We live in a culture where it is more about who you know than what you know. We attend college preparatory high schools, are enrolled in great universities and attain college degrees. We are fully capable of doing the work, but often times need a break to get us started. Overall, the idea of nepotism makes me upset. I do not think that it is fair for qualified individuals to be overlooked because someone else knows a person of authority. It is unfair and discounts all of the hard work that a person puts into a learning experience; however a lot of times it is the only way that a person will get a chance to really show what they can do as a professional. When I was a teenager, it was really hard for me to find a job. The job that I am currently employed with I got (like many of the students from my high school) through one of the cafeteria workers. She knew that we were all looking for jobs and “looked out.” From here on out, I feel like if I applied for another job IN THAT SAME INDUSTRY I would not need help because I have that experience noted on my resume. Finding a job within my field is heavily dependent on the internships and setting yourself apart from others. My resume is filled with leadership experiences on-campus, but without the noted experience from an accredited company Im useless. If someone gave me a break and told me that’d help me get an internship (because they know my personality and work ethic) I would take them up on their offer, no questions asked. It would be foolish for me to turn down an offer when I know how few and far between they can be. The real problem with nepotism comes when an under-qualified person reaps the benefits of knowing someone in any particular industry. When you work hard and are making a conscious effort to make something of your, you feel like you deserve a certain amount of assistance. “God helps those who help themselves.” In contrast, swindling your way into a position and not being able to fulfill the duties and responsibilities of such is neither fair to yourself, the person “sticking their neck out for you” nor the company and should be avoided at all cause. Presenting someone with an opportunity that may or may not have known of otherwise, giving them the contact information and tagging your name to their application as a REFERENCE is not wrong. It is going beyond that and sliding the person in the backdoor, asking authority figures for a “favor” that constitute as nepotism and is unfair.

A picture can say a thousand words. Still frames are the most powerful communication tools used in the media and are used vastly in nonprofit public service announcements and advertisements. Capturing a candid shot of impoverished children in a poverty-stricken third world country can mean the difference between a donation of time and money and yet another overlooked group. Like any news, pictures and film of the actual event or situation bring a story to life. It makes us care about what is going on in areas beyond our own city, state or country.
I have yet to see a message about impoverished children not be supported by a picture or strategically created film or documentary. Film-makers and the likes are milking our pockets, rightfully so, with their emotional appeal. Watching infomercials and public service announcements with no idea, or solely the ideas within my mental capacity, of how bad these children have it will not convince me to text or call in my donation. It’s the swollen bellies, the flies landing on tiny eyelashes, the children playing despite their pain, that confirms their need for our assistance. You can see they aren’t eating. You see the results of the lack of no clean running water. Our financial and emotional assistance is vivid in that sense.
I guess you could say I am indifferent about news in general. The information has to get out to the public, but my problem with graphic public service announcements and other service advertisements is the lack of urgency. During disasters like the earthquake in Haiti or Japan, or even parading through an impoverished town, all hands should be on deck. The man holding the camera could have been two more hands rebuilding the town, or two more hands hugging the starving child to let her know things are going to get better. True pictures, film and coverage give us a view into situations we would not know otherwise, but the news also has the tendency to make people (the newscasters) seem so lackadaisical. If you really think about it (after sending in your donation of course, because that is still the point), if they would have just used the money spent to make this public service announcement to help these people my donation wouldn’t have been as important as it is. Or maybe my assistance is still needed, but there’s clearly more that can be done on one side of the camera than the other.
It can be offensive, on two levels, to take the footage and make people feel sorry for the children (they need our assistance not our sympathy or pity) and for the camera person to stroll in film and leave expecting the message to reach someone else and them to step up and help in some way. You were there and did nothing.

Life itself is a double-standard. On no level are men and women equal or carry the same burdens. I have discussed this with my friends on numerous occasions while getting dressed to go out on the weekend.
Me: Pop-Pop, what you wearing to the Alpha party tonight?
Pop-Pop: Black jeans and a gray t-shirt.
Guys can wear nearly anything to the club or a party and be “fresh”. They do not have to strategically choose an outfit that compensates both the weather and the ideals of party gear. A t-shirt and jeans is enough for any girl to turn her head. When girls wear sweatpants to class, she didn’t feel like getting dressed. When guys do the same, he may or may not be making a statement. Women, on the other hand, go out in nearly nothing most likely without a jacket, trekking through all types of inclement weather, for what? Women have it hard. If she is in a party with anything besides a mini skirt and a cropped shirt, she is under dressed. She may be able to get away with some tights, but even those do not protect her from the harsh winter winds. Heels can make any casual outfit spicy. The picture presented in class of the woman’s foot resting on what seemed like jewelry was a good depiction of what it feels like to be in heels. It hurts. My friends search and search for “comfortable” heels, but I don’t know of any.
It hurts to be a woman. I’m not saying that once I’m dressed I look in the mirror and dread that even put myself through all that, but ‘beauty bears pain’. We may ask why we put ourselves through such pain to attract the attention of the opposite (clearly that’s part of the reason, because I cant think of any others). Who created these ideals of acting and dressing like a lady? And why are we so bound by social conformities and constraints that when someone opposes them there is ridicule. Or why do certain types of clothing make us feel certain ways.
On a different note, I will say that men do not have as many options as women. Women dress down in a lot of settings as well. In the workplace, for example, women have the liberty of wear a skirt and cardigan, while men are trapped in full suits. The fact alone, that women can choose between a pants suit or a dress satisfies me. We can turn an outfit up or down without any real effort. I don’t know if that puts us a step closer to thinking about possibly having a leg up on men (no pun intended), but it is something to think about.

