en-us https://www.intensedebate.com/users/765431 Comments by sna5022 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/creating-terrorists__trashed/#IDComment69029311 I think this is a really interesting point. Yes, as Americans we are over there fighting the “war on terror,” but if we are killing so many innocent bystanders, then maybe we can be considered terrorists to some extent as well. Everyone has different views about what is wrong or right, but I think everyone can agree that killing innocent civilians is not the answer to any of this. Unfortunately, this war will probably continue for a very long time, and more and more people will have to die as a result of it. Hopefully, we will be able to find a solution in the near future to prevent this war from continuing. Tue, 20 Apr 2010 17:15:01 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/creating-terrorists__trashed/#IDComment69029311 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/creating-terrorists__trashed/#IDComment69028974 I had the same reactions as you when I read this article. Being in America, I never really considered what was going on in the Middle East. Although I am aware of the situation, it obviously does not affect my everyday life. It is also interesting how the media only displays what we want to see. Like you said, we are bombarded with articles about the crazy, suicide bombers, but we never get the story about why they felt the need to do that in the first place. I cannot imagine being in a situation where an innocent loved one was killed and I was given $2000 to “replace” them. This is a crazy situation and I think our troops really need to do something to fix this. Tue, 20 Apr 2010 17:12:11 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/creating-terrorists__trashed/#IDComment69028974 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/creating-terrorists__trashed/#IDComment69027838 I thought this was a really interesting perspective on suicide bombers. I will admit that I am one of those people that looked at suicide bombers as crazy people following a religion that made them do some of these things. I never looked at it from the point of view that they were trying to avenge a death of a loved one. Personally I do not think that I would avenge the death of a loved one by killing myself and risking the lives of others. I think there are other, more proper ways to grieve. Although on the other hand, I will most likely never have to go through the same type of grievance as those who have a loved one killed from foreign troops. At least I would hope not. I think it is really terrible that there are American troops who are killing innocent civilians and then blaming it on the Taliban. The Taliban is already bad enough, they should not be blaming them for stuff that they did not even do. Because of that, it seems like it is just more acceptable for the Taliban to do that because it is expected of them. Another thing I thought of while I was reading this article was the horrible events of 9-11. There were many innocent Americans who were killed that day, yet there were not any reports of suicide bombers from families that had a loved one killed in the World Trade Centers. So then I guess my question comes back to the fact that maybe it does relate to their religion. These Americans had to suffer the same grief that Afghans are suffering when one of their loved ones is killed. I think there are proper ways to grieve, and instead of creating more war as we are currently doing, maybe we should be reaching out and helping the innocent people of Afghanistan and maybe showing them our perspectives. The article brought up an interesting point that I agree with, which is that if we continue to cause war in their country then they will continue to go about avenging the death of a loved one by these “crazy” instances of suicide bombings. I think as long as we know our country is going to be safe, then we need to begin to stop the war on terror. Maybe we should begin to face this issue using peace. Personally, I believe that this war is going on long enough so let’s stop it before more innocent lives are lost, either there or here in America. The article made another good point that this war has no real end, and that these instances of terrorism will keep getting worse until the war is finally over. Tue, 20 Apr 2010 17:06:55 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/creating-terrorists__trashed/#IDComment69027838 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/want-to-learn-chinese__trashed/#IDComment67822155 I definitely agree with you that it is a great idea to offer Chinese in schools. Similar to you, my high school offered French, German, and Spanish. I took five years of German and barely remember a thing. I remember the basics and a few common phrases but that is about it. You made a really good point about how beneficial it is to have an actual foreign teacher come into the districts to teach. Although I had a great teacher in high school, it would have been really interesting to learn from someone who knows so much about the language. The only problem then becomes, what is going to happen to the foreign language teachers that we currently have in schools? They should not lose their jobs just because we are offering more choices for languages. Tue, 13 Apr 2010 23:19:16 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/want-to-learn-chinese__trashed/#IDComment67822155 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/want-to-learn-chinese__trashed/#IDComment67821322 The foreign language program in my high school was very similar to yours. We began in 7th grade with a preview of Spanish, French, and German. Then in 8th grade, we were able to choose one of those and required to complete two years. You made an interesting point about offering Latin because my high school offered Latin as an option as well. Also Latin was kind of a new addition of our language choices, so it is