en-us https://www.intensedebate.com/users/2402776 Comments by annajohnson6 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/04/19/why-does-society-dislike-immigrants-and-why-are-they-portrayed-badly-119-blog/#IDComment144382073 With certain groups of people they are going to do things that spark stereotypes, and even if the stereotypes are false eventually people are going to believe them. When people start to believe what everyone is saying soon they are going to be treated that way and that is where the mistreatment occurs. For as long as I can remember I have heard what people think of immigrants, both good and bad, and when I was younger I had trouble separating truth from fiction. In middle school one of my best friends was from Mexico, I loved her family but I had no idea some of them were illegal. They were always speaking Spanish in the privacy of their own home, but whenever they were in public they only spoke English. One day in one of our classes we were talking about our opinions about immigration and one kid went off on a rant about how illegal aliens and how bad they were. My friend was able to take it in stride and not let it get to her, but I was so angry. Nothing this guy was saying had any truth to it, it was just his opinion, and to this day I still say he had no idea what he was talking about. But regardless of all this it shows that people really can be influenced by what other people have to say. My friend told me that she accepted a long time ago that there were going to be people who were against them. She explained that as long as her family was fine that everything else didn’t matter. Everyone has their own opinion, but it was at time where I learned how people who are going through something like handle extreme criticism. For me I think that immigrants are extremely important and do a lot for us, but I can also understand how some people have serious issues with immigrants. I know how these people work, they have some of the best work ethic I have ever seen, and it is incredible. But as Dr. Richards pointed out in class today, whenever the government tries to get rid of all the immigrants it only leads to disaster. So while it makes it sense for people to have worries about all these people working for hardly any pay we need to remember that we actually need them for jobs that no one else wants to do. Another thing that could really help this issue is if the media would stop portraying immigrants so badly. What are people supposed to think of immigrants when they are portrayed as sneaky Mexicans who are trying to steal our jobs? People will always have opinions but it is how we act and treat people that really matters. Wed, 20 Apr 2011 02:34:37 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/04/19/why-does-society-dislike-immigrants-and-why-are-they-portrayed-badly-119-blog/#IDComment144382073 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/04/12/do-you-think-you-would-actively-try-to-not-benefit-from-nepotism-if-the-situation-presented-itself-119-blog/#IDComment143238050 After we learned about nepotism I went to my apartment and thought about how often I have benefited from nepotism, and what I discovered really shocked me. Over all in terms of my summer job and social life, I have not really benefited from nepotism. But when it comes to my education it hit me that almost all of the opportunities I have gotten so far were because of my connections. My parents work at this university so I had no trouble getting in, and I decided to major in the same thing that my parents did. I discovered just a couple days after making the decision to go to Penn State how many people my parents know. I had trouble getting into some of my classes so my mom sent out a few emails and that problem went away. About three weeks into my first semester I got really sick and was freaking out about missing classes, so my dad talked to some people and I had no trouble getting a make-up. My roommate was so jealous, but I didn’t think much of it because a lot of my friends from my high school had the same benefits as I did. To us this is perfectly normal; we have all grown up on this campus and know this university inside and out. What a lot of people don’t realize is that while we are given all of these opportunities, we have to prove that we deserve it. This semester and last semester I was a TA for two professors that my parents just happen to be friends with. My parents knowing the professor is probably what got me the position, but all the work I did is what showed them that I deserved being a TA. Going into a situation like that I’m not just trying to show how competent I am, but that my parents taught me well and I am able to do a good job representing them. It basically like “bring your child to work day” every single day. Even though Dr. Richards has had some bad experiences with kids of employees at the university the majority of us are just trying to live up to our parents. The local high school in State College is one of the top rated high schools in the country. We have a significant amount of people who get accepted into Schreyer’s and a bunch of other really great schools. So while there are some exceptions students that have parents who are employees at the University are just as capable at doing well as anyone else. My connections have given me so much so I have no plans to stop using them; everyone is allowed to use what they can. But I do hope that someday when I make my own connections that I will be able to help someone else. Fri, 15 Apr 2011 22:36:25 