en-us https://www.intensedebate.com/users/2391047 Comments by LocaLulu http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/04/21/would-you-help-out-or-turn-away-immigrants-in-the-poor-situations-we-saw-them-in-and-why-119-blog/#IDComment145280153 Since Tuesdays lecture every time I hear someone talking about illegal immigrants, I want to ask them who gave them the right to label immigrants illegal. Sam was right, God does not see the man-made borders that people have created. I also think its crazy how it all depends on whether the businesses want less or more immigrants into the country. I always heard people complaining about immigrants while I was in High School, saying their taking people’s jobs but some are doing jobs Americans think they are too good to do, and we shouldn’t blame the immigrants they just want a better life just like everyone else who are here. And, it irks me that when certain people think of immigrants they only think of people from Central and South America as if there are no illegal immigrants coming from Europe. My mom is an immigrant, but she was sent here legally, but she complains about illegal immigrants. Maybe, because she can not empathize what they have to go through, and like most immigrants she wants to move back to her home country. The short video Sam showed on Thursday at the end of class was a perfect way to end the lecture. If I had the money, I would help illegal immigrants out, such as making plates of food for them if they need it. If they needed a place to stay I would offer my guest room as long as I knew them and knew they were not crazy or vicious. I am the type of person where I treat people the way I want to be treated, unless you do something to me, do not expect me to carry on as usual. My reasoning for this explanation is if I was an illegal immigrant starving I would sure wish somebody was willing to offer me their left over food, or give me the sweater off their back. I have never came across a whole bunch of South Americans lined up waiting for work and I probably wouldn’t just walk up to them and offer them my food. However, if I knew of an organization or someone else doing it I would volunteer to help them. Unless I knew the illegal immigrants it is a little different for me to just walk up to a crowd of men and give them food. When I see homeless people I try and offer food if I have it, being selfless is the best trait to have if you are trying to help humanity as a whole. So just keep that in mind! Sat, 23 Apr 2011 03:07:38 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/04/21/would-you-help-out-or-turn-away-immigrants-in-the-poor-situations-we-saw-them-in-and-why-119-blog/#IDComment145280153 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/04/12/what-are-your-thoughts-on-everything-we-saw-and-heard-in-lecture-about-native-americans-119-blog/#IDComment143235302 The video don’t drink the water really sadden me, I know all about the statistics such as the indigenous people having the highest rate of teenage suicides. However, when you actually watch a video of people saying that want to die or seeing picture of how they live is different from reading statistics on paper. I was also shocked to see that a women only lives to forty two and a man 50, that’s insane giving the fact that they live in the same country I live in, not some third world or developing country where they can’t get the medicine I can get. There shouldn’t be any reason they are treated any different then I am, I don’t understand how the government completely ignores them in this day and age. How can it be that the Amish are living well, but the indigenous people who were good at just about anything to survive without technology, can’t make it past their fifties? I also think its crazy how they were the first people on this land but when I’m in school I’m lucky to see one of them in my class, and I’m even luckier if I know that they are of that ethnicity. It is crazy how in a class of 720 students, there is only one true “Native American.” It’s actually disturbing to see only one in a class of that capacity, and alarming that I can’t really recognize one of them walking down the street unless they look like the typical ones you see in movies. If you ask me, there should be a history, geography and other classes based solely on the indigenous people of North America, there should also be more lessons taught on the awareness of their struggles. I’m please that Sam opened our minds and was able to show the videos he did. It’s just so heart breaking and I understand why they feel the way they do, I mean the four fathers of this country were bullies they just completely stole something that wasn’t theirs and had the nerve to try to kill off the people it belonged to. And, now we just completely ignore their needs and when they did ask for something they had to march in Washington D.C. for it. I really hope more and more classes do more than touch up on their history, and I know saying this won’t help but truly do hope that life gets better for them. It’s too late for us to all just get up and leave and go back to the countries our ancestors came from, but we when we get this economy on track or some kind of extra money we should have their