After reading Sam’s description of this video clip I expected this guy, Noam Chomsky, to be full of shit. I expected him to be just another critic of the U.S. system and I expected to disagree with everything he would say. Instead, I was pleasantly surprised with what he had to say. He sounds intelligent and educated in his thoughts and reasoning as to why the education system is lacking so much. I completely with his statement: “it’s a system of the indoctrination of the young.” Specifically, he uses the words obedience and conformity to describe what the education system instills into the minds of students. At first, I thought to myself that we need obedience in our education system because it is what sets apart hard workers from slackers. But this is not necessarily true. What’s the point of doing busy work, and group projects, and memorizing information for tests? The only purpose is to get a good grade. My only purpose for doing well in high school was to get one thing… A’s in all of my classes. I can’t recall most of the information I was forced to copy down into my notes and then memorize for the sole purpose of taking a test. I can honestly say that most of what I learned went in one ear and out of the other. I understand there is a need for tests, but it should test our knowledge, not our ability to memorize pages of information. That is just useless and a waste of valuable time. So I completely agree with Noam Chomsky and all the other critics of the education system. Changes should be made to teach students how to think for themselves. As citizens of one of the most powerful, prosperous countries in the world we have education and the ability to constantly learn more at our finger tips. Children throughout the world who live in poverty yearn to learn how to read and to learn about the world around them, yet we take our access to education for granted everyday. We see school as something we have to do in order to get a job in the real world. Instead, we should crave to learn more. We should embrace every learning opportunity we are given and take into account all the possibilities a better education would offer us. Education is a great thing but our system takes away the joy of learning. Instead of challenging our brains, we are being brainwashed by a system that only teaches conformity and obedience. There is little room to grow in such a system and its time to start improving. As the world is constantly changing, so should our education system.

I think the status of this video game is a no-brainer. Most people would agree that whoever created Rapelay is a sick freak and whoever spends their time and money playing this game should be ashamed of themselves. Rapelay is banned even from the U.S. media, let alone from the market for video games, and this should hold true for Japan as well. Video games today promote enough violence and profanity as it is. Call of Duty, Halo, and Grand Theft Duty already consume the lives of millions and millions of teenage boys and young men. These violent images and scenarios are bad enough, but a game that includes rape takes explicit videos games to a whole new level.
First of all, this game is disrespectful by immeasurable means to every woman on Earth. I think it’s fair to say that any woman would classify rape as their worst nightmare imaginable. When walking home late at night we fear dark alleyways or groups of men staring at us. When by ourselves we look for reasons to avoid to empty parking lots or shady buildings. As women, we are more vulnerable to attacks from men, especially attacks including rape. To take such a frightening and traumatic experience and turn it into the focus of a video game is enraging and sexist beyond means. It offends the entire population of woman, and should offend any man who cares for his mother, grandmother, sister, girlfriend, aunt and any other significant female in his life.
Not only that, but what about the feelings of women who were previous victims of rape? Some women are taunted for their entire lives by a rape incident that may have occurred in their past. The mental trauma caused by rape is sometimes incurable and can lead to mental breakdowns and even suicide. A women’s entire life can crumble downward if she can never recover from a rape incident. These are serious issues and Japanese video games are promoting them. There is no excuse as to why such a classless, disgusting game should be on the market. Is there no better form of entertainment available? Rapelay is insulting to the human race and degrades the rights and equality of women.
Furthermore, it goes without question that any game promoting sexual violence should be banned. What kind of message does this send to rapists and molesters? I feel that this could promote sexual violence to unstable people. The image it creates could be dangerous and even lethal in some cases. In this day and age, the Japanese government should be embarrassed for the amount of circulation these video games have already done throughout the market. It’s disturbing to know that there are people in this world that find these games entertaining. It’s more disturbing that people actually invest their money into them. This may be harsh, but they are all sick.

