gnomeplayground:

theknittinganarchist:

I’ve been reading the blogs by Amiee’s class and here are my two cents:

I’m definitely a racist or prejudice person; I realized that I was last night when I went to pick up my father at the hospital (he had taken an elderly friend to be admitted).  I stopped at a gas station on the corner and my dad got out of the car and as I waited a women scared me terribly when she knocked on my window.  She had greasy stringy hair and she was slurring her words and shaking.   She asked if I would give her a ride and I told her to use one of the gas stations on the corner to get help.  I ended up calling her sister on speaker phone and her sister sounded extremely annoyed and said she would send someone for help.  As we drove home my dad told me she had been at the hospital earlier and security had escorted her out.  Then my dad said how the emergency room had been horrible and insane and he said, “It must have been white trash night,” as he described the verbal, physical, and emotional abuse and dysfunction he witnessed in the emergency room.  At the time I just thought about the disgusting behavior of the people he described.  Looking back I realize that referring to the people as white trash is racist and undignified and I realize that even though I never viewed my dad or myself as racist I make judgments about people all the time.

There are many things I see related to race and I judge those behaviors based on those stereotypes: young hispanic and black women having babies outside of marriage with different men, hispanic & black men dressed like gangsters, white men in wife beaters, Mexican’s with zero dollars in their pockets but new rims on their fancy trucks… and I’m sure I could think of many more things that make me judgmental.  I believe my saving grace is that I almost always temper my disgust with sadness and my judgment with compassion.  I know young girls most likely don’t plan to end up pregnant without a husband raising their children in poverty and I know that most young men do not really think of joining gangs.  I know that I was raised with love and support and the encouragement to go to college and pursue a career and better myself and my community.  There are many people who are raised in abusive and neglectful environments, who because of not being given the support they needed are stuck in low paying jobs and therefore are put in situations that are compromising and degrading.  There are many people who don’t even realize that not joining a gang is even an option.  I remember one of my students a few years ago told me that he was an adult before he realized that not everyone carried a gun around everywhere.  Because his entire family was involved in gang activity since he was born he was indoctrinated in that sort of thinking.  I also believe that many people are not taught how to use money wisely.  In many cultures it is more important to spend whatever you have to impress other people instead of thinking about saving and investing.  I know most people have seen a shiny new luxury or sport vehicle parked outside of a shack.  Many young people especially spend their money on worthless “things” instead of thinking about saving for future goals.

My point is that there are attitudes and behaviors that can make any race or group of people appear undignified, uneducated, and unsophisticated. I think that probably everyone shows racism when we pass judgment based on such stereotypes.  So I wonder: when is it someone’s responsibility to help themselves out of their circumstances and when is it my responsibility to give them a hand?

 I think every boby stereotype other people that are different from us.  Some times you are right in your judgements I think everybody needs to think of their position in society and their responsibility in this world and think before you act

gnomeplayground:

jp420:

stem cell research is a scientific breakthrough. after reading a few articles, i think that i support stem cell research. Through this kind of research it might be posssible to eliminate many hereditary diseases, heart problems., and blindness. There will also be alot of cures for things that are thus far uncurable.

 Stem cell research is very exciting.  I think they may even be able to come up with treatments for autism.  Since my oldest son is autistic, I am hopeful.  However, opponents to stem cell research say it is not justified to destroy life in order to make our lives better.  What rights should frozen embryos have?

 I think they should go ahead with all the work that has been done with stem cell research I think they will find many good uses for this research in the future

gnomeplayground:

jp420:

stem cell research is a scientific breakthrough. after reading a few articles, i think that i support stem cell research. Through this kind of research it might be posssible to eliminate many hereditary diseases, heart problems., and blindness. There will also be alot of cures for things that are thus far uncurable.

 Stem cell research is very exciting.  I think they may even be able to come up with treatments for autism.  Since my oldest son is autistic, I am hopeful.  However, opponents to stem cell research say it is not justified to destroy life in order to make our lives better.  What rights should frozen embryos have?

