After this lecture, and this class in general, my opinions on illegal immigrants has definitely changed. Before hearing different views on it, I always pictured illegal immigrants as people who were sneaky and wanted to come to America. I knew that they came here in search for work and a chance at a better life for them and their families. I never really thought that they were here taking other peoples jobs, because usually the jobs they have are jobs that most people in America would not take. I’m not trying to be stereotypical, but they are usually landscapers or working in the kitchen of a restaurant, which is a job that only few Americans would willingly take. I knew that the immigrants working here were most likely sending money home to their families to support them, so I didn’t really have a problem with it. The only thing I ever struggled with was the fact that they were illegal. Maybe it’s because I am terrified of ever getting caught doing anything wrong, but I just never grasped how they came here and worked everyday without being caught by immigration or without being scared that they could get caught and face so many legal repercussions. I have worked alongside illegal immigrants and while I could see why they were here working, I always in the back of my mind thought they were “different” and even kind of cheating the system by working in America, so in a way I thought they almost didn’t belong here (but then I would think of their poor families back home and it sort of justified their actions). After having these thoughts, I would think of how hard they work and the long hours they put into the job. I work in a restaurant and a lot of the cooks are illegal immigrants and they work harder than anyone else there. I could not name a person who would be willing to do the work they do, probably for a low pay (or not at a salary they deserve). After the lectures on Native Americans and illegal immigrants, I have come to realize that I myself am an illegal immigrant. The founding fathers of our country built a nation on land that was not theirs. We invaded the Native Americans and took their land and killed them, so in the big picture illegal immigrants coming here to work is not really that bad. I think of Eric’s story and how his father came here to work and only saw his family for 2 weeks out of the year. I think of how his father just wanted a better life for his family, so that’s why they snuck across the boarder to come here. Why should I judge them when I say I am “proud to be an American” even though we took over someone else’s land and stole it from a group of innocent people who we now isolate from society? This class (and this lecture in particular) has opened my eyes to illegal immigration.

The fact that schools are more segregated now then they were in the 1970s is very frustrating because most people in the United States believe, or want to believe, that racism is no longer an issue when it clearly still is. They are more segregated today than in the 70s because there is more latent racism today that has been built into society throughout the course of history. I was shocked to hear this fact and I think I was so shocked because people do not want to talk about racism today. During the 70s and the Civil Rights Movement people were not afraid to discuss racism in a public setting and they really wanted change. They pushed for desegregation because black people knew their children were not receiving an equal education. Today, we are too cowardly to admit that it is still a huge issue in America. We want to think that this is just because people of different ethnicities lives in different areas, so naturally they go to different schools. For example there are more white people living in suburbs and more black people (or African Americans) living in cities, so they go to different schools. We need to consider that different racial groups live in different areas because they do not feel comfortable interacting with each other in everyday life. White people used to live in cities, then when black people moved there to get jobs, white people flocked to the suburbs. In a way, we created our segregation through fear. We created these invisible boundary lines and we cannot break through them today. The segregation of schools has also caused an inequality of schools. Schools in cities are more likely to have less resources, have lesser qualified teachers, and have more issues that affect students’ performance (mostly home life issues including abuse and poverty). The majority of people who live in cities, and therefore are receiving a lesser education, are minorities. This sets them up for so many obstacles later in life because many of them do not graduate high school, which means they will not get a good job, which leads to a lower salary, which could lead to poverty. This is not true for all people living in cities and going to schools there, but it is a very real reality that occurs. The segregation of schools is only widening the gap between the rich and the poor. Another sad truth is that many students today do not experience diversity so when they do encounter another race, they don’t know how to act. Many people say they accept everyone and that race doesn’t affect their relationships with people, but the fact that schools are more segregated today than they are in the 1970s shows us that this is not true.