interesting that they chose to add that instead of a language such as Chinese. I was also surprised by how many elementary schools are offering Spanish, I think this is a great idea and hopefully the rest of the United States will begin to do this. Tue, 13 Apr 2010 23:14:23 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/want-to-learn-chinese__trashed/#IDComment67821322 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/want-to-learn-chinese__trashed/#IDComment67820581 I thought this was really interesting because I never really considered Chinese to be an important language to learn in America. Obviously, Spanish is a highly valued second language to learn in today’s society, but I guess I do not really hear a lot of people speaking Chinese on a daily basis. After considering this, I realized how China is becoming a very important country in today’s economic market and learning the Chinese language could be very beneficial for many businesses in the United States. I also find it surprising that many school districts are getting rid of learning a foreign language all together. I disagree with this because I think students need to be exposed to languages outside of their own so they can really see what else is out there in the world. For example, I took German for five years. My school district started the foreign language program in 8th grade and I continued taking German until I graduated from high school. I have to admit that I am not at all fluent in the language, but I do still remember common phrases. When signing up for German, I was also very aware that it is not a language that is widely spoken in the United States and I considered switching into Spanish. The reason I decided to stay with German though was because my family has a large German background and I really wanted to learn about the culture, in addition to learning some of the basics of the language. I think this is really important for students to have a way to study their backgrounds through a foreign language program. I think it is a shame that some schools are getting rid of German and French because they are not as valued as Spanish or Chinese. This may be true in the business market, but it should also be a personal choice for each student. I do not think that schools should be taking language choices away, but instead adding more languages to the district, such as Chinese. If many schools will be adding the Chinese language to their curriculum, I think it is really important to begin a foreign language program in elementary school. Many districts, such as my own, do not begin teaching languages until high school. As studies show us, we are not as capable of becoming fluent in another language as we get older. They may be able to get away with this with languages such as German because English is largely based on the Germanic influences, but Chinese uses a completely different system. To me it would be extremely difficult to attempt to pick up on this language in high school, but I definitely think it would be a beneficial language to learn if schools can get the resources to start teaching in elementary school. Tue, 13 Apr 2010 23:10:03 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/want-to-learn-chinese__trashed/#IDComment67820581 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/this-is-totally-off-the-hook__trashed/#IDComment66123590 I agree that this is extremely disturbing. It is definitely the case that people will think violence and rape are acceptable if they play these kind of games as children. You brought up a really good question about how many people actually enjoy playing this game. I would like to know the answer to that question as well. As you said, people should cringe when they hear about these type of crimes, not trying to reenact them in a video game and then potentially in real life. This is a very real problem for many women who have been victims of violent sexual acts, and the Japan government should definitely be making a statement to get these games off the market. Mon, 5 Apr 2010 23:41:41 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/this-is-totally-off-the-hook__trashed/#IDComment66123590 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/this-is-totally-off-the-hook__trashed/#IDComment66123093 I completely agree with you about how unacceptable this is. It is bad enough that there are so many video games promoting violence in today’s society, but this takes violence to a whole new level. Like you said, it is scary to think about how video games are basically teaching people how to rape, especially because we need to already be so careful about things like walking alone at night. If young generations are growing up playing these games, sex crimes are going to become an even larger issue. I also agree that the government needs to step up and say something about these games because they are no longer contained in their country. Due to the Internet, anyone can see them at any time, and that makes this a very scary situation. Mon, 5 Apr 2010 23:37:20 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/this-is-totally-off-the-hook__trashed/#IDComment66123093 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/this-is-totally-off-the-hook__trashed/#IDComment66122584 I was completely shocked after watching the CNN video describing the video game. It is bad enough how many video games are out there today promoting violence, but to make a game promoting rape is absolutely unbelievable. I cannot imagine any parents who would actually allow their child to play this game. I was raised in a family where I was taught that I should be respected as a woman. This game is just downright disrespectful to the female population. These are very real crimes that many women need to be aware of on a daily basis. Even as a student at Penn State, I am more aware that I should not walk home by myself at night, while most men do not think twice about walking by themselves. Although this may