needs at the top of the priority list. Fri, 15 Apr 2011 22:22:43 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/04/12/what-are-your-thoughts-on-everything-we-saw-and-heard-in-lecture-about-native-americans-119-blog/#IDComment143235302 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/04/07/do-you-agree-with-foreign-aids-use-of-pictures-of-children-119-blog/#IDComment141149080 Part 3:Well I know I went off the subject, but I feel this needed to be address, back to the Haiti children. Yes I wouldn’t like if people from Europe came to my neighborhood and took pictures of the poor and sent it back to benefit from all the money. Sat, 9 Apr 2011 02:47:13 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/04/07/do-you-agree-with-foreign-aids-use-of-pictures-of-children-119-blog/#IDComment141149080 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/04/07/do-you-agree-with-foreign-aids-use-of-pictures-of-children-119-blog/#IDComment141149019 Part 2: This past Tuesday’s lecture opened my eyes, I knew the war was about oil but I didn’t think too deeply about it. Our troops need to come home, I never understood who would go fight for their country but don’t understand what they are fighting for, and when I say that I don’t mean the people who went after 9/11, that's understandable. The Christian crusaders coming to convert the Islams to Christianity are absurd. Why do people always think their religion is the correct one? Can we all just coexist please? It reminds me of when Europe went to Africa to convert the people over there into Christianity, as if they were savages and they needed to be saved. This is all b.s. to capture them for cheap labor and take their resources. It's sad we are taught our history so we don't repeat the unfortunate events, but that is exactly what’s happening again. They lie to the world about what they're really doing, same with the "White man" coming to teach the indigenous people of North America how to be civilized all the while killing the ones who disagreed and taking their land. Sat, 9 Apr 2011 02:46:53 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/04/07/do-you-agree-with-foreign-aids-use-of-pictures-of-children-119-blog/#IDComment141149019 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/04/07/do-you-agree-with-foreign-aids-use-of-pictures-of-children-119-blog/#IDComment141148821 Part 1: I completely understand why Ernso wouldn’t like for the foreign aid organizations to take photos of the people living in poverty. I never thought they might be using the photos to get money that wouldn’t benefit the people. I know the infomercials at 2 a.m. might be using children to get money, but for the other organizations using the photos to deceive people and they’re suppose to be legit makes it even more disgraceful. I haven’t had the chance to go to Europe or Asia but if I did, I’m a little a shame to say I’m American; we’ve done some despicable things to other countries. I now can understand why people hate America; however, it’s just unfortunate to take it out on civilians when it’s the government to blame. War is not the answer, and Ghandi’s famous quote “an eye for an eye makes the whole world blind” is the perfect wording to explain why killing will get you nowhere Sat, 9 Apr 2011 02:45:43 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/04/07/do-you-agree-with-foreign-aids-use-of-pictures-of-children-119-blog/#IDComment141148821 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/03/24/how-have-you-acted-when-involved-in-racist-or-discriminating-events-119-blog/#IDComment137625137 There has only been two occasions that I can remember being racially discriminated against that I can prove. There are of course other times where in the back of my head I wondered if that person treated me the way they did based on the color of my skin but there wasn’t enough evidence or proof to say that’s why that person treated me the way they did. The person might have been having a bad day or is just a rude person in general. However, last year when I went canning for THON there was one particular white old lady who clearly discriminated against me based on my appearance ie. Skin color, as canning goes you ask people that walk by if they would like to donate money for the cure of pediatric cancer and I had a sign. So I didn’t look like a random person just asking people for money with no evidence of actually being apart of a program, the lady looked me up and down and said no and went into a store next to me. My friend who was on the other side of the outlet mall we were standing at came back to my side and when that same lady came out of the store my friend asked her and the lady gave her money. Now I consider myself Bajan-American others would look at me and say I’m African American, my friend is Chilean but she has fair skin and at first glance looks white. Others might say it wasn’t racism just a misunderstanding but you weren’t there you weren’t in my shoes and you didn’t see how she looked at me when I asked for the money and then just gave it to my friend without a question. At the time when she looked me up and down and said no, I didn’t really think anything of it so I didn’t have a reaction until I saw her give my friend money, I