I personally have actually had a lot of interaction with homosexuals specifically males especially since I have been in college. Back at home I went to a Catholic High School so if you were gay it was generally kept a secret because of the religion. However, since we have graduated from high school four years ago about three of my friends have actually come out of the closet to both their families and their friends. Also, in college three of my good guy friends are gay and one of my good girl friends is bisexual. I personally do not have a problem with it I do not see them any different or treat them any different compared to my straight friends. In reality I actually prefer to have gay male friends then straight male friends. As a Hispanic female I feel that I am rather accepting of homosexuals especially those around me. However, unfortunately I cannot say that about most other Hispanics or even other minorities in general. I feel that not only among the male gender, but especially among minority males there is a constant sense and need of pride and masculinity. Because of this masculinity I feel that to be homosexual is severely frowned upon to most minorities when compared to the white race. This also brings up the issue that Sam had brought up in class about men being on the down low. In my opinion I think that many times the men that are on the down low tend to be mostly men of color. This could be because of their fear to come out to their families and friends, but I feel that in many cases they are ashamed. I have heard plenty of times in both movies and real life minority males saying I am not gay I just enjoy having sex with another male and I never could grasp that concept. I do understand the view of males who are in prison, but I think that guys who have never been in prison a day in their lives cannot honestly use that as an excuse. I think it’s just a mechanism they use in order to stay away from the judgment and ridicule. Also, many times men hide their real sexuality by having a wife and kids because of the fact that being gay is so frowned upon in the minority community. With Hispanics specifically machismo among males is important to them. They are seen as the bread winners and the head of the household. Their pride runs high and their masculinity is extremely important to them. However, to be gay is to be seen as “less of a man.” Essentially they are viewed like females which is a shame.

I was raised Catholic in my household and believe and practice many of the traditions. However, my parents did not take me to Church and did not attend themselves for the most part. Although, I grew up Catholic the main practice of going to Church every Sunday was not kept. I always wondered and felt some type of way about that, but my father always told me that he felt he did not have to attend mass as long as he himself had his own personal relationship with the Lord. As a child I never completely understood that because I was constantly taught in school that we needed to attend mass because it is a mortal sin not to. However, as I grow older and I learn about different religions and start forming a better relationship with God myself I understand completely what my dad was saying. If I pray every night, confess my sins, try to be the best person I can be and live the way God would want me to, and allow him to guide me, why should I have to sit through an hour service when most of the time many of the people there are not paying attention anyway? On the other hand I see why people feel the need to go to a pastor or priest. For the most part those people are there to guide and help you with your faith. When you have questions that need answering they are there. Or even if you just need someone to talk to they are there. As a follower of Christ it is extremely hard to stay on track with your faith and it is easy to fall down the wrong path and I think that the pastors and priest and generally the ones that are there to turn to. I think a lot of times people also feel the need for some sort of confirmation from somebody. Confirmation for the most part that they are doing the right thing and that they are on the right track with their faith. Priests are supposed to be the ones who are really close to God and in a way are like insiders for us (at least that is how I look at it). Mostly to me they are solely there for help and guidance through the rough patches in our faith. Yes, you are supposed to turn to God, but I think that sometimes people feel the need to hear comfort from someone physical. However, other than that I think that a majority of a person’s relationship with God is and should be about them and the Lord without the third person involved telling you all these rules and how you should follow and love the creator.

I think the major problem with the Fox Sportscast video was the intent behind the video. In my opinion I thought that the video was very tasteless and had every intention of causing harm and was far from funny to me. I am not saying that I cannot take a joke, because that is far from the case. However, I do think that the way this video was done was not a joke by any means. I know that some people compared this sportscast with say a standup comedy show, like when the one kid in class had mentioned Kevin Hart. To me however, there was a huge difference the video came off to be very targeted. It was not like the man in the video was standing on a stage and talking about Asians or even other races and nationalities. Instead this video came off as a deliberate “attack” (for a lack of a better word) on a specific culture and a specific people. The Fox reporter deliberately picked out not only Asian USC students, but those students were also international. He then proceeded to ask them questions about the football team and what they thought about the Pac 12. Now I am sorry but anybody who is anybody especially if you know about sports and are a reporter would know that these international students would not know a thing or at least know much about football. Football is an American sport and it is not part of the Asian culture. To ask them about something that you as a reporter clearly know nothing about in my mind makes it seem like you are intending to make a fool out of them. It may not be a personal attack on the culture, but in my opinion is an embarrassment of that individual. And then to continue to proceed with questions and to ask them to repeat certain words and phrases is stepping into a whole new realm. Now you are making fun of the way they speak and their language. Many of these students could speak English extremely well, but at the same time you could tell that they had some trouble with certain words. In my opinion making them repeat things over and over again with the knowledge that they are having trouble is again simply making a mockery out of them. To me that is honestly NOT FUNNY ! to embarrass someone or even a people as Fox did is not stand up comedy it is insulting and degrading. I am sure many people would not appreciate that if the show was on the other foot. If an American put themselves in China and pictured the same thing happening to themselves, but they were in the Asian’s shoes they would feel embarrassed and made fun of and it would not be funny then. So, for that I think that the intent behind the video was what was the most offensive. I honestly think they knew what they were doing and they knew that these poor students would not be able to give good answers to the questions asked of them because they were not knowledgeable of the sport. It had nothing to do with comprehension, but everything to do with experience.

