I think that it is really interesting to hear the reasons behind why western women chose to dress the way they do as well as their opinions on the choices eastern world women make in their clothing choices. However I don’t believe that the way that we dress can be truly compared to the way that people of other cultures chose to dress because for the most part women in those cultures choose to dress so conservatively and keep themselves covered for religious reasoning. So when it comes to the idea that the clothing choices that which American born college students are being less respective to themselves or are being less modest is an inaccurate assumption. I think that clothing is all culturally based, sure there are ways to dress in the American culture that are interpreted as the woman does not respect herself but that being compared to the clothing options of western world women are incomparable. In our discussion group on Wednesday we touched heavily on this exact topic and I found what everyone had to say about the topic really interesting and the main idea that I took away was that it always comes back to a double standard when looking at the way a women dresses and if she is being respectful to herself especially in the social setting of a college campus. For example we kept coming back to the idea if what you wear truly reflects that persons intentions or is it more that persons behaviors while wearing that outfit. We gave the example if two girls were out at night wearing identical outfits, some type of a tight revealing shirt and skirt, however one girl would be sitting down just having a casual conversation while the other girl is acting very promiscuous and flirtatious. Can the conclusion be drawn that both girls have no self respect or the same low level of self respect because they both chose to wear the same outfit out, or do their levels of self respect differ because the way they are acting while wearing those outfits are different? Personally I think that both of these issues come into play when making a judgments against women and the clothing that they are wearing, initially if you see a girl walking downtown at night wearing a tight little dress and high heels you are going to make an instant judgment that she might be a “slut” or “easy” however once speaking with her or seeing her interact while out your initial thoughts may change or they may be confirmed. So the conclusion I can draw for the question of when does a woman’s outfit begin to define her level of self respect there are two parts that go into the judgment and that that judgment cannot truly reflect a woman’s level of self respect.

I don’t believe that people start in the sixth stage. People who are born in a secluded area of the world are not accustomed to races or cultures of different kinds dress in act in different ways. For example, if you were in high school and someone from a different state started at your school, instantly you judge them based on their outer appearance. For example, if you were from the south you ould be be used to southern dress or activities. I know in Houston texas, the Houston rodeo is the highlight of the state for the entire year. And people from all over the south go and visit it. People from the north are not accustomed to this kind of event. Depending on what place in the world or state you are from, you see them as different and it confuses you. Also, maybe if you came from a different country, and your country might restrict how you look. Fore example, someone from my class is a student from Saudi Arabia and they go to school here for it. Their proram sens studens here for that program. Every day, she wears a head dress because of her culture. I have had a class with her for two years, and I feel different towards her sometimes because I don’t know how she normally looks. The head dress just confuses me. But she cannot take it off due to her religious beliefs.So when someone meets someone, their physical appearance might be a product of where they’ve been. As a human, everyone has the natural preconditioned urge to judge people. Anyone who says this is lying.A general outlook on someones life is based their culture of where they have been As a bystander, its hard no to judge someone who looks different on their general apperance. Even when im walking to class, I see people who do humans vs zombies. Even though some of them are white, I judge them. Why? Becase they are doing soething different. Doing something different is the reason why people judge people. Regardless of your race, location of birth in the country, or hobbies. Even if you resonate with the country of birth with someone, you might have nothing in common with someone. And if they were by chance from a different race then you, that difference in race could cause there to be a gap between you two. That gap makes I impossible to start at stage six. I know sometimes I try to start at early stage, but the shear difference in how cultures work just makes hard baaecause I cannot anticipate the cultural differences of someone else. People also respond to cirucumstances diffeently because of their backround. Example someone might be from a culture ina countru where people place a importane on second education. In another, they might not case about it. It’s hard to relate to that. So I do not believe that people are able to start at stage six unless they have been exposed to other cultures and are culturally and socially evolved.

