While watching that particular video, I felt many emotions towards not only the soldiers but also toward the Iraqis. Watching the Americans, you can’t help but feel a sense of hatred towards those soldiers. Why are they acting so rashly? Do they have any idea of the impact this has on those people’s lives? Then you feel pity toward the people. It was mentioned at the end of the video that the man was a taxi cab driver and that the car was his only source of income. Also, they were stealing the wood because they were cold at night and hungry and wanted to cook some food.

Then again, you have to think about media in general. From the American side, we see soldiers fighting for freedom and holding babies and saving innocent citizens from the evil Al-Qaeda. However, Sam opened everyone’s minds about the war from a sociological perspective. He simply put everyone in the shoes of the people of the Middle-East. Therefore, you felt a little bit more pity toward the people that you normally would.

This is just one example though. Sure, given this one example you can’t help but wonder what else goes on. What else does the American military do to innocent civilians? However, we must not forget what many others are there to do. Sure, there are some men in the military that act cruelly towards citizens, but there are plenty of others set out for the sole purpose of helping these people. Some military men legitimately believe that they are in the Middle-East to do good, and so therefore they strive to help civilians to live better lives.

Whether this war is good or bad cannot be generalized. What I’ve taken out of this class if anything is the fact that generalizations do not make anything simpler. The fact is that generalizing the fact that the War in Iraq is good is only focusing on the men that are actually there to help civilians and fight Al-Qaeda to break down extremist groups and create a sturdy government structure. Generalizing that the War in Iraq is bad is only focusing on the men that are cruel to civilians and are there against the will of the people. It is also focusing on the all-too-true fact that America is there to claim Middle-Eastern oil as its own. I personally cannot judge whether the War in Iraq is good or bad because there are both sides of the argument that are true and contradict each other.

You can’t judge an entire army by the actions of a few. Sure, I feel anger toward those American soldiers and I have every right to. The fact is that what they did was rash and wrong. What I think need to be done is that these actions need to be recognized and scolded. American soldiers need to be taught about how to act toward these innocent civilians. It seems like a ridiculous thing to teach, but if tanks are being used to destroy a civilian’s only source of income then I feel it is completely necessary.

Fortunately for me, I am not a victim of sexual abuse. Additionally, I don’t have any immediate family or friends that have been victims of sexual abuse (at least to my knowledge). So why am I answering this question above the rest? I feel that my lack of knowing any specific people that have been sexually abused allows me to see past the emotion of the situation (to a small extent) and focus on the logic. By saying this, I am not trying to be emotionless or offend anyone; I am simply trying to come up with a very detailed and carefully considered solution from a psychological standpoint. Logically, what should a victim of sexual abuse need to be able to speak out?

The best thing I can come up with is the idea of recognition. Based on what was said in class, the victims feel alone and confused. A lot of the times, victims do not know who to turn to because there are many instances where they are laughed at. At the same time, the victims cannot be simply approached and forced to tell what is going on in their life. Therefore, the best thing to do is create a go-to group of people who know how to deal with the situation and who can be easily reached by victims of sexual abuse.

As long as this group contains professionals and caring people, I feel like the victims would be more open to talking about what is going on in their lives when they see a group of caring people that can understand their hardships.

This is not to say that there are not groups already that do this. A lot of times, though, the victims do not know how to reach out to them. On top of that, they most likely want the interaction to be as personable as possible, so a hotline would probably not be the best idea.

I feel like every community should have a group of people through the local government that get together to help people specifically that have dealt with sexual abuse. These people will have contact information on the local government website and the yellow pages so victims can contact them whenever they feel like they need to reach out. These people will have connections to hospitals, local authorities, attorneys and psychologists so the victims have everything they could need at their disposal to clear things up and help out the situation and put on a full investigation.

This is a difficult topic to write about since I have no experience with sexual abuse and I don’t have anyone close to me that has been sexually abused, so my credibility is not filled with emotion on the subject. However, I feel that this idea is beneficial to those who have had experiences with sexual abuse and just need someone to talk to.

Unfortunately for Penn State students, the negative emotion is a factor that all of us have to deal with from the outside, even if we don’t experience it. For one, the riots are the ultimate example of how negative emotions can hinder the way the rest of the world views Penn State. The riots solved nothing, plain and simple. In fact, the only thing the riots actually did was bring negative attention to the students.

