en-us https://www.intensedebate.com/users/2414917 Comments by ahp5026 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/04/19/why-does-society-dislike-immigrants-and-why-are-they-portrayed-badly-119-blog/#IDComment145170516 I think if one day illegal immigrants just disappeared from our country, we would have many unfilled jobs that even Americans would refuse to do because they feel they are “above” them. I think illegals do us a favor in this way, work gets done that wouldn’t be otherwise. I don’t think a lot of Americans understand how this work gets done and don’t take into account that it would have a big impact on our country if illegals were no longer here to do the things most Americans don’t want to do. If they want to come over and make next to nothing to do work for our country, that is fine with me. It seems to be beneficial to us rather than hurting us. Fri, 22 Apr 2011 17:36:31 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/04/19/why-does-society-dislike-immigrants-and-why-are-they-portrayed-badly-119-blog/#IDComment145170516 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/04/19/why-does-society-dislike-immigrants-and-why-are-they-portrayed-badly-119-blog/#IDComment145170455 I find it hard to be mad at illegal immigrants coming to this country, and I don’t think it should be on the top of our priority list to keep these people out. I honestly don’t know anyone whose life is negatively affected because of illegal immigrants, they help to support our economy in a large way. However, I do agree that first and foremost jobs in this country should go to people who are here legally. Is it fair to be denied a job because someone who isn’t here will do it for less? I still can’t decide what I think about this. Because a legal American could work for that wage if they wanted the job badly enough, but then get denied the legal minimum wage. Obviously, the work will always go to who is willing to be paid the least for it. Fri, 22 Apr 2011 17:36:17 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/04/19/why-does-society-dislike-immigrants-and-why-are-they-portrayed-badly-119-blog/#IDComment145170455 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/04/19/why-does-society-dislike-immigrants-and-why-are-they-portrayed-badly-119-blog/#IDComment145170391 The argument on illegal immigration is very difficult and complex. Most people seem to be against it because of the fact that jobs are potentially taken away from Americans and given to illegal immigrants who will work for far less money and put in more hours. This is a confusing issue, because sometimes I see this situation as people taking jobs that others won’t do anyway. Illegal immigrants have the work ethic that every American should have. They work harder than anyone in the country and get next to nothing for their efforts. I greatly admire someone is willing to risk their life to cross the border, put it countless hours of work and make next to no money just so they have a chance of starting a better life for themselves in America. The truth is, most Americans have never worked that hard for anything in their life and wouldn’t. We take our place in a privileged country for granted every day, and we just do not realize how lucky we are to be born into a place with so many advantages. Fri, 22 Apr 2011 17:36:00 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/04/19/why-does-society-dislike-immigrants-and-why-are-they-portrayed-badly-119-blog/#IDComment145170391 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/04/05/do-you-think-sam-was-right-in-saying-this-will-be-the-best-lecture-of-the-year-119-blog/#IDComment140816510 When Sam asked us how we would feel if our resources were being taken from under our feet while living in poverty and a another country is flourishing it really made me realize that I have never thought about war and prosperity like that before. It’s also frightening to think about the things we were learning about like our dependence on oil and how little we have. We think we could survive without these countries giving us resources but we can’t. We barely have any here for ourselves, and it’s a scary thought that at any moment our oil could be taken from us and could flip our whole country on its back. This class made me think more than any lecture I have had this year and maybe even in my whole four years in college. Thu, 7 Apr 2011 20:10:40 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/04/05/do-you-think-sam-was-right-in-saying-this-will-be-the-best-lecture-of-the-year-119-blog/#IDComment140816510 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/04/05/do-you-think-sam-was-right-in-saying-this-will-be-the-best-lecture-of-the-year-119-blog/#IDComment140816471 I thought it was also very interesting when Sam polled the class about what your goals in life would be if you lived in the Middle East. It was such a simple exercise, but it really makes you realize that all people want the same general things in life: to have a family and be safe, to live a good life, and to be able to be yourself. Just because there are radicals in these countries that want to pervert their religions into violence doesn’t mean that the general population does not want the same things we do. The segment on China was particularly eye-opening to me as well. Thu, 7 Apr 2011 20:10:27 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/04/05/do-you-think-sam-was-right-in-saying-this-will-be-the-best-lecture-of-the-year-119-blog/#IDComment140816471 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/04/05/do-you-think-sam-was-right-in-saying-this-will-be-the-best-lecture-of-the-year-119-blog/#IDComment140816407 After sitting through the lecture on “Christian