. Laugh at yourselves and know that it is not supposed to be directed towards any individual. People can be very closed minded. If they honestly have such a problem with the show, they should not watch it at all. South Park has been on for years and there should not be so many issues over one topic, when there has been far more controversial topics in the past. South Park is such a popular show and people are overreacting and taking this to extreme measures. Other shows have done just as worse. So many stand up comedians use stereotypes, race, religions, and groups to make their skits funny and to make fun of people. Other shows such as Family Guy and the Simpsons also do this. Why is it such a big deal now? Why is this episode more offensive than others? The writers of the show are the creative minds behind the show and have the right to say what they feel necessary. It does not mean that it all necessarily true. As I talked about my brother not being able to watch the show as a kid, my dad now loves the show. He is strict and kind of uptight. He became open minded and loves the show. He waits for a new episode each week and you can hear him laughing for across the house. It is entertaining. People need to give the show a chance and stop taking everything so literally. Its absurd and obnoxious when people take things that are so unimportant and blow them out of proportion. Sat, 24 Apr 2010 02:54:32 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/south-park-off-the-hook__trashed/#IDComment70071677 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/christian-invaders-the-turnaround__trashed/#IDComment68436184 First of all, this trailer is really cool and could be an actual movie trailer. This class by far was the most interesting and the class I have paid attention to the most out of any classes we have had. Sam made us listen, no reading the newspapers or doing school work, he got the whole class involved and made us all think differently. Sam made it interesting and gave us a different perspective. I like how he asked us to view the war from the muslims living in Iraq. The Iraq war is a very difficult topic and hard for many people to discuss. There are numerous opinions that people have on the war. Some people like to think they are right and that other people make no sense. No one has a correct view on the war and no one knows everything about the war. There are so many things we do not know because we are not there, we do not know the opinions of the people living there and the exact thoughts of the government. Religion is a touchy and personal subject as well. I don't know how much i like the view of "Christian Invaders". There are many different religions within America, within the soldiers fighting in America. I know the Muslim community bases the majority of their decisions off the Koran. This is how they have been raised, how they have been taught, this is all they know. They do not know the affects their decisions make on other people, besides the fact that they know to hate Americans and to kill us. From the Muslim view, why would they like us? From the videos they see of what stupid and ignorant some of the soldiers do to the people in Iraq, I would hate americans to. Of course they would want to defend their people, defend their religion, and defend their country. American's want to do the same, but the Iraqis take it to the extreme. Some of the radicals within Iraq want to destroy every part of America and the american culture. The view of the Muslims on George Bush, John McCain of how they want to take over their country just because of oil seemed legitimate. From the videos we watched on them, they seem like terrible people who want to use other countries for their resources and do not care what they have to do get the resources. Most Americans know that this is not the case, but the Iraqis do not. America has made a bad impression by video clips on why America went into Iraq. I think the Iraq war needs to be explained more clearly to both the American people and the Iraqis people. Fri, 16 Apr 2010 22:19:36 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/christian-invaders-the-turnaround__trashed/#IDComment68436184 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/i-really-want-to-know-also__trashed/#IDComment66509914 I actually think this is a great question. From day one, I thought this class would be a joke. Go to class, sit through it, read the newspaper, text my friends, play games on my cell phone, and do other homework. To be honest, the class is still that way. I do all of those things during class. The only thing is, I do go to class and I attempt to listen. There are certain things that catch my interest that I actually enjoy listening to, other things I simply just tune out. This is probably reflected on my first exam grade. Sam introduced himself as a laid back guy, doesn't care if what you do, but tries really hard to get your attention. He tries really hard to make the class interesting, with asking questions to the audience, using video clips, and relating the material to his personal life. Everything he does seems to work. I like listening to stories, I like to watch the videos, and I like not having to take notes during class. It is my last class of the day and it is more relaxing then any other class that I have. Some of the stuff that Sam likes to mention seems like total bullshit. I think a lot of the statistics seem off and could have so many different variations to them and variables that are apart of the statistics. I try hard to kind of just go