Why does society hate immigrants? I have a hard time grasping that question; mainly because I myself am an immigrant. I came to America when I was nine years old and have been here for almost eleven years. Like Sam mentioned in class immigrants usually center around areas where there are plenty of them and their culture is prominent; thus speaking Polish in a small town in New Jersey where there was a Polish church, Polish stores, and bakeries wasn’t a problem. I did go to Polish school on the weekends and took ESL in elementary school. The town where I grew up had a heavy Polish influence and there was a strong Polish diaspora in the surrounding areas so I never really felt any animosity towards me personally or anyone else of Polish descent because a lot of people in South Amboy, New Jersey were in some way of Polish ancestry. What I did notice however is an animosity towards Hispanics when they started moving into the town; a lot of older people I talked to mentioned how the town was better when it was all white and things of that nature. Maybe that was because of the Hispanics usage of their native language as opposed to English, but I never really looked into it mainly because I had Spanish friends and as a kid it just didn’t matter to me who was what; even though there were no Hispanics in Poland I didn’t feel like it was something shocking seeing them in America. I think the main concern that people have against immigrants is that the most recent immigrants tend to speak their own language and you have to count the whole myth of immigrants taking our jobs and ect. I know from firsthand experience that the assumption is completely false. I’m extremely Americanized to the level where I speak bits of Polish and English when having a conversation with my mom or my sister and I don’t necessarily miss Poland as much as I used to when I was younger. However I do realize that I am in this country to make something out of myself and I have always strived to do well in school and in the work place, and the workplace is what I really want to talk about. I worked at an assisted living and still do when I come home for breaks; in that place my mom and several others work as Care Managers; a nice way of saying they clean and shower old people without mentioning the perversions of the old men and the feces they leave when they make a mess. All but one of the Care Managers that work there are American; the rest are all immigrants and from places like Poland to Peru and even Ghana. These people work hard to make a living and work second jobs to supplements the meager pay they get for working at the assisted living. I don’t know why people hate immigrants; like Sam keeps on mentioning in class, we all come from immigrants unless were Native American and by the second generation the immigrants children speak primarily English and are Americans who in turn start hating and discriminating against other immigrants. It’s a cycle that makes no sense in my mind.

The statistics, facts, pictures, videos, and song in the lecture on the current situation of Native Americans made me cringe; I felt an incredibly terrifying emotion when Sam showed us the numbers. I guess my thoughts on the matter are really plain; how are we letting people live in third world poverty in the richest country in the world? Especially a people who we’ve taken this land from; it really makes me sick to my stomach. Like Sam said, the first peoples suffered through the longest and most devastating genocide in human history and now in 21st century America they live on reserves which are basically spots of third world countries on the map of the United States. We continue to insult and degrade these people and there are no words than can truly describe or explain that. I feel terrible about these facts and what we’ve driven a people to. I think the biggest problem with this though is the lack of knowledge surrounding these facts. Prior to this class lecture I had no idea about any problems facing Native Americans, I’m not counting small snippets of information that Sam has given to us throughout this class. If people knew that Native Americans were living the way they do then something would have to change. It’s hard to really describe or talk about this because I feel like most people should step up in some way and make change happen; this treatment of a Native Americans can’t go on. Something we have to do as a nation however is admit to the mistreatment that we have caused; it’s not right to boast of our democracy and high living standards if there are people suffering so severely here in the United States. Someone needs to step up and apologize and do it soon.

