en-us https://www.intensedebate.com/users/757703 Comments by melevans25 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/what-about-health-care__trashed/#IDComment70006670 Well, there are some immigrants who gain US citizenship upon coming to this country--- so yes, I think they deserve the same health care privileges as US born citizens, because we are all citizens of the country and should obtain the same rights. If you mean illegal immigrants, then that’s a different story. I’m not really sure. I feel like if they were in a bad situation, health wise, and they absolutely needed help, are you really just going to let the person be hurt or even die? Although, at the same time if they are illegally coming into the country and seeking better health care than their country, it might not be right. That’s a tough question to answer. Fri, 23 Apr 2010 21:53:39 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/what-about-health-care__trashed/#IDComment70006670 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/women__trashed/#IDComment70004529 I couldn’t agree more. I though the play in class was definitely interesting to see the role switched where women typically want bigger breasts, but in this play they were in a world where women wanted smaller breasts. I hate that Hollywood and TV have sunken into so many girl’s minds out there that you need to have a certain body image to be beautiful. Everyone is beautiful in their own way and it’s horrible to see and hear about girls who are doing everything they can to change their bodies into something they aren’t… just because they think other people will find them more attractive. Fri, 23 Apr 2010 21:44:02 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/women__trashed/#IDComment70004529 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/300000-whats-it-mean-to-us__trashed/#IDComment70000612 That’s definitely an interesting thought, the problem with that is though, think about it, if every time someone died, or a few people died, or a large group of people died, if we all just stopped what we were doing for even a week, what good would that do? It is definitely very devastating and it sucks to deal with death, especially if it is someone who affected you personally, but life goes on and you have to also. If everyone just stopped what they were doing for some period of time, it would drastically affect our lives MORE than the death or deaths would affect our lives. Would you HONESTLY take off an entire month from school or work, let alone the rest of the year, if someone in your family died? There’s just things in life that can’t be avoided or put on hold for such a long period of time. Of course it would be very upsetting and would take a lot of time to cope with and get used to, but that doesn’t mean that you should stop living yourself. I completely agree that we have to move on. Of course we should be doing everything we can to help the people in Haiti, which there are people over there helping where necessary. I don’t think the point was that we should just forget about it and move on, I think the point was more that you take some time out of your day to mourn, but you also do the things in your life that need to be done. I know that when my grandfather died when I was in high school, I took a day or two off of school to mourn and go to his funeral and everything, but after that I went back to school, I took my tests, I did my homework, because if I didn’t, then I probably wouldn’t be here at Penn State now. You can’t just stop life and put everything at a halt or else the world wouldn’t change and things wouldn’t get better. We’d just be living in a world full of sad, mourning people waiting for the next person to die and mourn to. I understand where you’re coming from, it’s sad to think that after such a devastating event to happen, that people can just go on with their daily lives, it seems like people don’t care, but I’m sure they do. No one can hear about such a horrible disaster and not even care a little bit, there are just some things that need more attention than others. For some people, the most they can do is donate money. You do what you can, and continue on with your life, tragic events like this are always in the back of your mind. It’s not that people are moving on and just forgetting about it, they’re just moving forward and continuing on with life. Fri, 23 Apr 2010 21:31:36 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/300000-whats-it-mean-to-us__trashed/#IDComment70000612 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/want-to-learn-chinese__trashed/#IDComment67769493 I think that’s very interesting, I had no idea that the teaching of Chinese or Mandarin was increasing so widely. I know my high school started offering the class a few years ago. I don’t know that Chinese is a necessary language to learn, but I definitely agree that it could be useful. I mean, China is the most populated country in the world, why should everyone focus on solely learning English, when we can adjust and learn other languages as well. Considering the huge population of China, there are obviously PLENTY of people in the world who speak the language and I definitely see it as a good idea for people to start learning the language and get accustomed to other cultures. Tue, 13 Apr 2010 17:46:46 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/want-to-learn-chinese__trashed/#IDComment67769493 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/is-quality-the-question__trashed/#IDComment66332958 I don’t know that affirmative action really would affect people in the medical field to such an extent. If they have two candidates and one is black and one is white, I highly doubt they would hire the black one if they felt the white candidate was much more qualified and better able to work more proficiently in a hospital. If you’re talking med school, again I don’t see that