with whatever he says and be more open minded to it, but it becomes very difficult. Sam is not the most serious person, so sometimes it can be hard to take him seriously. Sam has a great passion for what he does, he does it because it interests him and he wants to help make the world more integrated and help people understand different cultures. I give him respect for that and that is what makes me listen the most. He shows so much passion and interests in discrimination/racism issues, he works hard to go and research information. Because he does this, I believe what he has to say. It may seem like bullshit, but it can't all be. He does too much research. Racism and discrimination are extremely difficult subjects to address and Sam does it well. He tries to relate to everyone, even though we all know he is a white male that is pretty much a form of a hippie. Overall, I think is great. Some of his stuff seems like it comes out of no where and is complete shit, but I genuinely believe that Sam knows what he is talking about. He has been doing this for a long time, enjoys his work, travels, and learns about different culture. He is a good teacher, tries hard, and wants us to understand. Thu, 8 Apr 2010 03:36:49 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/i-really-want-to-know-also__trashed/#IDComment66509914 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/what-are-all-of-you-thinking-about-asians__trashed/#IDComment64245811 There is a lot of talk in Sam's class about white vs. black and brown. In today's society, black vs white is talked about much more because it is more apparent then most other cultures and differences. It has been that weight since slavery and so on throughout America's society. Within the past generation, we have had more and more foreigners enter into America and start to form their own lives here. They have traveled from their home countries for various reasons to start a new life or to progress on the life they previously had. To me, it has recently become more obvious about how America is becoming a much more diverse country considering the about of immigrants and how neighborhoods, cities, towns and regions are changing to become much more diverse and multicultural. I think it is personally a great thing that America is learning or will have to learn to except that there are many different cultures, ethnicities, and religions in the world besides just the average "american" lifestyle. When it comes to the Asian culture, there are the American-Asians as well as the international Asians. I feel as if looking at the people without speaking to them, I would not be able to see the difference between the two. It sounds naive and as if i don't care, but it is not that way. It is just I haven't been able to experience a lot of the different asian cultures and be able to relate to them. I see Asian Americans as almost no difference compared to any American due to the fact that they have the American lifestyle in person, dress similarly, act the same way, and talk the same way. I believe that the only difference is in their own home and how they relate with their families. I have best friend who is Asian and he acts just like any american and I do not see him in any different way. The only difference is when he gets on the phone to call his parents, he speaks his language which I believe is Korean. When he goes home, he has asian meals most of the time that his mom prepares and also caters. By the way, she makes the BEST egg rolls and spring rolls that I have ever had. Overall, American-asians act very similar to any American. International Asians from what I have perceived, do act differently. Normally they dress a little differently and it is normally more abstract style. The biggest difference is when they speak. Sometimes it can be with broken english or with a slight accent. The one thing I have noticed, international asians congregate with their friends and speak their language. Usually, it is very loud, fast, and I wonder how they understand each other. It is just like any other foreigner though, they speak in their language that they are the most familiar with because it is easier for them. I do believe that is also why the congregate with others of the same culture because it makes their life easier, rather then having to blend in completely. Fri, 26 Mar 2010 20:33:08 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/what-are-all-of-you-thinking-about-asians__trashed/#IDComment64245811 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/women-and-sports__trashed/#IDComment62521611 I commend Natalie Randolph immensely for even being considered for the head coach position of a high school football team. She must have worked hard to been granted that position and had true passion for the sport of football. The school board must have been uncertain weather this would be a good idea or not and it must have taken guts to try something new by giving Natalie the head coach position. As we have all known, football has always been a man's sport. I had no idea they were even starting woman's tackle football leagues. Football has been known to all as men tackling each other, getting hurt, getting dirty, and not playing it safe. The guys are always usually hyped up, enthusiastic, and rough on the field. As a woman, I believe it should continue that way. I love football (go giants!) and watch it all time and of course go to every Penn State football game. I actually understand the game for the most part and get really into it. I would not ever consider myself or ever even