en-us https://www.intensedebate.com/users/2398389 Comments by KelseyLenox http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/06/30/week-8-%e2%80%93-lesson-14-affirmative-action/#IDComment170163295 It is amazing how much Nepotism does occur but being a Penn State student I’m sure we will benefit greatly from it. Think of the strong “networking” that Penn State is known for. Some of it is legitimate social and business networking; some of it is alumni loyalty, friendships, frat brothers, etc. I think everyone in the United States probably reaps these benefits in some degree, how ever miniscule. I am glad that after this lecture that I know more about Affirmative Action and in an different perspective. I still believe that there shouldn’t be laws in regards to it though. I do not believe this is a governmental issue. It’s a people issue and people need to be educated. While I agree our current system is far from flawless we are slowly bridging the gap . So I entirely agree with your suggestion for improving the current situation. Wed, 6 Jul 2011 03:59:00 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/06/30/week-8-%e2%80%93-lesson-14-affirmative-action/#IDComment170163295 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/06/30/week-8-%e2%80%93-lesson-14-affirmative-action/#IDComment170057376 I think it was a good way to start this lecture by posing the question how would you plan to provide for more equitable opportunities socially. It definitely got me thinking about my personal thoughts on that topic right off the bat. It’s important to realize that people will never be entirely equal, no matter how much we might try to construct that type of situation. People are simply different and there are so many factors and forces that influence and affect social and economic status other than race. Two children can both be from lower working class black families. If James mother reads to him every night and therefore has an insatiable appetite for reading and learning he will have certain influences and opportunities in his life because of that. If Jeremy’s parents are always working and have little interaction with him and never encourage him to put his full effort into school and he is naturally uninterested in education he will not have the same situation as James. I also was so happy to hear Sam admit his political affiliation or philosophy as libertarian. While this has little to do with the lecture I find it not only extremely interesting but really important for me. I consider myself a continually educated libertarian and a topic such as this specifically contradicts my political thinking. It is really helpful and amazing to see that Sam is able to still have those beliefs but as a sociologist open eyes such as mine to the sociological perspective of it. I was a little shocked to learn that most people that benefit from affirmative action are straight white women. That’s me. The opera video was really amazing to see. I was a teenager that went to a suburban high school much like the well off one in the clip. My school had many advanced level, classes, brand new turf grass lacrosse, soccer and football fields, etc. That is probably one of the largest factors I can attribute to why I am currently about to graduate from Penn State. I feel like having all of those resources propelled my education because I know I certainly did not care that much about school but I had really good teachers and all of the books and equipment and other things to make learning easier and even more fun at times. While as a libertarian I naturally oppose affirmative action I cannot neglect that I myself have benefited from nepotism and they are essentially one in the same. I cannot continue to condemn affirmative action when I have received the benefit from the concept of it. Clearly when the majority of the population goes through life seeing themselves as better than other people issues will be created. We need to first be willing to recognize that there is an inequality issue. Tue, 5 Jul 2011 20:23:20 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/06/30/week-8-%e2%80%93-lesson-14-affirmative-action/#IDComment170057376 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/06/26/week-7-%e2%80%93-lesson-13-immigration/#IDComment168458547 I used to be one of those people that would get extremely irritated with the whole “speak English” argument. I still do not believe that we should go out of our way to accommodate non-English speakers because the primary language of our country is English. The Sweden story shows just how ignorant people can be. I can honestly say that if I immigrated to another country where I was not fluent in the language I would make an effort to learn the language just because it would make things easier for myself I think, however I say that without having actually been in that position so who knows. Thu, 30 Jun 2011 22:07:29 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/06/26/week-7-%e2%80%93-lesson-13-immigration/#IDComment168458547 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/06/26/week-7-%e2%80%93-lesson-13-immigration/#IDComment168400912 Immigration is something that I always felt, or thought I felt, crystal clear on. Black and white issue for myself, until now. I always, and still am, against illegal immigration in the United States. Sam’s point that immigration is propelled by free market capitalism really made me think. I am a huge advocate of capitalism and think it is the single best economic system that our market should operate on. This made me start to think if I myself was a business owner what illegal or legal immigration would mean for me and more importantly my business. It would mean less expense and higher profit; the core concept of capitalism. Sam is right that immigration is not a republican or democrat issue but an issue that we all have as United States Citizens. It is remarkable to see that our immigration policies are