When I first saw this picture my initial reaction wasn’t to gasp or think that is was weird or have any type of reaction like that. It made me happy because its an expression of true love in a form that you do not often see. After learning that they were embracing after being deployed three times made my love for the picture even more. This was clearly such an intimate moment for these two men and they were embracing in pure love and happiness which is one of the most beautiful things in the world makes it hard to believe the fact that some people are grossed out or bothered by that picture or think that it is disrespectful to the military is actually disgusting. And how the man on the right was saying that he was grossed out because the one mans legs were wrapped around the others waist and that whether it was a straight couple embracing in the same way that he would react the same way makes me sick to my stomach because that is clearly not true as the woman that was speaking said. I mean saying that you have a grandpa mind set this day in age with all the media attraction to sex is it really a plausible thing to say, probably not. I actually agreed with a lot of what she said other than the fact that I don’t really approve of public displays of affection I really liked the way that she said it depends on the context just like the context of the picture normally a photo of any couple embracing in that manor with their legs wrapped around each other in public would be over the top and unnecessary however when it is someone returning home from over seas seeing their loved on for the first time it is completely acceptable. But for that guy to say that it made him uncomfortable no matter what the context was is stupid if you don’t want to see it look away. I also think it makes a very bold statement and brings attention to a topic that is never really discussed as often its said that in the military they have a don’t ask don’t tell policy when it comes to sexual orientation so I am sure that many people around them when they reunited were taken back as well. However I hope that one day a picture like this will not cause controversy or stir up emotions of ignorant people because I am strong believer in gay rights and have very many friends who suffer the scrutiny of peoples narrow minded views, every day is a struggle for them because of it.

I have to say that I do agree with Sam when he said that white people shy away from race. When he gave the example of a group of people sitting at a table and the white man not speaking up about anything I completely understood what he meant, because it is true. There are very few people who will talk about race in a situation such as that because our entire lives we are taught that if you acknowledge race that makes you a racist and the best way to not be racist is to pretend that it does not exist. But it does. And that raises the question in my mind that with the changing culture how are we as white people supposed to act? Our parents were the ones who taught us about race and how to act around people of other races, therefore our actions are reflecting what are parents bestowed in us. But when they were growing up race was a much more controversial and different topic. They were alive when civil rights was such a new thing and integration was so new as well. They are the generation that was taught not to be racist and to avoid any topic of race, so of course us being our children that is how we act and that is why we shy away from race. But now our culture and our generation is so different from that what is the new appropriate behavior for us? Are we supposed to speak up about race or pretend that it does not exist just as our parents taught us. As Sam has mentioned before in class pretty soon white will be a minority in the United States, are we still supposed to shy away from race when that day comes? What types of values are we supposed to bestow in our own children, what will be acceptable actions when it comes to race when they are our age. It is all so unclear and confusing as to what the proper way for white people to act because we were never truly taught anything about race and our culture only lead us to think that the appropriate thing to do is just not acknowledge it. But as Sam had also said how can you not acknowledge something that is right there in front of your face, it is impossible not to see race so why do we try and take part in conversations that involve race? Talking about race is not what defines someone as being racist, discriminating against someone because of their differences in appearances is what makes a person racist, so when will it be acceptable for white people to talk about race and not shy away from it and when will we start?

I feel as though some Americans are so narrow minded when it comes to the idea of Spanish speakers in the country, as for the idea that we should all just learn Spanish to comply with our changing culture I cannot say I completely agree. What I do believe however is that it would be in peoples best interest to learn Spanish because of the changing culture or at least some of the language but as for those who choose against learning Spanish I think they need to learn to accept the fact that they cannot change the fact that there are Spanish speaking people in our country and bitching about it will not change anything. When our ancestors came to America no one forced them to change their language, Irishmen spoke Irish, the Germans spoke German and so fourth. With time as our country began to cultivate one language did become the standard but as anyone can see our nation is always changing so maybe now it will become the cultural norm for our country to have two standard languages that are acceptable in all areas of the country based on the increase of Spanish speaking people, and maybe one day there will even be a third or fourth accepted language in our country, there is no way to tell but there is one thing that is certain, we cannot expect people to give up their heritage and culture to comply to our ignorant needs. People who believe in the phrase learn English or get out need to realize that very soon there will be more Spanish speaking and bilingual Americans than there are just English speaking Americans it is an issue that is out of our control and there is nothing to do to stop it other than what Sam has said which would be to accept that we cannot change the amount of Spanish speakers, we cannot expect them to drop their heritage and culture when many live in areas of the United State that their neighborhoods also primarily speak Spanish and those neighborhoods are growing at a rapid speed. People need to realize that yes Spanish speakers do primarily speak Spanish but that does not mean that they are not trying to learn the English language as well and if that is the case what is the harm in Americans brushing up on their Spanish, and if they are too lazy or ignorant and narrow minded to do so and stuck on the idea that, “this is America learn to speak American”, then they should begin to realize complaining and making rude remarks will not change anything and therefore they need to accept the fact that they cannot change the number of Spanish speaking Americans and pretty soon they will be at a disadvantage for not accepting the ever changing culture of our nation.

