en-us https://www.intensedebate.com/users/2414539 Comments by Act5104 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/04/19/how-has-your-opinion-changed-on-illegal-immigration-119-blog/#IDComment145475225 Before Tuesday’s lecture I was never a supporter of illegal immigration. I thought it was unfair to the citizens of the United States. For as long as I can remember, I have viewed illegal immigration as a negative thing. I guess I have grown up with the mentality that those people “don’t belong here.” Do I think that it is fair that there are people who are here illegally when others have gone through the legal process? No, but after the lecture Sam gave today, my views regarding illegal immigration have definitely changed a bit. Most people that are illegal immigrants really did not make the ultimate decision to do so. There were a few people who raised their hands today in class that said they were illegal immigrants or related to someone who was an illegal immigrant. When Sam asked them, how they or their family members got here, their answer was “I don’t know.” And look at Eric’s story that was shared in class today. He admitted how him and his mother came over from Mexico to this country illegally. Although it happened when he was at a very young age, he said he had absolutely no idea what was going on. He ultimately did not make the choice to come over to this country. Instead, his family made the decision for him because of the amount of opportunities America had to offer. One of the things that I learned today is that not everyone who is an illegal immigrant made the choice to do so on their own. In addition, I guess I never really realized how hard that illegal immigrants work once they get into this country. Sam talked about illegal immigrants who are landscapers who work for maybe $2 an hour if most. I’ve seen how hard landscapers work, in the hot sun for endless hours. These people come over here to work to support their family, and most citizens who have a higher paying job certainly don’t do as much work as they do. I do find it unfair though that there are citizens who were born and raised here or went through the legal process who are still paying for illegal immigrants to receive healthcare or their kids to get an education. I don’t think this is very fair. There are a lot of positives and negatives to illegal immigration and I guess in conclusion I don’t really have a strong stance on it. In regards to a family trying to better their lives and contribute to this economy then a support it, but sometimes it does have negative effects towards the citizens and in that case I don’t support it. I think our legal system is doing all it can do and I don’t see much changing. Sat, 23 Apr 2011 21:06:22 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/04/19/how-has-your-opinion-changed-on-illegal-immigration-119-blog/#IDComment145475225 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/04/07/do-you-agree-with-foreign-aids-use-of-pictures-of-children-119-blog/#IDComment143092081 There are positives and negatives to using pictures of impoverished children in the media. While I agree with Ernso that it is not a fair representation of the issues within a certain country, I also believe that it is a marketing strategy used to get Americans to donate money or other resources to help a county or certain effort. I believe that Americans give money or aid when they feel as if they are doing the right thing. But, the most obvious reason to me, and also one of the most understandable reason why is it wrong would be that he doesn’t want people to donate out of pity or sympathy. Using poor and helpless looking children makes the country that would benefit from the aid look weak and helpless, just like what the children look like in the pictures. also, if the focus of the foreign aid campaigns is simply the children in pictures, the rest of the people who are suffering would be misrepresented, or obviously not represented at all. The pictures make it look like there are no suffering adults. This could also lead to a false assumption that the children are not being provided for by the adults in the poor communities and they are the only ones who have been going without resources. The truth is obviously far from that. the adults are doing the best they can with what little goods and services they have, but without certain critical resources, they are unable to provide even simple and basic human needs. It is very tricky because I think the ultimate motive and goal of the organizations is positive but I can completely see why the native people get angered by the message it is sending the rest of the world. It is hard to sit there and watch other people who have no true idea what is going on make things out to look a lot worse, different or even better than what they really are. It’s not fair and to be honest there is no real way for it to stop. No one is going to stand up to an organization that is trying to save people and raise money for the main reason that the children are being taken advantage of… for good. What we are doing in our discussion groups is exactly what the rest of the people wanting to contribute should do. Furthermore, if people see the photos of helpless Haitian children, many are likely to feel helpless themselves. It’s difficult to wrap one’s mind around being able to help a nation starting with just one person, but it’s possible by spreading awareness, like the projects we are making. We should just support their efforts to rebuilding their nation and maybe lend an actual hand and teach them our knowledge. Like Ernzo said in class, we shouldn’t just give them fish, but teach them how, so the wealth will spread Fri, 15 Apr 2011 11:48:01 