en-us https://www.intensedebate.com/users/1123261 Comments by crr171 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/06/week-8-lesson-14-affirmative-action__trashed/#IDComment84968854 Inequalities are never going to go away. They are a part of life. I wish that life and opportunities could be equal and fair for everyone, but that is impossible because everyone wants different things. I also think that everyone has been a victim of nepotism. Nepotism benefits you. And the majority of people put themselves (and their family) first. The first time I used nepotism was when I started babysitting. I have only ever babysat for families my family knows. My parents were the ones who got me the jobs, but that doesn’t mean I was not qualified. I have always loved kids and I am really good with them. And with babysitting you have to learn through experience. Today I am still receiving the benefits of nepotism in regards to babysitting. Last summer I was a nanny for a family with twins. My mom and their mom work together so my mom basically got me the job. I still had to interview for it, but she hired me instead of the other girl because she knew my mom. This summer I am a nanny yet again, but it is for a different family. However, the dad of the girls I watch works with my mom too. And the only reason they hired me instead of the other girl is because the dad knew my mom, but I still like to think that I got it because I deserve it. I am highly qualified to be a nanny, but I know the real reason behind being hired. I plan on using nepotism to benefit me for a really long time. And I think that is the way most people think. If you have the resources, why not use them to your advantage? I am always looking for ways to volunteer in elementary schools around my house because I want to know as many people as possible who can help me get a job when I graduate. And because my mom has used nepotism to help me, I know that I will for sure use it to help benefit my children. Everyone wants their children to have an even better life than the one they had. And I feel like one way to really improve their life is to use all of your resources. I think that my favorite part about this lecture was the Oprah video. I have seen it before and it was really eye opening. It is so amazing how different schools can be when they are only an hour away from each other. I have also seen this in person. I went to a very wealthy suburban school district. My school had everything a student could have ever needed or wanted. And then I took a PSU class where I student taught in an urban school. This school looked run down, had very few computers, and no books in the library. It was one of the most depressing things I had ever seen. And the fact that the school was only 45 minutes from my house made it even worse. Mon, 5 Jul 2010 18:18:32 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/06/week-8-lesson-14-affirmative-action__trashed/#IDComment84968854 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/06/week-8-lesson-14-affirmative-action__trashed/#IDComment84960074 I agree with you that inequalities will ever be solved. And I have also used nepotism to get my summer jobs. In fact all of the jobs I have ever gotten had have been a result of nepotism. The first job I got was at a dry cleaners that my neighbor worked at, so she got me the job. And for the past two summers I have been a nanny for a family whose dad works with my mom. I have really benefited from nepotism and when I have kids I will use all of my resources so they have a beneficial life too. Mon, 5 Jul 2010 17:57:55 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/06/week-8-lesson-14-affirmative-action__trashed/#IDComment84960074 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/06/week-7-lesson-13-immigration__trashed/#IDComment83857312 I also agree that this is an interesting topic because many people have an issue with it. And most of the time they have a strong opinion about it. I also didn’t realize why they were coming to the United States. But after listening to this lecture they are coming here for a better life. They want to have the “American Dream”. Most, if not all, of the immigrants are living a better life in the United States than they were in their native country. And I don’t think that immigrants are lazy. In fact, many of them do the hard and strenuous jobs that other American citizens don’t want to do. And these immigrants will do the job for low wages. So they aren’t lazy. They just want to create a better life for their families. Thu, 1 Jul 2010 16:59:58 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/06/week-7-lesson-13-immigration__trashed/#IDComment83857312 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/06/week-7-lesson-13-immigration__trashed/#IDComment83855888 Before this lecture I never thought about the fact that business controls immigration. But the more I thought about it, the more I agreed with Sam’s statement that business controls it. It is a business issue because most immigrants will work for much less money than other US citizens. And many immigrants are just looking for work so they will take jobs that many people Americans don’t want to do. For example, I work at a dry cleaner. I work in the front of the store and work directly with our customers. However, all of the people in our plant cleaning the clothing are Mexicans. The plant is hot. The hours are long. And the pay is very little for the amount of work that is done. There are not too