I feel that in many ways it is very important for minority parents to inform their children at an early age about racism, discrimination, and prejudice. However, as I have learned in many of my psychology class I feel that this is only beneficial for children if the criticism and preparedness they are providing is positive. I know in my family my parents did not prepare me for racism. I was born in Philadelphia, but then moved at an early age to the suburbs about 15 minutes outside of the city. For the most part I was the only minority child let alone Hispanic child in both my grade school and most of my high school. I had never been exposed to racism or even the thought of racism until the 8th grade. A student who I thought was a friend of mine had said some nasty things about Hispanics calling me a “wetback” and saying that my family had to swim to get to this country. Side note I am not even Mexican I am Puerto Rican, but even so what was said was very wrong and affected the way I saw the people that I went to school with. This threw me into the second stage in my opinion causing me to see things as minority and white and I began to notice things that made me very different from those I went to school with. I strongly feel that if my parents had prepared me for things like discrimination I would have been better prepared to deal with a situation like the situation I was thrown into at such an early age. In some way I was angry at my parents for not preparing me in the beginning. Honestly, no matter how prepared one is especially minorities for racism it still hurts and is extremely hard to deal with. The fact that someone is taught at an early age about racism really does not prepare them for the sting they feel when they experience it at firsthand, but knowing that it exists makes it a little better to handle when it occurs. The only negative about preparedness that I can think of is that minority children may either become fearful of white people and racism or even become angry and judge very easily. Other then that I feel that preparedness has more benefits in regards to a child’s feelings then they have negatives. However, like I said in the beginning this preparedness must be positive not negative. A child needs to be taught that it is ok to be mad about racism, but that not all people are racist. Generally, most are not, but at many times our society can come off as very racist especially with what is going on right now with the Trayvon Martin incident.

I feel as though people always have a need to defend something. This can be something that they strongly believe in or it can even be something that they may know nothing about. And once those beliefs or emotions are challenged with conflicting facts or opinion people get into a defensive type of mode. They want to think that they are right and that someone else is wrong. So unfortunately, when someone tries to challenges one’s thoughts or values most people will shut down and not accept what is being said. Sometimes it is not always about accepting differences in facts or opinions, but about at least having the willingness to be open-minded and listen. I read some of the comments made on the twitter feed in class on Tuesday and I think that that is exactly what happened with our lecture. Growing up in America we are taught that everything the rulers of our country does is in our best interest and that they would never do anything to hurt us as a people or nation. However, there is a lot in nation that goes on that either we do not fully understand or that we are not told and I think that many times people do not want to believe that. People in this country want to believe that we are America, a powerful country, a rich country, a country full of compassion and who are willing to help other countries that may not be as fortunate as us. Unfortunately, that is not how it always may be. I think that many times America as a nation does things with clear intentions behind them some good and others not so good. At the end of the day people are going to form their own opinions about our President, about our nation, and about our military. But, with that comes the need to be knowledgeable and understand both sides. As Sam has mentioned in class numerous times we cannot believe everything. We as students need to form our own opinion, but find the facts to back our opinions up. I have an uncle (a retired marine) who has been to Iraq three different times and I have a friend who has recently finished boot camp. I look up to both of them every single day for their dedication and courage to do what they do. Would I be able to do it? Not in a million years. However, do I believe that everything that this country does or what the military does is just or right? No I do not, but do I respect the men and women who put their lives on the line every day for their children and loved ones? Yes I do. I understand that they are doing their jobs at the end of the day just like most of us even if I may not fully agree with what they are being told to do. Basically what I am trying to say is that we need to be informed of both sides of the story and not get so defensive when our knowledge and beliefs are being tested which is what I think happened on Tuesday.