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/04/12/do-you-think-you-would-actively-try-to-not-benefit-from-nepotism-if-the-situation-presented-itself-119-blog/#IDComment143238050 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/03/29/do-you-ever-feel-uncomfortable-around-two-or-more-people-speaking-another-language-119-blog/#IDComment139214711 I feel bad for saying this, but I do tend to feel uncomfortable whenever a bunch of people are speaking another language around me. I know we are not supposed to say that and be more open minded when it comes to people of different cultures. But not knowing what people are saying right in front you is the part that makes me feel really uncomfortable. I guess it reminds me of middle school when those rude girls would tell secrets to one another right in front of the entire class, and all day you would be wondering if they were talking about you. I am aware that a person speaking different languages isn’t the same thing at all but the feelings are similar. When you are unsure what someone is saying it automatically makes you put your guard up, which can make anyone feel and act really uncomfortable. If someone can speak more than one language, more power to them. Chances are because they have that skill they will have way more opportunities than someone like me will, but I can’t help how it makes me feel. Personally I never had any interest in learning another language, but my situation is a little more complicated. I am a Latina, but my parents are white so I never learned Spanish which meant my parents were obsessed me learning the language. All they did was push class, after class, after class, and eventually it drove me to almost despise the language. I know that just because I had a bad experience with trying to learn Spanish doesn’t mean that languages are bad. Who knows maybe someday I’ll try to learn Spanish on my own terms. Until that day comes, which probably won’t be any time in the near future, I’ll just work on not being uncomfortable. However, maybe it’s just the people I know but some people really do find it odd and even annoying. Junior year my friends and I got our nails done for prom, of course all we did was gossip about who was going with who and other meaningless things. It wasn’t until half way through the appointment that one of my friends noticed all the women doing our nails were whispering in their local language. Mainly we were embarrassed and all assumed that they were talking about us, and it made the rest of our time really weird and uncomfortable. It’s not that any of us didn’t like the language they were speaking or had anything against them; we just wanted to know what they were saying. Honestly I think that’s the only thing people don’t like when other people are speaking different languages, not knowing what they are saying. I don’t think there is any racism involved, just people like me wanting to know what people are saying around them. Fri, 1 Apr 2011 22:43:31 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/03/29/do-you-ever-feel-uncomfortable-around-two-or-more-people-speaking-another-language-119-blog/#IDComment139214711 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/03/22/what-factors-in-your-race-make-it-difficult-to-date-outside-your-race-119-blog/#IDComment137577480 Whenever you consider dating or being in a relationship with someone there are a lot of factors people take into consideration. It’s important if they have a good life plan that they are nice decent, and of course that your friends approve. While many people can date someone whether their friends like them or not, it does make it a lot easier if your friends like the person you are involved with. And even though I really want to believe that race does not matter and should not be a factor when choosing someone to date unfortunately it does play a role in interracial dating. Personally I am Latina, so I have Tan skin and have done my fair share of interracial dating. I noticed that when I’m dating someone of a different race than friends they treat them differently. I went to prom with a guy who was African American, we were not in a relationship or anything but we just ended up going together, we were the minority couple of the group. My other friends dates, who did not know him, were saying stereotypical things that they thought he would think was funny and unfortunately he almost got into a fight with one of them. I think they all thought they had to act a certain way when they really didn’t, and I wasn’t any better. Whenever I meet his friends I made to sure to think through everything I said before I said it, I didn’t want to come off bad. Overall it was a lot of fun, but until writing this I didn’t notice how race related that evening was. One thing I noticed with my friends is that they acted totally normal whenever I introduced them to the white men I’ve dated. Since most of my close friends are white that is probably why they don’t act any differently. One thing that I am really interested to see with my friends is how they would act if I dated a Latino man. I’m sure a few jokes would be made here and there just for laughs, but I feel pretty confident that they would act at least act a little different. When it comes to me specifically there are no factors in my race that affect who date, because I go out with whoever I like. It does affect my friends though, I don’t ever think they act different on purpose it just comes naturally for them. I think that people in generally want other people to like them so they act in a way that they think is going to be well received by the other person. If I am right and that is why my friends act that way then it makes me happy they are putting