still didn’t say anything because I honestly what can you say in a situation like that. Maybe if I was more prepared I would have asked her why she gave my friend the money and not me. I would have also asked her what she thought my friend was, because, surprisingly she is of color too. After it settled in I was just shocked and disappointed that people are still so blatantly racist. However, now I just feel sorry for her and a little sad that people can’t see past the color of my skin and realize I’m a human being with feelings and thoughts, and there is absolutely no reason for people to hate others based on the color of their skin, their accent or language or what they believe in. Another incident in Las Vegas where I was discriminated against, I just had to laugh because it was absolutely ridiculous to me. I could have reacted and said something to the girl, but my brother said just leave it alone because that’s what they might have wanted to prove them right. Sat, 26 Mar 2011 03:20:19 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/03/24/how-have-you-acted-when-involved-in-racist-or-discriminating-events-119-blog/#IDComment137625137 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/03/15/how-do-irrelevant-racial-signifiers-affect-racial-stereotypes-119-blog/#IDComment135906706 I will admit when I was younger I did use signifier’s a lot more than I might use them now, usually if I use them it’s when the person gets me mad. However, I still see people my age and older using them when it’s not necessary, in fact in my Wednesday discussion class after discussing signifier’s on Tuesday some guy used them to explain a story he encountered with three cops. The first thing he said was their race as if that was relevant to the story, and believe it was not relevant. His point was the white police woman who was closer to his age was helpful and the black police woman was ready to arrest him. My point is why did he have to use signifier’s? Why did it matter that the cop that was ready to arrest him was black, white, yellow or brown? He also said the black cop was the one with the attitude as if white people or any other race doesn’t get attitudes as well. When people tell stories about something negative they usually use signifier’s. Black women are known for having attitudes, so when people tell stories and it includes a black woman with an attitude they’ll more than likely include the signifier versus telling a story about a white women who had an attitude. When people talk about bad drivers if their Asian they more than likely say their Asian, to strengthen the stereo type that Asians are bad drivers. People usually use signifier’s to amplify stereo types, when they tell stories and their talking about something that is known to happen to or by certain races they use the signifier’s. Also when they tell a story maybe to make it more interesting or so you can visualize it they tell the race of the person. I’ll say that the people who haven’t reached the Humanitarian in the racial identity stage yet use signifier’s more often then not. When you’re mad at a certain person of a certain race and you happen to be talking to someone about something else you might use signifiers towards that same race, of the person that made you mad. I hope I’m not confusing you. I also think people in the revision and reversal stage use signifier’s a lot more. Fri, 18 Mar 2011 20:47:00 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/03/15/how-do-irrelevant-racial-signifiers-affect-racial-stereotypes-119-blog/#IDComment135906706 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/02/28/the-lottery-as-a-blessing-or-a-curse/#IDComment134360452 Part 3: It’s always a happier story or you get more recognition when the winnings go to someone that really needed it, and they were still willing give back to others who were less fortunate. No one never wants to hear about an upper-middle class person winning three hundred million, in the article when they did the study that showed people are more willing to donate money to a stranger than to give it to a friend or family member to help pay a bill, I can understand why people would think that way. When you donate it’s usually to people who need it more than your friend, such as food or to have a roof over their heads, and with your family and friends if you know their doing better off than the people your donating to your more reluctant to give it to them. Sat, 12 Mar 2011 04:29:33 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/02/28/the-lottery-as-a-blessing-or-a-curse/#IDComment134360452 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/02/28/the-lottery-as-a-blessing-or-a-curse/#IDComment134360416 Part 2: When you win the lottery it’s almost like getting famous all the people that you thought were your friends turn against you or try to use you, because now you have something that they want. That’s when you find out whose real and whose not, when people who never kept in contact with you before are now asking for favors. Winning the lottery is a curse and a blessing all in one, because depending on how strong the person is, will defy the winnings becoming a curse. You might lose some family members and/or friends but if you spend