My views on terrorism pretty much stayed the same even after this lecture, but now I have more of an understanding what the people in Iraq are going through. My view on terrorists is that they are extremists who take their ideas and beliefs to an entirely new and dangerous level. I don’t blame all Muslims for the attacks on September 11th and I don’t assume every Muslim or Middle Eastern person I meet is a terrorist or has ties to terrorism. In the same light, I should hope that being a Christian, I do not have the stereotype on me that I am to blame for the war in Iraq and I should be killed. I also hope I don’t have the stigma of those psycho kids and adults in that Christian church in North Dakota. I think that there would be a lot less hate and violence in the world if we all realized that one person’s actions (or one group’s actions) does not represent an entire community of people. This doesn’t change the fact that there is terrorism in the world today. I personally was extremely affected by 9/11 and considering that, I still blame the terrorists who did that. I was in fifth grade and my teacher pulled me aside and told me about the attacks. I immediately went into shock because my dad works in New York and he had a meeting that day 3 blocks from the World Trade Center. I also knew that my uncle worked in the towers, and my cousins went to NYU. My teacher told me that my mom called and said my dad was fine. I remember going home and seeing my family watching the news and bawling their eyes out. At this point in time we had no communication with any of my family members, so we had no idea if they were still alive. My family is from New York, so we had many family friends who died that day. Because I was directly impacted from the attacks, yes, I still blame terrorism for their actions. They are extremists who unnecessarily use violence to try to solve a problem. However, I don’t blame the people of Iraq or the Iraqi combatants who are revolting against the US army for doing what they are doing (although I definitely do not agree with their actions considering I also have family in the military). Despite the initial causes (or supposed causes) for the War in Iraq, we are still fighting now for oil. I also think that as a country we cannot leave Iraq even if we wanted to because we made a commitment there; we destroyed their country and now we should be responsible for putting it back together and helping to establish a more stable government. After the lecture I definitely have more sympathy for the people who dislike us because we are trying to steal their oil, but I think that they should realize that it’s not all Christians doing this. I also think they need to recognize that America is not the only Christian country, and that we are not taking their oil because we are Christian, but because we don’t have an alternative energy resource to rely on.

I think it is completely unfair that women get all dressed up whereas men can dress down. It’s socially acceptable for a man to go out in jeans and a t shirt, but if a woman went out dressed in jeans and a t shirt or a sweatshirt, she would be looked down on by others (both men and women). Men would approach other women and women would probably just talk about her and say she looked like a slob. Even in everyday life, women put more effort into their looks. Men simply get up, jump in the shower, brush their teeth, get dressed, and go. It is a completely different story for women. We have to do this, in addition to doing our hair (which takes a lot longer than you think), meticulously putting our makeup on (again, it’s not that easy, especially early in the morning), and pick out our outfits. Personally, I don’t really care what other people think about me and my appearance so on a normal day I don’t put much time or effort into this. However, even though I don’t care that much, I still do it, which I guess shows that I do care a little if I go through the motions of doing this. When I go out with my friends, I like to look nice and put together for once in my life, so it usually takes an hour or so to get ready. I’ve asked my guy friends how long it takes them and they all say usually around 20 minutes (but less time if they already know what they’re wearing).
It’s not fair that women put so much time and effort into their appearance, but most women do it anyways. We do it because it’s what is accepted. I think if all women took a vote, we would all choose to not dress up all the time and not put so much time in it. But the fact is that as long as women are still getting dressed up, then other women will because in a way women fight for attention (whether or not we want to admit this, it’s kind of true). We like to get dressed up every now and then because it’s fun, but if you do it all the time it’s just time consuming (and expensive). Even though I always knew how unfair this predicament is, I still dress up even though guys dress down. I have gone out in jeans and a sweatshirt and it was great. I was so comfortable and warm, but I did it because I knew I was only going to hang out with my friends and we were all wearing that. I still dress up because I like to look nice so I can occasionally act like a person who doesn’t only wear sweatshirts all week. I think I subconsciously do it too because I don’t want to be the girl who is underdressed or the one who other people will call a slob. It’s not fair, but women will continue to get more dressed up while men dress down because it’s how we’ve conditioned to be in society. We’ve always been told we should look nice and wear makeup, because that it ultimately what men like to see. It’s unfair, but until all women decide to stop dressing up, no woman alone will dress like a man does in a social setting because she will risk being an outcast.

