I can agree with you on many points in your response. I never really had any factual background on affirmative action. This lecture inspired me to do my own research on affirmative action and really find out for myself how it affects people of different races and different social classes. I, also was very surprised that women are in fact the ones that receive the largest benefit of affirmative action and that many of them are from the middle class. I defiantly agree that there needs to be some sort of affirmative action that targets people of lower social class. They are the ones who really need the opportunities provided by affirmative action to help advance themselves in society.

Honestly I never really considered the implications and advantages of affirmative action. In fact I had never really had much background with affirmative action at all. I just used to believe that affirmative action was a program put into place to help minorities further advance themselves in society. But then I also heard the other side from some white people how they feel affirmative action is just a program that unfairly admits minorities into schools or other jobs simply because of race. These people may blame affirmative action for their faults in comparison to a minority. I never really researched affirmative action just circulated around the types of arguments I have heard throughout my life. I found the lecture so eye opening that after the lecture I did my own research just so I could form an opinion for myself. The lecture really caught my attention from the very beginning when same presented the statistic that most of the beneficiaries of affirmative action are for women and that most of the beneficiaries of color are from the middle class. I had always thought that affirmative action never really benefited women but was rather based on race. Another part that caught my attention was the presentation of nepotism. Now that I have been opened to idea of nepotism it is so hard not to face the reality that everyone practices some form of nepotism. It is so true that people believe in any situation of reward that they deserve what they get. It is like we are so consumed in our own love for ourselves that we cannot see that we are just like everyone else. Just like the research that examined the social ability of high school students and the how well people follow the bible, we will never put ourselves in the same category of everyone else and speak negatively of ourselves. For most people it is the “not me” attitude that fails to realize that whether you would like to believe it r not you are just like everyone else and everyone else has faults, nepotism just prevents you from seeing them. Now that I know some facts about affirmative action I would defiantly support a program like the one Obama had in mind. An affirmative action program should be based on the social class not solely on the merit of race or gender. This would make a lot more sense to help people that really have a financial deficiency than a person in the middle class who happens to be a minority. The video about the too different schools clearly shows that people of lower classes need assistance advancing themselves in society as compared to a hypothetically a minority who went to that wealthy private school. Regardless of race, people of lower class need an extra boost to help advance themselves.

I agreed with a lot of points in your blog about the lecture. But the thing that caught my attention was your last paragraph about how illegal immigrants can pay taxes and it changed your view of the situation. How about this, I worked around illegal immigrants since I was thirteen in an Italian restaurant in Long Island. The guy who made pizza’s name was David but we called him Flash. Anyway, Flash was an illegal immigrant and when he bought a car in America it was probably the happiest day of his life. After that he borrowed a social security card and started paying taxes. Now keep in mind this guy probably worked like 65 hours a week for like twelve dollars an hour. When I asked him why he wanted to pay taxes he said “It’s the least I can do for a country that has given me so much”. The tireless labor he does for very little pay, in his eyes was the greatest opportunity for him. In his eyes he wanted to give back the country that changed his life.

I really enjoyed this lecture about immigration. I have always had strong feelings of admiration and sympathy for immigrants. As Sam stressed in the lecture it takes an immense amount of courage to pack up everything you have and come to a new world with nothing and try to make a life for yourself. A significant amount of these people do not even speak the native language and still take it upon them selves to deal with the bigotry and criticisms and work tirelessly to provide a better life for themselves and their families. I think I feel so strongly for immigrant rights because my parents immigrated here from Egypt and Colombia. Both spoke very little English but work tirelessly in order to become successful in a new world. I liked how Sam brought up the idea of free capitalism in relation to immigration. If you truly believe in capitalism then how can you not support immigration? Immigration both legal and illegal helps our economy whether critics want to recognize it or not. Illegal immigrants will perform the jobs that no one wants to do for a salary that no American would accept. Illegal immigrants at a cheap cost for the business perform many jobs like dishwashing, landscaping, and construction. This without a doubt helps the business and in turns the economy. I have worked with and around illegal immigrants all my life. I started working at a restaurant when I was thirteen and it amazed me how hard many of the people worked. I even had a friend who used to help me with my math homework every Thursday after work. Back in his country of El Salvador the math that I was learning in eleventh grade he had learned in the seventh grade before he came here. So it is not like these people are illiterate and stupid, as countless people in this country believe. They have just not been provided with the right opportunities to succeed in a world dominated by white Americans. I think its absurd that many white Americans claim this land as their land and they were the original owners. They stole this land from the Native Americans, the real owners of this land and are now trying to keep other people who are looking for a better life just as their ancestors were, out of the country. I find it pretty ironic that many Americans talk about the “American dream”. The little guy coming from poverty with nothing and worked his way tirelessly to the top. Escaping prejudice as the pilgrims did to a new world in search of a better life for themselves and their families. Our whole country revolves around the “American dream” yet we shut out people or Pilgrims of today who are just trying to do the same thing American ancestors did years ago.

