My opinion on illegal immigration has certainly changed. Before this class, I did not really like illegal immigration. I thought that it was stupid that people were using all their time and effort to try to come here, when they could be trying to better their own countries. It just seemed the easy way out to me, but it did not really bother me. I think this is because, personally, I felt like illegal immigration did not really affect me.
Now that I have attended class and started to think about the topic of illegal immigration more objectively, I have come to realize that illegal immigration is not really such a bad thing. One thing that really changed my view was that, as Sam said, we are all descendants of immigrants. This country would not be what it is today, had we not all immigrated here. It’s funny to think about what if the Indians had prevented us from coming here like some people suggest we do now to the illegal immigrants? Another thing that changed my view was that I came to realize I can’t blame them for wanting to leave a start anew. I now understand that changing how a country runs is a lot of work, and that it is not realistic of me to expect people to do that when I know I would not be able to do it myself. Thirdly, I came to realize immigration is not that bad because it would cost too much to keep them out, and the jobs they are taking are the ones that most Americans would not even want to have. Not only this, but they are willing to get paid less. I think based upon that, immigration seems like a good thing for our country. I mean, they are basically some of our hardest working and most needed workers, so why wouldn’t we want them in our country?
So, this makes me wonder why most people in America are so against illegal immigrants. Personally, I think that it is because people do not understand what life is like in other countries, but mostly because they don’t understand people from other cultures. This is because they do not totally conform to the rest of our society. It makes people nervous, so they want to get rid of them. Add on somebody’s idea that they may be taking our jobs, they will use our up our tax dollars, they don’t speak like us, they have a different culture, and basically the possibility that they might change things, and people really start to dislike them. However, like I said this is not the case at all. They are actually not that bad for our country, and anyways, like Sam said in class, we can’t stop it, so why don’t we just embrace it? Why don’t we embrace the compliment these immigrants our giving our country by working so hard and risking everything to come to our country? In fact, shouldn’t we be honored to help these people?

I must say that I really felt something about Sam’s lecture on Native Americans. This might have to do with the fact that my grandma claims we have some Native American in our blood. After attending Sam’s lectures, I’m not so sure I believe it. But anyways, I think this is what made me pay a little more attention to this topic. What I heard and saw in this lecture, made me angry. I cannot believe nobody is talking about what is happening with the Native Americans. It seems to me after learning about how Native Americans have the highest poverty rates, amount of suicide, and crime, that instead of just focusing on what the whites have done to the black people, we should be talking about what they whites have done to the Native Americans as well.
I know that we cannot control what our ancestors have done, but we can control what we are doing now. Right now, we seem to be taking a blind eye at what is going on with the Native American people. Yet, at the same time it seems like the United States is helping out everyone else. The worst part is that we are not only ignoring their plight, but continuing what our ancestors left off doing. Our ancestors kicked them out of their rightful homes, took their resources, and killed their people. And what have we done to say sorry? Continue to make their lives a living hell by not only ignoring them, but committing even more violent acts against them and calling them nasty names on a daily basis. I must say, this all makes me very angry, but the fact that people are still calling names especially does. I didn’t even know there were derogatory names for Native American people. I thought that nobody would dare do so after the history we have had with them. I just really don’t understand why. They haven’t done anything to us. If anyone should be calling anyone names it should be them to us. They have more of a right to.
So why aren’t we helping them? Maybe it is as Sam said in class. Maybe people are afraid that if we acknowledge it, then people will thing bad of the United States. Well, so what? We look even worse for not doing so. In fact, that news video we saw in class embarrassed me. I don’t want other people to see that and think badly of me and my country because we are doing nothing about it. Plus, it is our duty to help them out. Who cares what we look like when it is the right thing to do? I find it ironic that as Americans we look down upon the Germans so much because of what they did to the Jews when we, ourselves, essentially did the same things to the Indians. We don’t even talk about it. In school the whole thing is sugar coated. We are never really told of all the bad things we did to them. I think we should. We should remind our future generations of the things we did so we can insure it does not happen again in the future. As an aspiring teacher, I am going to try to do that.