envision myself on a football team or seeing women play. It may sound sexist, but it just doesn't seem to fit the right profile for the sport. I also think it is part of genetics and women don't produce enough testosterone to take place in such a physical and mental sport, like men can. I may sound old school and ignorant, but I think some things are left for the men to do in this world and some things are meant for women to do. I know society is changing and women are treated almost or completely as equally as men in most circumstances, but especially with sports it has been more segregated among sexes. As for Natalie Randolph being a coach can bring up the issue of if she will earn enough respect from her players or if she can work the players into top players. I was able to watch my dad coach, my brother play sports, and i participated in sports. The men coaches treat the male players with a different intensity and ability to get through to them. As a female when i played sports, the male coaches were always more intense and I would almost be frightened if i didn't do what I was told or done it correctly. I have also had women coaches, who i always respected, but it was not the same power that the male coaches had. Especially with football, the players need to have a high level of respect, sometimes almost a little bit of fear, and can relate to their coach in a way. I believe that her players will have a hard time doing that and won't get the complete coaching experience that they could have had. Natalie seems like a great person, understands the sport, has played football, and enjoys the game. I just believe its completely different to actually be the coach and have others responding to your plays, commands, drills, and giving you the attention you deserve. I wish her all the luck and more power to her for getting hired. She obviously has some great qualities that allowed the school board to hire her. Wed, 17 Mar 2010 04:34:14 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/women-and-sports__trashed/#IDComment62521611 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/02/whats-with-the-theme-parties__trashed/#IDComment59497326 I am a 19 year old white girl and have been experiencing different kinds of parties for as long as I can remember. You start with being a children and going to different birthday parties. Each party had a different themed cake, plates, napkins, pinatas, ect. These are not just white people that had them, but many different races. I grew up with a diverse group of friends and "themed" birthday parties were the way to go. This has just expanded to what we know now as college parties. Before I get into college parties, there are also more proper parties that everyone celebrates yearly. They are celebrations, such as New Years, St. Patrick's Day, Thanksgiving, Christmas, and more. Families celebrate them, the older generations celebrate them, and they are a part of a yearly traditions. Is there a problem with celebrating these "themed" parties? Not just white people celebrate them, but all types of people. Gay, bisexual, blacks, whites, asians, hispanics, and more all want to join together to celebrate the festivities. Now in our generation, teens, college students, and newly graduates have celebrations, themed parties, and festivities on a more regular basis. Everyone likes to have a good time and enjoy them selves, sometimes it is just done with a theme to it. The themes do seem to be based upon stereotypes, but I would not necessarily think they are based around the black culture. Sometimes stereotypes are easy to mimic and can easily be turned into a party. A popular themed party this year has been the Jersey Shore party. People dress up to mimic the very popular Jersey Shore show and the guidos and guidettes style. It was such a hit to our generation and a majority of us watched it, so it was easy to dress up like the characters and the guido stereotype. Themed parties are not meant to make fun of people, but to bring alive a party and also to avoid having random strangers show up who are not dressed up. There are numerous types of themed parties, such as toga parties, highlighter party, golf pros and tennis hoes, freaks and geeks, and so many more. I have diverse friends to this day and they normally attend these parties without any hesitation. The parties are meant to bring friends together to have a good time. Themed parties are not supposed to seem as racist or degrading towards anyone. As a white person, I have thrown themed parties and I do apologize to any of those who feel as if it was degrading towards them. I feel as if themed parties normally degrade women more than anything. The girls usually tend to have to dress slutty and provocative to fit the part of the theme, which makes the girls look worse. The guys usually do not have to do much to dress up. As I have said before, the themed parties are meant to be fun and enjoyable, not supposed to be seen as "racist" towards anyone. Wed, 3 Mar 2010 06:02:23 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/02/whats-with-the-theme-parties__trashed/#IDComment59497326 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/02/1880__trashed/#IDComment58720680 Ever since I was a little girl, there has always been a controversy about Native Americans. I remember learning about who they were. I knew that they first owned the land that the white men then stole from them. We shared thanksgiving with them and called them Indians. Movies like and Pocahontas put ideas into our heads and don't give an accurate depiction of