and invest in the money wisely, you’ll be set for life. Like Biggie Smalls always said the “mo money, mo problems” and people will do crazy things to get money, such as committing crimes to get it, lottery winners should be very cautious who they tell their winnings to. Sat, 12 Mar 2011 04:29:17 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/02/28/the-lottery-as-a-blessing-or-a-curse/#IDComment134360416 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/02/28/the-lottery-as-a-blessing-or-a-curse/#IDComment134360360 Part 1: I strongly agree with the research that you get more joy from going on trips and doing activities that will bring memories than from buying clothes, shoes and jewelry. I don’t see the point in having all the materials if you have nowhere to wear them to. It always boggles my brain when I see poor people living in the inner city with Cadillac’s that have rims and they have the next latest Jordan sneakers or Louie vuitton etc, but they aren’t going anywhere and they don’t prosper to do better such as moving to a better part of the state or investing it in something. I always thought money wasn’t what brought you happiness it’s just a piece of paper. It’s the people that you love that bring you happiness if you could use the money to better your loved ones and yourself that will bring more happiness. Sat, 12 Mar 2011 04:28:56 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/02/28/the-lottery-as-a-blessing-or-a-curse/#IDComment134360360 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/02/24/is-it-selfish-for-people-in-poverty-to-have-more-kids-because-of-their-lower-income-119-blog/#IDComment130507319 Firstly, poor people not all but most aren’t as educated as those who possess wealth, so they don’t know to use protection, take Plan B, nor can some of them afford abortion. While others may or may not have graduated from high school they just choose not to use protection or they stick to a certain religion that doesn’t believe in condoms either way I would say those are selfish for knowingly having that many children and not using protection. Secondly, there are those who are hooked on drugs and have numerous amounts of babies that are usually put into the system. These are many reasons why poor people are more susceptible to having more children than the middle to upper middle class. I think it’s crazy when someone who is poor and have more than five children doesn’t know to stop having sex or to go and ask for some kind of guidance. It is tough to say that they are being selfish, some do, do it so they can live off of the government but that is only a small percentage of the people. What I think is selfish is when women who can’t have children choose in vitro fertilization and have a dozen babies at once, and then want a reality show about it and live tax free. But, know one ever talks about those folks it’s always the poor people whose taken advantage of the system or being selfish to who society, themselves or their children. I understand some just make mistakes or they’re stuck in a vicious cycle, but making a mistake twenty two times is a bit drastic. I think men might be more selfish than women having the children, when they have large amount of children with large amount of women, with no plans of supporting the mothers. I’m not saying poor people are stupid, but I always say in a joking way stupid people or knuckle heads shouldn’t have children, this statement is a bit extreme. However, it’s so true not to say the kid will turn out stupid, but you never know. I think it’s more selfish when you have a baby but your not financially stable or financially independent, that could be anyone from people who are poor, a teenager relying on their parents, a student whose in the middle of getting a degree knowing they will have some debt when they graduate as well as others. Fri, 25 Feb 2011 06:13:54 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/02/24/is-it-selfish-for-people-in-poverty-to-have-more-kids-because-of-their-lower-income-119-blog/#IDComment130507319 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/02/10/what-did-you-get-out-of-king-of-the-mountain-119-blog/#IDComment127472543 The king of the mountain game/reference to life is so true for many reasons. The Europeans had to justify their reasoning for making African/African Americans (AAA) into slaves and to do that they came up with rules. These rules were to keep the AAA down and make them inferior. To some degree it worked, the AAA had no say and people from all over Europe were claiming places for themselves. The game symbolically showed how people can be on “top” and have all the power to do and say whatever they want without getting into some kind of trouble to a certain point. The people at the top of the hill can do plenty of things and “get away with it” because they are at the top and no one is above them to tell them their wrong or punish them for it. Plus the “King” has an alliance so he has people to back him up when he does something unjust. When I think of all the things the King gets away with, it makes me sad because he doesn’t have the decency to realize what he’s doing is just wrong. The past king brain washed his mind and made him think he was this