en-us https://www.intensedebate.com/users/2453906 Comments by Neicy01 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/04/14/what-does-it-say-about-our-society-if-schools-are-more-segregated-now-than-in-the-1970s-119-blog/#IDComment143292452 Leaders such as Martin Luther King Jr. fought hard for all races to be treated as equal. Before the mid 1900’s schools were very segregated and different races were not allowed to attend the same school. White people in one school and minorities in another was how it was for many years. Separate playgrounds, theaters, and churches kept people away from interacting with each other. This can be a factor that contributed to the separation that races suffer with today. The fact that schools today are more segregated than before says that we are not taking proper measures to move away from segregation and towards equality. We as Americans are comfortable with our children being surrounded with children of the same race every day and not sharing special childhood moments with children of other races. The fact that we do not have more interracial schools says that we are okay with our children not getting the full experience of life. By allowing our children to go to school with students of other races we will express the importance of equality and working together in society. In the real world most people do not work with one race and it is important that we start exposing our youth to different races from a young age. Sat, 16 Apr 2011 03:42:08 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/04/14/what-does-it-say-about-our-society-if-schools-are-more-segregated-now-than-in-the-1970s-119-blog/#IDComment143292452 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/04/14/what-does-it-say-about-our-society-if-schools-are-more-segregated-now-than-in-the-1970s-119-blog/#IDComment143292135 Is said that the United States has come a long way from segregation and racism. We as Americans try to pretend and act as if racism is gone and no longer exist but this is wrong. It is important that we address the fact that the country is still dealing with segregation and that something should be done about it. In large cities such as Philadelphia and New York there are areas that are predominantly one race and public schools in these cities. In the inner cities school tend to be mostly African American or Hispanic. In suburban areas schools tend to be majority Caucasian. This may seem like nothing but it is actually a big problem in society. Research has proven that schools are segregated more today than in the 1970’s. It may seem unrealistic but it is true. Just as schools were segregated during the early 1900’s schools are segregated now. People fail to realize this but it is something that should be paid close attention to. The fact that schools are so segregated and people do not care or even notice means that the world is settling with the practice of racism and segregation. This says a lot about our society and culture as a whole. This says that we are okay with being divided. Sat, 16 Apr 2011 03:40:38 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/04/14/what-does-it-say-about-our-society-if-schools-are-more-segregated-now-than-in-the-1970s-119-blog/#IDComment143292135 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/04/07/do-you-agree-with-foreign-aids-use-of-pictures-of-children-119-blog/#IDComment140922263 In the ads and commercials I don’t think it is a problem to show pictures of impoverished children but I do think it’s important to make viewers know what percentage of people that the poor make up. Organizations should also let people know the importance of helping these children instead of letting people draw conclusions from pictures. These pictures do make people feel sympathetic but because people see them so often they get tired and the sympathy turn to agony. People feel forced to donate but instead of pictures there should be statistics and encouraging people to help these poor children. Fri, 8 Apr 2011 05:40:13 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/04/07/do-you-agree-with-foreign-aids-use-of-pictures-of-children-119-blog/#IDComment140922263 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/04/07/do-you-agree-with-foreign-aids-use-of-pictures-of-children-119-blog/#IDComment140922111 All countries have ghettoes and suburbs. On the commercials made by foreign aid organizations there are only places of poverty shown and this gives Americans a negative impression of these countries. Although these countries do show signs of poverty they also have places of riches. In Africa there places that have huge homes with great amounts of land. Before the earthquake in Haiti there were areas that were houses to the doctors, lawyers, and people who had money of some sort. Americans are not shown these places therefore people are not aware and are stuck with stereotypes about people from these countries. It is the jobs of these organizations to make sure Americans are aware of all of the social status in every country and to also know the importance of helping the lower social class. Fri, 8 Apr 2011 05:39:08 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/04/07/do-you-agree-with-foreign-aids-use-of-pictures-of-children-119-blog/#IDComment140922111 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/04/07/do-you-agree-with-foreign-aids-use-of-pictures-of-children-119-blog/#IDComment140922036 