300,000 people dead are a lot of people. We cannot imagine the how vast of a number this is until we see it. A number is a number, but a picture says a thousand words. Imagine losing your mother, or father, or sister, or brother. Now imagine that 300,000 times over! The mourning is unbelievable. So what can we do?
The events of Haiti are horrible and unforgettable. It is one of those events that goes down in history and is remembered. Unfortunately we do not know what to do next. These people need help, but by helping them we help ourselves more (according to Sam). I don’t necessarily agree with this. By giving them resources like clean water and clothing we help them get started, even if this means increasing the U.S. economy. What is a few bottles of toothpaste or some shirts we already had lying around? The people of Haiti will not be lazy afterwards and assume they will get things for free. I mean it is their country and I doubt they will sit around in the rubble. Taking time off from our lives will not change the effects of Haiti. If it is your family, that is one thing. But there is no need for the entire U.S.A. to take a day off and help Haiti. So what do we do instead? We go on with our lives. There are already enough people helping out that more would make it impossible to get the job done. Yes we should still send people down to give others a break.
One student said that putting money in a bag or jar is pointless because you don’t know where it’s going. Well, Penn State Students, let’s look at Thon. We put dollars and quarters into our cans every year to an organization we trust. The same happens with Haiti. We put our money there in hopes that it will go to the right place.
We care as Americans about these problems, but not all of us can help out. So it seems from the outside that we do not care. It is judgmental to think that we do not care because we are not devoting every day to it. It is great to remember and keep these people in our thoughts and prayers, but stopping what we are doing seems unnecessary. So what do these 300,000 people mean to me? They mean opportunity. All of Haiti is starting on a clean slate. Unfortunately they are even far worse off than they already were. I am glad to give money for resources. I am thankful this did not happen to me or affect my family directly. Keep these people in our minds, thoughts, and prayers. Be Thankful for today.

I am sorry to hear this about your husband. Americans happen to blame Muslims for 9/11 but the best way to cure this is to educate ourselves that not all Muslims are bad. Every group of people and religions have their radical advocates. Unfortunately Osama took this too far and now the Muslim people are paying for it. As human being we are all the same. We hurt, we feel. Unfortunately we tend to categorize people based on their religions and cultures, etc. We give stereotypes to these people based on what we know about them and experience. The best we can do is educate others.

You are not a racist, first of all. This is the exact idea of ethnocentrism; the idea that you are better than another. However, this issue has nothing to do with race. You are better off not because you are white, but because you are an American. You do not live in a developing world. You have not been affected by something so dramatic that you will constantly be crawling out of a hole or jumping hurdles. You were born more privileged than another and the fact that you are white, and they are black, is purely coincidence. Be thankful that you have the opportunity to help yourself and others.

Today’s lecture was one of the most interesting one’s I have had yet at Penn State. It was absolutely necessary that he put us in the perspective of the Muslim people. As Americans we tend to see the war from only one viewpoint. I am not saying this is wrong at all because most countries do this. What I am saying is that sometimes we need to analyze the information outside the box.
From the Arab viewpoint, we are invading their land and taking their oil, which should really be regulated better. Anyways, if this were occurring here, we would be pissed. However, we are also not a country in which our government is corrupt and our people are starving. We are a wealthy nation and if someone could take over us, well then props to them for accomplishing it. What really needs to be said though, is if this a Christian issue or an American issue.
From an Arab perspective, it would seem like this is a crusade. I mean, George Bush did call it that. When most of the people in charge are Christians, it would be safe to assume that it is a Christian-Muslim issue. However, most of the people in power in the Arab world are Muslim. Maybe this isn’t a religious issue at all. Maybe this is solely about oil and power. Maybe the West is bad.
My biggest issue with this is that it is not okay to bomb cities like London or direct planes into the World Trade Center. Not all Americans are bad. In fact, many of us do not know what the Middle East is really like. We may kill their civilians, but this is to keep bad guys from using big guns to hurt their own people and us. It is very hypocritical to ask for pity and yet do the same to other people, and sometimes their own. Besides, why hurt Americans when George Bush managed to do it on his own and destroy the economy. Good job. Clearly we don’t have the smartest leaders either.
Now let’s talk true perspectives now. Sam made an amazing point of asking if we would join the insurgence. Most of the class raised their hands. I did not. Personally I would be mad but not enough to become violent. I do not know if this is my nature or my ethics. Yes something should be said, but violence does not get us anywhere. Even protests cause damage. When was the last time the world saw a peaceful protest? Ghandi? MLK? We have this mindset that peace does not work. This is not just an American idea either. This is a concept developed over most of the world. What we need is understanding of this issue.

Being a woman can cause so much controversy when it comes to rights and laws. For example, I believe it is not allowed for a woman to be in the infantry division of the U.S. Army on the war front. Women are seen as another minority group whether they are black or white, European or African, big or small. Women are viewed as inferior in most religions and throughout history have been outnumbered in politics and power. Women tend to be seen as more nurturing and are “supposed to hold jobs centered more on this belief” such as nurses, day care givers, cooks, etc.