Sam made a good point, that everyone has racial tendencies. We all have referred to someone as “you know...that white guy” or “the black girl”. We cannot change the fact that we see each other differently. It is the deliberate and intention effort to offend, belittle or emotionally hurt someone that creates the problem. It goes back to political correctness. Whites (and definitely Hispanics) say n**** all the time amongst each other. Hispanics will say it to your face and think its ok (which Im seeing that in most cases it does not bother many African-Americans). It is the way that racial slurs are used that make use question if we have really reclaimed the term and transformed the meaning, or if we have really finally let go hundreds of years of struggle and strife.
Last semester while walking with a group to an event downtown to support the brothers of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Incorporated, we were faced with a very racist adult of seemingly hispanic descent. Walking towards us on Calder Way he yells, “F*** you n****s! I hope you get f***ed by the Klan!” I was infuriated. I am really dramatic so I paused and tried to allow his statement to sink into my soul. I looked to my friends to see their reaction (typically in Philadelphia the obvious reaction would have been a no brainer: kick his a** to thee curb). Granted we are in a college environment and could have potentially gotten in trouble on two levels: with the law and with Penn State.
Though hurt and deeply offended, this was not something that we could have handled on our own. Once the guy passed, we verbally expressed our anger amongst ourselves. A local store owner tried to reassure us that the guy had been yelling at a number of people, race not being a factor, but there was no excuse. We all called our parents and other family members to aid us in getting back center. It somewhat worked. We continued to talk about it at the event and there after. Being in a secluded predominantly white area like State College, you expect to run into racism and discrimination. Applying here, you mentally prepare yourself to face it, but what do you do when it smacks you in the face. My roommate and I were asked to get off of a CATA supposedly because we put our lives in danger, running across the street. What do you do?
It makes me uneasy to grin and bear it. That is not at all my style. My father told me to contact the Black Caucus and inform them of the things we are going through, but there is no Black Caucus in this district. Makes you think there is no judgement.

The video is intense, in part solely because it is the thoughts and actions of children. From an early age, children are acknowledging, first, a different between races, and also, realizing that society views them differently. Children are valuing white baby dolls more than those of color with the reasoning that they are: good, prettier and better. These views of the world and race are embedded in us from an early age and stay with us as we age.
Someone brought up a good point about Disney’s princess, a series that all little girls look up too, just thinking to create a princess presenting African-American girls. I recall my mother saying before this creation, that I could be Princess Jasmine (Aladdin) because she is the closest to being black. Once ‘Princess and the Frog’ debuted and colored people celebrated their victory, some still wanted to dig into the production and say it was racist.
As a child, I was really self-conscious about my skin color. I was picked on in elementary school, but I do not think that that ever transferred into my toys. My mother was extremely strict on me only playing with black baby-dolls. She thought that I should enjoy a realistic time of play. I never really cared about which race the doll represented. It was nothing more than a doll. My mother was diligent in making sure we found the black version of the toys I wanted. For me, every trip to the toy store was different. Sometimes I wanted the black doll, sometimes the hispanic, sometimes the white. They could have been painted purple. I would have never cared more or less. my mother implanted these those in my head, that I needed someone to represent me, even in play.
Socialization begins at home. The first few toys a child has is contingent on the parent’s ideals and values. In the early stages of play (prior to attending school) children do not HAVE to play with toys reflective of their race or gender. It is the parent that first exposes a child to race and racial issues. Not crossing those lines until they absolutely have to be (when the child enter daycare/pre-k/kindergarten) can assist in the child’s comfort level in playing with any and all toys, or seeing them as just that.
I participated in an activity the other day: Standing in a circle of girls from different backgrounds, we listened to a number of situations/thoughts and entered/exited the circle as it applied to each girl. “Did you parents tell you you are beautiful, intelligent and can achieve anything?” Though no one entered the circle, the question alone was an eye opener because we don’t realize how many people may or may not have that at home. My mother helped me celebrate my dark skin and thick hair. Maybe she did it in the wrong or extreme way, but I am comfortable with myself now.