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/04/07/do-you-agree-with-foreign-aids-use-of-pictures-of-children-119-blog/#IDComment143092081 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/04/05/what-do-you-think-of-the-291-statistic-and-what-number-would-you-pick-119-blog/#IDComment141051727 In all honesty I was very shocked to hear that the number was 29:1. I never even realized that there could be such an estimate or that people would think killing that many people is actually okay. There are a lot of emotions that go along with that type of number. I completely understand that there in this world today, a world that is full of war, killing and hatred, there is going to be casualties in any type of warfare. I didn’t realize though that there would be that many people grouped into an “okay” category. Imagine being one of their family members? If my brother, sister, mother or father was one of those 29 I would never forgive my own country or the country that brought this upon us. Death is a horrible thing and shouldn’t be handled lightly or carelessly. Having that type of number feels like we’re placing ignorance on a subject that should only be handled with the utmost importance and care. I know that in the heat of the moment, soldiers cannot help killing civilians because there is not enough time to stop and count the number of people around. They are there to do a job, and that job is to stop the bad guy from hurting more of our (American) citizens. I think that the “acceptable” number of casualties should depend on a lot of things that the soldier has to decide at that time. Obviously I think that the government and military should try to find a time when there are not many civilians around, but we do not always have the option. Otherwise, it is up to the soldier to decide if the bad guy is worth the amount of innocent civilians around. This subject actually brought up a debate in our group discussion this week. One kid was very stern in the fact that it is absolutely NOT okay to have this type of ratio and the US is ignorant and disgusting in the fact that it exists. A few others argued that point and played the “you gotta do what you gotta do” card. To be honest, though I do feel that killing 29 people for 1 American citizen is a lot, I do think that protecting our country and its people should be our most important focus. When it comes to bombing somewhere than its obvious that more people will die than if it’s a gunfire situation. I think bombing in general is only used when we want to get a serious message across which is ultimately for the opposing side to back down or surrender. Therefore, there hopefully won’t be any more casualties because the war will be over. Killing and death is a very sticky situation, and when putting myself in a civilian’s shoes where there is war in their own country, I cant’ imagine my family or even myself just being a statistic; it’s unfair and so sad. But I do believe that there are some measure our country needs to take in order to protect my loved ones and myself. Fri, 8 Apr 2011 17:58:35 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/04/05/what-do-you-think-of-the-291-statistic-and-what-number-would-you-pick-119-blog/#IDComment141051727 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/03/29/do-you-ever-feel-uncomfortable-around-two-or-more-people-speaking-another-language-119-blog/#IDComment139214772 I can honestly say that sometimes I do feel uncomfortable around people speaking another language. There are certain times when it doesn’t bother me, such as sitting near them in class or riding on the bus, but when I feel as if they could be speaking about me, I don’t like it. I find that I feel most uncomfortable when I am getting my nails done at a salon. It is a place where I am a customer, they are servicing me and are really only speaking in Korean or Vietnamese (I’m not sure which). They could easily be talking about how ugly my hands are, or how disgusting my feet look and it makes me feel uncomfortable! In the long run it’s not really a big deal, but I do think about it sometimes. I am never really in a situation where I feel upset if people aren’t speaking English. I find though that when I am in a more diverse culture than Penn State such as New York City or Philadelphia I get more at ease when people aren’t speaking English. I think this has to due with the fact that terrorism is a huge thing in our culture today and big cities are the primary target for an attack. I try not to be fearful or paranoid, but if I’m riding the subway and two men are speaking in a middle eastern type of language, my heart starts to beat a little faster. Obviously if a mother and her children are interacting I highly doubt that they are a real threat to the US, but sometimes I just don’t feel as comfortable compared to being around people that I can understand. When I went to Punta Cana on spring break I often found myself surrounded by only Spanish speaking people. I got really uncomfortable if I had to speak to them in English or even attempt speaking Spanish. I felt extremely inferior and stupid when I tried to explain to them what I wanted. Sometimes I would get really frustrated with them but I would forget that I am in their country. A lot of people in the US feel that if you live in the US you should learn the main language, which is English. So when I was in Punta Cana I was the one out of the ordinary. I guess a lot of people who are living in the US that don’t know how to speak English probably feel that same out of place and uncomfortable feeling that I did. It’s only natural for people to feel most comfortable around people who are most like you which include religion race and gender. I believe language should be included in that. So maybe, everyone might feel uncomfortable around