what the Native Americans are really like. To this day, I still do not know a lot about Native Americans, their history, their culture, or how their lives are affected today. I do know that they are important people, they have hundreds of tribes, and the tribes were granted land within the United States. From what I have learned since I have gotten older and through Sam's class, I know that Native Americans are not well off and struggle immensely. They have very little money, high suicide rates, and many people are alcoholics. It concerns me to even hear that people of any race,type, or culture have to suffer and be apart of the severe statistics. It is clear that the Native Americans need help to survive and keep their culture alive. I believe that when they found oil, it was a great thing for them. But all great things have flaws, failures, and uncertainty. The Native Americans are high in debt and the money from the oil and the jobs will help release some of the burden from the debt. The greatest thing about the oil find is the new jobs that now exist throughout the reservation. Jobs allow for people to get out of their house, be on a daily routine, have a schedule, avoid drinking as heavily, and allowing them to finally have a steady income. Jobs bring happiness into families and allows them to have dinners together, be more responsible, and allow for the tribes to come together again. The concern that I have, is where are the native Americans going to spend the money? They need to spend it wisely. Saving it for the children's education, to buy a new home or to fix their home that they have now, and for every day life items that they haven't been able to purchase due to tight money situations. The owner of the casino is also concerned with how they are spending the money, especially with the rise of revenue the casino owner has been receiving. The tribes need to be educated on how to spend their money, instead of large sums of money being thrown in their face. It can be overwhelming, shocking, and they may not realize what to do with it. The native Americans have every right to spoil themselves a little because they should be able to treat themselves Fri, 26 Feb 2010 05:18:33 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/02/1880__trashed/#IDComment58720680 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/02/1880__trashed/#IDComment58722088 Ever since I was a little girl, there has always been a controversy about Native Americans. I remember learning about who they were when i was growing up. I knew that they first owned that land that we know live on, and it was stolen from them by the new white settlers. We shared thanksgiving with them and called them Indians. Movies like Pocahontas puts ideas into our heads and don;t give an accurate depiction of what the native Americans are really like. To this day, I still do not know a lot about Native Americas, their history, their culture, or how their lives are impacted today. I do know that they are important people, they have hundreds of tribes, and the tribes were granted land within the Unites Stats. From what i have learned since I have gotten older and through Sam's class, I know that Native Americans are not well off and struggle immensely. It concerns me to even hear that people of any race, type,or culture have to suffer and be apart of the severe statistics. It is clear that Native Americans need help to survive and to keep their culture alive. I believe that when they found oil, it was a great thing for them. But all great things have flaws, failures, and uncertainty. The Native Americans are high in debt and the money from the oil and the jobs will help release some of the burden from the debt that they are in. The greatest thing about the oil find is the news jobs that now exist throughout the reservation. Jobs allow for people to get out of their house, be on a daily routine, have a schedule, avoid drinking as heavily, and allowing them to finally have a steady income. Jobs bring happiness into families and allows them to have dinners together, be more responsible, and allow for the tribes to come together again. The concern that I have , is where are the Native Americans going to spend their new money? They need to spend it wisely. Saving it for their children's education, to buy a new home or to fix their current home, and for every day life items that they haven't been able to purchase due to tight money situations. The owner of the casino is also concerned with how they are spending the money, realizing the large increase of revenue over the past year at the casino. The tribes need to be educated on how to spend their money, instead of large sums of money being thrown in their face. It can be overwhelming, shocking, and they may not realize what to do with it. The Native Americans have every right to spoil themselves a little because they should be able to treat themselves after this hardship and struggle they have been going through for centuries. Fri, 26 Feb 2010 00:29:48 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/02/1880__trashed/#IDComment58722088 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/02/1880__trashed/#IDComment58720913 Ever since I was a little girl, there has always been a controversy about Native Americans. I remember learning about who they were. I knew that they first owned the land that the white men then stole from them. We shared thanksgiving with them and called them Indians. Movies like and Pocahontas put ideas into our heads and don't give an accurate depiction of what the Native Americans