"In this age of social-disconnection most all of us lack that simple human touch from another, the effects of the Free Hugs Campaign are now felt around the globe."

After watching the video of the free hugs campaign created by Juan Mann, I was very touched. If you are not familiar with this story, a man stood in the busiest public intersection he could find with a sign that said "FREE HUGS" on it. After fifteen minutes, a woman finally acknowledged that he was there and told Juan how her dog had just died that morning and the same morning was the one year anniversary of her only daughter dying in a car accident. All she needed now, when she felt most alone in the world, was a hug. He got down on one knee, they put their arms around each other and when they parted, she was smiling. After a while, public officials banned free hugs. Juan decided to petition and got 10,000 signatures. Now. many people around the world are giving free hugs. you can view videos of free hugs from all around the world on YouTube. After many millions of views this video was named video of the year. i was definitely touched and inspired by this video. Juan didn't care what anyone looked like, he just wanted to improve the day of a stranger. the free hugs project shows that everyone can make a difference no matter how small.

"Everyone has problems and for sure mine haven't compared. But to see someone who was once frowning, smile even for a moment, is worth it every time."

-Juan Mann

i definitely encourage everyone to watch this moving video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vr3x_RRJdd4

Society's Child

Another great song occurred to me: Society's Child

It's about a white girl who is dating a black boy. She is rebuked by various people in her community for doing what she does. At the start of the song, she is proud of her ability to be open-minded and her acceptance of people of other races. By the end of the song, she has succumbed to the pressure of society.

It raises the question, how can diversity flourish when those who embrace it are crushed by society? (Keep in mind this song was written in the sixties)

Click here for the lyrics and click here to listen to the song. I highly recommend listening to it.

Dana "Sunshine"

Food for Thought

If you had to add to the list of "Stuff White People Like", what would you add? How high would you rank it? Why?

Everyone's A Little Bit Racist

This song from the Broadway show, Avenue Q makes some interesting points that are relevant to the issue of racial diversity.

- Most people, despite how they act, hold at least some minor or major prejudices against people of other races
- It would be more effective to tackle stereotypes if they were kept in the open, rather than everybody hiding what they think to be politically correct
- Racism is not just something that white people do. Even minorities hold stereotypes about other minorities
- The character, Brian, is married to a Korean woman. When trying to prove that he is not racist, he says "how many oriental wives have you got?" Then all the other characters chastise him for using the term "oriental". Is it more important to use the right terms to avoid offending people or is it more important to actually be open minded to people of different races and cultures?

For your viewing and/or listening pleasure, here are two links. Click here to look at the lyrics. Click here to listen to the song.

Dana "Sunshine"

We are not "Spanish"....

It is a long hated thing by me and my family when people refer to us as spanish simply because of the language we speak. Not only is it a misrepersentation but also it does not allow us to claim our own identity. Personally, I am Puerto Rican. And I have never been to Spain. And besides using big words to explain all the injustices I have incurred because of this, I'd rather just say thats its really lame that we as a people are still categorizing people as we see fit and are not embracing indivuality.

First Latino president?

With all of this talk about president elect Barack Obama I feel that another name was not treated with the same spotlight as Obama. Obama was not the only non-Caucasian person running for presidency after all. Many people are quick to forget Bill Richardson who was also running for president in this political race. Yet while he was still running, the spotlight seemed obligated to look more towards Barack Obama as the first Black president than look at Bill Richardson and say hey he could be our first Latino president.

I wanted to ask you why do you think Bill Richardson was not given similar treatment as Barack Obama had. Was it because Obama seemed to have some different flare that Richardson didn't have. Or was it because that America might be ready for a black president, but not ready for the first Latino president? If that is true then when will we be ready for a Latino president if we ever are ready? Could Obama's election be the catalyst for future presidents of multiple races to win or will his election only open the option now to one more race instead of all races?

Joseph G.

Interracial Couples

I found this image on photobucket and wanted to know if you agree or disagree with the saying. Do you think that interracial dating is the only way to really stop racism?

I think it helps stop racism, but it's not the only way. I don't think the color of your skin should determine whether or not you should date somebody.

Interracial dating opens the eyes of others that people date for the personality and not the color of the skin.

