Porn is a very personal thing for everyone. There are a lot of things in the mind like different chemicals and fantasies that are opened when this happens. Based on where you are from or what you do, your porn I think reflects your past and your experiences. Some people like really creepy fantasies and other people tend to like other weird things. I think that this is a reflection on their personality and what they have encountered in the past. For people in different countries, these experiences are completely different than the ones that you can encounter in other different countries. This obviously results in different porn searches and such. For example, people from Korea and japan are searching A LOT more for ‘Asian Girls”. Obviously this is because of their experiences and fantasies.
For things like gay porn and etc. that are searched more in different countries, I think that this is definitely because of the country suppressing this. If the cultural norm is to completely abandon gays and this idea, then how will people know if they are gay or not? They can’t talk to anyone about it, they can’t ask anyone, they have to find out on their own. Who knows, maybe they don’t even know what gay entails. I think that this would result if people looking this stuff up online and finding out for themselves. Also, the internet is one of the only places where you can stay completely unanimous to your views.
Another thing to think about is religion. If people are extremely religious in a certain country, and porn is severely punished by their religion, I’m sure that these people do not search for porn, no matter what. If being gay is looked down in that religion, then by being gay you are already not in the religion by rule. That being said, homosexual people will have nothing holding them back from looking at all the gay porn they want. Basically, they don’t have a religion telling them they can’t.
I found this to be very interesting because it varies a lot from country to country. There can be a lot that is learned from this because it defiantly shows peoples past experiences, there religious views, and how each culture is individually different. Like I said before, porn is extremely internal to each person. What one person finds attractive could be completely different that a different person and I think that a lot comes to play when this is brought up. IN conclusion, I think that mostly the past experiences and the cultural norms of the country play the biggest part. It is defiantly something that someone can come up with an answer for.

Taking a hand out can be looked at from many different perspectives. I don’t like taking handouts personally. I know that I can get them, but I would rather make my own name and destiny. I think that I think this way because of how I grew up and what I’ve experienced in my life time. My brother and two sisters, who are over 30 and have their own lives, grew up in a different time than me. My mom was married to a different person, and there income was much lower. What they had to do was to go out and make their own name because my parents didn’t have the funds or connections to get them to the higher places in life.
On the other side of the spectrum, I grew up with a different dad, both my parents where highly established and had many connections. My brother and sisters have given me a lot of smack for being spoiled and growing up in a better place than they have. All of my friends are spoiled and well of because of their parents. They solely benefited from connections and getting to higher places because of who they knew and etc. So basically, I have seen my brother and sisters struggle to get to where they through hard work and dedication, and I’ve seen my friends get to where there going because of their parents and getting handouts.
I think that people can get to where they want to go based on who they are and what they do. Yeah the world is cruel and unforgiving, but that is what will make you a better person. By taking handouts, you are bringing out that side that will try and cheat your way to the top and for some people that may work for them, but for me, I want to take the hard way. I’m choosing that way because I have those options and I know that I don’t want to be viewed as “That Guy”. I’m surrounded by those guys when I think about my friends and what they do. Some have companies that will be given to the m and some are just not caring about school because their parents are paying for it. That is just degrading to me and I want to make my name by putting my head down and getting my own satisfaction. We talked about this in my group and a lot of different perspectives where thrown around regarding getting a company. I think that If you want to better a company that was given to you, or you want to put your 100% into it, then go ahead, but if your just banking on it, or any other hand out, then you’re just abusing your connections.

So the question was how has being a white male benefited me? To be completely honest? I can think of a lot more negative ways of how it has affected me rather than positive. The one positive experience that I have had was when I went for my internship last summer. I walked into the interview and the hiring manager was immediately pleased with how I looked and conversed. At one point in the interview, he actually said "Thank God you speak English because Eve had so many people come in and not be able to hold a conversation!" Now I know that he was referring to speaking English, but that really just showed how he was being stereotypical. He didn’t even ask me anything that was remotely to an interview question like "Where do you see yourself in 5 years" or what is this *Insert topic here*. I knew that I was going to get the job because from the moment I walked in to the moment I started to speak I could tell that he already approved of me and who I was before he knew ANYTHING about me. On the other obvious sides, I know that cops are more stereotypical when it comes to their jobs. I know that if I were pulled over, I would probably not get searched unlike a black male.
Other than that, I think that the color of my skin hasn’t played a huge part in my life. I don’t really like to think in those terms because I have been told that it is wrong to. It is also just as wrong to think that white people are more privileged because they are white. Am I right though? I would like to think that this is just as racist as people thinking black people are less privileged because they are black. Now that I am applying to big corporations and trying to get jobs, I really wonder why they ask what your ethnicity is. To be honest, I know that they have to fill a quota of colored or Hispanic people or Asian or etc. It really sucks to be putting down White/ Caucasian every time because I know that’s exactly what they are trying to avoid! As far as that aspect goes, it sucks being white because no matter what everyone else thinks, it is getting a lot harder as a white male to get a job.
Overall I don’t like my skin being a part in regards to getting privileges or being beneficial to me. I want everything else to be coming from the reason that I have become successful and earned it. I really don’t like people thinking that just because I’m white that I have a better and beneficial life because I really don’t think that it’s true.

