I think that the kind words that were spoken by Maziar were very thoughtful and I appreciated them. I do not think that the fact that he was muslim had anything to do with the nature of his words. I do not really think that Muslims have less thoughtful remarks toward americans. I think that many times people associate their government with the civilians of the country. It is so important to differentiate the two populations because not everyone agrees with all of the action that their government takes. Just look at America. There are so many different opinions and views on what our government should do that politics is many times avoided in social situations because it can become heated.
Maziar confirmed this in his speech to us when he talked about how the people of his country for the most part do not hate America. There are a few radicals that take action into their own hands and commit terrorist acts but that is not what all of the civilians want from their countries.
In my opinion, the more important part of that lecture was the realization that Americans are so used to a comfortable life that when one act of violence erupts, people freak out. The whole world ends up hearing about it and awareness is spread. When the sociology student mentioned the attack in Maziar’s country, I had no idea what had happened. People in other places experience attacks like the Boston Marathon Bombing every day. People, children, elderly, human beings, die all of the time all around the world from violence and yet many Americans are not aware of it. When Sam put up the picture of the eleven children that were killed when one of our missiles went off track, my heart broke. I had no idea that this had happened, however, until Sam mentioned it. I am one to watch the news but so much of it is domestic that I feel like America is very sheltered. We do not get to see the violence in the other countries as openly as when other countries get to see it all.
I know this is cliche but I think that the stereotypes just need to go away and I also think that they are with the diversity in which America is obtaining at such a rapid rate. Our generation is so much less racist than the generations before us and with the diversity in America I have faith that this will only continue to grow. People seem to have more and more open mindedness in their lives which is a great thing. I know we are no where near perfection and acceptance of one another but we are getting there and classes like this are helping people see the reality of it all.

I think that the statistics that were presented in class this week about the amount of women that orgasm during sex were pretty accurate. I personally have never had an orgasm while having vaginal intercourse. When I ask many of my friends they all had the same answer. I only know one girl that has actually had an orgasm during vaginal sex. With that said I inquired further to see if what Sam said was true about the emotional connection. My friends and I all agreed that sex is more enjoyable and we come closer to orgasm when we are emotionally attached to the man.
I believe this could be true because not only do you connect with the guy on an entirely different level, but you are also able to communicate more easily what feels good and what feels bad. I feel like a lot of guys think that they are great at sex and know exactly what they are doing but really they do not know what feels good for a girl.
I also really liked the point that Sam made about how the female does not have to orgasm to have pleasure and enjoy themselves in bed. I guess ideally to have great sex one would have to be with a partner that they are very attached to and can communicate with. I have had experience where I have been in a relationship with a guy for two years and the sex was great. We really connected because emotions were involved and he honestly wanted to satisfy me and asked what I liked. I have also had random hook ups before and that communication and openness was not there. With that said the sex was great for the guy because the guys would like the spontaneity and think its sexy but are not as concerned with how the hook up was for me. There really is a difference.
This gets me thinking about why girls even lie about whether they had an orgasm or not. I mean, if the guys is not “hitting it”, why give them the satisfaction of thinking they did? I have lied before saying that I had an orgasm even though I did not. I guess part of it is because I had fun and did not feel like I had to orgasm and I still had fun and was satisfied in a different way. Honestly, I think that girls, including myself should just say what they think would feel good no matter who the guy is and tell them what they want. That way they are satisfied and the guy would be too.
The only reason that this would be awkward is if they did not understand the statistics that we went over in class. I was not aware of them and I am sure I was not the only one. If more people knew about how sex really is from a girls perspective then things would be different. I guess what I cam trying to say is that sex is not this shy thing anymore than cannot be talked about. America has become much more open and people need to stop being shy about it.

I would not feel more sympathy for Tammy if she were native american. The color of a persons skin should not have anything to do with ow they are treated in this society, I could see how in a different time people would have felt differently but being 2013, I do not see people of our generation feeling and more or less sympathy. The point of that video was the poverty in which the family lives with. Just because the family was white should not change the compassion one feels for the family. Hearing Tammy’s story was sad and I have a lot of respect for her for the hard work she puts into the money that she makes for her family.
I think the more important underlying fact here is that Tammy is in the position that she is in because she was born into poverty. She was one of twenty two children and the family in which she was born into was in poverty as well. Due to the limited resources that were offered to her, she could not really get out of the poverty that she was born into. It drives me crazy when people say that if you work hard enough you can make it anywhere in life when people work hard every day and cannot get out of the poverty they are born into. This could be due to limited resources or racism but either way, when people are born into more wealthy situations, they have more opportunity and tend to do better in life.
Look at Tammy, she walks 10 miles to work every day in the rain or sunshine just to work at mcdonalds. I cannot believe that someone in class said that Tammy was not a hard worker. She has the determination to make the money and not just get money from the government but she cannot get out of the trailer she lives in now because of the limited resources that were provided to her originally.
I do not think that in todays world many people would say that they would have more or less sympathy for Tammy if she were native American because our generation is becoming much more liberal and accepting of different cultures and races. I think that the problem here is rather the lack of opportunity people below the poverty line, have to get out of a poverty living situation. It is not often that people are able to make something of themselves when given such limited resources. In my opinion the question should be what we can do about this problem and not whether it matters that she is white. I feel like if she were native american she would deserve just as many “legs up” as a white woman.

