en-us https://www.intensedebate.com/users/7157888 Comments by TB_215 http://www.soc119.org/2013/06/15/week-two-lesson-2-introduction-to-race/#IDComment695817603 I don’t get why anyone would think that pretending to be in that sort of situation would be ok either. But I do think it’s cool that you got to see a Gypsie. What’s even more interesting to me is that I know college students who do the same things those gypsie’s you saw do, they pretend to be poor etc. to get money and it’s a scam but a lot of people fall for it because it’s probably less easy to identify here than it is in Italy. But I’m with you on the questions as to why? In both cases. Thu, 8 Aug 2013 00:36:36 +0000 http://www.soc119.org/2013/06/15/week-two-lesson-2-introduction-to-race/#IDComment695817603 http://www.soc119.org/2013/06/23/week-three-lesson-4-ethnocentrism/#IDComment695815478 I think if more people were open to being exposed to other cultural practices and beliefs that they’d be like you and come to accept them or be comfortable with some of it as well. Even if it not the bigger picture and concern is just to be respectful of all cultures and their beliefs, because we’re all equal. But this lecture also made me question like are we really aware of all the beliefs and practices of own cultures and if not, then how can we come to accept someone else’s? Or would we even still be comfortable in a culture we identify as if we knew all there was to know about it? Thu, 8 Aug 2013 00:31:09 +0000 http://www.soc119.org/2013/06/23/week-three-lesson-4-ethnocentrism/#IDComment695815478 http://www.soc119.org/2013/06/23/week-three-lesson-5-social-inequality/#IDComment695812169 I agree with the ending more than the beginning. The story of your friend in an Ivy League school who came from a lower class background and the difference in how people accepted this as oppose to if he’d been white is a story that probably happens to many people. But for this reason I believe that it’s race and social class rather than just wealth that makes it hard to break barriers. More so race honestly. Because it doesn’t matter what have or how hard you work to some people you’ll always just be a black person and for some we’re second class compared to our white counterparts. Thu, 8 Aug 2013 00:23:26 +0000 http://www.soc119.org/2013/06/23/week-three-lesson-5-social-inequality/#IDComment695812169 http://www.soc119.org/2013/06/30/week-four-lesson-6-race-ethnic-inequality/#IDComment695809691 I don’t think being color blind and just not talking about the problem is going to be effective nor is reasonable. The bottom line is that the world isn’t color blind and not talking about the subject and the issues that come along with it, is not how we as a people have gotten this far. I’m all for being angered at the statistics and the harsh reality of how we get treated but at the same time I would assume this just called for more action. Instead of being silent and “color blind,” how about educating our officials and judicial system on racial profiling and instilling in them that this is not to be tolerated. At some point, I’m a bit fatalistic because I don’t believe you can change everyone’s mind on this matter. We are a product of older more hateful and discriminating generations. But in trying to change the last thing we need is to not talk in my opinion Thu, 8 Aug 2013 00:17:25 +0000 http://www.soc119.org/2013/06/30/week-four-lesson-6-race-ethnic-inequality/#IDComment695809691 http://www.soc119.org/2013/06/30/week-four-lesson-6-race-ethnic-inequality/#IDComment695805474 I agree that freedom isn’t pure based on what you said. It’s like you we have the freedom to do as well please within certain boundaries and it ultimately is shaped by things we can’t control and some we don’t realize. We just acknowledge these lessons of do’s and don’ts as proper manners and such. Like your example of not adjusting your bra in public because it’s considered awkward. The only part I would say I don’t completely understand is the choices you made as far as college and the orgs you chose to participate in. Like I came to college because I didn’t feel I had any other choice, school is must. But not necessarily where I went or what I did while I was here just the fact that I came. Thu, 8 Aug 2013 00:07:39 +0000 http://www.soc119.org/2013/06/30/week-four-lesson-6-race-ethnic-inequality/#IDComment695805474 http://www.soc119.org/2013/07/07/week-five-lesson-8-stages-of-racial-idenity-white-people/#IDComment695801601 I like the lecture as well, he did do a good job of helping to better understand what’s it’s like to be white. Although I didn’t find it surprising that white people don’t discuss being white. I guess because I was one of those people just assumed that they didn’t care and weren’t very aware of their surroundings. It’s a very narrow minded view to have had. But I guess I was so focused on thinking that they couldn’t empathize with being a minority that I never actually considered that I can’t empathized with what’s like to be white. And as you mentioned they are very aware their surroundings despite contrary beliefs. Wed, 7 Aug 2013 23:58:16 +0000 http://www.soc119.org/2013/07/07/week-five-lesson-8-stages-of-racial-idenity-white-people/#IDComment695801601 http://www.soc119.org/2013/07/20/week-seven-lesson-13-immigration/#IDComment695799092 I I’m glad that after learning more about immigration and how it drives business and other aspects of life your opinion changed. It’s not uncommon for people to view immigrants in a negative light and have some of the same sentiments you originally had. The media doesn’t shed light on the positive aspects for some odd reason, I guess that’s not what they feel is more important to tell the people. But the simple fact is immigration is an integral