Sorry but I was sitting right next to this girl in class and as I listened to her comments, she really did make sense. You just saw her actions but did you actually hear her, listen to her before you made a rash judgment about her? I’m not saying this because she is my friend but because we have actual discussions on topics like this from time to time. Do I agree with her all of the time? No. But that doesn’t mean that she doesn’t make valid points and that she is uninformed on various topics. Just because she is very animated about her opinion doesn’t mean that she is ignorant. In fact, it just means that she CARES. Would it be better for someone with an opinion to sit back and just stare at Sam and be silent? No. So she spoke up and that’s all there is to it.

Now about your comment, when I read it, yes it makes sense in a way and that is your opinion but if you go back and look, and I mean really LOOK at your own words, you DO sound close-minded. Go ahead and call me a hippie, a liberal, an idealist, what have you. Still, “just politics” is not that simple. If it were, this wouldn’t be an issue. I understand that not everyone in Mexico has the best healthcare or the most money but since when did they carry diseases that we don’t already have in the U.S? How would people be forced into the streets? “We can't care about everyone.” Really? Then why is it that the American people are so ready to help others overseas who’ve experienced the tragedy of natural disasters? Honestly, you make it sound like they are the dirge of the earth or something, less than the scum on your boot. Remember that they are still PEOPLE, people who want a better life for themselves and their kids. Don’t get me wrong, I understand that having no border control would a serious hazard but I have a feeling that this “we” you’re talking about really just boils down to “you.”
If you don’t care, that’ fine but instead of looking at things from such a cut and dry Marxist perspective, trying looking at the humanitarian side and see the desperation that many of the illegal immigrants have to get away from such dangerous conditions. Not all of them are part of the drug cartels, not all of them seek to bring disease to the U.S, plummet the economy, and turn us into a third world country. They come for a better life just like the millions of immigrants before them.

Your comment sounds like a bunch of loaded rhetoric to me, a comment that’s simply based in fear.

When I left class on Thursday, I didn’t really know how I felt. At several points I totally understood what Sam was saying. If a group of people who lived halfway around the world, who I’ve never met before—if their government just came over and said, “Hey, we want your oil. We have a right to your oil. We’re going to take it regardless of what you, as the people who live here, say. And we will kill you if you refuse us.” Yes, I would be pissed. I would be beyond pissed. I kept thinking, “Who the hell do you think you are to come in a take what doesn’t even belong to you? And now you’re dropping bombs on my country and killing the people I know and love, destroying everything that grew up with, all the places that hold a serious sentimental value with me. I won’t stand for it!”

That’s what I was thinking when I put myself in their shoes. Yet when Sam asked who would join the insurgency, who would fight the invaders, I couldn’t bring myself to raise my hand. Even when the question was put up anonymously, I still couldn’t say that I would fight. I kept thinking of how absolutely terrified I would be of all of that death and destruction and chaos. Just thinking about it sent a chill down my spine.

When I was back in my American Penn State shoes, I still felt pissed. Not because of what the oil companies and the government are doing is wrong. Not because no one was doing anything to stop it. It was because I personally felt that my religion was being attacked, like this lecture was putting down and denouncing every moral belief that I was raised on. I know it wasn’t meant to and I know that the lecture said nothing about the Christianity being bad in any way, shape, or form. But that’s how I felt.

No I’m not the best Christian in the world and I don’t know the Bible inside out, word for word. Yes, our religion does teach us to go out and spread the word of God but Sam kept stressing the fact that this war was about oil, and it is. Still, I felt as though the Christianity part was totally irrelevant. Yes, former President George W. Bush said that this was a crusade, but he’s… a different kind of person. I don’t necessarily think he or his speechwriters took into account the actual definition of the word. All of it was a bunch a rhetoric used make him sound smarter and make him sound as if he was actually getting stuff done.

This war is political and economical. The fact that our leaders are Christian, I really don’t think that matters.

When I left class on Thursday, I didn’t really know how I felt. At several points I totally understood what Sam was saying. If a group of people who lived halfway around the world, who I’ve never met before—if their government just came over and said, “Hey, we want your oil. We have a right to your oil. We’re going to take it regardless of what you, as the people who live here, say. And we will kill you if you refuse us.” Yes, I would be pissed. I would be beyond pissed. I kept thinking, “Who the hell do you think you are to come in a take what doesn’t even belong to you? And now you’re dropping bombs on my country and killing the people I know and love, destroying everything that grew up with, all the places that hold a serious sentimental value with me. I won’t stand for it!”

