I’ve never had a problem with gays – in fact one of my best friends and roommate is gay. A few of my co-workers are gay at home and my boss is gay too. I feel like I’ve always been surrounded by gays and I love it. They’re no different than straight people, some gay men, like my roommate, can be a little “diva’ish” but by saying that I mean that some of his attitude that he portrays is usually associated with females. I go out with him and try to look for potential men for him and it’s like being a wing woman for a straight man or girl – it’s great (although sometimes hard to detect!). I’ve luckily never had a problem with gays personally and I respect the pride that many have here on campus. I respect the fact that gays want to be heard and I believe it’s unfair that many people don’t give them that chance. Unfortunately, my family doesn’t share the same beliefs as me. My mom is stuck to her Middle Eastern culture (Lebanese) and believes that “God created Adam and Eve, not Adam and Steve” – and it sickens me. She knows I live with a gay male, and doesn’t have a problem with that but she’s not fond of the whole gay marriage and gay culture. She’s not alone in that stance. Growing up in a Middle Eastern culture primarily, although mixed with Hispanic, there was no talks or so called “such thing as gays”. If you’re gay, you burn in hell. You wouldn’t dare step into a Middle Eastern culture where many folks are primarily covered and tell them you were gay. You’d be spit on shunned upon and maybe even believed to be possessed. It’s not accepted in many cultures and especially many religions. I didn’t grow up in a Muslim household. I grew up in a Christian-Catholic household and talk of homosexuality never really came up because it wasn’t something that affected us. Based on those religions, including the Muslim religion, it’s completely unacceptable as we saw clearly in class. Besides religious reasons, I don’t see where the real issue is with homosexuality. Butt sex – people have anal sex all the time. Between the same sex? Men love lesbians, what’s wrong with two males? PDA? Go into a club on a Friday night and see what should be going on behind closed doors. I enjoy my association with gay people. I enjoy having gay friends. It’s sad that gays could be fit into a race category that has been oppressed -- it shouldn’t be that way. My culture isn’t one to approve of gay culture, my family isn’t that fond either, however that doesn’t dissuade me from accepting gay people and standing up for their rights.

As long as the media is around and there’s news, society will continue to live in fear. We listen and read into stories that involve kidnappings (ie: Caylee Anthony case, Sky Metawala case etc) on headline news and think, “OMG! This could happen to my kid!” and continue to live with this unrealistic fear based off what Sam told us statistically – only 100 kids a year kidnapped. Not 25,000, 10,000, or even 1,000… 100! After hearing that, because I assumed there were at least 1,000 child kidnappings a year – I was shocked. We believe what we hear and what is fed to us. How many people would really buy a newspaper or watch the news if only good things happened? How many people watch shows like Criminal Minds, Law & Order, CSI, and so on? Of those people who watch these crime filled shows, mainly involving murder – what does society think the biggest crime in America is? Murder. We’re sucked into what the media gives us and I don’t think it will ever change. As far as coming together with regards to race and making peace… it will never happen in my opinion. Words are changed so often that as soon as anything is twisted the whole story changes – with facts or none. The news media craves anything that could give them views. Take a look at the Trayvon Martin case. They’ve twisted Zimmerman’s words and had to apologize for an article written because of false information. They realize that this is headline news, racially provoked, and upsetting to many across the nation – but yet they still continue to do what they do. We’ll never be able to come together as one. back to fear, we’re consistently living in fear. The problem is is that one or two people commit a crime whether of one race or one specific religion and automatically that whole race/religion is ostracized. Take for example Muslims, lots of people in the United States can’t help but feel scared when boarding a plane with someone wearing a hijab. Why? Because of fear after 9/11. These Muslims boarding the planes are American citizens, they’re Arabs who had nothing to do with the attacks but they’re automatically stigmatized and feared of. It’s upsetting and as much as many of us would like this divide to go away, it won’t. Personally, I fear for our future as a whole. I fear that as united as we’d like to stand, we’re hypocrites. I fear that because we let the news and actions of a few get the best of us and create that ‘fear’ inside us, that we won’t ever accept the truth – even when given the real facts. What’s sad, is I’m still one of those people listening to these news stories (with no relation to race) but crime statistics and believing what I hear is far worse than it is because that’s what’s handed to me—and I no longer want to live with that.

