I've never really thought about it in the comparison to the horrific event of the world trade centers. When the guest speaker told us that 3,000 had died in 9/11 and 300,000 had died in the earthquake of haiti it blew my mind. I never compared the two i just thought as both of them being two of the most horrific tragedies ever. Why didn't our nation mourn like they did when they did for 9/11, we just did what we did to help and kept living our lives. In my mind thats just insane. Not only were 300,000 people killed but close to 3 million were affected and yet they ones who did survive have nothing left, no where to go, nothing to eat, family members are gone and they are just suppose to keep living each day one by one. Even though many countries responded to appeals for humanitarian aid, pledging funds and dispatching rescue and medical teams, engineers and support personnel, do we still expect them to just keep living their lives after all theyve been through? I mean would you? we lose one person in our family in thats a huge deal to us, can you imagine losing your whole family and just expect to live your life with what you have now even though youve just lost everyone in your family? To think that someone you loved so much is gone because of an earthquake that took 30 seconds and yes people are helping and trying to do what they can but that only fixes your physical needs not with how you feel emotionally. Iv personally lost my grandparents and that to me was the end of the world after taking the right time and being with my family thats what heals you, but to lose several of your family members and not be able to have that mourning process with the rest of your family and have that time to yourself because the rest of haiti is going through it, all you have is strangers to release the emotions that you feel. Some people feel that they didnt mourn after knowing what happened because we could not do anything about it. we couldnt change what happened so people will just do what they can to help and move on. I personally took 9/11 to hearth and felt for those people for months and months but i feel much more ashamed now that i know how many people really died in haiti and everything that they went through and my emotions wernt the same between the two horrible tragedies. I feel people are just being ignorant too because just because haiti did not happen in the United States that doesnt mean that they shouldnt care so thats something to think about.

Obviously, speaking chinese is only useful to us who speak english and any other language when dealing with chinese people, but there are about a billion of them and the country is opening up more. You can argue that this is the language of the future, with huge untapped markets for so many things that the need for Western people speaking chinese can only go up. Learning chinese is considered so difficult and so few people actually take the time to do it that it seems that if you say that you speak it the only attitude you're likely to meet is disbelief. Too bad because on the face of it, this is probably the most difficult language you can learn and is really truly and accomplishment to do when you are not fluent in it. I think it would be really a good thing to have its taking another step forward in our country and in fact opening up more because earning chinese is considered so difficult and so few people actually do it that it seems that if you say that you speak it the only attitude you're likely to meet is disbelief. Too bad because on the face of it, this is probably the most difficult language you can learn but mandarin chinese is only spoken in mainland China, not in Taiwan nor in Honk Hong. That means that outside China, you are likely to meet people who speak another dialect, like cantonese. This makes it a little more difficult because then you look at it as when would you actually use this language if you didn't live there. Iv'e taken Spanish before and still can not speak it fluently but i think in the end it would really open up our society. They also say that Chinese is a very logical language, and it is easy to learn for English speakers. Many other Chinese learning students from around the world also tend to agree and that is a positive sign. Some people argue that Chinese is difficult because it is a tonal language, and the writing system takes a lot of memorization. I was doing some research and at Los Angeles Chinese Learning Center, they said the students there after two classes or two sessions of private lessons, often come to believe that Chinese is a very logical language. It makes perfect sense to me, we study all these other languages why not this one? It will be more useful to ones more than others but I still think its a great option to have because whether some want to face it or not we have international relations everywhere and it will help you in the long run.

In no way do i wanna be offensive in anyway but I believe people like this are ignorant. Sam is not asking you to change your mind and think a certain way but at least to open your mind and think about it first. When you have a closed mine it just makes everything so much more different. I am learning a lot from this class. Sam's not telling us how to think or what the right thing to believe is but as we have our beliefs and think the things we think, to have an open mind about it. If everyone had closed minds we wouldn't be anywhere in the world more people would be ignorant and of course no one would hear anyone out. I think this is ultimately a problem, just because you're taught one thing i understand you'll always in a way believe in that but where does it ever say you can change your opinion or even think about having a different view on it. It's necessary to be able to listen to other people if you want to do well/function in any social situations.The best way to learn how to improve is to listen to other's opinions or you or your performance. . If you want to be able to get along with most people, you will have to be able to seriously consider everyone's opinion.I cannot say for you, but I genuinely enjoy being around people. If you don't care what other people say then you cannot let the opinions of others control you, and sometimes it's best to disregard them entirely in order to accomplish anything. But yes, to answer your question, I do care about other's opions, and I think everyone should to an extent but in the end it id ignorant not too. You need to be able to listen to all opinions, positive or otherwise but I know you already know that. and also be able to function without it controlling you. Its also Its your personal decision. I always take in any advice from anyone who is worthy of giving an advice on a certain thing. Take everything with a grain of salt. Listen to the wisdom of others, for they may help you to avoid mistakes they have made and give you hindsight. I think you'll be better off in the long run but thats my opinion. Im not saying all my opinions have changed but its actually meant something to me to now hold these opinions without having an open mind and that is what this class has allowed me to do and i am thankful for that because sometimes that is all it takes and from now on that is always how ill be.