superior human when he is just a human being like everyone else on this planet. The higher elevation is an example of greater vantage points, higher income, higher social status, more access to better resources and the abilities to take from others and not necessarily give back. The people at the bottom of the mountain never come together and try to revolt against the King. Some of the people at the bottom of the mountain are brainwashed themselves because they think they’re suppose to be at the bottom or not have higher expectations for themselves. The Pennsylvania State University is a State school and it’s trying to climb up the mountain. Penn State is trying to make it an elite school and only available for the people at the top of the mountain which isn’t right when it was made to provide education for the working and middle class to be able to afford. The Pennsylvania State University is planning on raising the tuition by 10% because the government is cutting down on the amount of money they usually give the school. And 10% is equivalent to about $10,000, people at the bottom of the mountain certainly won’t be able to afford this school next semester. Sat, 12 Feb 2011 04:24:52 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/02/10/what-did-you-get-out-of-king-of-the-mountain-119-blog/#IDComment127472543 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/02/01/interpreting-names-for-people-of-one-race-who-act-like-another/#IDComment126052788 I’ve heard of “Oreo” and “uh oh Oreo” where white people “act” black, but I’ve never heard “Twinkie” both terms makes me laugh though. Who would have thought to make junk food a term for people “acting” a certain way? There is a simple explanation for why people think there acting and it is because it’s against the norm, if you live in a community full of one race they all act similar and then you see a person of the same race somewhere else “acting” different you need some kind of explanation hence the terms “Oreo” and “Twinkies.” I do think some people try to be apart of a culture/ race not necessarily acting, because they may love that culture. Others are born and raised into a community full of people of a certain culture/ race different from them, and so they start “acting” like that culture. What is interesting to me is the question that young lady asked in the video blog, “…why don’t people ever say white people are acting Asian?” I don’t know the answer and that question never came to mind, and I guess that’s because I’m not Asian. However, I think people never say that because we in America “know” how white and black people typically “act” and I don’t know how Asians “act”. I haven’t really been close friends to a lot of them but the ones that I have been close friends too are Americanized so I don’t know how an Asian acts to compare a white or black person to them. I have something to say that is completely off topic, but we discussed it in our small discussion meeting this Wednesday when we were talking about being politically correct. Some Native Americans do not like people calling them red skins because it’s a derogatory term similar to calling an African American the N word. However, we also learned that Native Americans call each other red skins. So it seems confusing do we call them red skins or not, a simple answer for this is no, it’s the same thing where African Americans call each other the N word but they don’t want other races calling them the N word. It’s hard to be politically correct, and if Native Americans feel strongly about others calling them red skins or offended by the sport teams named after them they should do something about it. African Americans came along way and it was because we protested; Native Americans need to go down to Washington D.C. and have some kind of march demanding they change the name of the sport teams and what ever else strongly offend them. Many people don’t realize Red Skins is a derogatory term to Native Americans they need to make it known. Sat, 5 Feb 2011 02:10:54 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/02/01/interpreting-names-for-people-of-one-race-who-act-like-another/#IDComment126052788 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/01/26/why-do-we-associate-with-people-of-the-same-race-and-ethnicity-as-ourselves-119-blog/#IDComment124400702 I was born and raised in The Bronx, and where I lived was a mixed between Jamaicans, Puerto Ricans and African Americans/ Africans; so I tended to hang around the people I lived with who were mostly “Black”, they were who I went to school with and they were my neighbors. My neighborhood wasn’t too diverse. However, when I went to High School in Manhattan I thought it was going to be full of Caucasians but the majority was of Hispanic descent mostly Dominicans and Puerto Ricans and of course the other races such as Asians, whites, and blacks. My parents aren’t closed minded so I was always exposed to different cultures from going on vacations and doing various activities where it would be more whites than my race; such as the Renaissance Fair. I always strived to have friends that were different from me, in middle school my two close friends were Italian and Guyanese. In high school my best friend was Puerto