I think it's great that Sam posted this letter. When I think of lifers, I just think that it's insane for that person to actually realize there is no getting out. Especially being put in prison at a young age, they're going to grow up and see how they just screwed themselves over. I'm sure people do a lot of thinking in prison. Which can shape them as a better person, even if that doesn't mean they'll get out. This man who wrote this letter seems like an intelligent guy. He's obviously got some feelings and when it comes to sympathy for other people he truly does care. and it's hard to believe that he actually killed someone. It sucks that he became a lifer and he can't experience the world because it was taken away from him. He's definitely changed as a person and I think it's just sad. i can't imagine waking up everyday in a prison cell and knowing I'll be there until I die. I don't think I'd be able to stand it, I would definitely lose my mind. There's just so much time to reminisce on the past and take notice of what happened was a huge mistake and there's nothing you can do about it. Even if you honestly learned your lesson. Although his compassion and love for his friends and for who he is now is still strong. I think that's awesome. At least he still has people in his life that still care about him and I'm sure that means a lot to him. This letter was very eye opening to me in a sense where I can actually get a clear idea of some of the people in prison who really would probably make it in the world today. This isn't true for all of them because everyone is in there for a good reason. But after all of the years pass by and you're way older from when you just got in, it's touching to understand the way they truly feel now. But on another note, I don't understand why there is so much violence in the world. To actually follow through with killing a person is just absurd because 1. you know you're most likely not going to get away with it and that person should know the consequences, and 2. Why murder? Why can't people just walk away from that? Save themselves some jail time. But for the few lifers who have come realize what they have done wrong are stuck there now. Their lives are completely changed because they've learned their lesson but they're still stuck.
This letter just helped me realize that not all prison inmates are that terrible. It helped me look at it from a different perspective and now I can know not to judge someone by what they did just because they're in prison. Obviously the man who wrote this letter is aware of his wrong doing. And for being a friend of Sam, I could imagine he's actually a real cool guy. It's just real shitty he's totally screwed for the rest of his life. But it's nice to know he's not alone. I'm glad he has visitors and people to talk to just to try and make his life a little better.

I thought yesterday's lecture was pretty intense. It was definitely an eye opener to get the feeling of what's really going on with war. To be put in the shoes of Muslims was a great way to truly understand ethnocentrism and get a sense of why war is really going on. The only reason Sam pushes so much is because he wants us to really think deeper about the situation to look at it in a different way. And I thought that he did of great job of doing this in class. I'm sure that most people don't really know why war is still going on and to look at it from another country's perspective might change their mind. In my opinion, it got me thinking more when he showed clips of the United States crushing their car with a tank and all the other semi-disturbing, violent videos makes me understand why everyone has a problem with us. It's different when you put yourself in someone else's shoes to see through their eyes. And from this is why I could get a better understanding of war. But what I don't understand is how we do have a good amount of oil here but we're just not using it and fighting for someone elses. I just wish more people would be for peace and actually follow through with it. I can now see what we are doing is more bad than good. I also find it insane that our soldiers are over there to protect some of the people in Iraq but at the same time we're fighting for our country. But I never saw it as a holy war involving the Christians. But back to playing the role of an Arab Muslim, I did feel scared and felt as if things were taken away from me. It's this stereotype that the we have that makes us thing that we, as the U.S., aren't harming anyone else, but trying to fight for our country. But looking at it through someone else's lense, we can see that we are taking things away from them, and we are trying to overcome them. I think it's so important to learn about other cultures so we can get a straight understanding about why all of these things are problems.
I think Sam is intelligent professor. I'm kind of getting sick of hearing how some people don't believe what he says and how nothing he says makes sense. I feel like just because a laid back guy, people don't want to think what he is saying is right. But it is. This is why he's teaching it, because he has the knowledge that he wants us to be aware of. I don't think anyone has the place to say they haven't learned anything from this class. Because i think everyone has, including myself. It gave me this sense of really thinking about things and seeing things from other peoples perspective to get a better understanding. I never really understood why we are still fighting in war but now after that class I can really get it and think deeper into the whole scenario.

