en-us https://www.intensedebate.com/users/3087793 Comments by Colie11 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/06/30/week-8-%e2%80%93-lesson-14-affirmative-action/#IDComment170430551 I completely agree with everything you said about affirmative action. I also cannot count how many times I have heard that someone lost a job to someone else based on the color of that person's skin. It amazes how clueless people really are when it comes to topics such as this one. It also amazes me how people can be so quick to judge something that they know nothing about. People should get the facts of a situation or topic and then make an informed conclusion, not just go off ranting about something based on what someone else told them. Wed, 6 Jul 2011 21:56:07 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/06/30/week-8-%e2%80%93-lesson-14-affirmative-action/#IDComment170430551 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/06/30/week-8-%e2%80%93-lesson-14-affirmative-action/#IDComment170429025 I also think that everyone has benefited from nepotism at some point in our lives. The first thing that we are told when coming to college, as Sam said, is to meet people and make connections. I can’t remember how many times I heard about networking opportunities with Penn State alumni during the semester. Contacts are unfortunately a big part of how we get ahead in the world. I know that I myself have benefited from either knowing someone or from my parents knowing someone that was in a position to help me get ahead. I don’t like to admit it, but it’s true. Wed, 6 Jul 2011 21:50:52 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/06/30/week-8-%e2%80%93-lesson-14-affirmative-action/#IDComment170429025 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/06/30/week-8-%e2%80%93-lesson-14-affirmative-action/#IDComment170428970 The video that Sam showed was shocking and very sad. I do not believe that it is fair that some kids get all of the perks just because they go to a school with money. Every child deserves and should be given the same chance to succeed. The video showed a very typical stereotype in our society today: the inner city school was falling apart and had a very low graduation rate while the suburban school had the really high graduation rate and state-of-the-art facilities. How are the inner city kids supposed to compete with kids who are given every chance to succeed, with their teachers and technology. The suburban kids were literally put on the fast track to success. On the other side of this, how are the inner city kids supposed to succeed when the proverbial deck is literally stacked against them? It is unfair and unacceptable. I really hope that something was done to improve that school after this show aired. Wed, 6 Jul 2011 21:50:38 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/06/30/week-8-%e2%80%93-lesson-14-affirmative-action/#IDComment170428970 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/06/30/week-8-%e2%80%93-lesson-14-affirmative-action/#IDComment170428874 I completely agree with Sam that people need to think before they start spouting off their opinion about affirmative action. What people do not realize is that affirmative action is not just program that puts people of color ahead of white people. I did a presentation on affirmative action in one of my other classes and I was shocked by how many people do not actually understand what affirmative action is. Most people in my class just believed that it was a program that gave jobs and spots in schools to people who did not deserve them just so that the company or school could meet some kind of quota, like they had to have so many people of color working for them so that they did not look biased. I know, after doing the research for the presentation, that this is not the case. One of the examples that I used in the presentation was a school in California that used an affirmative action program to get more white people into their science and engineering program because they thought that too many of their students were Asian. Not the type of affirmative action that we normally think about. Wed, 6 Jul 2011 21:50:21 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/06/30/week-8-%e2%80%93-lesson-14-affirmative-action/#IDComment170428874 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/06/26/week-7-%e2%80%93-lesson-13-immigration/#IDComment169074242 I completely agree with you that all one point, all of us were illegal immigrants. What makes that fact so much worse is that when our ancestors came to this country, they forcibly took the land from the people who were already living here. I also agree that people seem to think that at the border of a country there is some kind of invisible barrier that keeps people who are not citizens of this country out. There isn't, and unless someone puts a sign on every inch of the border, even U.S citizens would have no idea where Mexico ends and Texas starts. Sat, 2 Jul 2011 17:56:53 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/06/26/week-7-%e2%80%93-lesson-13-immigration/#IDComment169074242 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/06/26/week-7-%e2%80%93-lesson-13-immigration/#IDComment169073035 I also find it interesting that when most people speak out against