I don’t see anything wrong with interracial relationships and I think it’s only natural that they’re on the rise. More and more people are learning that they are from races other than what they previously thought. Also, more people are becoming accepting of other races, which is great. It shows that some people really don’t care that much about race or that they know that it shouldn’t effect whom they have relationships with. I think the fact that there are more interracial relationships today than any other time in history is a big step in society. It shows that we are, in general, becoming more accepting of other races and cultures. Personally, I believe that a relationship is based on more than race and skin color, it’s about connecting to a person and sharing values and things in common, so for me race does not even play a part. You can’t help who you love or who you are attracted to, and race is not a barrier of that. The world is becoming more mixed and there are more interracial relationships, so I don’t think it’s as big of a deal anymore. Maybe it is more of an issue for older generations, but I think that our generation and the ones before us are more accepting and welcoming of interracial couples. This might be because we have seen more of these couples and families, so we are more familiar/comfortable with it then older people. For me personally, I’ve never been told by my family not to date someone of another race, and I was raised to be accepting of everyone. I know my family has said this and I’m sure my parents and siblings would be fine with it, but my grandparents and older family members might be alarmed. They grew up in a time when racism was prevalent and they live in their old stubborn ways, but I think if I did date someone who wasn’t white, they would ultimately be okay with it because it would make me happy. I think they are more hesitant because they are not as used to seeing it because of when they grew up. More people today are accepting of it because we are used it to and realize how wrong racism was (even though a lot of times we are still very racist today- whether it is latent or outright racism).
My cousin married a man who was adopted and did not know his racial background. I always thought he had a lot of features of someone who was Mexican; he had tan, olive skin with dark hair and dark eyes. They had a daughter and we all assumed that Kaylee (the daughter) would look like my cousin and have pale Irish skin with dark hair. She actually looks like neither of them because she has my cousin’s pale skin but my cousin’s husband’s dark eyes. She looks Pilipino and has almond shaped eyes (we’re guessing my cousin’s husband was born there). When my cousin takes her daughter to the stores, people have asked her if she was adopted because her daughter doesn’t look much like her. My cousin used to get offended, but now she just brushes it off and explains how her husband is Pilipino because she realizes some people are not as accepting of interracial families. I’m happy she stopped getting angry and chose to be the bigger person in the situation because it shows that she is more accepting of people and less judgmental.

Being white, I never really thought about white privilege until taking this class. After opening my eyes and looking at the world from a different point of view, I’ve realized that white privilege is so prevalent in the world today. Whites are on the top of the mountain and they have been for so long in history. Just because of the color of their skin, they are seen as superior and better than others. I don’t understand it because it just seems like they gained power by putting others down and trying to oppress people just because they look different than them (even though we are all just people). I think that white privilege is often overlooked because white people are in control of the media (at least in the United States), so they are not going to attract attention to the issue that there is still racism in the United States, whether it be outward prejudice or white privilege. As a white person, you don’t want to believe that yourself, and people with the same color skin, suppress other races and ethnicities to allow more advantages for your own race. It seems like white privilege has almost turned into a social norm in our country. It is not frequently talked about, but it’s definitely out there. We don’t talk about it because then we would be calling ourselves out for being racists, which we try to say no longer exists in the United States. I don’t know how to change white privilege because that would require people all around the world to change their ways. People with other skin colors succumb to white privilege as well. A black CEO might hire a white man just because he can be seen as powerful and status-worthy.
I can’t think of a specific time in my life when I have experienced white privilege, but I definitely have because my skin is white. I’m sure that I have in some way experienced it, but I grew up in a suburb of Philadelphia where the population did have some diversity, but the majority is white people. For all I know, I could be experiencing white privileges everyday and just not realize it. Maybe people judge me and assume certain things because I am white. I never competed for a job and got it because I was white, but I’m sure other people in my hometown have. In lecture when Sam told us about the job resumes that were all the same but half had white names and half had “ethnic” sounding names really helped me realize how much it still exists. The people with typical white names were hired more often than the ethnic names, and hearing that makes me very angry to be white. I don’t understand why skin color should matter that much to impact someone’s job. No one can choose the color of his or her skin. White people are just ignorant of the fact that they are experiencing privileges that others are not just because of their skin color. If they would take a different perspective and see the injustice, maybe we could change it.