Diversity In College

If colleges want what is best for the college why will they take a student who has a lower GPA and SAT's just because of their race. Someone's background should not be the judgement fro a college to chose who should be accepted. You should be accepted based on what you can produce and based on what you can accomplish. Colleges get so paranoid about the statistics based on race, religion, culture, and gender. These statistics ruin everything about college acceptance because it is not fair at all. The college develops this system so that it appears to be diverse but it is not fair. People are different in their own sense and should not be rounded up to a whole average number. what colleges do to make their college look diverse is borderline illegal; they are not allowing certain students to attend the school based on their differences. Equal Employment does not allow anyone to discriminate based on age, disability, sex, equal pay, national origin, pregnancy, religion, retaliation, and sexual harassment. Being a full time student is like a job so we should not be discriminated against. http://www.eeoc.gov/ this is where i found the rights that someone has as an employee. As a full time college student it feels like we are employed.

Diversity in Comics

In comics, the X-men are often used as a metaphor for diversity in the real world. They are mutants, and just happened to be born with a different gene. The X-men are different because of how they were born. They didn't have a choice. This is just like being a different skin tone or gender. It's not chosen by you.

In the movie X-Men: The Last Stand, they take a popular comic storyline and bring it to the movie screen. A drug is created that can suppress the gene that makes them different from everyone else. The company markets it as a "cure". Should a person be able to change things about themselves to make themselves the same as everyone else?

Something's missing...

The following paragraph is an excerpt from the book "So Yesterday" by Scott Westerfeld.
It's a book about the inner workings of consumerism, a kidnapping, and a very cool pair of shoes (among other things), as told by a Hunter, a boy who works for 'the client', a major shoe company that Hunter refuses to name outright.
In this scene, Hunter and his friend Jen have attended a focus group that is screening an unaired commercial the cient wants to release. After watching said commercial, Jen makes a complaint:

" I was kind of bugged by the missing black woman formation"
Mandy blinked. "The what?"
Jen shrugged uncomfortably, feeling the eyes on her.
"Yeah I know what you mean," I said, even though I didn't.
Jen took a slow breath collecting her thoughts.
" You know, the guy on the motorcycle was black. The guy on the bike was white. The woman was white. That's the ususal bunch, you know? Like everybody's accounted for? Except not really. I call that the missing black woman formation. It kinda happens a lot."

The other members of the screening begin to name groups in pop culture that have this sort of formation, which is many.

my questions: Is Jen on to something? Should there always be a variety of races/ethnicities represented in TV shows/movies/books/ect. ?
Are we being racist if we have more/less of one race than the other?

For anyone wanting something fun, short, and quirky to read, I think you will like this book; it is fast paced and has a witty narrator, who talks about how things in our culture become 'cool'.

Why Diversity Sucks

Why Diversity Sucks

The reason why i posted it this because its true about what he says as in the more we think about how diverse we are, the further away we get from getting passed our differences.

Black Superheroes?

There have been a lot of talk about black superheroes since the release of the movie "Hancock." The movie stars Will Smith who portrays a homeless, drunk superhero.

We have recieved quite a number of African American superheroes such as John Stewart aka The Green Lantern and Blade throughout recent memory. But none of them has reached main stream American like Hancock has. However, some believe that the portrayal of Hancock as a black superhero is demeaning. What do you think?



I, on the other hand, see this race issue as just a facade. I think the movie points out that superheroes are not always the clean shaven, sympatethic, and altruistic people that we all dream about. They can also start out in the wrong direction, but if they are true heroes then they will end up being one. Besides, it is interesting to see how someone like Hancock can end up being a superhero.

Merchant of Venice...anti-semitic?

After watching Shakespeare's, "The Merchant of Venice" in Mr. Langdon's class, we briefly discussed the anti-semitism in the play. We didn't have much time to talk about it but being Jewish, this question stayed on my mind. So what does everybody else think? Just because Shylock, the villain of the play, is Jewish does that make Shakespeare anti-semitic? Is the story just a product of the time? How do you think directors should react to the controversies of the play?



here is one website that shows how the play is anti-semitic.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/2004/dec/09/religion.film

Let me know what you think.

new food for thought

In Mrs. Deerson's class who did your group vote off the island first?? Why did you vote them first?? Who did you give the money to?? Why??

Diversity in TV

I was recently watching an episode of Scrubs and only now realized how many racist jokes were made in it. The episode's plot is Turk and JD resuscitated a cameraman on their lunch break and were local heroes. Turk was interviewed about what it was like to be a black surgeon.

I found the full episode and edited it down to just the parts dealing with diversity in the hospital and how Turks recent fame has turned into a good thing for the hospital, which he is not very happy about. The point of this is that, like in The Office, is it insulting and offensive to laugh at the jokes made or are we at a point in time where it is ok to laugh about racism. I originally found this episode funny but after re-watching it and having learned a lot on the subject, i kept thinking to myself, Is it wrong to laugh? What do you think?