seem unfair that men do not need to think as much about their own safety, it is a very real problem in today’s society. Considering that most people who play video games tend to be males, this is a huge problem. If children grow up playing video games in which they have to rape to win the game, they are going to grow up thinking that it is acceptable. This is going to put more and more women in danger. We should not have to go around worrying about our safety in the first place, but it becomes even worse when there are video games promoting sexual crimes against women. I was also completely surprised that the woman from England said she was not offended at all when she watched the video game. I can understand what the couple is saying about how not every child is going to become a rapist just by playing the game. Just like not everyone who plays violent video games grows up to kill another human being, but studies have shown that these type of games do increase violent behavior as children grow older. If there are studies out there supporting that type of information, how do companies still produce video games that promote violent crimes. I was also very surprised that the government in Japan does not want to make any statement about the games. Only one government official made the statement that they are aware these games are a problem, but even that person did not want to reveal their name. I do not understand why they would not be trying to make more of a statement, especially because this is getting out to the rest of the world. Media is really no longer contained in one country due to internet access, and now everyone can have access to the game. They need to make some kind of statement that they do not condone crimes against women, or else the rest of the world is going to see Japan as promoting sex crimes. Mon, 5 Apr 2010 23:32:47 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/this-is-totally-off-the-hook__trashed/#IDComment66122584 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/flip-the-script-for-a-moment__trashed/#IDComment64685295 It is definitely interesting to think about how different things were back before the Civil Rights movement. I do not really understand why people in that era did not feel the need to question each other because you are right, if we do not question others then we will never learn anything else about the world around us. I think too many people are too comfortable staying in their own little worlds and not really thinking about other races and cultures across the world from them. I agree that race relations has come as far as it has so far simply because we began to question one another. I think we still have a long way to go but it will definitely keep improving if we are still willing to learn. Mon, 29 Mar 2010 18:16:14 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/flip-the-script-for-a-moment__trashed/#IDComment64685295 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/flip-the-script-for-a-moment__trashed/#IDComment64684664 I think you related this to the post in a really interesting way. I definitely agree that the majority of people sit back and let the government do whatever they want. It is interesting that it takes 20-25 years for us to realize that this is actually happening. I think a major reason for this is because there are so many people who go to college at this age, and it is much easier to discover who you are and what you believe in when you are away from home and your family. I am not saying that I do not agree with my family’s views, but I found that it was easier to discover my own points of view and really grow up in the last three years that I have been away from home. Mon, 29 Mar 2010 18:11:10 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/flip-the-script-for-a-moment__trashed/#IDComment64684664 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/flip-the-script-for-a-moment__trashed/#IDComment64683774 I think this is a really interesting comparison of the 28 day cycle to racism issues that were not discussed for many years. I feel that many of these issues are not discussed because most people do not know how to relate to them. For example, white people are not necessarily in a place to talk about the experiences of black and brown people who were forced to sit in the back of the bus and use separate water fountains. As a white person, I can understand why this issue is not always openly discussed. I think it simply comes down to the fact that I would not know what to say about it. Although on the other hand, as a woman, I do not mind if men ask me questions about my 28 day cycle. For the most part, many men are completely uncomfortable talking about it or even hearing it discussed by other females who are in the same room as them. They become completely grossed out and do not want to be part of the discussion. I do not understand why this is as, like Sam said, it is a normal part of life. Without women going through these monthly changes, there would never be any babies. So instead of getting completely grossed out by it, many men should be asking questions to learn more about our bodies. As I said before, I have had male friends who were interested in how our cycles worked. Not that they were being gross or weird, they were purely interested because it is not something that they can relate to. As long as a man is not asking me questions just to be obnoxious or critical, I do not mind answering questions about my personal experience with periods. I think this relates to a really good point that we need to ask questions to learn. There are so many things today that we are unfamiliar with, yet we do not tend to ask questions in order to become more familiar with them. Instead, we kind of just accept that we do not understand something and go on with our daily lives. I think it is interesting that children are constantly asking “why?” They want to know what everything is and what everything does and why