many people who would do all that hard work for such little money. But the Mexicans that work there are just happy to have a job and earn money for their family. Without these workers at the plant, people would not get their dry cleaning back as quickly and they would also have to pay more for it. This ultimately keeps business going because without customers there would be no need for any workers. And without employees there would be no business. So immigrants defiantly help out businesses. I also think that the reason that such a high number of Latin American and Caribbean immigrant have a less than a high school education is because it is easier for them to get to the United States because of their proximity. It is most likely easier for them to cross the boarder illegally than say someone from Africa. However, it was interesting for me to hear, yet again, that African immigrants have the highest percentage of immigrants with advanced degrees. Immigrants from African need to have an advanced degree or wealth to come to the United States. I personally think that the United States should hold the same standards for everyone to be allowed into the United States. But then again I do not have a lot of knowledge on this subject matter. It’s not that I don’t care, I am just not really interested in this subject. I also agree with Sam when he says that the industrious people migrate. They have to be hard working and fearless to pick up their lives and migrate. I could never imagine moving to another city yet alone another country. But they do it because they think that coming here will give them a better life than the one they had. And I truly think that in many cases immigrants in the United States are living a better life than the one they had in their native country. Thu, 1 Jul 2010 16:54:46 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/06/week-7-lesson-13-immigration__trashed/#IDComment83855888 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/06/week-7-lesson-12-multiculturalism-lgbt__trashed/#IDComment83481465 This was another really interesting lecture. I actually thought that it was the most interesting one all semester, maybe because I am interested in multiculturalism and LGBT issues. One thing that I have repeatedly heard is the importance of learning Chinese in the future. I think that eventually China will be the most powerful country, so learning Chinese will be very important. I also think that currently it is a good language to learn because not many people have an interest in learning it and I think that it is needed in some fields. I would assume that Chinese interpreters are needed and they most likely make a decent amount of money. Multiculturalism is also important to me because I am studying to be a teacher and we have learned a lot about teaching multiculturalism. I think that it is important to teach children age appropriate things from around the world. For example, in a kindergarten class I volunteer in, this is done by teaching students about different holidays in the month of December around the world. I think that by teaching acceptance of different cultures at a young age children will be less “racist” and more accepting of other cultures and races. I also never thought about the recent LGBT movement as being a second Civil Rights movement, but it most defiantly is. I mean why shouldn’t they have the same rights as heterosexual people and couples? I think that young adults are more acceptable of LGBT people because all of us most likely know someone who is LBGT or have a friend who is. One of my best friends is a lesbian and I don’t think of her any differently just because she is a lesbian. She is a person who wants the same things that heterosexual people want. I personally think that the people who are against LGBT relationships and rights are people my parents age and older because they are less likely to know someone who defines themselves as LGBT. I however have a few friends and acquaintances that are gay or lesbian. I believe that you don’t choose to be LGBT. You are born that way. So you should not be given less rights because of it. Lesbians and gays should be able to get married and raise children. I took a class in the spring semester called Child Adoption (HDFS 497b) with Dr. Crissman-Ishler. We learned that not many states allow gay and lesbian couples to adopt. But that research shows that children raised by same sex couples are just as happy as those raise in heterosexual families. In fact, many times children of same sex parents have more self esteem than children of heterosexual families. And that children of same sex couples are no more likely to grow up to be gay or lesbian than other children. Wed, 30 Jun 2010 15:44:35 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/06/week-7-lesson-12-multiculturalism-lgbt__trashed/#IDComment83481465 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/06/week-7-lesson-12-multiculturalism-lgbt__trashed/#IDComment83476494 I also had many teachers in high school telling students to learn Chinese. I think that one day in the near future it will be almost necessary to know how to understand some Chinese. However, I have no desire to learn it. I think that it is an extremely hard language to learn because it is so different from English. But English is also a hard language to learn. What I love about Chinese are all the cool symbols that mean different things. I work at an after school care program and one of the 2nd graders there was learning