Prior to watching this video, Sam claimed that it would be one of the most disturbing videos we would watch in class. Sam has made many similar claims over the course of the semester, but I have to agree with this one. I have learned a lot by taking Sam’s class, but this video opened my eyes to current race issues more than anything else we’ve done thus far. What’s most disturbing is that the test subjects were children. Children are pure and untainted by the real world. They are carefree and more open-minded and accepting than any other population or age group in the world. It’s frightening to see children portray that sort of judgment. The fact that skin color is instilled in their minds at such a young age is unreal to me. Maybe I’m naïve but this takes racism to a new level in my mind, and really opens my eyes to the issues we face as a world divided by race. What’s even scarier is the hate these children exhibited towards the black doll. It’s one thing to be aware of racial differences among dolls and to show favoritism toward one color over the other, but it’s another thing to subconsciously associate “good” and “bad” with white and black dolls respectively. It didn’t necessarily surprise me that the children chose to play with white dolls because white is more commonly portrayed in the media (I’m not saying that makes it okay, but I do think that provides justification). However, I was shocked that the children associated the black dolls with being bad. Then, when asked which doll they looked like, they chose the black doll and made the association between their own skin color and the “bad” skin color. It was heartbreaking to witness their reactions. This leaves me wondering how this can happen at such a young age. In the three or four short years of these kids existence, they were able to form a feeling of disapproval of their own skin color. This really hit home to me because I have a passion for working with children. Nothing in the world gives me the same pleasure I get from making a little boy or girl smile, so to see the hurt on that little girl’s face when she made the association between her skin color and the “bad” skin color was truly heartbreaking. Racism and hatred goes deeper than I thought or allowed myself to believe. Ending the divide among races is an ongoing struggle and I think this experiment is proof that it’s never too soon to start educating our children. Children are the future and they should be an imperative starting point in our fight to end the battle among races.

This question raises an interesting topic. During class on Thursday, Sam Richards asked the question, “What is the difference between black people and white people?” When white people were told to respond through text, most of the answers were respectable and nonjudgmental. The only exception was the following response: “I’m tired of loud ass black girls in the computer lab.” It is obvious that this is a terrible thing to say, especially in a room with a large population of black students. This is highly offensive and shows that some people are inherently ignorant and just plain rude. It definitely deserved the response that Sam gave. However, most of the other comments made by white people were along the lines of “there is no difference,” “skin is just a color,” and “whites are the majority.” While these responses are ideal, I have to question the sincerity of them. Is that what people truly think, or is that what white people think black people want to hear? Also, are white people just trying to prove a point to the black population? If those responses were all sincere then discrimination is much less of an issue than it is made out to be. But, I believe that many of those comments were the result of good manners and the participation in an ideal culture. Whether we follow those beliefs or not, there is a large chance that those comments were not all true.
Moreover, when the previously stated, ignorant comment was made, Sam was enraged. But when the black students were told to respond, most of the answers were very racist, judgmental, and stereotypical towards the overall attitudes of the white population. I found this insulting because I consider myself to be very open to other cultures. I may not be fully aware of the racism that still exists today, but I can honestly say that I have never in my life judged a person or treated them differently based on the color of their skin. While, I cannot recall specific examples, I do remember wondering why their multiple comments did not warrant the same reaction that the one racist white comment entailed. One of many things that I learned in class on Thursday, is that Sam Richards can claim to be cultured and unbiased, but that is not always true. Reverse racism is very prevalent and was made apparent through this class exercise. It really does baffle me as to why nothing was said about the stereotypical comments that were made towards white people. It was interesting to see the difference in comments between both races, however are whites supposed to filter their thoughts while blacks can say whatever they feel? That doesn’t sound too fair to me.
Maybe as a Caucasian I’m biased, but I definitely left class on Thursday with some anger. Comments attacking the white population will only make the situation of racism exponentially worse. By black students attacking white students a cycle begins and does not end until one group is able to get in the last word. The only way racism will come to an end is if all sides can make an effort to do so.