I thought yesterday's lecture was pretty intense. It was definitely an eye opener to get the feeling of what's really going on with war. To be put in the shoes of Muslims was a great way to truly understand ethnocentrism and get a sense of why war is really going on. The only reason Sam pushes so much is because he wants us to really think deeper about the situation to look at it in a different way. And I thought that he did of great job of doing this in class. I'm sure that most people don't really know why war is still going on and to look at it from another country's perspective might change their mind. In my opinion, it got me thinking more when he showed clips of the United States crushing their car with a tank and all the other semi-disturbing, violent videos makes me understand why everyone has a problem with us. It's different when you put yourself in someone else's shoes to see through their eyes. And from this is why I could get a better understanding of war. But what I don't understand is how we do have a good amount of oil here but we're just not using it and fighting for someone elses. I just wish more people would be for peace and actually follow through with it. I can now see what we are doing is more bad than good. I also find it insane that our soldiers are over there to protect some of the people in Iraq but at the same time we're fighting for our country. But I never saw it as a holy war involving the Christians. But back to playing the role of an Arab Muslim, I did feel scared and felt as if things were taken away from me. It's this stereotype that the we have that makes us thing that we, as the U.S., aren't harming anyone else, but trying to fight for our country. But looking at it through someone else's lense, we can see that we are taking things away from them, and we are trying to overcome them. I think it's so important to learn about other cultures so we can get a straight understanding about why all of these things are problems.
I think Sam is intelligent professor. I'm kind of getting sick of hearing how some people don't believe what he says and how nothing he says makes sense. I feel like just because a laid back guy, people don't want to think what he is saying is right. But it is. This is why he's teaching it, because he has the knowledge that he wants us to be aware of. I don't think anyone has the place to say they haven't learned anything from this class. Because i think everyone has, including myself. It gave me this sense of really thinking about things and seeing things from other peoples perspective to get a better understanding. I never really understood why we are still fighting in war but now after that class I can really get it and think deeper into the whole scenario.

I thought yesterday's lecture was pretty intense. It was definitely an eye opener to get the feeling of what's really going on with war. To be put in the shoes of Muslims was a great way to truly understand ethnocentrism and get a sense of why war is really going on. The only reason Sam pushes so much is because he wants us to really think deeper about the situation to look at it in a different way. And I thought that he did of great job of doing this in class. I'm sure that most people don't really know why war is still going on and to look at it from another country's perspective might change their mind. In my opinion, it got me thinking more when he showed clips of the United States crushing their car with a tank and all the other semi-disturbing, violent videos makes me understand why everyone has a problem with us. It's different when you put yourself in someone else's shoes to see through their eyes. And from this is why I could get a better understanding of war. But what I don't understand is how we do have a good amount of oil here but we're just not using it and fighting for someone elses. I just wish more people would be for peace and actually follow through with it. I can now see what we are doing is more bad than good. I also find it insane that our soldiers are over there to protect some of the people in Iraq but at the same time we're fighting for our country. But I never saw it as a holy war involving the Christians. But back to playing the role of an Arab Muslim, I did feel scared and felt as if things were taken away from me. It's this stereotype that the we have that makes us thing that we, as the U.S., aren't harming anyone else, but trying to fight for our country. But looking at it through someone else's lense, we can see that we are taking things away from them, and we are trying to overcome them. I think it's so important to learn about other cultures so we can get a straight understanding about why all of these things are problems.
I think Sam is intelligent professor. I'm kind of getting sick of hearing how some people don't believe what he says and how nothing he says makes sense. I feel like just because a laid back guy, people don't want to think what he is saying is right. But it is. This is why he's teaching it, because he has the knowledge that he wants us to be aware of. I don't think anyone has the place to say they haven't learned anything from this class. Because i think everyone has, including myself. It gave me this sense of really thinking about things and seeing things from other peoples perspective to get a better understanding. I never really understood why we are still fighting in war but now after that class I can really get it and think deeper into the whole scenario.

I thought yesterday's lecture was pretty intense. It was definitely an eye opener to get the feeling of what's really going on with war. To be put in the shoes of Muslims was a great way to truly understand ethnocentrism and get a sense of why war is really going on. The only reason Sam pushes so much is because he wants us to really think deeper about the situation to look at it in a different way. And I thought that he did of great job of doing this in class. I'm sure that most people don't really know why war is still going on and to look at it from another country's perspective might change their mind. In my opinion, it got me thinking more when he showed clips of the United States crushing their car with a tank and all the other semi-disturbing, violent videos makes me understand why everyone has a problem with us. It's different when you put yourself in someone else's shoes to see through their eyes. And from this is why I could get a better understanding of war. But what I don't understand is how we do have a good amount of oil here but we're just not using it and fighting for someone elses. I just wish more people would be for peace and actually follow through with it. I can now see what we are doing is more bad than good. I also find it insane that our soldiers are over there to protect some of the people in Iraq but at the same time we're fighting for our country. But I never saw it as a holy war involving the Christians. But back to playing the role of an Arab Muslim, I did feel scared and felt as if things were taken away from me. It's this stereotype that the we have that makes us thing that we, as the U.S., aren't harming anyone else, but trying to fight for our country. But looking at it through someone else's lense, we can see that we are taking things away from them, and we are trying to overcome them. I think it's so important to learn about other cultures so we can get a straight understanding about why all of these things are problems.