so profoundly influenced by economic concerns. It is all about business and money. Another part of this lecture that I found interesting was the Kongo The Dog story. Is it racist that there was proposed legislation for a bill to save Kongo’s life because he attached an illegal immigrant? I can almost guarantee that if he had attacked a United States citizen the topic would not have the same tone, outcome or even be a topic of discussion at all. Another thing that I think is important to be pointed out and understood is that everyone has the metaphorical finger of “lowlife” pointed at them at some point; every race and ancestry. It was not necessarily always easy for whites to immigrate to the United States and they shared their troubles and obstacles as well as exemplified by the Irish. To be a poor white person was still undesirable. The example of the rich roommate or a poor roommate was a great way to get to understand how poor people were so undesirable. I’ve been in situations where I was the one who had to collect money for the electric bill and other bills as my name was on it. I had one roommate who would takes weeks on end to pay me back and by the end of our lease I refused to live with her or be responsible for the bills. One of the main concepts I took from this lecture was that immigration creates conflict. Another was that we do not have to agree with immigration, illegal or legal, but we need to understand what it means to immigrate for the immigrants and us. I would not say by beliefs that I do not support illegal immigration have changed but I am more able to understand what it means to pick up everything you have and move to a foreign place in search of a better life. Thu, 30 Jun 2011 18:03:51 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/06/26/week-7-%e2%80%93-lesson-13-immigration/#IDComment168400912 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2010/06/23/week-7-lesson-13-immigration/#IDComment168146039 Immigration is something that I always felt, or thought I felt, crystal clear on. Black and white issue for myself, until now. I always, and still am, against illegal immigration in the United States. Sam’s point that immigration is propelled by free market capitalism really made me think. I am a huge advocate of capitalism and think it is the single best economic system that our market should operate on. This made me start to think if I myself was a business owner what illegal or legal immigration would mean for me and more importantly my business. It would mean less expense and higher profit; the core concept of capitalism. Sam is right that immigration is not a republican or democrat issue but an issue that we all have as United States Citizens. It is remarkable to see that our immigration policies are so profoundly influenced by economic concerns. It is all about business and money. Another part of this lecture that I found interesting was the Kongo The Dog story. Is it racist that there was proposed legislation for a bill to save Kongo’s life because he attached an illegal immigrant? I can almost guarantee that if he had attacked a United States citizen the topic would not have the same tone, outcome or even be a topic of discussion at all. Another thing that I think is important to be pointed out and understood is that everyone has the metaphorical finger of “lowlife” pointed at them at some point; every race and ancestry. It was not necessarily always easy for whites to immigrate to the United States and they shared their troubles and obstacles as well as exemplified by the Irish. To be a poor white person was still undesirable. The example of the rich roommate or a poor roommate was a great way to get to understand how poor people were so undesirable. I’ve been in situations where I was the one who had to collect money for the electric bill and other bills as my name was on it. I had one roommate who would takes weeks on end to pay me back and by the end of our lease I refused to live with her or be responsible for the bills. One of the main concepts I took from this lecture was that immigration creates conflict. Another was that we do not have to agree with immigration, illegal or legal, but we need to understand what it means to immigrate for the immigrants and us. I would not say by beliefs that I do not support illegal immigration have changed but I am more able to understand what it means to pick up everything you have and move to a foreign place in search of a better life. Thu, 30 Jun 2011 01:14:23 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2010/06/23/week-7-lesson-13-immigration/#IDComment168146039 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2010/06/23/week-7-lesson-12-multiculturalism-lgbt/#IDComment168033344 I love that you put your beliefs on gay marriage in here although some people may find that too controversial to mention. I'm currently struggling from a political standpoint what I believe in on this issue. I believe gay and lesbian relationships deserve equal rights but like you I still believe that marriage is between a man and a woman. I also believe that as long as your actions do not infringe upon the freedom of anyone else you should be able to do anything, absolutely anything you want. So this is very hypercritical for me. I also have never previously heard of the term "amalgamation" and it is a really cool concept. With this idea the creation of different cultures is infinite and undefined. Wed, 29 Jun 2011 18:35:32 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2010/06/23/week-7-lesson-12-multiculturalism-lgbt/#IDComment168033344 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2010/06/23/week-7-lesson-12-multiculturalism-lgbt/#IDComment167688418 It is interesting to think about and understand LGBT as the second stage of the civil rights movement. This movement is becoming more and more powerful in our generation and I think it’s important to recognize this. Sam makes a great point