Rican, and when I started college is was so wonderful because everyone was different from what I was use to growing up with in New York. I first started at Penn State Harrisburg and my four close friends’ freshman year was Malaysian, Swiss, Chilean, and Mexican. For awhile I didn’t have the black friends that may relate to me more than the others but it was good to meet people of different cultures and to learn new things about how they cooked, or dressed or view certain issues. My whole point is that I’m not like the others but if you were to see me walking down the street with my black friends you might have assumed that’s the only type of people I associate myself with. My best friend from my neighborhood is black, and I think people associate themselves with their same race because those people understand them the most. When I use to hang out with my friends from freshman year there were times when I felt out of place because I notice I was the only black person in the room and they would say things that did offend me but I let it some of their comments go mostly because I think they misunderstood what they were saying and partially because of ignorance. When I see international students such as the Asians here hanging out with their own race, I will be honest I do get upset because I feel they came to the United States to learn new things and one way of doing so is to hang out with people outside of your culture. If they were planning to stay with their “own kind” what was the point in coming to Penn State, I also feel like some of them are close minded and they don’t try to learn or befriend the other students from other cultures. It’s also a two way street the people who live here in the United States can try to talk to them too, and I will speak for myself I do try to get to know some of them but they seem too timid or their too scared to speak English. I know I might be wrong but for some they are scared because it might not sound right or they think people will laugh at them which in most cases is not the case in college and it’s also how you learn. Fri, 28 Jan 2011 20:13:51 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/01/26/why-do-we-associate-with-people-of-the-same-race-and-ethnicity-as-ourselves-119-blog/#IDComment124400702 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/01/14/what-do-you-want-to-know-blog-1/#IDComment122199730 Part 3: Who decides or creates discourse I guess the Europeans were the first to create such claims, so I just answered one of my questions. Why does another nation or country have to always be put at the bottom of the barrel? For example African Americans or in the Caribbean some would say Haitians are? In class today Professor Richards said we will all soon become the color brown if that is true will there still be people who are racist? Can we ever completely erase racism from our minds? We are all born mixophilia so why can’t in the near future we continue to stay mixophilia instead of mixo-phobic?________ Wed, 19 Jan 2011 04:04:29 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/01/14/what-do-you-want-to-know-blog-1/#IDComment122199730 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/01/14/what-do-you-want-to-know-blog-1/#IDComment122199714 Part 2: I know we are all ethnocentric in one way or the other, but I don’t understand if you are living in the same country with similar socioeconomic statuses how can you still see yourself superior to the other group. In Guyana there is in some cases a barrier between the Indian Guyanese and the African or Black Guyanese why? In Jamaica they have the same issue with the Chinese/Jamaicans against the African (Black)/Jamaicans why? In Brazil the white/Brazilians against the black/Brazilians why? The list goes on, these are issues and questions that I hope by the end of the semester I can make sense of it, or at least know the history behind how or why it is the way it is.__ Wed, 19 Jan 2011 04:04:20 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/01/14/what-do-you-want-to-know-blog-1/#IDComment122199714 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/01/14/what-do-you-want-to-know-blog-1/#IDComment122199560 Part 1: What do I want to know?___I want to know why are people segregating themselves even between their own race such as light skin African Americans versus the darker skinned ones and vice versa. I learned from a fellow classmate of mine and throughout life that amongst the Oriental community they too are judgmental or they rather not associate themselves with the other oriental ethnicities. Such as Koreans not getting along with Japanese or befriending them. We keep learning that what our ancestors did wasn’t our fault and we shouldn’t feel guilty about it so, why do certain Oriental ethnicity groups dislike each other?__ Wed, 19 Jan 2011 04:03:53 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/01/14/what-do-you-want-to-know-blog-1/#IDComment122199560 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/01/10/last-name-%e2%80%9cf%e2%80%9d-%e2%80%93-intense-debate/#IDComment121170913 SOC 119 Thu, 13 Jan 2011 22:46:37 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/01/10/last-name-%e2%80%9cf%e2%80%9d-%e2%80%93-intense-debate/#IDComment121170913