in an effort. Fri, 25 Mar 2011 21:47:53 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/03/22/what-factors-in-your-race-make-it-difficult-to-date-outside-your-race-119-blog/#IDComment137577480 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/03/18/what-do-you-think-of-the-diversity-at-penn-state-119-blog/#IDComment135934012 At first glance, just walking around campus it seems that the Penn State campus is a really diverse, and full of every different race you could possibly imagine. However once you start your journey at the university and go into specific areas of study it becomes a little clearer that Penn State is not as diverse as one would think based on initial impressions. I personally took notice of this about half way through my first semester at Penn State. I was enrolled in Fast Start because I thought it would be a good way to meet new people and get some good advice about my major. While it was really helpful and I did meet some really nice people, I didn’t realize that it was only for minorities and I had trouble feeling comfortable being there. I am a minority but have spent all of my life around people who are white. I never learned how to be a minority. Although I have had experiences with discrimination, it someone did not seem like a minority experience. So even though Fast Start didn’t work for me personally, I was just really grateful Penn State had the program available to minority students. My sophomore year, I became a TA for a class that I really enjoyed my freshman year. When I started doing work, going to office hours and meeting other TA’s I realized that I was one of the only minorities in this particular Department. I had a discussion with some of my professors about it and they told me that it wasn’t surprising, which was really interesting to me. So I have seen Penn State at its best and worst when it comes to diversity. Even though Penn State isn’t perfect, I think the University has made tremendous progress and we can only go up from here. Now when it comes to if the diversity affected my decision to attend the University, I would have to say yes. In the back of my mind I knew there was no way I was going to any other school but it didn’t hurt to look at other schools. The schools I looked at seemed to be predominantly while. What I really liked about Penn State was that there were so many people; it’s one of schools where everyone can find their niche. I think my expectations about Penn State have become more reasonable over time. There are a lot of minorities here just because of the sheer number of students. However, Penn State does not always deal well with race issues and that there is some discomfort about discussing race. This class is the first opportunity I have had to engage in real conversations about race. Fri, 18 Mar 2011 23:30:58 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/03/18/what-do-you-think-of-the-diversity-at-penn-state-119-blog/#IDComment135934012 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/#IDComment133983980 I don’t know how someone cannot have at least a little bit of guilt when thinking about how unfortunate some people are in their lives. When I first really grasped the concept that I had to ability to do a lot of good with the resources I was lucky enough to have, I changed my entire life plan. I was sociology major who was planning on going all the way to a P.H.D and becoming a professor, doing a lot of publications, and eventually moving to Florida when I got old. After realizing what I could do,I decided to change my major from a BA in sociology to a BS instead so that way I could go to a nursing program after I graduate. Being trained as a nurse would give me the skills and abilities to work with programs such as Operation Smile which, with the volunteer help of doctors and nurses, performs free reconstructive surgeries for people with facial birth defects. I can’t change the situation I was born into and think about myself in a worse situation, all I have the ability to do is be thankful for everything I have and help people who are in need. This is a feeling I think all races can understand, and to say otherwise is pretty racist in itself. For example, I am from Peru and I know that there are a lot of people there who have beg for food on the streets. However, just because I am from there does not mean I relate to these people more than someone else just because we happened to be from the same place. Personally, I think that is one of the most ridiculous notions I have ever heard, actually it is pretty offensive. Compassion is compassion, it is not something that can be broken down and separated by color, size, and species it just is. There is a reason that people like Oprah, Angelina Jolie, and Matt Damon do the charity work they do. I’m sure they had an experience that increased their awareness of social issues similar to the one provided by Dr. Richards when he showed us the video about slaves during one class. Even though I do not like the idea of people feeling more compassion for others of the same race, I can understand that an individual would feel more inclined to help if they were someone who was really immersed in their culture/race. Perhaps this has to do with being attracted to people who are similar in some way whether that is race or social class. Clearly, these are very complicated issues and spending a lot of time feeling guilty will not change anything. Only action can change a situation and improve lives. Fri, 11 Mar 2011 00:26:15 +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/#IDComment133983980 