that LGBT issues and topics unite us ALL despite race or color because we all fall under one of these sexual orientations or categories. The statistics on the rights that people think gay people should have in regards to marriage is an ever-growing hot topic. New York recently just legalized gay marriage, which is a huge movement in the direction for equality. With the United States being the most diverse country in the world it is interesting to find out that a significant number of our population think that immigrants that come to the United States should leave everything behind and Americanize themselves but they don’t want to have any part or direct connection to that process. It is interesting, however not surprising because that is a popular American opinion. The video of rapping in thirty different languages was really cool to see because while I couldn’t understand any of it the body language, rhythms and style were all extremely similar. It’s amazing that a music genre has been successful in reaching the entire globe. One question that Sam posed that really got me thinking is how do I feel knowing that sometime in my lifetime as a white person I will be the minority in the United States. This thought is kind of shocking to me and I do feel not necessarily uncomfortable with that thought but just in pure shock that this is not only possible but is going to happen. Sam’s comments that if you do feel uncomfortable with reflects your own ethnocentrism and racism made me think even more. I don’t consider my self-racist in the least bit and hadn’t considered myself ethnocentric either but really reflecting on my feelings about this fact scares me about my own feelings. If I was surrounded by a majority of people that were no longer my own race and I feel some way about this…I could be racist? I don’t think that it has anything to do with me having issues with people of color but rather the contrast of what I am used to being surrounded by. I grew up in a largely white community and attend Penn State where still roughly 82% of the student population is white. The adjustment would just be different. I know many people that feel that immigrants that come to the United States should assimilate themselves to our culture. The number one thing I can pin point people saying is that if you’re going to live in this country you should be expected to communicate in our language; English. I don’t think that immigrants that do not speak English should be punished for not speaking English but at the same time I agree with Sam that we shouldn’t bend over backwards in ways such as altering our street signs, exams, etc. in other languages to accommodate all immigrants. I recently was flying back from California and this elderly woman next to spoke not one word of English. She asked me if I knew Spanish and I replied that I knew a little and it had a long time since I used the language. She tried the entire flight to carry a conversation with me and I could tell she was getting frustrated with me for not being able to answer all of her questions in a fluent manor. One of the flight attendants had to translate for her with everyone she needed to communicate with during her travel. It was just interesting experience to have. Tue, 28 Jun 2011 20:52:43 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2010/06/23/week-7-lesson-12-multiculturalism-lgbt/#IDComment167688418 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2010/06/16/week-6-lesson-9-stages-of-racial-identity-people-of-color-stages-1-4/#IDComment165964627 I agree with you that the opening analogy of this lecture was very interesting as well as helpful in understanding what it means to be white or black. I understand also how different individuals can be in different stages on different days because thinking about myself I sometimes feel like I hover between stages based on my experiences of that day, week or month. It is interesting that Asians consider themselves to be white, however when I think about what I personally would consider them I would say white as well. They certainly are not black any many I would not say brown either. Thu, 23 Jun 2011 23:08:33 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2010/06/16/week-6-lesson-9-stages-of-racial-identity-people-of-color-stages-1-4/#IDComment165964627 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2010/06/16/week-6-lesson-9-stages-of-racial-identity-people-of-color-stages-1-4/#IDComment165491451 I remember Sam making a comment in one of the first, if not the first lecture of this course that as long as race issues exist there will be a need to have discussions about them and these issues will always exist. I know don't necessarily view this as a bad thing. We have these discussions because we all different, not just the color of our skin but many others things about our race and ancestry makes us all different from one another. I think it is a good thing to recognize these differences and have these discussions about them even if results in arguments because I think this will help the race relations issues evolve. This brings me to my thoughts on classification. The roles that classification and labels have on each of us within our society. To be classified as African American on the United States Census seems it would have a much greater meaning than to be labeled as African American in Africa. In fact, would they even do that in Africa? I wonder we feel compelled to label everyone by the race or ancestry as if it really has some impact on the composition of our character. The video shocked me that the little girls would rather have a black doll. It saddens me that people would so much rather be white than boldly display their own race. I’ve mentioned in a previous blog that I am fascinated, in a positive way, by people with other ancestries than that of my own. Maybe it is only my white blindness to the troubles and obstacles that other races face but they also