en-us https://www.intensedebate.com/users/762249 Comments by jar5199 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/south-park-off-the-hook__trashed/#IDComment71161275 Much of the same parody goes on in South Park as other television programming whether it’s comedy skits or even recent movies like Borat. First off parodies like these most of the time are meant to actually expose the issue we deal with in society and not to promote racism. I think most of the people who watch these programs understand that. South Park is definitely a show that walks that line but it has an ingenious aspect to it in which it really in the end always tries to send the viewer a message about how the media and society perceive such touchy issues. As far as the issue of Mohammad goes, South Park has made fun of other religions countless times and it doesn’t seem racist to me that he would poke fun at Mohammad related to Islam. Remember these television shows are a lot of times trying to expose these issues and not promote them in a racist way. Wed, 28 Apr 2010 19:03:07 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/south-park-off-the-hook__trashed/#IDComment71161275 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/stories-for-uplift__trashed/#IDComment71023328 Some of the things we talk about in class make me pretty cynical about the way our world works and the way countries like the United States can be greedy as well as unsympathetic in all parts of the world. These stories bring out the humanity in people and illustrate how kind one can be to another. I think it’s truly rare to see complete strangers donating organs especially in such an extreme circumstance. A kidney is a pretty important part of your body and it’s definitely not like donating blood or anything. It’s kind of like what Ian Rosenberger said in class. When you get out of college you know you want to make a difference but are you willing to make a difference as extreme as that? I know I wouldn’t personally and I consider myself a pretty sympathetic person. I may be on the critical side of this but at first I questioned why this complete stranger would donate an organ of his body to an individual who he really does not have a strong relationship with. I wondered if he was single or just wasn’t normal. It’s kind of sad to question these things but the way society works I would think it is the norm not to just donate your kidney to a grocery store worker who you don’t have any significant contact with. I think it takes an event or some type of personality trait or humbling event in someone’s life to do something as humbling as this man did. He not only crossed the color barrier but he donating a piece of himself to a complete stranger. However, is this person a complete stranger to this man? It certainly didn’t seem so from his perspective. It’s amazing how he noticed the intricacies of the grocery store worker and how her personality as well as demeanor stuck out. How many people are there like that out there? I don't think many but we would definitely have a different world if we did have more people like this man. Even from the women’s perspective she obviously couldn’t believe this man was willing to sacrifice his health for hers. The short clip of the boy who had a crush on a girl of a different ethnic background was an enlightening one. The ignorance of children is something we need to recognize more often. They aren’t exposed to the predispositions of other cultures yet and truly see people for who they are in a different sort of way. They are able to see past the color barrier because they haven’t encountered the barrier that separates them yet. This is something we are striving to do in this class even though ironically we technically are more mature and intelligent than children. Wed, 28 Apr 2010 02:50:35 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/stories-for-uplift__trashed/#IDComment71023328 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/300000-whats-it-mean-to-us__trashed/#IDComment69523991 Unfortunately the way human nature often works is that the only thing that matters to us in the end is self preservation and I think that is what this student is getting at. No matter how many people die in a terrorist attack or natural disaster domestic or abroad I think it’s a common psychological response for people to go on with their daily lives if it hasn’t affected them directly. If a family member dies that affects the individual directly because they won’t be able to have that loving relationship with them anymore. That relationship with that person has diminished which in turn means a part of that person has diminished as well. True empathy is really what this class is trying to get at in my opinion. To get someone to care about the life of another of whom which they have no relationship with whatsoever but have the common connection of just being another human being. I think that is when true empathy is achieved. Thu, 22 Apr 2010 01:50:46 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/300000-whats-it-mean-to-us__trashed/#IDComment69523991 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/letter-from-an-inmate__trashed/#IDComment69522294 Knowing the context of this man, that he committed first degree murder and is capable of this type of understanding and compassion is honestly absolutely shocking. The words of this man make us all look like we lack empathy to a great extent. This makes me think of the philosophical reasoning that once you lose everything, you have everything to gain. I mean this in the context of people like this man in prison as well as the people in Haiti. I can’t tell you the countless times we go day in and day out of our lives caring only about ourselves and ignore others even in the most menial sense. Whether it’s opening the door for another