That’s what I was thinking when I put myself in their shoes. Yet when Sam asked who would join the insurgency, who would fight the invaders, I couldn’t bring myself to raise my hand. Even when the question was put up anonymously, I still couldn’t say that I would fight. I kept thinking of how absolutely terrified I would be of all of that death and destruction and chaos. Just thinking about it sent a chill down my spine.

When I was back in my American Penn State shoes, I still felt pissed. Not because of what the oil companies and the government are doing is wrong. Not because no one was doing anything to stop it. It was because I personally felt that my religion was being attacked, like this lecture was putting down and denouncing every moral belief that I was raised on. I know it wasn’t meant to and I know that the lecture said nothing about the Christianity being bad in any way, shape, or form. But that’s how I felt.

No I’m not the best Christian in the world and I don’t know the Bible inside out, word for word. Yes, our religion does teach us to go out and spread the word of God but Sam kept stressing the fact that this war was about oil, and it is. Still, I felt as though the Christianity part was totally irrelevant. Yes, former President George W. Bush said that this was a crusade, but he’s… a different kind of person. I don’t necessarily think he or his speechwriters took into account the actual definition of the word. All of it was a bunch a rhetoric used make him sound smarter and make him sound as if he was actually getting stuff done.

This war is political and economical. The fact that our leaders are Christian, I really don’t think that matters.

By the title of this video, I was thing that there was going to be some seriously hateful things coming out of this guy’s mouth. I was waiting for a couple dozen F-bombs to be dropped and perhaps a poorly placed N-word here and there. I thought this guy would spout his ideas supported purely by the flimsy, baseless passion of his own personal hate. That’s what I was expecting. What I got was some random dude who looked more bored with what he was saying than anything else. Nothing he said was new, inspired, or even remotely offensive. Believe it or not, I was a bit disappointed. If you’re going to speak on a topic, at least be passionate about it. Maybe it was his delivery, his mannerisms, or the fact that he was reading from sheets of paper, but he seemed to just be spouting off a whole bunch of rhetoric that he’s read from some really obscure political website.

Then again, maybe he really did believe it. With that in mind, then he’s just speaking his opinion. He has the right just like every other American. It’s not like he was taking about killing all of the illegal immigrants that enter into the U.S. there wasn’t anything extreme in his views at all. Now does that mean I agree with him? No. Back in high school I used to get into this same argument all the time with a friend of mine. He stood on basically the same side as the gentleman in the video. I did not. I suppose I was more lenient. Either way, our conversation would quickly sour. But my disapproval doesn’t mean that there’s anything inherently wrong, racist, bigoted, or even patriotic in what he says.
He just sounds paranoid to me.

Protecting the boarders of our country is important. I know it is. If we didn’t all hell could possible break lose in ways that I couldn’t even imagine. Still, performing the task in such a way as he describes it, it makes me think of how North Korea treats its illegal immigrants. Granted NK’s pretty extreme in most of its policies. I’m just saying that such a high crack down on illegal immigration makes me feel as though we may be stepping in that direction. Sure having people enter the country by ways of illegal methods poses quite a security issue to the citizens here. But I feel that there could be more to this vehement idea of shutting out the illegals. I kind of feel that some of it does stem from paranoia. This game of “keep out the foreigners” seems to be wrapped up in the “America, F—k yeah!” mentality that many of us seem to have. We want to keep America the way it is and anything different is a threat.

But then again, I could be wrong.

I say you should identify with whatever racial group that you feel the most comfortable with. If a person is half Hispanic and half white, but they see themselves as Hispanic, then that’s what they are I suppose. People do it all the time, really. Even if the person does look mostly white, it doesn’t matter. It’s all about what they prefer to be and the culture they identify the most with. Still, there is more to this issue that I find really interesting. It seems as if multiracial people have this issue pretty regularly. Many of my friends are multiracial and they talked about it all the time as we were growing up in high school. But I just have to ask, why is it that the multiracial children have to choose a group at all? It seems to me that that decision is a little unfair to them and put them in a very troubling identity crisis. Though I know life IS unfair in general, for the sake of this class, let’s look at this issue this way. Black people have a group, Brown people have a group, and White people have a group. So many different cultures and beliefs are lumped in together into three groups according to skin color. That in itself seems inherently wrong to me; it just doesn’t seem sound. That said, when it comes to the people of several different racial groups, shouldn’t they be given a group of their own? Lumping them into whatever group they APPEAR to be due to their skin color is almost like adhering to a really weird, almost inversed version of the “One Drop rule, If you look mostly like race X, then that is what you are. Deal with it.” Sure, I know everyone makes snap judgments on how people look and this lumping into the three main groups is practically inevitable in this world but I just don’t think a child from a multiracial background should be forced to choose. I guess my point is that there should be a racial group for multiracial people. Making them choose on a regular basis seems to me like they’re being forced to deny an equally acceptable part of themselves. If they had their own group maybe they wouldn’t have to worry about what they are considered. I’m not saying that this would be an easy thing for our social world as human beings to do. All I’m saying is that if a person of mixed blood took it upon themselves to create their own group, maybe they wouldn’t feel so torn between choosing which group their supposed to belong to. Perhaps they would be able to feel more comfortable with their plethora of traits.

