4th Skype exchange

Hello everybody!
Today Alex, Artem and I discussed on politics and discrimination in US and Italy. There was Elena, a peer of us, as well. Comparing the two societies is important to understand an aspect of cultural background. Even though Arti is Ukrainian he has been clear enough to let us understand how things are in the US. As for discrimination in Italy, we told Arti that eastern Europeans are considered very dangerous people, more than other immigrants. However there are other forms of discrimination in our country, as well. Southern Italians are considered lazy, artful, thieves and so on. They are obviously considered to be all involved with mafia. Strange, but the same things are said about many Southern Americans. Arti told us discriminations are against people from the South who receive money from the governmental social aid. These people are blacks, and Hispanics. The points to support the discriminatory thesis is that because some people receives social help they don’t care about finding a work and make a position. Since the 1970s, people from the South are more discriminatory while in the North people are more open-minded about foreign cultures. In cities like NY the melting pot makes residents more tolerant. However Arti added that many people don’t feel comfortable to talk about discrimination. Somehow people feel guilty for what happened to immigrants or other social groups discriminated and badly treated in the past. In the college where Arti studies, there is no discrimination at all.
As far as politics are concerned, women are more integrated, and, even though there is, like Arti called it, a patriarchal discrimination, they are getting up there.
Due to some questions Sarah asked us to post on Interculture wiki, I somehow forced Arti to answer to the following: “I read in Obama's program that he wants to ensure 'every citizen to vote'. Actually, to whom this achievement would benefit?” I didn’t understand the purpose of this aim in Obama’s electoral program. Arti told me that the point refers to those citizens who are not well informed on politics and politicians, and don’t find themselves in the true position to vote autonomously. Thus Obama’s purpose is to enlarge the ways through which information can be spread, and grow the interest people can have in politics. This should bring everybody to be proud, wishing and willing to cast their vote in the elections.

We’ll work on death penalty and the difference of such issue in America and Italy. About that, I made some question may be useful for develop our wiki. I'll post them here because there is no appropriate wiki page yet. We might focus on:

• Historical differences US/IT: Had DP been applied in Italy in the past? When and why did it stop? When has DP been introduced in America? (link to technical aspects: see below) How and in which states does DP work currently? (link to moral issue: see below) Why hasn't DP, as a form of extreme sanction, been removed from American penal code?
• Technical aspects in US: In which ways DP is applied (gas, injection, electric chair)? For which crimes is DP applied? Are there any states which do not apply DP? If so, why
• Technical aspects in IT: Which sanctions are applied in IT for the same crimes punished with DP in US?
• Moral differences US/IT: Would it be possible for Italy to introduce DP in its penal system? (if so/no) Why? Are there any social groups in America who are against DP? Which is the dominant -public- opinion about DP in US? As a form of extreme sanction towards a person, doesn’t DP represent an abuse of central power against a human being? On the contrary, can the jail really solve the problem of criminality in IT? Can life sentence represent an effective alternative to DP? Can life sentence prevent people from committing penal crimes such as homicide?

See you on Mon! Have a great week-end!