When Sam stated that we live in ethnocentric society, he couldn’t be more correct. The first video we saw in class this past Tuesday gave me a different perspective on life and how I should view it as well as others. The video showed tribes in Africa and how they idolized their people in a way many of us here would find “odd”, but soon after that same description was used to create a visual on how we idolize football for example. Two totally different scenarios happening in the videos but all serving the same purpose – idolizing something loved by a society… in a different way of course. The other video from Africa (Sudan I believe) that had a few men travel to the states was even more of an eye opener. What they perceived as weird to them here doesn’t make them odd – but it makes them socialized differently than we are and that’s okay. Because we live in such an ethnocentric society it’s hard for many people to grasp what are ‘norms’ for others. Anything that we don’t do because we find weird in our society, may be alright in another but yet we still put it down in a grotesque manner. Why? Not everything we do is done across the world. Not everything we’re accustomed to now, like the pants comment Sam made, was the same 100 years ago. For a country that values freedom, liberty and so on, you would think a lot of would be more open to other peoples’ norms, but we’re not. I think the information Sam provided during this class period was relevant and important. I mean it’s still hard to grasp some of the things that other societies tend to do, but I think that’s okay. It’s thinking that it’s gross or unacceptable that isn’t okay because who are we to judge? This makes me think back to a deviance class I’m taking and the difference between spit and saliva. We accept saliva as long as it remains in our mouths, we swap it when we kiss, and it’s there; however as soon as it’s out of someone’s mouth the whole meaning changes. It becomes “spit” and disgusting. Minutes before it wasn’t—crazy isn’t it? Although leaving ethnocentrism behind would be ideal, it will never happen. It goes back to trying to live in a color blind society – that won’t ever happen either. Our society isn’t going to ever collectively accept that there’s incest happening around the world that’s okay, cannibalism, still being breast fed over the age of 3, and other customs of other societies because we’re too caught up in our own thinking it’s perfect and others are “doing it all wrong.” Awesome class though because seeing a different side of things helps the mind wonder.

With regards to the presentation Sam had for us during the first few weeks of class on Native Americans and the United States taking the land from them and creating the biggest mass genocide in history that is rarely talked about, I still don’t think Americans (non-Native Americans) should give up their seat for the Native American, but I do think we should “share” as the young woman stated in the video. If she had stated the question in a share or don’t share way, I would have said no but knowing there was a third option made the question well put together and more fair. As other students have said, today, personally, and lots of others didn’t do the horrible crimes that rid these people of their land. We didn’t force them off, and as proud to be an American as most of us are, it’s unfair for us to suffer now because of others actions. I don’t know if this would be a fair comparison, but I remember when a kid made a statement during class right before THON about our THON clothing being made by children in poor countries. But honestly, if we sacrificed everything we’ve taken or bought that was made or created unfairly, what would really have left? That kid could have been wearing Nike shoes, ADIDAS pants, whatever it may have been and all of his things would have said, “Made in China.” A place where child labor does exist – so isn’t that contradictory? As bad as I could feel for those Native Americans and in my example the kids in China and other parts of the world, I didn’t start it and as much as I’d like to give up things for them – I believe it’s still impossible. I never really put much thought into what happened to those Native Americans until Sam told us more – I barely even remember reading about any of it in history books in grade school. I’d love to “share” that chair, but sharing would just be the ideal situation for this. How many of us are willing to give up our land, what we think we worked hard to earn (whether we paid for it, inherited it, etc.), to these other people that claimed it first? More than likely not many, as we’ve seen as a result of our clicker question in the past. I know personally, I wouldn’t either. We want to believe that we live in an equal opportunity society. A society where what belongs to you – ultimately belongs to you, but we see that that really wasn’t the case when it came to the Native Americans keeping the land that was long theirs. However, after coming this far, it’s hard to give back something that has actually been ours for hundreds of years now. It’s a sad, ugly, truth and I’m sure many wish history went down a little differently.