Overall, what we are doing to the Native Americans is wrong, and fixing it should be our number one priority. We owe it to them and ourselves.

After coming to class on Tuesday, I definitely feel like I am more informed about what is going on with the war. In fact, I’m still pondering about some of the information that Sam gave us. Before this class, I really did not know much about the war. I knew that the reason we were there was to get revenge and put an end to the terrorists for what they did on 9/11. However, I had my doubts about this reason and really wondered why we were still over there. As for the terrorists, I basically thought that they were crazy and that they had no basis for their hatred of us. I thought maybe they might even just be jealous of America. However, now I’m not so sure about any of my original assumptions.
Now I think that maybe there is more to this war than just revenge and fighting terror. I think that oil and our countries dependence on it may be the reason we are fighting it. I believe that the terrorist attacks were the catalyst that allowed people to have an excuse to take over Iraq’s assets. I mean it makes sense. They have one of the biggest supplies, and we don’t. They are a torn country that’s not very strong, so why not “help” them out, get rid of the crazy people bombing us, and get “our” oil that we so desperately need? Sounds like a win, win. However, it is not. We are not helping the Iraq, we are hurting them by taking away their resources and freedom.
As for terrorism and the terrorists themselves, I feel like Sam does. I understand why they would do some of the things they have done, but I do not think it is right or condone it. It really hit home when Sam gave the example of the Chinese coming over and stealing our natural resources. I know if that happened here, we would fight back tooth and nail. I would probably be one of them. Look at the American Revolution. Britain was using our resources and telling us what to do and we fought back to the death as denoted in the famous quote “give me liberty or give me death.” This is sort of like what we are doing to the people of Iraq. We went into their country and are now taking their resources and telling them how to run their country. I can see why they would be mad. This isn’t the only reason I can understand why the terrorists do what they do. From the videos in class, I can see how they can hold outrageous beliefs about Americans. I know if I (as person living in Iraq) was shown one of those videos, I probably wouldn’t question it, and be really mad. All this said, I still think what they are doing is wrong. There is no excuse for taking people’s lives (unfortunately innocent ones too) without even knowing both sides of the story and respecting them. This would be that not all Americans are the “Christian Invaders” we are made out to be. There is no excuse for the bombings and attacks they have done. However, terrorists are the only ones who are doing this. Americans are just as guilty of killing the innocent and not understanding the wrong they are doing (or at least I hope they don’t see the wrong they are doing by taking over the oil industry in Iraq).
Overall, I feel like I understand both sides of the war better \ after Tuesdays lecture. I’m not sure how the war will end. Perhaps everyone, including the people of Iraq, should attend Sam’s lecture so they can understand. But, for now I feel as long as Iraq has terrorists and large supplies of oil, there will still be conflict between us. Maybe this is just another reason why we should end our sick obsession with oil

I am on the fence as to whether or not I would be willing to learn a new language for a job. However, I do think that depending on certain factors, I probably would. One reason I would learn a new language for a job is that it would give me the push or excuse to actually do it. I think it would be really cool to learn a different language. I am always eager to learn new words or phrases in other languages and take pride in the fact that I can say “how are you?” in three different languages. Also, even though I no longer take Spanish, I am still learning. My Chinese friends are teaching me how to say a few things and write my name in Chinese, and when my boyfriend was taking French, I had him teach me a few swear words. Another reason why I would learn a new language for a job is if I really wanted the job and it paid well. I feel like if it was just your average job, it would not be worth trying to learn a foreign language for. I find this especially so because in the past I have struggled with learning new languages in academic settings. Thirdly, I think a reason I would take a job that required me to learn a language is that it would be a useful skill to have. As was said in class, we are becoming a more global society. This means we have to work and communicate with people all over the world, and a key factor in that is language. Obviously, knowing more than one language would make you better able to communicate with people globally and ultimately make you and your company better off. Not only will knowing a language be useful in the job market, but also if you wanted to travel abroad. I know that one of my goals in life is to see the world. I really want to go to Europe and the Caribbean. If I learned another language, it might help me communicate with people, and understand the cultures even more.