get to experience and be part of a culture than I will never be a part of myself. Personally, being white seems boring to me. Some people are truly comfortable in their own skin, regardless of what color it may be, but it seems like the majority of people are constantly wanting the opposite of what they are which makes me wonder why there is such a high level of racism still today if most of us are trying to look like a different race anyway, Lastly, the conceptions of “cool” associated with good and bad grades in regard to skin color blows my mind. In my high, although mostly white, the difference in being considered cool based on grades was not between white and black but rather white and brown. It was brown people that were thought of as un-cool if they received good grades or were on the honor roll and the white kids were just expected to get good grades and sadly if you didn’t you were thought of as more of “white trash” than not cool. Once again, this is something that I continue to reflect on because the race topic is still a great blue slowly becoming clear. Wed, 22 Jun 2011 17:58:38 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2010/06/16/week-6-lesson-9-stages-of-racial-identity-people-of-color-stages-1-4/#IDComment165491451 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/06/07/week-5-%e2%80%93-lesson-9-stages-of-racial-identity-%e2%80%93-white-people-stages-3-4/#IDComment163212106 It's really interesting that you admit that you are afraid of being called a 'racist'. I, as well, grew up in a town with a majority of white people. It's not that I never once interacted with other races but I live outside the city and it seems that mostly white people live outside the city and colored people live in the city. I never feared being viewed as a racist until you're thrown into a situation when and where you are forced the recognize the race card such as Penn State and especially this class. Thu, 16 Jun 2011 16:09:07 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/06/07/week-5-%e2%80%93-lesson-9-stages-of-racial-identity-%e2%80%93-white-people-stages-3-4/#IDComment163212106 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/06/07/week-5-%e2%80%93-lesson-9-stages-of-racial-identity-%e2%80%93-white-people-stages-3-4/#IDComment161501433 Continuing on with this lecture in week 5 on what it means to be white Sam finishes going through the different levels. In the beginning of the lecture he hits on the idea that white people learn to treat everybody equally in order to avoid being labeled or seen as racist. It’s as if as long as you don’t acknowledge color to some degree it is harder for anyone to claim that you are being discriminatory. I agree that we are conditioned to do this. My first semester at Penn State my roommate was black and it was something that I never addressed to her or anyone else. She was never my black roommate, she was just Jaime, my roommate. I feel like I do or did do this, not necessarily because I was afraid of being called a racist because I know I’m not but because it seemed like the right thing to do, to really treat everyone equally. I was kind of surprised to learn than another route of the awakening stage leads to white supremacy. I guess I don’t really understand white supremacy and just thought it was something people believed in from early on due to their parents, relative, etc. It seems hard to believe that after learning and being in the awakening stage that a white person could lead into white supremacy but than again I guess realizing your whiteness is a opening door to those thoughts. Another topic of this lecture is about appropriation of identities; when it appropriate and necessary and useful to identify people by their race or color of their skin. I think that it something most white people struggle with because they at any point when they identify a person as black or brown or even white it acknowledges skin color and that is a dangerous place to be. A concept that Sam pointed out is that white people can be or might feel privileged to be seen as an individual whereas people of color are grouped together to often. I never thought of myself as lucky to be seen as an individual and not have stigmas against me based on the color of my skin but after this lecture I do feel thankful that I am me and only me and I don’t have to be categorized as something. I found it surprising also that Sam mentioned that is most often critiqued not by people of color in the class or even conservative white people but by liberals who think that he does not take race seriously enough. And lastly, the feelings of guilt that most white people at some point when discussing or thinking about race issues. As a white person I can easily understand what the guilt feelings are....although I am not so clearly versed in why I have those feelings or pin point all the things that I feel guilty for. Fri, 10 Jun 2011 20:30:24 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/06/07/week-5-%e2%80%93-lesson-9-stages-of-racial-identity-%e2%80%93-white-people-stages-3-4/#IDComment161501433 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/06/07/week-5-%e2%80%93-lesson-8-stages-of-racial-identity-%e2%80%93-white-people-stages-1-2/#IDComment161462452 At the start of this lecture I thought I would have a lot to think and feel and discuss on the topic of “whiteness”. I mean I’m white, however this lecture made me realize how much I have never reflected on what it means to be white because white people do not talk about being white. We are rarely forced to understand what it means to be white and it is not something that many of us do voluntarily. I’ve never just been bored one lost in my own thoughts and started to think about what exactly it means to my life to be white. I have thought about what it means to be a woman and I wonder why I have spent more time thinking about that yet have never begun to think about my race until now. I think I’m in the