I can defiantly agree with a lot of your points in your response in regards to the LBGT community. I thought the statistics about homophobic people was very surprising. I’ve always heard that homophobic people of some orientation issues to work out for him or herself but I never really believed it until I saw the high statistic. I think its crazy to use the holy books to justify prejudices for members of the LBGT community. Most people who claim to be die-hard religious followers pick and choose what parts of the religion they want to follow. Not too long ago many people used to believe they were superior to other people on the basis of skin color and race. As this has changed drastically in a short period of time, I believe discrimination against members of the LBGT community will similarly die out.

I thought this lecture was very interesting and it defiantly changed the way I view the LBGT community. I used to feel indifferent about the LBGT community. Along the lines of let the people in the LBGT community do whatever they want as long as it doesn’t affect me. After this lecture I strongly feel as though the people in the LBGT community have the same rights as everyone else. The relationship between LBGT prejudice and different cultures is undeniable. I personally feel that members of the LBGT community suffered more discrimination and hatred than any group of any race. Members of every race constantly discriminate against members of the LBGT community. I am sure Sam surprised a lot of students with his analysis of the bible and other holy books in regards to the LBGT community. As we all know many people use the holy books to justify their prejudices for members of the LBGT community. Well, according to the strict guidelines of the bible we are all not going to Heaven. I think most people can agree that we have all done or do on weekly basis, many of the things that are forbidden in the Bible in order to be admitted to Heaven. If all these things are on the same level in the bible, why is it that we find the need to hold homosexuality as the ultimate of sins? Like Sam, it bothers me that people pick and choose what values of the bible to hold dear and over look the others. If someone views himself or herself as a die-hard worshipper of Christianity they should hold all of the values of the bible to the same level. The Willard preacher is a prime example of this. He preaches all the values of the bible on the same level. Many people feel as though members of the LBGT community flaunt their lifestyle. But what is their lifestyle; it is the same as members of the straight community. Members of the LBGT community don’t flaunt their lifestyle; members of the straight community simply just notice it more. To members of the straight community it is easy to point out two guys or girls holding each other than a heterosexual couple that is constantly over looked. I think one day in the future like when I have a family of my own, the issue of discrimination against members of the LBGT community be whipped out much like the issues of segregation during the civil rights movement. Not too long ago many people used to believe they were superior to other people solely on the merit of skin color and race. Look how far we have come in such a short time, it can only improve until all members of all races and communities are truly viewed as equal.