or helping someone pick up something he or she has dropped. The wonderful and simple tone in which he writes doesn’t make him sound like a criminal at all. It actually makes him sound like one of the most understanding people on the planet. Truly amazing to read words from someone behind bars for life and how human compassion does and should work. Thu, 22 Apr 2010 01:44:55 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/letter-from-an-inmate__trashed/#IDComment69522294 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/tent-cities-in-haiti__trashed/#IDComment69110396 It’s incredible what Haitians are doing in devastation only months after the Earthquake. They’ve made somewhat of an economy out of a tent city, something that resembles the ghettos during the Holocaust. I think we underestimate the power of human beings even in times of desperation. Today when Ian came in to talk to us about the real problem in Haiti things really made sense. The United States can’t be the “world’s policemen” forever. We can’t save an entire country by mere handouts. We need to help them jump start their economy by providing projects and businesses they can work with so one day they can be self sustaining. It is pretty ironic that the first clip in the newscast was a beauty salon. However, don’t we all have the same basic needs and desires? Women all want to feel beautiful even in times of struggle. I remember hearing stories just like that about the Holocaust when growing up. These things that we obviously now take for granted were mere wishes for people like the Haitian survivors and now they can make those wishes of beauty come true. The man who sells movies and comedy skits to other Haitians for a mere 30 cents seems remarkable. Remarkable because he has the frame of mind to think of something so unique and so creative to pick the Haitian children up psychologically even if it is for a minute or two. The economics of Haiti’s tent run economy are truly interesting as it delves into a world of suffering but survival by any means necessary. I’m talking about economic survival of course and not immediate life threatening survival. Sometimes the resilience that other people have around the world makes life that much more special and a lot of people don’t realize that. Americans ignorantly and blissfully a lot of times think that we are helping countries like Haiti but no were aren’t really helping them. Yes politically we are helping ourselves and Haitians in the very short term. Actually, we are really hurting them in the long run. We are giving them the tools to survive but not the tools to sustain. Sustaining a nation and surviving are obviously two different things. The worst part about this whole process is the money goes back to the United States. Who would have thought? If we truly want to help third world countries we need to stop making them third world countries! We need to help them pick themselves back up by giving them the “opportunity” to succeed instead of just the mere tools for survival. When you look outside the box it makes us look better in the eyes of the world too. This is because very few people know that the money funnels right back to us and we are framed to think we are helping countries that can’t help themselves. This isn’t true and only seems apparent because we don’t provide them with the tools to succeed. Wed, 21 Apr 2010 03:24:00 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/tent-cities-in-haiti__trashed/#IDComment69110396 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/christian-invaders-the-turnaround__trashed/#IDComment68413954 I thought this was one of the most intriguing lectures I've ever been a part of at Penn State. The fact that Sam made this a sociological experiment made me "understand" where he was coming from. As most Americans I've been toying with this question for years. Why are we fighting? What are we doing over there? Shouldn't we be worrying about issues here in the United States. It finally makes sense. I knew we were there for oil and I'm Jewish so I obviously know and feel a certain way about Christianity here in the U.S. but I never really got to see behind the scenes. It's incredible who is running our government if you REALLY take a look, an inside look. Those clips are things I never saw before. Case in point, at the end of the day I don't think there was another option but to raise your hand. It's called empathy. It's called understanding human beings just like ourselves only in a different part of the world. It's unfortunate there are Muslim terrorists but its a religion just like Judaism, Christianity and others. Religion dominates society and it dominates the way our world is run. Sometimes its sad but unavoidable truth. Fri, 16 Apr 2010 19:13:48 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/christian-invaders-the-turnaround__trashed/#IDComment68413954 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/women__trashed/#IDComment68263934 I think that the play performed in class definitely brought out an issue that I don’t think men for sure think about on a regular basis. I agree with this girl in the fact that men as well are their own person no matter their appearance and in a way I think that is the basis for this class. To see past the color or appearance barrier. As cliché as it may sound we need to see people for who they are without making some sort of disclaimer before meeting them just based on what they look like. It would be hypocritical for me to say that I am not a victim of this as I think we all judge people in a way before meeting or talking to them. However, I think after learning about different cultures, genders and races in this class hopefully people will be able to see each other for who they are instead of the color of their skin or what gender they may be. These are