certain things happen. Their curiosity is what makes them learn in today’s world, yet somewhere along the way we stop asking “why.” This is something that I am not really sure why it happens. At some point, maybe we do not want to appear incompetent anymore. We want to make it appear that we know everything about the things around us and we do not have to ask questions. In reality, that is never the case. No one knows everything and I think it is important for us to keep asking “why” in order to expand our knowledge. Mon, 29 Mar 2010 18:04:25 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/flip-the-script-for-a-moment__trashed/#IDComment64683774 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/native-hawaiians-ever-think-of-them__trashed/#IDComment64084052 I think you made a really interesting point about whether or not Hawaii had even wanted to become part of the United States. This was also an issue that I was completely unaware of before reading this article. As you said, I think it is great that President Obama is taking action to help the Native Hawaiians have a better life, but why wasn’t something done before this? Hawaii is a part of the United States, yet somehow it seems that no one wants to take an initiative and help them in their own time of need. Or at least give them some recognition, like so many other native groups receive. I thought that was a really interesting point as well. Thu, 25 Mar 2010 19:41:08 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/native-hawaiians-ever-think-of-them__trashed/#IDComment64084052 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/native-hawaiians-ever-think-of-them__trashed/#IDComment64083503 I agree with what you said about being shocked after reading this. Like you, I had no idea that these kind of issues existed in Hawaii. I would love to take a vacation there myself, but I wish I would have been more aware of these issues. I think this is something that we should have learned about in grade school because Hawaii is a part of the United States and I do not understand how we can’t address that in our schools. I had no idea that native people of Hawaii had such a hard time and were still facing more issues of homelessness than many other cultures. Thu, 25 Mar 2010 19:37:01 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/native-hawaiians-ever-think-of-them__trashed/#IDComment64083503 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/native-hawaiians-ever-think-of-them__trashed/#IDComment64082907 I was completely shocked when I read this article. I think it is so strange that we do not learn any history about Hawaii when they are a part of our own nation. Considering that this is a place that I would love to visit some day, I was very disappointed that I really do not know much about the history. I did not even realize that I did not know anything about the state until I read this article. Also, I would like to know who this guy named Dole is and why he made so many decisions about Native Hawaiians fate, and why his policies are still in place today. There have been a lot of decisions made over the past hundreds of years, and many of these decisions have been overturned. For example, every time we have a new President, they are free to change laws so my question is: why didn’t anyone ever change the policies to help those people who are Native Hawaiians? I was also very surprised to read that they are the only remaining indigenous group who does not have its own government. This was unbelievable to me as I feel that any group of people should be able to establish its own government, especially as members of the United States. This was even more surprising to me because Alaskan Natives have been allowed to establish their own government, and in a way, I feel that these two states should be more related than many others. This is something that definitely needs to happen in the near future and I think it is great that President Obama was born in Hawaii so hopefully he will be more inclined to help them out. I feel that no other President has had such a personal connection to Hawaii, which is a shame because the President should be equally willing to help out any and every state in America. I also was not aware that Native Hawaiians are more likely to be homeless than many other races. I do not think that any culture should be more prone to be thrown in jail or to not receive an education, and frankly, these people have not done anything to receive that type of treatment. I do not understand why there are even opponents to this idea. One person in the article stated that it is not the government’s responsibility to make up for past wrongs. Well if the government does not do anything about it, then who will? Obviously these people of Hawaii have been dug into a hole and really do not have much control over their own destinies. In my opinion, the government should be doing everything they can to help the cultures who do not have as much privilege. Thu, 25 Mar 2010 19:32:39 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/native-hawaiians-ever-think-of-them__trashed/#IDComment64082907 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/prom-or-no-prom-just-dont-let-the-queer-students-dance-together__trashed/#IDComment62475605 You made a really good point about how this is a public school and that it is really scary that they are cancelling prom, considering it is not a religious institution as well. Students should get used to seeing people who are different than them and learning to accept those people because that is what the real world is all about. I also like how you said those parents and teachers who actually care should organize something. This is a very good point because then all the students who are against the cancellation of the original prom (whether they are gay or not) could go to the second prom to show their support for McMillen. Tue, 16 Mar 2010 23:23:39 