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/02/08/how-have-the-choices-youve-made-and-determinism-affected-your-life-119-blog/#IDComment127452957 I personally agree with what Dr. Richards has been saying in class that our life outcome is made up of both determinism, and freedom. I am sure that some people were affected more by determinism than by free will and vice versa, but I like to think that the average person uses both pretty equally. For example, I was born in Lima, Peru but somehow I ended up living in State College PA. Being adopted by parents who just happened to be white and upper middle class was determinism/really good luck. However, as I keep thinking about this more and more I think that maybe my life was affected more by determinism than free will. All my decisions have unintentionally been affected by my parents; from my political views to deciding to come to Penn State they affected it all. I want to think that it was all free will and that I was one to shape who I am today, but the inner sociologist in me thinks that my social context had lot to do with it. If I had been adopted by a different set of parents then it is very likely that I probably would not even be at Penn State. At the same time I know a lot of people who are nothing like their parents and have decided to do things completely differently than they did. This is something that I can’t help but go back and forth on, because in the end I will never know for sure. I guess the way I have to look at it now is that all those decisions, whether they were made by determinism or free will were made. I cannot look back and think what if, I need to look at the future and think now that know all this information how is it going to define me. I know that because I am a minority I have some things that are going to be determined for me, but that is where the free will part comes into play. Even when people have to deal with situations where the odds are stacked against them, a person can have the power to turn everything around in their favor. This is probably a very, very optimistic view of life and I am sure on some level it is probably unrealistic, but for me optimism is better. What is really funny about all of this is that I’m basically back right where I started. Thinking that determinism and free will played almost equal parts in where I am right now. The only difference is that now I am aware of this and I can use everything I have learned in a positive way. Sat, 12 Feb 2011 01:55:32 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/02/08/how-have-the-choices-youve-made-and-determinism-affected-your-life-119-blog/#IDComment127452957 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/02/03/do-you-think-race-can-stop-being-an-issue-in-the-future-119-blog/#IDComment126053276 I love that Dr. Richards talked about how biology (genetics) has almost nothing to do with our appearance. It shows how similar we all are, and how the concept of race almost seems silly. All this science has been coming out to discredit the notion that race is related to biological differences, but for some reason people still make judgments about one another by race. It is a phenomenon that just cannot seem to go away, despite what anyone with creditability says. I almost want to make the argument that it is just instinctive for people to make assumptions about each other based on appearances. Kind of like a defense mechanism, if we have an idea about the person we are engaging with then it makes it easier to know what kind of situation we are getting ourselves into. Of course this is just a speculation that gives people the benefit of the doubt, the bottom line is we are all basically on the same level. Theoretically no one should have an advantage over another person based on the color of their skin, and any other physical features but that is just how it is. However, I know that it seems as if we have made so much progress on this issue than say 50 years ago, but as a culture we still have such a long way to go. Race is always being talked about, from the news to just one on one conversation. Yes we finally have our first black president but from the moment it was announced that Obama would be our president there were remarks that he only got the job because he is black. For every step forward there is two back, even when it comes to our president. This is why I am hesitant to think that in the future we are going to be on the same playing field when it comes to jobs and sports. Sports are really starting to make a lot more progression when it comes race. Michael Vick has really shown that skin color has nothing to do with how great of a quarterback he is. Unfortunately he had his big dog fighting scandal which put him a giant two steps back, but its progression none the less. So I think that it is defiantly a possibility that at some point in the very far future that we could all be on the same level when it comes to jobs and sports, but it will be a very long time. For now what all of us can do is just keep learning from Dr. Richards and try to not judge people by how look, no matter how instinctual it may be. Sat, 5 Feb 2011 02:14:17 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/02/03/do-you-think-race-can-stop-being-an-issue-in-the-future-119-blog/#IDComment126053276 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/01/26/why-do-we-associate-with-people-of-the-same-race-and-ethnicity-as-ourselves-119-blog/#IDComment124232864 It is a common stereotype that we associate with people of the same race and ethnicity as ourselves, and to be honest it makes perfect sense. Someone who is of the same race and ethnicity is more likely to have gone through