I’ve always known there were two sides to a story. I’ve known and realized that those people we fight in war are fighting for their country the same way we are. Not everyone is necessarily evil, but a lot of people don’t realize that so they tend to group everyone in that category including innocent civilians and soldiers who are only performing a duty they may have no choice doing. I think during the discussion when someone questioned whether the 9/11 attacks were a government conspiracy, I really have always questioned that and believed that’s exactly what it was. I know that Aaron (God bless you and thank you for serving our country) told us his story and his friend who died that worked for the government, told us that there was no way that this was a government conspiracy – it’s still hard for me to believe that. I know that I haven’t worked on the inside but I still think that the government had something to do with it – not everyone in the government because not everything comes out, but something just seems fishy. I feel bad for saying that because of what Aaron had shared and his experiences, but my view on that really hasn’t fully changed. Aside from that, I do believe we live in an egocentric country. I think that we need to mind our business and take care/focus on our own country rather than ambushing others. We’re nosey. We want to be on top and we think that war will solve everything. People could sit here and say, “oh, well we got Saddam and Osama, and other leaders” but was it worth it after all these civilians and soldiers died (from both sides of course)? I think it’s mind boggling that people can treat war in such a one sided manner. I have a lot of respect for our troops and troops in other countries fighting for what they believe in and what they have to do, but it’s just hard to think that that’s what it has to come down to. Not all soldiers are doing it for the same thing either. We watched one of many videos, seen and unseen, of corrupt soldiers taking advantage of their power. It isn’t fair to include everyone in it but how many more of these corrupt soldiers are there out there? How many more wars do we have to go through? We don’t think about the others in war, we don’t think about the innocent people being killed because all we want to do is get the few bad guys that are out there and the only way to get to them is to kill what may be protecting them --- no matter who or what may get into the way. It’s just insane – maybe I’m a lover and not a fighter, but I just don’t get how some people can be pro-war and not look at other aspects of its’ true damage.

I’m not surprised this picture has caused a stir around the web. Only recently, September 2011, was the “Don’t ask, don’t tell” policy considered unconstitutional and no longer applies. For almost 20 years the ‘don’t ask don’t tell” policy was implemented. Gays and Lesbians weren’t able to reveal their sexuality. I do feel that this policy was geared towards men more than women. I can’t say that I’d be able to point a lesbian woman in a heartbeat, but I think in the military many lesbian women can be easy to spot out which isn’t a bad thing and if they are, they’re not as “looked down upon” as gay men are in the military. I don’t even think that “looked down upon” is the right term to use but I think that it’s harder on those gay men in the military. They’re supposed to act tough, come home to a woman and a family, serve our country, and even be Christian like (or just religious in general – “God bless America.”). Homosexuality isn’t within that list. For these two men and many other gay men in the military who came out (one of which also went viral on the web of a man who was in the military telling his mother over the phone that he was gay for the rest time), this was and still is huge. I mean they’re just starting to recognize same-sex marriage in some states. No gay-lesbian couple wants to be treated differently than a heterosexual couple. Gay-lesbians show the same emotions of love, affection, and others just like a heterosexual couple does and this is what that picture is pointing out. To a lot of society, or “haters”, as pointed out in the video, this picture is deviant. We’re used to picturing a man and a woman in a position like that, not a man and a man. I think this picture is beautiful. I think that although many people do not agree with homosexuality; realize that we’re moving ahead. This may have been unusual to hear about or see 10 years ago, but this is just the beginning. Love comes in all different shapes, sizes, and sexualities. This couple wasn’t afraid to show the world who they were and what their purpose was. It’s like a movement. The more it’s out there, the more it becomes acceptable.. the Catholic Church and their opinion? Well, I frankly don’t give a rat’s ass because they already have problems of their own they need to focus on. Open your eyes people, we’re in 2012.