directly affecting health care. If they accept a black student to med school over a white student, the black student will still be studying to get all of the proper qualifications to do their job as best they can and as well as any other white student in the same program—which in the end is all that really matters. Wed, 7 Apr 2010 04:33:53 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/is-quality-the-question__trashed/#IDComment66332958 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/i-really-want-to-know-also__trashed/#IDComment66332099 You know I never really thought about it. Most of the time, I don’t think my opinion changes, because I feel like I agree with most of what Sam says. There are definitely several points that Sam brings up in class that I never thought of in that specific way in which I think he added a different viewpoint or theory to what I already believe. Sam definitely brings a lot of new information to the table. I’m sure that EVERYONE in class has left at least one day, or will leave one day by the end of the semester, with a new argument or something learned that is different from what you’ve already believed on race and ethical issues. Wed, 7 Apr 2010 04:25:41 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/i-really-want-to-know-also__trashed/#IDComment66332099 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/this-is-totally-off-the-hook__trashed/#IDComment66331651 Watching this video was really appalling to me. Video games like those are wrong on so many levels and I do not understand how anyone can play that game and honestly not feel like a creep essentially. The European boy who said that he didn’t see the problem with the game and that it is, in essence, no different from a video game with guns and killing people. I suppose he has a point, but something just feels so much more wrong by having the object of a game be to rape someone. That gets into sexual assault issues. If younger boys start playing this game, they may think it is acceptable to engage in that sort of activity. You could argue that someone could engage in getting guns and killing people as well from those types of games too, which I am certainly not justifying. I feel that killing someone is a much more extreme act than raping someone is because killing a person is taking away their life and will affect every person of their friends and families and school or workplace, where as rape only (mostly) affects the victim. I think MOST people who play games with guns and killing people would not take those actions and apply them to real life situations because they realize the effects of someone dying are so much more severe. In the games with the object being to rape a woman, you turn this into a game that the players find fun. Since I have not played the game, I don’t know for sure, but I would imagine the reactions of the victim in the video game are far less what it would be like in reality to rape a woman. I’m sure in the video game the victim either plays along or has minimal rejection towards the rapist in the video game. If the players of the game find it fun and don’t see such a horrible reaction, it may lead them to believe it is more or less okay for them to reenact the game in real life; not realizing how bad rape truly can be. I think that, especially guys, would not take this video game seriously and think that they are just kidding around and having a good time, but if you continuously play this game on a regular basis, you may not realize some of your actions from the game being incorporated into real life. You may not directly rape a woman, but would be more inclined to sexual harassment like activity. Since the game is already out there, I don’t think that banning it will do any good. There are people who have already been playing the game and already exposed to it. If they’ve been playing the game and enjoy it, banned or not, they are going to find a way to continue playing it. The game just shouldn’t have been created in the first place. Wed, 7 Apr 2010 04:21:47 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/this-is-totally-off-the-hook__trashed/#IDComment66331651 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/what-about-multiracial-people__trashed/#IDComment65681672 I feel like this question relates to the posting Sam put up about the census and people’s view on the race questions. Honestly I think if you’re multiracial you shouldn’t have to categorize as one race. Check off more than one box that specifies all your ethnicities or fill in the “other” category and say what you are. It’s terrible that society has to make you feel confused and like you have to pick one race to identify with, but you’re NOT one race. There are so many people in the US who are multiracial and there is no way to simply pick one race to identify with and ignore the fact that there is another race in your blood. Sat, 3 Apr 2010 01:56:40 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/what-about-multiracial-people__trashed/#IDComment65681672 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/nothing-about-the-census-is-easy__trashed/#IDComment65681126 I feel like not even just on race questions, but people can be offended by any question. Like the people in this report and everyone else say, you’re not going to be able to accommodate everyone. Everyone likes to be referred to as something different, there’s no way to come up with a term that will satisfy everyone. I think that by putting all the different terms that people may consider themselves, for example “black, African America, negro” under the same check box is a good way of attempting to accommodate everyone. This way if you refer to yourself as a black, or African American, etc, if the census considers them to be the same thing, you’re still checking off the box of what you are. Sat, 3 Apr 2010 01:52:34 