Now, don’t get me wrong, I love being an American and living here. However, the cold hard truth of the matter is that Americans don’t want to do the labor that illegal immigrant are often hired to do because Americans buy into the stereotype that we are lazy, and I believe we are. We’re a technologically advanced country which has put children in front of computer screens for more hours of the day than outdoors and that carries over into adulthood. We often look for an easy way out or a way to make our lives easier and how to put as little effort forth as possible. I’m not going to lie, I’m guilty of this all too often and so are a good portion of Americans. Growing up in a rather privileged country (for the most part) gives us a sense of entitlement that we should be handed the things we want in life, as oppose to working or fighting to get what we want.
A prime example of this was an idea that was in a video shown in class. They said something along the lines of most PHD candidates being foreign born, meaning that immigrant not only are taking the low skill high labor jobs that we don’t want to do but they are also responsible for a large portion of the research and advancements that go on in this country. This means that Americans are just coasting by in the middle somewhere. Also in our discussion group we were talking about how international students have a stronger work ethic than American students. One of the students in our group said that his dad is a professor at Penn State and sees that his international students are much more motivated and will work harder for their grades while a lot of Americans students whine and complain about their grades and seem to think they deserve better than what they earned. This might say something about the education system in America, but what I see from it is that living in the “greatest country in the world” has gotten to our heads in many aspects of life and has made us think that we deserve things that we haven’t necessarily earned yet.
Personally I believe that if immigrants (illegal or legal) want to do the work that no one else wants to do than let them. But if Americans aren’t willing to do the hard labor then they have no right to complain that the immigrants are taking all the jobs away from them. This is an argument that really doesn’t have a right or a wrong answer, but I believe a lot of Americans can be very close minded about it. Maybe the problem doesn’t lie in our border patrol or immigrations laws, maybe the problem lies in Americans work ethic.

I was actually just talking to friends about this very topic. Penn State is organizing a SlutWalk where students protest victim blaming in sexual assault and rape. Many people argue that those that go out in short skirts, tight tops and their boobs hanging out are asking for something, when that is typically not the case. Being a woman, I personally wear those types of clothes to feel confident. I think I have nice legs so I don’t mind wearing a shorter skirt or heels to show them off because, hey, why not? I think it is stupid for me to think that because we are comfortable with our bodies that must mean we’re down. I honestly believe that it is a self-esteem thing for women. Feeling sexy and confident is the key to having a good time in college for girls. No one should judge a girl if she feels confident in a skirt or if she feels hot in sweatpants, as the saying goes it’s what’s on the inside that counts. I know we live in a society that thinks women need to reveal as much skin as possible to get attention from men, but really it’s the confidence that comes along with that sexy outfit that does the trick. And there are some women that don’t need those more revealing clothes to exude that confidence, but that’s something I believe comes with age and experience.
To answer the question, I don’t think it’s that we dress one way and want to be treated differently. No woman wants to be treated like shit. No woman goes out with the intention of finding someone that will treat her badly. Every woman wants to be respected by a man, even if men think the way they dress suggests otherwise. To think anything different is to live in a fantasy world where women dress only to attract men. Here’s a little note to men who think women dress for them: get over yourselves. Believe it or not we don’t live to satisfy you, sometimes we go out without the intention of attracting guys, sometimes we want to legitimately have a girls night sans males, sometimes I wear a sexy dress for me. Men just need to understand that. Now I’m not trying to bash men saying that they’re all looking to get some and we’re just shooting them down left and right, there are exceptions, but for the most part the outfits that women wear are for themselves, not anyone else. A compliment every now and again is appreciated though, so we have the satisfaction of knowing that we actually look as good as we think we do. However, going up to a girl and saying, “nice rack” is not exactly the way to go about it.