I have always been afraid to die. I mean yeah I’m Christian and I believe in God and going to heaven, but like c’mon, who honestly isn't crazy and isn't afraid to die. I have always wanted to know what happened after we die, and I’m not completely convinced about the whole heaven hell blah stuff. I think that it could be honestly anything. It is the craziest thing and no one will ever know.
Sam brought up some cool facts and testimonials, but so did the kid who asked about the DMT. Although they could control as much as possible about those experiments, they can’t control everything and the fact that everyone saw the same thing is kind of crazy, but at the same time if everyone does nitrous, they will all pretty much feel the same thing too! No one will honestly know for sure.
So basically, until I’m like 90 and can’t do anything but die, I will be afraid of it. I want to live life and live it to its fullest so until then, I’m going to do that. The only situation where I would want to die is to see what it’s like and come back, just like Sam’s little experiment thing. But at the same time, I am too afraid to have that chance of not waking up because the small chance that happens will really suck!
I’ve also wanted to experience the whole God thing too. It’s really crazy because the thought that someone creates you is really just sobering. At the same time, it’s really hard to imagine that. I think that the whole science thing is cool, but the thought that they could see the signs that where behind them was crazy. Overall I don’t want to die. No way in hell do I want to die? Yes I am scared of it and no this class hasn’t changed my fear at all. It somewhat put me at ease with the whole hell thing I guess, but it doesn’t prove anything. All of those that experienced that could have been experiencing the same chemical reaction that happens when someone dies I guess, so that will still be unexplained. If I were to die right now I would be pretty pissed. I want to continue to live my life and have a kid and a dog and a freak in life. In conclusion, I think that life is a pretty crazy but explainable thing to think about. There are so many different things in this world and so much that differs. Death however, is final and is a complete and utter mystery to mankind and that alone scares the hell outa me!

Being a catholic, I do believe in a god. I have come to question it with everything that I have learned (I know to the Catholics reading this that this isn’t ‘right’) but I think that being able to look at everything with a level head is key. That being said, I think that there still is a god. I do believe in the catholic religion highly and so does my family. If I was to wake up with the life altering news that god does not exist, I’m sure that life would change as we know it. To be honest I don’t think that I would have any control on what would happen because there would be so much wide spread panic/riots/ etc. because think about it. There are countless religions and countless of them believe in their own way of a god. That thought powers their religion and how they live there day to day lives. If some news where to crash many of these religions and put them as an ousted belief, a lot of things would either go south or turn for the better.
Personally, it would change a lot. I think that a lot of the things I do are controlled by my belief system. A lot of people are wired that way. I honestly wish that something or someone would give me that answer because it is an age old question that tends to hit the hearts of millions based on the depth of the issue. With there being no god, I would at least finally know the actual truth. I am not saying that I don’t know or not, but I am saying that there is a possibility that everything a religion stands for can be wrong. Like I said before, there are countless religions and beliefs. That means that almost all of them are wrong and either one are right, or they are all wrong. That still to this day blows my mind because the thought of my religion being the one that was wrong would be devastating. That is coming from someone in a religious family, but someone who has yet to personally find a complete and distinct belief. To sum things up, it would answer a lot of questions as to why and how the world got created, and what it’s all about.
Overall, I think that I would embrace the actual truth. I am a very level headed kid that wants to know the actual truth whether it’s what I want to hear or not. By there being no god and by actually knowing this, it would put me at ease. I am happy with being a catholic and standing for my religion, but if word came out yesterday that said I was wrong, then I would accept it.