everyone! Fri, 1 Apr 2011 22:43:45 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/03/29/do-you-ever-feel-uncomfortable-around-two-or-more-people-speaking-another-language-119-blog/#IDComment139214772 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/03/22/for-the-white-females-would-you-ever-date-a-black-guy-119-blog/#IDComment137542302 This is a very tricky question. Just yesterday I caught myself in a conversation with my best friend and we were talking about dating black guys. I think black men are incredibly attractive and since I am white I find the thought of dating a black man exciting, mysterious and interesting. There’s not a doubt in my mind that I would ‘hook up’ with a black guy, but it starts to get a little tricky when talking about things getting more serious. I visited my grandparents this past weekend and though they aren’t full blown racists they basically told me that if I ever brought home a black guy to meet the family there’d be serious problems. They were half joking but it still made me feel restricted who I can and cannot date, and that’s not ok! But when it comes down to it I would never let anyone tell me whom I can and cannot date especially if I end up falling in love with them. I don’t judge whom anyone dates or decides to spend their time with so therefore I won’t be influenced by anyone who tries to do that to me. I think that a lot of white women are really split on the issue. A lot of my friends would never consider dating a black guy simply because they don’t find them attractive and a lot of them have zero problem with it. Sam said the highest growing couple is a multiracial or mixed couple in the US and I think that’s great. I think as time goes on and our generation gets older and the newer ones do too we’ll be seeing a lot more of mixed couples that I think will be great. I think people of mixed race are so beautiful and it’ll be a great think to see in this world. I picture myself dating a black guy or getting serious with one and I know my parents and my sister would be okay with it but I think the people that would have a huge problem and make comments behind my back would be my guy friends and my brother. I think there’s this stipulation that guys have a bigger problem and feel uncomfortable when girls date outside of their own race. I feel as if it would be the same if I was black and all of my black male friends weren’t okay with me dating a white guy. Obviously they would get over it eventually and them having a problem shouldn’t have an effect on how I feel about someone but it might make me feel kinda sad when they aren’t excited to see me bring him out. Overall though I think for black guys youre going to run into girls who will date and some who won’t, I will though! Fri, 25 Mar 2011 18:27:49 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/03/22/for-the-white-females-would-you-ever-date-a-black-guy-119-blog/#IDComment137542302 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/03/15/have-you-ever-felt-guilt-from-being-of-a-certain-race-119-blog/#IDComment135747402 I grew up in a predominant white town, there were very few colored or ethnic kids that went to my high school. White privilege isn't something that I ever thought about or even think about because it never existed for me- everyone was already white. Coming to Penn State I can honestly say that I've never truly experienced getting ahead of anyone or having an advantage because I'm white. I've worked 3 jobs- one at a restaurant where my 2 managers were Mexican and I worked with a diverse group of people and the other was a retail store and there was also a mix of people. Therefore, I've never gotten ahead of anyone in the workforce. In regards to school if anything I was at a disadvantage because I was white. When applying to college it is no secret that if I was to apply and a black female was to apply with the same GPA and extracurriculars she would get in over me. The only time I've ever experienced "White privilege" would probably be at an airport or in a high security place such as a sporting event or concert. I can notice when a minority goes through that there are more eyes on them- probably even mine are paying closer attention. But when I go through a flash a smile and make conversation- because what 20 year old white female dressed in a sorority tshirt and converse sneakers is going to be threatening? My Dad will walk through and its a little more serious, but no where near as many precautions are taken then when a muslim goes through. There are many different reasons for this other than race, history and current events etc, but I really don't notice white privilege other than this. Hearing Sam talk about white people has kind of made me feel a mix of emotions. First of all I feel proud to be white. I think unintentionally he has tried to take away a lot from white people in his lectures by talking about all the stuff we've done to other races and the advantages that we unknowingly have relating to money and education. I don't think its fair to take anything away from any person who has worked really hard to get to where they are because of their race- white or anyone else. Also though, I feel thankful.. but not a good thankful. I look at people of color and the struggles they have to go through and it makes me feel happy that I don't have to deal with that but guilty that other people just like me do just because they are black or asian or hispanic. It's not fair. Race is a tricky thing and sometimes there are parts of the conversation I just don't want to hear... but being white isn't something I'm ashamed of but something I would never boast or brag about. Fri, 18 Mar 2011 04:12:37 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/03/15/have-you-ever-felt-guilt-from-being-of-a-certain-race-119-blog/#IDComment135747402 