Women being perceived as innocent has always been the social norm. Women are typically smaller than men physically and therefore are looked at as less threatening or more innocent. Women also tend to have softer facial features and are perceived as “pure”. The image of a 1950’s housewife fits this assumption perfectly. The “Stepford Wives” were supposed to be stay at home moms, always looking perfect, never threatening, always submissive to their man, and always compliant. The way women have been thought of in American culture has always been that of a more innocent breed of people. I can’t speak for other parts of the world because so many different cultures are out there that I don’t understand the fundamentals of. America, however, has a long history of women being below men in almost all aspects of life.
The images of women that girls are exposed to from a very young age are characters such as Disney princesses. These women are dainty, enjoy cooking and cleaning, and always need a big, strong, strapping Prince Charming to come to their rescue. Girls have very few examples of strong women in the media they are exposed to growing up. Mulan was the first powerful female character that Disney brought to the screen, but she is not typically considered a princess because she doesn’t fit the typical compliant female that society is so used to seeing. This image is what girls aspire to be, and that is why the perception of innocence persists to this day. The desire to be fragile and hyper feminine carries into adolescence and sometimes well into young adulthood and adulthood. This is evident in celebrities such as Paris Hilton. The image of the typical woman is always being projected onto our youth and therefore women may always be perceived as innocent.
As far as race is concerned, I firmly believe that lighter skin in perceived as more innocent because of media constantly portraying darker skinned characters, or even though that fit African American or Latino stereotypes, are typically represented as “the other”, evil, or “the bad guys”. It is instilled in our brains as children that people of those races and others different from theirs are the cackling hyenas that chase young lions across the savannah, the crows making fun of poor little Dumbo as he tries to fly, the Siamese cats trying to kill the pet goldfish, or the monkeys kidnapping Mowgli and asking how they can be just like him. Though these characters are not explicitly said to be black, brown or Asian, the stereotype becomes more apparent as one’s media literacy grows. Basically, I blame this “innocent” stereotype on children’s media for encouraging negative perceptions.

I personally couldn’t imagine working as hard as these Haitians do every single day. Especially considering the intricacy of their work, it is mind blowing that many of them have not had any training; they just do what they’re good at to try to make a living. All of these entrepreneurs are highly skilled in their respective fields and it is truly a shame that the world won’t be able to see Euclid’s amazing designs, or the incredible elegance that Yvrose’s dresses have. Through watching these videos I have seen pure dedication and commitment from these people. They all strive to make a living, which is difficult in a country as poor as Haiti, and yet they all continue to do this difficult and in some cases tedious work because it is what they have to do. Something that saddened me was that Euclid doesn’t see herself as an artist. True, she does the work because she wants to provide for her family, but it is also very clearly her passion.
Something else that stuck with me from exploring this website was the Christian Partners Hospital Project. Having adequate hospital accommodations isn’t really something you don’t think about too often, a hospital should just have everything it needs, but sadly that is not the case. And it doesn’t even stop at not having things to keep the patients feeling alright in terms of comfort, but they no doubt lack the necessary tools to diagnose and treat many ailments. What this project does it amazing. They help out Haitian entrepreneurs and give the hospitals things they need at the same time. Haitians that work so hard for their money will get paid no matter what because the hospital will always need food and gowns, and having a steady income in Haiti seems like a rare thing.
Also, reading about all the HPCD does to better the lives of Haitians made me realize how easy it is to help these people. All they need are the recourses, the tools to help them succeed, and the training to keep succeeding for many years to come. The intern program is also a fantastic idea. Young adults should have a strong foundation to prepare them to work in order to survive. If more people would just donate to this cause, or get involved they could drastically improve the lives of these poor Haitians.
Lastly, I would like to comment on a few things in the bullet points pertaining to Suze’s nut business. While reading this, what really stuck out to me was the fact that there are no cafeterias in schools and that many families pay to send their children to school. This is was utterly shocking to me because I firmly believe that education is a right, not a privilege and every child should be able to further their education without their families having to choose between that and food.

