Many of your thoughts were the same as mine, I also learned from this lecture that white women are the ones that benefitted the most from affirmative action and also thought that the the schools video was very interesting. It was crazy to look at the numbers of the students that graduated from the rich school and compare then to the numbers from the poor school. It really did prove that students in the richer schools have a better opportunity which in turn helps them to learn and like to learn and graduate with a good education from high school.

It tough to say that affirmative action is a bad thing once you’ve gotten to a great place or job because of it. Personally, I have received two of my job because of nepotism. My first job at a golf course I got because I knew the manager, my internship with NBC I got because I knew someone who knew someone that mentioned my name and helped me be recognized when the company was going through the resumes. I cant count the number of times I’ve heard the “you have to know someone” and in our job market today its seemingly true. People come out into the real world and are praying that they know someone or meet someone that can help them get the best job because they are scared of not having one or not making enough money to survive and can you blame them? No, because no one wants to be in a bad situation and if you knowing someone can get you to a good place in life you will probably take it. I liked nepotism when I got my job and internship. I applied to Starbucks and got a call back and offered the job and was extremely surprised because I didn’t think applying online was really going to get me the job but it did. When I graduate next year I am not going to like affirmative action because I’m coming out hoping I can get a good job in my field and I don’t want someone to take the position that I’ve been working so hard towards my whole college career just because they knew someone and aren’t as skilled or qualified. So, is it a bad thing? Yes and no. No one in the class would stand up after they got a job because of affirmative action and say that it wasn’t fair that they got this job.
The Oprah Winfrey video about the schools is something that I’ve wondered about before. My high school wasn’t equipped with a pool or computers for every student, it wasn’t the type of opportunities that we should have received and immediately after my class graduation my school was torn down and a huge new beautiful school was built in its place that now has all of those things, and it makes me jealous because I feel like the kids graduating now have more opportunity to a better education than I did. It was a shock to the kids in the video when they went from the poor school to the super nice school because they saw everything that they could have in a highschool and what they were missing out on, and its just because of the area they lived in. It’s sad to see the numbers in comparison of graduates from the poor school to the rich school because it just proved that the school with the more equipped things is giving those students a better education and a better environment to want to learn and succeed.
This lecture was great, I enjoyed listening to all the comments at the end and agreed that most of this should be common sense to people.

I liked your response to the other side of the argument and I agree that there could have been another point of view included in the lesson. I too think that other cultures are intriguing and taking french for 6 years I know that there are many differences in the world between our country and other countries. It is important to stay open minded about other things because whether or not you enjoyed it in the end you are closer to a more clear opinion of the world for yourself. I too have experienced living with someone of a different race and although there were differences we learned that we were more similar than we both thought.

I see these numbers and I could have guessed that they would look that way from the first part of the class. I don’t really understand the point of showing these numbers. As Dr. Richards was talking about Republicans and Conservatives not wanting to live in a more diverse community I was thinking that there is another side and more to the reasons for this happening. Basically I think the biggest part it comes down to is that it is just the nature of things and the nature of people to want to be around others that are like them. Immigrants who come to this country to make a life for them should want to become an American and enjoy the customs and accept the culture that we have built. No one can make those people drop their cultures and accept new ones and many times they don’t. It is just the way things are; right or wrong. I would have been more surprised I think to see the map of Hispanics in the country to be equally spread across the country. Last week a topic was brought up about people wanting and feeling more comfortable living with people of the same race. As one of the students said, while she works with the apartments in student life they try to place the black students together, because its where they want to be. I agree that people shouldn’t care who lives next door to them, and you obviously cant force people to live in certain places to make a place more multi-cultural. I think it is definitely a positive thing to take in and understand other cultures because there is nothing to lose by doing so. Languages can only make you more valuable and knowing more about another culture is in many cases like a whole new world to most people. I don’t think Republicans are racist, and I don’t think that most are non-conservative. Maybe some people are just afraid to be called racist because I think the majority of people that go to Penn State especially live in a community where the majority of people around them are the same race, I know I have seen it many times while traveling all over.
As for the LGBT lesson, I have gained some knowledge. I do not disapprove, avoid or dislike people that identity with LGBT. Although, my religion ma not approve of it I have always accepted anyone into my life. I agree that most people do sin and nothing is thought of it, and it is interesting as to why we don’t acknowledge those sins as much as people aren’t accepted for being LGBT.

I think that everything you said is true and was in realtion to a lot of the points that I was trying to make. People dont always think about the way that children learn or how easily they can think one way when the turth is opposite. I too was surprised at the video of the black children being asked the questions with the babydoll and how society reflects their decision making. The adoption point was also interesting, a close family friend adopted an american indian child recently and he is being raised as a white person. He doesnt realize that when some of the other children look at them they call him brown because his skin is darker than theirs because his parents are white and he sees no racial differences in himself yet or in others. All of this is very interesting to me to see how the lectures relate to our lives in so many ways.