I honestly really enjoyed talking to the Iranian citizen today. Not only did I learn a lot from him, but I also learned a lot about myself and my culture. There are a lot of norms that you do not realize until they are honestly right in front of you. When I saw the Iranian, and we talked to him and asked him questions, it really made me think about how I thought about him and his country.
It really shocked me about how he feels about America; how people from America get treated in his country, and also everything else that he talked about. When he talked about how Americans get treated, it really showed me that some of this stuff is a lot of internal issues. When we think about Iranians at the airport, at the store, or anywhere else, they do get a bad rap. I think that I wouldn’t like it much is I got scrutinized because of how I got looked. To be honest though, it seems that everyone will get scrutinized by how they look. If Americans go to England, they will get scrutinized for who we are. Same thing goes for all types of cultures and people all over the world.
I do however think that by accepting that, you also become part of the problem. Personally, I want the world to be equal. I want everyone to be part of each other society, regardless of what nation, color of skin, ethnicity, or religion you are, but I think that it is just something that will not change. I don’t think that it’s specifically because of any person or race, it’s just somewhat of human nature to compete and judge and compare your actions to others. I guess what I’m saying is that the talk to the Iranian man brought up a lot of questions and thoughts that don’t get pried out a lot. I feel bad by how some people view the Iranian race or Muslims in general, but that happens to all types of nations of people all over the world, not just Iranians.
I thought that it was really cool about how he watches the same shows and listens to the same people that we do. I also thought that it was really funny that he didn’t know who the singer Sam mentioned (I can’t really remember who he said though!) Overall It really made me learn a lot about the world and also America. I also learned a lot about the Iranian government and the type of things that are restricted and the type of stuff that we take for granted. I hope we bring some other people in to talk!

Joining the military is a very intense and long debate that raises a lot of issues regarding morals, religion, and other important subjects. For me personally, I am quite undecided if I would join the military or not. I am 21 years old, so I think that if I wanted to join the military that I would have had to done it much earlier in my life. If I did however decide that I would want too at this age, I would take the government, what I would be doing in the military, and how it would affect my family in the long run.
I have a girlfriend right now, so I think that leaving her and my whole life behind is very hard to do. If I was alone, it would be different. I do think that the military makes a boy into a man because of the experiences they would encounter. I also think that it would expand one’s self to a new level of person. However, going back to real life can be very hard for some people and I think that I wouldn’t want to risk my mental health. Also, I am going to graduate college. If a college graduate joined the military, then they would go directly into officer school, but I would rather pursue my career and go far in it.
The government is a whole argument in itself. If you’re higher officials are distorted and have bad ethics, then what would you want to fight for? Having someone in the military that doesn’t want to fight is hard for someone. Also, having an official that is a war mongrel or someone that will send troops into activity that does not need to fight would mean that more casualties would happen.
Religion is another aspect of war that I would have to consider. Killing people is a very difficult task to have a mind wrap around. Being catholic, it is unethical to kill another man, however fighting for what you believe isn’t. It is said that fighting a religious war would mean that you would go directly to heaven if you were to pass away.
Overall I don’t think I would join the military. Because of my circumstances of family, religion, and timing have made joining the military something that I won’t participate it. If I was 18, didn’t have a girlfriend, and didn’t really have much of a future, I would take my chances into the military to make myself a better man. Because I’m graduating college, I want to pursue my career and I want to advance. In conclusion, joining the military is something that people should personally consider, not because of their family or other stupid reasons.

I think that there are many different struggles going on with many different people all the time. No one is perfect, and I think that it is very important for people to understand when getting advice about something is that the person giving it is not an angel, they are not better, they just have a better concept about what they are giving out. That being said, many people do not take advice or give it correctly. I feel that if someone were to walk up to me and try to tell me how to live my life, I would not take it very well. But, I think that’s just human nature
In order to give any advice to someone, they have to be willing to listen to what you have to say, otherwise, you are wasting your time. If I would give advice, I would need them to listen. After they have begun listening, I would try to explain that they are not the only person in the world with this problem or problems in general. Next, I would defiantly give my best opinion on the subject. For example, I have a friend that struggles with personal image and they tend to get into bad eating habits such as not eating until dinner. They say that it’s because they weren’t hungry or because they didn’t have time to eat, but I know that it’s because they don’t want the calories on their body. As for the advice I give, it’s hard because they don’t want to even listen to the material, even if it is right or wrong. Anyway, I would like to just explain to her that it’s ok. That he/she is not weird because of her thoughts, and it’s quite normal to feel that way.
In any problem, it is important to understand it before you can fix it. By understanding and acknowledging the problem, you can begin to solve the problem. By getting the person to understand there is a problem in mind, they will be able to move on to recovery from it. Every instance that they decide to relapse, or move behind is a reminder that it is still a problem.
Overall people having problems are natural, but it is hard to help them through it because it is highly personal and it is deeply engraved into their minds. Whether they want to fix it or not is completely on them. You cannot change their mind for them, it is all internal. Like Professor Sam said, there are lots of deeply personal choices that a person has to make. Wanting to change is definitely one of them. In conclusion, I would tell the person struggling to try and see the problem in an outside view, and look for the will power to decide to change.