In my opinion, giving aid to countries can be a great thing. It can help it’s people survive, get back on their feet after natural disasters and so on. The fact that supplies are made in America and then we reap a lot of the benefits from giving the aid is what i would say is the problem here. Yes, aid in this form is still helpful and I am sure very much appreciated, but I believe there are other, better ways to help out countries so that one day they won’t need aid anymore.
I am currently and education major and have been looking into the idea of joining the peace corps. In my research, I have noticed that the goal of the peace corps does not just stop at aid for the country. The goal of the peace corps is to help the place in which they send their volunteers to run on its own once the volunteers leave. The point of the peace corps is to improve relations and help the people of the place you are stationed live in their own. This reminds me of the saying “give a man a fish and he will eat for a day. Teach a man how to fish and he will never go hungry again”.
I believe that the aid programs in which we provide through the United States, should have the same goals as the peace corps has for the places that they help. It is my understanding that with the money we raise as a class we are able to stimulate their economy and provide food from their country. This would not mean that the resources that we provide as our aid are benefiting America, but rather 100% benefiting the place in which needs it the most.
Unfortunately, I believe that many times the reason we are able to give so much aid through the government and so forth is because we are able to benefit from it also. By producing the good here in America, we are able to supply more jobs, and put more money into our economy. Over all, its a great situation from America other than the cost to ship the goods over to Haiti. I guess one would have to look at the cost benefit of doing so to truly understand the worth.
So, as for the question asked in this video, “is giving aid really that beneficial to others”, I believe that is depends on the type of aid. The type of aid that is described by the woman in the video is not exactly ideal; however, it provides a service that is absolutely better than no aid at all. I believe that the aid in which people give sometimes can be used in more beneficial ways, such as the project in which Sam has put upon our class.

Throughout my entire life I have been told by my parents that there is a God out there and he sacrificed his only son for us and our sins. I grew up going to church on Christmas eve and Easter, and saying my prayers before falling asleep. I never questioned the God in which I believe in because that is what I was told to be true by people that I love and trust. When Sam talked about how people believe what they believe because of family relations, it got me thinking, what if I had been born into a different religion. Would I know to love the God that I love now? Or would I follow in the footsteps of my parents and other family members as I have done in this life? There is no way to know, but I understand that ones environment greatly affects who you turn out to be, personally, emotionally and also religiously.
This realization made me wonder if my God is “The God”. There are so many people that hard core believe in the traditions of their religions and pray to their Gods without a faltering faith; but there are people like that in all different kinds of religion, all different kinds of Gods. is my God the right one? Have I invested my faith in someone that is worth believing in?
It is crazy to me that this class has made me question my religion so often. I want to believe in the christian God that I have trusted and leaned upon in the past. I want to be able to whole heartedly pray to the God that I have prayed to a thousand times before, but I cannot help but question my beliefs.
Sam’s account that when people die they always have the same experience no matter what religion they are. This only leads to more questions to me. Ones that I cannot answer as of now. Maybe this experience is a chemical reaction in the body when we die or maybe it is the “true” and “real” God, reaching out to those in which have been announced dead and then come back to life. I have been taught that to go to heaven you would have to believe in the God that I believe in and live with his values and standards at heart. One would have to live by the ten commandments and give themselves to God. Why then do people have the same experiences no matter what religion they are and then adapt it to what they believe in?
There are so many questions that have been raised due to the lectures before spring break. All of these questions lead to an uncertainty within me that instills a fear of death. Before I was confident in my religion because I had not thought to question it. I simply believed. Where do people go if they don’t go to heaven? How do you even get into heaven? Is religion just a way to make little girls feel better when they experience the death of a dear pet or family member? The unknown does scare me. I think to gain my confidence back, I would have to research and slowly grow to love and trust the God that I did a few weeks ago.