Chinese because he was adopted from China. I was just amazed at all the little differences between symbols that completely changed the meaning. Chinese is defiantly a language that people will begin to learn more and more. Wed, 30 Jun 2010 15:12:34 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/06/week-7-lesson-12-multiculturalism-lgbt__trashed/#IDComment83476494 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/06/week-6-lesson-9-stages-of-racial-identity-people-of-color-stages-1-4__trashed/#IDComment81489719 I also agree that white people do not want to talk about race. I hardly ever talk about race because I am afraid of other people thinking that I am racist. I too only talk about race with my extremely close friends and family. However, I never use the N word, but my brother uses it all the time. He does sensor himself for the most part. But I think that one of these days he is going to slip up and the wrong person will hear it. And I think that when the wrong person hears it they are going to beat him up or get into a huge argument with him. The end will not be pretty. I defiantly think that white people do not like to talk with others about race. Tue, 22 Jun 2010 22:26:58 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/06/week-6-lesson-9-stages-of-racial-identity-people-of-color-stages-1-4__trashed/#IDComment81489719 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/06/week-6-lesson-9-stages-of-racial-identity-people-of-color-stages-1-4__trashed/#IDComment81487442 One thing I found interesting to listen to was people’s opinions about Penn State being too white or not white enough. If I were to base my opinion off of my high school diversity I would say that Penn State is white enough because my high school was mostly white with only a few minorities. In my graduating class of about 350, there were about 5 black students, 10 Asians, and 10 Hispanic/Latinos. The rest was white. So when I first came to Penn State I thought that it had a pretty diverse student body. However, my best friend goes to Temple University. The first time I went to visit her I notice how diverse their student body was. She has so many friends who are minorities. They come from all over the country and the world. That is the one thing about Temple that I love and wish Penn State had. She has learned so much about other races and cultures from her diverse groups of friends. So after my visit to Temple and meeting her friends I no longer think that Penn State is diverse. And I think that it is too white and would benefit from a more diverse student body. I also really liked the video that showed a bunch of little kids choosing which doll they liked better, the black one or the white one. I had heard about his type of research before, but I had never seen a video of the actual interviews with the kids. I was heartbroken when I saw the black children pick the black doll as the “bad” one and the white one as the “good” doll. Children of a minority group learn about “us” vs. “them” at such a young age. Most of the time the black children even chose to play with the white doll. And when the white children are given a choice between playing with a black or white doll, the white one is mainly picked. I can relate to this because as a child I never had a black, or any other race for that matter, doll or Barbie because I was white. So that meant that I played with white dolls and Barbies. What I do remember as a child though was that my minority friends had dolls and Barbies that were minorities and white. Another thing related to the “Girl Like Me” video was the fact that all of the black girls in the video talked about how people try to make themselves better through cosmetic treatments. Many talked about other girls bleach their skin at a young age to lighten their skin because light skin was more beautiful. They also talked about relaxing their hair because it was prettier. And they thought that their natural hair was not pretty because it was too “African” looking. I personally think that many black women look great with their natural hair styles or relaxed ones. I think that they should do whatever makes them feel more beautiful. But I do think that bleaching their skin is a little excessive. Tue, 22 Jun 2010 22:11:42 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/06/week-6-lesson-9-stages-of-racial-identity-people-of-color-stages-1-4__trashed/#IDComment81487442 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/06/week-5-lesson-8-stages-of-racial-identity-white-people-stages-3-4__trashed/#IDComment81014514 This was yet another great lecture; it was very informative. I thought that the video about the Red House Furniture store was a little strange. On one hand I thought that it was really funny because people kept referring to themselves as black or white and that they were saying that the store is for all races. On the other hand I thought it was rather sad that someone would make a commercial for a store stating that people of all races could shop there. I mean isn’t that common sense? I guess in different parts of the country it’s not. But I definitely think that where I live people can shop where ever they want regardless of race. I also however do think that certain stores are geared toward people of certain races. For example, there aren’t many white women who get their hair done at a salon designed for black women because their hair types are so different. I use a washcloth :) And I thought that the comment about white people