are really like. To this day, I still do not know a lot about Native Americans, their history, their culture, or how their lives are affected today. I do know that they are important people, they have hundreds of tribes, and the tribes were granted land within the United States. From what I have learned since I have gotten older and through Sam's class, I know that Native Americans are not well off and struggle immensely. They have very little money, high suicide rates, and many people are alcoholics. It concerns me to even hear that people of any race,type, or culture have to suffer and be apart of the severe statistics. It is clear that the Native Americans need help to survive and keep their culture alive. I believe that when they found oil, it was a great thing for them. But all great things have flaws, failures, and uncertainty. The Native Americans are high in debt and the money from the oil and the jobs will help release some of the burden from the debt. The greatest thing about the oil find is the new jobs that now exist throughout the reservation. Jobs allow for people to get out of their house, be on a daily routine, have a schedule, avoid drinking as heavily, and allowing them to finally have a steady income. Jobs bring happiness into families and allows them to have dinners together, be more responsible, and allow for the tribes to come together again. The concern that I have, is where are the native Americans going to spend the money? They need to spend it wisely. Saving it for the children's education, to buy a new home or to fix their home that they have now, and for every day life items that they haven't been able to purchase due to tight money situations. The owner of the casino is also concerned with how they are spending the money, especially with the rise of revenue the casino owner has been receiving. The tribes need to be educated on how to spend their money, instead of large sums of money being thrown in their face. It can be overwhelming, shocking, and they may not realize what to do with it. The native Americans have every right to spoil themselves a little because they should be able to treat themselves Fri, 26 Feb 2010 00:18:33 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/02/1880__trashed/#IDComment58720913 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/02/1880__trashed/#IDComment58720783 Ever since I was a little girl, there has always been a controversy about Native Americans. I remember learning about who they were. I knew that they first owned the land that the white men then stole from them. We shared thanksgiving with them and called them Indians. Movies like and Pocahontas put ideas into our heads and don't give an accurate depiction of what the Native Americans are really like. To this day, I still do not know a lot about Native Americans, their history, their culture, or how their lives are affected today. I do know that they are important people, they have hundreds of tribes, and the tribes were granted land within the United States. From what I have learned since I have gotten older and through Sam's class, I know that Native Americans are not well off and struggle immensely. They have very little money, high suicide rates, and many people are alcoholics. It concerns me to even hear that people of any race,type, or culture have to suffer and be apart of the severe statistics. It is clear that the Native Americans need help to survive and keep their culture alive. I believe that when they found oil, it was a great thing for them. But all great things have flaws, failures, and uncertainty. The Native Americans are high in debt and the money from the oil and the jobs will help release some of the burden from the debt. The greatest thing about the oil find is the new jobs that now exist throughout the reservation. Jobs allow for people to get out of their house, be on a daily routine, have a schedule, avoid drinking as heavily, and allowing them to finally have a steady income. Jobs bring happiness into families and allows them to have dinners together, be more responsible, and allow for the tribes to come together again. The concern that I have, is where are the native Americans going to spend the money? They need to spend it wisely. Saving it for the children's education, to buy a new home or to fix their home that they have now, and for every day life items that they haven't been able to purchase due to tight money situations. The owner of the casino is also concerned with how they are spending the money, especially with the rise of revenue the casino owner has been receiving. The tribes need to be educated on how to spend their money, instead of large sums of money being thrown in their face. It can be overwhelming, shocking, and they may not realize what to do with it. The native Americans have every right to spoil themselves a little because they should be able to treat themselves Fri, 26 Feb 2010 00:17:21 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/02/1880__trashed/#IDComment58720783 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/02/1880__trashed/#IDComment58720638 Ever since I was a little girl, there has always been a controversy about Native Americans. I remember learning about who they were. I knew that they first owned the land that the white men then stole from them. We shared thanksgiving with them and called them Indians. Movies like and Pocahontas put ideas into our heads and don't give an accurate depiction of what the Native Americans are really like. To this day, I still do not know a lot about Native Americans, their