en-us https://www.intensedebate.com/users/2410166 Comments by Sgt1436 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/#IDComment145236436 When watching the videos of the immigrants standing on the corner freezing cold and starving truly saddened me because it’s sad that they are in these circumstances. As an non born American I can say that I would help the immigrants because being a second class citizen I know the struggles they are dealing with. My mother came to America from Ethiopia for the same reason these immigrants came here and that is to have a better life and make money to send to their families. So for anyone to say they wouldn’t help then they have a cruel mean heart because that is rude. Americans see immigrants as a burden or something but these hard working individuals work harder than any American I know. They will take any job if it means picking strawberries or cleaning and I know that because my mother has had these jobs. They will make money any way they can, Americans will sit there with no job and live off of welfare before they pick up a mop which is sad. Immigrants are the most dignified and selfless people I know. But as for the question I would definitely lend my hand out to help these immigrants. I command the man in the video that helps them because not many people would do such a kind gesture especially if the money is coming out of their pocket. And for him to start so early in the morning and it’s an all day process while he is holding down a job is commendable. I could definitely see myself doing a charity gesture in the near future once I graduate or something because there are so many people out there that are less fortunate than I am and I would be more than happy to help them. These immigrants will go all days without eating and work a 12 hour shift with no home to come to or a family to come home too so this is the highlight of their day and it is as simple as a meal and to give someone that happiness would be my pleasure. To see their faces when the man pulled up with the truck to hand out the meals prepared by his mother and sister as well, they immigrants were so happy and that joy is so east to give so why wouldn’t you do it? All they want is to make money to give back to their families so they sit in the cold with no home and food its truly sad. So for me to get the chance to give them joy by just giving them a meal would be my pleasure and that would make me happy as well. Fri, 22 Apr 2011 22:55:08 +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/#IDComment145236436 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/04/05/did-putting-yourself-in-the-shoes-of-the-middle-easterners-change-your-views-on-the-war-in-iraq-119-blog/#IDComment142582520 As class started Sam Richards told us to put ourselves in the shoes of a Middle Eastern, i knew as soon as he said those words that the class was going to be good. I have encountered many Middle Easterners in my lifetime simply because my my mother speaks Arabic and when we go to the Middle Eastern store in town at least twice a month for groceries and what not my mother interacts with them and tries to make deals with them by having a conversation in Arabic and I always thought it was cool and i wish i would of learned how to speak it myself. Even when we did the class activity of picking who we wanted to sit by like for example the Asain, Caucasian, Black or Middle Eastern girl, i chose to sit next to sit next to the Middle Eastern girl and at the time i never really knew why i picked that seat but then i though about it and I feel like out of everyone there our cultures were the most alike, i could not relate to the other young ladies. I say all this because I know a lot of people specifically Americans have this stereotype of Middle Eastern's as all being terrorists and hating America and what not. But my mother raised me to accept anybody no matter what culture or skin color. I really do not know how to begin to talk about this lecture because I was truly appalled at the blatant disrespect of American soldiers. The audacity of them to just be cruel to individuals that have nothing to do with the radicals that even bombed America. When the solider was messing around with the man and ran over his car with his tank was mean enough but the fact that this was the mans livelihood and thats how he got money to support his family really made my heart ache because it was just so unnecessary for them to be this cruel. That video only shows you a tiny glimpse of what is really going on in there and what these innocent civilians are going through. It truly saddens me at fact that this is all about oil, America is built around greed and the unnecessary for need to excess amounts of materialistic values that are not worth killing innocent civilians over but they will not stop until they get what they want. And as the lecture went on I just shook my head at everything in shame knowing that I live in the country that is treating another countries innocent civilians so darn mean. They do not deserve this treatment and it should really stop. Wed, 13 Apr 2011 20:50:01 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/04/05/did-putting-yourself-in-the-shoes-of-the-middle-easterners-change-your-views-on-the-war-in-iraq-119-blog/#IDComment142582520 