I thought yesterday's lecture was pretty intense. It was definitely an eye opener to get the feeling of what's really going on with war. To be put in the shoes of Muslims was a great way to truly understand ethnocentrism and get a sense of why war is really going on. The only reason Sam pushes so much is because he wants us to really think deeper about the situation to look at it in a different way. And I thought that he did of great job of doing this in class. I'm sure that most people don't really know why war is still going on and to look at it from another country's perspective might change their mind. In my opinion, it got me thinking more when he showed clips of the United States crushing their car with a tank and all the other semi-disturbing, violent videos makes me understand why everyone has a problem with us. It's different when you put yourself in someone else's shoes to see through their eyes. And from this is why I could get a better understanding of war. But what I don't understand is how we do have a good amount of oil here but we're just not using it and fighting for someone elses. I just wish more people would be for peace and actually follow through with it. I can now see what we are doing is more bad than good. I also find it insane that our soldiers are over there to protect some of the people in Iraq but at the same time we're fighting for our country. But I never saw it as a holy war involving the Christians. But back to playing the role of an Arab Muslim, I did feel scared and felt as if things were taken away from me. It's this stereotype that the we have that makes us thing that we, as the U.S., aren't harming anyone else, but trying to fight for our country. But looking at it through someone else's lense, we can see that we are taking things away from them, and we are trying to overcome them. I think it's so important to learn about other cultures so we can get a straight understanding about why all of these things are problems.
I think Sam is intelligent professor. I'm kind of getting sick of hearing how some people don't believe what he says and how nothing he says makes sense. I feel like just because a laid back guy, people don't want to think what he is saying is right. But it is. This is why he's teaching it, because he has the knowledge that he wants us to be aware of. I don't think anyone has the place to say they haven't learned anything from this class. Because i think everyone has, including myself. It gave me this sense of really thinking about things and seeing things from other peoples perspective to get a better understanding. I never really understood why we are still fighting in war but now after that class I can really get it and think deeper into the whole scenario.

I thought yesterday's lecture was pretty intense. It was definitely an eye opener to get the feeling of what's really going on with war. To be put in the shoes of Muslims was a great way to truly understand ethnocentrism and get a sense of why war is really going on. The only reason Sam pushes so much is because he wants us to really think deeper about the situation to look at it in a different way. And I thought that he did of great job of doing this in class. I'm sure that most people don't really know why war is still going on and to look at it from another country's perspective might change their mind. In my opinion, it got me thinking more when he showed clips of the United States crushing their car with a tank and all the other semi-disturbing, violent videos makes me understand why everyone has a problem with us. It's different when you put yourself in someone else's shoes to see through their eyes. And from this is why I could get a better understanding of war. But what I don't understand is how we do have a good amount of oil here but we're just not using it and fighting for someone elses. I just wish more people would be for peace and actually follow through with it. I can now see what we are doing is more bad than good. I also find it insane that our soldiers are over there to protect some of the people in Iraq but at the same time we're fighting for our country. But I never saw it as a holy war involving the Christians. But back to playing the role of an Arab Muslim, I did feel scared and felt as if things were taken away from me. It's this stereotype that the we have that makes us thing that we, as the U.S., aren't harming anyone else, but trying to fight for our country. But looking at it through someone else's lense, we can see that we are taking things away from them, and we are trying to overcome them. I think it's so important to learn about other cultures so we can get a straight understanding about why all of these things are problems.
I think Sam is intelligent professor. I'm kind of getting sick of hearing how some people don't believe what he says and how nothing he says makes sense. I feel like just because a laid back guy, people don't want to think what he is saying is right. But it is. This is why he's teaching it, because he has the knowledge that he wants us to be aware of. I don't think anyone has the place to say they haven't learned anything from this class. Because i think everyone has, including myself. It gave me this sense of really thinking about things and seeing things from other peoples perspective to get a better understanding. For example, I honestly never really understood the whole thing about war and why it is still going on, but now I can really see whats happening so it makes me think deeper into the whole scenario.

I don't really agree with this kid because I believe there are many things in class that we've learned that have changed my view on things. Especially reading Disposable People opened up my eyes to how cruel slave holders are that these innocent people are suffering because of it. There's no way that learning about this can't have an effect on a person. People have an ideal image on what slavery is but there's no way that knowing a majority of the things we use/ eat in our every day life made by slaves can't change someone's view on slavery. It's rather sad that people are abused and being taken advantage of as slaves. Even the video we watched yesterday in class affected me even more because it's really a terrible thing. It's so messed up that we own so many things made by slaves. I think that people who try to run a business should man up and do it for themselves instead of being lazy and beating people to do work for them. Another thing that I've already had a sense of but understand a little bit better about is LGBT issues. A lot of people have this image about gay people that it is wrong. They don't see that these are human beings just like everyone else who have feelings for each other. It's not like they're doing it on purpose to piss people off, they're living their life like every one else its. Sam's stories we're helpful on making people understand that they are no different than two people in love. But I still don't understand how a person can think Sam isn't an influence on anything. Another thing that was interesting and an eye opener are the racial identity stages. These are very helpful with identifying on where you are in acknowledging racial issues. I just don't know how this person thinks that nothing has made sense to him. Everything talked about in this class are real issues in the world today and I don't understand how someone thinks they're getting nothing out of it. I also don't know why some people hate on Sam so much. He's a clever Sociologist who knows what he's talking about and I think just because he's a pretty laid back cool guy people take advantage of that. Or they just don't agree with him. But everyone is privileged to their own opinion although he's an experienced professor and he's even traveled to see these issues in the world for himself. I think it's pretty cool that he gets the opportunity to gain knowledge on these issues for himself that he shares with us to help us understand. I just think that some people don't take him seriously sometimes but I've definitely learned from him. Definitely opened up my eyes to things that I didn't understand fully. Maybe the person who raised this blog question doesn't want to believe the things that are really going on but I think it's very interesting to actually learn into depth about what's going on in the society all over the world. Sometimes people tend to take advantage of things that they know or may not know the real story behind it.

