Think that the takeaway message from that class was that we are told that it’s okay to have these fears because they’re “normal.” We are told by the media what’s right and what’s wrong. I think where it falls apart is most people take what they are given by the media and generalize it to the entire world. As a result you get these stereotypes that are still persistent today. This fear between groups and races it what causes resentment between those people and that causes a lot of the racial issues that we have today. Once we get past the fear that is felt, there won’t be fear in approaching groups of different people and the dialogue can then start. The way media portrays certain incidences, they make it out to be generalized and they make it seem as though these things happen all the time. It’s quite disturbing to me that so many people only get their news from the cable TV shows that are so spun that they basically brainwash people to thinking what they want. And I think that’s the dangerous thing in all of this. We are told to watch out for a certain type of person and to not talk to a certain type of person and what the does is allow people to gain control. When you can dictate who is good and bad you have the control. We live in a society that is so filled with fear that we look to people above us to protect us even when there is no danger. We give them the power over us for no reason. The fear this country holds is what is stopping us from moving forward in race relations and on other frontiers. There is always the fear of this could be me this time or my child. And the media has it spun to think that these things occur regularly. I’m not saying we shouldn’t look after our children but a lot of people, older people in general have those fears. I think it was evident that a lot of those fears get passed down to the younger generations. I think what is going on in Florida right now is a prime example of fear. The country and the rest of the world honestly have a perception of black people that is not only not necessary but for the most part not true. But because this way of thinking is so wide spread, there is this consensus that it’s a problem and people or the neighborhood in this case needs to be protected. Fear of Arabs led to them receiving threats and being asked off planes. When we see these things we throw our real judgment out the window.

It’s not that when a female is seen walking down the street in a bikini that we say to ourselves, “oh she doesn’t respect herself.” I think the underlying issue is whether you are doing it for the satisfaction of men or the pride and confidence you have in your body. My discussion group had a lengthy talk about this subject on Thursday. Most of the girls say that they dress a certain way for other women and not to be judged by them. I think it’s important to note that when women dress as to not be ridiculed by other women that creates a chain where there is someone at the top that decides what’s appropriate to wear and what isn’t. The cultural differences between the two women create stark contrast in the way women see their bodies. In the Muslim tradition it’s not okay for women to show their bodies but to western society, women see it as something they take pride in. The again the underlying question is; is this done for the satisfaction of men or not. In my opinion, it may be impossible to tell how far engrained in the minds of a male dominated society something like that question is. Women need to remember that even though they are saying that they do it for them, there was someone at the top, at some point in history that said that it was okay for women to dress like that. People also need to remember that there was a time when it wasn’t okay for women to dress in revealing clothes here in America. Something had to change. Someone had to say that it was okay. Who made that decision and why are important questions that are part of history that need to be looked at. While women now say that they do it for themselves that might not have always been the case.
One the flip side of the agreement I do see it as something women do to have fun amongst themselves. I also can see how it is showing pride and respect for their own body. Being comfortable in your own skin plays a big part in your confidence level to get things and in how you interact with others. For women who have that comfort and confidence in them and them alone, I have the utmost respect for. At the end of the day, women do what they choose for their own reasons. Some right and some wrong. It’s not a man’s place or anyone else’s to decide for, demand from, or label any woman. In my opinion looking at the historical background of this conversation is important but not an end all be all for why women of this day and age dress the way they do.

I think that the perception of the innocent white kid is ingrained in every level of our culture. The fact that we have kids that go to school every day to a building that resembles something like a jail tells a lot about our society. It tells the kids something but it also tells the rest of society something. Kid, especially younger ones, who have to go through that, think that this is normal for their lives. They start adopting the mindset that this is okay and everyone has to put up with it. On behalf of the people on the outside looking in, we think that those kid and young adults have done something to deserve this. Both of these perspectives only perpetuate the stereotypes and stigmas that our society holds and yet no one talks about.
From a black person who went to an upper class predominately white Catholic high school I can tell you first hand that those stereotypes don’t hold. I tell you about countless stories of drug deals in school, smoking in the locker room, fighting, steal, the list goes on. The majority of the white men that went there smoked regularly and drank even more often. There was a patch of private property that the school didn’t own across the street and because a lot of the kids lived close by some started growing weed there to sell. The truth of the matter was that no matter what anything any black person at the school did, so much worse was done by the white people that went there. But a lot of the times people turn away because that’s not how things are supposed to be. We’re not supposed to see the white kids doing these sorts of things so we have a hard time accepting it. It got so bad at the school that they had to actually do routine searches with police of the locker rooms, lockers, hell they did the parking lots. The people running the school had seen enough to no longer be able to have that notion that it’s only a one sided affair. A lot of the places where you see a lot of the disproportionate attention on drug use is in more metropolitan areas where you have more people of color because again we think that they are more likely to be using the drugs and so who would care if the “innocent white kid” was using drugs. We have this belief that even if they are using drug they are somehow not as dangerous as people of color using drugs. This belief only leads to more of the problems that society faces and is another reason for the need to sit at the race table and address the issues this country is facing.