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/prom-or-no-prom-just-dont-let-the-queer-students-dance-together__trashed/#IDComment62475605 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/prom-or-no-prom-just-dont-let-the-queer-students-dance-together__trashed/#IDComment62475034 I completely agree with you that the school was way out of line in this situation. It is definitely the school’s job to educate students on the differences of others and teach them how to accept people who are different than them. Prom is a great experience that many high school students look forward to and it should not be taken away from them. It is an innate characteristic and these students cannot control their sexual orientation so it is extremely unfair to deny them the opportunity to attend their own high school prom and celebrate their hard work throughout the years. Tue, 16 Mar 2010 23:19:22 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/prom-or-no-prom-just-dont-let-the-queer-students-dance-together__trashed/#IDComment62475034 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/prom-or-no-prom-just-dont-let-the-queer-students-dance-together__trashed/#IDComment62470657 I thought this was very surprising that a school in today’s society would cancel a high school prom just because a same-sex couple wanted to attend together. Prom is an event that many high school students look forward to and it is a privilege of being an upper classman. It is not fair to take that away from anyone, regardless of his or her sexual orientation. It is also not fair to take that away from all the students based on the school’s personal belief. Also, we should be teaching today’s youth to accept people who share different beliefs than the “norm.” By cancelling a prom because a same-sex couple wishes to go together shows students that it is acceptable to discriminate against people who go against normal society standards. I remember in high school, I went to my senior prom and there was a same-sex couple that attended. Not only that, but one of the girls decided to wear a tux, just like Ms. McMillen was planning on doing. I thought this was very interesting because I grew up in Pennsylvania. Stereotypically, the south is less accepting of different people, including minorities and people with different sexual orientations. Given that this is taking place in Mississippi, I was a little less surprised than if it had been in a northern state. Even so, this is the 21st century and the United States is supposed to be accepting of all people, regardless of the choices they make. I think that it is great that the American Civil Liberties Union is backing the case because it shows what America really stands for and that is to provide equal rights for everyone. I was also shocked that the high school reserved the right to ask the couple to leave if they made anyone else uncomfortable. This is unfair to say or to do because there are many heterosexual couples who feel the need to publicly display their affection for one another, and this makes many other people uncomfortable. But for whatever reason, the heterosexual couple and their PDA is acceptable, while two girls attending prom together is unacceptable. Also, many high school students go to their proms without dates at all. They decide to attend with a group of friends, most likely the same sex as them. What is to say that a group of girls going to prom together is okay but two girls going together as dates is not okay. There could even be a group of girls going together who are all same-sex couples but no one would question this as it would appear to be just a group of friends. I remember my high school prom, which was a great experience, and I would not want to take that opportunity away from anyone. Tue, 16 Mar 2010 22:45:45 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/prom-or-no-prom-just-dont-let-the-queer-students-dance-together__trashed/#IDComment62470657 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/are-whites-the-only-people-willing-to-humiliate-themselves__trashed/#IDComment59599576 This is an interesting point because I think that other races apply for reality television shows, but the shows that they apply for may just be different. For example, the reality shows on MTV and VH1 tend to focus more on people of color than white people. I think because this show is aired on ABC, it tends to focus more on white individuals because maybe that is what America is used to seeing as the most “beautiful race.” It is also interesting that you said many of these shows have a token black or Asian. I never really thought about this and also do not know if it is intentional or not. Overall, I think the networks need to do a better job of including more races. Wed, 3 Mar 2010 18:53:37 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/are-whites-the-only-people-willing-to-humiliate-themselves__trashed/#IDComment59599576 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/are-whites-the-only-people-willing-to-humiliate-themselves__trashed/#IDComment59599178 I agree with you about how the white race is seen as the most beautiful race, for whatever reason that may be. When I originally responded to this post, I made the comment about how the majority of magazine covers have a white woman on them, and we do not think anything of it. Due to the nature of this television show, I feel like people would be surprised if it were more diverse, yet I agree that it would also probably attract more viewers to it. You made an interesting point about how it would become more of an issue of focusing on one person of your same race as being most beautiful. With the current way that the Bachelor is being run, race is obviously not an issue at all, and the Bachelor or Bachelorette can focus on whatever qualities that they want in their future companion. Wed, 3 Mar 2010 18:50:28 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/are-whites-the-only-people-willing-to-humiliate-themselves__trashed/#IDComment59599178