For most Penn State students, the reaction was positive. Most students stayed home and most students had more educated opinions about the ordeal. The few that reacted in an immature way by rioting has established a bad name for Penn State students. Recent media shows only the negative highlights of student reaction. The negative reactions being flipping a van, throwing rocks and tearing down lampposts stimulated national media attention in a negative way. Instead of protesting peacefully, a few students decided it would be a good idea to support Penn State by destroying Penn State property.

This of course has no logical positive effects. In fact, it sends a message completely opposite of what should have been done. What should have happened was a non-violent protest supporting Joe Paterno by joining together for a single cause. What most don’t know is that this is something that happened.

A small group of students gathered outside of Joe Paterno’s house and also at the Joe Paterno statue outside Beaver stadium. They stood next to the statue and shouted positive messages to Joe and Sue while protecting them from the obnoxious media. This is something that was not highlighted simply because it gives negative attention to the media, therefore they don’t show it.

The media has more power than most would like to admit. Instead of conveying the truth, the media focuses on attention grabbing negative reactions. Why? Simple: because that’s what people love to hear about. Unfortunately for Penn State, which is on the negative side of this, the media only focuses on the negative that has occurred and flips the story around to make Penn State as a whole look bad.

This is something that the Board of Trustees for Penn State tried to avoid by getting rid of those who represent Penn State and the image of the name the most: Joe Paterno and Graham Spanier. These two men represented everything in Penn State, which is why they were let go. However, this has triggered not only negative attention from the media, but powerful negative emotion from the students. This is something that I believe the Board of Trustees did not anticipate.

This subject is something I feel very strongly about. The fact that the two people who have dedicated nearly their entire life to helping Penn State as a whole are the ones who get the most negative attention and the most need for disassociation with the image of the university is something that can only be described as unfair. The lack of knowledge from the general public is the only thing triggering such negative emotion about the university and the main reason for the firing of Paterno and Spanier.

It isn’t right for these two men to be linked so strongly to a crime that someone else was sick enough to commit. There is so little knowledge about the subject that there are even some people who associate the rape of children directly with Joe Paterno. It is sick and unfair. Please, pray for the victims because they come first and foremost, but also pray for Paterno and Spanier that maybe, when more light is shed on the subject, that they can finish out their lives with a good reputation.

As I first thought about this question, the first thing that came to mind was “It is not our land. It belongs to the Native Americans.” Of course I would say that after the 10/27 lecture on Native Americans. As Sam pointed out the brutality against the indigenous people, you can’t help but feel sorry for them. And you have every right to. The fact is that the Pilgrims that immigrated to what is now the United Stated did what most of us would deem unacceptable in today’s society.

What we are forgetting is one important fact: it happened. There is no changing this fact. You can’t feel sorry for what happened over 500 years ago. Think about what would’ve happened if we did not inhabit the United States. What would’ve happened if we saw the Native Americans and said, “Oh, this is your land? My apologies. I’ll turn around and leave now.” What would happen is that this would not be America, Land of the Free and Home of the Brave. This would be something else.

Assuming that no one else inhabited this land, America would be a natural wonderland. The indigenous people were not one for innovation. Technology would’ve developed slowly, if at all. The Native Americans would have continued slaughtering each other (Sam failed to mention this, but Native American tribes were very proud and savage; they showed no mercy toward anyone not of their own tribe, especially the Iroquois) and nothing would’ve been accomplished.

This is, of course, assuming no one else inhabits the land, which is more than unlikely. If it wasn’t inhabited by English speakers, it would have eventually been inhabited by someone else. Imagine a United States where everyone speaks Spanish, German, or Portuguese. You think these people would feel the same way we do now about people who speak a different language coming into their country? Imagine you, as an English speaker, immigrating into the U.S where everyone speaks Portuguese. You’d be ridiculed just like if a Portuguese man came to the U.S today, full of English speakers.

What if communists took over the United States? Let’s just say the entire world would be a different place. The United States would first of all not be called the United States. They would probably be one of the most feared countries in the world, given the track record of previous communist dictators like Stalin or Mao Zedong. The “United States” would have so much power that they would invade other countries for their own gain. These aren’t facts, just mire speculations.

