This has been an interesting semester. To be honest, aside from statistics, I haven't learned very many knew concepts by taking this class. However, it has helped greatly to motivate me to change my attitude toward certain things and certain people. The whole empathy thing is something that I have always understood, but aside from recognizing the need for it, I was never motivated enough to really change my outlook on particular cultures, or anything that I did not consider normal. But by taking this class and listening to the lectures and hearing what other people had to say, I really want to change how act toward new and different experiences in my life. I now welcome these changes with open arms, rather that judge them because I am not accustomed to them. If I had to point out a specific point, or just something I learned that I think will stick with me, it's when Sam told us, in one of his lectures, that Asians are the ethnic minority who face the most discrimination on a daily basis. I think on a subconscious level I was somewhat aware of it, but the sad truth is, that discrimination against Asians is so frequent and blatant that I hardly even notice it anymore. That is why other racial groups that are discriminated against seem to stick out more to me, and I think they stick out more to other people too. Now that I am more aware of that kind of discrimination, I will make a point to look for it, and hopefully put a stop to it wherever I can, because it has gone unnoticed for far too long. On a different note, I am somewhat shocked at how so many people in our class are still so ignorant. It is apparent when you see the poll results in class and here some of the ridiculous statements that people make. The only thing that Sam has preached is his desire for people to think about things, and it seems as though a lot of people are unwilling to even consider a different perspective, so they just shun anything that they don;t agree with. i find it surprising and sad at the same time. I figured that anyone who signed up for this class was willing to think openly and critically about major issues, but it appears as though I was wrong. Other than that, it has been, overall, a great semester. It was a fun class, and I will certainly recommend it to many of my friends. I think it should be a requirement for every major, because the social issues we discuss are really important, and if we don't talk about them, and just sweep them under the rug, nothing will ever be solved.

What I took away from the lecture on Tuesday, was that there are a lot of scarred people in the world, and in this country in particular. It is easy to say now, but I have pretty much always been aware of the fact that the media blows most issues out of proportion, and, at the same time, ignores a lot of the pressing issues that need to be addressed. I think the issues they do cover have, at the very least, something to do with race. Black people, and black comedians in particular, often make jokes about how when there is a white girl kidnapped, the media goes into a frenzy until there is some conclusion to the case, but when a child of some other ethnicity gets kidnapped, there is relatively little coverage of the crime. It's hard to believe that that is actually true, but if you pay attention to the news you will really notice just how true it really is. There are several conclusions one can draw form this. One is that there are people out there who genuinely care more about the issues (or made-up issues) that concern their race, than they do the issues of all other races. The second conclusion one can draw from this is simply that the demographic that most of the main stream media aims to inform or entertain, is white people. I'm not sure which is true, but I think if news corporations are going to cover kidnappings and murders like they currently do, I think they need to be more fair about how they do it. They should try to be objective no matter how much prejudice they truly have. I think the biased media coverage is further contributing to some white peoples' fear of minorities. I'm convinced that it has a lot to do with people who are in the first few stages of racial awareness' being uncomfortable around other races, or even being hateful, as sometimes occurs. I think the fact that the kidnapping statistic was shown in class was really good, as an eye opener for a lot of people, including myself to an extent. Maybe now they will be a little more critical of what they here in the news. The Treyvon Martin case is quite interesting in this respect. As Sam said, it's really split the country in half along race lines. Aside from the fact that it was a horrible crime, I'm glad that the media is covering it avidly because that usually doesn't happen in cases where the victim is a minority. At the same time, I think it has lead to a many white people criticizing how much coverage it is getting, because they don't realize that this is what the media constantly does when the roles are reversed.

I will start off by saying that I think the word "weird" is used way more than it should be, and rather out of context for that matter. My brother and I are constantly having this argument about whether one can achieve total objectivity. I always argue that it is possible, while he argues that it isn't. I think our arguments relate a lot to ethnocentrism. Not only do we see the world through the eyes of our specific race, but we, as individuals, all have our own unique views on different things. The way I see it is that we should all strive to achieve complete and total comfort with everything that is inherently not negative in this world. This is, of course, a pretty much impossible task, but I don't see that as a valid excuse for not trying. There are so many things in this world that make me uncomfortable. Things that make me cringe, and things that appall me, but just because I am not comfortable with them doesn't make them wrong or weird, or any of the other words ignorant people may use to describe them. Admittedly, I may make insensitive remarks in this regard sometimes, and that is something I have to work to correct. The main reason why I think this objectivity should be a goal for everyone is because it isn't fair to hold the things that other cultures do, and have always done just because we aren't used to them. They do not see anything wrong with their culture and customs, just like we don't see any problems with ours. So to say that ours is right, and there's is wrong is ludicrous. I think the barrier that is stopping most people from trying to understand other cultures is their close-mindedness. It's often just a problem of how they were raised. If they are sheltered during their childhood, it will be hard for them to recognize, later in life, that there are other ways of doing things, and that they aren't wrong just because they are different. Exploring other cultures and doing research really helps with expanding one's mind to other peoples. But as long as we continue to judge people and condemn them for doing things that we just aren't comfortable with for no good reason then we are doomed to always live in a world where it becomes weird just to communicate with people of different cultures. Just like when people go on christian missions to Africa or things of that nature, some people think that Africans all live in the jungle and hunt lions along with other ridiculous crap. But rather, they have just developed, over time, different methods of doing things and different customs.