So far this semester there has been plenty of things that have either been said by another person or that we have learned that has caused both controversy within the class and has forced me to think long and hard. As hard as it is to choose one topic over another I really learned a lot from the white supremacy talk that we had in class, especially when we were on the topic of jobs. In previous classes I have always known about the statistic that a black male without a criminal record was less likely to get the job against a white male who did have a criminal record. Although, I have always known this it still boggles my mind to this day 3 years later when I hear it again. As a Hispanic women my parents have always taught me that I need to work three times as hard as the average person because not only am I a female but I am also a minority female. I always felt that I needed to prove myself and I have worked my ass off in college so that I can someday go to graduate school and get a good job. However, when learning things like if a minority and a white person have the same exact resume chances are the white person would get the job over you that really makes me feel hindered and angry. I battle with the notation that I need to work extremely hard to get my dream job, but at the same time I feel that I am being held back because of the discrimination in this society. What ran in my mind that entire class was “you mean to tell me that even if I have a great resume my ethnicity may STILL hold me back from getting that job.” To me that is simply disgraceful and angers me! How does or should my ethnicity make me less qualified as a person. It should not, but the reality is that it does. Also, with the affirmative action talk within both college and the workplace and the thought that it gives minorities a step up ahead of white males I feel is completely wrong. The way affirmative action works is looking at similar resumes and requirements. Colleges and the workplace are not picking minorities who are not qualified over white males. They are choosing minorities who have similar resumes and GPAs. Sometimes I fell like if we did not have affirmative action in place would minorities get into college at all because of white supremacy? Also, I would like to learn if there is any way we change this? I understand that people are always going to have their opinions on certain groups, but is there a place in which we can start to better this white supremacy problem?

I feel like the subject of sports and how individuals of different races are seen to be better or “run” certain types of sports is one that is talked about very often. This topic is not only talked about by those who are athletes themselves or even big sports fans, but this topic is one of discussion that the average person with an opinion has been a part of. In my opinion the media and society has made it very clear that Blacks are typically better at both basketball and football. On the other hand Whites are typically known to play sports like hockey and baseball while Hispanics are also beginning to make themselves known in the world of sports by making a come up in baseball. However, one thing that people are wondering is why is this the case? Are these races and ethnicities really just simply better at these sports then others? Is it something about their biological makeup that makes Blacks faster or jump higher? Or is there a strong environmental component?
In my opinion I feel that society plays a pretty big role in this wonder. For example, in many urban neighborhoods sometimes the schools are not that great. Resources are not always there and kids either end up dropping out of school or barely making by in the classroom. For many of these kids they may not have role models or inspiration from those that are around them so what do they do? They look at athletes and in many instances inspire to be them. Among the Black community I feel that it is very common to see young children wanting to be basketball or football stars and in large part I also believe that society has out it in these children’s heads that dribbling a ball is all they are really good at. Also, in regards to Hispanics and baseball in many Latin countries American baseball recruiters go into those countries and try to find boys who are really good at playing. Many times those boys are enrolled in camps in those countries and fed and taught different techniques in the sport. Then when they are older and able to be recruited they are and brought over to this country. For them this is a way to make a better opportunity for not only themselves, but for their families back in their country of origins. In a sense it is like these baseball recruiters are using the fact that these boys are coming from poorer neighborhoods in order to benefit their baseball programs. With sports I feel like society has a huge role in who gets chosen to play it is all very political at times. In my opinion I feel that there are certain characteristics of people of certain races that biologically make them better fit to play certain sports. However, I also feel that a lot of it has to do with what society puts in our minds in regards in how to view certain sports and athletes.

When Will said that he was half Black and half White unlike everyone else I was not surprised. In actuality I use to have a manager at my old job back at home that was mixed with both Black and White, but did not look mixed at all. He had brown curly hair and really pale skin. He also did not identify as mixed, but considered himself to be white. I feel like with the way society is plenty of times children who are mixed are in a sense “forced” to choose one race or ethnicity to identify with. Many times children who are mixed are made fun of as they are growing up and choose to bond with other children who accept them for who they are whether those children be of one particular race or another. Sadly, I have also heard of instances where one side of the family does not approve of the child causing that child to identify with the race of the family that accepts them. I personally, have never met a mixed individual who identified as mixed, although, I do know that there are plenty of them out there. Most of the people who I have run into identify with only one of their races. I also do believe that there is a difference as to whether or not an individual identifies with a race, but may still practice a certain culture. For instance, I have a friend who is both African American and Puerto Rican. We have had plenty of conversations about race and ethnicity and I found that when she is at home she tends to practice the Hispanic culture and eat the food along with the African American foods. However, when she is here in school all of her friends are Black (with the exception of me) and she tends to relate more on a personal level with other African Americans. I am her only Hispanic friend here on campus and she was involved in other Black organizations, but not in Hispanic organizations. I think a lot of times what it comes down to for individuals who are considered to be mixed they lean towards the race that they feel more comfortable identifying with. It may not always be a case of completely disregarding the other race of the other parent or even the color of their skin. It is sad that in today’s society some people may feel “forced” or even “pressured” to identify with just one because it is still not always seen as acceptable to be mixed especially with Black and White. I think that it is extremely common to see mixes between Black and Hispanic and that is becoming more and more acceptable. However, I think it will still be awhile before being mixed with Black and White will be totally acceptable among both races. And when it is who knows maybe more and more individuals will identify as mixed rather than feeling like they have to choose one or the other.