The lecture in class changed my understanding and perception on the situation in Iraq and how to approach it, but to say it changed my view on terrorism might be pushing it. I disapprove of terrorism because the killing of innocent people is wrong. What this lecture did teach me however is to understand why people might be pushed towards acts of terror, perspective. Sam’s talking points reinforced the idea of “one man's terrorist is another man's freedom fighter” in my mind. I don’t support terror but now I know why ordinary people might be driven towards it if they are destitute when their great natural resource only makes the ruling elite richer and when they try to push towards a better life they are oppressed in massive crackdowns. If I was an Iraqi living in Baghdad barely making it day by day, having no freedom, and seeing a small minority reaping the benefits of our massive oil supplies while an occupying army soldier is at every corner; I could see being driven to somehow fight back.
The lecture further pointed out things I didn’t even realize where happening and how Muslims, Arabs, Iraqis, and people all over the Middle East view it. In America we don’t realize that the little things that media personalities do have a wide range of effects on the other side of the world. Like Sam pointed out, Terry Jones burning the Koran comes off as idiotic and pointless to most Americans but that event has the ability to cause riots and death in other parts of the world, especially with the addition of American missionaries and military commanders making decisively anti-Islamic statements. As a Muslim in the Middle East I would be outraged if I was in their shoes and if a Chinese army was stationed in my hometown burning Bibles I would fight back in any way possible simply because I don’t want to be stepped on; now I understand.
What Sam has taught me in his class is empathy and perspective. I won’t support the terrorism or anything else that might disadvantage me because I want to be well off, but now I try to understand and put the pieces together so that I know why people might feel a certain way. I don’t support terrorism but I can understand why people might be driven towards it. I don’t support oppressive regimes but I understand why the US might support them. If I was fighting back against an occupying army using nonconventional tactics someone might call me a terrorist, and I guess in the end the British might’ve considered us terrorists when we rebelled in 1776; food for thought.

I learned a great deal from the “Needy Penis” lecture about both sexes because I had no idea what really goes into the thought process of women and I didn’t know the actual statistics describing how many women climax or how often everyone actually has sex or just hooks up. The revelations were actually a kind of breather for me personally because as a guy it’s an extreme psychological set back when you go out and don’t hook up and meanwhile you’re always thinking that everyone else is; the revelations definitely made me realize how as a person I really don’t know what’s actually going on with my peers and I’m just easily fooled by thinking everyone is having sex but me at times.

The most interesting part of the lecture however was the focus that Sam and his wife put towards the women and how they’re forced to essentially cater to men with their sex lives and their style when they go out; I thought that was a very thought provoking segment. I have always found myself commenting on girls going out in extremely short skirts with sometimes no coats on and high heels in the middle of the night and I never understood why they do that to themselves. I would be outside Findley Commons smoking a cigarette freezing with jeans and a coat on and I would see these girls brave tundra like weather just to look the way they did; I have to admit I thought they looked good and that’s essentially what they were aiming for but I always thought to myself that I would never do anything like that. I’m a guy, almost a man I suppose and I dress for comfort while these girls are wearing nothing and wearing high heels from East to the bus stop and from there to a frat house where some of my friends would happen to walk back from without shoes on, barefoot on the Icelandic sidewalks. I always thought a good looking girl with a personality didn’t really need to do that but now I understand they’re living in a male dominated world where they have no say sexually because what we want is what they get and they are brainwashed into thinking that’s what they’re supposed to want.

I didn’t really find the numbers describing climaxing and enjoyment of oral sex and etc. to be surprising; I’ve heard girls talk about the topic and I did realize not everyone was enjoying themselves. I also realized that women needed more than just five minutes of kissing to be ready but I never followed up on that. I was always ready and like Sam said I had a thought in my head and I could just go without thinking about what my girlfriend or whoever I was with really wanted. I’m really appreciative of this lecture. It put things in perspective for me as a man and let me understand women and what they want. Good stuff Soc119!

I learned a great deal from the “Needy Penis” lecture about both sexes because I had no idea what really goes into the thought process of women and I didn’t know the actual statistics describing how many women climax or how often everyone actually has sex or just hooks up. The revelations were actually a kind of breather for me personally because as a guy it’s an extreme psychological set back when you go out and don’t hook up and meanwhile you’re always thinking that everyone else is; the revelations definitely made me realize how as a person I really don’t know what’s actually going on with my peers and I’m just easily fooled by thinking everyone is having sex but me at times.
The most interesting part of the lecture however was the focus that Sam and his wife put towards the women and how they’re forced to essentially cater to men with their sex lives and their style when they go out; I thought that was a very thought provoking segment. I have always found myself commenting on girls going out in extremely short skirts with sometimes no coats on and high heels in the middle of the night and I never understood why they do that to themselves. I would be outside Findley Commons smoking a cigarette freezing with jeans and a coat on and I would see these girls brave tundra like weather just to look the way they did; I have to admit I thought they looked good and that’s essentially what they were aiming for but I always thought to myself that I would never do anything like that. I’m a guy, almost a man I suppose and I dress for comfort while these girls are wearing nothing and wearing high heels from East to the bus stop and from there to a frat house where some of my friends would happen to walk back from without shoes on, barefoot on the Icelandic sidewalks. I always thought a good looking girl with a personality didn’t really need to do that but now I understand they’re living in a male dominated world where they have no say sexually because what we want is what they get and they are brainwashed into thinking that’s what they’re supposed to want.
I didn’t really find the numbers describing climaxing and enjoyment of oral sex and etc. to be surprising; I’ve heard girls talk about the topic and I did realize not everyone was enjoying themselves. I also realized that women needed more than just five minutes of kissing to be ready but I never followed up on that. I was always ready and like Sam said I had a thought in my head and I could just go without thinking about what my girlfriend or whoever I was with really wanted. I’m really appreciative of this lecture. It put things in perspective for me as a man and let me understand women and what they want. Good stuff Soc119!