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/02/24/how-do-you-feel-about-the-poor-white-society-and-who-are-you-more-likely-to-help-119-blog/#IDComment132258393 When we watched “Tammy’s Story” in class last week I felt a lot of different emotions. She obviously leads a very sad life and it’s hard not to feel bad for her. She was one of 22 kids and grew up poor and continued to be poor her whole life. She didn’t get a good education and is a single mother of four children. She was a middle aged white woman who lives in a run-down trailer and walks 10 miles to work at a Burger King every single day rain or shine. Truthfully, I did sympathize with her and not because she was white. I would have had the same reaction watching a black person in an urban slum or a Native American on a reservation. That said I think I connected more on the level that she was also a mother looking out for her kids. The fact she was a mother allowed me to connect because a mother regardless of race distinction sill has the same innate maternal instincts as anyone would have, which is to provide and protect her kids. She was doing the best she could and the only thing she could. In my eyes she was admirable, yes some people may call her a redneck but this is what she knew. She was born into a poor family of 22 kids and her whole life has been a struggle of working hard and surviving. The fact she is not on welfare speaks to her morals because so many people use it as the easy way out. I can understand where people are coming from though when they say that they don’t sympathize with her. One kid in class said he didn’t sympathize because he didn’t know her. I don’t really understand that logic because compassion is compassion no matter which way you look at it, her circumstances didn’t change if he knew her so I don’t 100% agree with him. She could’ve tried harder though to clean up her yard or present herself better. She could try and take classes or get a better paying job somewhere closer. I feel like if she reached out for help and didn’t try to be so noble then she could’ve provided a better life for not only herself but also her children. Her sons talked about how embarrassed they were of her and that made me so sad, no mother should ever have to hear that. It is a difficult situation to be in and one that I can’t even imagine being in. She chose to handle her life in a way that is very gutsy and righteous but also somewhat stubborn. I give her props and hope that she does soon find happiness because no matter what everyone in the world deserves to be happy. Fri, 4 Mar 2011 02:28:25 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/02/24/how-do-you-feel-about-the-poor-white-society-and-who-are-you-more-likely-to-help-119-blog/#IDComment132258393 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/02/17/how-can-we-make-people-more-aware-of-the-slavery-that-is-still-going-on-119-blog/#IDComment130270482 Today’s slavery issue is a very complicated thing. I grew up in a suburban US town and learned all about the Civil Rights movement, the civil war and all things related to slavery, equal rights and this country. I was never taught or even made aware of the fact that there is still slavery existing today. This class is a huge eye opener in so many different ways. One being that a lot of the luxuries our country enjoys every single minute of every single day only exists because of slaves. This fact isn’t talked about in the media, in schools or even amongst a regular conversation. It is ignored and swept under the rug. I also think that no one really knows how much slavery exists. Before Thursday’s lecture I had no idea that any type of chocolate was made by slaves, or at least people that were being brutally beaten and treated like that. I was appalled and moved to tears. This becomes very complicated though, because as a US citizen, I work for the money I have, the clothes I own and the apartment I live in. I earn the money that provides me with these things. I understand the issue of slavery is extremely important, but it will be too hard for me to completely alter my life to avoid all clothing, food and any other products that are made by slaves. I’ve always considered myself to be a generous and understanding person, but this makes me question even my own values. I can’t give up chocolate while someone else is suffering enormous amounts of pain just so I can enjoy a cookie or two? It’s sad. But that is our culture unfortunately. I think the only way to truly have people be educated about slavery throughout the world is to have classes and teachers present the issue the same way Sam did. It should start in schools and work it’s way into the media. Youth of the world, especially of this nation, are paving the road to future generations and truly changing society. If we can educate the kids in school now of this issue, in future years there may be a solution to this tragedy. There will obviously be people who choose to ignore or overlook the situation, and there will also be people like myself, who can’t bring themselves to give up the luxuries we are so used to. But the more people who start to understand and even attempt to make that change will have an effect on years to come. I ate the first piece of chocolate and enjoyed it. I couldn’t bring myself to eat the second piece, and after that lecture maybe I never will. Thu, 24 Feb 2011 07:24:58 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/02/17/how-can-we-make-people-more-aware-of-the-slavery-that-is-still-going-on-119-blog/#IDComment130270482 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/02/16/do-arrests-of-different-races-occur-more-due-to-racism-or-more-police-in-urban-areas-119-blog/#IDComment128744437 