I think Natalie Randolph deserves any recognition she receives, if not more. First of all, this is a huge deal. Being the very first female to coach an all boys football team is a huge honor and a huge success. She is establishing the building blocks for many more females who wish to succeed in ways they never knew possible. Even though Natalie never actually intended on becoming a coach, many other women do have dreams along these lines, and to them, this is highly inspirational. Natalie Randolph’s role in history may not be as big as Obama’s role as the first black president, but this is still a very large milestone in terms of women’s rights. She is setting a precedent for future years to come.
In addition to that, after basing my judgment of this young lady on a 5-minute clip from CNN she seems like a great person. She is very humble about her achievements and instead of acknowledging her milestone she refers to it as something that just kind of happened. She barely absorbs the credit she deserves. Instead, she looks at it as hard work paying off, even though she works hard all the time anyways. Her modesty is even more inspiring and it makes me respect her even more than I already do. To have achieved so much and to still remain levelheaded is an accomplishment in itself. The respect I hold for this woman adds to the level of excitement I hold for her achievements in the field of woman’s rights. Natalie Randolph should be an icon to young girls. She is proof that with hard work, good knowledge, and a good heart, the sky is the limit.
However, while this is an amazing accomplishment, I really hope this new position works out well for her. There is a large chance that the success of being a head coach will go beyond her control. Will a team of 30 high school boys respect a female? With macho, teenage boy attitudes there is a large chance that these boys will be difficult to control. Being a football coach usually requires tough attitudes and harsh words. At times Natalie will need to get loud and yell at these boys, crushing their dignity in order to push them further while they are down. Is a female capable of doing this? Hopefully Natalie will be the female to do so, but the only true test of her abilities will come after season one of High School football. A winning season would open thousands of new doors for Natalie and I wish her the best. If Natalie Randolph can lead a High School Football team to success then females will be one step closer toward gender equality.

First of all, I find it hard to believe that most themed parties only apply to white people. Although it wasn’t the student’s intent, I find this question a little stereotypical as well. While I admit that my group of friends here at Penn State is predominately white, my group of friends at home are much more diverse. I have a Dominican best friend and a Chinese best friend and both regularly attend themed parties at their schools. My Dominican friend attends a predominantly black college in Newark, New Jersey where there are themed parties as well (they are not as common as at Penn State, but they do exist). Themed parties are a college thing, not a white person thing. There is positive correlation between themes and level of drunkenness. I often find that the better the theme, and the more dressed up people get, the more inebriated they get as well (this holds true for most themed parties I’ve attended). Thus themed parties can prove to be more fun than regular parties, which is why they exist here at the number one party school in the country. Themed parties are meant to be fun, they are not meant to poke fun at racial stereotypes and they are certainly not “mostly generated toward black people.”
Through the various organizations and clubs I belong to, themes are very rarely targeted toward race. The most recent parties I’ve attended include themes such as the following: Highlighter Party, Would You Still be Friends with me if I Wore This, dress as a different decade, Cowboys and Indians, Jock Jams, High School Stereotypes, dress as the first letter of your name, and No Pants Party. These themes are all very common at Penn State and none have to do with racial stereotypes whatsoever. They are all fun and light-hearted with no intent other than getting drunk and having a good time with friends.
However, I do understand where this question emerged. There are many people who interpret themes the wrong way. For example, for the High School Stereotype theme some people may find it funny to dress as a stereotyped black person by painting their skin brown and wearing baggy pants. I can see how that can be offensive to people but that only represents a small percentage of people who attend themed parties. It’s stereotypical to assume that most white people attend theme parties with intent to poke fun at race. That is similar to me saying that all black guys wear baggy pants. Neither statement is true, and both can be offensive to many people.
I agree that some people use themes to poke fun at groups of people but I don’t think it has anything to do with race. Should we stop attending High School Stereotype parties because we poke fun at gothic kids or nerds? No matter what, themes are going to unintentionally poke fun at a group of people, but it doesn’t necessarily involve racism.