There are so many factors that contribute to being a successful athlete. Anyone in junior high and high school can play a sport if they want, they don’t even have to be good at it, but eventually most people realize as their bodies grow and mature that they weren’t really built for that sport and maybe that’s why they could never make a varsity team. I saw it happen countless times in high school, someone was a jock because that was the cool thing to do, but they never really did anything extraordinary. The people that did were typically the people whose genes worked with them for that sport. For most sports for guys, the ideal body type is fairly tall, built but not bulky, and quick. A few exceptions to that are wrestling and cross country (find me a successful husky high school distance runner and I’ll be shocked). For girls, those that are successful tend to be lean but strong and agile. The only reason I didn’t mention height for girls is that sometimes being tall/short is all but necessary in sports like field hockey (short) and basketball (tall). As I’m writing this I realized that the type of people I’m describing are those that society says has the “ideal body type” aka not too much of anything, but at the end of the day that’s what makes an athlete great, having the right body paired with motivation and natural talent. Without one of those three, that person will not be successful.
Personally, I ran track since the 7th grade. However, it took a long time to get there. My mom played 4 year varsity field hockey, basketball, and lacrosse in high school while my dad played 4 year varsity football, basketball, and baseball. Needless to say those sports were their first choices. I tried everything as a kid, stuck with soccer a bit but it was apparent to my parents that despite my height (I’ve been as tall as I am now since I was 14) basketball wasn’t my calling. But there was no denying that I was fast, so track seemed to be the best fit, and it was. I was a very successful hurdler; at 5’ 11” and 120 pounds (at the time) I was definitely built for it. Almost every girl I met on the track in big races was about the same build as me. But when I got to college, I noticed that all the basketball and volleyball players had the same build as me too. I’ve got asked which team I’m on multiple times here, and when I tell people neither the typical response is “what a waste of height”. That just goes to show that your natural build is only a part of what makes a great athlete, though it doesn’t exactly hurt to have.

Interracial dating has always been a touchy subject even today. I’ve always had an amazing example of an interracial couple in my life. My aunt (my mom’s sister) is white and my uncle is black, and their two daughters, my cousins, are biracial. Having a relationship with someone from a difference race has never seemed odd to me because I’ve always been close with my aunt and uncle and they’ve always just been a part of my life. It wasn’t until recently that I realized that when they started dating it was while they were in college in the late 70’s, only a decade after the civil rights movement. My mom told me about how they dated in secret because they knew their parents would think it was unacceptable. They’ve gone through a lot to get where they are today and I know my cousins still deal with hateful words from ignorant people every now and again, which disgusts me. Who you love is who you should be with regardless of the color of their skin. I personally have not dated anyone of a different race, nor have I wanted to, but just because I’m more attracted to Caucasian men doesn’t make me ignorant. I also believe that where you were brought up has a lot to do with what race you are attracted to. I grew up in a small rural/suburban Pennsylvania town that was known for being a largely white (and very ignorant) community and I believe that shaped my perception of interracial dating to an extent despite my family members showing me there’s nothing wrong with it. Had I been raised in a city or a more diverse neighborhood and grown up with more examples of successful interracial couples I might be more inclined to be attracted to difference races. When I came to Penn State, one of the girls in my summer class talked about how she was dating a Puerto Rican guy (she is white) and how they would get dirty looks from people sometimes and some people would even ask her why she’s with someone of a different race. That level of ignorance is so horrifying. It’s awful that even today interracial couples still receive so much abuse from society.

This video really shocked me. But then I thought about American society and realized it’s really not as shocking as I thought. Since we’re sending our troops overseas to fight, we need someone to blame for their deaths. Why not just attack an entire people and call them the enemy? It’s a very American way of thinking. Since the government can’t really come out and say why we’re fighting the wars that we fight they have to give the American people something to fear and something to hate so citizens don’t start to turn on the government.
Also, it’s no secret that people fear what is different. We call our nation the “melting pot” of the world, but in reality we hardly mix together at all. Diversity can only be seen in a select few parts of the nation because we’re all still so scared of people that don’t look like us or don’t think like us or don’t believe what we believe. It’s all absolutely ridiculous in my opinion. We’re taught not to stereotype from the time we’re in elementary school (well now we are) and yet this video is a perfect example of how we have not accomplished this “nationwide” idea of acceptance. We fear the unknown and most people don’t encounter Muslims or Arabs on a daily basis unless they live in a city and even then after 9/11 it’s easy to see why that group of people is targeted. However, just because it’s easy to have misconceptions about them doesn’t mean its right. We as a society really needs to start looking past all the stereotypes and exterior features because most of the time they don’t not live up to our expectations…in a good way though. This video is not a step in that direction.