appearance factors which are unimportant when it comes to the actual character of a human being. Thu, 15 Apr 2010 19:50:16 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/women__trashed/#IDComment68263934 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/what-about-the-men__trashed/#IDComment68039486 I think that there is much evidence that guys conform to the degree that women do but this comes up in different ways. However, I think that women are definitely influenced by the media more than men are or at least it seems that way by research and just walking around campus. Conforming to society and the media I think are two very different topics to address. Guys definitely conform to the idea of looking “buff” and going to the gym as much as possible as they think this will win women over. In other ways they are pressured by their peers just as much as women are to “out drink” their friends so they don’t look weak, to go out as much as they can also. These are all things that Laurie actually brought up in class yesterday that guys definitely conform to as well. Dressing isn’t so much of a way guys conform to society but their actions clearly display their conformity. Wed, 14 Apr 2010 18:53:35 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/what-about-the-men__trashed/#IDComment68039486 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/want-to-learn-chinese__trashed/#IDComment67845426 I suppose the American education system is really starting to believe Chinese will be a vital language to be fluent in. I have always been under the impression that because China inhabits the most people and has a relatively large economy it’s important to know the language for the future. I have to say I’m a bit surprised that the Chinese government is subsidizing the salaries of teachers that are coming here to the United States to teach. They seem to almost be receiving better benefits than other teachers here in the United States. However, China being the advanced nation that it is, it is not so surprising that the government wants to spread its influence. China is one of the global economic leaders and what better way to increase their chances at economic domination than teaching other nations their language. The fact that stood out the most is the declining or “fading” language programs such as French and Spanish. These always seemed to be the most popular languages to take in grade school. I know my parents grew up learning these languages in school. Of course there are preparatory schools out there that teach an assortment of languages but obviously parents are paying almost college like tuition for their kids to go there. According to this article, we know Chinese is being taught in places that I thought were less educated areas of the country. Texas and Georgia certainly don’t sound like states that have children walking around speaking Chinese but apparently I may be wrong. Now these facts should be under some scrutiny and we should really question in which cities and schools Chinese in being taught in these states. How many children specifically are really learning the language? What measure can we have to determine that? Also my impression of America as a melting pot included the idea Spanish was the next language behind English as the most popular here in the United States. Does this mean that is going to change? I don’t think so but I do think it’s a good thing for children growing up in this era to have more choices in school to pick the language of their choice. When I was in high school I was able to take Advanced Placement Spanish but definitely did not have the option of Chinese. It’s pretty incredible that more students are now taking the Advanced Placement test in Chinese than German. From a public relations perspective it seems as though the move has paid off for China’s program “Hanban” as hundreds of superintendents have had free trips to China and then have started language programs in their school districts. Turning this around to think about how English is taught is quite different. I feel as though English is taught universally but here in the United States we need to be mindful that we are much less advanced when it comes to language diversity. Wed, 14 Apr 2010 02:05:24 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/want-to-learn-chinese__trashed/#IDComment67845426 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/i-really-want-to-know-also__trashed/#IDComment66507912 I definitely understand where this students coming from. What we have to remember is Sam’s disclaimer at the beginning of the semester when he said he doesn’t mean to offend people when he says anything but more importantly that after every class he wants us to just think about the idea he brought up in class. I definitely think this class has made a difference in the way I think about things. In fact I’m not even in a discussion section and I’ve started to see the world a little differently. There’s no way I’m going to say I’m in the pseudo-communitarian stage or anything but the class has definitely opened my eyes. Now when you take a class or listen to someone you first have to be willing to listen. That’s the first step. If you can’t get beyond that there’s no point in registering for college to begin with. Thu, 8 Apr 2010 03:19:26 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/i-really-want-to-know-also__trashed/#IDComment66507912 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/this-is-totally-off-the-hook__trashed/#IDComment66507392 First off I don’t think there would be any way I would play this game after any amount of alcohol with my friends just to address Sam’s question. It’s pretty incredible that Japan and all the power it holds in the gaming industry would go this far to promote sexual violence and rape. Not a good move on their part