I agree whole-heartedly with what my peers above have already commented. I too came into this lecture with a quick-to-judge negative perception of illegal immigrants. Now personally I think I had conflicting views on immigrants versus illegal immigrants- or what I thought was the difference between the two. When I thought of my ancestors or Europeans immigrating to America I thought of how brave they were to leave their country to look for a better life for their family. I never considered them illegal, but when you think about how their arrival impacted Native Americans I guess in some way they were trespassing. I guess I never really considered the fact that illegal immigrants are still immigrants and they want the same thing that many of my ancestors wanted when they came to America and that is the opportunity to better themselves.

One thing I am still not clear about is in what ways is immigration good for Americans and what ways is it harmful? I know now that for business needs there are times when more low-wage workers are a necessity and I know that sometimes this competition between immigrant workers and American workers is a negative thing, but in reality what is so bad about illegal immigrants? Is it the fact that they utilize taxpayer dollars? Because maybe there is some policy that could be put in place in which the businesses they work for (for cheap) would have to pay a fee to the state for their labor. I don't know it’s just a random idea I am throwing out there.

The only other comment I want to make is how horrible I feel for the children that are involved with all of this. It is not their fault where they were born and when Eric described hearing gunshots near the boarder I felt bad! Also my friend went to high school with a lot of Mexican immigrants and she always told me that they would be in school any where from three months to two years and then simply disappear. I can’t imagine this sort of lifestyle and I really feel for the kids that have to be put through this sort of thing.

All in all my perception of immigrants both legal and illegal have changed. I am impressed by their bravery and willingness to take risks to better themselves. I do agree though that this will be an issue for many years to come! And lastly the Native American issue is so crazy to think about- Hello, we are all illegal immigrants!

I think the lecture on affirmative action really did change my perception of it. I never thought about nepotism and how technically it is extremely unfair and perpetuates a system in which successful people have successful children and those who struggle have a hard time making it to the top. It is so true that more times than not it is all about who you know and that opportunities arise based on what circles you run in. So in reality whites automatically have an easier job finding a job simply because top executives and those high up in many fields happen to be white!

Everyone says that people should be chosen for jobs based on merit and all that, and I think this sounds like a great ideas but in reality it just won't happen! First of all there are a lot of people that ALL have the proper qualifications for a wide array of jobs. The fact that people graduate with one degree and then go into something completely different proves that people with certain traits and characteristics will be successful no matter what profession they go into. If you think about it if you were thrown into a situation and someone taught you what it took to be good at that- over time you would get good. So due to the fact that so many people can do so many things there has to be something else that people use to select who gets a position. In our society we do favors for people we know and we trust people that run in our circles. The problem is these social circles are often times segregated!

After the lecture I definitely think affirmative action in some form is necessary, but I am not sure that the current system is the answer. But to all of those people that say people should be chosen for schools and jobs and everything based solely on merit are kidding themselves. Nepotism will always be, so everyone get out there and start meeting people!

This post hits the nail on the head! That is exactly what a woman looks for in a guy and exactly how healthy relationships form, and over my past 22 years of life I have had mostly relationships that centered around the "stereotype" of what a woman looks for in a guy. A badass, but my current relationship has really opened my eyes to the fact that there are guys out there that are GOOD guys! The other refreshing thing is that I wasn't the one who had to initiate deep conversations or ask him to open up, but rather he asked me questions and he wanted to learn everything about me. This proves that yes while often times girls need to take the lead and show guys what they are looking for in a relationship, it doesn't always have to be that way. There are guys out there that haven't been brainwashed by the movies and the media and that have been raised right to understand that women are not objects, but companions and people. I am so lucky to have found a relationship that is not built entirely on sex, power and control, but rather on friendship, communication and love. To all the women out there that have no found that guy yet all I have to say is DO NOT SETTLE! There is no reason to stick with a relationship that isn't working. Now I think it is important to take into account what this lifer is saying and it’s that he really didn't know that’s what women were expecting. I think it is important for our generation to break through the stereotypes and reaffirm what a healthy and admirable relationship is. This will be a major task of ours when we begin to have children. How are you going to teach your son that a woman deserves to be treated? Are you going to tell your daughter that her needs and wants are just as important as a mans? All of these questions are going to shape the future in terms of relationships. It is time to bring chivalry back, and guys like my boyfriend prove that luckily it is not dead!