not using one was really interesting to hear, especially when Sam polled the class about weather or not they use one. I just figured that everyone used one, but clearly that’s not true. And what I found even more interesting to hear was the comment that white people don’t use a wash cloth because they are “clean” and black and brown people use one because they are “dirty”. I have also tried to describe someone without using their race as part of the description. And it would have been a lot easier to get my point across if I just said their race. I notice that I have never had a problem describing someone as white, but I know that in the past I have avoided saying that black or Asian person, for example. But I have not done this recently because I know that if you are trying to describe someone, race is okay to disclose. I have also had other people try to describe someone to me. Where I work there is an older black woman that is a manager. And customers always come in looking for her, but they don’t know her name. So they try to describe her in every way possible that doesn’t imply that she is a black woman. Yet if they would have just said that they need to speak with the older black lady they would have wasted less time because there is only one person with that description where I work. People always try to tip top around a person’s race when in reality many people don’t care if you say their race when trying to identify them. Sun, 20 Jun 2010 00:56:47 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/06/week-5-lesson-8-stages-of-racial-identity-white-people-stages-3-4__trashed/#IDComment81014514 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/06/week-5-lesson-8-stages-of-racial-identity-white-people-stages-3-4__trashed/#IDComment80962314 June 19, 2010 I also use a washcloth :) And I have also avoided using people’s color to describe someone. I try to describe them in every other way possible besides using their race. I haven’t done that recently though. I have gradually learned that when you are try to describe someone it is okay to say the white person, black person, Asian person, etc. I have always experienced other people do this too when I am at work. One of my managers is an older black woman and she is the only older black woman who works at the store. Customers try to describe her every other way. And eventually I figure out who they are talking about and I always say “oh the light skinned black lady?” and of course they say “yeah that’s her”. They would have wasted less time if they had just said that from the beginning. Sat, 19 Jun 2010 14:16:34 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/06/week-5-lesson-8-stages-of-racial-identity-white-people-stages-3-4__trashed/#IDComment80962314 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/06/week-5-lesson-7-race-and-ethnic-inequality__trashed/#IDComment80487822 June 16, 2010 I also never talk about. And I really don’t even know white being white means either. I also agree that labeling our selves as majority vs. minority is very powerful. I too never thought about being a female, but I often think about my height. I am 5’2 and on most days I wish I were a little bit taller. But I do love wearing heals! And they always make me taller so if I were any taller and wore heals I would feel too tall. And then I wouldn’t be happy. So I have learned to accept my shortness by calling myself “fun sized” and wearing heals whenever I get the chance. Wed, 16 Jun 2010 21:59:54 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/06/week-5-lesson-7-race-and-ethnic-inequality__trashed/#IDComment80487822 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/06/week-5-lesson-7-race-and-ethnic-inequality__trashed/#IDComment80325608 I loved this lecture. It was definitely the most interesting thing that we have talked about so far. I never really thought about there being different stages of racial identity. But I think that it is really interesting to learn about. I noticed myself trying to think of people that I know, including myself, who fit into which stage. I do not really know any one who is in the pre-awakening stage, but obviously there are people in it or else it wouldn’t exist. I really liked Sam’s example of knowing someone who was disabled and what it would be like to be disabled. Until about a year ago I never personally knew any one who had a disability. I volunteer in a local elementary school in a kindergarten teacher. And last year there was a disabled boy in that class. He was born with stubs for arms and legs, so his arms only go to about the elbow area and his legs about he knee area. And immediately when I saw him I felt so bad for him. I didn’t think he could do anything by himself. I was beyond wrong about this remarkable little boy. He did not let his lack of normal arms and legs, feet, and hands keep him from doing all the things that his classmates were doing. I soon learned that he had adapted to be able to write, color, cut, and glue just like all of his classmates. He was even able to participate in gym class, which he loves! It was his favorite day of the week. He loved running around. He even wanted to shake hands with people. And while he didn’t have “hands” he considered the end of his arms to be his hands. He was always energetic and friendly. He was great to work with and I have learned so much from him. I have learned to never tell someone that they cannot do something because of a disability. They can still do whatever they want as