The discrimination shown in this article is utterly appalling. I like to think that we live in a time where people can be by in large accepted for their differences. However, this article shows me that we are still far away from living in that sort of culture. It is almost as if we are once again fearing lepers and shunning them for being not like us. In a country that focuses so much on being special and being proud of who you are, this article shows why many people cannot be honest about many things that make them exactly who they are. It disgusts me. And as far as there being such a job that “only a man can do” also rubs me the wrong way. Not only does that comment neglect women, but also transgendered at depicted in this New York Times article. An article in Intersections that we read for our last exam stated that there should be five scientifically recognized genders and if that is true than it is clear that by discriminating against one gender you are actually discriminating against four, which makes the act of discrimination that much more horrendous. The world is changing. There is no longer one definition for sexual orientation so why should the definition of sex/gender be limited as well? Granted at the Intersections article shows, we are making progress in getting the word out there about transgendered/hermaphrodites but it is clear we still have a very long way to go as a society before our idyllic culture of acceptance can be achieved.

The video we watched today in class was definitely powerful. Any story about people taking their own lives is tragic, especially when someone was just trying to defend their country and fell victim to PTSD or other war related psychological issues in the process. What hit me that hardest in this story was that most soldiers were too afraid to admit they were not all right or had panic attacks. The stereotypical male, and therefore the stereotypical soldier, has to be a rough and tumble kind of guy. He shouldn’t show emotion, especially around his buddies, and if he has a problem the obvious solution is to bottle it up and hope it goes away. It breaks my heart that in today’s more open minded society that so many men feel they cannot seek the help they need in order to save their own lives and prevent their family from dealing with such a tragic loss. I understand how much being called “weak” or a “coward” or even a “pussy” can damage one’s pride, but taking your own mental and physical health into consideration in a time of war seems like a responsible thing to do. I ran track for 6 years and my coaches always told me if you’re hurting during a workout, don’t ignore it and push so hard that you injure yourself, your body is trying to tell you that something isn’t right. I feel like the same mentality needs to be applied in a war zone. Yes it’s very important for soldiers to be strong but what good are they going to be to their unit if they are emotionally or mentally impaired? They could be a detriment to their unit if they continue to pretend like nothing is wrong, just like you could pull a hamstring and be of no use for you team. I think you’d be letting your unit and your country down more if you persevered through the pain even though it’s clear your head isn’t entirely there with you than to ask for help when you need it.

Growing up in a family that was not very religious, I have never let anything in the bible or any of the teachings of Christianity/Catholicism influence my opinions on gay rights, gay marriage and gay families. I believe this allowed me to better develop my own thoughts and opinions about such controversial issues. I consider myself a gay rights activist and was thrilled to be in Sam’s class while discussing the issue of gay couples being able to have children. I have friends that are gay, come from gay families, and that got married in California while it was still legal and I have never met more caring people in this world. Now that’s not to say that all gay couples/families are exactly alike, but then again not all heterosexual families are the same either, but for some to refuse to recognize that gays can be good parents and successfully produce a good family dynamic is absurd. There are plenty of people in this world that are not fit to be parents and whose children suffer and the fact that certain politicians or religious figures target gays as being “inadequate” parents seems very close minded to me. Some may say that Zach Wahls is only one example of same sex parenting gone right, but the same can be said of any sort of testimony regarding provocative issues. Zach is a living breathing example that same sex parents are not a toxic environment to grow up in. I believe that any pairing of parents, homosexual or heterosexual set aside, could potentially be harmful to the children and if we can allow children to grow up with drug addicts for parents and neglectful family members then denying gay couples the right to have children seems hypocritical. I see the good in social workers making sure they can provide a good, stable household for children to grow up in, but shouldn’t that be done for all couples thinking of having children? If gay couples need to be certified as fit to be parents I believe straight couples should have to do the same as well. It breaks my heart that it is necessary for people like Zach have to make claims about their family dynamics in order to show that gay couples are capable of being fit parents. I hope that one day very soon this will no longer be needed. Str8 against h8!