I think its weird to me that people are unsure of their race when they are filling out their own census. The part of the census that has to do with race and people are confused with about this as if they do not know what to put is just really bad. I understand people have issues with this but it really is not that hard. When you are a part of a certain racial group, you know. You know what you are because your race potentially makes you who you are. At least that is how the world works today in my point. Even if you are more then one race you still have a dominant race that makes you who you are and is what your family came from. Even so do they really have that many options of what you are. I agree that it would be more difficult for Americans to fill it out because there are a lot of options and people think in to depth of what they really are when its your natural background and who you really are should not take that much to have to think about it. You should never have to hesitate on what you are and who you are. its a very interesting topic to bring up, are people really thinking in detail about this and just really do not know their race? I feel like this is something you learn growing up when you're little, as your family tells you stories about who you are and who they are and how you got there. That's what my family did, they taught me and my brothers who we are and to be prod of our background and that should never be a confusing thing. I know some people questioned the question on Latinidad (on the form it says “Hispanic Origin”) followed by race. I have read that many Latinos struggle with the concepts of race as they play out in the United States. For example, my mother and sister blame me and the way I filled out the 2000 Census for the visit by a census worker. Maybe cause I am not Latino i fully do not understand this but this brings up a serious issue to some people for them to think they do not know what to put on the census. One girl claimed "I don’t claim Afro-Latinidad, as that hasn’t been my personal identity experience growing up to now but I also don’t claim whiteness, as my experiences do not reflect that reality either. Rather, as a Puerto Rican I identify as mixed race, including “white” Spanish colonial roots, African roots, and Indigenous. So, I check off all three." Why is it that one has to check off more then one, I think there is a problem with how the census is done that there is so many options and that fact people feel obligated to put more then one and not their dominant one.

Reading this just blows my mind. I cant believe that people stand in power to do this as if they are proud to be about this and stand up for this as the represent it. Its down right embarrassing to me as a human being that such could act this way after how far our society has come. They were all abusive, derogatory and even racist behavior and yet this was all directed at House Democrats. As I was reading many articles I just can not believe what was shouted to these people as if they are not human beings and as if they do not have the same rights they do. Where do they come off saying these things? Nothing makes me more mad then people thinking they have more power over other people and they can say these hatred and hurtful things to them. I liked the one comment that the congressman stated when he said "It doesn't make me nervous as all," the congressman said, when asked how the mob-like atmosphere made him feel. "In fact, as I said to one heckler, I am the hardest person in the world to intimidate, so they better go somewhere else." That is the kind of attitude you need to have towards these ignorant people who think they can just do this. In many ways how is what they are going against even about health care I saw a statement from the same congressman who said "A lot of us have been saying for a long time that much of this, much of this is not about health care a all. And I think a lot of those people today demonstrated that this is not about health care it is about trying to extend a basic fundamental right to people who are less powerful." I am still in aw about all of this, I just do not understand why they have to take it there with racial slurs and ignorant comments. It is all really not necessary at all. Not only were things said but it was reported that a brick was thrown into the Apple Avenue office? What do that exactly prove? You throw a brick in a office and this makes you what? look stupid? They need to think about their actions and words more because they are not making themselves look good just keep proving to us how ignorant they really are, I don't think I can use the word ignorant enough. The pictures just also make me so mad. Who are these people and what right do you have over us to do this? Yeah I get expressing your opinion and how it is free to do it in America but did you have to take it to this level? There is such thing about being mature, Im 21 and I think its a very good possibility I am way more mature and can handle how I feel more mature then them, people need to wake up