Many islands such as Haiti and continents such as Africa there are many poor and under privileged people. There are children that cannot help themselves and struggle for a meal week. School is not an option for these children and many of them are surviving with one or no parent at all. There are many organizations that reach out to help. These organizations create commercials and websites to persuade Americans or people who have it to contribute and donate money to help these children. Even though Americans do a great job of donating money they are giving a wrong impression of what these countries are actually like. Fri, 8 Apr 2011 05:38:39 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/04/07/do-you-agree-with-foreign-aids-use-of-pictures-of-children-119-blog/#IDComment140922036 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/04/07/do-you-agree-with-foreign-aids-use-of-pictures-of-children-119-blog/#IDComment140921980 Although it is important to spread the word about foreign aid it is also important that organizations send the right message the right way. I feel like the pictures of young children and the conditions in which they live is a not fulfilling the purpose that it is meant to serve. On commercials such as Feed the Children young children are shown in bad conditions and viewers are asked to help by sending money and making monthly payments to the orgs. Most of the time the children are shown without their parents, in half built homes caring for themselves and three other siblings. The message that these children in these countries need money and food to survive is not at question but the question on how the country is being portrayed is a question to be addressed. Fri, 8 Apr 2011 05:38:12 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/04/07/do-you-agree-with-foreign-aids-use-of-pictures-of-children-119-blog/#IDComment140921980 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/03/29/would-you-be-willing-to-learn-a-new-language-for-a-job-119-blog/#IDComment138984610 In a country that is so diverse it is a shame that everyone does not speak one other language other than their own. With thousands of different cultures and ethnicities I think it is important that everyone starts to broaden their horizons and learn at least one other language aside from one that he or she is use to. We always talk about ways in which to prevent racism but we never think of why there is racism. There is racism because we do not know anything about other culture and therefore we are stuck making assumptions about other races and ethnicities. We do not stop to learn about other people, how they live or eat. Today there are many professions that recommend or even require an employee to know a second language. Languages that are popular are Spanish and Chinese. These languages can be found on the back labels of beauty products and furniture boxes. The labels are not on these products for no reason. They are on there because there are a great number of people who do not fully understand the english language and find it helpful to have their language on products. Just as immigrants must learn to live in America and speak a language other than their own we Americans should learn to speak another language. If a job required me to learn a language I would gladly be willing to learn the language. When it comes to jobs one must be willing to learn new things. Learning a new language is not the end of the world and although it will take a while it will be beneficial in the future. Learning a new language will also open an employee up to many oppurtunities. Depending on the job employees may be asked to travel to different countries or deals with clients that speak another language. Although it is important to learn another language for the sake of learning about other cultures know other languages means more money. In class Sam said that a person who knows more than one language can earn up to 40% more than someone who only knows one language. I would want to believe that Americans would be willing to learn another language but I do not think that this would the case. Foreign language is a required course in most grade schools but as soon as student graduate from high school they stop taking foreign language courses. If foreign language was required in college I believe that more people would willing to learn another language and learn as their second language. Because learning a language is hard work people do not take the risks of starting to learn a new language. Fri, 1 Apr 2011 01:40:30 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/03/29/would-you-be-willing-to-learn-a-new-language-for-a-job-119-blog/#IDComment138984610 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/03/24/would-you-date-someone-like-me-119-blog/#IDComment137613603 Sometimes I wonder why white men don’t try to start up a conversation. I think that if they were more comfortable and we black women wee more comfortable that there would be more interracial couples. Most black women have a thing for white men because they are fresh and new. They are romantic and kind. Black men are great also but it is something about white men that attract black women to white women. If black women and white men become less intimidated and just start to engage in conversation. If we start to engage in conversation