Invaders”, Sam was correct when he said that it would be the best lecture of the semester. This lecture was incredibly eye-opening and I think the information in this lecture are things all Americans should hear and consider. Sam put us in the shoes of other people and tried to get the class to think of the war from the perspective on people living in the Middle East. This is something no one on our side ever tends to do. It really made me realize how much we over generalize people because of a small minority and select things we see in the media. For example, it was easy to see how people in other countries could generalize Americans as violent Christians trying to convert everybody from seeing some of the videos Sam showed in class of religious fanatic Americans saying crazy things. It made me think about the videos and things in the media I see of people in the Middle East. We tend to see only the bad things here and therefore it makes us believe that all people over there are like what we see in the select videos on YouTube or on the television. Thu, 7 Apr 2011 20:10:10 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/04/05/do-you-think-sam-was-right-in-saying-this-will-be-the-best-lecture-of-the-year-119-blog/#IDComment140816407 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/03/29/do-you-ever-feel-uncomfortable-around-two-or-more-people-speaking-another-language-119-blog/#IDComment138940752 I found it very interesting that when I went to Mexico last summer, I did not have to speak a word of Spanish to have a question answered. It really shows how spoiled we can be sometimes as English speaking people. Because if a Mexican person came to visit America, I would guess that they would have a ton of trouble communicating and would not expect anyone here to accommodate their needs in Spanish. This makes me feel lucky to be an American, but at the same time I think this whole country needs an awakening. This is one of my goals is to actually learn another language and use it in another country. Diversity is important, we should welcome it rather than push it away. Thu, 31 Mar 2011 21:48:15 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/03/29/do-you-ever-feel-uncomfortable-around-two-or-more-people-speaking-another-language-119-blog/#IDComment138940752 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/03/29/do-you-ever-feel-uncomfortable-around-two-or-more-people-speaking-another-language-119-blog/#IDComment138940717 I think it is such a cool thing for such a small area like this in the center of Pennsylvania to include such a diverse group of people and such a large number of different languages and cultures. It really makes me mad to hear people so non-accepting of other languages in the United States. Every time I have traveled to another part of the world, the people have been so understanding and willing to help communicate with me when they could tell I did not speak their dominant language. We as Americans take this for granted. We expect everyone else to learn our language when they travel here, yet when we visit other places we expect them to still accommodate our needs in English. I find it to be so ridiculous and hypocritical. It doesn’t bother me that the country is becoming more diverse as long as I can live my life normally Thu, 31 Mar 2011 21:48:06 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/03/29/do-you-ever-feel-uncomfortable-around-two-or-more-people-speaking-another-language-119-blog/#IDComment138940717 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/03/29/do-you-ever-feel-uncomfortable-around-two-or-more-people-speaking-another-language-119-blog/#IDComment138940602 Honestly, I do not feel at all uncomfortable when I’m in situations with people speaking other languages in front of me. Instead, I am very intrigued by it and am very tempted to listen to it. I am fascinated by hearing people speak in other languages besides English, I am very interested in. I have always had trouble picking up foreign languages and speaking another one fluently is one of the things I want to learn most sometime in my life. I can’t be welcoming enough to people speaking different tongues around me because I think diversity is very important. People need to be reminded that the world is a gigantic place, and that white, English speaking people are not the only people that exist. I have honestly heard more languages spoken on the Penn State campus than I ever have before. At home, I rarely hear people speaking other languages because it is such a white, non-diverse area. Walking around campus, I will hear multiple languages spoken every time I walk to class or somewhere else. Thu, 31 Mar 2011 21:47:51 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/03/29/do-you-ever-feel-uncomfortable-around-two-or-more-people-speaking-another-language-119-blog/#IDComment138940602 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/03/22/what-do-you-think-about-interracial-relationships-119-blog/#IDComment137585012 But I think the acceptance of mixed race relationships would be a very large step forward toward combating racism in our society. It makes me happy to see when people cross the race line and willing to date anyone they please, regardless of what others say. I feel like they keeps a lot of interracial couples apart. I can’t imagine how hard it would be to deal with people’s comments and looks, because I know that that would happen. I think we need to work past the fact that people are scared to cross that race line. People need to realize that we all want the same things in life and we are all not so different than each other. Fri, 25 Mar 2011 22:37:52 