I thought this lecture was very interesting and it defiantly changed the way I view the LBGT community. I used to feel indifferent about the LBGT community. Along the lines of let the people in the LBGT community do whatever they want as long as it doesn’t affect me. After this lecture I strongly feel as though the people in the LBGT community have the same rights as everyone else. The relationship between LBGT prejudice and different cultures is undeniable. I personally feel that members of the LBGT community suffered more discrimination and hatred than any group of any race. Members of every race constantly discriminate against members of the LBGT community. I am sure Sam surprised a lot of students with his analysis of the bible and other holy books in regards to the LBGT community. As we all know many people use the holy books to justify their prejudices for members of the LBGT community. Well, according to the strict guidelines of the bible we are all not going to Heaven. I think most people can agree that we have all done or do on weekly basis, many of the things that are forbidden in the Bible in order to be admitted to Heaven. If all these things are on the same level in the bible, why is it that we find the need to hold homosexuality as the ultimate of sins? Like Sam, it bothers me that people pick and choose what values of the bible to hold dear and over look the others. If someone views himself or herself as a die-hard worshipper of Christianity they should hold all of the values of the bible to the same level. The Willard preacher is a prime example of this. He preaches all the values of the bible on the same level. Many people feel as though members of the LBGT community flaunt their lifestyle. But what is their lifestyle; it is the same as members of the straight community. Members of the LBGT community don’t flaunt their lifestyle; members of the straight community simply just notice it more. To members of the straight community it is easy to point out two guys or girls holding each other than a heterosexual couple that is constantly over looked. I think one day in the future like when I have a family of my own, the issue of discrimination against members of the LBGT community be whipped out much like the issues of segregation during the civil rights movement. Not too long ago many people used to believe they were superior to other people solely on the merit of skin color and race. Look how far we have come in such a short time, it can only improve until all members of all races and communities are truly viewed as equal.

I thought the experiment with the dolls was extremely interesting and thought provoking. It just demonstrates how deeply racism and discrimination is still rooted in society today. It’s so strong to the point where children are brainwashed into thinking they are superior or inferior, good or bad based on the category of race. The saddest part is when the experimenter asked the child to identify who was the good doll and the subject picked the white doll. Who was the bad doll and she picked the black doll and if she knew what race she was and she did. The horrifying experiment demonstrates how some races are taught from a very young age to feel different and inferior to other races.

I thought this lecture was the most thought provoking and eye opening of any of the lectures regarding race so far. I thought it was really crazy to see statistical evidence and experiments of discrimination and to see a culture from another person’s eyes. I found the results of the experiment for housing very surprising. I’m sure this opened a lot of people eyes to the undeniable fact that racism still exists today. It was amazing that just by changing your voice and a name could elicit such prejudice judgment. But when the stereotypical white guy came to the phone everything was available after it was denied to other people because of their race or disabilities. Its like anything that is not able-bodied white is beneath them. One of the parts I could relate to was when the black girls were discussing their kinky hair and skin. The black girls were telling how they would make such an effort in an attempt to hide their kinky hair or straighten it constantly. Even the one part when the girls mother told her not to wear her hair kinky because she “looked African”. Also when light skinned black girls are considered lucky because they are closer to being white. I found it surprising that mothers would use creams on themselves and their children in an attempt to become lighter skinned. I found this really interesting because I can relate some of these situations to my family. I’m half Colombian and Egyptian but I’m very light skinned. My darker cousins used to always complement me and say how beautiful by skin was. I thought that was crazy because as a light skinned person I wanted to be tan or darker and never really understood what they meant by that. I actually thought they were making fun of me. I also have an aunt who used to use the bleach cream in order to try and make her skin lighter. When I asked her why she said “I just want to be lighter.” I never understood this as a person who is perceived as white until this class. My sister used to have what I thought was the coolest curly hair. Like tight curls that was basically a hanging Afro. As a guy I thought it was he coolest thing ever but she hated her kinky hair and makes it an event to get her hair permanently straightened twice a year. I found the LL Bean catalog part of the lecture very interesting because there are two sides to that argument. As a company you want your product to be open to all races. But as a white person you may think that the black people featured in the magazine are trying to be like them and accepted. But as a black person you may think these people are trying to be white and have “sold out” their race. So where is the medium where people are just people regardless of race.

I also found this lecture really interesting and eye opening. I can defiantly see your points when you elaborated on “race credentials” or proving your race. Once a person sees you in a certain light or as a racist there is no changing their minds. Everything from that point on they will interpret as prejudice. The weirdest thing is that there is no set standard or rules of what people interpret as racist. Every individual of every group has a different ideology of what it means to be a part of that group and their own definition of what might be considered racist. As we learned in class what might be considered prejudice to one person may be completely appropriate for the next.