I think that the majority of white people truly believe that they are where they are today because of their individual efforts. I think a lot of white people are ignorant in thinking that their ancestors had major effects of other peoples’ lives. We tend to think of it as so far in the past, even though slavery ended not even 200 years ago. I believe that most people do not feel guilt unless they are specifically asked the question, because I do not think they ever think about it. Personally, I do not know how I feel about the question. In some ways I feel guilty because of that fact that I am associated with the white race who oppressed so many people for no reason. On the other hand, as far as I know, I do not have any ancestors who participated in slaveholding, so I don’t feel like I have any real connections to slavery. However I still have the stigma of being a “white” person to a minority who has roots to slavery, so I still am seen as a negative figure in their family’s history. I feel that as part of determinism, I am not a minority person who has faced the many issues and glass ceilings, but I cannot help that any more than someone who is a minority who has faced the many obstacles. I had no control over choosing to be white just like minorities had no control over being black or being Spanish. I think that instead of feeling guilty, if anyone in power does, that they should try to do something about the inequality and try to change it. Feeling guilty won’t do anything to stop the disadvantages of minorities and freed slaves.
In another light, after watching the video on the cocoa slaves I sometimes do feel guilty. I know this is different from freed slaves (and relatives of freed slaves generations later) because they still face so many obstacles today because they were once oppressed, but the fact that there is still slavery today is eye opening. I feel guilty because the boys in the documentary were pulled from their homes and had absolutely no control over being forced into slavery. They were so innocent and had zero amount of control in the situation. I think about how if I lived in a region where slavery existed, there is a good chance I could be enslaved. The movie makes me realize how it is similar to blacks back in the 1800s. They had no control over the color of their skin, and because of their skin color they were enslaved. I am not sure where I stand on the guilt scale because in a similar light I also have no control over the fact that my skin is white. I’m sure that if I had dark skin and experienced the situation from the “other side”, then I would have a more definitive viewpoint on the situation.

I think in today’s world people are racist towards both black people and Muslims, but the difference is in how people show their discrimination. Although people try to say racism is not an issue in America, it still is very prevalent; it just varies on how people show it. There is more blatant racism towards Muslim people, but many people are still prejudice against black people. When you’re in the airport or on a train, you see people look differently at Muslims. Security would stop a Muslim or someone who appears to be Muslim or Arab over a black person. People tend to sit farther away from a Muslim on a plane. Americans don’t look at a black person and wonder, “are they going to blow up the plane?”. However, just because Muslim extremists hijacked a plane in our country and flew it into buildings, all Muslims get the stigma of being a terrorist. I’m not saying people don’t have the right to have assumptions and fears, people need to realize that just because extremists did that, it does not mean that the entire Muslim population are terrorists. If the people behind September 11th were white people, Americans would not suddenly have hatred and racist feelings toward all other white people. We look for someone to blame and we apply one situation to the entire population. There is more outward, blatant racism towards Muslims that does not occur towards black people today. For the most part, people are not openly racist to black people, except maybe older generations like our grandparents. There are still definite racist feelings and attitudes, but people tend to hide them because they know it is not socially acceptable, but it sneaks out in little ways. It is more latent racism. A white person might chose to sit next to another white person on a bus when there is an open seat next to a black person that is closer. A white person might try to alter their speech or act differently when they are around black people in order to try to fit it or in order to keep their guard up so no comments slip out. People might think they are not racist towards black people, but there are still clear racist tendencies among white people. We may not realize we are doing certain things, but racism is still alive. After the civil rights movement, we realize that racism and oppression is wrong so we pretend to be free of discrimination, but we’re not. We still stick to people who are similar to us. If we had no racist feelings toward black people, we would act the same around everyone and be willing to accept them no matter what color their skin is. We still alter our words and movements around black people which goes to show that discrimination is still prevalent, but it is not outward and voiced. We’ve been cultured to hide our true opinions but it comes out in covert ways.