I agree that if the shooter was black that he would have been in jail in a heartbeat or at least been pursued rigorously. I think it has a lot to do with white supremacy in the sense that when black people commit crimes it’s like, “oh all black people behave that way,” or, “all black people are violent.” When a white person commits a crime against black people, the media portrays that person as either someone who was defending themselves or just some crazy radical white person. You always hear black people being generalized and condemned but that never happens with white people. Why? Because it’s not beneficial to portray all white people that way. But it doesn’t make sense to me because someone like Zimmerman is a radical. But why is it that a lot of white defend him. How is it okay in those people’s eyes to have someone like that out on the streets, whether he’s white or black? That’s to me is the defining aspect of this situation. You have someone who committed a horrible crime against a kid but some people don’t have a problem with that. Why? Because he was black and must have been doing something wrong. We always hear about young white people are robbed of their life and we talk about how the world lost that is. Black kids are never talked about that way. It baffles me sometimes because the discrepancy just seems like isn’t necessary. It shouldn’t matter what color your skin is. Justice should be served in all cases, but that’s not true. It’s something that I’ve struggled understanding for my entire life, how there are bad people on both sides but the justice seems to fall harder on one side than the other. What benefit do white people get from having other bad white people just out and about on the streets? This is a serious issue but it’s almost comical in the way that some people feel okay why a man like Zimmerman out on the streets because this is a racial issue and they don’t feel threatened but someone like this who has a history of violence doesn’t need much to snap. People like this are insane, but yet there are people there to protect them and say that they must have been doing something for the good of the community. Black people are never talked about that way. To me this issue further cements what Sam was talking about with white supremacy and how the people who have power portray themselves as the intelligent, gentle ones, but other racial group as inferior and unable to function without them. For this to change I think there will have to be a more diverse power structure and a more even playing.

I mainly believe that wars should be avoided at all cost. I understand that a lot of these soldiers put their lives on the line for our society and way of living but, but if I was a leader, who am I to send someone who doesn’t want to fight off to some foreign land to fight someone who might not even want to fight you but they have to because if they don’t their government would kill them. As Americans we will never understand what it feels like to have foreign soldiers on our homeland that want to kill us for no reason. I don’t care how upset you are at the people that hurt you. Seeing some of those videos in class disgusted me because while those people don’t accurately represent America, that’s what the people of Iraq see and hear about us. As America we should be setting an example to other countries but instead we are focused on furthering our own wealth and power. We have continually engaged in battles that have only been in the benefit us and our friends but yet we want to call ourselves a democracy. We’ve helped people like Bin Laden and Saddam Hussein in the past and yet we see this recurring trend where as soon as these people don’t agree with us we take issue with them and go to war with them.
This Joseph Kony video craze makes me think of how for years, not just in Uganda but all over Africa, tens of millions of people have been killed. But you don’t hear about. You don’t see it. Yeah, these people are at the top of the most wanted lists but why haven’t we done more for THESE innocent people. The answer is, because we don’t get any benefit from it. We go to war for our benefit. And that disgust me the most. We have soldiers who are dying for oil. We are killing lots of innocent people for oil. In what is supposed to be the greatest country in the world, we have taken other people’s resources and wealth for years. Why? Because it’s easier being the one with the bigger stick. I don’t think we will ever be in those people’s shoes nor do I think anyone ever does. But we cannot criticize them for their reaction to what we did to them. One girl in class asked about whether one of the former soldiers thought 9/11 was an inside job and he took offence to that. My issue is that you just don’t know. There are bad people in this world that really would do things like that for their own gain. You just don’t know if those people happen to be the people you call your friends or your enemies.