I learned a great deal from the “Needy Penis” lecture about both sexes because I had no idea what really goes into the thought process of women and I didn’t know the actual statistics describing how many women climax or how often everyone actually has sex or just hooks up. The revelations were actually a kind of breather for me personally because as a guy it’s an extreme psychological set back when you go out and don’t hook up and meanwhile you’re always thinking that everyone else is; the revelations definitely made me realize how as a person I really don’t know what’s actually going on with my peers and I’m just easily fooled by thinking everyone is having sex but me at times.
The most interesting part of the lecture however was the focus that Sam and his wife put towards the women and how they’re forced to essentially cater to men with their sex lives and their style when they go out; I thought that was a very thought provoking segment. I have always found myself commenting on girls going out in extremely short skirts with sometimes no coats on and high heels in the middle of the night and I never understood why they do that to themselves. I would be outside Findley Commons smoking a cigarette freezing with jeans and a coat on and I would see these girls brave tundra like weather just to look the way they did; I have to admit I thought they looked good and that’s essentially what they were aiming for but I always thought to myself that I would never do anything like that. I’m a guy, almost a man I suppose and I dress for comfort while these girls are wearing nothing and wearing high heels from East to the bus stop and from there to a frat house where some of my friends would happen to walk back from without shoes on, barefoot on the Icelandic sidewalks. I always thought a good looking girl with a personality didn’t really need to do that but now I understand they’re living in a male dominated world where they have no say sexually because what we want is what they get and they are brainwashed into thinking that’s what they’re supposed to want.
I didn’t really find the numbers describing climaxing and enjoyment of oral sex and etc. to be surprising; I’ve heard girls talk about the topic and I did realize not everyone was enjoying themselves. I also realized that women needed more than just five minutes of kissing to be ready but I never followed up on that. I was always ready and like Sam said I had a thought in my head and I could just go without thinking about what my girlfriend or whoever I was with really wanted. I’m really appreciative of this lecture. It put things in perspective for me as a man and let me understand women and what they want. Good stuff Soc119!

I completely support interracial relationships. I don’t see anything wrong with people being together no matter what their background is, as long as they are attracted to each other; it’s their decision. I’m white and have never been in an interracial relationship although I have been and am still attracted to women of other races; Asian, black, brown it really doesn’t matter to me as long as there is the initial attraction between me and the girl. Even though I’ve only been in relationships with white women I have had sex with females of other races and I do find that my friends have a double standard towards that.
Prom weekend when my friends and I went to Seaside to party and celebrate I ended up having sex with a black girl that went to my school. The next morning however when it came time to leave and go back home my friends started making jokes about it; calling me Tupac and every other dead rapper in recent memory. Some of my friends considered me a “pioneer” in crossing the race line but I don’t know if I should treat that as a compliment. Now like I mentioned before I’m white and don’t care about race, I think I’m above being racist and discriminatory based on factors of race but my friends insisted on repeating that I had sex with a black girl and what my babies with the girl would look like. I have to admit that because of what they were saying I started to feel embarrassed or maybe even ashamed of what I did because they kept on harassing me about what happened. I wish I would’ve been brave and confident enough to call them out on what they were saying, after all we do have black friends who spent the weekend with us but since they were gone my white friends felt free to play the race card in my face and use it in a negative way. Now I know that back then in May 2010 I couldn’t have been in stage 5 or 6 like Sam’s been discussing in class because I didn’t confront my friends about what they were saying and instead lowered my head in shame. I’m probably not in any of those stages today both because even though I am attracted to other races I do think about stereotypes at times and I only sporadically confront people about racist statements they make. One of my friends who made fun of me for having sex with a black girl sent me a text the other day saying, “Hotness has no discrimination” but if it came to repeating prom weekend I don’t have faith in him not making the same comments as he did before.