majority of most characteristics talked about in class and how I would identify myself. I am a white female, 5’7” who is a student at Penn State originally from Pennsylvania, etc. probably like several other students in this class. Thinking about the things I would identify myself as really made me think about how important a sense of self and identity really is. In terms of being politically correct I feel like there is this general notion that white people shouldn’t think about what it means to be white and that we should think more about what it means to be of color. This lecture can’t explain what or how you should feel about being white because there is not right or wrong answer. What it means to be white is probably different from person to person just as white people are different even thought we are all white. It’s kind of funny that most white people never seem to be truly offended by things that might offend people of color. It seems we just laugh off most insults like they don’t actually hurt us. People of color do this also but I know some people that actually think to get offended about jokes or insults about being white would be racists against people of color. The different stages of realization are pretty interesting and I think that personally I was somewhere between pre-awakening and the second stage. Most of the thoughts I have had about being white have been in relation to people of color and my interactions with them and not necessarily other white people. A couple of other things in this lecture that I agree with are how things are so much funnier when we include swearing or vulgarity and the “life is good” notion of white people. I’ve never ever ever heard a white person complain about difficulties of being white or say that they wish that they were not white. There is a lot to think about white lecture, a process just beginning for me. Fri, 10 Jun 2011 17:49:18 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/06/07/week-5-%e2%80%93-lesson-8-stages-of-racial-identity-%e2%80%93-white-people-stages-1-2/#IDComment161462452 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/06/02/week-4-lesson-6-race-and-ethnic-inequality/#IDComment160693804 I agree with you that the examples and illustrations are particularly helpful in understanding the content of the lectures. The inequality issue, from every aspect, takes a little more critical thinking for me because I don't feel like I've had to face many obstacles of inequality, other than the levels of inequality within the white working class. Sometimes I can't imagine how it must feel to be treated differently based on the color of my skin and I never will be able to. Our entire criminal system is whack haha. I would tend to think that black or brown people involved with drugs would be more easily caught in a primarily white middle class setting because to police officers they would be more suspect, however it is easier in general to arrested for drugs in an urban area due to the increased level of crime to begin with, the environment layout, etc. Wed, 8 Jun 2011 17:56:28 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/06/02/week-4-lesson-6-race-and-ethnic-inequality/#IDComment160693804 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/06/02/week-4-lesson-6-race-and-ethnic-inequality/#IDComment160691745 It’s so interesting to think that we believe that we as individuals are so free to make whatever decision we want to make when in reality there are so many unconceivable factors contributing to all of the decisions we make that we cannot see. Some of us claim that we can severe these strings and make decisions opposite of what these factors would influence us to make but we cannot change certain things that shape our decisions and actions. I cannot change the fact that I am a white female and will make decisions based on those two factors. The example in class of the two men being instructed to reach down their pants was a great example of how determinism tells us “don’t do that”. We all know people that act or think their better than other people because of the social status, wealth, etc. but many of the reasons they hold that status or have money has absolutely nothing to do with anything they themselves have done to accomplish that. That’s why it is so inaccurate to make conclusions about someone based on those factors because more than likely they themselves did nothing to neither achieve that nor possess the characteristics associated with those successes. Although being smart and innovative can undeniably help you to reach the top of the mountain or obtain the resources needed for survival, the majority of it is just luck. Pure simple luck. I would argue that many people than have money or are wealth of in our society would openly admit that they are in the position they are in simply due to luck. The perpetual success and power of the people in these positions is a hard cycle to break because once anyone gains control not only will they go to great lengths to maintain that control but it probably fairly easy for them to do so. They are able to make rules and laws to keep people without the luck in the same position and fend of their attempts to reach the top of the mountain as well. One a personally note, I wish people would stop walking around this earth with their noses so far up their own ass and give credit to the real reasons that they are in their own individual situations. Your ancestors were lucky and you are lucky, more than likely. Sure, we are all students at Penn State and are smart and most of us work pretty hard to be able to go to Penn State but why are we really here? Because someone before us got lucky, even in the slightest to allow us the opportunity to continue our power and success of knowledge and wealth. Wed, 8 Jun 2011 17:48:37 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/06/02/week-4-lesson-6-race-and-ethnic-inequality/#IDComment160691745 