Yes I think there is a fine line but most of us will be considered "racist" in the end. Being a citizen of the United States, it is hard not to feel somewhat superior to others. I will admit that, yes, I do think I am better than some people. It is hard not to when we are the richest, most powerful country in the world. With the resources available to us and our laws, of course we are better off than some people. It is not my fault that I am better off than other people in other nations. I can feel like I am better off without parading around and making others feel inferior. There are people better than me and there are people worse than me, it is just how you portray it.

I think these feelings are natural. Osama Bin Laden gave a horrible name to Muslims. I think that it is a problem in our society that we associate one person’s wrong doings with a whole country. I will admit that after the events on 9/11 that I associated most Muslims with the terrible events that happened to the people in this country. Our society sets it up for us to think that way. Of course not all Muslims have the same ideals as he did, most do not. But when the news only reports the bad side, that is all we see and it is easy for us to feel hatred. It is the same in their country how most of what they see on the news is radicals, while most of us in the United States are not.

This was my favorite class of the year so far. It completely opened my mind to the Muslim world and our relations with them. I will admit that before class, I was all about Americans and our presence in Iraq. After 9/11, it was hard for me to look at a Muslim and not feel some kind of hatred for what “their people” did to this country. I was not educated and felt this way because of American pride and biased opinions. I realize now that I can have pride, but I need to be educated and I need to be open minded when dealing with these issues. This class completely blew my mind as to how I could be so one sided without knowing the other side and where they were coming from. Sam made me realize that this war is two sided and I now understand why people could be so “crazy” to want to kill themselves for their country in retaliation against another. As for my opinions about war, I think we should have bombed them in search of missiles and Osama Bin Laden. However, after we did not find any weapons of mass destruction, I think we should have got out. It is not our place to invade foreign land and tell them how to run their country. When Sam had us pretend to be in their shoes, I felt mad at Americans for invading Iraq, “my country”. They were taking my oil for their own benefit. How is that fair? As a hypothetical citizen of Iraq, I was mad. I can now see where this hatred comes from. When Sam told us about the Chinese coming into America and taking Pennsylvania’s coal, I was very mad. That was not fair and how could I not feel some kind of hatred towards them, they were coming into my country and taking my resources for their benefit. If I was an American back then, I would have to say I would fight back. Fast forward to present day, putting myself in their shoes, I think the Muslims have every right to fight back. Of course being an American citizen I would not want them to, but that would be hypocritical. How can I sit here being a United States citizen and get mad at the people of Iraq when I would have been mad in the same situation against the Chinese years ago. I think that in order to co-exist, we need to remove military from Iraq. That would be my first step. There is no need to put our soldiers in danger anymore. I think this would ease tensions between the countries. This would only be the first step of many. In the future, we might be able to co-exist, but for now, no I don’t think we can.

I support affirmative action, for those who deserve it. Just because you are black doesnt mean you deserve it. That is outrageous. There are plenty of people, black, hispanic, indian, chinese, white who need it. If you deserve it, you will probably get it. It is there for people who dont have an equal opportunity, and just because you are black doesnt mean you dont always have an equal opportunity. Yes, being white does give someone an advantage sometimes, but not all the time. Being black does not automatically mean you are considered inferior to white people or any other race for that matter. And how do you know that white boy was rich? I just want to point out that you go to Penn State, an expensive school.

First of all, why does it matter if they have a better life in the afterlife? They are suffering now. They are being tortured and killed every day. Yeah, maybe they will have a better after life, but maybe not. Who knows? They might have just a shitty after life. If I was being tortured right now, I would not be praying to God for a better after life, I would be praying to him for a better current life. And how can you say they have an inner peace? First of all, you or I don’t know that they do so that statement is a little bold. And how can you even think they have an inner peace?! They are being destroyed physically and mentally. They will be scared forever with the memory of what happened to them, if their situation even gets better. That does not sound like inner peace to me.

I agree with you when you say that after watching the video, I didnt feel right about eating it and I felt guilty, but what was I going to do, not eat it? Well yes, I didnt have to eat it but not eating it would mean that I would be giving up chocolate for good which just is not going to happen. With all the products that have chocolate in them, its very hard for me to realistically say that i was going to give this up. I love food too much and although i am not a chocoholic, i do eat and enjoy chocolate. Like you said, it is not realistic to try and bring down the chocolate industry. It is bigger than any of us could ever imagine. Sam just wanted us to think. I think looking for fairtrade chocolate from now on is the best solution.

Mar 19

I agree with you that we need to educate ourselves and learn more about the companies where we buy products from. When Sam mentioned Walmart, I had no idea why most of their items were so cheap. I just thought since they are a superstore and buying in bulk, they get the products cheaper because Walmart is a huge business. I cannot honestly say that I will stop shopping at Walmart because in reality, it is cheaper than a lot of other places and I would like to save money. By saying this, I in no way support modern slavery or want to increase it. When I shop from now on, I will be more mindful about the products I buy and will look into it, because that is a simple and easy way to become educated, a critical step to help stopping slavery.

Mar 19

I think the play in class was interesting. It gave a different perspective on how society’s views are flipped and flat chested is more appealing. I know plenty of girls who have big boobs and would die to switch places with someone with smaller ones. The girls with small boobs want to have bigger ones. I think it is an unfortunate never ending cycle that will always be around to some extent. Humans are inclined to be competitive with each other and I don’t think that will ever change. Yes being a woman is much more about appearance, but appearance is the first thing people see and judge on.

Mar 12

I do think that men have to conform to society, just in different ways than females do. For females, I think it is a competition between other females. We always want to dress better and look better than our friends so we stand out more. To some extent, I think women are influenced by the media, but as someone mentioned in class, I don’t really consider Hollywood "real people." Being a female, I don’t exactly know the male side but from what I have seen, men in general are compared to the "norm", not necessarily to each other. I think it is more about masculinity than anything else.

Mar 12

I think this is a very interesting topic. I have thought about this before and honestly, it does worry me a little bit. I cant actually explain why, but it just does. I have always known subconsciously that I was in the majority, but being in this class has really made me aware. I never really heard the “colored” side expressed in such ways and views and it is enlightening. At the same time, I have gotten used to being in the majority and honestly, I like it. I no problem with other races it will just be something different, and I don’t always like change.

Feb 26