history, their culture, or how their lives are affected today. I do know that they are important people, they have hundreds of tribes, and the tribes were granted land within the United States. From what I have learned since I have gotten older and through Sam's class, I know that Native Americans are not well off and struggle immensely. They have very little money, high suicide rates, and many people are alcoholics. It concerns me to even hear that people of any race,type, or culture have to suffer and be apart of the severe statistics. It is clear that the Native Americans need help to survive and keep their culture alive. I believe that when they found oil, it was a great thing for them. But all great things have flaws, failures, and uncertainty. The Native Americans are high in debt and the money from the oil and the jobs will help release some of the burden from the debt. The greatest thing about the oil find is the new jobs that now exist throughout the reservation. Jobs allow for people to get out of their house, be on a daily routine, have a schedule, avoid drinking as heavily, and allowing them to finally have a steady income. Jobs bring happiness into families and allows them to have dinners together, be more responsible, and allow for the tribes to come together again. The concern that I have, is where are the native Americans going to spend the money? They need to spend it wisely. Saving it for the children's education, to buy a new home or to fix their home that they have now, and for every day life items that they haven't been able to purchase due to tight money situations. The owner of the casino is also concerned with how they are spending the money, especially with the rise of revenue the casino owner has been receiving. The tribes need to be educated on how to spend their money, instead of large sums of money being thrown in their face. It can be overwhelming, shocking, and they may not realize what to do with it. The native Americans have every right to spoil themselves a little because they should be able to treat themselves after the strain and struggle that they have been going through. Fri, 26 Feb 2010 00:15:52 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/02/1880__trashed/#IDComment58720638 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/02/lgbt-class-question-four__trashed/#IDComment57570558 Gay marriage or also known as a "union" has become a very controversial issue in today's society and within the political world. For centuries gay people were harassed, killed, or banned from certain places because people believed them to not be normal. Also, many people follow specific religions and in many religions, homosexuals, bisexuals, and transgenders people are forbidden or go against the religious laws. Society is growing to become more open-minded on what is considered "not normal". It is difficult for some, due to religions, beliefs, what they have been taught, and more. I grew up in a catholic home with having to go to church every Sunday, follow all rules, go to church on holy days of obligation, attend Sunday school, and then i had to go to a catholic high school. Being taught the catholic religion all my life has drilled many rules, requirements, and what i should follow to allow me to go to Heaven. Honestly, I think the majority of the catholic religion is bull shit. Pretty much anything you do that goes against the ten commandments, will not allow you to go to Heaven when you die. One thing that the catholic faith strictly is against is gay marriage. They believe that marriage should be between a man and a woman because that is how it has been since Adam and Eve. I may not be a religious person, but I do have faith. I also believe that everything happens for a reason. If you were born gay, have chosen to be gay, or just desire that lifestyles, it is their choice. What right do we have to judge their decisions? Marriage is two people who love each other, want to commit to each other, and spend the rest of their lives together through thick and thin. It should not matter if it is between people of the same sex. Society is becoming more accepting of the gay community and people are being more open-minded and adjusted to the idea of gay marriages. I like the point the guy made in the video about how instead of creating new laws and rules, why not fix the old laws to make them acceptable in hope to not discriminate against anyone. Within politics, we continue to add more laws instead of fixing some laws. They say a man and a woman can get "married", but a same sex couple can become a "union". Honestly, what is the difference? Why is one word affecting so many people? A marriage is supposed to represent love and commitment. It does not matter if its two men, two women, or a man and a woman. It will still be out of the norm, but it is normal for some people. No one should be discriminated against and everyone has the right to act on the freedoms that were given to him or her. Fri, 19 Feb 2010 03:28:39 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/02/lgbt-class-question-four__trashed/#IDComment57570558 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/02/all-that-is-solid-melts-into-air-including-our-words__trashed/#IDComment56292304 Wow, I never really though about a language coming to an end. I always thought about how different generations used different words than how we would today, but I never thought about a language completely coming to an end. I never gave the time or effort to think about how languages and obviously do not appreciate communication