I think there is probably some truth to saying that some candidates, running for student offices were not elected based on their names. The main reason for this is, that I think most people just picked a name, and since most kids are white, they subconsciously picked someone with a similar name, or at least a name that they recognize. That being said, I don't think there were to many people who actively looked for the "whitest" names on the ballot. However, I would bet that some of the black or brown people who voted might have actively looked for black and brown names. I find both to be acceptable. They aren't necessarily bad things in my eyes. White people probably don't, or didn't do what they did on purpose, and as for black and brown people, I can definitely sympathize with them wanting to be represented in student government by people who share their values, culture, skin color, etc. And quite often those people are from a similar racial background so I do not see either as a problem. Obviously it would be better if the candidates were more identifiable, and advertised themselves better. But when it comes down to it, and you're black, you are probably going to choose Jermaine over Randy. No harm done just a minimally calculated decision that you would hope gets someone who represents you well in a position to make decisions. As for white people, to calculate a decision like that, meaning actively looking for the whitest name on the ballot, would be somewhat shady, to say the least. There are already so many white people in positions of power that it comes across racist to try to keep minorities out of positions of similar stature. As I said before, in an ideal world, everyone is informed about the election and the people running for office, and are then able to make good decisions based on information. But just like in presidential elections, democrats will usually vote for democrats, and republicans will generally vote for republicans, sometimes without much knowledge about their candidates platforms. They see who they are politically affiliated with and generally, that is enough for them. That is how I rationalize why white people may have voted disproportional for other white people. So in conclusion, I don't think it's outrageous to say that the Penn State student elections might have been slightly effected by race. Again, it isn't really a bad thing, or something that needs to be fixed. I just think that when there isn't enough information present, or it isn't convenient for someone to access it, they will generally try to pick out the person who they identify with the most, and when only names are present, they have no choice but to look for the one that they feel most comfortable with.

Just hearing students in the class speak up has forced me to recognize that their surrounding environment has really shaped who they have become, regarding race relations. Obviously I am a product of my surroundings just like everyone else, but I guess I just never thought of it like that. Maybe it's because my background is somewhat unorthodox, having been born in Germany, then moving to a small town in Pennsylvania at an early age. All throughout school there were never more than three black students in my school at a time, and less than ten minorities. This is in a school of roughly 700. However, I have always maintained a close relationship with a lot of Africans because my sister happened to have a lot of African friends so I ended up becoming friends with them as well. So even though I was completely surrounded by white people ninety nine percent of the time, I always felt "stage six" comfortable with people of other races. They might not have always felt comfortable around me, though. When we were talking about the stages in class the other day and I was trying to figure out exactly what stage i was currently in, I realized that I was in stage six meaning I felt comfortable no matter who i was around. But then I thought more about it, and realized that despite how I felt, some minorities that I have hung out with in the past seemed to feel relatively uneasy around me because of how "country" I was. I'm actually not very country at all, but I tend to wear John Deer hats, and have somewhat of a central PA accent. What I mean by all this is that no matter how comfortable I am around people of other racial backgrounds, it doesn't mean they are comfortable around me, therefore, I do not feel right saying I'm in stage six. I am generally able to socialize with people of other races very naturally, but I can't always know how other people are feeling, in my presence. So I'm rather interested in how white people, like me, from small towns feel around racial minorities that they themselves feel comfortable around. Maybe racial minorities are the target of so much racism that they are apprehensive about socializing with small town white people like me. It's not really a serious problem for either side, but it would be interesting to learn more about it. I myself still enjoy learning about people from other cultures because it gives me insight into how they view the world. In that respect it's all about empathy, as I'm sure Sam would agree. So I won't let other people's apprehension deter me from learning and understanding.