Can we coexist? I don’t know. I think it is very optimistic to think so. I think our cultures are so different and that coexisting would risk changing one or the other or both. Personally I would hope that some day we could live together in peace, but sometimes war is the answer. I understand why the Arab people are angry, but now that we have placed ourselves in this problem, acting like it is over would be insulting. We should try and understand each other, but understanding is difficult when money (aka oil) is at stake. In the end money, or the opportunity for advancement is really the dividing factor.

Okay great question. I have been wondering this for most of the semester. The other day I walked out of class for the first time because I simply could not stand feeling like I was always going to be a bad person. I am not a big fan of Sam or this class. I spoke to a friend the other day and said I would most likely not recommend this class again. I came into this class with high hopes. I had heard it was one of the greatest classes at Penn State. I hoped to hear a lot of debate and controversy. I expected far more in class discussions. What I got instead were lectures with hardly and real facts. I had heard from people who took the class before that LGBT was by far the greatest lecture of the class. Instead I was disappointed that no real controversy was brought up besides inequality. I had hoped to hear the opinion of more LGBT students. I expected great debate.

Sam is a great professor. He is very comfortable in front of an audience. He is comfortable with himself. However, I find him to be a huge hypocrite. I feel like he says so many things that he does not have a solid stance on issues.

A few classes have really taken me by surprise. The one class where he disclosed that he would gladly be bisexual and after his wife be gay, shocked me. Sam does not realize how strong he comes off at first. If you do not know him, you would dismiss him. I agree that sexuality is not an issue now after taking the class, but at first I was very shocked. After a few times of telling us about his rendezvous with drugs, I found them funny, but at first I found him highly unprofessional. Also, he should note to never talk about menstruation without first notifying the class. I was more disgusted than pleased that it was brought up, and I’m female!

So, what have I taken from this class and will I apply it? Well, I have learned that inequality exists all over the world, and just because injustice is not happening hear, does not mean it is not happening somewhere we support. I have learned that Native Americans are still treated unfairly. My opinions are far more free choice; that we make life what we want it. I do not feel White guilt about Native Americans. I do feel more aware about race issues and take more offence to injustices. White people do hate being called racists. I believe issues need to be talked about more and we need to really discuss how we are feeling about these issues instead of seeing where history takes us.

Is this kid serious? Stop buying clothes? It seems like a complex way of just saying, “Yo, get naked!” Instead of not buying clothes, we should be increasing awareness about this slavery and take action. Maybe wearing a t-shirt that says “End slavery” would be a better idea. Because we are Americans, we rarely see slavery, so it is not in our face that it does exist. We think slavery is a thing of the past, but we need to confront it. We need to support more American businesses that make clothing as to decrease our dependence on cheap labor overseas. I mean, cheap labor is the whole reason we send our clothing overseas anyways. If more people are willing to spend just a little bit more, American companies could later lower prices.

This question is really great. As I sat in class I wondered how many students ate the 2nd piece. I did eat the second piece of chocolate and, while I felt ashamed at first, realized that it was okay to eat it. It was okay because the chocolate was already produced. Maybe Sam bought the chocolate from the Free Labor market. He ate the second piece in front of us with ease. The chocolate had already been produced and shipped, and so I was not directly supporting it by purchasing it myself. Why are we yelling at Nestle and Hershey instead of the slave owners? We need more knowledge on the topic to truly end it.

So here we are again at the race table and everyone is intimidated. It is interesting to see what people think of the new census. It is great that we are finally differentiating between race and ethnicity, however I think people are way to uptight about the terms. If some people identify as a “negro” then we should include this rather than leave it blank. I think throughout the interviews that people were forgetting that this term was included with “black” and “African American.” The term “negro” was not put alone on the list.

People will always be offended by names and terms given to them. However, we never really looked at the fact that “white” was the only option given to the majority. As a “white” person, I identify with my Italian and Chilean culture, but because of my skin, I am “white.”

The whole purpose of the census is to improve society. We get better statistics and find patterns in society based on class in race in hopes that we can improve them. Sure, the census needs to be updated with time and terms need to be changed, but for right now, I find the census rather accurate.

I spoke about this with a friend of mine, and he said, “ The census using ‘negro’ is not wrong. People identify like this. We are not using this as a derogatory term. If we wanted to be derogatory we would have used “n***er.”

I thought it was interesting to see how the CNN reporter was bi-racial, the filmmaker was Latina, the interviewees were black, white, and Asian. There was a fair mix of people in this report.

Overall, I think this issue is a bit ridiculous. We take the race issue so out of hand today and everyone is so sensitive. I hate when people play the race card and use it as a crutch. It is like when we are sick and mommy takes care of us, we are more likely to fake the cough when we are being comforted. Sure it is better to be sensitive, but we are being too sensitive to race. This is why white people take a silent sit back at the race table. We are so scared of how other races will react when we are honest.

So here is where I stand as a white person. I am not affected enough by the census to complain that we are only given one option. I am glad we have options on the census for other races; however, we really need to expand our options. America is a melting pot and times have changed. We should not be scared that someone will be offended.