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/05/25/week-3-lesson-5-social-inequality/#IDComment158557020 You make a great point about Daniel Williams. My father in fact had open-heart surgery two years ago and would not be alive today if he had not. I often think about how grateful I am that we have the medical technology and knowledge to save people's lives, especially my dad. I highly doubt that anyone in need of live saving surgery would refuse medical help from a black or brown person simply because of his or her skin color. When people make points about the achievements of black or brown people I think it is important to realize that it has absolutely nothing to do with their skin color biologically but rather the difficulties and challenges they have over-come to make those achievements. Thu, 2 Jun 2011 15:33:45 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/05/25/week-3-lesson-5-social-inequality/#IDComment158557020 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/05/25/week-3-lesson-5-social-inequality/#IDComment158555127 Once again, I one of the most difficult things to do in this course is to put aside my personal opinion, beliefs and feelings. Clearly, there is an undeniable level of inequality in our country, especially among the different races that live here. In the beginning part of lecture 5 all I could think about was my political beliefs that inequality does not mean that we should take from the rich to enable the poor a better life. Although that may sound extremely ignorant and your first assumption is probably that I’m wealthy and my parents support me, this is the furthest thing from the truth. Neither of my parents have anything higher than a high school diploma. My dad works EXTREMELY hard in a materials factory and my mom is an executive assistant, working class people. My parents do not help me pay for school and I’ve had a job myself since I was fourteen. While I think most people take the fact that they are a student at Penn State for granted I try to appreciate every aspect of it because I am the one bearing the financial burden. With that being said, I am wealthy by other standards. I have a roof over my head, I eat three meals a day and I am able to enjoy simple activities in life that people living in poverty will never be able to experience. I would also like to admit that my perspective is very biased because I have never lived in poverty conditions and I’m sure I had been forced to endure that my personal views of inequality would be much much different. There is inequality in just about every aspect of life it seems and not just among race but gender and sexual orientation as well. It would be wonderful if could eliminate all inequality with a snap of our fingers, but we all know that is impossible and the prospect of improving the conditions things such as public schools is a slow and painful process. It’s really interesting that so many people immigrate to the United States in search of a better more prosperous life and a greeted with the same challenges from their home country. As Sam said, we go through life in this culture judging people on wealth like that actually determines the type of person they are in this world. The content of your character is not related to the sum of your wealth. Often times people look like they are very wealthy perhaps because they are living beyond their means when in reality they are so far in debt it’s unimaginable. This lecture basically left me wanting to be conscious of inequality in the world around me. Thu, 2 Jun 2011 15:26:52 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/05/25/week-3-lesson-5-social-inequality/#IDComment158555127 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/05/25/week-3-lesson-4-ethnocentrism/#IDComment157852790 This lecture was a real eye-opener about of misinformed and close-minded many of us truly are. I think that we would be in a much better position to make educated informed decisions if we questioned things, everything. In my opinion, clearly we cannot rely on our government to present us with accurate information because they have an agenda of their own. More importantly, it seems that one as you mentioned challenges anything that is presented to us. We trust our government and media without even stopping to think about why or how theses "facts" came from. Life is so busy and complicated that most of do not that the time to stop and research anything for ourselves and arguably there would be a shift in opinion if people we exposed the issues and conversation that we are being exposed and asked about in this class. Tue, 31 May 2011 15:21:03 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/05/25/week-3-lesson-4-ethnocentrism/#IDComment157852790 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/05/25/week-3-lesson-4-ethnocentrism/#IDComment157851318 I’m not quite sure where to start with this week’s lecture. The first part of the lecture on ethnocentrism was really interesting. People can be very shy and wary of different cultures and even be completely against learning or experiencing any part of something different. I love travelling and hope I get to the chance to do so more. This summer I am going to the Caribbean for a couple of weeks and although it is a vacation I hope to be able to get to experience the different parts of culture such as food. I would like to think that I am open-minded about different cultures but there is no doubt that there are certain things that do make me feel very uncomfortable and I disagree with. A friend of mind lived in the U.S. Virgin Islands for a year and arguably it may not be the most cultural different place form the United States, there are many different cultural aspects there that are different from here on the United States mainland. She was able to be fully immersed in the culture there and make friends with all the locals and thus she left having been completely able to understand some of their cultural