considering I’m pretty sure a lot of their economy actually comes from the gaming industry. Whoever thought of this game obviously is a bit twisted and has some psychological issues but that’s not what we should be worried about. What we should be worried about is the fact that people around the world have no problem giving this game a try. Not just anyone but a British women seems to take no offense to the game and actually referred to it as a form of escapism! Maybe I’m not filled in completely on European culture but that just doesn’t seem right. Most people also probably think it’s not a big problem because Japan is so far away and isolated but in this day and age its obviously not. These games are at the finger tips of psychopaths who want to try and play these things as soon as they are released over the web. That’s the worst part about it. Now I can understand games like Grand Theft Auto and others which may touch some moral barriers but this is really just disgusting. Japanese game makers should be shameful for coming out with a game like this. I’m also pretty sure that women here in the United States would say the same thing. However, I’m not sure what all men here would say. Is this is any way right? I don’t think so. Also coming from a public relations major, Japan made a rather bad public relations move when declining to comment on the subject completely. They didn’t even condemn it or try and separate themselves from the issue. They simply ignored it. My theory is that anyone inside the government was afraid to talk for fear of reprisal. To me Japan seems like a society where shame can be a pretty serious thing. Also I remember I think the lecturer on Tuesday mentioning his Japanese friend who thought American’s were dirty. Well to put it bluntly, who looks dirty now? Definitely, the game makers in Japan for making this game pretty much promoting raping women. This really puts a bad spin on a very successful county in terms of economics and really foreign relations after WWII. Japan has an abundant culture with a thriving population and the government really should have or should be doing something to protect its citizens reputation. Thu, 8 Apr 2010 03:15:04 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/this-is-totally-off-the-hook__trashed/#IDComment66507392 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/how-can-we-ever-win__trashed/#IDComment65126231 You pose a great point. It's great when people like Jesse Jackson reach out to people of other races or cultures that are less fortunate. I found that to be an incredible deed that Sam mentioned. But then when Sam said that this really wasn't where you were supposed to be. You weren't supposed to then go back to your own culture. You are really supposed to be comfortable with who you are and not care what race or color you are supporting or not supporting. I agree with this student and don't really think that makes sense. Of course your going to go back to your original heritage. That's human nature, isn't it? Face it we are born as a certain race or ethnicity or whatever and the best that we can do is try and see past that and cross the color barrier but I feel that in the end we are always going to go back to what heritage we were born with. Thu, 1 Apr 2010 04:35:59 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/how-can-we-ever-win__trashed/#IDComment65126231 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/the-white-minorities__trashed/#IDComment64750083 Whites were obviously the founders of our country whether we like it or not but it looks like soon enough they won’t be in the majority after all. This sounds like a little bit of karma to me because of the entire genocide that took place against the Native American’s that we do not talk about in society, especially in schools. Maybe down the line this will be the time when the true American history comes out. Maybe children will be learning about how their “forefathers” killed hundreds of thousands of Native Americans to conquer the land that their now living on. How will these children react since many of them will be minorities? Will it make a difference? Personally I don’t think so but it is an interesting point to bring up. The more important point is really the question if elder whites will vote in favor of these minority youth who will likely begin to get into politics and decision making just as they are starting to do know. I sense that covert racism will possibly take place in this instance. Tue, 30 Mar 2010 02:17:40 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/the-white-minorities__trashed/#IDComment64750083 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/nothing-about-the-census-is-easy__trashed/#IDComment64749353 This is a very interesting piece. To see the census form in action takes me back to some of the first days of class we had in Sam’s class. The anchorman makes a very good point, a point Dr. Mulvey makes in here book in the fact that we need actually to see people for their color and that is how we eventually cross the race barrier and make peace at the “race table.” To be completely honest if I were filling out the census form without having some of the education and realizations I’ve had in Sam’s class I probably would have been just as confused as the people being interviewed. Lets face it, for the most part we are not a very educated society when it comes to our complete ethnic background. People identify with a color and stop there. They don’t take the time to think about if they are part Hispanic, Indian, African, etc. That is where all the confusion from filling out the census form comes from. The point of the census form is to be inclusive not exclusive. These people who put in hours and hours to make up these questions are actually trying to make the form easier for us to fill out rather