long as they try. Sam also talked about political correctness, which never goes away. It seams like I talk about it in many classes. I’ve heard it in English classes, Government classes, and now Race Relations. And I believe that we will continue to hear it for a very long time. And I do think that white people are constantly being “watched” by other people (white and colored) to say things in a politically correct manner. And if you don’t say something politically correctly you can easily be thought of as racist. I know that my brother and dad always joke about different races and I often make remarks to them about being nicer and more politically correct. It is a topic that many people are passionate about and it will be around us for a long time to come. Tue, 15 Jun 2010 23:18:39 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/06/week-5-lesson-7-race-and-ethnic-inequality__trashed/#IDComment80325608 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/06/week-4-lesson-6-race-and-ethnic-inequality__trashed/#IDComment79163112 June 8, 2010 I also agree that we are very dependent on other people. I know exactly what you mean by having trouble changing your oil. I wouldn’t even know where to look to do that, which is really sad I know! They only thing I can do with my car is pump gas. My dad and grandfather are both really good with cars, but my brother and I know nothing. I think that is because no one bothered to teach us because nowadays everyone just pays some one else to do the work. And not even things about cars, many people don’t even bother to cook dinner. Many of my friends think that it is weird that my mom cooks dinner for us almost every night. Many of my friends’ families go out to dinner or order dinner the majority of the time. Things are always changing because people keep getting busier. Tue, 8 Jun 2010 19:06:55 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/06/week-4-lesson-6-race-and-ethnic-inequality__trashed/#IDComment79163112 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/06/week-4-lesson-6-race-and-ethnic-inequality__trashed/#IDComment79162291 I think the thing that I enjoyed the most about lesson 6 was the analogy of power and king of the mountain. I liked it because it was something that everyone could relate to because almost everyone has either played it as a child or have heard of it. It also explains exactly how groups in power remain in power because they can change the rules of the “game” to benefit them. Why would you create rules that didn’t benefit you? For example, you perform better in classes with about 20 people in them. If you had a choice to take the same class with 20 people or 300 people you would choose the class in which you would perform better in because that would benefit you. This is just like things that whites did after the end of slavery to blacks. Whites gave blacks their freedom from slavery yet whites still controlled everything. Hearing about what grandparents might say while driving through North Philly or Trenton was really funny to me because I can relate to that a lot. My grandparent ALWAYS talk about how the city used to look when they lived there. They think that the city looks unkempt and dilapidated. And it hasn’t stopped since they have moved to the suburbs. They live about three blocks from West Chester University’s campus, so naturally college students now occupy many of the houses on their street. I personally think that they should move because I am so sick of listening to them complain about the “damn college kids”, which is how my grandparents refer to them. They hate the fact that some of the houses went from being very nice family homes to dilapidated homes for eight to ten college students. But that’s the way it will be from now on because West Chester University has grown over the years and is still growing and those college students also need a place to live. I think that the college students are good for the area because they benefit all the local businesses, like restaurants, bars, and clothing stores, which are in town. One thing that I did not find shocking to hear was the fact that prisons are disproportionately filled with minorities. I already figured that was the case. What I did find interesting was hear was the amount to which this is unequal. I had no idea the gap was so large. For example, blacks were more than four times more likely to be incarcerated for drug use than whites. This may be because whites get better lawyers and/or just don’t get caught as much. Either way it is still every disproportionate. And all forms of drug use and crime rates are disproportionate among the races. Tue, 8 Jun 2010 18:58:49 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/06/week-4-lesson-6-race-and-ethnic-inequality__trashed/#IDComment79162291 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/05/week-3-lesson-5-social-inequality__trashed/#IDComment78688418 June 5, 2010 I also thought that more people received high school diplomas. I am also from a school where it is really rare for a person to not graduate from high school. I also agree that the gap in graduation rates between urban and suburban schools is huge. And it is due to the fact that they are separate and unequal. And because many of the urban schools are low achieving schools they do not receive as much government funding. I took the Urban Seminar class that Penn State offers every spring. I was placed in an inner city elementary school in the Philladelphia School District for