Yet, I still have some qualms about if I would really do it for a job. One qualm I have is that when I tried to learn Spanish, I really struggled. I found that it was hard for me to pick up, and it was the class I struggled the most with in high school. Another apprehension I have is that I doubt I would be able to speak it well enough. It takes years for someone to become fluent, and even then they still mess some things up. I would feel that if a job asked me to learn a language, I would only have a short period of time to do so and that would be very stressful. Plus, even if I was able to learn enough to communicate, I feel that my lack of mastery would make me appear incompetent to the people I was working with that can speak fluently.
All in all, I actually have been thinking about this question. I am an Elementary Education major. I know that there is a lot of competition for teaching positions. In order to up my chances of getting a job, I have considered adding a Spanish minor or American Sign Language minor to degree because I have heard that it can help you get a job in this economy. I also think that these would be really great skills to have in the classroom for communicating to parents who don’t speak English as well as to incorporate into my lessons. I believe the earlier you are exposed to a language the better off you are. I really wish they had made my generation learn a language when we were younger, and I think that we should definitely implement a second language into the curricula. After all, other countries do it and it would keep us competitive as the world becomes more interconnected. Overall, it is unrealistic to think that it’s ok to only speak English, so maybe we all should learn another language not only for a job but for ourselves as well.

Personally, I do not have a problem with interracial relationships. I think that falling in love with someone is blind when it comes to race or color. In fact, I think it is great when I see people dating outside their race. I didn’t always feel this way, but I think I’m getting more used to seeing it and understanding it’s not that different from my friends’ interracial relationships. I think that when people start dating other races, that helps fight against racism. Dating, marrying, and having children with other races fully indicate that there really is no difference between us all. It also allows us to understand different races more because we are exposed to them more. Additionally, as Sam says, we are all soon going to be brown anyways, so why does it matter if we date outside of our own race?
I have not dated anyone that is outside of my race. I’m not sure why. I think it mostly has to do with the fact that I haven’t found one that has the qualities I am looking for in a man. However, call me weird, but I have always thought it would be cool to date someone outside my race. First of all, is because I find many of the men outside my race attractive. For instance, I came really close to dating an Asian guy in high school. We hung out all the time and I really liked him, but we ended up not dating because he had a crush on someone else. Yet, this isn’t the only time I have found people of different races attractive. I have met and seen some black and Mexican men that I would date in a hot second if I wasn’t already in a relationship. Secondly, I think it would be neat to learn firsthand what other cultures are really like. All in all, I think if I found a person that wasn’t of my race that had all the qualities that I adore in a guy (strong, tall, cute eyes, relaxed, funny, smart, etc) I would date them. It’s like they say “the heart wants what the heart wants,” and I feel race has nothing to do with it.
I think if I decided to date a person outside of my race, most of my family and friends would be accepting of it. I think that my parents would need a little adjustment time, but if he was a good guy they wouldn’t mind it. In fact, my mother dated an African American man when she was in college and her ex-boyfriend was Hispanic. Yet, her current partner, probably would not like if I dated a black man. He is extremely racist and probably wouldn’t invite him over. My grandparents probably wouldn’t be accepting either. It probably has to do with the era that they were raised where interracial relationships weren’t acceptable. Overall, the only way my mom’s boyfriend and grandparents would be ok with me dating outside my race is if they weren’t black or not catholic (one of my grandmas is really religious). I think my friends would be totally accepting of my choice to date outside of my race. This is because some of my friends are of a different race, and many have been in interracial relationships. For example, my best friend dated a guy that was African American the summer before we started college. He was a very nice guy, and they were just like any other same race couples I have seen. However, her parents highly disapproved and it caused their relationship a lot of stress. Based off this, I think it would be a lot harder to be in a interracial relationship than a same race one. Additionally, another of my friends has only ever dated African American men. I think she tried dating a man of her race but it didn’t last long. I guess it is like that saying, “Once you go black, you never go back.”