During class, this video was incredibly hard to watch simply because I could relate so much. It's something that none really talks about in childhood but it’s a serious issue, I think. It’s hard to feel attractive in a country where you’re subtly told that what you look like is bad ugly or evil.
Do I have “dark” skin? No. Am I considered “high yellow”? No. This affects all of us one way or another, like Sam said. On practically every billboard that has a “beautiful” woman or man on it, they’re always white. Or very fair to the point you would have to look at the very hard to see they are of a non-white lineage. It’s INCREDIBLY rare to see a dark skinned model. This topic is something that my sister brings up all the time because she is the darkest girl in my family and she feels the effects the most. Especially when we go shopping for makeup. The shadows for her complexion are never there, nor are they available for me either. This seems to be a constant reminder to we people of color aren’t wanted, aren’t beautiful. The darkest we’re “allowed” be is tan. Anything darker is less than beautiful.
When I was younger I didn’t have a problem with my skin. It was my hair I always struggling with. Course dark un-shiny hair—I didn’t see that on TV as a child nor did I see it in movies. I hardly ever did. That’s probably why I got my first relaxer at the age of 7 or 8 and I have one ever since. I’m 19 now and I hardly remember why my natural hair looks like, feels like. There have been several instances where I’ve just wanted to shave my hair and grow it back natural, get in touch with what it’s really supposed to feel like. But for some reason, I’m just too scared.
The point is I understand what the kinds in the video felt like. From a very young age we’re told that we don’t meet the qualifications for beauty. We can’t be gorgeous or handsome because we are dark or have the “wrong” type of hair or “weird” body shapes
And it’s gotten to the point where we need to look to ourselves for the support that we need. This task is really hard because when you’re already feeling bad about yourself, how can you see the beauty ? I don’t know if any of this makes any sort of sense but trying to feel beautiful as a person of color in this country… you’ll have to basically ignore every single piece of media that you encounter. Or you just have to say “EFF IT” and be yourself.

I think this is a really interesting question. Changing the history books could be a really good idea and I will always think this should be done. The history of America is too multifaceted to just focus on the parts so many texts concentrate on. Still, no matter how much of a wonderful idea this may be, I don’t think that including all of this would exactly help rid whites of the guilt they feel. I’m not saying that it couldn’t, I just think it would make it harder. If anything I really think it has a higher potential of increasing the guilt simply because it will expose (if not highlight) the strife that many black and brown people had to go through during the earlier years of this country of ours.

This is not to say that only oppression would be put into the new books but having such a narrow view on American history just falls into the “Out of sight, out of mind” mentality which emphasizes the feelings of guilt. If everyone knew more about the strife and tribulations so many minorities had been subjected to in the past, it makes the “King of the Hill” game being played so much easier to spot. I really think it may even make white people feel even worse. I know I would feel terrible. Still I think there’s a good chance that several things could happen. Either all of the issues would be swept under the rug to make the majority look good (which really doesn’t help anything), the generations coming up after us would be inspired to end all of the hate, OR there could be a race riot.

Anything’s possible.

Still, maybe if the history books were changed maybe it could help the feelings of guilt. I could be the catalyst for the need of improvement in American race relations and it could also bring many people beyond the pre-awakening stage at a very young age. What I can speculate is that minorities would probably feel more like Americans because they are being represented as important, they aren’t being shut out.
I just think that the history of America should begin with an extensive covering of as much Native American history as possible. Not enough Americans today (myself included) know as much about their culture and history as I think they should. It would great for the younger generations to learn more than just about the traditions of Thanksgiving and the sadness of the Trail of Tears. There’s more to their people than just that.

From there it would only make sense to go in chronological order. The texts should spend time on the pilgrims, the revolutionary war, slavery, the industrial war and so on. No matter what our skin color is, all of these factors came together to shape our rather eclectic culture as Americans. All of it matters. And the only way to get past guilt is to face the ugly truth and fix things in the future.