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/03/22/what-do-you-think-about-interracial-relationships-119-blog/#IDComment137585012 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/03/22/what-do-you-think-about-interracial-relationships-119-blog/#IDComment137584984 What was interesting to me was the fact that this film was still completely relevant today because it is still something almost taboo in our society. I would like to think my parents would be completely understanding if I brought home a person of another race, but something tells me that there would be some controversy among most parents if their child wanted to date someone of another race. I have never thought about personally dating someone of another race because I have simply never been attracted to someone of another race. I’m not sure why this is, but I’ve never had any experience with this issue. Most of my friends are not attracted to people of other races, and this is very interesting to me. Fri, 25 Mar 2011 22:37:43 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/03/22/what-do-you-think-about-interracial-relationships-119-blog/#IDComment137584984 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/03/22/what-do-you-think-about-interracial-relationships-119-blog/#IDComment137584957 Personally, it makes me very happy to see interracial relationships occurring more and more as time goes on. I still do not see them very often myself, but I think it is very important that society is accepting of it. I think a lot of people are hesitant to date other of another race because of an initial lack of knowledge. Many people automatically assume that if someone is another race, than they will not have anything in common with them and therefore would not be able to have a relationship with them. I think if people took more time to reach out to people of other races and get to know them, that interracial relationships would me a more common event in this country. I still feel like there is a lot of negative attitudes towards interracial couples when there shouldn’t be. This makes me the think of the movie “Guess Who?” with Ashton Kutcher. That movie was a remake of an older film about a mixed race couple enduring each other’s families. Fri, 25 Mar 2011 22:37:31 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/03/22/what-do-you-think-about-interracial-relationships-119-blog/#IDComment137584957 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/03/15/lgbt-families-theres-a-lot-of-fear-out-there/#IDComment135902358 Think of all the fathers that beat their wives and children, who get up and leave their families one day with very little money. And this is what we are trying to protect? Gay marriage is still illegal today because religious values are still much more prevalent in the law than they should be. An atheist gay couple should not be denied a marriage just because people of another religion seem to think it is immoral. To my knowledge, gays have not caused any more negative impact in this country than anyone else. I hope one day that this country will realize that they deserve the same right as anybody else, and that the traditional family structure is not in jeopardy. Maybe it will even improve. Fri, 18 Mar 2011 20:22:34 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/03/15/lgbt-families-theres-a-lot-of-fear-out-there/#IDComment135902358 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/03/15/lgbt-families-theres-a-lot-of-fear-out-there/#IDComment135902328 Gay people today can still start a family just like anyone else, just not a legally recognized one. The only thing a ban on gay marriage is doing is making it harder for already existent families with gay parents to live a normal life. The student in the video made a very valid point. Family is about the love and support you show each other, it has nothing to do with the couple being a man and a woman. Gay parents are still equally able to instill the same values, rules, and lessons that a normal couple would. In a society where we strive to be non-discriminatory and give equal share to all, this is a dark stain on the reputation of this country. We still largely discriminate against this group by denying them the freedoms to marry the ones they love and be recognized as a family. It seems to me that non-gay couples are causing many more problems to their children than homosexual ones. Fri, 18 Mar 2011 20:22:23 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/03/15/lgbt-families-theres-a-lot-of-fear-out-there/#IDComment135902328 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/03/15/lgbt-families-theres-a-lot-of-fear-out-there/#IDComment135902281 I really enjoyed this video and the speech made by this man about his homosexual parents and how it did not affect the way he was raised. I still can’t believe as a society we continue to shell out these useless and outdated values and use them to discriminate against homosexuals. The anti-gay values that still rule this country today I believe stem mostly from religion. The separation of church and state seems to be non-existent when it comes to marriage, and people use the excuse that it is harmful to the traditional family structure. But is it really? When you have 50% of all marriages today ending in divorce, fathers not paying child support, and domestic abuse, is marriage really something sacred anymore? It seems not to be. I just can’t find a reason to see why legalizing gay marriage would be in any way harmful to society. Fri, 18 Mar 2011 20:22:09 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/03/15/lgbt-families-theres-a-lot-of-fear-out-there/#IDComment135902281 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/03/02/do-people-feel-guilt-about-their-current-positions-when-knowing-about-the-disadvantages-of-the-freed-slaves-119-blog/#IDComment133931421 