Does money have to do with the increased likelihood that a black person will be sent to jail for committing the same crime as a white person? This is a very interesting question that I had never thought about. In fact, I don’t think Sam Richards has even really considered it. In my opinion, I completely agree with the possibility that this has a positive correlation with median family income. White families have a significantly larger median income than black families do. This is proven with reliable statistics. For whatever reason, white people are wealthier than black people.
This can definitely have an affect on many different aspects when comparing the white population to the black population. If a black person is caught dealing drugs and is put on the stand with a possible jail sentence, it is more likely that he won’t have the money to properly defend himself. Without decent representation, the black defendant’s chance of winning his case is very slim. On the other hand, if the defendant were white, then he would be more likely to have the money to defend himself better.
When looking at statistics it’s important to interpret them fully and correctly. Often times, there are countless factors that heavily affect data. In this case, it is very possible that these statistics were altered due to socioeconomic differences.
I also agree with this student when she says, “it’s hard for [her] to believe that every judge out there is inherently racist.” This may be naïve and ignorant, but I choose to give people the benefit of the doubt. I believe that people are born good and judgment free, and that it’s their upbringing that causes racism and hatred. Having said that, I like to think that not every judge was raised in an all-white community with absolutely no exposure to other races and cultures. I’m sure racism is very prevalent in the justice system, however I don’t think it’s as prevalent as Sam Richards makes it out to be.
This is America in the 21st century. The majority of the population has come a long way in terms of equality. Racism is still abundant, however I believe that black people are more likely to get sent to jail because of other factors other than pure racism. Few things occur because for absolute reasons, and I believe this is one of them.
Also, I think Sam Richards does a great job teaching Race Relations. He always gets me thinking and he opens me up to countless new thoughts and ideas. However, I feel that his lectures are primarily based on opinion. Thus when it comes to certain facts that seem extreme I sometimes feel that they can have different interpretations. Racism is a terrible thing and no one should receive unfair treatment because of the color of their skin. This has been taught to generation upon generations of children and it is continually becoming installed into society. Discrimination still exists, however I believe we are on a path to equality.

Douglas Hines is a moron. He is a waste of technological intelligence; an inventor whose talent and creativity has been wasted on such a useless item. Granted this is coming from a straight female, but in my opinion, innovation should be used to better the world we live in, not to provide lonely men with an escape from reality. Roxxxy supports the socially awkward population of the world, and it’s a little sickening.
First of all, the fact that some men are so desperate to get laid that they’re willing to drop seven grand on a sex toy is very uncanny. What kind of men are they?! Well, they’re clearly a little disturbed and they’re unable to form real connections with actual human beings. This type of person should not be supported. I’m not saying that all men who pleasure themselves without the help of a partner are creeps. However, I do find any man who is willing to pay extreme amounts of money for a robot replica of the real thing to be quite creepy.
When I picture these 4,000 men who have preordered Roxxxy on Hines’ website, I actually picture them to look similar to Hines himself. I know he’s happily married, but his marriage can’t be that happy if he’s devoted his working life to creating a wife substitute. Whether he admits to it or not, Hines’ has issues with his life or with his marriage. Roxxxy would serve no purpose to any happily married man. With that, I don’t mean to be judgmental or critical of someone’s appearance, but Hines’ looks a little off. Maybe it’s because the mental image I have of him includes him sitting behind his ridiculous creation. But either way, something about his appearance strikes me the wrong way.
Also, similar to how texting and instant messaging take away from developing good verbal communication skills, Roxxxy will take away from relationship building skills. By allowing these men to fill an empty void in their life with an artificial substitute is condoning their isolationism. Building relationships is one of the most important aspects of life. It allows us to socialize and be happy. Roxxxy brings happiness for the time being, but after her job is done she’s just another artificial sex toy. Roxxxy can’t make men laugh or go out on dates. She’s fun momentarily but it brings these men a false sense of reality.
The thought of what Roxxxy could do some men’s social life is actually a little frightening. These men are lonely and fragile as it is. Using Roxxxy could further their loneliness and who knows what could become of that situation. Could this trigger awkward people into becoming deviants of society? Maybe bring to surface rapists, child molesters, or murderers? Maybe I’m overreacting and my thoughts are extreme, but this is what comes to mind. What is the world coming to when an artificial wife is put on the market? This cannot be healthy to people who are potentially unstable as it is. Like I said, Douglas Hines is a moron.