 I think they should go ahead with stem cell research because there are to many things they can do with the results they may find

gnomeplayground:

schenck:

A person in this country who might be considered part of the working poor can honestly say their civil rights are being denied. People of this cross section are disporportionaly concentrated in poor residental areas characterized by sub-standard housing conditions, limited employment opportunities, inadequate health facilities, under resourced schools, mistreatment in the courts and high exposure to crime and violence. These little guys are the ones we will not here from about suffering from this economic crisis. The spotlight goes to the bigwig banks and the big three car makers. According to the World Bank there will be 53 million more of them due to this econimic collapse. Irene Khan, Amnesty International Secretary General, states “Ignoring one crisis to focus on another is a recipe for aggravating both. Economic recovery will be neither sustainable or equitable if governments fail to tackle human rights abuses that drive and deepen poverty or armed conflicts that generate new violations.” Dr. Martin Luther King, had he not been assassinated, I beleive would have taken up this poverty aspect of civil rights. Through peaceful means he would have brought this into the light. It is time the government turned some focus on this part of society. These people just want some help out from uner the ticking time bomb that has become every day existence for millions. Not just “trickle down” recovery but recovery that helps all people should be applied. Recovery that would address problems that lead to and keep people in poverty. That must mean addressing the underlying human rights issues that create and exacerbate human rights violations.

 I agree with you Sherrie.  There are too many jobs in this country that do not pay a living wage.  There are too many people living in this country that are one paycheck away from being homeless.  Poverty is a condition that is very difficult change.  There are too many people who are currently not living in poverty that believe the working poor just needs to work harder.  We need to, as a nation, address economic justice.  But, where do we start? 

 I think we have to start with the peole we vote into office.  We need to follow the money it seems no matter what problem we try to confront in this country comes down to money.  So I think we should trace back any issue and find the money thats where change will start

gnomeplayground:

jp420:

stem cell research is a scientific breakthrough. after reading a few articles, i think that i support stem cell research. Through this kind of research it might be posssible to eliminate many hereditary diseases, heart problems., and blindness. There will also be alot of cures for things that are thus far uncurable.

 Stem cell research is very exciting.  I think they may even be able to come up with treatments for autism.  Since my oldest son is autistic, I am hopeful.  However, opponents to stem cell research say it is not justified to destroy life in order to make our lives better.  What rights should frozen embryos have?

 I agree with you I think stem cell research should be done there are so many things they could learn from this and I think many people could benefit from what they could lear.

mrpataor:

dmcortez:

Racism is wrong! People making jokes about blacks may be funny as hell, but why keep putting down someone that has been stepped on all their lives? I don’t know why people judge the color of others skin when in the end we all get judged by our actions. The black race has been tormented since the beginning, and they were seen as slaves not someone one would show respect to. Blacks have been starved, raped, and beat! They didn’t suffer through all these tortures to be treated like crap! Their ancestors went through all this in hopes of getting equal rights as the rest of the race in America. The black race has had so many different people stand up for them Such as Martin Luther King, Rosa Parks, and Malcolm X. The black race has done a lot to get respect and I feel they should have the respect that they and their ancestors have worked so hard for. We should treat everyone equal not because of their color or looks but because of their actions. A person’s action says so much about them if they are willing to take risks or if they are more laid back, if they respect others or they don’t show any respect. People should show respect to those who have been called names and have been treated differently because of their racial background.  

 very nice i agree

 Black people also deserve the credit for helping many other problems of race in this contry, they have done most of the early leg work for all other people who have had problems with discrimation. 

A person in this country who might be considered part of the working poor can honestly say their civil rights are being denied. People of this cross section are disporportionaly concentrated in poor residental areas characterized by sub-standard housing conditions, limited employment opportunities, inadequate health facilities, under resourced schools, mistreatment in the courts and high exposure to crime and violence. These little guys are the ones we will not here from about suffering from this economic crisis. The spotlight goes to the bigwig banks and the big three car makers. According to the World Bank there will be 53 million more of them due to this econimic collapse. Irene Khan, Amnesty International Secretary General, states “Ignoring one crisis to focus on another is a recipe for aggravating both. Economic recovery will be neither sustainable or equitable if governments fail to tackle human rights abuses that drive and deepen poverty or armed conflicts that generate new violations.” Dr. Martin Luther King, had he not been assassinated, I beleive would have taken up this poverty aspect of civil rights. Through peaceful means he would have brought this into the light. It is time the government turned some focus on this part of society. These people just want some help out from uner the ticking time bomb that has become every day existence for millions. Not just “trickle down” recovery but recovery that helps all people should be applied. Recovery that would address problems that lead to and keep people in poverty. That must mean addressing the underlying human rights issues that create and exacerbate human rights violations.