It's very interesting to see a study like this done with little children. Especially involving children of color to choose between a white doll and a colored doll. I think that a majority of them chose the white doll because that is what most kids might see the most of and feel like it is the most popular. For example, commercials advertised on tv show many white dolls or action figures as the top selling item. Since these are kids and they don't have the knowledge of race or know the problems that go on with race, they are just going to follow what they see as an "idol." There is definitely more white women out there who appear to be the people of beauty and it's confusing for kids like this to come upon these things when there are less black figures to publicly look up to. Even with barbie dolls. I can remember when I was a kid I had all white barbies and I felt that there were more of them made than the black barbies. Which doesn't make sense because we are all human and it's just a skin color. I think some people have the wrong mind set in their head to distinguish the good and bad between black and whites even as dolls. To see some kids choose the white doll and less choose the black I feel that they are confused as to who they are. Because normally you would think that they would choose the doll whom has the same features or skin color as themselves. I don't know if these kids being this age are exposed to violence on tv or even in their home or neighborhood that it would make them make that sort of decision. But it's just such a stereotype that white women are the ones who are seen to be beautiful. This isn't completely true because everyone is beautiful in their own way. No matter what race they are. And it's sad for kids to believe they need to try to be something they're not just to be accepted. It goes back to when we talked about how people tan or use a cream to make their skin lighter.. or straightening your hair everyday to change you appearance just to feel accepted. It's just horrible that people think they need to change their self to become more happy. And it's horrible that some women believe this because there have been many situations where people would have an eating disorder just because they think they need to be skinny. I just think that these little kids shouldn't be pulled into these kinds problems at such a young age. They need to realize who they are and what they can be. It's sad to see such young kids of color thinking that being white is the only way of being accepted in their mind. I don't know what the problem is in this world that it is such an issue.

Props to Laurie. There is no reason a woman should be ashamed of their period. Every person in the world know that this happens once a month and it's nothing to be ashamed about. I like how Sam described in class that this is a male dominant world and if they were the ones who bleed every month they would brag about it to their guy friends. Maybe that's true, maybe not. But either way, it's a natural part of life. And of course there are guys out there who think it's gross when girls talk about it, but it would be great if they could look at it through Sam's perspective as something "beautiful." Maybe it's not literally beautiful, but the fact that this happens is beautiful. Because if it didn't, none of us would be here. And it's natural for females to be able to talk about it with one another because we all go through it and yea it's a pain in the ass, but there's no choice but to deal with it. Men are just lucky it doesn't happen to them. If it were the other way around, they would obviously know how it feels to go through bleeding every month and they probably would also not be ashamed. I just think that some girls don't like to talk about it to people or guys for that matter because woman are sensitive. But there's no reason someone should be turned off or grossed out by the fact. It happens, it is what it is. It's a part of life. One thing I like about Sam is he looks deep in situations at the truth to make people realize what really is happening in the world. I think it's good to pick apart issues in the world to better understand them. For example, explaining the process of a period is by comparing things in life that happen that we can't control. Such as our hair & fingernails growing all the time. We don't notice it as it's happening but it does happen. There's no need to be ashamed about what happens to woman every 28 days. Guys who don't respect woman for talking about it should get a wake up call and think back to their mothers how they went through so much shit for their child to be born. It's awesome for a woman to be able to go through these sorts of things. I'm sure men would bitch if they have to carry a baby around for 9 months and then go through the pain of delivering the baby. Good for us though, it makes us stronger and we wouldn't be able to do it if we were to never to get our period. So I just think that situations like this should be thought about and recognized as something that is important. It may be a little odd that Sam can look in the toilet and think of it as art, but you know what, good for him. He is a husband who respects his wife for who she is and what she has to go through. If only the men in this world could all take his advice in a serious manner and have the decency to not be grossed out and look at it as a natural part of life.