than harder. They don’t want to leave anyone out. However, what these people don’t realize is that everyone isn’t as educated about their identity as they may think they are. I know after taking Soc 119 it has made me think much more about who I am and where I came from. Another interesting fact about the piece is that the world “negro” is on the census form and seems to offend some people. Well of course it’s going to offend some people but frankly so is everything else in this country. As Sam has said before some people identify with that group and they deserve to if that’s their choice. I don’t think the census form should be changed for the next census. This should be a wake-up call for Americans around the country to do a little homework themselves and realize what racial or ethnic group they identify with and take it to heart. People shouldn’t be ashamed to express their heritage. It seems as though they want so deeply to be identified as “American” instead of whatever it is there true race or ethnicity may be. This clip also relates to the different stories in the book “Crossing the Boulevard” as these different Americans have tremendously unique backgrounds before coming to the country. I know everyone has heard of the term melting pot but do they really know what it stands for? It stands for the millions of Americans who don’t come from America but from other nations and all together make up the wonderful country we live in. Tue, 30 Mar 2010 02:11:08 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/nothing-about-the-census-is-easy__trashed/#IDComment64749353 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/this-is-getting-to-be-too-much__trashed/#IDComment64108065 I think that Sam poses a good point here in the fact that these two people in no way, shape or form represent the campus at the University of California San Diego. I remember us talking early on in the semester about “themed” parties and why white people do that. I couldn’t really come up with a good answer to that question but I know for a fact that here it just crosses the line. A party themed “Compton Cookout,” is just outrageously discriminatory. What do these kids know about growing up in one of the most impoverished areas in California? Likely nothing. Also another issue is the fact that California, usually a liberal state needs to quickly find a new policy to diversify their state college campuses. It really becomes a problem when there is 103 enrolled blacks at the Los Angeles Campus. Now that is truly surprising and something that needs to be fixed. Thu, 25 Mar 2010 22:38:11 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/this-is-getting-to-be-too-much__trashed/#IDComment64108065 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/prom-or-no-prom-just-dont-let-the-queer-students-dance-together__trashed/#IDComment64107102 I don’t know why this doesn’t surprise me that this despicable action of discrimination took place not in a city or in a northern state but in the south. Even at the end of the article it mentions that the girl was told by her teacher to remember where she was. I suppose or I would at least assume from reading this that the LGTB community in southern parts of the country are even more hidden that we see up North and that’s sad. Sad for a girl who just wanted to attend her prom but was turned down by her school who is supposed to be teaching her right from wrong. I hope that this school learns from all the media and publicized attention that students should be free to choose who and what their sexual orientation may be. The key point here is “in and outside of school.” Thu, 25 Mar 2010 22:30:04 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/prom-or-no-prom-just-dont-let-the-queer-students-dance-together__trashed/#IDComment64107102 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/the-world-is-full-of-surprises__trashed/#IDComment64106426 This is truly a sociological miracle. How did this culture of Jewish heritage survive over thousands of years in the distant from the Middle East country of Zimbabwe? It’s amazing that these people have kept their heritage despite likely propaganda or groups and groups of people trying to change the way they live. The fact that DNA tests were conducted and confirmed makes it that much more incredible. 80,000 Jewish people is a great number considering how many there are in the world and this finding is a great step towards letting the world know that Judaism is not a race but a religion and in this case a culture. Being Jewish myself and considering myself a cultural Jew, I think it’s really great to see some evidence that Judaism has no color which is what many people argue about every day. Some people don’t believe Jews can be black and this is the perfect example. There are of course Ethiopian Jews which have been on the Earth for quite a long time but are small in numbers. However, finding Jews in Zimbabwe? That's a truly awesome finding. I struggle with answering the question day to day that Judaism is not a race which it is not obviously just as Christianity is a religion as well as Muslim and Hindu. I could see the same problem happening with people thinking about being Muslim. This discrimination against Muslim is because of terrorism and unfortunately many practicing, good natured people are discriminated against just because of their religion. I think the problem that many people encounter when thinking about this question is really ignorance. People portray ignorance because many people do know about the Holocaust and the horrible tragedies that Jews went through. What they don’t know is that all Jews aren’t white. These people take for granted since most Jews here in the United States are white then in fact Jews must be white. This is obviously not true but I suppose I can see where the reasoning