enough. Communication to me was always just assumed to be natural, always existent, and normal to everyone. I understand there are numerous different languages in the world today, as Sam said there are 7000. I have always wanted to learn a new language and I am trying to learn Italian now. It is extremely difficult to learn another language and understand everything. Languages affect everyone and helps form their culture. This article was very interesting to see how lives are affected and how people's entire culture seems like it comes to an end if a language dies. I always thought about how the first words were spoken, how languages were formed, who started them, and how they evolved so much. I can't imagine having the English language come to an end after such a long period of time. We use communication for everything in the world today, reading signs on a street, talking to each other, writing, and even hand gestures to communicate with others. It is unbelievable that amount of things we do today to communicate. Technology has even expanded to allow communication across the world within split seconds. Its amazing to see how the world has evolved today. This woman from an old tribe had a communication that a large group of people spoke. They used to it everyday to talk to each other, they used it to communicate how to get food, and to form relationships. It was everyday use and completely normal for them. It was an important factor to all of the people in their tribe and took time to learn, appreciate, and understand the language. It may be complicated to others, but was one of the largest factors in their lives. She was the last living person who spoke her tribe's language. The tribe has stories, tales, history, and memories that no one will ever be able to understand because of the difference in language and the fact that there is no one left that speaks this language. This woman experienced the tsunami, lived to tell the story, and had her experience recorded. It is the last information of her tribe and her memories. It is amazing that she got to share her experience and have her language at least be recorded, so people in the future can listen and experience her memories. It is a terrible tragedy that her language is not lost. It will not be forgotten by people close to her and will still be made in history. Thu, 11 Feb 2010 05:16:15 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/02/all-that-is-solid-melts-into-air-including-our-words__trashed/#IDComment56292304 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/02/avatar-and-the-white-mans-burden__trashed/#IDComment55108677 I was ecstatic about seeing the new Avatar movie. I knew the 3D effects would be phenomenal and it seemed like a great movie. When I watched the movie, I enjoyed how the incorporated the marines and a totally new form of people. It was interesting to see how they portrayed people that lived on another planet and were what we could view as "aliens'. The movie was a little long, but overall was a great movie. Avatar has every right to be called the number one movie in the world and has made so much money for a good reason. They took the time and effects to make everything seem real, detailed, and look perfected. Never once during the movie did I portray Avatar to be "A White Messiah Fable". Is that because I am white? James Cameron, the marine and who becomes an Avatar, is a white, strong, but paralyzed male. He takes the lead to try and find out more about the natives of the Avatars. They soon learn to trust him and he becomes one of the natives. There is soon a war between the natives and the humans over land and money. James Cameron as an Avatar tries to protect the natives against the humans, even though he is truly human. He came to learn to respect the natives, their culture and their ways. Columnist David Brooks, says that Avatar is similar to many other fables such as "Pocahontas", "the Last Samurai" and more due to the fact that they all contain a "white messiah". It is true that these past movies and fables all have a white male come and help the natives and protect them. In avatar, I didn't see it that way. He was a paralyzed marine and I thought that he was trying to be portrayed as a hero in a new light because he could not face combat as a marine anymore. Any marine, navy, army, or air force soldier wants to be seen as a hero that fights for their country and does everything they can to be the best. I maybe naive to the fact that he was a white male that was a savior to the native people, but I didn't see it that way. I could see the savior being any race or gender. If the hero was a black, paralyzed marine, I wouldn't have viewed it any differently or thought anything of it. I believe that David Brooks was reading far too deep into the movie and how it was perceived to him. In almost any American movie, there is a hero and a lovey story. It can be any race and between any genders or the same genders, especially during our time period. I think David Brooks took it too far, and it should not be perceived as James Cameron, the white soldier being the hero, only because he is white. Wed, 3 Feb 2010 01:27:58 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/02/avatar-and-the-white-mans-burden__trashed/#IDComment55108677 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/01/i-guess-it-pays-to-learn-a-bit-about-other-people__trashed/#IDComment54164915 This article was interesting to me to see how the world today is so skittish and concerned about everything it seems like these days. The littlest things