The scene where a lot of posters are being put up I found hilarious as well as the scene where JD took Turk to the billboard. The most important scene, however, is the one where Turk is explaining why he is upset over recent events.

The funniest thing in this episode, in my opinion, is when Turk was on the cover of his college brochure, twice.

Stuff White People Like

Now that we're done using Christian Lander's Stuff White People Like in class, I'm curious what you think about his comments regarding the white liberal hipsters of the Northeast. Are the items listed really "true"? How much of what Lander writes is based on observation and how much is hyperbole?

new food for thought

In Mr Reck's class we were talking about Sadism, Masochism, and Indifference. Which of these do you think you are the most of the time? Why do you think that is? For some circumstances does which one you are change?

Obama and Change

After the election, we were discussing in class how monumental President-Elect Obama's achievement is and how it changes anything about racial relations.
While I celebrate with our country for taking this big step forward, I cannot help but feel that old prejudices die slowly. I was reading this article in the New York Times about how European citizens and leaders received the news about Obama's election. The writer of this article seems to be impressed by Obama's achievement, but still skeptical about the progress that is still needed.

Read the Article

Dana aka: Sunshine

Diversity Video

So here is the... DIVERSITY VIDEO!!!

everyone watch and let me know what you think...

so i had A LOT of help with this and everyone worked really hard on it...

so i decided to share it with everyone!

ENJOY!

i have one request. all you lovely people who helped me out with the Diversity Video...
please do read.

IN YOUR JOURNAL

please answer the question we all asked... "What is Diversity?"
but please RELATE IT to the filming we did.
reflect... what are you feelings about being part of the video? what do YOU feel diversity is?
describe the diversity you witnessed when filming and reflect on everything we worked on and your answer to the question. Do make it meaningful!
thank you
and thank you again
and (why not?) again!

if you have any questions let me know.
thanks,

alex

Speaking other languages

This is a shirt that I am sure many people have seen at some time or another. Sure it is a somewhat comical shirt for most of us but I am sure it offends many people. Some people come to America looking for a better life for one reason or another, not knowing how to speak English. What are they supposed to do? Are you implying that we should give everybody who wants to move into this country a literacy and English test to make sure they speak our language? Sure it is funny to make fun of other peoples languages because some of their words may sound funny to us. I am sure just about everyone has imitated a foreign accent or put together some fake-choppy Chinese sayings in front of their Asian friends. No harm, no foul but it may hurt others.
As a citizen of the United States you are entitled to many things, and why just because you can not speak English should you be denied those rights? Most people feel intimidated or self conscience when others speak in a different language near you. If you do not understand what they are saying you of course assume the worse. You assume not only are they talking about you, but they are saying negative things about you. Of course why would they do anything but talk about you? Most of the time they are not talking about you anyway. So next time you think about making fun of your waitress's accent when you go for Chinese food, think again. If the roles were reversed and you were serving her American food in China how would you feel?

Is Gay Marriage An Equal Right?

I must say that I am very disappointed in the Democratic Party and the entire left-wing for their reactions to the passage of California Proposition 8. I find it highly hypocritical of a party that preaches so strongly of a "democratic choice" and how the people's voice should be the strongest voice to come out and denounce the passage of the state Constitution. This isn't even about gay marriage, this is about the people's voice. The people of California voted for Prop 8, there should be no reason to overrule it. If I ever wanted to distance myself from the Democratic Party, this would be one of those times. The mayor of Los Angeles abandoned the fire rescue efforts to speak at a pro-gay marriage rally; at a time when over 1000 houses have already been burned down, people's lives are being destroyed, the mayor finds it more important to speak at a rally against the VOTE of the people. To me, a "slim margin" means nothing, a win is a win, a loss is a loss. In a society where the majority rules, the minority must lose. More importantly, they must accept defeat. The people of California have spoken, now let's show a little respect for that.

For a party that preaches choice, they seem to be sending the message that choice is only good when it's the "right" choice. The people of California made a choice, and they voted to ban gay marriage, why should the courts or anyone have any other say in this.

Gay marriage isn't equal rights, gay marriage is a special right. Marriage is a sacred union between one man and one woman. If you want to argue that that's too "Christian" for America, then try arguing that America isn't a nation built off of Judeo-Christian values. Separation of church and state isn't even in the Constitution of the United States, it was in a letter Thomas Jefferson wrote in 1802 so I don't even know why the Supreme Court decided it was all of a sudden important enough for the law books in 1878. 

But like I said before, this isn't about gay marriage anymore, it's about what has happened to the Democratic Party. I guess you can say they got too cocky with the election results that they are no longer honoring the voice of the people.