practices. The second part of the lecture on Christian Invaders raised many feelings for myself. My immediate feeling was defensive because my boyfriend is in the Air Force and has been deployed twice in Qatar, Iraq and is currently serving in Kuwait. After I was able to put those defensive feelings aside and look at the scenario through the eyes of an Arab/Muslim my thoughts were slightly different. Sam does a great job of getting you to think from a different perspective. The images we are presented of Iraq, Afghanistan, etc. are so progandized by our government it’s ridiculous. Small details of hearing about how prayer comes on the speaker five times a day on the base makes me think how uncomfortable that would make myself feel. The United States has so many embassies and bases ALL over the world. When you are able to look at the United States and all of the things we do you get a very different take on us. I’m not religious in the least, in fact religion kind of creeps me out, however the images of the American soldier holding The Bible and all of the actions we as Christian Americans do is comparable to that of any other religions like Islam. I’ve always read and learned, my own curiosity and education, about Islam as such a radical extreme religion. The Quran directly calls for violence but understanding that not every Muslim is that way much like many Christians do not follow The Bible to a “T” either. Tue, 31 May 2011 15:15:41 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/05/25/week-3-lesson-4-ethnocentrism/#IDComment157851318 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/05/22/week-two-lesson-2-intro-to-race/#IDComment156189191 Reading your thoughts on the Europeans creating race, I have similar feelings. I honestly never stopped to think about it before; who or why race was created and developed. It completely surprised me that we are so closely genetically similar to chimps! We go through life constantly comparing the differences between one another when in reality we are all pretty much the same, especially because we all humans first. It's pretty crazy to think about the fact that race was created by Europeans to establish and continue slavery....so why do we rely on race today? Is there a need for it? It makes me think about every piece of paper work that I fill out where I answer that I identify myself as Caucasian....what does the really mean? Thu, 26 May 2011 02:01:32 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/05/22/week-two-lesson-2-intro-to-race/#IDComment156189191 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/05/22/week-two-lesson-2-intro-to-race/#IDComment155992559 It's amazing how quickly we categorize people or assume certain aspects of their lives to be true based upon a five second interpretation of their race on skin color. It's even more remarkable how incorrect we not only are about our stigmas concerning race but often times we don't even conclude the right ancestry. In the experiment/example during the lecture it was almost comical to watch the student try to place other students on a spectrum based on physical appearance, especially when he was wrong. The Palestinian student completely shocked me. It is also crazy to think about how people so desperately try to change their physical appearance. These characteristics often times do help define their history and they should be proud of where they came from. Instead Asians are having cosmetic surgery to change the appearance of their eyes to a more western look and black and brown people try to lighten their skin to that of white people, all the while white people worship the sun trying to get a tan. Our concept of beauty is so distorted from place to place and relies on what we are socialized to believe is beautiful. I look around at other women and I see so many beautiful features in every woman of all races and ethnicities. Sometimes I find certain things so beautiful because I associate these feature with their ancestry. I think different ancestries are awesome. To me as a typically white female, who knows what I really may be, although I am mostly Scottish and some German and Welsh, I feel like I look the same as so many other white females. To have features that relate you to a group of people, different from what I relate to fascinates me. I guess this kind of negates the point of why we shouldn't have races to begin with but I look at as more of an ancestral thing than a race thing. As far as evolution versus creation I believe in evolution...that there is no higher power, God, etc. So with that being said understanding the concept of how people of color came to be makes perfect sense. The adaptions from skin color, hair, noses, etc. makes the human "race" in a whole a very cool. We are all human first and we've come to create these labels of race rather than just recognizing what is it; an evolutionary variation. What's more off-puting about the concept of race is all of the ideas, stigmas and stereotypes we attribute to rather insignificant facts. The color of your skin in itself does not directly force you to anything. Perhaps other factors due to this such as cultural beliefs, family structure, etc. may influence you but those alone do not create your character or personality. When I think about the different groups of people that I've had relationships with they are mostly German, Bosnian, Korean, French and Scottish. Looking more closely at the physical features of my friends and family of these different ancestries I can distinguish the small differences that were mentioned in the lecture about traveling in Europe. I can more easily distinguish differences between white people than black or brown people and I can openly admit I would not be able to tell the difference between an Asian from Korea, China or Japan. Wed, 25 May 2011 13:39:18 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/05/22/week-two-lesson-2-intro-to-race/#IDComment155992559