two weeks. I was shocked at the lack of supplies these schools had and also the lack of quality teachers. The teachers didn’t seem to care about the students. I almost felt as if the teachers didn’t want or care if their students achieved; which is far from how I felt in my elementary school. I think that this has something to do with the gap in graduation rates among urban and suburban schools. And the students in these schools can not change the fact that they don’t get the best teachers or the proper supplies needed for a great education. Sat, 5 Jun 2010 15:16:23 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/05/week-3-lesson-5-social-inequality__trashed/#IDComment78688418 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/05/week-3-lesson-5-social-inequality__trashed/#IDComment78685870 This was a great lecture. I didn’t find it strange to see that Asians and whites have the highest family income levels. But what I did find interesting was the fact that so many Native Americans lived in poverty. I also could not believe that Native Americans would have almost no wealth without a home. And as far as the suburbs being wealthy, I don’t know if I really agree with that. I live in a suburb of Philly and I do not really consider myself wealthy. I tend to consider myself well off, but not wealthy. But the thing I never thought of was that 38.5% or poor Americans live in the suburbs. I think that there are poor people that live in the suburbs, they just don’t live or look how most people envision poor people. Another thing that I found interesting to hear is that the wealthiest immigrants in the United States are from Africa. I don’t really know why I found that interesting. I guess it’s because I never really thought about it. But after Sam pointed out the fact that in order to leave Africa and come to the United States you have to have money. Visas are given to people who have money. It is unequal and unfair, but I think that is how things are in the United States. Almost everything here is unequal in some way. For example, how is it fair that the poorest schools in the country receive the least amount of funding and the richest schools receive the most money? I think that the reason is because rich people don’t want to share their money. They want their children to have the best education possible. And some parents may feel that giving more money poor school districts will produce and better education for those children and as a result those children will be in direct competition with the children from the rich school districts. However, I think that if the public education system were more equally funded a better future would be possible for all students, regardless of their wealth. I think that the inequality in the United States is related to people’s choices and people’s socioeconomic differences combined. I think that the two work together. As a child living in a poor area you can’t change the fact that your parents are poor or that your school doesn’t get a lot of funding. But what you can change is your willingness to succeed. You can make the choice to be the best you can be and work really hard over coming all the obstacles that you encounter. Or you can make the choice to not care about school and become a drug addict. The choice is yours. But how hard you will have to work to achieve your dream may be determined by your family’s socioeconomic circumstance. Sat, 5 Jun 2010 15:06:37 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/05/week-3-lesson-5-social-inequality__trashed/#IDComment78685870 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/05/week-3-lesson-4-ethnocentrism__trashed/#IDComment78247226 After watching the lectures I think that the most important thing I took from them was the idea of cultural relativism. I think that it is a really hard thing to do, but also really important to try to do. I think that if you try to understand the practices of another culture it may be easier to understand why they do some of the things they do. Certain things that other cultures do may seem strange and uncomfortable to us because it is different from what we do; however, I am sure that other cultures think that people in the United States do strange things as well. For example, bullfighting is almost like a leisure activity in some cultures. I personally find it gross and I would never want to go to one. But if that is what I grew up watching I am sure that I would not have a problem with it. It is the same thing with the use of the electric chair in the United States. I do not really see a problem with it because it is just something I have grown up hearing about. I believe that if everyone tried to understand other cultures, from that cultures perspective, than a lot of racism and stereotypes would disappear. As far as people naming their children after a holy prophet or “God”, it is just not really done in the American culture. I do not know anyone who is named Jesus or anything like that. But I do have many friends who are named after religious people from the bible, like Mary. I also have friends whose middle names are inspirational words (like Hope, Faith, and Joy). I think that many time parents in the United States just name their children based on names they like or other family members. My mom named me after Candice Bergen, the actress. And the only reason she picked that name was because she liked the actress and that name. It was also interesting to see pictures and videos of what is going on in