Overall, I think interracial relationships are great. They are helping to break down the walls of racism. I think it is important for people to know it is ok to date outside the box. Who knows? You may find the person you have always been looking for.

Reflecting upon how I felt about being white before Sociology 119, I do not think I ever felt guilty about being a white person. This mostly had to do with the fact that up until recently I did not realized how my white skin has given me an advantage in life. I think I knew it deep down, but I never really reflected upon it. I still do not feel guilty about my skin color because my skin color does not make me who I am as a person. Just because I am white does not mean I am like every other white person or like the ones that have lived before me. I did not set the way society is now. I did not do those horrible things that white people did in the past to other races such as enslaving African Americans, kicking Native Americans out of their homelands, nor did I kill hundreds of innocent Jews. No, what I feel is not guilt, but rather anger and sadness. I feel angry and sad about what my own race has done and are still continuing to do to people of a different race than themselves. I feel sad that my race has made other races feel so insignificant and ugly that they feel they have to lighten their skin to make them look nicer. This all makes me so incredibly angry. In fact, my mother’s racist boyfriend and I get into arguments all the time about this. Every time he says something about black people and how they are supposedly all lazy and don’t want to do anything, I feel like I just want to smack that nonsense out of him. I disagree with him. In fact, all my life I have tried my best to understand and be nice to all people no matter what race they are. I have exposed myself to as many different races as I can, and I love learning about people of races other than myself. I believe more people should do this. They should not feel ashamed and do nothing. People should just try to understand other races more. However, it is important to say that whites are not the only ones who have done bad things to others. All races have done things to other races that were not nice, but they too should not feel guilty about it. The past is in the past. We should all move on.
Yet, I have felt guilty on a related matter. I feel guilty that I have grown up living in a more privileged home in the regards to my family’s income. I do not have to put myself through school. I do not have to worry about taking the bus because my parents have provided me with a car. I know now, that because I am white, I have been given the opportunity to have these things passed down to me. I feel guilty for taking them for granted sometimes, but I do not think that I feel this specifically due to my race.
Overall, we should not feel guilty about whatever race we are no matter if we are black, white, or something else. I feel this way because we can’t change it. It’s not like we got to choose what racial group we are born into. Additionally, as Sam pointed out in class, feeling guilty will change nothing. Instead, we should strive to learn from the wrongs our races have done to others in order to build a better tomorrow.

Ever since Sam discussed affirmative action in a new light in class, I am really on the fence with how to answer this question. Before I took this class, I thought that affirmative action was really unfair. I thought that it gave minority groups an unfair advantage in obtaining a job or acquiring acceptance to a college. However, now I’m confused. I’m confused because in class we learned that whites in the past had their own affirmative action. Whites were given an unfair advantage which has helped lead them to where they are today. So now I’m wondering if affirmative action is really all that unfair. Is it their turn to be given more of an advantage, and is it going too far?
To answer the part of the question, I would say affirmative action for minorities was needed and may still be needed to an extent. They main reason for this is racism. Minority groups were being denied jobs that they were equally or more qualified for because they were not white. This was wrong. Affirmative action planned to stop that by forcing people to consider minority groups in their hiring process. I feel that interference was needed in order to making the playing field more equal for people who are in minority groups which, in the long run, was probably for the best. Let’s take another example of how society forced us to do something that is ultimately beneficial to us. It’s like when vaccines for children came out. Some people would have gotten their child the vaccine because they didn’t want their child to suffer, but some wouldn’t have if it wasn’t required in order for their child to go to school. This might have been because they were afraid to or didn't see why it was necessary. Ultimately, it forced people who did not want to see the benefits to do so and spared many children's lives and health. Affirmative action is like this. It forces people to hire or consider minority groups that might have ideas or knowledge that could benefit a business or university.