I think that white people are very fearful as a race. Stereotypical, yes. Judgmental, yes. I find that black and brown people are much more assertive in expressing themselves in general. If something sits heavy on their hearts, they outwardly express it and handle things in the manner they think it best handled. That has not been my observation with white individuals. They bite their tongues a lot more and think about the consequences of saying what they really feel about a matter, especially when combating or possibly offending a black or brown person.

As far as admitting to being racist or having racist tendencies, black and brown people feel like they are entitled to being prejudice against white people. Between the struggle with enslavement and today’s struggle with lack of privilege, black and brown people feel owed. They are “allowed” to have a consider amount of animosity stored within, earned by those who struggled before them. White people are considered the root of the majority of societal issues and thus “do not deserve” to continue to condemn any discriminatory nature, but in contrast subject to the ridicule and prejudice of differences they decided to point out to better categorize ourselves.

I am not sure if it is valid to say despite never verbally stating that one is racist (a white individual), I am pretty confident that some are by their actions when faced with an individual of a different race. In a small Penn State, such as English 015, of the 20 students, only one or two are black/brown. If one, he/she struggles to find a partner for paired activities. If two, they are expected to work together (whether sitting near each other or not). I have seen the disgust in a white individual’s face when dreading having to work with me. I come to my discussion group every week and see the disgust in one of the white student’s face every discussion. She looks me up and down and rolls her eyes when me or another of the black or brown students makes a statement. She even once state that “Our brains put things into categories for a reason. Why would we try to go against that?” when talking about ending prejudices, stereotypes and decisions based on racial differences. If I were to ask is she racist, she would state that she is not, because she knows that it is not politically correct to do so.

My best friend, on the other hand, will tell anyone that she hates white people. She doesn’t like interacting with white people at all. She is comfortable stating such because she is black, but she has heard white individuals make similar comments and has gotten offended each time. It comes down to earning power. Blacks, especially, feel they have been through so much that they can say whatever they want to say and not be confronted about it.

I don’t think the term we are looking for is selfish, rather than silly. If one grows up in poverty, it is foolish to dampen the chances of getting out. This is free-will AND determinism at its finest. Placed in an uncomfortable situation — poverty — which road do you choose? A better question, “Is it selfish to self to set aside ‘falling in love’ and having children prior to making it out of poverty?” or even, “Is it selfish to one’s children to be born into poverty?” All things can be prevented. In respects to human needs (wants), some things “just happen”. At this stage it is decided to remain with child or not. This decision is dependent on moral and ethical values, as well as wanting, or being able to pay any associated costs. Later, to keep or give up for adoption. Repeating this series of questions while struggling financially gets tedious. I am more susceptible to show empathy for the woman struggling to care for her ONE child, than she who walks into the welfare office with five to six children. A great deal of her being impoverished is that the little money she was working long hours for has to stretch too far. I would rather struggle alone than with children. Its an easy struggle, and its not something I would want to put my children through.
As far Tammy, from the documentary, it is commendable that she is not merely taking advantage of the welfare system (like so many do, low-income and not). She is working at Burger King to support herself and her children after living on welfare for eighteen years. She claims to have dreams of attending college, but is she taking the necessary steps it takes to get there? One never has to content with the predicament they are placed in. She works at Burger King, walking to work because she has no functional car. I am sure many of these things did not come after bearing children. Having and loving children is a beauty thing, something that no one should be able to deny another, but bringing them into a broken home (on some terms) is hazardous. Its sad that our government doesn’t show, but so much sympathy for struggling families, but its a harsh reality that we all know. I think she, like many others, had a way better chance of getting out of poverty prior to having children. Now that Tammy’s children are older, they can get jobs and help take care of themselves, so she SHOULD be able to attempt to better herself. If I were born into poverty, in Tammy’s case with 21 siblings, I would want more for myself.