immigration, they forget that in order for them to have been born in this country, someone in their family had to have come here from another country. At one point in our family history, we were all immigrants. While everyone should come into this country legally, we must remember that America is supposed to be the place where everyone can build a better life. That is what makes this country so unique. Unfortunately, however, we sometimes contradict ourselves. In my opinion, I believe that in most cases, the sign on the proverbial door bears the message “Welcome to America. Now get out.” That is not what this country was meant to be. Sat, 2 Jul 2011 17:51:11 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/06/26/week-7-%e2%80%93-lesson-13-immigration/#IDComment169073035 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/06/26/week-7-%e2%80%93-lesson-13-immigration/#IDComment169072909 I found it very interesting when Sam pointed out that history is written through the eyes of the victor. We never hear both sides of the story. The history books only tell the side of the story from the viewpoint of the side that won the battle. For instance, we do not learn about what actually happened to the Native Americans during the Trail of Tears or during any of the battles between them and the white settlers. We do not hear about how their land was stolen from them and their people murdered. While we cannot change the past, we should still hear what was done, the good and the bad, so that we can learn from it. I believe that the story should be told from both the side that won and the side that lost. Only then can we truly understand what happened. Sat, 2 Jul 2011 17:50:38 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/06/26/week-7-%e2%80%93-lesson-13-immigration/#IDComment169072909 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/06/26/week-7-%e2%80%93-lesson-13-immigration/#IDComment169072867 Immigration is still a very controversial issue in today’s society. As Sam pointed out in the lecture, everyone focuses on illegal immigrants today. Many blame these people for taking “our” jobs. I was born and raised in the United States and I believe that illegal immigration is wrong. I also believe that what Europeans did to the Native Americans so many years ago when they came over was just as bad, if not worse. The reason the companies hire illegal immigrants is because they will do jobs that most Americans will not. I watched a video for a presentation that I gave in another class last spring that interviewed immigrants that worked on a farm picking beans in California. The farm owners ran a campaign based on the workers called “Take Our Jobs Please”. The goal was to employ more Americans and fewer immigrants. The Americans that decided to take part in the program would do the same jobs that the immigrants were doing in the fields at the time. At the conclusion of the program, only thirteen Americans had taken over jobs from immigrants. Sat, 2 Jul 2011 17:50:23 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/06/26/week-7-%e2%80%93-lesson-13-immigration/#IDComment169072867 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/06/26/week-7-%e2%80%93-lesson-12-multiculturalism-lgbt/#IDComment169072756 I agree that part of what makes the United States strong is the fact that we are multicultural. We take the best of all countries and turn it into something unique. We are able to relate to most countries in the world because we have people that have roots in those countries. I believe that this is a benefit for us. We can respect most other cultures and are able to work with them. It is truly what makes this country unique. I also agree that business is very globalized. Most businesses make deals with companies around the world, and because of this the business world is very comfortable making deals and negotiating with people from all over the world. Business does not really care about who the person in the meeting is in love with or what they do in the spare time. Because of this, I agree that to make it in that world, you better be able to accept someone and move on. Sat, 2 Jul 2011 17:49:45 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/06/26/week-7-%e2%80%93-lesson-12-multiculturalism-lgbt/#IDComment169072756 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/06/26/week-7-%e2%80%93-lesson-12-multiculturalism-lgbt/#IDComment169072682 I also think that there are a lot of stereotypes about what Republicans believe versus what Democrats believe. I know that I myself hold some of these stereotypes, although I know that they are incorrect. For example, the numbers shown for the question of whether or not a person would rather live in a diverse community. I was not surprised that more Democrats answered that they would rather live in a diverse community than Republicans. As Sam said in the lecture, Republicans can be stereotyped as racists. I know that I have friends who are Republicans that fit this stereotype perfectly. What we need to remember however is that Democrats can be just as racist as Republicans. The party that a person belongs to does not make them racist; the person makes themselves racist. Sat, 2 Jul 2011 17:49:27 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/06/26/week-7-%e2%80%93-lesson-12-multiculturalism-lgbt/#IDComment169072682 