I agree with a few of the other students that said feeling comfortable or not with people speaking a different language around me would depend entirely on the situation. I personally think it is so cool when people know another language besides English. I have always been jealous of those people that are bi-lingual! Due to this fascination most of the time I am just intrigued and impressed when a group of people I am with begin to speak a different language. For example when I went to Spain last summer I stayed with a host family and my good friend who is basically fluent in Spanish. Often times at dinner they would slip in and out of Spanish and it in no way made me feel uncomfortable. If anything I was simply jealous that I couldn't speak with them. I have taken up to Spanish 3 so I could understand a bit, but I couldn't contribute much to the conversation. Another example of when I am around others that all speak a different language is when I get my nails done. I go to a nail salon that is owned and operated by a Chinese family. When speaking to me they speak in English, but the rest of the time they talk to each other in their native language. I have heard people say that this makes them feel awkward because they think that the employees are talking about them, and I think that is stupid. These people are just interacting at work and to think that they are talking about you and your nasty feet is a bit stuck-up. The only time I can think that I would be uncomfortable in a group that all spoke another language is if they were in some way excluding me and blatantly making me feel left out. For example if they are talking to you then ask you to hold on and group up and begin speaking in their own language. This is just disrespectful! But unless they are trying to be exclusive or rude I think it is pretty amazing to listen to fluent speakers of another language interact. Also I think it is so cool that there are people that can speak fluently multiple different languages. Lastly because we live in such a global society it is important to get an understanding and some sort of a comfort level of those that are different. Feeling awkward or uncomfortable in situations in which you may not be able to communicate very effectively is not helping anyone. If anything it should spark your interest. My roommate freshman year was fluent in Spanish and would often talk to her parents on the phone in Spanish. I loved listen to her talk- it was so beautiful! Differences are cool.

Actually I did date a black guy for close to five years! For me there are a few things that go into why I date a person and race is not one of those things. First of all I think it is extremely important to have an initial physical attraction. Once that is developed its a lot about personality and who makes me laugh or who I have fun with. I happen to be attracted to both black and white guys, but this may not be the case for all white girls. I can't say that I have this same initial attraction to all races and I think most people have preferences and things they look for in a mate. I don't think this makes people racist- its simply what people want.

Now I think it is important to mention race was barely ever an issue in my relationship. I am lucky to have parents that promote diversity and never mentioned anything to me about who I could date and who I could not. I know this is not true for all families. I have close friends whom I know their parents have come out and told them that they are not allowed to date people outside of their race. I know in some instances this makes the girls want to date black guys even more to rebel, but other times it makes them instantly forget about the idea of dating across their race.

Race definitely does become an issue the more serious a relationship gets, but for me I think that social class and how someone was raised is just as important as race in terms of how stable a relationship is. The major conflicts I had with my ex-boyfriend and his family has a lot to do with our social class. He always made me feel as if I was spoiled and had way more than him. It was this issue rather than race that got us into arguments.

I know in class someone asked how they can tell if a white girl is attracted to them. The answer is the same way you can tell that anyone is attracted to you! White girls use the same signs to demonstrate to both white and black guys that she is interested.

I think it is also important to mention that I am currently dating a white guy. I know there is that saying that “once you go black you never go back,” but in my case I don’t search only for a mate of a certain race. Instead I see who I am attracted to and who I vibe with.

The question about feeling guild for slavery and mistreatment of a people by my ancestors is an interesting one. I don't know if guilt is the right word as to how I feel about how fortunate I have been. Do I feel lucky and grateful for what I have and the opportunities I am granted? Of course I do! I know that not everyone has the same opportunities afforded to them as I do based on where they came from, family background, social class etc. Do I have to feel guilty for being born into this though? Not really! I don't think people have to feel guilty for being fortunate, but I do think it is important for people to understand that there are other groups and people out there that don't have it as easy and don't get the same benefits. No one can help who their family is and the situation they are brought into and because these are all factors that can’t be chosen I don’t think anyone should have to feel guilt about it.