I think that unfortunately there is racism in our police force. Racism still runs in our society and is still present all over the country. It makes sense that a position that is filled with power and entitlement will bring out racist and even sexist parts of peoples personalities. I think that a lot of our police force is corrupt and tends to ake things too far just because they can. Race is a huge stereotypes in our country, and if a police officer has any type of opportunity to get someone in trouble, someone who in their eyes is always guilty of doing wrong, they will. Something should be done to stop the racism and prejudice in the police force but it’s hard to gauge how to truly tell. I also think that there are a lot more non-racist police officers than racist ones. The baby boomer generation is in the workforce now and there are much less racist than the generation before them, but it’s not a huge improvement. I strongly believe that there will be less of a difference in statistics once our generation begins to control the workforce because we were raised to be less racist than previous generations. That being said, I don’t think that there are enough racist police officers to have a huge influence on the statistics that were shown in class. There are a lot of factors that need to be accounted for when talking about arrests and racism. It was a common statistic throughout class that black people were the highest percentage of arrests. More crime occurs in cities and very urban areas because that’s where the most people are congregated. Unfortunately, a lot of people that inhabit cities are minorities. It’s easier to catch people doing drugs in apartment buildings, on busy street corners or in local convenience stores than in a suburban area that is spread out and more private. Apartment buildings are owned by tenants and police can gain access to search you or into any public place to do a drug bust. In suburban areas there is still drug use, but it isn’t being caught as much because the police force can’t easily access it and it’s not something that they’re necessarily looking for. White people were shown to use more drugs than any other race yet they have lower arrest rates than most races. I think this is ridiculous and there is obviously some type of racism playing a card in this. I think that police in smaller cities or even in towns are less inclined to arrest a white teenager than a black teenager. I think this is absurd and needs to be stopped. But how do we stop it? There’s no way to truly stop racism but there needs to be something done to at least identify it when it is happening. Fri, 18 Feb 2011 05:38:47 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/02/16/do-arrests-of-different-races-occur-more-due-to-racism-or-more-police-in-urban-areas-119-blog/#IDComment128744437 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/02/03/do-you-think-race-can-stop-being-an-issue-in-the-future-119-blog/#IDComment126844745 I think that it’ll be very difficult for the race issue to ever be over. The obvious answer to the original question is no, but I can definitely see the issue grow smaller in the distant future. Racism is still a very recent issue, most of the people that went through the civil rights period and fought for a lot of rights all different races and genders have today are still alive. I consider both sets of my grandparents to be racist, especially my grandfathers. My parents though, I believe are very open-minded people and have never made an impression of my as being racist or judging people based on appearance whatsoever. The baby boomer generation obviously is changing the course of history, starting with the election of President Obama. My generation is the most open-minded generation to hit the world yet, and a lot of that has to do with a growing acceptance of not only race and gender but of religion and sexuality as well. As each generation learns from the next, if history follows its course I can only see the race issue decreasing. It’ll never go away completely, because there are so many things that unfortunately get attributed to race, for example affirmative action, athleticism and even sometimes fraternities and sororities all magnify on race in some way. Hopefully the issue can shed a lot of the negative association it has with it and my children’s children will be willingly able to be able to talk about welfare without thinking of black, brown or poor people or even stereotype all Asians as the same which was an earlier topic in the class. I think our country has a lot of growing up to do, but just like it took hundreds of years to finally accept those of color and the female gender, it will probably take a few hundred more before there’s no trace whatsoever of any racism. I think that when we do reach that point the world will be a much happier and even healthier place. Today in class Sam talked a lot about how the color of his own skin got him to where he is today. He said that if he were a black man, Asian man or even a woman he would not be able to stand where he does and say the things that he says. Unfortunately, I believe that is 100% true. Hopefully, someday, any single human being will be accepted and looked at as an intelligent and deserving human being instead of a stereotype. I hope to see all the statistics become even and every type of person get an equal chance of being successful and getting the things that they work for in life. Do I think I’ll ever get to see that day? No. But the thought of it is pretty amazing. Wed, 9 Feb 2011 04:52:05 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/02/03/do-you-think-race-can-stop-being-an-issue-in-the-future-119-blog/#IDComment126844745 