This same topic is something my old high school debated for years. We had what was called a Grand March that was a big event. What happens is that the city blocks off the street in front of the school so all of the couples can walk down and show off their dresses and suits. The only problem is that lesbian and gay couples were always banned from this prom-time fashion show. My friends and I always complained since we knew a few LGB couples but they were never barred from the actual prom. They just couldn’t “walk.” As long as the outfits weren’t too revealing there weren’t any other problems the faculty raised (that rule went for everyone). If a girl wanted to wear a suit, then she could. If a guy wanted to wear a dress, he could.

Still doesn’t make the exclusion right. No matter how hard our administration tried to justify the rule, it never made sense. Ever.

Now to hear that the administration at this school actually cancelled the entire event is out of line and completely ridiculous. The administration tries to justify their actions by saying that prom was basically a distraction “to the educational process”? That’s a bunch of bull. If they said the same thing about a football game (or even the whole season), how many people would protest? Too many to count, I bet. Besides, prom is an extra-curricular activity. It has no effect on a student’s “educational process” unless they’re going to have a trig lesson during the dance. All these justifications just don’t make sense, no matter how I try to spin this issue.

I don’t care where the school’s located. If the school is located in the United States then everyone should have the privilege to go to prom, no matter what their sexual preference is. Both girls are American students and have the same rights as everyone else. And this “separate but equal” dance idea, who thought that was a good suggestion? It’s no better than the days of segregation, honestly. I think this just demonstrates how much work America really needs in learning how to live up it its nickname “The Melting Pot.” All these issue of separation and seeking out differences only to exclude them, it’s got to stop.

But that’s not to say I don’t think this problems won’t be solved within our generation or the next. With the world becoming more connected via technology, I have a large feeling that its possible to get the message of acceptance to more people and we’ll be able to see all that we share. Of course not everyone is going to go along with it as easily as most of us would prefer. I still think as our generation matures and we start leading the world with our progressive morals intact, incidents like this will become fewer and father between.

I agree with both people in both videos that “It’s not my place” is a really negligent way of thinking when it comes to helping someone that’s being harassed or is just in need. Even though we’ve been taught by the older generations that we shouldn’t interfere doesn’t mean it’s right. We all need to look out for each other as human beings and if people step up to the plate, just imagine how much can change in a generation or two. We have to get rid of this trend of keeping to ourselves when we’re in a crowd and someone needs help. It’s called the diffusion of responsibility and it’s part of the reason why I feel discrimination still exists. If people just stand around while a Muslim woman is being discriminated against, that means they would stand around if ANYONE was being discriminated against. I know I couldn’t stand for it and I don’t know how anyone ignores someone who needs help.

Stuff like this makes me really angry simply because I have defended someone who was, not being discriminated against, but someone who was bullied. Why? Because I was there to stop it. Not because I knew him, not because I felt sorry for him, but because I was there and he needed help. What more reason does a person need to do the right thing? He was in my middle school and he was being picked on by his “friends” every single class and it always got out of hand so I always stepped in without fail.

Here’s another example: THON. THON happens every year because thousands of us PSU students know that it is a good thing to do, raising over 7 million dollars for children with cancer. We know they need help and therefore we act. But just Imagine if all of the dancers, the supporters, everyone who’s remotely involved in the event had this “it’s not my place” attitude? How many kids would be sent home still sick with cancer because they couldn’t afford treatment? How many parents would have lost their little ones because there was no way to help them in their fight?

The same goes for helping someone who’s being discriminated against. Why would you just let it happen if you know that you can really help someone and end their torment? Just because it’s about race and not kids doesn’t make it any less important.
And to be completely frank, many people claim to be a good person, but if you choose to do NOTHING while someone is being berated and put down and discriminated against simply for being themselves… then I don’t know how good of a person you really are.

Like so many people have said here so far, it all has to do with our society and the socialization of boys. Our country (if not world) runs on a very patriarchal system and therefore being gay seems to “go against” the idea of men being men, of men holding the most power. Ever since boys are born they are taught to like tough things—hunting, fishing, sports, and the like. And they are “supposed” to like women because in that relationship they are able to be the masculine one, have the power and the final say. However, when a guy is in a same-sex relationship, it almost seems like he’s letting his power go for a more passive role which is “unnatural”. Being with a man could almost seem to be a challenge to the world’s idea of “there can only be one.” One king, one heir, one man. Kind of like a lion’s pride, I guess.

As for more acceptability of lesbian couples, I don’t really know. Part of me wants to say that it has to do with a sort of male fantasy but that just makes me think that there’s a deeper reason behind that fantasy. It must have started somewhere. Where, though, I have no idea.