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/06/26/week-7-%e2%80%93-lesson-12-multiculturalism-lgbt/#IDComment169072591 I was not very surprised by the fact that college grads are more likely to want to live in a more diverse community than high school grads because I feel that most high school students lead very sheltered lives when it comes to diversity. The high school I graduated from, like almost every high school in my area, was all white. This was because the area that I live in is a mostly white population. The area that I am from is a very rural area, where everyone is pretty much one race and has lived in the same area for generations. I did not really get my first taste of diversity until I came to college, and I feel that many people have the same experience. When in college, we are forced to learn how to live and work with people who are different from us, whether it is a difference in race, religion, or anything else. I personally think without diversity, the world is a much more boring place. Sat, 2 Jul 2011 17:48:59 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/06/26/week-7-%e2%80%93-lesson-12-multiculturalism-lgbt/#IDComment169072591 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/06/26/week-7-%e2%80%93-lesson-12-multiculturalism-lgbt/#IDComment168116494 I completely agree with you that gay rights is almost a second coming of the civil rights movement. I support gay rights completely and believe that a person should be able to marry the person that they love, regardless of gender. Honestly, who are we to tell someone who they can or cannot fall in love with? I also agree that the opinions of some people should not be what the laws concerning gay marriage are based on. That is their opinion, and because this is America, they are entitled to it. However, just because they have the right to their own opinion does not mean that opinions that disagree with theirs are wrong. People have a right to be happy, with whoever they choose. Wed, 29 Jun 2011 23:03:02 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/06/26/week-7-%e2%80%93-lesson-12-multiculturalism-lgbt/#IDComment168116494 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/06/22/week-6-%e2%80%93-lesson-10-stages-of-racial-identity-%e2%80%93-people-of-color-stages-1-4/#IDComment165906608 I completely agree with you that children adopted from other countries should be taught about the culture that they were born into. Knowing where your family is from is part of who you are and helps shape you into the person that you become. It is hard to get to where you want to be in life without knowing where you came from. My ancestry is the reason that I have green eyes and brown hair. It is why I eat certain foods on holidays. Without it, I would be literally missing a huge part of who I am today or what makes me, me. Thu, 23 Jun 2011 19:41:52 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/06/22/week-6-%e2%80%93-lesson-10-stages-of-racial-identity-%e2%80%93-people-of-color-stages-1-4/#IDComment165906608 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/06/22/week-6-%e2%80%93-lesson-10-stages-of-racial-identity-%e2%80%93-people-of-color-stages-1-4/#IDComment165904981 The video that was showed in the lecture called “A Girl Like Me” was actually shown in another one of my classes. I think that it is horrible that these girls really feel this way. Everyone should be accepted and be considered beautiful just the way they are. I know that in reality this will probably not happen, but it is a girl that we can all strive to achieve. Everyone has something that they don’t like about themselves, whether it is the color of their hair, the shape of their nose, or their weight. The one thing that no one should ever be ashamed of is the color of their skin. Thu, 23 Jun 2011 19:36:25 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/06/22/week-6-%e2%80%93-lesson-10-stages-of-racial-identity-%e2%80%93-people-of-color-stages-1-4/#IDComment165904981 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/06/22/week-6-%e2%80%93-lesson-10-stages-of-racial-identity-%e2%80%93-people-of-color-stages-1-4/#IDComment165904843 Another thing that I found interesting was that the popularity of a white student increases as their GPA increases while the popularity of colored student decreases as their GPA increases. I think this is tied into the stereotype that is held especially about Asians. Many people believe that Asians are really smart, but I know that a lot of people also believe that these people are taking spots away from American students in colleges and universities in the United States. A clear example is a story I heard about schools in California that used Affirmative Action programs in order to get more non-Asian students into their programs because they felt that they had too many in their science and engineering programs. Thu, 23 Jun 2011 19:35:58 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/06/22/week-6-%e2%80%93-lesson-10-stages-of-racial-identity-%e2%80%93-people-of-color-stages-1-4/#IDComment165904843 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/06/22/week-6-%e2%80%93-lesson-10-stages-of-racial-identity-%e2%80%93-people-of-color-stages-1-4/#IDComment165904566 I find