Am I saying that I support the killing of thousands of Native Americans and the unwillingness to aid current poverty-stricken reservations? No. We definitely could’ve done without that and we should most definitely help those in need within our country. My point is that things would not be perfect if we changed the past. This land is our land; that much is certain. Seeing as though our entire existence and the current state of our country was based off immigration, I say give others the same chance.

Personally, I’ll start by saying I believe I am a stage five white guy. I am very comfortable with my own race and I feel comfortable around other races, however I seem to seek approval from other races. I usually am very conscious not to say anything to offend someone of a different race. This is mostly because I grew up moving from place to place, but all these different places were populated by predominately white people. As I grew older and discovered what race really is, I started making stereotypes. These stereotypes, though, came mostly from my parents.

It seems to me as though you learn about race through childhood, but when you reach adulthood you already have defined what race means to you. I observed this from my parents and grandparents, who chronologically seem to be more accepting of racial identity. My grandparents are insanely racist. I’m not talking about hating blacks and browns, I’m talking about hating other white people. Both my grandparents are one hundred percent Italian, and they are racist against Polish, Irish, German, Spanish and Dutch people. My mother has attempted to talk to them about their views, but they just shut her down. They are not open to change, especially in their viewpoints. I think most of the reason is because they are in their 80’s now and they have seen many decades go by and witnessed all the changes that happen and how quickly they occur. Instead of embracing these changes, my grandparents shut them out and live as though nothing in the world changes. The home they live in now was built in the 60’s, and it still looks brand new. They literally preserved the past in the form of their house so they can live “in the past.” I would say that my grandparents are at stage 2. I don’t think they can see past the “us and them” factor. They don’t see beyond the stereotypes in a person. Granted, my grandparents are some of the nicest and most selfless people, but their idea of social identity is fairly immature

My parents are a little different, but still do not fully embrace racial identity. They moved away from where they grew up not to “see the world,” but just to get away from the box that was my hometown. Sure, they saw a lot more and experienced a lot more than my grandparents ever have, but they have always been wary about black people. For some reason, they always look at a black person as if he is going to steal their money. Part of this reason is because we lived in predominately white suburban neighborhoods, but also because the only time we were every exposed to black people was when we went downtown in the city area. The black people we saw were uneducated and usually scalping tickets or walking around alone in baggy clothes. With these experiences, it’s no wonder my parents are racist toward black people.

Being in Sociology 119 has taught me about racial identity that has helped me be at peace with my own. Being in Penn State has also helped, where students are here to get a good education and have fun no matter what skin color they are. Living in an environment where everyone seems to have the same goals but have different skin color has taught me more than a book ever could on racial identity.

I actually discuss this topic with my friends all the time. I am a guy, and this is something that I ask many girls about. The fact that the phrase “have to” was used in the question signifies a general misconception of purpose in society. You don’t “have to” dress any way in particular. A justified reason for wearing such clothing would be a matter of personal preference in terms of weighing attractiveness over comfort. If this is more important to you as a woman, than by all means go for it. However, in doing so, you must consider other factors.

By dressing in a short tight skirt, heels and a semi-loose top, most girls do look attractive… to shallow guys. Dressing in such attire, you attract the frat boys. Again, if that’s what you are into, go for it. However, I’m sure that wearing the same thing as everyone else will definitely make you stand out. Literally, that’s exactly what girls do. To look attractive, they feel like there is a necessity to wear a certain type of apparel that is generally accepted in society, particularly in Penn State. They don’t think of what it means or why they are doing it. Sure, you look good, but what else is there to consider?

Here’s what I think about when I see a girl wearing a tight skirt and heels: conformity. My first judgment about this girl is that she is immature, close-minded and shallow. This is a girl that loves fashion and shopping, but hates the outdoors. Am I right all the time? No, but most of the time it’s pretty true.

Now, if you are a girl that just wants to have some fun and puts comfort over looks, I commend you. Personally, when there are a bunch of girls at a party who all look the same, I go for the one in jeans. That says to me, “yeah, I don’t give a ***. I’m just here for a good time.” That, to me, is attractive, and a reason to talk to this girl and find out a little bit more on why she decided to wear jeans.