part in American life. As for some being illegal versus others being legal, becoming a citizen is not easy at all and for some it’s just more convenient. I don’t feel they should be chastised because of it either. But when I actually looked into all they had to go through to get here. I understood more why they would accept it. The test alone is something ridiculous. It’s questions on there that the majority of Americans can’t even answer, I took it for GP and failed miserably. Wed, 7 Aug 2013 23:52:14 +0000 http://www.soc119.org/2013/07/20/week-seven-lesson-13-immigration/#IDComment695799092 http://www.soc119.org/2013/07/15/week-six-lesson-10-stages-of-racial-identity-people-of-color/#IDComment695792671 I don’t think your opinion is coarse at all, honestly I don’t think PSU is “too white.” I think like you mentioned some of it is location. It’s in the midst of a white community and above all things PSU is pretty diverse. The numbers may not be exactly close in comparison but I’d like to think we have a nice variety of people. Personally, saying it’s either “too white” or “not white enough,” doesn’t make sense in either case. Because then like what about HBCU’s are they too black or not black enough? Some of them are in the midst of a black community and more importantly they too are becoming diverse. The majority doesn’t make a school too much of that race, it just means more people of that race are there. Who cares? Wed, 7 Aug 2013 23:35:42 +0000 http://www.soc119.org/2013/07/15/week-six-lesson-10-stages-of-racial-identity-people-of-color/#IDComment695792671 http://www.soc119.org/2013/07/07/week-five-lesson-9-stages-of-racial-identity-white-people-cont/#IDComment695784252 I think everyone tip toes around using racial identifiers. I know people who use them around their own race, but are hesitant around other races. Honestly, if I had to guess, I would say white people probably feel more pressured to see past racial identifiers because if they are perceived to be racist, whether that was the original intent or not, they stand to lose a lot and people get easily offended simply because it’s coming from a white person. Seems really petty but that is a reality for some. I think political correctness is another false security for some people. Wed, 7 Aug 2013 23:14:39 +0000 http://www.soc119.org/2013/07/07/week-five-lesson-9-stages-of-racial-identity-white-people-cont/#IDComment695784252 http://www.soc119.org/2013/07/07/week-five-lesson-9-stages-of-racial-identity-white-people-cont/#IDComment695781825 “Guilt” was an important part of these lectures and I’m glad Prof. Richards discussed this topic. I think it’s not completely uncommon or common for white people to feel guilty if they have any sense of history. I say this because although you can feel bad about how black people were treated and repressed, how bad can you really feel if you aren’t directly responsible. I’ve talked to a few people who originally did not feel any guilt at all, they just feel like the past is the past and it’s time to move on. But I’ve also known people who just feel that blacks are still dealing with the repercussions of what happened in the past and so they feel I guess not guilty but sympathy for them. Some feel guilt. Honestly, I think guilt although it’s not really controllable in some circumstances, when it comes to the history of blacks and whites. I don’t understand why they’d feel guilty about the past; I think it’s more important to make changes to rectify it all in the present and future. On the other hand, I also don’t think black people shouldn't use guilt to like get back at white people for the past or like try and use that as an excuse to get ahead in life or any other circumstance. Again let the past be the past and make good of the present and future. At one point in this lecture, the discussion of homophobia vs. racism came up. There were some very interesting points raised that sparked my interest. First of all, someone mentioned that you can easily hide that you are gay, but there is no way to hide your skin color. This point was followed by yes, you can be in the closet when you are gay but that is not who you truly are. When you are gay you always have to second guess yourself and figure out which situations it is appropriate to be gay and when it isn't. I agree with that. And You can’t do this with race. But on the opposite end of that, homosexuality is becoming more accepted. Like I think in a few years this going to be like interracial marriages were and just become a thing of the past as far as homophobia is concerned. Race on the other hand it hasn’t really gone anywhere. We just kind of patched it up with laws and everything else to make it seem like it was rectified. In general though, hate is a taught mindset. Children don’t just naturally hate anyone or anything; they have to learn it from somewhere. So in that aspect, I think both are similar because people could be taught to hate or dislike both. Also, it was mentioned, that people of color seem to be more sympathetic to homosexuality because they are a minority. I don’t know how true that is. I think I have mentioned it before, but I think that’s like one of those things everyone can agree about that they don’t like. In reality it would make sense for people of color not to put someone else through what they’ve gone through as far as discrimination. But in reality I don’t really know how much of that acceptance or tolerance is coming from any one specific race. Wed, 7 Aug 2013 23:08:37 +0000 http://www.soc119.org/2013/07/07/week-five-lesson-9-stages-of-racial-identity-white-people-cont/#IDComment695781825 http://www.soc119.org/2013/07/07/week-five-lesson-8-stages-of-racial-idenity-white-people/#IDComment695754074 I’m not really sure how I feel