I feel at this time that aligning myself with Democrats puts me in line with all the rallies going on for gay marriage. I'm not here to denounce gays, I still don't have a solid view on civil unions. But for gay marriage, I believe it as completely wrong and immoral and I commend the majority of the Californian people who voted for Prop 8. This doesn't mean I'm a Republican, my problem with them is that they say they love their country, but they forget the people of their country, and that bothers me. For now I'm an independent, maybe one day I'll find myself with another party. Who knows, that doesn't really matter to me.

I know this note is going to spark a lot of anger, that's one of the consequences of living in New Jersey. This note wasn't intended to offend anyone, I was just sharing my thoughts and beliefs, and that is something I will never apologize for. And if someone has a problem with my religious and political beliefs, then understand that you're one of the reasons why I choose not to align myself with any party at this time.

I want to know how the rest of you feel about this... as diverse as America is, do you believe that allowing gay marriage is en equal right or a special right?

May the love and grace of Jesus Christ be with you all.

My View on the characters In "Crash"

So hi all, I didn't get a chance to say what I wanted in class, so I figured why not put it on the blog.

So basically, I think everyone in Crash isn't all that racist. They are only put in situations that make them seem more racist than they really are.
I'm going to go through the list of characters that were supplied on the sheet (if I can remember all of them)

Rick Cabot (Brendan Fraser)- To me he didn't seem racist at all. He just happened to have his car stolen by two African American people and he knew that the public would take that the wrong way.

Jean Cabot (Sandra Bullock)- Even though she acts racist towards Daniel Ruiz (the Locksmith) I think it's because she's stressed over just having had a gun pointed in here face. I don't think she's really racist, it's just that because it was someone from a group that where she lives is a minority that she makes the assumption that all minorities will act the same way to her.

Anthony (Ludacris)- He makes broad assumptions about how white people treat African Americans, which seem racist. But I don't think they really are because he is in a situation where he has nothing else to believe. He's not being racist out of hatred, he's being racist out of what he's seen. So I guess that brings up the question, Is being racist out of what you've experienced only, as bad as racism out of teaching?

Peter (Larenz Tate)- I don't think he's racist at all. For most of the movie he keeps telling Anothony that all the assumptions he's making are wrong. He's just put into a situation that makes it seem that at times he can be racist, but he can't do anything about it.

Officer Tommy Hanson (Ryan Phillipe)- I think that he isn't so much racist as nervous. I think that after he saw what Officer Ryan did to Christine that he's put on edge about the police. And then when he gets re-assigned to a one person car Officer Ryan tells him "you think you know who you are, but you don't". That just makes him more nervous, and he starts to think about how he his, and how other people are and how they react to things. That's why when he's in the car with Peter, he shoots him. I really think that it could have been another white person and he still would have shot them because he was just nervous about everyone.

Officer John Ryan (Matt Dillon)- I think he is slightly racist. But not as much as he seems. He just seems to be really racist because he has anger issues. He thinks that because one African American receptionist wont help him that every minority is like that. So basically he does the same thing that Jean does, only she does it with hurtful words and he does it with hurtful actions.

Cameron Thayer (Terrance Howard)-I don't think he's racist at all but once he sees his wife get mad at white people he starts getting mad at them too because he doesn't know what else to do. But then once Officer Hanson helps him he starts to realize he's wrong.

Christine Thayer (Thandie Newton)-I don't think she's racist I think she just gets annoyed at Officer Ryan and that's all. If any other cop had come to help her when she was stuck in the car it would have been fine. She was just afraid of what he would do to her in that moment.

Daniel Ruiz (Michael Pena)- I think he isn't racist as much as in tolerant. He got mad at Farhad for not understanding what he was saying and I don't think that was a racist action. He was just someone that had a rough day and wasn't able to get his point across. It could have happened to anyone.

Farhad (Shaun Toub)- Same as Daniel. He's not racist, he's intolerant. Only instead of just leaving it be, he decides to take revenge.

And those are the main characters.
So, in the words of Aragorn, "What say you?"

It's Not Easy Being Green

Okay... so i think this is kinda thought provoking. When i was younger, The Muppets was some of my favorite shows/movies. So i found this song on YouTube... it is only like a minute long so definatly check it out and let me know what you think. Any Thoughts about the song?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RIOiwg2iHio

Guess Who's Coming to Dinner

So, again completely ironically, my last Netflix movie was the original Guess Who's Coming to Dinner. There were a few really amazing scenes in it, if you've never seen it, that I thought really brought up intruiging questions about what we say vs. what we really mean. Are we still racist if we think racist thoughts, but don't act upon them or teach them to others? Do the parents have a point?