Overall, guilt never helps anything. If you feel guilty about your status then use it to do something about what you are feeling guilty about. Use your extra money to buy fair trade products or donate to a charity that helps the slavery issue. Action will help people, guilt will not. I know that I had nothing to do with the fact that slavery became a problem in the United States, and I wouldn’t expect people to feel guilty if I were any other race other than white. And I think another reason people should not feel guilty about a higher status is because of the face that they can’t help what they are born into. You don’t get to choose what kind of family of wealth you are born into, so why feel bad about it? Make the most of what you have, and if you have more than others, use your opportunities to help those that need it more than you. Thu, 10 Mar 2011 20:54:48 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/03/02/do-people-feel-guilt-about-their-current-positions-when-knowing-about-the-disadvantages-of-the-freed-slaves-119-blog/#IDComment133931421 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/03/02/do-people-feel-guilt-about-their-current-positions-when-knowing-about-the-disadvantages-of-the-freed-slaves-119-blog/#IDComment133931382 There will always be people in the world who are more advantaged then others. There will always be people that have more and that get lucky enough to be born with more. If you are one of these people, this should be something cherished and respected. Use this to help people, but feeling guilty about it won’t get anyone anywhere. I also do not feel that people today should have personal guilt over the slave issue. It was a very horrible thing that we as a country should feel guilty about it, but not as individuals. What is more important is not feeling guilt, but making an effort to make sure something like this never happens in this country again and do our best to make people aware of slavery going on all over the world. Thu, 10 Mar 2011 20:54:36 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/03/02/do-people-feel-guilt-about-their-current-positions-when-knowing-about-the-disadvantages-of-the-freed-slaves-119-blog/#IDComment133931382 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/03/02/do-people-feel-guilt-about-their-current-positions-when-knowing-about-the-disadvantages-of-the-freed-slaves-119-blog/#IDComment133931237 Honestly, guilt is not what I feel about my socio-economic status. Instead, I feel rather privileged and lucky to have received the opportunities I did. Of course, I think the disadvantages that freed slaves have to endure is terrible and inhumane. It is unbelievable to me that humans could do this to each other, but people always have to make the most of what they are given. I, like many other students at Penn State, were lucky enough to be born with opportunities and advantages that much of the world will never see. However, this doesn’t mean people should feel guilty about it. Instead, I think people should take advantage of the opportunities they were lucky enough to be given and use their statuses to help others without these advantages in any way possible. I would think that if you ask anyone in a lower position whether you should feel guilty about a higher status or not, they would tell you they would take advantage of it if they were in your position. Thu, 10 Mar 2011 20:53:56 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/03/02/do-people-feel-guilt-about-their-current-positions-when-knowing-about-the-disadvantages-of-the-freed-slaves-119-blog/#IDComment133931237 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/02/17/how-does-the-statement-in-the-video-from-class-make-you-feel-119-blog/#IDComment130663923 Even the people that devote time and effort to fighting an issue like this will probably not make much progress, all they can do is spread awareness to a society that doesn’t care. I feel the vicious cycle will just continue as long as products that are made by slaves are cheaper and easier to obtain. Because that is the real issue people care about, what the easiest and cheapest way to obtain their products. As long as the cheapest and easiest way is through slave produced goods, there is very little hope for slaves around the world. Fri, 25 Feb 2011 19:35:22 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/02/17/how-does-the-statement-in-the-video-from-class-make-you-feel-119-blog/#IDComment130663923 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/02/17/how-does-the-statement-in-the-video-from-class-make-you-feel-119-blog/#IDComment130663864 After watching this video, I felt very ashamed of myself for not thinking about this issue more. But the fact of the matter is, I know that I’m not going to stop buying chocolate, or clothes, or chocolate. Most people will not change their ways even after seeing what happens because change takes effort. Every can claim to care and be sad for the slaves, but in the end hardly any of those people will actually go out and try to by fair trade products or similar items. But IS there anything we can do? I almost feel like it is literally impossible to combat such an issue. It’s saddening how little hope there is for slaves because of consumers like us. Awareness is a good thing, but it’s not enough. People will feel sad for 20 minutes and then go put on their ipod and eat their chocolate, there are just not enough people who care. There is a large feeling of hopelessness in their issue. Fri, 25 Feb 2011 19:35:08 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/02/17/how-does-the-statement-in-the-video-from-class-make-you-feel-119-blog/#IDComment130663864