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/03/31/women-what-are-your-thoughts-on-dressing-up-while-men-dress-down-and-did-they-change-after-this-lecture-119-blog/#IDComment140516031 I have to admit I am guilty of going out in the winter or summer wherever it may be in a short dress or skirt with five inch heels. I never really thought of it as something that has been taught to females I never really paid much attention to because when I go out on the weekend my friends, my sisters and random drunk girls on college ave and also the females at the party I attend all are wearing barley anything with heels. I think it’s just natural to want to get dressed and it may be because everybody else is doing it or just because I am a girly girl and I love to dress up but it never fails going out every single weekend with barely anything on just walking and shivering and asking myself why didn’t I just dress warmer. I think another reason is because at the parties I attend every girl is dressed up and how am I going to be able to stand out if I am dressed in jeans and a hoodie? We as females sacrifice being cold for the joy of beauty and its sad sometimes because guys do not go through what we go through and half the time we are doing it for them to begin with and they do not understand our pain of wearing heels all night. I mean when I get to my room the first thing I do is throw my shoes off because my feet are killing me, I only wear heels that are five inches and above so my feet are killing me and are unbearable when I get back to my room. And to do that 2 nights in a row is not a smart idea but yet again when Saturday night hits I have heels on once again. I feel as though we are pressured by the media to keep up with the latest fashions and to stay on top of our game. It’s kind of how the media portrays women to be thin and so everybody always wants to get on a diet so they can look like the girl on the magazine cover its sad. As for the guys though I envy them because there is so much we have to do to get ready; our makeup, hair, clothes, shaving and everything else. We have to do too much to primp ourselves while a guy can just wear a sweatshirt and jeans and they are good. I think being a guy would make life so much easier man. I think guys like it when we get dressed up though because I always get compliments so I mean maybe they should tell us we are beautiful with a hoodie and jeans on and maybe things will change. Wed, 6 Apr 2011 16:48:39 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/03/31/women-what-are-your-thoughts-on-dressing-up-while-men-dress-down-and-did-they-change-after-this-lecture-119-blog/#IDComment140516031 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/03/31/women-what-are-your-thoughts-on-dressing-up-while-men-dress-down-and-did-they-change-after-this-lecture-119-blog/#IDComment140320076 I have to admit I am guilty of going out in the winter or summer wherever it may be in a short dress or skirt with five inch heels. I never really thought of it as something that has been taught to females I never really paid much attention to because when I go out on the weekend my friends, my sisters and random drunk girls on college ave and also the females at the party I attend all are wearing barley anything with heels. I think it’s just natural to want to get dressed and it may be because everybody else is doing it or just because I am a girly girl and I love to dress up but it never fails going out every single weekend with barely anything on just walking and shivering and asking myself why didn’t I just dress warmer. I think another reason is because at the parties I attend every girl is dressed up and how am I going to be able to stand out if I am dressed in jeans and a hoodie? We as females sacrifice being cold for the joy of beauty and its sad sometimes because guys do not go through what we go through and half the time we are doing it for them to begin with and they do not understand our pain of wearing heels all night. I mean when I get to my room the first thing I do is throw my shoes off because my feet are killing me, I only wear heels that are five inches and above so my feet are killing me and are unbearable when I get back to my room. And to do that 2 nights in a row is not a smart idea but yet again when Saturday night hits I have heels on once again. I feel as though we are pressured by the media to keep up with the latest fashions and to stay on top of our game. It’s kind of how the media portrays women to be thin and so everybody always wants to get on a diet so they can look like the girl on the magazine cover its sad. As for the guys though I envy them because there is so much we have to do to get ready; our makeup, hair, clothes, shaving and everything else. We have to do too much to primp ourselves while a guy can just wear a sweatshirt and jeans and they are good. I think being a guy would make life so much easier man. I think guys like it when we get dressed up though because I always get compliments so I mean maybe they should tell us we are beautiful with a hoodie and jeans on and maybe things will change. Wed, 6 Apr 2011 02:10:13 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/03/31/women-what-are-your-thoughts-on-dressing-up-while-men-dress-down-and-did-they-change-after-this-lecture-119-blog/#IDComment140320076 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/03/31/women-what-are-your-thoughts-on-dressing-up-while-men-dress-down-and-did-they-change-after-this-lecture-119-blog/#IDComment140292699 