You have to really dive deep into things before you start to accept them. That is one thing that even I accepted when I first came to Penn State. I knew that all the girls dressed that way when they went out, but I really didn’t realize that “ALL” girls dress that way when they go out. Really I think it comes down to two things: shallow thinking and social conformity. People don’t see past the “what” and onto the “why.” In other words, you realize “what” you’re supposed to do, but you don’t ask “why am I doing this?” I’m not saying the answer is “because I look good in these clothes.” Go deeper than that. Ask “why is THIS the thing that is socially acceptable?” If you ask questions and go deep enough, you will be happy with wearing whatever you want and not just what society tells you to wear.

Luckily for minorities, the world is becoming more liberal every day. Things that were once deemed as a “sin” or as “socially unacceptable” are now becoming a normal part of everyday life. Gays now (especially in liberal states like California) are accepted among the majority of the population. It is only a matter of time before gays are accepted in all parts of society. So, right now, I would say that I wouldn’t mind at all having a gay child.

Whether it is a boy or a girl, I would love him or her either way. There is no reason to treat a child differently because of their sexual preference. In fact, if they know for a fact that they are gay and there is no confusion, then I say “embrace it!” Your gay child should have pride in being gay if they know that they are. There should not be any sense of shame.

Shame is something that a lot of people deal with, not just gays. My personal definition of shame derives from the sense that you are not inwardly happy because of social pressures and envy. The way you view life can have a huge impact of your behavior and attitude. This can make a world of a difference between a depressed gay child and an exuberant gay child. If my child is gay, then I plan to make him or her the happiest gay child there could be.

How I plan to accomplish this is simple: instill confidence. As a parent, I will have a significant amount of control over my child’s confidence, especially in the earlier stages in life. One of the hardest parts about being gay in today’s society is having the courage to tell others that you are gay, so by helping my child build confidence in the early stages of life I will ultimately make him proud to be gay. Pride in knowing and defining who you are will ultimately build your happiness and confidence, so long as there is control over egocentrism.

Believe it or not, I am completely prepared for having a gay child. Why this is: simply because, in my humble opinion, it is no different than having a straight child. Literally the only difference in having a gay child is their sexual preference, which if you think about, is very easy to deal with. Let’s say I have a gay son. I would parent my son based on his preferences. Whether he is a boy who likes baseball or a boy who likes dancing, it is no different. The only different thing that I would deal with is the sexual preference. Naturally, I would assume it would be like having a straight daughter, so I would try to guide him sexually the way I would guide a straight daughter.

The biggest mistake a parent can have to his or her gay child is to deny who he or she is. If your child is gay, then he or she is gay. That is it. Nothing more. And if you could change this fact, would you really want to? Because then he wouldn’t be your child, he would be a different child.

The best possible aid (that I can come up with) to give to foreign countries would be education. I strongly believe in the saying “give a man a fish and he eats for a day, teach a man a fish and he eats every day.” Excluding resources, the reason that Third World countries are so poor is the lack of education. This is especially true for running a business. After reviewing a lot of the videos available on the World in Conversation website for the Haiti Project, I realized just how uneducated these people are. Sure, they are poor. That much is clear. However the most important question to ask is: “why are these people and these countries poor?” Poor government leadership, low income, low export to import ratio, lack of resources, and lack of education are some of the more common answers. Personally, I believe the most important-- in terms of how to aid the countries—is the lack of education.

Well, what can we do to improve their education? This question comes down to the obvious truth: money. To provide education, you need the resources to do so. You are going to need to come up with the resources to help these people, since in most cases they cannot come up with them on their own. Well, how do you do that? It depends on how much money you are willing to spend. If I had the time (and in the future, I plan on MAKING the time to help other countries) and the money, I would try my best to go to these countries and experience their lifestyle firsthand. No matter where you are, you are not going to know a culture and lifestyle until you live it. From there you can determine exactly what the people need and how you can help them obtain it.

The difficult part of this idea is how to teach people of poor nations about how to properly run a business. I personally have no experience with this, but I do have experience with teaching people of foreign nations how to swim. It is not like teaching a child. You can tell a child the basic concept and he will naturally pick it up. However, telling a full grown man about how to run a business after he spent his whole life farming rice might be difficult. They may not be receptive to learning and may just want the extra capital to run their business. This is a good reason to have a small group of dedicated people to teach poor people how to run a business. Maybe the best bet would be to advertise free info sessions that entrepreneurs and managers can attend to learn how to properly and efficiently run a business. Along with capital, this could potentially make a few lives in Third World countries better.