I don't see how some people aren't thinking this is a big deal. Our society today is taught that a man does this job. When have you ever seen a woman coach at a high school level. The competition is at its prime as this time and many believe that a woman is not suitable for this job while I think it's awesome. Some women love sports just as much as men do and to get this kind of oppertunity is just incredible and it is saying a lot for our society today and how it is changing slowly. I don't think its going to be easy but reading what I have on her and doing some reaserch she says that she is going to be just as hard on them as any man would. We ask ourselves how these boys are going to handle her? Are they going to take her seriously? How about her assistant coaches, how do they feel about taking orders and letting a woman in charge? I think this is great and something that nobody expected. I also think its great that not only is she a women but shes african american and our ways of a society is changing but in my opinion its for the better. It's a very big step for women, I don't see how you can think its not. Of course there is going to be some problems, that doesn't change that it is such a huge step for us. Its not that women have been capable, were cabable to do anything just like men but its about how we werent accepted to do it and to me theres a difference. I think its very inspirational for all women to read about and to know that they can achieve anything and be accepted for it. Yes she needs to live up to everyones expectations but if she stayes hard at work and focused no one else should matter except her and her team. I think shes going to do great things. After reading the articles it looks as if the players are loving her. They see passed that she is a woman and she can do just as great things as a coach as any man. The real test will be when the first game is but i think it'll be very exciting. Shes going to be tough as nails on them and I think that is going to be very impressive. I know that theres women coaches out there but mainly it's with girl teams so indeed it is a big step to be coaching an all boy team in a competitive sport such as football. I think it'll be good in the end and it is a very big step for our society.

After watching this video I never really took into consideration and thought about this but as she was saying how its basically all white contestants and the bachelor and bachelorette are white it really makes you think. News week did an article that was asking the same question. It seems that after 13 seasons of the Bachelor and 4 seasons of the Bachelorette that there'd at least by now, have been a Black, Asian, Native American, Hispanic, or multiracial main character. While I do not know if this has been deliberate on the part of ABC, it does seem to be a little weird to me. Because there haven't been any people of color since the inceptions of the show. Are Vh1 and MTV the only networks that people of color can expect to find love? This subject actually bothers me because you would think they would know this is a serious issue or maybe even gain more viewers if they would do this? Are they afraid they will lose viewers by doing this? It just doesn't make sense. I would assume that the Bachelor is asked what he is looking for in a woman and would probably feel more comfortable with a person of his own race. You can't really fault him or her for that. But then on the you would think they would eventually or one time pick a women or man of color so that their preferences will be mixed or something different than just white women and men. I think they are going for a particular market, which is single young females and males. They are probably picking a bachelor that they think that group could most see themselves with. I think it would be nice to see a bachelor of a different race, but that would probably be a long time coming or so they are making it seem. We are so funny about race in this country the next issue would be...if the bachelor is of a difference race, should the contestants also be? There are so many sides to this and different ways to look at it. I have seen this question many times. I have no idea why there has neve been a bachelor or bachelorette who is not white. Melissa, who Jake dumped for Molly could have been the closest to having a Hispanic bachelorette, but she declined. This show is of course not the only show like this either and also there are shows that have different races in it including America's Next Top Model Beauty and the Geek, American Idol, Flavor of Love, College Hill,etc. In the end I think this issue can be taken care of and every time they cast for a show why don't they see this I personally think they need to open their eyes a little more.

In a recent study i looked at it showed that black men are six times more likely to go to jail than white men are. Whether its accurate or not some asked if it was because you think they are deprived economically? They have few choices of landing good jobs due to racism? Or is it their natural racial characteristics? To me i think no, it is not natural racial characteristics. black folk are not predispostioned to crime. it is generally due to the fact that more black people are raised in poverty compared to white people. because of this poverty, they don't have the same access to a good education and school programs to educate and occupy them after school. Any person can get into trouble if they don't have the education for a good job and a lot of free time on their hands. Personally, from what I have seen, and this is my opinion only, criminality is not dependent on ethnicity. I have not seen, myself, any indication that any ethnicity, when they have the same socioeconomic standing and general upbringing, has any greater or lesser proclivity to violence and crime. On another hand it is said that 25% of blacks live in poverty. Poor people are far more likely to wind up in jail than rich people. Because more blacks are poor they are more likely to be in jail. Some say that in their opinion the issue is also far more complex then your several line thesis could even begin to explain. Whites make up a bigger percentage of the population, so naturally, they will be arrested more. Its just a numbers issue. The alarming fact is that blacks are arrested at such a high rate. So how is it that white people make a bigger percentage of the population but blacks are put in jail more and there are less of them just makes you wonder in some cases. In 2002 A new study in the US has shown that while 603,000 black US men are going to college or university, 790,000 are in prison. In the last 20 years, 5 times as many black men have been sent to prison than before that. I'm not sure of the statistics that stand now in the year 2010 but that really makes you sit back and think. Hopefully the statistics are not that crucial anymore and things are starting to change for the better but as far as the court system goes it's hard to say based on individual judges and what they decide to do and will ever in our life be a fair system. Other statics show standing of where black and white races are in jail but as far as the court system and trying to predict where the judges stand on their outlook of who should go to jail and who should not i really think it all depends on them and is hard to say.