bring attention to people and they become concerned for their safety due to something so simple. I have been raised Catholic since I was born. I am aware of Catholic rituals and traditions of prayer, but I am not aware of other religions and their traditional rituals. This article helped me learn and become aware of different way that religions pray. I would never have understood what the guy was doing with "teffilin" around his arms and head. I would have looked at him with bizarre expression and be very confused when I saw him. It's hard to understand things when they are different to you and you are unfamiliar to certain practices. That is why people get concerned with different things going on in an enclosed environment because they are concerned for their own well being. Ever since the September 11th attacks, planes have become one of the biggest threats and concerns to the American people. There has been improvements and numerous discussions about airline security and the affects it will have on the American people. Almost everyone knows to get to the airport at least two hours before your flight, just in case of a security hold up. The rules and regulations to security and what is allowed on the plane has become very detailed and specific. This is good for the protection of the people boarding planes in America, but it has also caused a large scare among the people. People are worried about even getting on planes and when they do, they do not want to be frightened by different scenes and new experiences. It is a problem when people see things out of the ordinary on a plane or anywhere really. People get frightened. In this circumstance, the flight attendant simply saw a man with teffilin and became concerned for her safety as well as others, and told the pilot. The plane was turned around and landed early. The boy had then a gun pointed towards him and handcuffed for a brief period of time. That is just absurd. There was nothing harmful looking about what he was doing. I know America is concerned and worried, but this is just over dramatic. I feel terrible for this boy and his family. No one deserves to be treated that way. it seems like it would have been more appropriate for someone to just ask him. Yes, we know that we don't want another terrorist attack and we want everyone to be safe. These extreme measures need to be taken care of differently though. If i was ever praying on a plane, I wouldn't want someone to arrest me or think I was about to cause a terrorist attack. Thu, 28 Jan 2010 05:39:00 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/01/i-guess-it-pays-to-learn-a-bit-about-other-people__trashed/#IDComment54164915 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/01/last-name-begins-with-r__trashed/#IDComment53868016 anything Tue, 26 Jan 2010 00:46:12 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/01/last-name-begins-with-r__trashed/#IDComment53868016 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/01/haitis-calamity__trashed/#IDComment53119037 Since I was a baby, I can remember going to a Catholic Church every Sunday, every holy day of obligation, and holidays. I attended Sunday school, went through baptism, holy communion, and confirmation. I then went to a catholic private high school. I have experienced many different views, opinions, and lectures about what Jesus Christ did for us, why he did it, and why we should believe in it. The reason he was brought upon the earth, was to die for everyone in the world to remove our sins and allow us to enter heaven to be with him when we pass. It has always been a hard concept for me to grasp. I am a strong believer in that everything happens for a reason. The earthquake in Haiti was probably one of the greatest tragedies to happen. The amount of people affected in so many ways; losing their homes, friends, family, and their own lives. It has been one of the most traumatic events that has occurred, but it has brought nations, and even the world together to help Haiti. Many people have given aid, going out of their way to give support to the people, people have traveled to help the people, and nations have come together to support the people of Haiti. Even the people within Haiti have become closer to help each other. Since so many people have been affected, the people of Haiti have to help each other with food, clothing, housing, money, and emotional support. It has affected me in a dramatic away. I think about how I live my life comfortably and it makes me ashamed at times, especially when the traumatic events occur. I see the suffering on the news, on the internet, pictures and posters every where, and the pain people are going through. I feel like I can do nothing but give money and I do not know any other way to give my support. I try not to waste food and make less food because I feel for the people suffering from hunger. I try to walk as many places as possible and pray as much as I can for Haiti. God had a reason for the earthquake, we may not understand it and hate him for it, but it was done for a reason. The world is here to support Haiti and has brought many people together, even through the suffering of others. Jesus died for us and Haiti is in pain for us. I pray for them daily and hope that the aid will get to them as soon as possible, pray they find their family members, and hope they can overcome this large suffering. If you haven't helped yet, please try and give aid to Haiti. Thu, 21 Jan 2010 04:18:20 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/01/haitis-calamity__trashed/#IDComment53119037