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/nothing-about-the-census-is-easy__trashed/#IDComment65681126 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/the-white-minorities__trashed/#IDComment65679104 If and when white people become the minority group, I don’t really feel any concern or worry about it. I feel that while discrimination and race issues are still a problem today, we are working towards equality and I believe and truly hope that one day the color of your skin won’t matter to anyone about anything. I think white people as a minority will definitely be a big factor in getting towards more equality and less discrimination in the United States. Although, the statistics presented in the article do not surprise me. You always hear about teenage pregnancies and a majority of them occur within the minority races. If more minorities are giving birth to more children than white people, we are obviously going to be seeing a shift in percentages in the population of whites and minorities. This inevitable occurrence doesn’t concern me. I don’t think if minorities become the majority over whites, that it’s going to affect white people any differently. My main reason for thinking this is because when you are considering “minorities” that includes several different races… anyone who ISN’T white, so blacks, Hispanics, Asians, etc. If the shift led to ONE specific race being a majority over white people, then we might start seeing more differences in the way white people are treated. I’m not necessarily concerned about not being able to get a job or anything because of white discrimination if this is the case, but maybe this is because I AM white. Since I’m not currently in the minority I don’t have to think or worry about being discriminated for the color of my skin. I may worry about being discriminated as a woman, or for being Jewish, but I just don’t typically think of being discriminated against about anything. Similar to what Sam was saying in class, if you’re not left- handed, you don’t think about the fact that you are right handed and you don’t worry about say, what desk you need to sit in class or anything. Since I’m not a race of minority, I don’t really think about it, at least not on a personal level. When whites become a minority to the minorities today, the thought of being discriminated against for being white probably still won’t cross my mind unless I come into a situation that where I am discriminated against. I just can’t see if, say minorities make up 55% of the US population, how whites are really going to be negatively affected in any way. I’m not trying to justify the fact that whites to typically face issues of discrimination when applying for a job or anything like that, it’s just how it is and I think it’s ridiculous if there is any white person who is actually afraid of becoming the minority. Sat, 3 Apr 2010 01:37:03 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/the-white-minorities__trashed/#IDComment65679104 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/whats-the-big-deal-with-periods__trashed/#IDComment63806276 I agree for the most part. I am happy to have a menstrual cycle because that means some day I can give birth and have a family, but considering I’m not trying to get pregnant in the immediate future, having a menstrual cycle is really just a burden. I suppose it doesn’t really get in the way of anything, it’s just kind of gross and a hassle to deal with wearing tampons all day for a week—and costs money! I really see the ONLY good side to having a menstrual cycle is when giving birth. What good does having my period now do if I don’t want to have children for another 5 years or so? Wed, 24 Mar 2010 06:10:20 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/whats-the-big-deal-with-periods__trashed/#IDComment63806276 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/does-this-rudeness-thing-cut-both-ways__trashed/#IDComment63805646 That is really interesting. It’s funny because white people and people of color seemed to give the same type of responses, which means white people and people of color both see white people in the same way. It did seem like it was more of an issue when the white people said it, I assume it would be comments from people of color. It just seems like people of color take more offense when white people admit to being better off, even though people of color think it’s true too and were making the same type of comments on the screen. I don’t think when people were answering the question through texts up to the screen, that anyone was targeting people of color saying anything degrading, just simply stating the truth that white people are a majority so typically have more benefits than any minority. Wed, 24 Mar 2010 06:03:13 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/does-this-rudeness-thing-cut-both-ways__trashed/#IDComment63805646 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/if-men-could-menstruate__trashed/#IDComment63804529 Well first I want to address your question of if tampons would be free if men had menstrual cycles; obviously not. That’s like asking if anything that both men and women need will be free. We all need clothes, we all need water, we all need food… you don’t get any of that for free, so why would tampons be any different? It’s just another product that companies make and sell; it’s not like because the product is specifically for and needed by women is why it costs money to buy them. That would be ridiculous and I’m SURE someone would have sued for some form of sexism a loooong time ago. As for why men aren’t more educated about women’s menstrual cycles, I mostly agree with what dal5110 said; it mostly has to do with how we were educated about it growing up. In elementary school the girls and the guys are split up for the first talk about your body and different changes you are going to go through. Typically you only learn about what will happen to