In my opinion, the more educated I become the less I believe that it is a result of my hard work. I’ve realized that my success and educational attainment level have more to do with determinism and less free will (in this case, hard work). Yes, I worked hard all through high school to get where I am today, but I realize now that it has more to do with what I was given and the resources I had at my access because of my status in the world. My parents both have degrees and jobs, which we saw in class the statistics saying that if your parents have a degree/make more money, you have higher SAT scores. They were able to afford a good SAT-prep class and practice books that helped me improve. I didn’t have to work all throughout high school to help provide for my family so I could focus on school. During the school year, I only worked a few hours during the week or just on the weekends so I could get all my schoolwork done. I was able to take honors classes and I knew the teachers who taught those at my school were quality teachers. Once I got to know the teachers, I had a connection and knew that I could ask them to tutor me if I needed extra help with a subject. My older siblings told me what classes to take and helped me with work and classes that I struggled with. In a way, that could be seen as cheating, but I just had connections. Other people who are less educated work much harder than me, I’m sure. I’m not trying to imply that I’m lazy or take things for granted, but I realize that I am where I am today because of many other factors than just working hard. In high school I would have said that my education is a result of my hard work because I truly thought I was in a well-off position in my school because of my personal efforts. In hindsight, I realize it had so much more to do with outside factors. The further you go in your education, the more people you meet who can help you advance and reach higher levels. Professors here have told me, if you keep in contact I will write you a letter of recommendation. You need to know people and have connections to be at the top today. At a young age, teachers and our parents told us you need to work hard and you will succeed. This is definitely true because you should want to be motivated to be successful but as you grow up and become more educated you learn to see the world in a less naïve way. You see that while hard work counts, you also need to know the right people. There are people who are working three or four jobs but are still not making ends meet. This doesn’t mean they’re not hard working, they’re working harder than me, but I just have had the means to get an education and meet the right people.

I feel like determinism had a huge affect on my entire life and it is a huge reason why I go to Penn State. Both my parents went to college (my mom got her nursing degree, so I’m not sure if that’s technically college but she still got a degree and has a stable job). My parents have always told me that if you want to have a job that will support you and possibly a family then you have to go to college. I live in the suburbs in a good area where college is the social norm. It was always a part of the plan for a successful life. I always had the choice to decide if I wanted to go to college, but it’s been engraved in my brain that if you want to make a living, college is the way to go. My family would have supported my decision not to go to college if I chose to, but I knew that if I didn’t go I would be monetarily supporting myself (plus I want to be a teacher, so I knew I needed to get a degree to do that). I feel like in today’s world there is little free will because of society. Since an early age, as far back as I can remember, my teachers would tell me I had to go to college. I went to school where white people are the majority (although there is also a growing black and Hispanic population). In my area, going to college just seemed like the natural thing to do. Also, the media constantly has statistics about attending college versus just going into the working world and showing how much more money you make if you have a degree. I am lucky enough to have the type of determinism that leads me to going to college. There so many socioeconomic backgrounds that do not have the means to go to college. In many places determinism says that you can’t go to college, where you have to go make money and support your family (or that you can’t afford it and there are more pressing factors in life). I am lucky enough to always have been encouraged to go to college and succeed. My parents have provided me with enough resources to be able to work so hard and get into a good school such as Penn State. They paid for SAT classes, extracurricular activities and sports (all of which look good on a college application). I’m well aware that not everyone is fortunate to have these resources and a family that supports them like I have. Overall, I feel like I have always had free will to chose what I wanted to do with my life, but only because determinism controlled so many factors in my life (my parents both have degrees and jobs, I live in Pennsylvania which is in-state so I can afford to go to Penn State, etc.). This class has been so eye-opening and I’ve realized that I am where I am today because of factors that I have no control over. I am now able to see just how blessed and lucky I am to lead the life that I do.