Conversations about race always go back to black versus white. I never really considered this until now, but it is very true. As Americans, we suppressed African Americans for a few hundred years. We held them as captives and forced them to work in fields, picking cotton for long hours under the watch of abusive, power-hungry white men. For over two hundred years we owned their lives, denying them of their freedom and their right to the pursuit of happiness. We took away their right to live and their right to be happy. Even after slavery ended, we continued to suppress the black population of America by treating them as objects; objects who were unworthy of living in unison with the white population. We even went as far as to establish laws that would legally dismantle the rights of black people. We never did these things to other races. We never enslaved Hispanics and we never created laws to dehumanize Asians. We only did these things to black people.
From the start of elementary school, we have learned about slavery. Slavery defines much of America’s short history as a nation, which is why we have become so familiar with our history of white versus black. Starting at childhood, we are taught about slavery and civil rights in order to condition America’s youngest generations to disregard racism and to treat all races equally. We teach our children about an ideal culture where racism does not exist. But even as kids, we’re taught predominantly about racism toward blacks. We are conditioned to associate the color black with racism.
Another reason I think race conversations always go to black versus white is because of America’s socioeconomic statistics regarding races. According to statistics we were showed in class this week, the Asian population generates the most income and they have the highest educational achievements. The next highest is the white population, then Hispanics, and then the black population. Since blacks rank so much lower than white people when it comes to socioeconomics, there is a huge difference between our standards of living. This sparks a lot of debate as to how and why this could come about. We are less concerned with racism towards Asians because, overall, they live better than us!
The last reason as to why I think race conversations always go back to black versus white is because of appearance. Black people and white look significantly different in comparison to other races. Asians and Hispanics have different features but lighter skin, whereas black people have different features and darker skin. According to appearance, black people are the most different from white people.
Overall, race always goes back to black versus white, and in my opinion, the biggest reason for that is because we have suppressed the black American population for so many years. Our ancestors have witnessed first hand what racism can do to an entire group of people.

Lately, it’s been receiving more media attention than Britney Spears, and currently “Avatar” has been dubbed the highest grossing film of all time after spending seven weeks as number one in the box office. But is this film all its cracked up to be? One critic, David Brooks, courageously raises a solid argument attacking the plot of this powerful movie. Brooks writes about the “The Messiah Complex.” His ideas about a world where the white people shape the fate of the cultures around them is very intriguing. Moreover, his application of the “The Messiah Complex” to the movie “Avatar” really makes you think.
Brooks claims that “Avatar” lies on assumptions about the two enemy cultures: white people and natives. While his column is definitely well-written and interesting to read, I can’t help but feel that Brooks tried too hard to go against the grain. Amidst all the great reviews “Avatar” has received, there have been few critics to point out major flaws in the movie. Brooks chose to play the role of the devil’s advocate, but in this case, the heroin was way too resilient to be brought down by such a petty accusation.
Moreover, while I do agree that assumptions were made, I feel that there would be no plot without these assumptions. Whenever the plot of a book, a television show, or a movie is being written, assumptions must be made. It’s inevitable. Especially when the plot involves two warring cultures, one of which the audience knows nothing about. The writers of “Avatar” essentially created a culture, and thus he assumed the specific traits and qualities they would be given as natives of such a spiritual land.
In “The Messiah Complex,” the natives are the so-called “good guys.” But in order to establish them as “good guys,” they must win over the hearts of the audience. The natives do so by having qualities that we are not entitled to. It’s these superhuman qualities that entice us and almost make us wish we were as free and as spiritual as these beautiful blue creatures are. On the contrary, the writers used assumptions to establish the white people as characters as well. Brooks uses the words “rationalist” and “technocratic” to describe the stereotypes used on the white people. Yes, these are stereotypes used to classify an entire culture, but it’s these stereotypes that help create the antagonist.
My point is, it’s these assumptions that make “Avatar” a movie, not a realistic film meant to change the way people view the society they live in. It’s a movie created purely for entertainment. Furthermore, what makes movies that embrace “The Messiah Complex” so successful is that they portray the powerful culture of white people as the weaker beings. Instead of looking at the hero of “Avatar” as a “White Messiah” needed to lead the nonwhites to victory, we should simply look at the hero as the courageous man (or avatar) who stands against his people in order to defend what he feels is morally right.