In my opinion lesbian couples are more accepted in our society in comparison to men who are homosexual and are in relationships. Lesbians are becoming more visible, including being increasingly portrayed by the Media on television shows like Ellen and Roseanne. It was a really big deal when Ellen DeGeneres came out on TV, and when they staged a lesbian marriage ceremony on Friends; they got huge media attention not because they were already accepted, but because people hadn't really seen it before. This increases exposure is helping lesbians gain acceptance by our society. I also think that gay males not being as accepted comes more from the male sexual drive that any stereotype about gay males. It is my impression that men are far more interested in having two females in bed than women are interested in having two men. Women are more accepting of gay males than are men, but they tend not to be as vocal about this. Another measure of acceptance is prevalence in the media. There have been gay male characters in the mainstream media. Another point to this about gay couples is the AIDS crisis has made gay men much more visible than lesbians. While this has perhaps attached a stigma of disease to gay men, it has also mobilized them as a community into high-profile, politically powerful organizations like GMHC and ACT UP. On a different note in our society today most guys (straight) would love to see lesbians in action rather than guys in action. As for girls (straight), most don't mind other lesbian girls but would rather see them in action rather than guys in action. However, this is not to say that all straight men accept all gay women or anything like that. I am not belittling how tough it is for gay women because they have to go through persecution due to their sexuality just like gay men. However, I believe that they are more readily accepted than gay men, but that both gay men and women are becoming more accepted overall as time goes by. This is for the American culture I have read that in the Philippines, gay men are more accepted than lesbians. lesbians are frowned upon and is always stereotyped. Men just simply have this idea that to be gay is just not manly and for anyone who has a problem with it just doesn't make sense to me because it's not hurting you or involving you. On the other hand when in comes to intercourse between women and women and between males and males, lesbians in fact they cant do anything with each other they can just irritate each other but in a relationship between gays is not like that .they can do many things.

Language to me is all about your culture. How you speak and the language you use tells everything about you. Not only does it tell everything about you but there's a whole history behind it and to think about how a language can just die out like that blows my mind. Ive read that Languages change over time. What were once dialects of the same language may eventually diverge enough that they are no longer mutually intelligible. They have become separate languages. To me languages are passed on through stories upon many generations and that's how we learn about our pasts and our families pasts. One method to illustrate the relationship between such divergent yet related languages is to construct family trees. We learn everything by our language and through language. This is why we have the different languages and how they came about, god invented them. If you could somehow raise a group of children without exposing them to a language, the children would invent their own language over time. They would come up with a word for anything, but it could be any sound at all. They would also come up with rules that control how words fit together. Then they would start passing this language down to their children. This is a perfect example of what families do and what goes on through generation and generation. We pass on our languages and share experiences to let our children and families members aware of everything that we've been through and things that are important to us. I don't see how something as important as a language can fall off and just not be used anymore. This process happened many times on Earth to many different isolated groups of people, so there are hundreds of languages on Earth today. Out language shapes the way we think and process. It shapes the way we see the world. Research in the labs at Stanford University believe that people who speak different languages do indeed think differently and that even flukes of grammar can profoundly affect how we see the world. All of us believe that language is a uniquely human gift, central to our experience of being human. Appreciating its role in constructing our mental lives brings us one step closer to understanding the very nature of humanity. Language is a very important role in all of society. It's what brings cultures together and to unite so we can all be in understanding of each other. When people communicate of different speaking cultures, i think that is truly amazing and is a gift to have. Different languages are beautiful and something that we should all apprieciate because with understanding each other when talking in different languages that is a true gift.