Dare To Ask Talk And News About Our Differences 
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- I've always thought it was strange as well. African-American makes it sound like blacks are recent immigrants who are somewhat less than 'real' Americans. I know that I would be offended to be called a 'European-American'. I am American and have no ties to any other continent or country.
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Name : H., Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Gay, Race : white Southerner, Religion : Methodist, Age : 25, City : Washington, State : DC Country : United States, Occupation : statistician, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Upper middle class,Most people are taught to fear and dislike difference. People tend to believe their own ways and their own 'people' are somehow better than others. The solution to this is to work towards making people respect and celebrate difference. No religion is inferior to any other, unless it teaches its followers to judge others. The only religions that should be criticized are those that play to ignorance and bigotry against people due their race, religion, sexual orientation, sex, etc. We gradually need to achieve a society where all families, groups, and individuals are treated equally.User Detail :
Name : H., Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Gay, Race : white Southerner, Religion : Methodist, Age : 25, City : Washington, State : DC Country : United States, Occupation : statistician, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Upper middle class,When Americans think of Canada (which is rare) we tend to think of bad weather, a small, homogeneous population, a boring history, and a culture lacking in distinctiveness and vitality. We also assume that Canadians are just like us and that Canada is essentially the 51st state. While this view is partly true, it does not tell the whole story. Quebec provides an element of ethnic and linguistic diversity to the nation, as does recent Asian and other immigration. Canada also sees itself as more of a salad bowl of mixed groups than an American melting pot of people assimilating into a new culture. Perhaps most notably, Canada's culture and legal system are much more advanced and civilized in terms of civil liberties, human rights, and morality. Witness the progress towards legal recognition of same-sex marriages and other families and the ease with which openly gay service members and boy scouts are accepted and integrated. America is much more abusive towards our minorities and, despite our individualist rhetoric, we do not always support freedom and equality. We could learn a lot about improving our quality of life from Canada.User Detail :
Name : H., Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Gay, Race : white Southerner, Religion : Methodist, Age : 25, City : Washington, State : DC Country : United States, Occupation : statistician, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Upper middle class,The British settlement of the South from 1607 - 1700 was overwhelmingly English, particularly from the southeast and north of England to Virginia and the Carolinas. After 1700 huge numbers of Scotch-Irish, Scottish, and Irish Protestants arrived in Piedmont Virginia and North Carolina (and later Tennessee) and their descendants are found throughout the South. Many Welsh settled in South Carolina as well during the 1700s. Other major European sources of white Southern ancestry were Germany, France, Spain, Ireland, Holland, and others.User Detail :
Name : H., Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Gay, Race : white Southerner, Religion : Methodist, Age : 25, City : Washington, State : DC Country : United States, Occupation : statistician, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Upper middle class,Actually, Britain now allows openly gay Britons to serve in its military (as required by the basic human rights codes of the European Union). Turkey and America are the only remaining NATO members that still discriminate based on sexual orientation.User Detail :
Name : H., Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Gay, Race : white Southerner, Religion : Methodist, Age : 25, City : Washington, State : DC Country : United States, Occupation : statistician, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Upper middle class,Though Kansas is not culturally Southern, many of the early settlers of the state were white and black Southerners and a large percentage of Kansans are descended from Southerners. As you may recall, most settlers to Kansas passed through Missouri which was a slave state and a Border State (with both Northern and Southern characteristics). The Kansas-Nebraska Act stated that the residents of Kansas and other new western territories could decide for themselves whether to make the state a free or slave state. So, both Southerners (sometimes including slaves) and abolitionist Yankees settled the state and battled each other for territory, leading to the designation "Bloody Kansas" in the 1850's.User Detail :
Name : H., Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Gay, Race : white Southerner, Religion : Methodist, Age : 25, City : Washington, State : DC Country : United States, Occupation : statistician, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Upper middle class,People's religious beliefs tend to inevitably influence their views on politics and public policy. Most Americans are Christian and tend to elect those who at least espouse some Christian faith. However, I think most Americans revere religious freedom and the separation of church and state. Religious affiliation should not and will not remain a precursor for any public office. Keep in mind, Zac, that the most vocal groups currently claiming to be Christian are groups that actually go against the essential Christian tenets of love for and generosity toward all people and the requirement to refrain from judging others. These groups, the so-called religious right, use the holy name of Christ to justify their extremely un-Christian agendas and prejudices (e.g. sexism, racism, homophobia). As a native of the Florida Panhandle, I can definitely empathize if you are discouraged by the lack of open political diversity in our overwhelmingly conservative, Christian region.User Detail :
Name : H., Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Gay, Race : white Southerner, Religion : Methodist, Age : 25, City : Washington, State : DC Country : United States, Occupation : statistician, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Upper middle class,Here's the address of a web page I made for a demography project on North Carolina last year: http://www.georgetown.edu/users/stackhoh/demography/test.htmIt includes some basic information and a number of good links to demographic and other information on the state. North Carolina is a beautiful state and, needless to say, much more diverse in almost all ways than relatively homogeneous New England. The site includes some information on the nativity, race, regional culture, and ethnicity of North Carolina's residents.