“...they are eating my flesh.” The statement alone, along with the video, sent chills up my spin. I do not eat chocolate. It is just not a taste that I enjoy at all. After watching the video I can not understand how a person can continue to consume chocolate comfortably. Ignorance is one thing. We can not be held accountable for the things we do not know, nor is anyone expecting you to look up every thing you eat, [use, buy] and see how it is made. That is unrealistic. Its the conscious knowing that questions the continued act. A great deal of the things we use daily are made as a result of [modern day] enslavement.
The documentary about the slaves on the Ivory Coast was very real. It was very raw and emotional. Only a heartless person would try combat the mental and physical pain those people and many others go through. Chocolate for one, is NOT a necessity. Giving us a Hershey’s isn’t burdening. Chalking the addiction may even be a good look for some people. For those who insist on eating chocolate after viewing this documentary, how much of a burden would it be to pay an addition few cents for it to be fair trade chocolate? Man who says he can not afford it is a liar! I probably won’t go out looking for products cheaply made from slavery or by a discriminatory factor, but once you know you have a moral obligation to view it differently.
Over winter break, I found out the brothers who founded Adidas and Puma were both Nazis. It made me so upset that I stopped purchasing anymore our their products. I got rid of all of track jackets, track pants and sneakers that I had that were of those brands. It didn’t seem morally right for me to have. That was something I was not going to be able to deal with mentally. Nike makes the same style of products so it was nothing letting those things go. There are other options. The same goes for products made by Tommy Hilfiger and his public remarks about not wanting black people to wear his products. Why would you support someone like that?
The scars, the hard memories, the stories of those children in the documentary were real...very real. I didn’t eat either piece of chocolate, but when Sam popped the second piece in his mouth and proclaimed that it tasted different, I believe him. The money that the U.S. spends and makes on chocolate is nothing compared to the strife these slaves go through. This documentary and lecture reconfirmed the phrase “If you’re not a part of the solution, you’re a part of the problem.”

Most of the decisions that we make, are not well thought out. Not only in Sam’s class (where we literally have three to four seconds to figure out what we believe), but in life we do not delay our thoughts. We have no real control over our thoughts (If someone had the ability to read minds we’d be in serious trouble, because we cannot stop our thoughts.) They move much faster than us, to where it takes a considerable amount to get full grasp of some of them.
Sam Richard’s changing the someone’s opinion at the drop of a hat, should come to no surprise. He’s stated time and time again that his job is to make us think about things differently. I’ve come to realize that either my opinion is solidified once Sam makes a point or I am stuck dead center. For example, when we were learning about free will versus (and) determinism: I took notes and listened closely to the definition and characteristics of free will and then did the same for determinism. In both instances I said, “yup...that is exactly what happens” not acknowledging that I was previously content. It took me a second or two more to realize that I believed a combination of the two views, but my initial reaction had already been verbalized.
In regards to the women imprisoned for sending her children to a school in a school district outside of her own, she was subjected to the effects of racism. My opinion did not change from the first to second time. Understandably so, a large number of our classrooms changed their opinions after reading several different headlines closing in on the same story. Media has a fascinating way of framing things in a particular way to stir up a reaction. Though supposedly hired to inform the public of the news, a large part of journalism is entertainment. Only the most creative survive in the world of communications (I may be a bit bias, guilty). I do not think it is fully the fickleness of humans, but the superb job journalist are doing in getting the public talking.
Though this is a reality for all of us, this can really come to be a hazard. When people are not given a substantial amount of time to make decisions and form solid opinions, which is often times, we run the risk of making the wrong decision (wrong meaning a decision potentially harmful to someone/something else). Too many times do we feel pressured to make clear choices and life is not always that clear. We continually over simply the most complex things instead of saying we are unsure or choosing a middle ground until we have time to put real thought into it.

I am humored by all types of comedians, race and ethnicity not being a factor. Comedy is comedy and if one stands before me and delivers well, I am going to pay homage with my laughter. I recall a Black History Month special on black comedy stating that “we used our misfortunes for the basis of our comedy to laugh to keep from crying.” Colored comedians take their own lives or family stories and make them funny. Its real life brought to a stage. I find that white comedians are really awkward a lot of times, though I sometimes get a good laugh in. They often don’t use their own personal anecdotes, but try to humor the audience with “relatable” stories and it becomes offensive. Though integration is alive and well in many places, people are still holding on to their culture’s past. Colored are still angry about enslavement and ill-treatment. We have not fully forgiven those of white descent. When a white comedian stands before an audience (I’ve witnessed this before) and makes jokes about an audience member’s nationality, people do not take it lightly. The comedian was actually booed…and I later witnessed an African-American comedian do the same (probably to the same audience member) and was applauded. In a sense, it’s just more tasteful. Is that holding us back in regards to equality? Absolutely. Is it about to change any time soon? No. Generations to come will be taught their cultural history and will still live in integration with a small stroke of hate, or lack of respect, for individuals of white descent; which brings me to my next attempt at answering this question. There is definitely a caste system in regards to respect based on an individual’s race and/or ethnicity. African-Americans are almost always at the top of these rankings. Most individuals of other races would not combat an African-American, respecting him more (at least directly, person-to-person), therefore laughing at his jokes more. Again in a lot of situations white people are the least respected and therefore the least laughed at. All other “colored” classifications fall in the middle, mostly getting laughs (in regards to comedy) based on how they say something with their hard accents. Everyone cannot be a comedian. Comedy is an extremely hard business to get a break in and then an equally hard business to sustain in. One has to find their comfort level, know their audience in preparing for the show and write/form jokes that will create the most enjoyable situation for everyone. There is a thin line between being funny and being offensive. It is important to remain one-sided in regards to that line. I think the best way to achieve that is to stick to what you know.