With the constant growing number of not only Hispanics in America, but of the immigrant population as a whole I personally think that it would b a wise decision for Americans to learn a second language. Because Spanish is widely used in this country it would be extremely beneficial for people to learn the language as well, rather than trying to fight it. Being able to communicate with Spanish speakers would not only open up job opportunities for learners, but it could possibly also make assimilation of immigrants a little easier. Many people would probably have the argument that Americans would be making it easier for Spanish speakers to continue speaking the language making it less likely that they would learn English. However, I think that by attempting to step out of American’s comfort zone many Spanish speakers would be tempted to do the same. It is evident that many Hispanics want to learn English they just need help in doing so. Back home in Philadelphia my cousins went to school in a classroom that was bilingual. The children spoke in both Spanish and English. I think that more classrooms in the school systems would benefit by implementing this strategy. Not only would this help immigrant students learn English, but it would also help younger American children become exposed to another language therefore allowing them the ability to learn that language. With more exposure and practice comes the chance to speak more than one language. This is indeed something that should start at an early age seeing as it is said that children tend to learn a different language better then someone who is older. In many other countries English is taught in classrooms such as in Puerto Rico. Since other countries/islands are taking the time to learn English why shouldn’t Americans try to learn something new? Why should America continue to be self absorbed and stubborn when it comes to speaking the language of another person? By learning to speak Spanish not only would Americans be able to communicate with Spanish speakers within the country, but they would also be able to communicate with people outside of the country making traveling for Americans a little easier. Many times in Spanish speaking countries natives speak their own language and may not be exposed to much English making it difficult to communicate with vacationers. If more Americans had a better understanding of other languages this would be a lot easier. I never fully understood exactly why Americans had such a problem with learning another language especially Spanish. Many other countries have citizens who know more than one language so why can’t America? To me knowing more languages shows intelligence and determination because learning a new language is not an easy task, but then again maybe that is why Americans do not want to learn.

Through the mist of all the shock and tears that have been shed the past couple of months, and especially the last couple of days I feel that a great lesson came to light for not only the Penn State community, but for people around the nation. The question about morals has always been one that people have talked about many times and there are certain instances where people seem to have no problem stating how they “think” they would react in a particular situation. However, through the mist of the investigations and scandal I think that morals are one that has been greatly tested. Joe Paterno, a man who has lived from what we know to be a moral life made a mistake morally in the eyes of many. Although, he may have done what was legally correct at the time the question of whether or not what he did was “morally” correct is still in debate. While wrongfully (in my opinion) being crucified by the media thoughts and feelings poured through and everyone seemed to have an opinion on the matter. I completely understand why many individuals would be upset with Coach Joe Paterno and I understand why they would chastise him for not doing more especially when he had such an influential voice here in Penn State. Joe Paterno has also chastised his own self for not doing more. However, I do feel as though morality is one of those things that people will never truly know what they will do in a situation such as the one in question unless they are put in such a situation. It is always easy to be high and mighty and extremely opinionated when you have never experienced what Mr. Paterno has. Saying things like “I would have done more” is very easy however; I also feel that it would be very naïve of someone. Things change and certain situations make you react in ways in which one may never have believed a day in their lives they would react. Also, I think I have not only learned, but realized how in our justice system, we as a society are really quick to judge people by their actions without taking a step back and putting ourselves in their positions. In fact we will never know what is going on in someone’s mind unless we walk a mile in their shoes even if it is for a moment. Our justice system has always takes pride in the saying “innocent until proven guilty.” However, I feel that many times society seems to forget that and tend to find people guilty and think that those people need to be proven innocent which we all truly know is not the case.