To answer the second part of the question, I do not think affirmative action is currently being taken too far. Personally, I haven’t heard of any specific cases where someone who was more qualified for a job was denied it to a person of the minority. However, this is probably happening. As with anything, I believe that affirmative action can be taken too far. But, there are actions that could be taken now to ensure that it does not. First of all, I feel there needs to be affirmative action in both respects. If minority groups hold the majority in some field, then whites should get affirmative action. Secondly, I feel that minority persons should have to prove that they are more qualified for the job or be accepted in a college than anyone else. However, I think the best thing would be for us to eventually phase out the need for affirmative action. Yet, as long as there is racism, there will be a need for it. All in all, affirmative action isn’t a totally horrible policy. It gives minority groups a chance that is much needed in a society that is still wrinkled with racism.

I am really happy that Sam threw out the issue of the poor white Americans in class the other day with the video about Tammy. Not only was it in some ways an eye-opener to me, but also to many of the other students who I think do not understand poor white people in our society as much as I do.
Sam’s class was an eye-opener to me in that I never realized how much poor white people are put down. I just never thought about it. But now that I have, I have come to realize that the poor white people are looked down b y society even more so than any other poor minority group. It is acceptable for us to make fun of hillbillies and hicks, but not as funny for us to make fun of other poor minority groups. This is not fair.
I don’t know if it has been my experience being around poor white people or what, but I feel really bad for the poor white community. Let me explain something first. It is in my personal opinion that there is both poor white people and poor black people, and I do not find them to be any different. I feel bad for them both equally, and I can see how at least half of their situation has to do with what happened to them in the past. They are poor because the rich, white people have kept them that way. For that, I am sympathetic to both groups. However, it seems like the plight of the poor white people is not talked about. They are looked down upon, I feel, even more than poor black or minority groups. It seems like it’s not as taboo to make fun of the poor white people as poor minority groups. This is unfair. Both groups should be helped. It is this unfairness that makes me think that the poor whites should be recognized just as much as poor minority groups should be.
I have been lucky enough to see two groups of poor people firsthand. When I was younger my mom needed a babysitter and the only one she could afford was located in the city with an African American woman named Nina. I spent the whole summer with her and her granddaughter. I saw how they couldn’t afford to fix the piping in their home so it leaked, and how cluttered their home was in comparison to mine. I also had the fortunate experience of seeing what poor white people were like. My mom met her boyfriend, Jim, when I was about ten. Jim came from the “hickville” of our area. He’s a trailer mechanic living in the backcountry. We went to visit his parent’s farm. While there, we saw their run-down barns brimming with junk, and animals running wild that were stick thin. I also saw how cluttered and how much Jim’s parents struggled to get by. Looking back on these first hand experiences, I have come to realize that while these people had two different skin colors, that was really the only difference between these two people’s lives. They were essentially in the same situation. They were poor. Both had unequal chances compared to the rich, white majority and myself. They both refused hand outs, tried to live the best they could with what they had, struggled to get by, and lived in rough conditions.
Based upon my experiences, I believe all poor people should be aided equally. It is our responsibility as society to help these people no matter their skin color. They are just like you and I. In fact, we could be them. All in all, no matter what race or ethnicity you are, poverty is bad. Nobody should have to live in it, and we should not sit back and pretend these people aren’t living in it (especially the poor white people).

In last couple of classes, Sam brought up an interesting statistic. This was that compared to high school graduates, college students/grads believe that success has more to do with who you know than what you know. Looking back on my experiences and beliefs, I would have to say my opinion on this matter has changed since I went to college. Before, I used to believe that if you were knowledgeable or “good” at something, then you would be successful. However, now I believe it is more about who you know.

I think the reason why I used to believe if you worked hard you would be successful was because this is what we were preached as children. Teachers, parents, and society drilled this message into our heads and still do. Just go into an elementary or high school and look at the posters on the wall or stand in on a class. We are taught the American Dream. We are told over and over again that if you work hard, anything can happen. Looking back on this, for that time in our lives, this seems true. Nowadays the whole goal of going to school is to go to college. In order to go to college everyone knows you need good grades, SAT scores, etc. If you do that, then you are pretty much set to go to a good college. For the most part this process has very little to do with who you know.