Obviously certain groups have been disadvantaged in the past and because of that still suffer today from, but does that mean that all white people should feel guilty about slavery? No! Again yes it is important for people to be aware, and to continue to strive towards equality for all, but I don’t think feeling guilt in the case of whites and resentment in the case of blacks is the right way to go about it. In my experience I often see that with the feeling of guilt comes pity and with pity the only thing that happens is groups treat other groups differently which is the main problem anyway.

Everyone has different circumstances and everyone can look around and see people that are doing better than them or see people that have it worse off. The only thing you can do is accept where you came from and the cards you have been dealt and move on and live your life. Dwelling on the past is not going to help the current situation of racism and prejudice that we are experiencing. We should definitely continue to look at the past oppression and mistreatment of groups and learn from it. I do think that is important for people to accept that slavery did have a major impact on blacks and their ability to get ahead in life even in this day and age. There is definitely a correlation that can be seen in the statistics, but I still don’t think that people who do not fall into this group need to feel bad for being fortunate.

I one hundred percent think it is selfish for someone without the means to bring a child into the world. Basically they are setting up the child to fail. I was shocked and appalled when Tammy mentioned she was one of twenty two children. No wonder she is struggling so much! When people are born into a certain social class it is very hard for them to get out of it and the more children you have in a lower-income home the harder it gets for them to succeed simply because they do not have access to resources. I know one of the main problems in terms of poor people having children is that while they can't provide for them once they are born they often times can't prevent having children because they don't have the money to buy proper contraception or birth control. Birth control is a monthly expense and when it comes down to it those in poverty can't cover the cost and therefore risk having multiple children. People may say that access to free condoms is available, but what if someone doesn’t have a car to get to them, or they are simply uneducated or unaware on how and where they can get the free condoms.

I have heard that often times poor people have multiple children so they can collect more money from welfare. This is silly to me because the cost of having and raising a kid for eighteen years far exceeds the assistance someone would receive from welfare. It is sort of a vicious cycle because poor people are having kids who then end up being poor because they were never provided with the necessary education or resources and then they in turn have children and the cycle continues. I feel so bad for these kids that are born into something that is out of their control, yet they end up suffering.

I do want to note that it is equally selfish or even more so for someone with means to bring a child into the world that they do not plan to love. More than anything love is important in a child's life and even if money is tight but a child is born into a loving family at least they will have a satisfying life in that regard. Money does not guarantee that someone will be a good parent.

While I don’t think it is right to limit the number of children families have based on their income I do not think it is a totally illogical suggestion. I think either more education or more access to family planning resources should be readily available to low income families in both rural and urban areas.

The question on whether blacks have statistically higher crime rates due to a racist police force or because of the large police forces monitoring urban areas is one that has been touched upon in many of my classes recently. I am currently taking racial and ethnic inequality in American, as well as an intro to criminology course and this topic has come up in both courses, which demonstrates how it is an important topic and issue in our society today. Obviously our society reflects and presents a picture of crimes being committed by blacks more often than it does show crimes committed by whites. This in no way means that whites are not committing crimes. My criminology class touched on the fact that while urban areas face higher numbers of "brutal" crimes, such as armed robber and murder, rural areas have large drug related crime happening everyday. One example used was that fact that Tyrone, the very white, small town just a short drive from State College is actually a drug filled town where you can get everything from weed to crystal meth. Now while on a few local news channels we may hear about some arrests made in that area, on major news networks little Tyrone or small rural towns are barely discussed. This actually has a lot to do with our media structure. Major news outlets are based out of major cities and so it makes sense that they would report a majority of crimes that happen within that city they are based out of. Due to a large number of minorities living in urban areas AND a large number of police policing these areas it seems that many of the crimes reported involve minorities.