Iraq. I have to admit, I am not really interested in the war because I don’t know enough about it to be concerned. The experiment where we had to pretend to be an Arab Muslim was really interesting and a little hard to do. These people wanted see the soldiers as helpful and nice, but Arab Muslims are angry and upset because America is trying to steal their oil and resources. Arab Muslims are no different from Americans in wanting to defend their resources. How would America feel if some other country started a war because they wanted to get access to a resource that we have. It would be the same situation. I would be angry and upset to. And if more people understood the concept of cultural relativism than they could better understand why the Arab Muslims feel the way that they do. Wed, 2 Jun 2010 19:12:09 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/05/week-3-lesson-4-ethnocentrism__trashed/#IDComment78247226 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/05/week-3-lesson-4-ethnocentrism__trashed/#IDComment78241836 June 2, 2010 I have also seen the movie “The Color of Friendship” on the Disney Channel. And I too was expecting the exchange student from Africa to be a black person. I actually love that movie and I had no idea that it was based on a real story! I haven’t seen the movie in a long time, and I forgot about the part in the movie about the weaver- bird. And I think it is great that they build nests and help all different types of birds. People should be more like these birds and accept people for who they are. I also found it really interesting that chimps are more related to humans than they are to gorillas. That is just crazy! Wed, 2 Jun 2010 18:39:04 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/05/week-3-lesson-4-ethnocentrism__trashed/#IDComment78241836 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/05/week-two-lesson-2-intro-to-race__trashed/#IDComment76730282 I also thought of the White Loop stop in East Halls when watching the subway video! I remember being smashed onto the White Loop on weekend nights, it is not a pleasant experience. I am sure that looks just as funny to people who are not used to seeing that. I thought it was funny to see people being packed onto the subway, and I am sure that people who are not from State College think it is funny to see a bunch of freshman cram onto a bus. I also agree with Sam about swear words. I mean who decided that they were bad words to say. They are just random words that someone decided to declare them as bad words one day. Sun, 23 May 2010 02:04:32 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/05/week-two-lesson-2-intro-to-race__trashed/#IDComment76730282 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/05/week-two-lesson-2-intro-to-race__trashed/#IDComment76729641 I thought that it was really crazy that Carolus Linneaus categorized people based on the color of their skin. I also found that the way he described each race was interesting. He considered the white race superior to others and the black race to be lazy. I also find this funny because of the idea of slaves in American and across the world. But when slavery existed in the United States they were blacks that were owned and worked for whites. So the so-called lazy blacks were doing all the work for the superior whites. Slaves still exist today. Things like cell phones and clothes are made by slaves still today. I found that shocking! I didn’t think that slaves were being used to create things that I buy. And many people think that they are just one person who cannot do anything about slavery. But I think that something can be done about it. One thing that could be done is to alert people that slaves are making certain goods and people could boycott buying certain objects that are created by slaves. I don’t really know if this would even be possible but do not think that people today think that slaves exist, because I didn’t think they still did. The video about the subway in Japan was also extremely funny to watch. And I do tend to think that all Asian people look the same. I think that this is due to the fact that I don’t spend a lot of time with Asians so I don’t notice all of the little differences that they have. I also found it interesting to hear about the people who live Australia who have light straight hair and darker (black) skin. I always just assumed that people from Australia were white because I have only ever seen people from Australia who are white. Another thing I found interesting was the statement that “African is the motherland to all races”. And that the darkest skin doesn’t come from people in Africa, it comes from people in different parts of Asia. I do agree with the fact that the color of peoples skin comes from how they adapt to the changing weather and geographical area in which they live. For example, people who live around the equator need darker skin to protect them from the sun. Something I always wondered was addressed in Lesson Two- part 2, why we have different shaped noses. I always noticed that people who are black tend to have a wider nose that white people. I never knew that it had something to do with the climate of the area in which you live. I also found it interesting that there is a correlation between head size and temperature. And that higher temperature is correlated to narrower heads. Sun, 23 May 2010 01:56:07 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/05/week-two-lesson-2-intro-to-race__trashed/#IDComment76729641