I don’t really find anything wrong with the picture itself. I am Catholic and I see gay and lesbianism as something that people are born with, while others do chose. I think that as a society it is somewhat socially acceptable for two females to kiss because of the male driven world, but two guys kissing is still something foreign. This is because in a male driven world, most men who are masculine have been conditioned to be that way and reject the feminine side of human nature. The masculine driven world tells of that this is new and strange and alien. But a lot of those thoughts are beginning to change. Personally I agree with the man sitting on the far right. Those types of public displays of affection should be left to private places. But with that being side I must admit of hypocrisy. As I am writing this I thinking to myself, if that was a male and a female showing that same type of love and affection it would not be that big of a deal. My mind goes back to the iconic picture of the sailor kissing the nurse and how photos like that has been so ingrained in our head that most people see that as normal and have for many years. The new generations are beginning to open their minds to more possibilities, socially and sexually. This is a result of the growing connections we see in our world every day.
Back to the panel that was discussing the photo, I think that people perceptions do change. Like the one lady who talk about it might be different when she has kids. People are told to raise their kids in ways so that they fit in. We’re all going to have to face the fact that this may be a new part of the normal everyday society. And I think younger people today are realizing that, and seeing that an expression of your sexual identity is just one way to connect to the world around us.
If these two guys really love each other that much then no amount of pressure or ridicule will make them separate and denounce the love they have for one another. This society and this world are see growing examples of gay and lesbian interactions every day. It’s only a matter of time before this become part of society and people aren’t so shocked and appalled to see something like this take place. Part of this backlash also has to do with the fact that one of them, if not both, is in the military. And we know the problems they have with the subject. While the picture is fine, I just want to take things back to the fact that sometimes people just are ready to see PDA just out and about streets but in these circumstances it really isn’t that big of a deal.

In the world we live in today white people are held up as the standard. And until something drastic happens, we all we continue to look at white people as the ones who should be brighter and better leaders in society. I agree with an early comment that was made about affirmative action. What good does it do to even have it if the only people getting jobs after college are the white people in society. There are a lot of white people that don’t like affirmative action and programs like that because they feel as though it takes away from something that belongs to them, but the truth is that when you look at the numbers and perception that most people, black and white, have it really doesn’t do much for society in terms creating more diversity.
There was a girl in class that said that we know this problem exist, and then asked how we fix it. The solution falls on both sides. Both at the end of the day, I look around and I think that most white people think that all black people are created equal. I see they think we all think the same and act the same, that we’re all from the hood. And that’s also a problem that black people perpetuate as well. Not all black people are from the hood. Some of us have never lived in the hood, so this idea that we aren’t equal or can’t be shouldn’t have any validity. This mindset, to me is what I see as the biggest problem in society. And you see this in other societies, in other countries. This idea that not only one race is better than the other, but the idea that the race on the bottom can never be as good as the race on top. I guess that’s part of the whole we’re on top, we can do and say whatever we want mentality. The makeup of this country is changing. As Sam pointed out in class there are more and more minorities in this country. There will come a point in time when there just want be enough educated white people to be on top. What happens at that point? If we start being fairer now then we can have a nice smooth transition. If we wait to fix the discrepancy between races and fairness we will get to that day and there might be a lot more friction than what people want to deal with. It’s not right for two people to work just as hard as each other but one gets an advantage because of their name or skin color. At the end of the day it comes down to the perception of the person looking at someone else and how comfortable they are with people of other races and ethnicities.