about this lecture even though the content is interesting, it raised a lot of questions. It was fairly hard to understand from a different perspective than the one that I am used to. Just as whites have a hard time knowing what it’s like to be a minority, minorities have the same issue; we don’t know what it’s like to be white, we can only speculate. I think as a society we really do not talk about what it really means to be white. We never identify what traits make up a person of the white race. To me, the focus is more on identifying with minorities. Black people can identify with their race and what it means to be black. Black people have the civil movements and mass demonstrations or periods that seriously broke barriers in their race like the Harlem Renaissance, that help express their pride in their race and clearly express what it means to be black in every level of the social spectrum. Many other races such as Latinos and Asians also identify with their races and what it means to be of that particular race. All other races clearly identify what it means to be of their particular races and how being a part of that race shapes how they are raised, their experiences, or even their perspective on some things in life except white people. White people do not identify with their race and what it means to be white, however some do identify with their culture. Italians for example, identify with their religion, their dress, music, traditions, food, and many other cultural factors. But all these things are identifying with a culture and not a race. If you asked an Italian person, “What are you” they will say Italian and identify with the culture not “I’m white,” and identify with the race. It is easier to identify with a culture because they have an idea of what makes their individual cultures. For a white person I think it is hard to identify themselves with a race and being white because not many white people have taken the time to think about what it actually means to be white. When Sam asked what we identify ourselves with and what makes you, you there are many things that I can list. Being an African American I can obviously identify with my culture and my race as well as individual traits. But I don’t think that if I were white, I’d be able to do this. I don’t know a white person who can. To be honest, I’m rather curious as to what they’d even begin to say? Like what if you’re not Italian or Irish or some other type of white? You’re just an American born white citizen, what culture is there for a Caucasian American? Wed, 7 Aug 2013 22:02:43 +0000 http://www.soc119.org/2013/07/07/week-five-lesson-8-stages-of-racial-idenity-white-people/#IDComment695754074 http://www.soc119.org/2013/06/30/week-four-lesson-6-race-ethnic-inequality/#IDComment695720834 I thought both parts of the lecture were equally stimulating. The first lecture on “Being the Man on Top” was very insightful but I really didn’t find any of the information surprising. If you can be the race or group that makes it to the top of the mountain over any other race or group it is obvious by human nature that you are not going to let anyone else get close to you. If a person is like you then they are allowed closer than a person who is very different from you. It’s like people tend to trust their own more than anyone else because in some sense they feel that they’re not as much of a threat or can relate. On the other hand, I don’t think that other races were pushed away only because they were different. I believe that once white people got on top they lived in fear of losing the top spot. The second lecture that focused on racial discrimination in the judicial system didn’t surprise me at all. I was not surprised to find out that a higher percentage of black people are incarcerated than white people but this percentage although it shouldn’t be ignored, often is or it’s justified by some ridiculous stereotype that’s only partially true. In general it reminded me of Angela Davis’ “Prison Industrial Complex.” What really bothered me was how black juveniles are more likely than white juveniles to be transferred to adult facilities when they committed the same crime. When Dr. Richards said, “some white people just don’t see it”. I completely agree. Too many white people that I’ve come across just feel blacks make excuses or try holding our history as some sort of crutch for the choices we make or how we’re treated. And yes this may hold some truth but it is not complete justification for how we do get treated and discriminated. Not just that but I firmly believe that the officials in the judicial system from the bottom to the top, should be trained and acknowledge racial profiling and racial issues period. It’s ok to have laws about discrimination and all that, but there are ways around it and not for nothing but we have to accept that it does still happen. The United States’ legal system is something that is supposed to be non-racist and non-bias in anyway but there are proven statistics that say that there is some sort of racism or discrimination going on, it’s just hard for people to admit and accept there’s a problem. Bottom line of it all is that our officials need to be trained on such issues and like or not, they exist. Wed, 7 Aug 2013 20:43:47 +0000 http://www.soc119.org/2013/06/30/week-four-lesson-6-race-ethnic-inequality/#IDComment695720834 http://www.soc119.org/2013/06/15/week-two-lesson-2-introduction-to-race/#IDComment694575676 This was a great way to start the semester; it really set the tone for the rest of the classes and discussions. It’s very interesting for him to point out that "race" is something made up by European people. I also like that he emphasized how we adapt to our environment and this affects our features like nose