we will get to know each other aside from the stereotypes that we have. In conclusion, I believe that it is us black women that make it hard for white men to talk to us. If we show that we are not hard to get and are interested maybe they will show that they are interested in us. Interracial couples are such a great thing in today’s society. This shows that the world is moving away from deep racism slowly but surely. Sat, 26 Mar 2011 01:53:21 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/03/24/would-you-date-someone-like-me-119-blog/#IDComment137613603 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/03/24/would-you-date-someone-like-me-119-blog/#IDComment137613553 In a world that is influenced so much by media the rate of interracial couples are on the rise. White men with black women and back women with black men is what is more often than ever and many people question why that is so. This is due to the fact that people are starting to see the world outside of black and white. They are also realizing that emotions are way deeper than skin color and that race is not the ultimate factor in healthy relationships. But even though it seems as if there are many interracial couples many people are sill afraid or intimidated to pursue people of other races. As a young black women I often wonder why white men are intimidated to talk to us black women. I believe that white men are hesitant to purse black women because I think that they have stereotypes for us. Any people think that black women are bossy, rude, and ghetto. All of these stereotypes are not true and it feels bad that they see us that way. White men seem to be intimidated by black women because of what they THINK we are. They probably believe that we are going to turn them down in a rude manner. But the truth of the matter is that we are in fact interested in white, I know I am. Sat, 26 Mar 2011 01:53:02 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/03/24/would-you-date-someone-like-me-119-blog/#IDComment137613553 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/03/18/what-do-you-think-of-the-diversity-at-penn-state-119-blog/#IDComment135892693 Coming from Philadelphia I was used to diversity and having an open mind so sitting in a class on about thirty and being the only black person did not bother me because I knew that there were people in high school who had to sit in a class of black people. Besides I never really experienced racism and I didn’t plan on experiencing it. Race never occurred to me until I began to speak of it when SOC 119 started. Because my parents pressed the importance of equality I never realized that other people were racist. When coming to Penn State I felt that there should more diversity but it didn’t occur to me that the numbers are decreasing. I feel that here at Penn State there should try to push diversity for many reasons. If someone at is not used to something when he or she goes out into the real world after college they will not be able to deal with that certain thing. This is how I feel about Penn State. I feel that everyone should get comfortable with people of other races so that when it comes time for us to go out in the work field we will not find it difficult to work and communicate with people of other races and ethnic groups. Fri, 18 Mar 2011 19:29:35 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/03/18/what-do-you-think-of-the-diversity-at-penn-state-119-blog/#IDComment135892693 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/03/18/what-do-you-think-of-the-diversity-at-penn-state-119-blog/#IDComment135892606 It is no surprise that Penn State University is majority Caucasian and that there are only about 1500 African American or black people. Is this a problem? Is it a problem that there are many races but not enough people of each race? I think so, Penn State has programs and organizations that are specialized in recruiting minority students of various ethnic groups but yet Penn State 96% Caucasians. With the number of minorities decreasing year by year it makes me wonder if Penn State really wants to have a percentage of minorities at all. The fact the number of minorities here t Penn State is not even a fraction of the whole population is mind blowing. When I applied to Penn State University I knew that there were a majority of white people versus blacks. This didn’t really bother me because my mom, two uncles and both of their wives went to Penn State and none of them had anything bad to say. People would always joke around with me about how many white people were at Penn State and that the KKK would get me if I went off campus but I ignored the remarks and accepted my spot. When I visited Penn State for the first time I saw at most ten black but I just blamed it on the fact that it was summertime and that everyone was home. Fri, 18 Mar 2011 19:29:12 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/03/18/what-do-you-think-of-the-diversity-at-penn-state-119-blog/#IDComment135892606 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/02/24/how-do-you-feel-about-the-poor-white-society-and-who-are-you-more-likely-to-help-119-blog/#IDComment134364528 In all I feel that when someone helps a person that is poor race is not that much involved. I feel that being poor is a big racial issue but helping someone that is poor is not. When someone sees someone that is in need