I have to admit I am guilty of going out in the winter or summer wherever it may be in a short dress or skirt with five inch heels. I never really thought of it as something that has been taught to females I never really paid much attention to because when I go out on the weekend my friends, my sisters and random drunk girls on college ave and also the females at the party I attend all are wearing barley anything with heels. I think it’s just natural to want to get dressed and it may be because everybody else is doing it or just because I am a girly girl and I love to dress up but it never fails going out every single weekend with barely anything on just walking and shivering and asking myself why didn’t I just dress warmer. I think another reason is because at the parties I attend every girl is dressed up and how am I going to be able to stand out if I am dressed in jeans and a hoodie? We as females sacrifice being cold for the joy of beauty and its sad sometimes because guys do not go through what we go through and half the time we are doing it for them to begin with and they do not understand our pain of wearing heels all night. I mean when I get to my room the first thing I do is throw my shoes off because my feet are killing me, I only wear heels that are five inches and above so my feet are killing me and are unbearable when I get back to my room. And to do that 2 nights in a row is not a smart idea but yet again when Saturday night hits I have heels on once again. I feel as though we are pressured by the media to keep up with the latest fashions and to stay on top of our game. It’s kind of how the media portrays women to be thin and so everybody always wants to get on a diet so they can look like the girl on the magazine cover its sad. As for the guys though I envy them because there is so much we have to do to get ready; our makeup, hair, clothes, shaving and everything else. We have to do too much to primp ourselves while a guy can just wear a sweatshirt and jeans and they are good. I think being a guy would make life so much easier man. I think guys like it when we get dressed up though because I always get compliments so I mean maybe they should tell us we are beautiful with a hoodie and jeans on and maybe things will change. Wed, 6 Apr 2011 00:09:54 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/03/31/women-what-are-your-thoughts-on-dressing-up-while-men-dress-down-and-did-they-change-after-this-lecture-119-blog/#IDComment140292699 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/03/31/women-what-are-your-thoughts-on-dressing-up-while-men-dress-down-and-did-they-change-after-this-lecture-119-blog/#IDComment140292472 I have to admit I am guilty of going out in the winter or summer wherever it may be in a short dress or skirt with five inch heels. I never really thought of it as something that has been taught to females I never really paid much attention to because when I go out on the weekend my friends, my sisters and random drunk girls on college ave and also the females at the party I attend all are wearing barley anything with heels. I think it’s just natural to want to get dressed and it may be because everybody else is doing it or just because I am a girly girl and I love to dress up but it never fails going out every single weekend with barely anything on just walking and shivering and asking myself why didn’t I just dress warmer. I think another reason is because at the parties I attend every girl is dressed up and how am I going to be able to stand out if I am dressed in jeans and a hoodie? We as females sacrifice being cold for the joy of beauty and its sad sometimes because guys do not go through what we go through and half the time we are doing it for them to begin with and they do not understand our pain of wearing heels all night. I mean when I get to my room the first thing I do is throw my shoes off because my feet are killing me, I only wear heels that are five inches and above so my feet are killing me and are unbearable when I get back to my room. And to do that 2 nights in a row is not a smart idea but yet again when Saturday night hits I have heels on once again. I feel as though we are pressured by the media to keep up with the latest fashions and to stay on top of our game. It’s kind of how the media portrays women to be thin and so everybody always wants to get on a diet so they can look like the girl on the magazine cover its sad. As for the guys though I envy them because there is so much we have to do to get ready; our makeup, hair, clothes, shaving and everything else. We have to do too much to primp ourselves while a guy can just wear a sweatshirt and jeans and they are good. I think being a guy would make life so much easier man. I think guys like it when we get dressed up though because I always get compliments so I mean maybe they should tell us we are beautiful with a hoodie and jeans on and maybe things will change. Wed, 6 Apr 2011 00:08:33 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/03/31/women-what-are-your-thoughts-on-dressing-up-while-men-dress-down-and-did-they-change-after-this-lecture-119-blog/#IDComment140292472 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/03/29/do-you-ever-feel-uncomfortable-around-two-or-more-people-speaking-another-language-119-blog/#IDComment139221765 