Reading this letter from a real “lifer” in prison is a strange experience. For most Americans, we live our day to day lives without thinking about lifetime inmates, prisons, or anything like that. There seems to be such a huge disconnect and we forget sometimes that there can be real people locked up somewhere. I have never known anybody in prison for life, and I have never been affected by anybody who knows a lifer. Yes, its obviously true that at some point in their lives, all these people locked up made a mistake in their lives. Maybe it takes some of them 20 years to realize the magnitude of the things they did, or maybe they are innocent and they are locked up for 20 years before being exonerated. In either case, these are real people, with real feelings, and real friends. Reading this letter also hits me hard because I have never been a supporter of the death penalty. One person falsely executed for a crime he did not commit is one person too many. It all comes down to the fact that these criminals are still human beings. Many of them realize the wrongness of their ways while serving there time, not to mention those who are found to be innocent and are released from prison. While some people deserve to be locked up, not all of them are still truly bad people at heart.

I am not sure I completely understand your question. You kind of answer it yourself. Sam has come up to me asking questions about where I am from and what I am, and I always answer that I am part Greek but grew up in CT and just think of myself as being white. So I know I am part Greek, but I don’t think of myself as Greek specifically, just white American. I think that in your case you can answer whatever you would like to. If you feel that you fall into the white category and you can relate to white people, and you are comfortable with being a white dude, then go ahead and answer that you are white. However, if you think that you grew up with Hispanic or Puerto Rican (or whatever the case may be)culture and influence, and your clothing style, speaking style, living habits, etc, all reflect that, and you feel comfortable being part of the black and brown team, then it is fair to answer that you are black or brown.

I guess what I am getting at is if you feel like you belong on one team, and you instinctively answer for the white team every time, then that is the team you are on. Me personally, I am on the white team. There is no question about it. So for me to pretend to be on the black and brown team would look ridiculous from everybody else’s point of view, and would probably feel stupid from my point of view. So there is no doubt in my mind that I am on the white team. If you have any doubt, or you think you may qualify for both, then it is up to you to choose one side I supposed, but I don’t think there is a wrong answer.

On the other hand, I supposed it is possible for one person to have two completely different parents and to be raised in such a way that they have almost created their own team. Their habits, mannerisms, cultural influences, etc, can be so woven together that as a person they are not sure which side to pick as “home base.” I see this potentially happening if the two parents involved get separated and the child lives with both of them even time. Maybe this would just result in a child who is raised in the immersion stage from the start. I don’t really know what that might be like, so maybe your having the same type of trouble.

I was completely and totally shocked when I watched the film clip with the children and the dolls. Maybe it is because I am white, but I cannot possibly understand the black child's reasoning in choosing the white doll. When I was little, if I were given that same option, I would have chosen a white doll for the doll that looked like me. Now, had somebody asked me which doll was better, but probably still would have chosen the white doll, but right now I don’t really know why. What part of a child’s schooling or teaching would make them think that somebody of a different skin color is better than they are. Why is it that they would rather play with a white doll over a black doll. And why do they really think that white dolls are better than black. Does the same logic cross over in friends and real people? Do black children wish they had white skin, or prefer white friends? I just cannot fathom the idea that black children think that white skin is better than black.

Sam said that the video is disturbing, and I am not sure I agree with such strong of a word, but it certainly was absolutely mind boggling to see the kids make the decisions that they did. I almost wish somebody I personally knew had been in that study so that I could talk to them. Kids have a way with words where they tell absolutely what is on their mind without hiding anything. It is almost like they cannot lie about what they think. I don’t know if I would understand how the results of the study are so skewed without talking to a child about the dolls in person.

I think it is pretty crazy that the school not only would not allow the two girls to attend the prom together, but that in order to “avoid” and issue they canceled the prom altogether. Are things like this still accepted? Why is it such a big deal that the girl wants to bring another girl, and why is it such a big deal that she wants to wear a tuxedo? My prom, while primarily made up of straight couples, had guys who went in a group together, girls who went in a group together, at least one gay couple, and a few lesbian couples. There were also women who wore suits and tuxedos, as well as one guy (who nobody knew much about until prom) who whore a dress. It was certainly an interesting sight and experience for some close minded students, but nobody really cared. These students were entitled to a prom just as the rest of my class was, and there were no limitations on the sex of their dates. My prom had no fights, no issues, and we all just remember it (most of us remember it anyways) as our high school prom. Not as that time we all had to allow gays into our prom and deal with it. The point I am trying to make is that all types of students in my high school, the popular, the unpopular, gay or straight, single or multiple dates (ya…), came to our prom, and that is the way it should be. Sex and sexual orientation should not be deciding factors in whether somebody is allowed to attend prom.

I want to know what caused the student in question to first ask permission to bring her girlfriend to the prom. My high school had lots and lots of fights, as well as more than a few bomb threats. Because of this, my high school implemented a “permission” slip policy for the prom. There was one for students, one for students of other schools, and one for non students. All three required a signature from a “parent.” That is it. If you got this BS paper signed, you got to go to prom no questions asked. What caused the girl in question to personally ask permission from school officials? If I were that girl, I would have simply bought my tickets and showed up like everyone else. Even if I had to argue that I was just attending as friends with my date (not that anyone should ever need to make that argument to avoid punishment) she should still be going to her prom.

Bottom line, I think this type of practice in unacceptable in either a public or private high school. Every student should be allowed to attend their senior prom, and I hope the school reverses its decision.