Since the course of recent events that have began in November and continued to unravel over the last few months I have learned to always expect the unexpected. Here at Penn State we live in a sort of bubble where we think we are invincible and nothing can harm us but after the scandal broke I’ve learned that that is very far from the truth. I never thought I would live to see the day that the name of Penn State University is associated with a sex scandal, the day that our university officials are held at the stake, and of course the day that Joe Paterno be involved in something so large, confusing, and devastating. But because of this I guess I have learned that were all just humans, and humans make mistakes. It showed me that no society is safe from the brutality of the media and judgments of others and the possibilities of human actions are endless. The idea of a scandal this large and this intense happening right beneath our eyes is unreal to me. You hear about terrible crimes in the news about rapes and murders and corruption and right away you quickly jump to the conclusion that the persons involved are terrible or even maybe evil human beings and it is not until a situation like that hits close to home or effects your reputation and the reputation of an institution that you feel so strongly about that you begin to think of it in a different light and become biased to the situation. It has taught me that there are so many different views on a situation and until you know all of them you can’t really understand a situation as a whole. Everyday I put a different piece to the puzzle of what my opinion on the situation is or how I should think about the situation and feel about the situation with every new person I speak to. People’s minds work in so many different and incredible ways. It has shown and taught me how to be open-minded before I am quick to make judgments and that my initial thoughts, feelings, and opinion on a situation may not always be correct. From reading different views on the situation from biased and unbiased news sources and blogs that pick apart every aspect of the past events here at Penn State I have began to realize that there is no true definition of morals and ethics, only those that you make for yourself and those are always changing depending on where your life leads you. I guess if I had to put it into one train of thought without putting my opinions or view points into it these past event have taught me how to think for myself while still learning from others, accept that you cannot change what has happened only learn from it grow from it and apply it to your future.

Prior to Tuesday’s lecture I had never given much thought to the idea that when it comes to immigration all of us that do not have Native American blood are the true immigrants. Then after watching the videos of how poorly the Native American people are treated by our government, the poverty and struggles they encounter on a daily basis are unbelievable. We came to their land and not only took it from them but also mass murdered their culture leaving them to live with the highest poverty rates, and honestly these realities rarely cross my mind. I have an adopted cousin who is fifty percent Native American and her biological father still lives on the reserve today. Hearing all the horrors during the lecture made me think about the United States from her point of view and wonder what her ideas and opinions on immigration are. Does she feel cheated and mistreated by Americans for the loss of her culture? Does she have any desire to tap into her heritage and explore the rituals that are in her blood? Or is completely fine going about her everyday life being part of our family? Hearing the statistics on suicide rates, alcoholism, and abuse made my stomach churn. I cannot even fathom the idea of that happening to our culture, someone coming to my home suppressing my family and forcing us to move away from the resources we were so used to. Imagine if this happened to us today and our grandchildren were forced to live in the conditions that which the Native American’s do. That idea seems so far fetched, but is it really? What if that nightmare became a reality just as it did for the Native Americans, would my family’s culture be completely wiped away from the memories of this country only to be associated with stereotypes and derogatory names? Just like the students in the video my stereotypes are what I for the most part base my views of Native Americans around. My high school mascot was the “Raider” who would run around the gymnasium making Indian sounds and our student section was nick named “the tribe”. The fact that our high school allowed for that derogatory image of Native American’s to be our mascot and associate it with the term raiders when in reality those of us without Native American blood are the true raiders that stole their land and tortured their people. And for those who we did not kill in the process of stealing their land we forced across the country on the trail of tears where so many more lost their lives and families is unbelievable. The lecture truly was eye-opening as to how ignorant our culture is when it comes to the reality of facing the truth behind how America came to be and the ways we treat the original owners of this land that we call home.