This is actually a good question and one that I can answer pretty. I from another country so I speak two languages to begin with but my mother speaks five so I am lost when she talks to my aunt or grandmother sometimes. She speaks al of then fluently as well so I get lost when she converses with people at the arabic store or when we go to an African cultural event where everybody there speaks arabis or a different language. It doesn't necessary make me uncomfortable because she is my mother and I know she isn't saying anything bad about me. But when I am around Asians for instance I get a lil weary because they could be talking about me and I wouldn't know. A funny story is my sisters friend is fluent in Mandarin and when she was at the nail salon the Asians were conversing like they usually do but were talking about her attire and what she had and she let them go on and on with what they were saying. But after they were done she told them that she understood everything they were saying and they tried to apologize but the simple fact is that you do not know what people are saying about you. We also have family friends that are American that come to our house and listen to my mother interact with us in our language and they sit there lost because they do not know what is going on. They call it gibberish only because they do not understand. I guess this question would good for a student that studied abroad and I did so I can tell you all about it. When I studied abroad Argentina even though I studied spanish here in American and I knew a lot but I got lost a lot in conversations because they speak so fast. I didn't feel uncomfortable he made me want to learn more about it and about they culture. I am all about broadening my horizons and there is always room for learning. I also have an uncle who is married to a Brazilian who speaks Portuguese. My family is really diverse so I know people from all walks of life. Not to bash Asians though because I know they are the only people that I said something negative about. But I get uncomfortable in situations that I am not familiar with. So I guess I am uncomfortable in situations that I am not familiar with rather than the language someone speaks if that makes any sense. Being from a family that is very diverse and very cultured I am one to accept someone for who they are because I would want someone to do that for me. Fri, 1 Apr 2011 23:20:21 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/03/29/do-you-ever-feel-uncomfortable-around-two-or-more-people-speaking-another-language-119-blog/#IDComment139221765 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/03/22/what-factors-in-your-race-make-it-difficult-to-date-outside-your-race-119-blog/#IDComment137040733 I was glad that Sam brought up the issue of interracial dating because I was always interested in the idea of dating outside my race. I could see why some people would not date outside their race though simply because of the difference in cultures. I feel like it might clash or someone that is white would not totally understand some on the things that a black person might do. I know something as simple as a black girl sleeping with a scarf on at night because we wrap our hair, I am pretty a white girl would not do that. I mean there are other factors as well like the food we eat is different, the people we grew up around is different and just the culture period is different. With me it’s a little different though because I am Ethiopian so my culture and the food I eat is different from Americans period. So I mean I don’t know if it would be easier for them to relate to an American more than with me? I was always attracted to people of different races though so it is not necessarily an issue for me to date outside my race. My mother always told us that she doesn’t care if date someone that is white, blue, red or yellow, she just didn’t want us to be gay. Simply because in African it is shunned on to be gay and most times you might get killed for being gay so it is against our culture. I mean I always have dated in my race but always thought about dating outside. I never done it because I do not know how per say white boys would perceive me. Because when I walk around campus I always catch white boys looking at me but always thought they were judging me or something. I felt like they were looking at me like I was “the other.” So I mean this conversation is giving me the courage to approach a white boy, now that I know that they are interested in the sisters. But the one factor that always made me feel like it was right to date outside my race is because I was an outsider coming to America in the first place. So when im dating a black guy I technically feel like I am dating outside my race because our culture is different and simply because I was not born here. So whether it is a black, asain, middle eastern or white boy I am dating outside my race and I have no problem with it. It is 2011 I feel like really need to let go of these racial barriers; they are only holding us back. Wed, 23 Mar 2011 17:15:19 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/03/22/what-factors-in-your-race-make-it-difficult-to-date-outside-your-race-119-blog/#IDComment137040733 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/03/15/lgbt-families-theres-a-lot-of-fear-out-there/#IDComment135718141 