similar experiences and it makes sense that we would gravitate towards those people who can best understand us. It does not mean that different races cannot get along. In fact, I both hope and expect that in the next 20 years this will not be as big of an issue as it is now. Because we have greater diversity now, I would expect that children would be more likely to both see and grow up with people who are of different races and ethnicities. I really think people just tend to hang out with individuals who have the same, interest, beliefs, and morals as they do. Race and ethnicity is not the main factor in this, it contributes to this relationship, but there are a lot more variables that influence this. For example, religion is another big factor that probably contributes to the people we associate with. In high school, another trend I noticed was people who were in the same sports and clubs would hang out with each other. Also, there is a lot of evidence that people tend to interact with others of the same educational level and social class. It all ties into the idea that similarities are what really bond us to each other not appearances. The best example I have of this is my own personal experience. I am South American Indian with a little bit of Latina in me but until college, I only had two friends who were Native American and a few other friends who were Latino. Most of the time my friends were predominately white; it is not that I did not get along with people of other races but I just made friends with people who happened to be white. I have come up with my own explanation about why this happened, and again it’s not that this is a bad thing, it’s just what happened. Both of my parents are white and raised me in that setting of being white. I grew up in two towns/cities that were predominantly white so that also reduced my exposure to Native Americans and Latinos. Since neither of my parents are minorities, they did not know how to teach me about being a minority. I was not raised in the culture of being Native American or Latino, the only things I know about my race are what I have researched on my own. It does not mean that I do not appreciate where my background is but I probably do not value it as much as a person who was raised in that culture. Now, I realize that my situation is the exception and that most people are raised in the same the culture that their backgrounds are from. Fri, 28 Jan 2011 02:04:31 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/01/26/why-do-we-associate-with-people-of-the-same-race-and-ethnicity-as-ourselves-119-blog/#IDComment124232864 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/01/18/what-do-you-think-blog-2/#IDComment122413409 I thought that it was a rather risky move for Dr. Richards to have us do the in class activity of grouping people into different categories based on their physical appearance. Essentially, he asked us to do what many of us probably do on a daily basis whether we are conscious of it or not; group people by their physical appearance. I don’t think it can be helped, and by the class’s reaction to the activity, I’d say that most of us are pretty good at it. Everyone, to some extent, is socialized to notice race. It doesn’t mean that it’s coming from a racist place; it’s just an awareness of differences. Personally, I think that people seem to be most interested when we cannot quickly place a person in one particular category as perhaps there is some need to place people into groups. During the in class activity, when the two girls were stumped on a person, people started shouting out different races until the girls made a decision. My favorite part of the activity was at the end when Dr. Richards had everyone in the participating group go around and tell the class where they are from. Of course, there were some people that the girls fit in the right category but there were other really interesting surprises. It made me think that if our class got that many people in the “wrong category” then what does that mean for our daily lives? I wonder how many people I could have thought were one race but were actually something completely different and, if I unconsciously treated them differently because of who I thought they were, a different race. That is a really scary thought. I would never want to think that I would do something like that but I very easily could have unfortunately. This also got me wondering how many people were offended by the class activity. I think because it is in a race relations class people are more open minded about what Dr. Richards was trying to show us. However, I did notice some people who really did not look happy about this whole thing that is including those were in the front of the classroom and those who were watching. It is perfectly understandable that a person would be offended if a very large group of people got their race completely wrong or had a big debate over it. It is also reasonable that a person could argue that the activity was almost a step backwards for racism. On the other hand, if the activity was eye opening and really got you to think about your attitudes and views on race then Dr. Richards accomplished something very worthwhile. Thu, 20 Jan 2011 02:42:29 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/01/18/what-do-you-think-blog-2/#IDComment122413409 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/01/10/last-name-%e2%80%9cj%e2%80%9d-%e2%80%93-intense-debate/#IDComment122412820 Soc 119 Thu, 20 Jan 2011 02:38:15 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/01/10/last-name-%e2%80%9cj%e2%80%9d-%e2%80%93-intense-debate/#IDComment122412820