I think the reason that lesbians are generally more accepted than gay men is simply because that is the way it is passively taught to kids at a young age. Young girls are taught that it is socially acceptable to show love and emotion for one another through things like hugs. Young boys are naturally competitive and try to show that they are stronger than each other. As boys and girls get older, these actions become even more pronounced. Straight women can hold hands walking down the street, and people may think they are lesbians, but they are still socially acceptable. Two men holding hands down the street, straight or not, is significantly rarer and people do not find that to be okay. From the time we are all little kids, we are taught that men to not hold hands and do not show affection for each other, even in a friendly way. So this notion stays with us as we grow older.

We must also account for the assumptions that most people make about two people holding hands. If we see two men holding hands on the street, without a second consideration, we determine that these men are gay. Women on the other hand do not deal with this judgment. Gay women can appear to be hidden in plain sight if they so choose. Because of the possibility that the two women are straight, strangers will never know the rule truth without other signs or conversation.

Please keep in mind that these are generalizations for the average person. Not every girl acts in that way, and not all boys act in that way. Some children realize that they are gay early on, after talking to somebody older. Some girls are tomboys and some boys are very effeminate. I am just explaining my thoughts on the average person and how they are taught to act at a young age. I have not even touched on the fact that many guys think two lesbians together are real hot, thus being more acceptable.

Now I will admit that growing up I acted the same as I stated above and I made assumptions about gay men and women. However, after I actually had gay friends in high school and college, I now try to think about everyone being on even ground so to speak. I try to think of people as a person on the street, not a gay person on the street. I am not saying that I don’t still wonder if people are gay or straight, but I accept the fact that I will never know unless I talk to them or they show an obvious sign to the public.

So I was raised Jewish, but do not consider my self to be affiliated with any religion. I went to Hebrew school, but I was worse than a slacker in high school. I took nothing away from it except my own opinions. (Part of my opinion is that everyone else is entitled to their opinion, and don’t mind if somebody is religious).

When I was little (like 5 or 6 maybe) I saw Tefillin for the first and only time in my life in person. They were sorta explained and “demonstrated” but I was too young to understand what it was, and I did not really know until reading about it later in life. Essentially, my first experience was reading about them in some article or book somewhere, probably in a history class. It didn’t seem out of the ordinary to me, but it was something that I learned about.

That being said, I find it ridiculous that a plane was rerouted because of an incident like this. Sure, safety is first, and you can never be too sure, but if a flight attendant really did ask the man what he was doing, it should have seemed pretty obvious. Wires look very different from straps. Most notably, one is round and usually covered in rubber. The other looks almost leathery and is flat, not to mention wrapped around his arms and wrist. Not to mention, HE WAS WEARING A KIPPAH. A skullcap. Something that on this side of the world means only one thing. He is Jewish, and he has enough faith to wear the kippah outside of synagogue and in public. That should have been a huge tipoff that supported that fact that Tefillin is not a lethal explosive. If she had asked him about what he was doing, and he answered cooperatively by explaining it was for prayer, why was her first response to brush that off and alert the captain. Couldn’t she have done a bit more “investigating.”

Maybe because I grew up knowing Jews as well as people from many other faiths, I see this a big deal mistake. The man was cooperative but still referred to as “disruptive” by the TSA. If even for a short while, he was put in handcuffs after never showing signs of violence or rage, or any danger at all. Even if grounding the plane in protocol, and having police on the tarmac is just for safety, it does not take much to determine handcuffs could have been over kill for this situation.

On a completely other-side-of-the-fence note, out of defense for the flight attendant, it does not appear to be an act of racism or prejudice. Technically, the flight attendant acted in a way she felt was the right thing to do, and safety does come first. It is better to ground the plane than to assume that Jews, or Americans, or whatever the case may, are safe and will not cause terror. Not all terrorists live in the middle east.

Cantor ?

I grew up Jewish in a Jewish home and I went to Sunday school most of my life up until middle school, although I did not consider myself to be religious at all. I simply lived under my parents roof. I had friends that were of Jewish, Christian, Catholic, Protestant, Muslim, and other faiths growing up. As a kid I always had a hard time grasping the concept of religion. I discussed and debated with a few friends over the years, and just could never agree with most of what they told me. Now I consider myself to be atheist with some agnostic tendencies (although that won’t stop me from the occasional religious argument).

To this day, I have a hard time leaving it up to religion and various “history books” to tell me what has happened on this planet for that last few thousand years. So naturally, I believe that the earthquake(s) in Haiti have been a series of unfortunate but random events. My lack of faith makes the claims of Pat Robertson seem so radical and unbelievable that I cannot believe the media gives him the attention they do, let alone give the man his own show. It seems he is an educated man who has many regular viewers. Why does society let things like this happen. Sure, he is entitled to his statement and his opinion, and the first amendment protects him, and there are plenty of people outraged at what he has said, but not a thing is done. Just like most of you, I think he needs to come out and publicly apologize. Even if we pretend he is correct for just a few moments, there are still thousands of people in Haiti who are not Haitian and did not make a pact with the devil. We need to be thinking about what we can do to help them.

On another note, I think we need to be ignoring those statements that came from Robertson and Rush Limbaugh. We can’t take them to personally when there are more important problems to worry about. Whether we agree with the harsh words and borderline ridiculous accusations, or we think that the two of them should be removed from the media, it really is not important right now. There are greater issues that need to be solved. We should be focusing our efforts on figuring out what we can each to as an individual, and what we can all do as a society to bring relief to those in Haiti. There are obstacles to overcome as far as bringing supplies and aid into Haiti, and it really is not worth wasting the time verbally bashing these two men.