However, once we get into college this idea fades. We come to realize that the key to success isn’t all about how well you do in school; it is about who you know. I knew this before I went to college. My parents have always told me this, and I did see some examples of this. For instance, I’m 99.9% sure I didn’t get on the cheer leading squad because my mom didn’t know the moms in charge. However, I worked hard in school because I thought hard work would get me far in the professional world. Boy did this thought change when I got here. Now I definitely believe it is who you know. So far I have had many experiences of how knowing or not knowing someone determined whether or not I got the opportunity to do something. An example of this would be THON. I applied to be on one of the committees and they rejected me. I later found out from a member that it wasn’t anything I did, it was just that the overall wanted her friend on the committee and couldn’t fit me. This was disheartening, even though I got onto another committee I like better. Another example of how knowing people helped me was getting into Penn State. I’m a fourth generation Penn Stater and I missed the deadline for getting in. My dad called and pulled the alumni card and I got in. Granted, I had excellent grades and missing the deadline was not a mistake on my part, but I still feel that I wouldn’t have gotten an exception if I hadn’t have had that connection. Lastly, knowing people has helped me be successful in school. Having friends here helps me know which classes to take and which to avoid, helps school work (I know people who know how to do it), to know what is going on, to learn about the not-so-publicized jobs, and countless other opportunities that I wouldn’t have had without knowing someone.
Overall, I have come to believe, that success is more about who you know, and not about what you know. Think about it. Some of the most successful people in the world are those who know how to delegate. They know people who know how to do it and are good at putting resources together. So essentially, they got to be where they are because of who they know. Even my mom got to be where she is because of who she knew. She was one of the few to get an internship for her medical assisting school because she personally knew a doctor. This doctor wasn’t accepting internships, so she was the only one given that prestige opportunity. This leads me to wonder, does this mean that when we go to college our main concern should be networking, and not exactly the grades? That getting “C’s” is ok as long as you are meeting a lot of people? All in all, I feel that who you know helps you get your foot in the door to success and what you know helps you to achieve the rest.

I believe that both free-will and determinism have played a part in the way my life has turned out so far. As much as I would like to say the choices I made lead me to be where I am today, I can’t. Determinism has played a huge part in my life. I am a white female, come from an upper middle class family, and live in an affluent neighborhood with good schools. I realize that I was predisposition for success in life. So far, that has been true. Going to college was a given for me even though my parents didn’t expect me to. They both went to college and I always knew if I wanted to go, I could. I mean, why wouldn’t I? I realize I am very lucky to be going to college. My parents are paying for everything and they do not expect me to work while I am here. My job is school. I will come out in the next two years debt-free thanks to them. Yet, I did not choose to have parents who could afford to do so. (Although, that would be cool if you could). Thursday’s class reminded me just how lucky I am. I don’t have to work two jobs just to be able to go to college. I just have to show up to class. This makes me wonder. If my parents hadn’t have been able to afford to send me to a good school and give me all the things that they have, what would I be doing? I have a good work ethic, but I feel like I would be a totally different person. I would like to think I would be like one of my fellow classmates who works hard to improve their life by working their way through college, but I don’t know. It was a brainless decision for me to go to college. There was nothing preventing me from doing it, so I took it. But, I think that it would have been different if my parents couldn’t have afforded to help me.
Even though my parents could afford things and I am a white person, I don’t believe that is the only reason why I am where I am. From a young age I knew the key to making it in life was to do well in school. Knowing this, I pushed myself to be my best. My parents didn’t push me. They never told me to do my homework or that I needed to get “A’s” in school. I just did it. As a result of working hard, I got into this school. I choose to go to this school. I could have chosen not to try so hard and to do well. I didn’t though. I’m not saying I wasn’t predisposed to get to where I am today, but I am saying I played my part in it.
All in all, I believe both determinism and free-will affect the way our lives turn out. However, I feel like some things like a weak family socioeconomic status or going to a poor school make it harder for people to make their own choices. For example, it’s easy for a rich person to go to college, but it’s much harder for a poor one to and often easier for them to not and do something else. This doesn’t apply for everyone, but I feel this helps explain a lot. I know that I have been lucky, and I thank God for the cards I have been dealt. I really wish everyone was given the same ones. It isn’t fair.