it very interesting that the racial stages that people are in during the various points in their lives depends so much on how they are seen by the rest of the world. I find this interesting, but not really surprising. If the world sees someone as white, for example, then the world is going to treat that person as a white person. I don’t believe that it is right for a person to be treated in a certain way based solely on the color of their skin, but I guess that is just how society works today. I also found it very interesting that it is possible for someone to be in a few different racial stages at once. I know that I am probably in a few different stages myself. I don’t always see the color of people’s skin, but there are times when I can see the differences and distinguish between different groups of people. The differences do not really affect my everyday thinking, but there are times when it does. I know that sometimes I see someone as I am walking down the street and are slightly wary of them, regardless of color. I know that color does not make anyone good or bad. But, at the same time, I can also identify with typical stereotypical thoughts. Thu, 23 Jun 2011 19:34:57 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/06/22/week-6-%e2%80%93-lesson-10-stages-of-racial-identity-%e2%80%93-people-of-color-stages-1-4/#IDComment165904566 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/06/07/week-5-%e2%80%93-lesson-8-stages-of-racial-identity-%e2%80%93-white-people-stages-1-2/#IDComment163956235 I think that race related issues at a young age can have a major impact on the child. Just think about the girls in the video that Sam showed in class. Those girls were taught from a young age by their parents that the white race was the superior race. If their parents had been more racially tolerant, then those children would have been as well. Children aren't born knowing that people have different colored skin. This is a lesson taught by their parents, who also teach them how to interact with people of a different race. Whether the child is taught that everyone is equal or one race is better than another is up to the parent. Sat, 18 Jun 2011 18:50:52 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/06/07/week-5-%e2%80%93-lesson-8-stages-of-racial-identity-%e2%80%93-white-people-stages-1-2/#IDComment163956235 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/06/07/week-5-%e2%80%93-lesson-8-stages-of-racial-identity-%e2%80%93-white-people-stages-1-2/#IDComment163953526 The last point that I would like to make is that I agree that the Christian religion is built in guilt. I am a Catholic who attended a Catholic high school. Every time we went to Mass we spent most of the Mass asking for God’s forgiveness. I never understood why we spent the entire time doing this because I could never think of anything that I had done so wrong that I needed to spend an hour and a half of my life begging for forgiveness. Guilt is a strong motivator, no matter where it is coming from. Sat, 18 Jun 2011 18:43:03 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/06/07/week-5-%e2%80%93-lesson-8-stages-of-racial-identity-%e2%80%93-white-people-stages-1-2/#IDComment163953526 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/06/07/week-5-%e2%80%93-lesson-8-stages-of-racial-identity-%e2%80%93-white-people-stages-1-2/#IDComment163953373 I believe that there is a difference between being politically correct and being respectful .Using terms such as “people of color” is to me being respectful. However, sometimes I think that political correctness restricts what we say. It tells us the words we can use and the words that are not acceptable. We should be polite and respect each other, but we should also be able to voice an opinion without being afraid that we are going to offend someone who does not agree with us. Like many in the lecture video, I have also been in arguments with family members about race related topics. I have older family members who use language to describe people of other races that I find completely ignorant and unacceptable. This angers me because I wonder why older generations can’t see that everyone is basically the same and that there is no need to use words that only show hate. Sat, 18 Jun 2011 18:42:41 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/06/07/week-5-%e2%80%93-lesson-8-stages-of-racial-identity-%e2%80%93-white-people-stages-1-2/#IDComment163953373 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/06/07/week-5-%e2%80%93-lesson-8-stages-of-racial-identity-%e2%80%93-white-people-stages-1-2/#IDComment163953272 The video of the girls that sing the extremely racist songs was slightly disturbing. Those girls are only fourteen years old and they live in a world surrounded by hate. We should be able to talk about race and accept people for who they are, not teaching our children to hate based on the color of someone’s skin. Being white does not mean that you are better than anyone else. Those girls are going to learn a hard lesson when they grow up that their behavior isn’t actually acceptable in society. Sat, 18 Jun 2011 18:42:14 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/06/07/week-5-%e2%80%93-lesson-8-stages-of-racial-identity-%e2%80%93-white-people-stages-1-2/#IDComment163953272