This movie was made in the late 60s, but it still includes issues that we debate today. Why haven't these racial issues been resolved in over 40 years?

I know it's kind of long, but the scenes all tie in together and if you've never seen the movie at all, it really gives you all the info you need to figure out the plot basis.

Obama's In, Racism Out?

I was online and found this video, which ironically relates to our Humanities unit. It is rather sarcastic about racism being over, but I think it raises some interesting questions about whether racism is over and if so, why? And if it is over, what has happened to all the racists?


Racism Ends Forever

Atom.com: Funny Videos | Sketch Groups | Funny Animations

Racists Come Out of Woodwork After Obama Win

According to a recent Associated Press investigation, hundreds of race-related threats and crimes have been reported in the wake of Obama's election as president. Some of these include, "Cross burnings. Schoolchildren chanting 'Assassinate Obama.' Black figures hung from nooses. Racial epithets scrawled on homes and cars." For a full list of the reported incidents and to read the article, go to:

Election spurs 'hundreds' of race threats, crimes

What's your take on these crimes, in light of conversations we've had about "othering" and the "potential for violence"?

Did American Idol Kill Paula Goodspeed?

In light of our recent conversations about Mirroring and Othering, this strange news story caught my eye.

American Idol Contestant Found Dead Near Paula Abdul's Home

Especially in the "audition" episodes of a new season, is American Idol guilty of promoting Othering as a nation?

Here's an editorial about the effects of AI on a nation.

reflecting on crash

The objective for sharing this powerful film with you was so that you can reflect on human nature and more specifically draw conclusions about your personal connections to the characters and the events.

I urge you to expand on your thoughts either through a post on this blog or through a one page journal entry. Here are some questions (which you are not limited to) to inspire your thinking.

1. REFLECT ON THE CONVERSATION BETWEEN ANTHONY AND PETER WATERS AS THEY LEAVE THE DINER.
*CAN YOU THINK IN STEREOTYPES ABOUT YOUR OWN RACE? IS THAT ACCEPTABLE? WHY? WHY NOT?

2. REFLECT ON THE DISCUSSION BETWEEN JEAN AND RICK CABOT ABOUT DANIEL RUIZ, THE LOCKSMITH, WORKING IN THEIR HOME.
*CAN YOU EMPATHIZE/SYMPATHIZE WITH JEAN CABOT'S REACTION CONSIDERING HER CIRCUMSTANCE? WHY OR WHY NOT?

3. REFLECT ON THE CONVERSATION THAT RICK CABOT HAS ABOUT THE IRAQI WHO HE ASSUMED WAS BLACK.
* IS IT RACIST IF WE CANNOT DISTINGUISH BETWEEN RACES?

4. REFLECT ON THE PHILOSOPHIES OF LUDACRIS' CHARACTER ANTHONY.
*AT WHAT POINT DO YOU AGREE WITH HIM? DISAGREE WITH HIM? WHY?

5. REFLECT ON THE INTERACTIONS BETWEEN OFFICER JOHN RYAN AND SHANIQUA JOHNSON.
*SHOULD SHE HAVE HELPED HIS DAD?
*SHOULD WE BE TOLERANT OF THOSE WHO ARE NOT TOLERANT OF US?

6. REFLECT ON TERRENCE HOWARD'S CHARACTER CAMERON THAYER.
*IN WHAT WAYS IS HE A VICTIM? WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT HIS REACTIONS? WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT HIS WIFE'S REACTION TO HIM?

7. COMPARE AND CONTRAST THE CHARACTERS OFFICER JOHN RYAN WITH OFFICER TOMMY HANSON.

* WHO IS MORE OFFENSIVE? IGNORANT? DANGEROUS? WHY? CITE SPECIFIC EXAMPLES!

8. WITH WHICH CHARACTER DO YOU IDENTIFY THE MOST? WHY? CITE SPECIFIC DETAILS!

Stuck in ma Ela-ela-vator

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p95zWsAmTyw

theres alittle strong language but i think its a pretty good faux-PSA. it shows the perspective of how it feels to be a "target of racism" when they see a reaction to stereotyping because of race

So, Racism's Over, Right?

Tuesday's dramatic win for Barack Obama has finally put an African-American in the White House. This is an historic moment for the presidency, considering that up until Barack (with the exception of Catholic John F. Kennedy) every president of the United States has been white and protestant. So, now that we have a black man in the highest position of power in our nation, this can only mean one thing: To quote Stephen Colbert to Harvard Law Professor Charles Ogletree, "Is then Racism over?"



(The question, at about the :43 second mark.)



Stephen later, discussing this historical moment, as only he can.