I watched the videos and read the overview for Figaro, Sonia and Suze. All three are entrepreneurs in the industry of something to deal with food. I picked these three entrepreneurs because my initial thought about the project was “what about communications between other entrepreneurs?” It might be possible to create partnerships. I realize that this may be a little farfetched, but imagine what would happen if a small business was opened that contained different snacks and bags. You could partner this small business with a school. The school could pay the small business to make deserts for school socials and sell affordable lunch bags for the students.
The most pertinent idea would be education for these entrepreneurs. Being titled as an “entrepreneur” is a big responsibility and requires a lot of hard work and knowledge. What is clear is that these entrepreneurs are dedicated to the “hard work” aspect of entrepreneurship. However, the educated needed to proper run a business is not present. Unfortunately, it is apparent that they lack the resources (especially money) needed for proper education. I think the biggest help we can offer is education. We can give them the knowledge necessary to run a good business.
How can we do this? We can host weekly info sessions. I think we can dedicate one day a week (since most of their time and days are taken up by work) to a short 1 or 2 hour long class dedicated to how to financially and managerially run a business.
To go along with the info sessions, I suggest marketing campaigns to help jump start the business and its newly educated entrepreneurs. From what I could see from the videos, the initial capital used to start the business was significantly low. If we could develop marketing campaigns for every business for a short while, we could jump start their initial capital and get the business moving.
I’m sure that one of the main things that the entrepreneurs need is publicity. Not every Haitian is going to jump at the chance at a candied peanut or a handmade lunchbox. What would significantly and positively affect the business is publicity. Haitians can use a luxury every once in a while, and there are very affordable luxuries such as candied and roasted peanuts, lunchboxes and pastries.
With the money earned from the marketing campaign and increased publicity, you can improve the production process and distribution. I feel that the most important part as an initial capital investment is distribution in the local vicinity, but getting supplies is always a problem. Investing in new logistical processes to get the supplies faster would be extremely beneficial. I’m not exactly sure how to do this, I am not logistics major. All in all though, the best possible thing to do for Haitian entrepreneurs would be to provide a more practical, more organized, and more value-oriented business structure.

SAT scores rising with income is simply a correlation. If there is one important thing to consider when interpreting statistical data, it is that correlation does not equal causation. Yes, statistical evidence clearly shows a significant rise in SAT scores when family income increases. This does not mean that it is simply the income that makes people smarter. In fact, thinking of the data in that way makes no logical sense. Instead, you have to think of what sort of intellectual stimulants are synonymous with income.
For instance, when income rises, pressure from the bread-winners (aka the parents) should also rise. In most cases, a measure of wealth can be positively correlated with a measure of intelligence. Therefore, a rise in income should mean that those earning the income are educated. Those who have lived successful lives know the work that has to be done in order to achieve such a life. The pressure of financial success is then passed on to the offspring. From the beginning, the children of successful parents are pressured to get A’s in school, to do extracurricular activities and to volunteer. Growing up with a strong pressure to succeed can be coupled with the surrounding environment of the household.
Generally, higher income families tend to have a lot more in the household. This goes for technology, furniture, higher class vehicles and anything else that is located in the household. Not only that, but higher income families generally have a very clean and neatly organized house. A child growing up in these conditions takes these conditions as “normal.” Any other sort of lifestyle is dirtier, less organized and less bountiful (in terms of tangible goods) is viewed as a “downgrade” from the lifestyle that he or she is used to. This sort of pressure for a “normal” lifestyle can also drive students to try hard and succeed, not only in SAT scores but financially.
Personally, I grew up in a white Catholic household. My family’s income is considered upper middle class. My parents did not fall into this class, though. They grew up with less financial success than they now have. Their parents drove them to achieve much more than they had because they simply wanted the best for their children. However, I will admit that my grandparents aren’t the most educated people in the world. Even with all the drive, my parents’ SAT scores were not as good as they hoped, yet they still made it into college, graduated and found financial success. Therefore, my parents gave me and my brother even more pressure than they themselves received, and we in turn both received very high SAT scores. It is for this reason that I wrote about the pressure that is put on the person on top of income and education. Personal experience coupled with intelligence leads me to believe in a logical approach to the correlation.