I most definitely agree with Sam. People should stop being racist and if it was easy to spread the word and put an end to racism in the work place or during hiring, that’d be wonderful--- but it’s not that easy. There are only so many people’s perceptions on race we can possibly we can possibly change, but many will still have the same outlook based on their own personal experiences, their ideas of who they want to work with, and how they have grown up. However, I do think it’s unfair. For me that’s like having issues at home and bringing it into the work place. Why should people have to hear you bitch or cop an attitude because of issues you are having home? It’s unprofessional. Discriminating when receiving applications for review is also unprofessional. I know people make the argument that people should think harder about naming their kids names other than the typical, “John, Kate, etc.”, but why should the kids who grow up with these more unique names suffer because of that? What should we say..”oh, blame your parents!” No! Sam suggested putting a different name on the application if you have a “different” name than the ordinary, but wouldn’t that suggest you were a liar and your loyalty to the company you are applying to may not be high because of your choice to lie even though it was to hopefully benefit you and get you a job? As clever as it is, I just don’t think the turnout would be good in the end as soon as the employer finds out you lied. Especially when you confront them with the, “I didn’t think you’d look twice on my application if I put down my real name.” No company wants to admit that they discriminate. No company wants to claim they favor having one race in the work place over another. I don’t know how much more it will take to end this, but I don’t think the end of the discrimination is near. Like Takeya (sorry I know I butchered that!) said during class, she just has to work harder. I think it’s true and it really does suck but sometimes you just have to find a way to stick out more than others. No one wants to be put into that “circular file” all the way at the bottom because of their name. It’s hard. It’s unfair to those minorities. It’s unfair that the name they didn’t even choose would affect their hiring process even with the same exact experience and background of a white person who applied for the same position. In an ideal world, there would be no discrimination. When we say that everyone is created equal – we would stick to that. No one should have to be put on the backburner because of race.

I’m more than likely completely off but I wonder if Hispanics and Blacks dominate many sports such as Basketball, Football, Baseball, and even Soccer (big in Spain and Latin American Countries) because of what we discussed in class. Sam pointed out that the graduation rate for minorities such as Hispanics and Blacks is low. I’ve met many minorities ( I can’t speak for all) who told me that they didn’t really care for the academic part of schooling and just planned on making it in the big leagues (NBA, NFL..) if they were lucky enough. Many Blacks and Hispanics are taught at a young age to get into sports. I don’t want to say that their families put an emphasis on that more than education but if they have a gift unrelated to academics and can make it far (ie: with sports like basketball, baseball, football) than why not forget about schooling and try and make it big. I don’t want to stereotype, I don’t want to come off as an ignorant individual but I know that minorities are good at what they do, like sports, because they just are and that’s not speaking for every one of them out there. White people are good at things too obviously. Sam was right you don’t really see blacks and Hispanics out there on the ice rink, because they’re mainly white. Sociological factors play a role too. Soccer isn’t as popular in United State as it is in many other countries around the world. Basketball, American Football, and Baseball were “created” in the United States (I say created because Sam told us that basketball was linked far back in Africa) and too a while to gain popularity in other countries. Certain races could dominate sports because of genetics. I mean at least it seems true unless it’s all about stereotypes (like Black men have large penises, Asian men do not) . If people continue to claim that Black people run fast and jump high because they have some type of power that other races do not, then that might be what makes them go into sports where those things are necessary if they have this “special” ability. If you’re 6’5 and 250 pounds, why the hell not play a sport like football? I don’t know. I just personally think that Latinos dominate baseball. Blacks and Whites dominate football and basketball. It’s something that has been going on for years. If the majority of people who play a certain sport are of a certain race, that’s going to make others of that same race want to possibly to do the same. My logic is probably off, but it’s interesting to think about. I guess it’s just the way it is. We just like to single out those races as many did with Jeremy Linn in a basketball game because we think it’s rare but really, talent is talent whether Asian Black White Hispanic and so on.