of help there should be a sense of sympathy (well for normal people of course) that becomes an overall emotion and moves you to help this person. I think that when it comes to helping someone who needs help race is invincible. We should not have to be stuck between helping black, Asian, or white people. We should just help people as they come. Helping my race is not going to be beneficial to my race it’s just going to make feel good for a few minutes. Helping everyone will make us feel good for a life time and let us know that we have changed the world. Sat, 12 Mar 2011 04:56:53 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/02/24/how-do-you-feel-about-the-poor-white-society-and-who-are-you-more-likely-to-help-119-blog/#IDComment134364528 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/02/24/how-do-you-feel-about-the-poor-white-society-and-who-are-you-more-likely-to-help-119-blog/#IDComment134364484 On the other hand the same way that same way someone helps out someone of their own race can be a big reason to why people are also eager to help out people of other races. When someone helps someone of another race they automatically feel like they are somewhat superior to the person that they are helping. Because we black people as a whole are so used to being put down we are not hesitant to help people of other races because we feel that for once we are helping the people that put us down. It/s almost like the people who we needed now needs us. It is a great feeling sometimes. Sat, 12 Mar 2011 04:56:31 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/02/24/how-do-you-feel-about-the-poor-white-society-and-who-are-you-more-likely-to-help-119-blog/#IDComment134364484 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/02/24/how-do-you-feel-about-the-poor-white-society-and-who-are-you-more-likely-to-help-119-blog/#IDComment134364387 When a family is poor and has to do without I am always deeply touched and saddened and wish that there was something I could do for the family. Because I am a sympathetic person I do not see color, race, or ethnicity when it comes to poor people or lower class families. In class when we watched the movie of the women Tammy and her children I felt bad to know that anyone would have to go through what she was going through. Knowing that I am more fortunate than many people also made me feel somewhat upset about “poor” people. I think that everyone is more likely to help there own race when it comes to giving money and helping to care for others. I don’t believe that people help people of their own race more than they help people of other races to bring down other races but because when you see a hungry black person and you are a black male or female it is innate for you to help them out. This is not to say that a black person wouldn’t feed a white person but when someone is comfortable with something he or she is more likely to interact with that particular thing. Sat, 12 Mar 2011 04:55:51 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/02/24/how-do-you-feel-about-the-poor-white-society-and-who-are-you-more-likely-to-help-119-blog/#IDComment134364387 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/02/24/how-do-you-feel-about-the-poor-white-society-and-who-are-you-more-likely-to-help-119-blog/#IDComment134364059 On the other hand the same way that same way someone helps out someone of their own race can be a big reason to why people are also eager to help out people of other races. When someone helps someone of another race they automatically feel like they are somewhat superior to the person that they are helping. Because we black people as a whole are so used to being put down we are not hesitant to help people of other races because we feel that for once we are helping the people that put us down. It/s almost like the people who we needed now needs us. It is a great feeling sometimes. Sat, 12 Mar 2011 04:53:34 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/02/24/how-do-you-feel-about-the-poor-white-society-and-who-are-you-more-likely-to-help-119-blog/#IDComment134364059 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/02/24/how-do-you-feel-about-the-poor-white-society-and-who-are-you-more-likely-to-help-119-blog/#IDComment134363892 When a family is poor and has to do without I am always deeply touched and saddened and wish that there was something I could do for the family. Because I am a sympathetic person I do not see color, race, or ethnicity when it comes to poor people or lower class families. In class when we watched the movie of the women Tammy and her children I felt bad to know that anyone would have to go through what she was going through. Knowing that I am more fortunate than many people also made me feel somewhat upset about “poor” people. I think that everyone is more likely to help there own race when it comes to giving money and helping to care for others. I don’t believe that people help people of their own race more than they help people of other races to bring down other races but because when you see a hungry black person and you are a black male or female it is innate for you to help them out. This is not to say that a black person wouldn’t feed a white person but when someone is comfortable with something he or she is more likely to interact with that particular thing. Sat, 12 Mar 2011 04:52:31 