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/01/26/why-do-we-associate-with-people-of-the-same-race-and-ethnicity-as-ourselves-119-blog/#IDComment124442694 I've never put much thought into choosing the people I hang out with based on their skin color. I am a white female and almost all of my friends except about 10 of them are white. I agree with the statement that you tend to hang out with people who look like you because that’s the norm and its what we're all used to. I also think that it depends on where you are brought up as well. I was raised in upstate New York, in a town of about 30,000 and a public school with 4,000 kids. I could probably count the amount of black kids in my high school on both my hands and toes; needless to say there weren't that many. I never chose to hang out with white people; those are really the only people I was surrounded by. Ironically, three of my closest friends that I developed late in my high school years happen to be black. I believe that if I was born and raised in a place that has a high ratio of black people to white, such as inner city New York I would be one of the few white people in my neighborhood and in my school. That being said, I think that I would make friends in my school through clubs and activities, and people who live on my street. Most of them would be black. The only real reason for a lot of who people are friends with is where they grow up. People in diverse cities or towns will have a diverse group of friends. My best friend grew up in LA and moved to my hometown her sophomore year in high school. Her group of friends from California includes Asians, Hispanics, and Black people. Penn State is not as diverse as many other schools, but still more diverse than any place I’ve ever been. I am part of a sorority here and out of 90 girls all but 2 are white (the other 2 are Asians). I don’t have an explanation to this, and to be honest I’ve never truly thought about it until right now, but it seems that there is a point that people tend to be interested in hanging out with people of the same race or who they think are like them. If anyone of a different race wanted to join our sorority I don’t think a single one of us would have an issue with that, but at the same time there isn’t really anyone of a different race actually trying. I think that is also a point that needs to be made. Race is an interesting topic and it’s very hard to wrap my head around. I don’t have any answers, but the more I think the more confused I get! Sat, 29 Jan 2011 00:43:39 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/01/26/why-do-we-associate-with-people-of-the-same-race-and-ethnicity-as-ourselves-119-blog/#IDComment124442694 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/01/18/what-do-you-think-blog-2/#IDComment122609670 The activity that was conducted in class was most definitely interesting but somewhat uncomfortable at the same time. Race is an extremely sensitive topic in the United States, and appearance, or the way people perceive you is also another very sensitive issue. To combine the two topics is in my opinion very ballsy and most likely wouldn’t have happened anywhere else besides this class. I give the two girls who divided up the students a lot of credit for having the courage to make assumptions and potentially offend a lot of people. I consider myself a white person but if someone told me I resemble any other race, I know that I would be offended. Luckily, our professor is already inspiring me with a new attitude on life which is “we’re all going to die anyways so don’t take life seriously,” or something along those lines. I think Sam was a lot of the reason why this activity was fairly successful. This activity also taught me a lot about the way I judge people. I am 100% guilty of stereotyping, judging and making assumptions at first glance. I’ve learned that nothing is truly what it seems, and there is a lot more depth and layers to people then we can even imagine. There are billions of people in this world, and almost every single one of them is going to stereotype at some point. I consider us lucky that we as students get to witness such activities as this that allow us to witness the faults of stereotyping, and how wrong we can be. Though the girls did do a fairly decent job, they weren’t 100% accurate. I think if everyone in the world had an opportunity to learn about the facts and see the examples of so many racial misunderstandings, the behaviors of many people would be a lot different. Unfortunately, that will never happen. Racism and stereotyping isn’t going anywhere, especially in the US. Our country is the most diverse country on the planet, and in my opinion the most stereotypical. I don’t consider myself to be racist in any way. I believe that I am very open and understanding to all sorts of people. Being in this class for even just 2 weeks now has given me a whole new perspective on race and people in general. To look at people of Korean decent, Chinese decent, Japanese decent and Vietnamese decent and note the differences is so interesting. They truly do not look anything alike, and this makes me realize that before looking at pictures and even this activity I’ve never truly taken the time to notice people’s differences. This class is slowly turning my thinking on a lot of different issues upside down, and this activity was something that truly did open my eyes. Thu, 20 Jan 2011 23:12:07 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/01/18/what-do-you-think-blog-2/#IDComment122609670 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/01/10/last-name-%e2%80%9ct%e2%80%9d-%e2%80%93-intense-debate/#IDComment121342503 soc 119 Fri, 14 Jan 2011 18:54:34 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/01/10/last-name-%e2%80%9ct%e2%80%9d-%e2%80%93-intense-debate/#IDComment121342503