Ever since I was a young girl my parents have told me that there is a God out there. They made me feel better about my pets when they passed away or if an older family member died by telling me that they are happier and in heaven. My parents never had my sisters and I go to church when we were younger. We would only go to church on special holidays such as Christmas and easter. They were never overly religious and did not hang crosses on the walls of our house or pictures of Jesus. God was a figure that I knew of but yet did not know a lot about.
My sophomore year of high school I started going to church and my faith grew. I started to see what this word God really entailed. I started to truly believe, know what I was hearing during Christmas Eve service and know who I was praying to each night before bed. I started to really believe in God and leaned on him frequently. He calmed my fears when my dad was diagnosed with hepatitis C, and then Diabetes, and then liver cancer. When I was in a car accident, I was not scared because I knew God had a plan for me. I pray daily, I go to church when I am home, I believe in God.
If tomorrow I woke up and there was black and white evidence that God did not exist, my world would be rocked. A part of me wants to say that I will always believe no matter what (I mean, who can really prove there is no God?) that God exists. However; if somehow I were told that there was no God and that fact was 100 % undeniable true, I would be broken. I have based a lot of my decisions in my life, a lot of my faith, and my emotions on God. He has helped me through so many things that I would question my purpose here on earth a lot.
I have justified a lot of the bad things in the world by saying that God has a plan and I will be in heaven when I die. Most of all, I have told myself that my 7 year old neighbor is with God, my Uncle resides in heaven, and many more loved ones are safe and happy with God. The fact that that belief and comfort would be taken from me would admittedly be devastating.
I believe in God. I believe in Heaven so I know in my heart and mind that all of my passed loved ones are happy and healthy in heaven. I love having that satisfaction and I know that no matter what trials my faith is put through it will remain strong. I mean, if I don’t believe in God, what hope is there?

When my friends and I are getting ready to go out, we are always critiquing each others looks and outfits. We tell each other when we don’t like the outfit as well as when we think we look good. This is standard in a weekend in Beaver Hill. I never really thought anything of it before the discussion about gay and lesbian comments on same gender looks.
In class, when the gay man said to the straight man, “I think you are very attractive”, things got awkward. The straight guy did not know what to say and was obviously uncomfortable. His body language as well as his lack of words for the situation made it apparent the commentary was unwelcome and felt unnatural to him. This interaction got me thinking. Was this simply one instance or do a lot of straight guys feel uncomfortable if a gay guy were to compliment them on their looks? I then went home and texted a few of my guy friends asking them what they would do or if this had happened. Only one person had the experience to talk of, but all of the responses were about the same. Most people said that they would walk away. One guy said “I would ‘clock’ him”. Another said he would laugh and just walk away.
How is it that females are so much more comfortable with their sexuality and acceptance of homosexual and bisexual people. Our society has taught us from a young age that “girl on girl” is hot and sexy where as “guy on guy” is gross and cannot be as public. If two girls make out at a party, the boys hoot and holler and think they are lucky to get a live glimpse. If two boys make out at a party, they are looked down upon or shyed away from. It seems as though guys in our society, are more homophobic than females are.
So as for the question, “what is the difference”, I believe it is our society. We have norms that we are taught from a young age by the people around us. We are taught these norms from our elders who grew up in a time where being gay was not accepted. We talked about in class how some people would have been killed publicly as an example a long while ago. Luckily, I think that being gay has become more welcomed in our day and age and we will be the people that teach the new generation of acceptance. Hopefully, in the future, there won’t be a difference between a guy giving a guy a compliment and a girl giving a girl a compliment. In my opinion there should not be a difference. Guys should not be homophobic and a guy just saying, “hey man, you’re looking good tonight” should not be thought of as hitting on them or anything more than just a compliment.