As I watched the video I was captivated but the way he spoke it was enticing. He was a very good orator; he knew how to work the crowd. But with the issue of Gay Marriage comes up often, and every time I argue that what is them being homosexual doing to you, is it hurting you in any way? And the answer is no it does not cause anybody physical harm to say, it would not affect them. I am for the rights of Gay people if you could not tell and the reason why is because I feel like each and every person deserves the right to be who they want to be. We live in a country of freedom right? And the answer to that is no we do not because is we did than everybody would have the same rights blacks, gays, Hispanics and disabled but we do not have the same rights. We are restricted by laws and brought down by discrimination of those who are ignorant to the fact that we can choose to be who we want to be. As the guy said that people always think that there would be something wrong with a couple of the same sex to raise children, that something would be wrong with the child. And as he said that some might come up there and say that but he came out perfectly fine. He actually came out better than just fine is an Engineering major, owns his own business and loves his family. But what I don’t understand is the fact that a heterosexual couple can have a child and that child can come out with something wrong as well. I think people always look for a reason to put someone down and the fact that they choose not to go the “main stream” route with being straight or whatever that they need to discriminate and put them down which is really mean. Who is to say that they do not deserve the same rights? Like Sam said in the class to put the gay professor as a minority, I can see why he would say that. But as a minority I have encountered discrimination and let’s just say it is not fun. It makes me feel bad because how can you judge me because of the color of my skin? But back to the video I feel as though gay couples deserve as much a right to get married as a straight couple. They deserve to be with the one they love and have that valid marriage certificate just like a straight couple. How can the state just tell them they can’t get married to the one they love? It is so wrong. Fri, 18 Mar 2011 00:55:51 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/03/15/lgbt-families-theres-a-lot-of-fear-out-there/#IDComment135718141 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/03/09/the-r-word-and-the-oblivious-others/#IDComment134288717 Before I clicked on the video I had no idea what the “R” word was pertaining to the video. I know people that use this word all the time and I am not going to sit and here and lie I am guilty of using the word as well. I knew that it is offensive because I heard this debate many times but everybody still uses it. I feel as though if a person that was mentally retarded were to say something to someone who used the “R’ word it would maybe incline them to use it less or eliminate it from their vocabulary all together. Same thing goes with people saying “that’s gay” or saying the “N” word, a straight person would not say that in front of a gay person and a white person would not say that in front of a black person because of Politcal Correctness. We are always told what to do and what to say, no matter how much we like to say we are free ; we are not. But what surprised me the most was that people in power were using it so freely, like did they think they would get confronted about it? I think a lot of people use the word out of context they mean to say like that is so stupid but actually use the “R” word but I mean not to down play this but there isn’t a law for people to say “that is so gay” or the “N” word so why is it necessarily okay to law for the “R” word? I want to congratulate the special Olympics team for standing up for what they believe because the only they are going too see change is if they make a point to say that it is wrong and people need to stop using it. Like in the video he said he didn’t really feel offended but he just wanted people to at least take the time to get to know them before they go judging which I feel like should be the case when anything, especially when it is something offensive. And because it doesn’t mean something to one person who may be seen as “normal” saying the “R” word they might not see a problem with saying it but then again they might just be ignorant to the fact that it offends someone other than themselves. It offends people who have Down Syndrome and who are legally Mentally Retarded and the fact that some people choose not to care about their feelings is somewhat rude. But I hope their campaign goes through because they deserve it and it will show America that they need to take other people’s feelings into consideration. Fri, 11 Mar 2011 21:32:13 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/03/09/the-r-word-and-the-oblivious-others/#IDComment134288717 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/02/24/how-conscious-are-you-of-your-seat-in-class-before-and-after-todays-lecture-119-blog/#IDComment130471499 Today’s lecture had no affect on me, well I don’t think it did. Every day I come to class and I sit with my friends because it is where I am most comfortable. My whole entire row I sit in is filled with African-Americans, so I