might come from. These Jewish people are from all different countries and from all different backgrounds. It kind of reminds me of Sam’s point of being white. White people are all different and so are the people of the Jewish religion. However, I don’t mean to say that Jews don’t find security in recognizing their religion because I know I do. It’s that Judaism has many different forms and we are all not the same. There are three sects of Judaism Orthodox, Conservative and Reform. These three sects are very different and each of the sects is very different from each other. This incredible finding of Judaism in Zimbabwe is a perfect example of just that. Thu, 25 Mar 2010 22:24:10 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/the-world-is-full-of-surprises__trashed/#IDComment64106426 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/if-men-could-menstruate__trashed/#IDComment63864365 Menstrual cycles seem to be one of those taboo things in our society and has been for a long time. Men don’t want to hear about it and this reinforces the behavior that women don’t talk about it. I think that what Sam said surprised a lot of people and exposed an issue that is rarely talked about. I can admit his in detail explanation of his experience was a little uncomfortable to hear but it does underscore a great point that men just don’t want to hear about it. We are educated about that topic but why do we just brush it off or say we don’t want to hear about it when it’s mentioned? There are a lot of gross things about our body that we aren’t afraid to talk about but this is one of them. However, hypothetically I don’t think tampons would be free if men menstruated even they seem to be the ones would set the societal norms on this issue. Wed, 24 Mar 2010 15:35:58 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/if-men-could-menstruate__trashed/#IDComment63864365 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/what-are-all-of-you-thinking-about-asians__trashed/#IDComment63863489 I think that Sam’s point was a good one in that fact that whites are in the majority, so therefore there are more white people and people outside of that group do not look at whites as a whole but as individuals. However, I think that some people in the minority definitely look at white people as an entire group and have that disposition when judging people. However, as far as Asians are concerned and other groups in the minority I think that they can often be characterized as a whole instead of as an individual. A good example of this is the question that Sam posed at the beginning of the semester when he asked what major he thought Asians majored in. The majority of the class answered engineering when the answer was business I believe. It’s interesting how we characterize groups before meeting the individual who we know nothing about. Wed, 24 Mar 2010 15:29:14 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/what-are-all-of-you-thinking-about-asians__trashed/#IDComment63863489 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/is-this-just-a-few-bad-apples__trashed/#IDComment63741577 It is actually news to me that previous presidents George W. Bush and Bill Clinton were portrayed as Hitler during protests. Now I know for a fact that these Tea Party protesters are allowed some fundamental rights in protesting but these signs definitely incite violence which does not fall within our constitution the last time I checked. This tea party movement is starting to remind me of white supremacy and those two girls that Sam showed in class ignorantly talking about the Holocaust and the “white race” However, it’s one thing to stage a protest against proposed laws such as the newly passed Health care reform bill but it is an entirely different thing to use such offensive words and then take violent actions against elected officials as the Huffington Post article states. Throwing a brick through a congressional officials office window? Spitting on a government official as well as using racial and gay slurs. I thought having a first black president would possibly be a sigh of relief for the topic of civil rights and race relations but obviously there is lingering racism. Issues such as the economy and health care have provided a perfect forum for racist Americans who kept quiet after the 2009 election to get it out of there system and to unite. It seems as though we haven’t made much progress at all. I thought that throwing bricks through the windows of offices and houses were things of the past, stories from the 1960’s back when the “sit ins” took place. Well apparently this isn’t the case. Isn’t it interesting the hypocrisy that we see when people feel they are really affected by the recent political happenings and then just blame it on color? It seems as though in times of desperation factions like the Tea Party will unite and go back to the deep seated racism that is still prevalent in our country. It’s incredible to me that these individuals can’t look past the color of the skin but that this must be the blame of their recent hard times. Did these folks ever consider the hard times that these congressmen and women have gone through? Especially those of color like John Lewis who ironically was pivotal in the Civil Rights movement in 1960. I first watched something on the Tea Party a month or so ago and saw a college graduate talking about the platform of the party and didn’t think much of it. After hearing about such discriminating actions against political officials I’m officially sold on the fact the Tea Party may be nothing but racist individuals unhappy with the current economy and Health care situation and have turned to racism, hate and bigotry. Tue, 23 Mar 2010 23:42:51 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/is-this-just-a-few-bad-apples__trashed/#IDComment63741577