Being white it was very interesting to listen to this lecture about color and the racial identity differences and similarities. I think the most important topic on stages in the stage 2 awakening stage, when people figure that there is a difference between themselves and other, the fact that there is an "us" and a "them." When Dr. Richards was talking about people of color finding whites and the majority annoying to them because they are the majority along with people that haven't moved into the awakening stage. This is completely understandable, I can see how annoying and angry people can get or feel when they are the minority towards the majority because they feel as though they have to protect themselves and their race against the "them." Race and equality is a large topic and many people feel angry towards others, it's not that it is a bad thing but you can understand why their is a positive side and a negative side to the awakening stage. I can understand that white people don't understand their "whiteness" because I am white, and I live in a majority white society. But when I go down to inner city Baltimore for my internship every other day where it is a majority of colored people I feel like the minority in many situations and I get a little taste of that medicine that I haven't really experienced before. I think that in itself has helped me move out of the pre awakening stage. As Dr. Richards said blacks are thrown out of it very early, and whites can stage it in for a longer time. The study done by the high school student where she tested whether or not small children would pick up the white baby or they would pick the black baby was something that I don't think most people realize what is going on. Who knows where these children were from but what it proved was that these kids are learning at a very young age that the majority is white, and they see it through their eyes as being "good" and so they want to play with that white baby. When asked the little girl picked up the bad baby and it was black; i'm sure she didnt know why she made that choice but that is what has been taught to her by society and by watching others in the world. I know that i've grown up always having white baby dolls, I probably didn't even realize why until I was a little older. I think that we all just need to realize that you can't have hatred towards others without knowing where they are coming from and what their base ground is like and how they have grown up and lived in their society, because you cant blame someone for their beliefs or their race, they might not even fully understand themselves why they think that way or what has made them who they are today.

I would agree in saying this lecture was an eye opener.I enjoyed all the different topics mentioned in this lecture, especially racist card part. It is worse to dig yourself deeper and deeper by arguing and instead when you can just bow your head and just say okay whatever and not be afraid of the anger of someone calling you racist when you know that is not what you are. It is definitely up to the person to decide what may be racist and when they should stick up for their thoughts. I also feel that white people are afraid to just ask and address issues because they are feared of being called racist, no one wants to be labeled in that way and so people just completely avoid it all together.

Another great lesson that had me saying “Yes, that’s true!” Everything that Dr. Richards was saying made complete sense to what I have seen going on in the world. He hit the nail on the head when he was explaining when it is okay to use and how to use racial identifiers. I know I am in a point in my life where I am still trying to figure out when Im not always completely sure when it is okay to bring someone’s race into a situation and it was kind of nice for him to go through situations and just say it is okay to use it here and isn’t in this situation. I understand that people are learning, but I can see that people are possibly afraid to call someone black for example; if they’ve been in a situation and called someone black and been turned down from using that word or scolded in some way then they are going to tip toe around that concept for a long time after that and not be sure when it is politically correct or an acceptable situation to bring race into a situation.
It is true when the anchor said that poem during the video about the little kids being taught at a young age what to believe and when Dr. Richards explained that children learn at a very young age that race is a touchy subject, I’ve seen this first hand. My Mom runs a daycare and the kids between the ages of infants-9 yr olds and I see them wondering about it, sometimes asking what race is, maybe even watched them in situations where they are scolded by their parents because they’ve said something racial, which they don’t understand, and not understand why what they said was wrong.
The question of guilt is interesting, because I have been in situations where I feel guilty for being white. I’ve never really though of it to an extent but being in a situation where people of a different race are struggling because of their race or aren’t offered the opportunities that I am make me feel guilty for being white, but I am also thankful for what I have in life. Guilt does work, my parents have used it against me in different situations before and it has worked in their benefit. I have thought about most of what he has mentioned in this lecture, but never really heard someone go through and tell me what these feelings mean and what they actually are. White guilt is there and a lot of people tend to ignore it and think that it may be silly to feel guilty for something that happened hundreds of years ago when their ancestors lived because they weren’t the immediate person involved.

I enjoyed reading your comment because it was different than many of the others. I also dont immediately say "white" when someone asks me to identify myself and I feel that the people that aren't the average Joe do have more to identify with because they are not the norm of our society. It is a weird concept to think about and when I have thought about being white it is hard to understand how people of a different race may see me, and then I cant understand why when I try to accept and be the nicest person I can to everyone I meet there are still such a defining thought in the back of many people's minds about them being different from me just because of their skin color.

What it means to be white is a lecture topic that I’ve never heard before. It immediately grabbed my attention because I am white and although I live each day as a white person, I don’t know what it means to be white. It isn’t something that I have spent time thinking about or acknowledged the thought of what that means. Dr. Richards is right, I don’t think about being right handed ever or the fact that I am 5’3 but someone who is left handed and 7 ft. might think about this more because they may have to worry about things like a having a right handed glove or desk, or walking into a place that the ceilings are too low. It was an interesting way to look at the world. The first example about how Dr. Richards had to help the handicapped boy go to the bathroom was an experience that I have never known or even thought about. It is an experience I’ve never dealt with so I didn’t know about all the things that these disabled people deal with. I did a research study in one of my communications courses about how the media affects disabled people and how they are portrayed to the public. I learned a lot from that study about the disabled population that people overlook. Most times disabled people are seen in the media as being the hero, or the Through examining different mediums, people with disabilities fall into separate categories, including heroic figures, pitied by outsiders, victimized, or content with their conditions.
The videos shown about “whiteness” and how people that aren’t white see people who are were funny. It is true I’m sure for people who aren’t white see the things that white people tend to do as different or funny.
I laughed at the video with Carlos Mencia because it is true everyone knows that that sign is depicting a Mexican family running across the border, but no one wants to come out and make a statement saying that is true. It just goes to show that there are so many things in this world that we overlook each day and don’t even think about how messed up that really is. We just go along with it because for many of us it doesn’t affect our daily lives so we don’t need to do anything about it or think about what it means to the world in general or to the people of that race and ethnicity. I really enjoyed this lecture. It was probably my favorite so far, it made me laugh many time with the videos and examples Dr. Richards showed and it made me think about who I am and what that really means.