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/02/24/how-do-you-feel-about-the-poor-white-society-and-who-are-you-more-likely-to-help-119-blog/#IDComment134363892 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/02/24/how-conscious-are-you-of-your-seat-in-class-before-and-after-todays-lecture-119-blog/#IDComment130696106 When someone says that everyone is racist I usually feel uneasy. I don’t like to think of myself as a racist. This is because racism only has negative meaning which is not surprising. To have latent prejudice is to be racist unconsciously. This is unavoidable unfortunately and there is no way to fix it. If someone is black they are naturally inclined to hang around other black people because they know that they can connect more with people of their race. The reason that latent prejudice exist is because people of the same race generally have similar lifestyles. This is why people tend to sit near people of their own race. Someone who is rich is more inclined to sit near someone who is of their social status a rather than some who is of lower class than them. However this is not true for every race. Even after the experiment my decision to sit next to someone of a different race was not altered. Just as I would sit next to a person of a different race before the experiment I would after the experiment. I’m not completely blind to different races but I know that race should be the reason why I make decisions. Fri, 25 Feb 2011 22:16:17 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/02/24/how-conscious-are-you-of-your-seat-in-class-before-and-after-todays-lecture-119-blog/#IDComment130696106 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/02/24/how-conscious-are-you-of-your-seat-in-class-before-and-after-todays-lecture-119-blog/#IDComment130695936 Before the lecture on Latent Prejudice I never gave thought to the people that I sat next to in class. Because Penn State is predominately white I knew that the chances of me sitting next to a person of color were pretty slim. It never occurred to me what the person sitting next to me race was because I expected them not to be my race. This happens often when I am in a place that predominately one race. I am not like a lot of people in the sense that I don’t see race as much as others do. Because I grew up in a diverse environment I don’t pay attention to race as much as someone who grew up in an area of all black or white people. In class when Sam did the experiment where he took four students to back and made them choose who they would sit next to I thought it was a brilliant idea. I never considered someone sitting next to someone of their same race racist I just thought it was a person’s personal preference and what they were comfortable with. To call this racism was a bit shocking but what do I know that’s why I’m taking the class. Latent prejudice is something that sounds bad but can’t help. When we are young there are certain things that are innate that we can’t help and latent prejudice is one of them. It is hard for people to not pay attention to race but that is what makes us all different from each other. Fri, 25 Feb 2011 22:15:14 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/02/24/how-conscious-are-you-of-your-seat-in-class-before-and-after-todays-lecture-119-blog/#IDComment130695936 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/02/17/how-can-we-make-people-more-aware-of-the-slavery-that-is-still-going-on-119-blog/#IDComment128883539 It is hard to say that one will never by chocolate that is made by slaves but the best thing to do is to think. When we think we want open up our mind to learn. Thinking about a small piece of chocolate can lead us to think of ways to stop slavery. Buying Fair Trade items is also a great way to stand up to the slavery. Lastly, just being aware is a great way to start. In the United States we as consumers are unaware of where our merchandise is coming from. It is up to us to do research and know that slavery is indeed going on in the world. Fri, 18 Feb 2011 18:58:10 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/02/17/how-can-we-make-people-more-aware-of-the-slavery-that-is-still-going-on-119-blog/#IDComment128883539 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/02/17/how-can-we-make-people-more-aware-of-the-slavery-that-is-still-going-on-119-blog/#IDComment128883446 People are unaware of situations such as these because no one tells us. It is impossible to know something if there is no one to tell you. Thanks to people such as the ones in the video were are able to find out what is hidden and kept away from us. Because money makes the world go round in some people’s eyes things such as slavery and drugs are kept on the low especially when dealing with big corporate companies. It is cheaper for companies that make chocolate to buy their cocoa from someone who has slaves rather than someone who doesn’t. This should not be so. The fact that these slaves are being paid little to nothing says a lot about how far the world has come. It should also be said that cocoa is not the only product that is produced by slaves. Phones and clothing are more popular items that are produced by slaves that get paid nothing to work. Fri, 18 Feb 2011 18:57:39 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/02/17/how-can-we-make-people-more-aware-of-the-slavery-that-is-still-going-on-119-blog/#IDComment128883446