am really starting to think if I do that on purpose or not. But I was one of the students in the exercise Sam Richards did. When he told us four ladies to go outside the class I was so nervous because I did not know what to expect. Sam is filled with surprises and he can be outrageous at times so it was mind boggling picking where I wanted to sit. I was the last one to come from the back door and when all the ladies went all I could hear was the crowd cheering. I was so confused because I really did not know what expect. So when he finally told me that I could come out I was beyond nervous. He told me to pick a sit there was a black girl, white girl, Asian and a Middle Eastern girl. When he said choose a sit I was confused to where I was “supposed” to sit because I knew it had to be a test of some sort. When walking towards the young ladies I really did not know where I wanted to sit. So finally I sat next to the Middle Eastern girl. At first I could not think of why I choose the seat, but after today’s class it is perfectly clear. I think I sat next to her because that’s who I am most comfortable by. I am Ethiopian so I would say I am not like the black girl, we come from two different worlds and we practice two different cultures. The same with the other two girls we are nothing alike. But I choose to sit next to her because my mother speaks Arabic, and we shop at Middle Eastern type stores in my hometown for groceries. Also maybe the most important reason is the fact that my Aunt is Muslim. My little cousins are as well; my family and I are Christians so we obviously went in different directions when it came to religion. But I have witnessed my Aunt praying and I am used to being around the Koran and them practicing fasting at least twice a year. So I would identify with that young lady the most since I have been introduced to that religion and I have nothing against them. I accept anybody for their religion; I feel that it does not define them so it makes no difference. So in a way you can say it has affected me because it made me realize that we often gravitate to what we are comfortable like when I sit next to my friends in class, it is only natural. Fri, 25 Feb 2011 01:57:15 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/02/24/how-conscious-are-you-of-your-seat-in-class-before-and-after-todays-lecture-119-blog/#IDComment130471499 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/02/16/how-does-white-privilege-affect-our-age-group-119-blog/#IDComment128595929 The concept of "White Privlege" is a term i was not exactly familiar with when Sam Richards first introduced it. I mean I knew that being white was a plus I guess if you want to say because they have more opportunities since they have more money on the social economic status. I mean when I look around this campus I wonder why the ratio of black students and white students are disproportionalzed because they out number us so much. I mean for instance when Sam was talking about when he was in school and would paint houses with his friends for extra money on the side. When the white kids would go and look at a house to estimate the cost of the price they most likely got the job I mean every single time they got it. But when the one black kid would go alone to look at a house they customers would never give him a chance to prove that he was a great worker and could of definitely did better than the white kids anyways but they would not give him a chance and that is truly sad because they judged him off the color of his skin. I read a kids blog on here and I’m guessing he is white but he said that he thought us as black people had more privileges. I mean I guess when it comes to being funded for school I think we may get more money but that is just because we cannot afford to pay to go to this school. My mother does not earn much and is a single mother of 6 so it is hard for her to pay for our schooling. So I am basically on a full ride here but that is not because of the color of my skin, it is simply because I worked hard for this and I earned it. When it comes to the white kids they do not appreciate anything. Everything is handed to them on a silver platter and that is what they are used to so they do not know appreciate what is handed to them so easily and it makes me mad because there are so many people out there struggling and they are not thankful. They have a better chance of getting a job because they are white, they are least likely to get stopped by the police because they are white and they have all these privileges but they never think of it as a race thing but it is. If a white person and a black person were to go in an interview for a job 9 times out if 10 the white person will get hired and that is just “White Privilege.” Thu, 17 Feb 2011 16:09:07 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/02/16/how-does-white-privilege-affect-our-age-group-119-blog/#IDComment128595929 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/02/10/what-did-you-get-out-of-king-of-the-mountain-119-blog/#IDComment127364173 The activity that Sam Richards did in class called King of the Mountain was very intriguing. When he first picked the six lovely student to come down in front of the class i thought well this is going to be interesting because they all came from different backgrounds and were different nationalities. He had a black girl ,Chinese girl, Dominican girl, and a Hispanic Jewish girl. He also brought up a middle eastern guy and a Jewish guy. I thought it was neat to have so many different cultures stand before us. To know that they different work ethics due having it at birth, being wealthy or learning it from a parent. I would classify myself as getting my worth ethic from my mother. I do not think it was given to me at birth but then again I wouldn't remember. Sam went on and on about how these people are so different and physically I could see the difference. He said one was rich and one was poor. I could for no doubt point out the rich one for you, it was the Hispanic Jewish girl. I could just look at her and tell, and if I were to see her randomly on the street I would of thought she was white. Then Sam brought the students back down to exercise the King of the Mountain game. When they were circling the table i had no idea what they were doing, it kind of looked like musical chairs or something with the one chair just there. They just kept circling the table i had no idea what was going to happen. Then all of a sudden Sam hopped up on the table and announced that he was King of the Mountain. What i got out of this lecture is that the white people used this method to get on top and stay on top. They made all these rules and regulations to keep us black people at the bottom, not only financially but socially as well. I feel as though they took us as a threat and the only way they could quite us was to take everything from us. They gave them no rights, yes government was they were "free" but what exactly does that mean? They had curfews, the only option for them to work was the cotton farms and they could not own land without a white person to cosign for them so what exactly were they free to do? It is crazy to think this but white people still are King of the Mountain. They will be continue to be on top unless we as human beings show them that we all need to be equal, financially and socially. Fri, 11 Feb 2011 17:03:07 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/02/10/what-did-you-get-out-of-king-of-the-mountain-119-blog/#IDComment127364173 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/02/03/do-you-think-race-can-stop-being-an-issue-in-the-future-119-blog/#IDComment126027457 As much as i would love for people to stop racism and act like it doesn't matter that is impossible. Since in the past whites were "seen" or "acted" as if they were superior or better than any other race it will always be a so called white world. Yes racism has died down some since the early 1900's, it still is relevant. When i walk to class on this Psu campus i get so many stairs from white people looking at me like i do not belong. When they look at me like that it enrages me because i earned my way into this university as they did and the money i pay for my tuition with is the same money they pay theirs with. Sometimes i want to scream and ask "what are you looking at" i know that if i were to do that i would only be fulfilling the stereotype of black people being loud, ghetto and obnoxious. It was cool to learn that human begins are 99.99% genetically the same and only 0.01% is just our exterior differences. I never knew that so find that out was very shocking and i bet if i told my friends they would not believe me. I feel like every race looks at another and try’s to find ways to be "classified' different than each other. Like some statics of how there are more whites in college than blacks i think gives them leeway to think that they are better. When it comes to jobs and sports though it will never be equal. Like Sam said in class there aren’t many black quarterbacks in the NFL and the reason for the white people not wanting us to be in leadership positions. Like with Obama being president a lot of white people dislike him because he is part black and is running this world. I feel like one of the reasons for them electing him is the fact that they would rather have a man than a woman run this world any day. But then they would rather have a white male president to begin so i feel like they settled because he was a man which is sad. It is sad to say but this world will never be equal dealing with race, People in this society cannot look past the color of someone’s skin color so it will never be equal. Discrimination is this world is outrageous and it will take a lot for that to change. A lot of people are not ready to look past a person’s nationality or race. Taking this class is really opening up my mind though because i did not know a lot of what i am learning this semester. Sat, 5 Feb 2011 00:10:13 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/02/03/do-you-think-race-can-stop-being-an-issue-in-the-future-119-blog/#IDComment126027457 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/01/26/why-do-we-associate-with-people-of-the-same-race-and-ethnicity-as-ourselves-119-blog/#IDComment124240110 The young lady in the flip video posed the question of why do people of the same race or ethnicity basically flock together instead of breaking away and trying something new. I think it has alot to do with one just relating to the same culture. I know i generally hang with African-Americans because they understand me better. When walking around this campus i get alot of stares from Caucasians, they look at me as if i do not belong