your own body and not the other sex. During middle and high school I think the menstrual cycle is lightly touched on… but health education classes seem to focus more on pregnancy and STDs and abstinence, etc. Since guys don’t learn very much about a women’s menstrual cycle, they probably feel it’s not something they need to know about since it doesn’t affect their body. Since I’m not a guy myself, most of this is just what I think, so please don’t take what I’m saying as an absolute answer. But I would say since men probably feel they don’t need to know about the menstrual cycle, it becomes something they learn to dislike or think is gross… probably because it means they can’t have sex. Bleeding down there becomes a gross thing, which, even as a woman, I think it’s gross too, but I have to deal with it. I agree that if men talked about it more, it wouldn’t be as weird, but I think they just don’t talk about it because they learn through the way they have been educated that it’s not something guys are necessarily supposed to be talking about. Personally, I don’t really have a problem with not really being able to talk to guys about my menstrual cycle, I don’t feel the need to discuss it and go in depth and into detail about it with a guy. The only thing I really have a complaint about is if a guy is trying to hook up with you, I feel like I need to come up with an excuse of why I can’t, as opposed to being able to just say “I’m on my period” because then guys tend to get into this “ew, that’s gross” kinda mood and may lose interest in doing anything later. Is that just me or do other girls feel that way too? And to guys… is it really that much of a turn off to you if a girl told you that? Wed, 24 Mar 2010 05:51:44 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/if-men-could-menstruate__trashed/#IDComment63804529 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/the-world-is-full-of-surprises__trashed/#IDComment62494928 I have to disagree with your statement that Judaism will expand. I am Jewish, and, like you said with the interracial marriages and intercultural marriages, the increase in Jewish religion has actually been close to zero in latest years. It’s a concern in the Jewish religion. I agree that I think the religion will survive, I don’t see Judaism ever going completely extinct, but I don’t think the religion is going to expand simply from this new exposure. People today are finding religion to be a less and less important factor in finding the person they love and marry for the rest of their life. There are plenty of people who have very strict families and can’t marry outside of their religion, but I think, at least in America, people aren’t finding religion to be as important as it used to be. Wed, 17 Mar 2010 01:48:49 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/the-world-is-full-of-surprises__trashed/#IDComment62494928 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/prom-or-no-prom-just-dont-let-the-queer-students-dance-together__trashed/#IDComment62492015 I think this is absolutely ridiculous. I don’t see the problem in a girl wanting to wear a tuxedo to prom… you should be able to wear whatever you want, regardless if you’re a lesbian or not. I don’t really understand why the girl would even ask permission to attend the prom together as a lesbian couple in the first place though, why not just go? It’s not like if you are a girl you need permission to attend prom with a specific boy. I also don’t see how girls dancing together will make people uncomfortable, straight girls dance together all the time, the only difference would be that these two girls dancing together are actually interested in each other sexually, but it’s not like they are going to strip down and make out all over the dance floor in front of everyone. They just want to go together and have a good time. Honestly, if I were this girl’s parent, I would sue for discrimination against gays, the reasoning for not allowing them to go together and cancelling prom all together is bogus. Wed, 17 Mar 2010 01:27:35 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/prom-or-no-prom-just-dont-let-the-queer-students-dance-together__trashed/#IDComment62492015 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/women-and-sports__trashed/#IDComment62490737 This is really interesting to me. I think it is awesome that there is now a woman coach for this high school football team. Although I am a big fan of football myself, I never thought so much of women not being very involved in the sport. I agree with what some other people have said that I don’t see the big deal in having a woman as a football coach. If she knows the sport, has played the game, she knows what she is doing and can do just as great a job as coach than any other man out there. Sam mentioned that Randolph comes off as self- depreciating, but I have to disagree. In the interview the woman from CNN constantly pointed out to Natalie Randolph that she is making history and couldn’t believe how nonchalant Randolph was about the whole situation, almost trying to force a bragging statement out of her. I don’t think Randolph’s disregard to agree and enforce those statements makes her come off as self- depreciating, I think it just shows she isn’t arrogant like a lot of rising famous people out there are. I like that Natalie Randolph isn’t so conceited and arrogant about being the first woman football coach, I respect that. I think there are a lot of people that set out to be the first of something because they want the credit and to go down in history for it. Natalie Randolph showed and explained that she has simply just loved the sport her whole life and through her love for football the pieces fell together. Just like any other coach out there, you have a love for the sport and you get there someday simply for your passion, not because you want to be the first of something. I’m sure there