I think that the most troubling question about race in this country is will blacks 100% forgive and forget about slavery? I think that this can be a very complicated question, not to mention one that can be taken very wrong. Personally, this is the toughest question about race in America because it has so many different levels of complexity and it also brings up alot of internal and engraved minds sets in a lot of Americans. I find this question to be the hardest to me because I am white, and I am only 21. I did not live around for slavery, or for even real racism, but I have an understanding and an awareness of it. That being said, I cant even begin to understand what those men and women in that time had to go through.When it comes to the topic of slavery, it is hard for both sides to understand the others point because they don't know what each other has had to go through.
For African Americans, I can imagine that it is hard for them to even begin to explain why they feel the way they do about it and why things like the N word and other forms of life interaction are extremely racist to them. I do not blame them. The thought of a group of people killing my elder generation and enslaving them because they think there better really cringes me inside. For White Americans, It is hard for us to have to carry the mistake of our older generations around. Its equally as racist to think that a person will be racist and demeaning to you because they are white.
With these points in mind, one can see how both sides are very far apart from each other in terms of slavery (at least in my perspective). I have two very close black friends to me. Not once have I ever talked to them about it because It is just one of those things that is extremely hard to talk about I think. Will one day blacks understand that mistakes made by older white generations do not reflect the new and upcoming ones? Will one day whites understand the true hardships that the enslaved had to go through and the needs the level of equality some say that america lacks? I don't want to sound racist with all of the "white" and "black" talk. I am just trying to refer to the situation as clearly as I can.
As far as other ethnic groups go, there will always be rivals and racism and other forms of messed up situations. Puerto Ricans will always hate Dominican Republicans. There will always be gang wars. My question specifically targets whites and blacks though. Will one day the whites and black co exist with no racism?

Racial scholarships are racist in many ways. There are many ways to attack this idea of "racial scholarships". Two of the most radical being that they are 100% racist or 100% acceptable. I, on the other hand, fall right in the middle. Personally, I tend to try and look at both sides of the spectrum when I think about anything; those two sides in this topic are 100% or 100% acceptable
The racist argument viewpoint in me would think that this is completely ridiculous. At no point in any school should someone be aloud to receive money because they are black or Asian or etc. They did nothing different than be a different color or ethnicity. What would happen if whites received scholarships for being white? It is just the same as treating blacks or other cultured citizens terribly for being that race. The only difference between the maltreatment and the scholarships is that they are being treated bad vs good; it is still racism
The opposite side, being 100% acceptable, would state that these ethnicity's are at a disadvantage within america because of their color or skin. It is unfair for whites to live in the upper scale neighborhoods, go to the upper scale schools, and receive the upper scale scholarships.
With all these points in mind, It seems that these scholarships should be deemed more racist than not. If america should be considered a land of the free, then everyone should be treated equally. Whether it consists of a positive or negative effect, it is still racist if someone is being treated differently because of the color of their skin.
Personally, I am a white male. Why is it fair to me that people of different ethnic background get a scholarship because they are who they are? I don't get a scholarship because I am over 6 feet tall. Nor do I get one because I have green eyes. It sounds kind of selfish because I have not been through what the other ethic cultures have, but I still don't believe I should be treated differently than them because I am white.
In conclusion, I feel that race scholarships are racist because they are not handed out equally to all different cultures, nor are they handed out to all of them. I feel that they are racist because handing out something to someone based on their skin color or ethnicity is considered racist. Overall, I think that they should be handed out differently. In order to make them non racist, they should either hand them out equally to all races, or they should not be handed out at all.