After looking at these things I definitely believe that the correlation we all make between blacks and high levels of crime is a result of a bit of both a racist police force and high levels of police in urban areas. When I say racist police force I also think that, for the most part, cops have a subconscious stereotype of blacks being criminal. As I mentioned above due to the media and their reporting a large majority of crimes involving minorities it is in some way logical that police would have this warped view. I think it was said in one of the classes that if a stereotype is so ingrained in our society everyone, including the minority themselves begin to absorb that stereotype. My discussion group mentioned that there are times that groups being to give into that stereotype or almost feel like they are destined to fulfill it. So I think this topic is an interesting one and one that should be looked further into because if the number of arrests of blacks really is disproportionate and not because they commit more crimes but because of a racist police force and also because they are more highly targeted due to their living in urban area, than the cycle will only continue. For example if this idea that blacks commit more crimes stays ingrained in societies mind than

"I think that all the silence is worse than all the violence." - Lupe Fiasco. I think that line is very insightful and fits in nicely to our many discussions on race and how nationwide there is an odd sort of fear or avoidance of the race and ethnicity debate. I think the message that Lupe Fiasco is trying to convey ties directly into why Sociology 119 is such an important and valuable class. From this line I get the feeling that Fiasco is making the point that none of the problems we have today can be solved unless there is an active and open discussion about those problems. In terms of race people will continue to be ignorant and prejudiced about other races unless they start understanding the ins and outs of racism. In another one of my classes it was mentioned that in general people in the armed forces are less prejudiced than the rest of America, and this has to do with the fact that they get more interaction with other races. This just proves that it is vital to form bonds and interact with those that are different than you if you are ever going to be able to make an education decision about how you feel about people that are different.

This song drives home that classes like this are so important. I can guarantee that most people in this class, including myself will walk away with a different view of the world in terms of race and ethnicity. Just imagine if it was mandatory for every single person to take this class at some point in their life. Imagine if this course was altered and implemented in kindergartens around America and even around the world. While there would still be people that help prejudiced ideas I think in general people would treat each other as human beings rather than as white people, brown people, black people, asian people etc.
Bringing it back to the discussion of the line, “I think that all the silence is worse than all the violence,” I believe that in order for the violence against minorities and those that are different from one another to occur the silence must be broken on these issues. People need to get into discussions. People need to voice their opinions without fear of being politically correct and labeled racist. To be honest if people can’t speak up about what they truly believe and how they feel, no matter how wrong or warped it may be, than they will never get the opportunity to see the alternate view and perhaps change their ideas. So while we are all fortunate enough to be in a class that is opening our eyes and how we feel, it is crucial for us to share our knowledge with those around us. Hopefully one day the silence will be broken and in time the violence will be no more.

Just as all of my peers above have answered I too would respond differently to someone in the United States asking "what are you," than I would to someone that asked me outside of this country. To those in the United States I would say that I am Irish and Italian, but for example when I traveled to Ireland I would always refer to myself as American. I would almost feel fake to refer to myself as Irish to someone that was born and raised in Ireland, which is strange because technically I am of Irish decent. For some reason I think the reaction from an Irishman would be interesting to see if I did refer to myself as Irish to one of them. When they ask that question I think there is already some sort of understanding that I am not from where they are from and that is why they ask.

I did a few times mention that I had family from a specific part of Ireland and that always was a conversation starter, but in terms of myself I never referred to myself as Irish. The thing is although I have Irish blood in me I was born and raised in America and because of that I have a very different culture. It is this culture that I think defines us more so than the blood running through our veins. In America I think the only reason I refer to myself as Irish and Italian is because those that ask me in the United States already assume that I am American. They can recognize that and therefore I automatically understand that when they ask me what I am they are referring to where my ancestors came from.

I think my answer to this question may be very different if I was a first generation American or if I had immigrated myself. This ties back into a culture thing. If I still had a strong tie to a culture other than that of the United States I think I would describe myself different. For example if I had grown up in Ireland then moved over her in college I would still consider myself Irish and I would tell people that if they asked. I also think that they would notice the differences (an accent, the way I dressed, phrases I used etc.) This was a very insightful question and something that I never really thought about. I think from now on when someone asks me what I am I will definitely giggle to myself, as I think about this response and the sort of irony that goes into my response when I say Irish and Italian.