I think that white people do shy away from the topic of race for the simple reason that they are afraid of coming off or being labeled as racist. The problem falls on both sides of the aisle however. I honestly think that most white people don’t understand other races and don’t understand why other races are proud of being what they are. I think that stems from what Sam was talking about and how Europeans used race as a way to categorize and enslave other races. Let’s be honest white people are in a position of power and have never felt the kind of degradation and oppression from another race that they have put on others. Because of that I think that they don’t understand what that feels like because they have never had to come together as all white people to defend not just their way of living but their dignity. Now from the other side of the aisle, I think that other races especially when talking about the differences between black and white people, black people don’t make it easy for white people to talk about race. Black people have to face the facts that sometimes white people just don’t know how to say something or ask a question while talking about race without coming off a little bit “racist.” It’s not easy because a lot of times white people aren’t trying to be racist when asking questions but they just don’t know the best way to put their question forward. From a young age white kids are told not to speak about differences in appearance because of the above historical context. People don’t want to be blamed for something they didn’t directly cause but by not talking about it at all the problems of society only become more persistent and alarming. White people are afraid of saying something about another race and completely generalizing about that entire race. Part of the problem with that is the way the media portrays other races by more often than not only portraying one brand of that race or one aspect of how they fit into society. So for white people that don’t interact with a black person on a daily basis they don’t necessarily know how that black person may be different from the ones that they are used to seeing one television. I think that both white and black people could make the process of talking about race a lot easier. It’s not just a one sided issue. But to sum it up yes I think that white people are afraid to talk about race out of fear of being labeled something that they are not. But think that not knowing how to phrase those questions stems from not understanding.

I would like to start off by saying that black people don’t get in to college just because they are black. From my experience, especially in my field, I feel like I need to separate myself from my white counterparts. Mine a bioengineering major and not only the only black man in the class but the only black person period. I always feel as though I have to work the hardest to get that respect from people because while I had to work hard and get good grades to get into my major feel as though people still look at me like I’m not good enough or worth their time.
From the research I did looking online this campus is only 5.5% black. Out of 40,000 people that’s 2,200 black people. Believe it or not this campus is not that diverse with respect to black and white people. But the university can say it is. You see a lot of times Universities will selectively choose the black people they admit just to say that they have a diverse campus. Believe it or not there are actual state and local laws, along with previous court cases that support the theory that universities accept blacks just to “meet a quota.” While there are economic factors that contribute to that number, if Penn State accepted black people as a perk for black people, there definitely would be more black people here. Because the truth is, black people don’t apply to college thinking that they’re going to get in just because they are black. College isn’t a traditional place for black people to be. Not knowing if you’re going to fit in or be accepted on a social basis at a place like Penn State is a big deal. Yeah diversity helps this university grow but that doesn’t mean that any one black person will make it on the merit of them being black. I can tell you straight up that if black people got into college for the simple fact that they’re black, I wouldn’t be here right now. I’d be at another school that was higher up on my list. I will say this, the margin for accepting black people into college is small. Believe it or not it’s actually a bit harder for us because we’re fighting for what we feel are the same spots. This is obviously just my opinion but if wouldn’t be surprised if college actually didn’t want to accept too many black people. While I said diversity is good, too much of anything can lead to a problem. To end I want to just say that I believe this question stems from some white people being afraid that black people or people of other races in general are taking “their spots.” White people will continue to dominate the college experience. That will not change anytime soon.

Through the events of the past few months I’ve learned that humans look for things to use to bring others down to their level. When we see someone whether they are a celebrity of an iconic figure head, we are so ready to bring them down because when we see them we envy them and their life. We ask ourselves why we can’t be like them. Or why we aren’t on their level. We see that as being something wrong with us and not them. As humans we are draw to bad news. Not just to bring others down to know what to stay away from. We look at situation like what happened with Joe Paterno and we say to ourselves that if we were in his shoes that we would have handled the situation better. We would have been better than him. But the truth is that we never know. We never know how we would react to claims like that. I would like to put it out there that most of what has been said about him have all been claims. That is important because that says something else about humans and how we are able to take information that we don’t even know is true and take a position based on what we think is true or what we want to believe is true. Is the case of the media, there job is to take a stance. You see the media already has a stance on a lot of these issues and events either wall on one side or the other. In our, we fell on the wrong side. And to them, it didn’t matter how hard we work or how much money we raise for THON (most of them don’t even know what THON is). They saw what happened and they saw us, and it was easier for them to just put us all in the same group. People are so ready for information to be spoon fed to them that they don’t even wait for facts or try to filter people’s opinions from the news. Another thing that I’ve learned is that when something traumatic happens like in our case, people don’t know how to handle the situation. A lot of people come here with this idealistic view of this university and what happened shattered that view of this university. It was confusing. When people get confused they don’t think things through and that’s what happened in our case. Humans are very narcissistic and controlling creatures. Instead of letting things run their natural course we are so ready to interject ourselves in a situation and take control in a way that we think is best to move forward. This can be dangerous because we tend to over reach, jumping to far too soon. I think that’s what happened on both sides of the situation we found ourselves in.