It’s hard to describe the emotions I was going through while watching the video; sadness, frustration, and pity just to name a few. Most of the students who spoke up in class seemed to blame the media and I think that it’s the popular train of thought on this issue; like Sam said however there seems to be more to it as little kids with relatively little exposure pick the white doll over the “bad” dark skinned one. I think the messages do come from the media but it can’t be the only factor in something so intricate that it touches little brown and black kids that their skin color isn’t good. I think there are three elements to this message; the negative portrayal of non-whites and in some cases lack of a portrayal, the generational attitude towards “good” hair and lighter skin, and the overwhelming representation of whites compared to other races. I can understand how a small child growing up with their family always nagging on about their hair or skin color and how grandparents would prefer or favor the lighter skinned children Disney Channel having almost exclusively white lead characters is also a factor; like someone in class said, they only recently had a black princess in one of their movies. Being a black or brown girl growing up with only white princesses is something that has to have an effect on a child’s psyche. Our society has created this white dominated culture in many aspects of our society and generations of black or brown families saying white is better because of some of their advantages is also something that matters in this issue. It’s really sad that it has come to this and I really want it to change; being white and seeing someone, especially children saying white is good and black is bad makes me shiver. I can’t imagine myself saying white is bad and no one else should put down their skin color either.

Guilt is the wrong word to use in this situation. I certainly don’t feel proud that I’m in the position I’m in because freed slaves were at a disadvantage; I don’t feel guilty either though. For me to feel some sort of guilt would mean for me that I could trace my ancestor’s to the oppressor’s of freed blacks but I can’t do that. At the same time that the freed slaves were being oppressed my ancestors in Poland were being oppressed by Russians, Germans, or Austrians; I can feel slight resentment at those nationalities for 123 years of subjugation but I can’t feel guilt because my people weren’t there to do anything about it. I do however feel that it is completely unfair for people to be in the position they’re in because they did not get an equal start in the game of life. Sam always says in class that as white people we never think that our skin color or that being a male is given us an advantage and yet it does. If class has taught me anything it’s that I should be aware of the advantages that I have and understand them; like Sam try to fight my latent prejudices and not come off as an ignoramus when I should really know the facts. And that brings me to my main point of understanding, it’s the best word to describe what we should all do; know and understand the facts and history of our nation and of the race relations that bring forth conversation in our classroom. I don’t feel guilt because my people didn’t oppress black people; my ancestors were in the middle of nowhere Poland working on fields as serfs or a minor nobility, they weren’t in the South passing Jim Crow laws. I feel that I know that black people had been oppressed and that we should try now not to give anyone a disadvantage but guilt is the wrong word to use unless someone can trace their ancestors to Jefferson Davies. Not all white people were oppressors and just because I’m white doesn’t mean I’m racist.

I think it is selfish for people who cannot live within their means to have more kids than people who are better off. I think you have to come to understand that if you can’t provide for twenty two kids than you obviously shouldn’t have that many; Tammy can’t provide for four kids so I don’t understand why she would make them suffer when she can’t provide even an apartment or a suitable place to live. What I’m trying to get at is that I don’t know why someone would make their children live in a destitute place simply because they’re culturally inclined to have a lot of children. These people should understand that if they want to pick themselves up, they have to take steps to break into a higher social class and having more children is not a correct step to do so. Instead they should have fewer kids and be able to provide an appropriate housing situation and maybe other amenities if possible so their children are raised in a good environment and not the “redneck’s game” society. That’s the way to break out, not having kids and hoping one of them breaks out or hits the lottery. I respect Tammy’s work ethic and her perseverance in taking a huge burden by walking 10 miles just to work and not accepting welfare; that shows she has the quintessential American attitude but she lacks in good judgment by having too many kids and essentially making them suffer by not providing for them and exposing them to society’s prejudices.