I’m more than likely completely off but I wonder if Hispanics and Blacks dominate many sports such as Basketball, Football, Baseball, and even Soccer (big in Spain and Latin American Countries) because of what we discussed in class. Sam pointed out that the graduation rate for minorities such as Hispanics and Blacks is low. I’ve met many minorities ( I can’t speak for all) who told me that they didn’t really care for the academic part of schooling and just planned on making it in the big leagues (NBA, NFL..) if they were lucky enough. Many Blacks and Hispanics are taught at a young age to get into sports. I don’t want to say that their families put an emphasis on that more than education but if they have a gift unrelated to academics and can make it far (ie: with sports like basketball, baseball, football) than why not forget about schooling and try and make it big. I don’t want to stereotype, I don’t want to come off as an ignorant individual but I know that minorities are good at what they do, like sports, because they just are and that’s not speaking for every one of them out there. White people are good at things too obviously. Sam was right you don’t really see blacks and Hispanics out there on the ice rink, because they’re mainly white. Sociological factors play a role too. Soccer isn’t as popular in United State as it is in many other countries around the world. Basketball, American Football, and Baseball were “created” in the United States (I say created because Sam told us that basketball was linked far back in Africa) and too a while to gain popularity in other countries. Certain races could dominate sports because of genetics. I mean at least it seems true unless it’s all about stereotypes (like Black men have large penises, Asian men do not) . If people continue to claim that Black people run fast and jump high because they have some type of power that other races do not, then that might be what makes them go into sports where those things are necessary if they have this “special” ability. If you’re 6’5 and 250 pounds, why the hell not play a sport like football? I don’t know. I just personally think that Latinos dominate baseball. Blacks and Whites dominate football and basketball. It’s something that has been going on for years. If the majority of people who play a certain sport are of a certain race, that’s going to make others of that same race want to possibly to do the same. My logic is probably off, but it’s interesting to think about. I guess it’s just the way it is. We just like to single out those races as many did with Jeremy Linn in a basketball game because we think it’s rare but really, talent is talent whether Asian Black White Hispanic and so on.

I know that as Sam Richards has said, we all have some kind of bloodline that we may not know about (goes back to Africa, East Asia, Europe and so on..) that we may not include when we classify our race, but I think that one defines race based on what is known from their family ancestry. For example, my dad’s side is mainly Puerto Rican; however my mother’s side is Lebanese. When I fill out applications, I usually identify myself as the “other”. What is the “other” though? Sometimes I’m lucky and I get the “multi-racial” option to choose from. When Sam asked us what we most identify with I was confused. People who are black and white but have maybe lived with their black side all their life identify themselves as black and “forget” per se that they’re also white. Is that their true race then? Sam tried to tell an Egyptian kid that he himself was basically white. Since when does an Arab get classified as a Caucasian? I know damn well if I was just full on Lebanese that I’d never choose the Caucasian option, because technically speaking I’m not. I think it can be hard to identify race because everyone wants to claim that their 5% Native American, 2% Asian, 50% white (for example), and still not exactly know who they are racially. Sam explained to a Dominican in class that he must have had black or African American (can’t recall) blood down the line. He told a Cuban girl that she has white ancestry. All of this seemed to be true just on the basis of their skin tone and some history of the countries they were from. Does that Dominican guy say, “I have black ancestry down the line… so when choosing my race on an application I’m going to put mixed?” More likely than not, the answer is no. He’s going to identify himself as a Latino/Hispanic. Based on what we knew about ourselves and ancestry, we identify our race. Whether we can get someone to come in and trace our ancestry a hundred years back, we’re more likely to identify ourselves with what we know. I think that I define race as other because I don’t feel that although I’m closer to my Lebanese/Middle Eastern side that I should go put myself down as White on an application. I also don’t always identify myself as Latina/Hispanic because I’m not that fully either. Although I hate being classified as the ”other” category, I choose to fill that in and hope that there’s a blank space where I can write in my both my races – Middle Eastern and Latina. I do it this way so that people know there’s mixtures like mine (although rare) out there and by putting down what I think is my true race helps me feel more connected to the cultures I’ve been raised in –giving me a sense of pride. For me this may be the case, but it truly does depend on the person.