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Name : H., Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Gay, Race : white Southerner, Religion : Methodist, Age : 25, City : Washington, State : DC Country : United States, Occupation : statistician, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Upper middle class,While I can't imagine anyone being rude enough to 'sexually proposition' someone they don't know while they're with someone else, I definite have the problem of women almost constantly flirting with and hitting on me, both when I'm with my boyfriend and when I'm alone. When someone (male or female - the gender doesn't matter) hits on your boyfriend (or you or anyone who isn't interested in the person flirting w/them)should just say, 'I'm flattered but I'm dating someone and I'm not interested.' As for your reaction, your jealousy should be unnecessary if you trust your boyfriend (And even if you don't trust him, if he's exclusively heterosexual, you should only worry about women).User Detail :
Name : H., Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Gay, Race : white Southerner, Religion : Methodist, Age : 25, City : Washington, State : DC Country : United States, Occupation : statistician, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Upper middle class,Whether you're talking about 'legal marriage' (an arrangement conferring certain financial privileges based on a short ceremony that usually does not last a lifetime) or 'actual' marriage (being monogamously committed to, in love with, cohabiting with, and mutually dependent on another individual), marriage is not for everyone. Many people are happier staying single or having multiple intimate relationships in their lifetimes. Absolutely, no couple or individual should have a kid unless they can provide their child with the emotional, financial, and other resources to make him or her have a great life. While the majority of people probably are meant for the bond of finding, commiting to, and living with a soulmate, having children should only happen after strong consideration. Legal marriage in our society is virtually totally meaningless in our society since many millions of people who are actually married are classified as unmarried partners and millions of couples that are legally married really aren't committed to each other. Only in relatively rare circumstances should an individual raise a child without a partner.User Detail :
Name : H., Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Gay, Race : white Southerner, Religion : Methodist, Age : 25, City : Washington, State : DC Country : United States, Occupation : statistician, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Upper middle class,Actually, the vast majority of AIDS cases worldwide are the result of transmission via heterosexual sex. And yes, AIDS is more widespread than most epidemics and is currently a pandemic (global epidemic). As for the promiscuity issue, single straight people (and an extremely high percentage of married straight men) tend to sleep around quite a lot. Many straight men will sleep with any woman who will say yes, or will rape those they can force. However, there are monogamous (and celibate) straight people, just as there are countless monogamous and celibate gays. At my church there are actually more monogamous gay couples than single gay men. More and more gay teens are coming out while they're still virgins. This is clearly a positive development because straight, gay and bi adolescents should all be informed about the responsibility and risk of having sex before rashly becoming sexually active.User Detail :
Name : H., Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Gay, Race : white Southerner, Religion : Methodist, Age : 25, City : Washington, State : DC Country : United States, Occupation : statistician, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Upper middle class,Thirty-five years ago, individuals and political groups were terrified that if interracial marriage (which became legal in 1967 - though earlier in some states) were allowed, society would crumble. Marriage by definition was between two people of the same race, and the perversity of violating this tradition was decried by the majority in many states. These arguments, like those against legal recognition of gay marriage (and the word 'marriage' is not important, but the dozens of financial and other legal benefits conferred by the ceremony are) were invalid and based on a fear of change and blind trust in comfortable tradition. No couple of consenting single adults should be prevented from marrying because of race, ethnicity, religion or sex. By the way, though I believe the minimum age for marriage should be 18 - it should be a decision that isn't made hastily by someone just starting life - marriage is legal for minors. Just this year a 13-year-old girl married a man in his mid-30s in Maryland. It made the papers and horrified most observers, but it was legal (the girl's parents consented).User Detail :
Name : H., Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Gay, Race : white Southerner, Religion : Methodist, Age : 25, City : Washington, State : DC Country : United States, Occupation : statistician, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Upper middle class,There are some gay men who don't engage in intercourse at all and some who only penetrate; however, as a previous respondent said, this is often due to fear. They would enjoy it if they tried it. It should be noted that straight men can enjoy (and have phenomenal orgasms - either in conjunction with or independent of penile stimulation) stimulation of the anus, rectum and prostate. Women can use their fingers and tongues to stimulate their male lovers. Many straight men (and gay men, for that matter) miss out on this incredible form of sex, which in some ways is an even more direct route to the center of physical male sexuality than stimulation of the penis. Gay men do have the advantage of being able to have an incredibly wide variety of sex, but so do straights.User Detail :
Name : H., Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Gay, Race : white Southerner, Religion : Methodist, Age : 25, City : Washington, State : DC Country : United States, Occupation : statistician, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Upper middle class,Despite our many problems, America still offers far more socioeconomic opportunity and political freedom than anywhere in the developing (third) world. Our economy is also stronger than most other parts of the developed world (look at the high unemployment in much of the European union) and we are far more welcoming to immigrants than places like Japan, Germany, etc. There's also the American ideal that our ancestors have followed for four centuries - fleeing oppression for opportunity and throwing off the shackles of the Old World. Admittedly, the current rate of immigration seems too high to sustain for long and may reduce the quality of life here if it continues.User Detail :
Name : H., Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Gay, Race : white Southerner, Religion : Methodist, Age : 25, City : Washington, State : DC Country : United States, Occupation : statistician, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Upper middle class,Race is a social construct that only has meaning based on individual perceptions. Historically (in America but not in Latin America, South Africa and many other multiracial regions) anyone with one black ancestor was supposed to be considered black. The majority of Americans have ancestors of multiple races. After the 2000 Census, for the first time, the federal government and other data collecters, disseminaters and users will have a new racial standard. There will be six single races: White, black, Asian, Indian, Islander and some other race. However, respondents will also be able to select multiple races for the first time (meaning there will be a total of about 63 racial categories possible). By the way, Hispanic (like Anglo, Francophone or Slavic) is not a race but an ethno-linguistic group (ethnicity). Hispanic technically means simply "Spanish-speaking." Some Hispanics are white (most Argentines and Spaniards), some are black (most Dominicans and Cubans), some are Indians (most Bolivians and Guatemalans), many are mestizo (mixed white and Indian and including most Mexicans) and some are Asian (including the president of Peru).User Detail :
Name : H., Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Gay, Race : white Southerner, Religion : Methodist, Age : 25, City : Washington, State : DC Country : United States, Occupation : statistician, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Upper middle class,