shape and skin color. A lot of times people just automatically assume if you have darker skin you’re black or if you look white then you are white, when in actuality that’s the furthest from the truth. Granted, as mentioned in the lecture we are all mixed and a lot of people’s blood does have traces of black blood in them, judging off mere appearance without taking things such as ancestry and location into account is a pretty ineffective and inaccurate way of predicting a person’s race. Tue, 6 Aug 2013 01:58:46 +0000 http://www.soc119.org/2013/06/15/week-two-lesson-2-introduction-to-race/#IDComment694575676 http://www.soc119.org/2013/06/23/week-three-lesson-5-social-inequality/#IDComment694516715 This lecture really gave me a new perspective on things. When Sam brought students up to the front of the classroom and asked the question, “Why the white person is richer or more successful in life compared to the black or brown person,” in my head without even realizing I was doing it at first, I noticed myself factoring race to justify my reasoning. It was truly amazing that you don’t attribute race or even think about race when two people appear to be the same race. It’s as if our brains automatically associate skin color to be ultimately more important than any other reason behind it, probably because it is the most apparent. But it could also be that the stereotypes we grow up hearing and sometimes fall into, make much more of an impact that I had ever realized. I have heard several stereotypes about several different races throughout my lifetime, especially my own, and a few of them I have found to be somewhat true but I never felt as if I held that stereotype true for all people of any specific race. I acknowledge that sometimes stereotypes hold a certain amount of truth but there are always exceptions and this is what prevented me from automatically associating all people of a race with that stereotype. But after the lecture today I found myself wondering if maybe I do associate them with stereotypes and just haven’t noticed it. The main thing that I took away from this week’s lecture is that there is no one reason for inequality. It seems to me that it is combination of all three, biological, socio-psycho cognitive, and socio-structural. They all work in different ways but all have some effect on our lives. I guess the main argument is free will versus being determined. Inequality is not a black and whiter issue; it's much more complicated than that. In order to understand it you have to get yourself in the "intellectual middle" as Sam, put it. You need to keep an open mind and understand both sides of the argument and acknowledge that there are some factors and forces outside of our control. However, you must also acknowledge that people's choices are just as important in determining their lives. Another aspect of the lecture that I felt was interesting is how intellect is in the middle of being determined and freewill. I agree with this one hundred percent. Growing up in what some would consider the “hood” I feel as though they all play a major role in a person’s life. Sam gave an example of obstacles in your way and it’s up to you to use your brain and go around them or to simply give up it really made sense to me. Because I have had a fairly rough road in my college career and life thus far and I think about the times where I could’ve given up and everyone would have understood if I did. But because I didn’t and I didn’t stray to some unhealthy path, I reaped the benefits of hard work and determination. It’s like even if you don’t chose all the things that come your way it can always be worse and there’s always a way to make it work, it’s just up to you to do so…so why complain? Mon, 5 Aug 2013 23:39:40 +0000 http://www.soc119.org/2013/06/23/week-three-lesson-5-social-inequality/#IDComment694516715 http://www.soc119.org/2013/07/15/week-six-lesson-10-stages-of-racial-identity-people-of-color/#IDComment694469544 This lecture was one of the best and most interesting thus far. The movie “A Girl Like Me”, seeing the children pick the lighter skinned doll as being the “nice” doll and the darker skinned as being the “bad” doll, was so true for me. I remember when I was younger for a long time I had this mentality. It was especially true for me being half white and half black, because many black people have this preconceived notion that light skin is the better skin and the white side of my family, they don’t like dark skin at all and I’m one of the darkest ones. So I picked up their ugly mentality that it was prettier or better if the doll and I had lighter skin. Honestly, you would think that children would prefer a doll that looks like them. But it just goes to show how there are many factors that create this bias towards things like the color of a dolls skin and how everyone isn’t the same regardless if they’re the same race or of the same background. It was very different relating the same lessons on white people now to colored people for a multitude of reasons but mainly because it just goes to show that race does play a role in your outlook on certain things. I agree with Sam that white people really don’t know what it’s like to be in the minority, unless they are gay but as far as race is concerned it’s rare that whites are a minority of a population. Even if their friends or family are a different race or mixed and where subject to some sort of racial issue, they could be offended for them or by the act. But it’d never be the same as if they were on the receiving end or could actually identify with a minority. It’s only some much empathizing they could do. Another point mentioned was that people of color can be homophobic depending on where they come from. I actually agree not just because I know