was some questioning at first, and Randolph even admitted some students had concern, but once they spoke about the situation it all worked out in the end. This shows Natalie Randolph is personable and is able to work with the players on her team. Randolph seems like she really respects the players on her team and that they respect her. That is probably one of the most important things. So long as the players and their coach can have a good relationship and can work together as a team, I don’t see any problem in having a female football coach. Natalie Randolph may even end up being a better coach and having a better relationship with her players because she is female; she could bring different advantages and different strategies to the team as a woman football player that men maybe haven’t thought of and use them with the team. Wed, 17 Mar 2010 01:18:34 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/women-and-sports__trashed/#IDComment62490737 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/02/why-is-this-racist-really__trashed/#IDComment59775188 I just wanted to clarify that it wasn't MY idea to only let white players in the league, this is what Moose is proposing.. Thu, 4 Mar 2010 19:02:09 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/02/why-is-this-racist-really__trashed/#IDComment59775188 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/02/why-is-this-racist-really__trashed/#IDComment59665753 I agree that Moose doesn’t believe he is promoting racism because he doesn’t think what he wants to do is racist, but this man definitely needs to get his terms straight because it is definitely a form of discrimination. Making this basketball team where the qualifications include being white born in the US with two white parents, and calling it a “niche” is far from it. Turning away black players from such a league is no different than not hiring someone at an office because they are black and only looking for white employees. “Niche,” or not, this all white league is a dumb idea and, like Dr. R. L. White, President of the Atlanta NAACP said, is a step backwards in our fight against racism. Thu, 4 Mar 2010 02:03:20 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/02/why-is-this-racist-really__trashed/#IDComment59665753 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/are-whites-the-only-people-willing-to-humiliate-themselves__trashed/#IDComment59663830 That is an interesting point. I never noticed or thought about that until now. Though, I’m not really much of a Bachelor or Bachelorette viewer, I have seen a few episodes here and there and it usually is all white or mostly white contestants. This makes me wonder though, if maybe from the pool of people that apply for these shows, the vast majority of them are white and the producers don’t have much of a diverse selection to choose from, OR do the producers specifically seek out the white applicants and put them on the show. I also don’t know that I would say this is a thing typical of the ABC network or specifically The Bachelor. There was a show I saw maybe once or twice on ABC called Dating in the Dark in which you met and talked to people in a dark room and got to know them for a few days before actually getting to physically see the person. On this particular show there were several different races represented in the episodes I saw. While this has not been the case in the seasons of The Bachelor, I definitely would not make this inference about all of the ABC network and television shows. While I don’t think this is true on the whole ABC network alone, I definitely do not think this is true across other networks. On the show America’s Next Top Model on the CW there is always a very diverse selection of girls from the pick, on MTV reality and dating shows like A Shot at Love and The Real World, I feel they make it a point to have as diverse a group of people as possible. On that note, looking at shows like A Shot at Love and The Real world, there always seems to be a lot of chaos and drama that occurs. Could the diversity on these shows be the main factor to such problems (which seems to be the reason these shows get so many viewers and publicity)? If so, maybe that is why The Bachelor stays away from having such a diverse group of participants on the show. I haven’t seen many episodes of The Bachelor, but it seems like they like to keep things calm on the show and try to avoid any drama or confrontation. If the producers of the show see diversity as the cause of those problems, then maybe that’s why they tend to have a predominately white cast. Now, I’m not saying it’s right or trying to justify the situation, just trying to see what their reasoning behind it is—which makes me wonder if they ever had a black bachelor or bachelorette if the contestants on the show would be predominately black, or if they would still have a mostly white cast. Thu, 4 Mar 2010 01:45:21 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/are-whites-the-only-people-willing-to-humiliate-themselves__trashed/#IDComment59663830 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/02/whats-with-the-theme-parties__trashed/#IDComment59662009 I agree with what a lot of people are saying. I don’t think I have ever been to a themed party that is racist towards black people. I never thought of it mostly being white people who have themed parties, but I guess I haven’t really been to a party with a majority of black people to disagree with that statement. The types of themes for parties, as others have listed, would be things like anything but a cup, highlighter party, dress up to get messed up, nothing geared toward blacks at all. Most of the themes are really just fun things to do that make you look silly and give everyone something to laugh about. Thu, 4 Mar 2010 01:27:32 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/02/whats-with-the-theme-parties__trashed/#IDComment59662009