When terrorists attacked the twin towers on 9/11, I was still in the third grade. When we invaded Irag two years later, I was in the fifth grade. As an impressionable, young, child I saw the war through the eyes of my parents, who were quite liberal, and despised President Bush. Just being around them made me dislike him as well, without really knowing his stance on a lot of issues. I always understood that he wasn't very smart, but that's about the only thing I knew. So when these wars started (The Irag war in particular), I just thought we were doing a terrible thing by invading this country, and I thought it made us, as a country, look bad to the rest of the world. These observations that i made as a child really haven't changed much, lately. The only thing that has changed is the amount of information i have on this issue. After yesterday's class, and hearing the veterans talk about their experiences, and their own, personal, views on the subject, I was able to see how soldiers really felt about the war, and being in combat, as well as their daily experiences. What that experience taught me the most, is that there isn't one general view on the war. We can't expect soldiers to all feel the same way about what goes on. They all have their own experiences and perceptions, and they are, after all, human beings. The only thing we can expect of them is to follow orders, and i think they do a fine job of that, regardless of how the overall "war effort" is going. As for my general view on the war, I am still against invading Irag in the first place. This seems to be the general feeling, based on people I've talked to. However, now that we are so deeply engrained in this mess, I think that we should see it through. That entails everything from restoring a fair government with checks and balances, as Basam mentioned, eliminating Al Qaeda, starting with protecting children from being exposed to their propaganda. Finally, eliminating corruption seems to matter a lot to the people of Iraq, so it must be pretty prevalent. At this point, it seems like we are pulling out too quickly. Morally, I don't see how we can waltz in their, destroy the country, and then leave it in shambles with roughly half of the original objective completed. Apparently there isn't too mush animosity toward us, by the Iraqi people. We must be doing something right over there. I guess basically my outlook boils down to this: We made a mistake, a mistake that cost us a lot of lives, but got us a lot of oil. I wouldn't feel right as an American if we half-assed something of this proportion. That's putting it lightly.

I smell like a wet dog. When I'm actually wet, or just in general? This is definitely news to me. This doesn't bother me at all. I actually, find it pretty hilarious. There's probably nothing I can do about it. This kind of got me thinking though. Hypothetically, I wonder how most black people would react if they found out that white people think they smell like a wet dog. I don't think they would react very kindly to that, and they shouldn't. For some reason It would just sound way more racist coming form a white person who's speaking to a black person, than form a black person speaking to a white person. There are a lot of things like that, which sound racist when one particular race says it, but doesn't sound racist when a certain other race says it. There are obvious words like the "N word", and that word's offensiveness is fairly easily explained. However, I feel like there are many things that aren't perceived the same way among certain racial groups. For instance, my roommate is Indian. A couple of months ago he mentioned something about sour kraut in regards to me having been born in Germany. He was insinuating that I would like sour kraut because of my heritage. I don't particularly like sour kraut, and I was not offended by this at all. it was just a friendly jab. In response, I said something about him liking curry, referring to his Indian descent. To say he was offended would be an exaggeration, but I definitely sensed that what I said didn't quite sit well with him. On paper these two statement look identical in regards to how you would expect a person of each of our racial backgrounds to react, respectively. However, they each had a profoundly different affect on the person who each statement was made towards. Ultimately nothing came of this conversation, and there wasn't any lingering animosity, but it always bothered me that I didn't quite understand why our reactions were so different. In hindsight, this topic is probably something I should have brought up at the time; going along with what Sam is teaching; talking about race openly. Getting back to the "wet dog" thing. maybe it has something to do with a subconscious guilt that white people carry. It's really hard to insult or upset a white person on the basis of their race. I guess it could also be because we are in a position of power. The one thing that affects a white person in general, is calling them a racist. I know I would get supper defensive if I was ever called a racist. White people tend to respond badly to that character attack too, often pulling out the old "I have like five black friends" card. That is such a dumb way to respond even if it's true, because it's unlikely that the person attacking you is gonna call you out on it like "I don't believe you. Let me meet them." or some rubbish like that.

I'll start off by saying that I like Jeremy Lin. He doesn't seem like a bad guy and appears to be down to earth. I think it's really great that he is shattering the mold of what basketball, coaches, players, analysts, and executives expect from an Asian player. I see a lot of similarities between how the media covers and compares Jeremy Lin and Tim Tebow. ESPN always talked about how Tebow was "shattering the mold" meaning that he was a quarterback with an utter lack of basic, typical quarterback mechanics. I think the overarching point that they were driving at was usually quarterbacks that run the ball at a high rate are black. As a white person, I know all to well how white people love to see a white person succeed in a predominately black sport. It's almost like a majority of white sports fans are in desperate need of black people recognizing white people's ability to compete in a certain sport. I find it really odd because I myself don't feel that way, but I know many people who do. In general. white people get shockingly intimidated in the presence of black people playing basketball. The example are all around us at Penn State, if one is observant enough to see it. That to some extent is my theory on why Tim Tebow is so popular. Getting back to Jeremy Lin though, it caught me off guard how similarly white people reacted to his rise in the NBA. It made me realize that as much as white people like to see someone of their own skin color succeed in a sport dominated by black people, what they love even more is an underdog story. However, it tends to be different when it's a black person in the underdog position. White people don't rally around black underdogs as much. This brings me to the final point I want to raise. It is okay to be infatuated with Jeremy Lin's rise to the top, but this talk of his "struggle" is blown too far out of proportion by my estimation. Jeremy Lin grew up in Palo Alto, California, and, later, graduated from Harvard University. This is not a story of rags to riches. It's more of a riches to riches story. As for talk of discrimination, you don't think black people deal with that on a similar level every day of their lives? There are stories of black athletes having to sleep in cars, but people seem to be more impressed by Jeremy Lin sleeping on couches. I guess white people must be sick of black peoples' success stories because, generally, they are far more enamored with people of other races succeeding. I for one don't agree.