people of color who are homophobic but because I think anyone could be homophobic. It’s like one of those things that if races can’t agree on anything else or get along for any other reason, they can all agree they don’t like “the gays.” But honestly, I don’t understand why a person of color would be homophobic. We worked so hard for respect and not to be discriminated against, yet we turn around a subject other people or groups to that same type of cruelty. To me, it’s like we can’t dare other races to do the behavior that we exhibit or condone. Mon, 5 Aug 2013 21:39:05 +0000 http://www.soc119.org/2013/07/15/week-six-lesson-10-stages-of-racial-identity-people-of-color/#IDComment694469544 http://www.soc119.org/2013/06/23/week-three-lesson-4-ethnocentrism/#IDComment694450560 Watching the video on ethnocentrism just made me realize exactly how destructive stereotypes are. So many people make comments in the form of a joke with intentions on it being funny, but they actually are really ignorant. I think it is sad that people create their own assumptions about other cultures, races, and peoples without knowing much, if anything, about them and how common for these assumptions to be adapted or accepted as some type of norm sometimes to the point where a stereotyped joke could be considered funny. The major stereotypes being all Orientals or White people look alike or all Black people have darker colored skin. I particularly like the video that the PSU students made of how all Orientals look alike but showed a lot of different types, after a while and paying attention you could kind of see their differences. Also, I really enjoyed the exercises where people tried to identify or group others based on just looking at them or a picture. It’s amazing how many different answers people will give looking at the same people or picture, but it’s even more shocking to know how wrong they usually are. I completely agree with Dr. Richards when he said that people can be completely different and look the same and be the same but look different. You really do have to spend time or get to know about other groups to “ascertain and understand the differences.” Living in our melting pot of a country I think it’s really important that we educate ourselves more on the different cultures. It takes five minutes to read something and learn about another culture. If everyone took the time to educate themselves, I feel like it’d be less of a culture shock when we travel somewhere else or encounter diversity. Racial tension would be more resolved. It’s not necessary to agree or support another culture or their practices, but it is very necessary to respect them all, equally. Overall this was a very interesting and eye-opening lecture. Ethnocentrism is a very interesting and complex topic that really had me thinking. Rarely are we ever fully aware of everything going on, and this is what makes everyone so different in this world today. Personally, I think that it’ll be interesting to see how I react to different cultures when I return to campus in the fall. Not that I wasn’t interested in other cultures before, but I was one of those people who thought people of other cultures and races all looked the same. Now I think I’ll pay more attention to the differences to see if I’ll even notice and hopefully learn something new in the process of doing so. Mon, 5 Aug 2013 20:52:11 +0000 http://www.soc119.org/2013/06/23/week-three-lesson-4-ethnocentrism/#IDComment694450560 http://www.soc119.org/2013/07/20/week-seven-lesson-13-immigration/#IDComment691542051 I found the debate to be really interesting and informative. I know that Immigration is a very touchy subject for a number of reasons. To be honest I would not say that immigrants are portrayed as “bad people” but they are given a negative stigma when moving into new communities. With certain groups of people they are going to do things that spark stereotypes, and even if the stereotypes are false eventually people are going to believe them. When people start to believe what everyone is saying soon they are going to be treated that way and that is where the mistreatment occurs. For as long as I can remember I have heard what people think of immigrants, both good and bad, and when I was younger I had trouble separating truth from fiction. Everyone has their own opinion, but it was a time where I learned how people who are going through something like handle extreme criticism. For me I think that immigrants are extremely important and do a lot for us, but I can also understand how some people have serious issues with immigrants. But as Dr. Richards pointed out in class today, whenever the government tries to get rid of all the immigrants it only leads to disaster. So while it makes it sense for people to have worries about all these people working for hardly any pay we need to remember that we actually need them for jobs that no one else wants to do. Another thing that could really help this issue is if the media would stop portraying immigrants so badly. What are people supposed to think of immigrants when they are portrayed in a negative way? People will always have opinions but it is how we act and treat people that really matters. I think perhaps the most interesting part about the lecture that really stood out for me is how he mentioned immigrants migrate in waves and that this “impedes assimilation,” but white supremacy comes from the myth that when white people migrated they shed their and everything else and became a took on what was called the American culture. I felt it was interesting because it was said countless times before that little no immigrants ever do this. Thu, 1 Aug 2013 03:58:57 +0000 http://www.soc119.org/2013/07/20/week-seven-lesson-13-immigration/#IDComment691542051