and it makes me uncomfortable. I understand that the majority of white kids that go here are rich and have been sheltered their whole entire lives so i do not blame them but the environment they grew up in. But they look at me like the money i pay is not the same as theirs, i really do not know how to explain it but its sorta kinda like they look at me like i do not belong. And it irritates me so i choose to hang out with people that would better understand me. I feel like if i were to tell someone black about the struggle of me growing up and how my mother was a single mother and she had just enough money to just make it by every month that they would understand better than a white person could. I think it is all about surrounding yourself with people that can relate to you and will understand the culture you come from. When growing up i was always surrounded by black people. My family, teachers, friends, my hair dresser and etc..So that is what i was comfortable being around. In situations like going to college and not really knowing anybody it is a natural reaction to gravitate towards your own kind i guess. My dorm floor i live on is majority white girls, there is only one other black girl other than me. When i walk in the bathroom with my head scarf on they look at me confused because they do not understand why i have it on. Then i have to go in and explain that, its a black thing. We wrap our hair at night so that it looks good in the morning. And they of course do not understand because they wash their hair everyday and just go. Minor things like that they do no understand because they are not from the culture i was brought up in. It all comes down to who you are most comfortable around and who will understand you the most. I am not saying that i would not have white friends but i feel like they will not understand where i came from. People are always going to gravitate what they are used to and thats just a fact. Fri, 28 Jan 2011 02:46:43 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/01/26/why-do-we-associate-with-people-of-the-same-race-and-ethnicity-as-ourselves-119-blog/#IDComment124240110 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/01/18/what-do-you-think-blog-2/#IDComment122538323 I thought the exercise we did in Soc 119 on Tuesday was very interesting. When i saw all of the college students walking down the isle i knew that it would be hard for the two young ladies to divide them into racial groups, since all of the candidates looked mixed. I was kind of stuck as well trying to help them. It was difficult because yes in some cases you can look at someone and say yes she is definitely white or yea he is definitely black but these people looked like they were biracial. They had a great start with dividing the Asians, Caucasians, African-Americans and Latin. It was odd to me though that the young lady that was Native-American looked Asian. She had the chinky eyes and fair skin like one. I totally agree with Professor Sam though i think racial groups are just our imagination because you cannot categorize everyone as simply being white, black or asian. It is just not possible because people have a background of ancestry that come from all different kinds of places. Back to the exercise though, i thought for someone to just point out someone's race would only be justified in that class since we are discussing racial issues. You generally do not see that anywhere else and it might be seen as racist or disrespectful to just sit there and categorize a person through racial groups. Back in the day there were only three sub categorizes of race being caucasoid, negroid and mongoloid. They could also be seen as being white, black, brown and so on. To live in a world where is only three ways to divide a world with 6 billion people to me is unreal. There is no way that is even possible. When he had the students with 4.0 grade point averages guess the college students race I thought well out of all the people in this room they should be able to get this since they are intelligent. But when Sam gave them microphones they were kind of stuck on some people because you could not clearly look at the person and guess their nationality. I though it was a great idea to ask the class to help them because we wanted to voice our opinions as well. I thought it was interesting that when we revealed their race, some people got highly offended because they were in the wrong category. Race is such a touchy subject with some people so i was not all to surprised with some of the reactions. I totally agree with Sam though i also think race is our imagination because there is no was to put 6 billion in 3 categorizes. I am looking forward to what this class has to offer, it seems like it will be interesting. I also like the face that Sam is not afraid to voice his opinion. I know a lot of people may be offended in the course of this class but it was motivate them to voice their opinion. Thu, 20 Jan 2011 16:32:04 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/01/18/what-do-you-think-blog-2/#IDComment122538323 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/01/10/last-name-%e2%80%9ct%e2%80%9d-%e2%80%93-intense-debate/#IDComment121187715 soc 119 Fri, 14 Jan 2011 00:34:13 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/01/10/last-name-%e2%80%9ct%e2%80%9d-%e2%80%93-intense-debate/#IDComment121187715