This is a question I have pondered for as long as I can remember. To start, I do not consider any theory or opinion of someone who doesn't believe in evolution to be valid. If the religion has clouded your mind so much that you reject something that has clearly, and is clearly taken place, you should not be taken seriously in a discussion regarding the origins of the universe. I find it insulting when people refuse to be reasonable and make some admissions, even if it conflicts with their core beliefs. In most cases, however, it doesn't conflict with one's core beliefs, but rather, they're just being stubborn. As for the "force" that binds the universe, I don't know. My opinion on this is such; I don't see why there has to be such a thing. Why does everybody think that it is necessary for there to be a "creator". When asked a question like this, which I have been before, I always respond with "Why does there have to be something that created everything?" Furthermore, why can;t everything just "be"? I understand the desire for answers. I too wish I had more insight into the grand scheme of it all. But the main thing that separates me from a lot of other people on this issue is my objectivity. I was not raised in a religious family. I have, on occasion, attended church, but neither me or anyone in my family gone regularly. The lack of a religious influence on my life let me approach these questions in a very unique way that a lot of people don't understand, but I certainly appreciate it. I do not reject arguments for there being a creator of everything that exists, but I do not believe the Bible to be historically true. I believe the Holy Bible holds many philosophical truths, and I think to some extent that is how it was meant to be perceived. After all, it is just a story. If we as a universe, not just a world because I do think other life-supporting planets exist, can do our best to get along, I do not understand why we need to know all the answers; especially the "big one". religion tends to cause more conflict and corruption, than peace and good will. that being said, I would never hold someone's religious affiliation against them. We will always have more questions than answers, that is inevitable. We will probably never know if there is a creator, or we might, but I'm sure his existence will continue to be disputed forever. I am hopeful though, that we can not let it affect our lives as much as it has in the past, because it will make for a much better future. That is all.

The question isn't really about "white people". You can't just group all white people together and ask why they shy away from discussing race. I think the people who have difficulty talking about race are the ones from backgrounds that don't include relations with people of different colors. I, personally, know this to be true because I come from an area where it is overwhelmingly white. That being said, I moved around a lot, earlier in my life so I have friends of all different colors. But I was always aware of how my friends from my town (all white) had trouble relating to black people, or oriental people. It puzzled me to an extent, but at the same time, I understood why. Appearance matters so much in this world, that when you come across a person who's appearance is so drastically different from your own, you tend to see the differences rather than the similarities between you. It's the same reason, why you might not talk to kids who are into goth themes, if you're a person who's into swing dancing and jazz music. These idiosyncrasies aren't deliberate, or even bad. They're just habits developed over a lifetime of associating yourself with people who share similar interests and upbringings. For this reason, many people of a certain race don't know how to approach people of a different race. People tend to focus on the White vs. Black relations, only because, in my opinion, it's the one that really get's a rise out of people, given the history between he two races. It's a matter of, relatively, harmless ignorance. It's not that white people don't want to talk about race, they just don;t know how. I, personally, enjoy it and find it interesting. I bring race up quite often with my friends of different colors.
It gives me insight into how other feel about other races, and how their experiences have shaped them. I can hardly imagine a scenario in which a black person gets outraged over something a white person says in a conversation about race, if the intention is only to learn and discuss for the sake of education. If you're talking about race, it's usually done with class. In my experience, nothing bad has ever come from talking about race. More often than not, it ends up being a funny, yet interesting conversation. So in conclusion, yeah, a lot of white people don't avidly have discussions about race. But do i think white people generally try to avoid talking about race? Certainly not. We're all taught not to judge people on their race, and with the exception of extremist views on either side, most people do a good job of respecting other people. Prejudice still exists, but I think to much is being made out of the issue of "talking" about race. People who are racist, are racist because that is how they were raised. Generally speaking, you're not going to 'convert someone just by having an open conversation about it.