The problems addressed in class about cutting, suicide, anorexia and bulemia are problems that exist throughout this world. Unfortunately it is something that I have seen throughout my life with my younger sister. She has seeked help and has received therapy. She is doing much better these days, but it was hard for me to figure out how to help her myself; especially when I did not understand the problem itself.
The lecture that was given this week about these social problems, was passionate to say the least. Before that class and especially before my experience with my sister, I saw these problems as pathetic. I simply could not understand why someone would hurt themselves in that way. I can honestly say that I saw people that would hurt themselves in these ways were stupid and needed to not be so dramatic. I thought that they were just looking for attention (or “youngest child syndrome” in my little sisters case).
Sam made the argument that these people are not as “fucked up” as I may see them. He turned my view point around and showed me that it is not the person committing these acts needing attention, it is society telling them they are inadequate and a response to that accusation.
With this change in view point I am able to have a different approach if I come upon a friend with any of these problems or if my little sister relapses. I think that I would tell them that it is not that this person is inadequate or not good enough in any way. It is society that is messed up not the person. Society puts these pressures on the people that are in this world that are not fair. It is not their fault that they feel the way too because there are so many other things going on in this world that influence us that are “little strings” (as Sam referred to them). These strings pull on us and get us to the places that we are in now.
Most importantly, I would make sure that this person knows that even though they feel as though they are alone, they really are not. It was evident that too many people go through these social problems discussed when we took the anonymous polls. Way too many people go through these things and for the most part they feel like no one else can relate to them. Lastly, I would say that they need to get help and that I can be there for them.
This discussion and topic has helped me see that these girls and guys that are cutting, throwing up, or any other harmful acts, are not seeking attention. They are simply reacting to these pressures and unfair judgements society places on people. That lecture from last week has helped me see that I need to be more accepting, and open minded about people with serious issues like this.

I was really surprised by the reactions that I had when Sam was throwing out all of the statistics about kidnappings. When he asked us to think about whether we would allow our kids to walk to school or not, I right away thought “no way”. However, when he threw out the statistics that he did about the few kidnappings that did occur, I was shocked. It is set within me to think that a child should not be walking around alone out there in the dangerous world, but Sam argues that I have no reason to think that. I guess that is a huge bias that I have and did not even realize because even after Sam read off the statistics, I still would not allow my kid to walk to school alone.
I understand that when you look at statistics about child kidnappings, there are very low percentages. In fact, I looked up that a child has a 1% chance to be kidnapped. That seems small but that is 1.5 Million people in a year that are being kidnapped with 75 million in the United States. To me, no the chances are unlikely but the numbers are still scary. It is still possible to have your child harmed. I have a bias about the world around me but I will not change my thinking on that just because the chances of them getting abducted are smaller than I realized.
I understand what Sam was saying about how people over react when it comes to their or their families safety. I also agree with the fact that this is because of the amount of violence and the types of violence we see in the media where as the types of violence we see in real life. However, I believe that these violences that we watch on TV shows are what the people that commit violent acts are growing up with. These TV shows and movies are the reasons that we are so scared to let our kids walk to school alone and the reason that we have these biases. Aren’t the TV shows and movies also the reason that kids get the idea of robbing convenience stores, carrying guns and snatching kids for ransom?
Yes, I have biases about this world because of the things that I see on the media but how are they not justified? The chances are slim but why should I be ashamed of taking a small extra step by walking my kid to school to keep them safe when I can? I have a bias but I do not believe that the boas I have is harmful in any way to others nor do I believe that it is a bad thing that I have it.

Race is always a touchy topic when you talk about it with anyone but especially when you talk about it with strangers. I think that this is why SOC119 is so interesting to be in. Questions are thrown around about race as if you were talking about the weather. That makes people uncomfortable, nervous and maybe even angry.
The question that I want to have answered by the end of this semester is “why”? Why is it that people look so much into the race of others before they approach them, become friends with them, or judge them. Why is it that a lot of black people will judge me before they get to know me even though I have nothing against them and why is it that I will judge black people, Asians, Indians or any other race before I get to know them. Don’t get me wrong, I have friends of the other race but I cannot say that I would ever date them or want to have a future with anyone other than a white man. I guess it is kind of like the same situation as the black guy that was called out in class about his “whiteness”. He said that he has never been interested in a white girl... but why? Why do I personally shy away from a crowd of black people walking toward me?
Another topic that I would like to see addressed would be race in the work place. What are the roles of race in the workplace? In Universities? There have already been a bunch of statistics and facts that Sam has introduced to us in class but I want to know the roots of this problem in the workplace. What about pay? Does it matter what race you are to get paid more or less in large corporations? In small businesses? What locations would a black person get paid more? A white person? Asian? There are so many things out there that I do not think I know anything about when it comes to race. I have been that girl that does not pay attention to racism because, admittedly, I never really saw it. I grew up in a town that was majority white and the few black people or asian or indians that were present were from high class families. I was blind to the racism that was right in front of me until I walked into this class.
On top of everything that I want to know, I want to know how to make this stop. I do not consider myself racist walking into this classroom but the more and more that I sit in it, the more I see the racism in my own actions and life. I do not want to be a racist, I do not want this world to be filled with the thoughts and actions that it has now due to the racism involved in it. I want to fix it, make it disappear but how do we change something that has been developing for centuries?