After Thursday’s lecture with the video chat with the Iraqi engineer I had a lot of questions about the Iraqi people. Through the media initially we were led to believe that the Iraqi people were against our presence in their region and against why we were even ion the Middle East for the conflict. The media portrayed us as the bad guys who were invading their land. Then in recent years there has been many different reports about how American soldiers have been especially kind to local people and that we are really trying to be good people there and nicely set up a local government. In the news we state how we are focused on restoring stability in the region and that we care about the local people. I have seen many pictures of American soldiers with local people. I have found it confusing that soldiers are either seen as the mean aggressors in the region or the respected saviors there. I always felt that the truth lay somewhere in the middle. After Basum’s talk I think I was able to see the reality. Basum mentioned several times that the government in Iraq certainly wants the troops there because they very well know that without the support of the United States, the government would probably fall apart. We helped facilitate elections there and set up a democratic system in the country, but whether or not the government can stand on its own is in question. Basum confirmed that their local power needs the US but many locals are ready for American forces to leave the region. We have a planned departure date of Late 2011, to have all forces leave the region other then small groups left behind to maintain some level of security. He mentioned that there are many different protests that go on in public around the country, trying to show that the local people want the troops to leave. After first hearing this I was shocked, we came there, took out the oppressive leader and helped restore peace in the region. If you look further into it, certain middle easterners are hung up on the fact that the war is solely on Oil. I can see the local frustration and after Sam tried to put the class in their shoes, I know would be unhappy with the local occupation as well. Yes the troops helped bring about good, but if I loved in an occupied territory, I would want the troops gone as well. Basum mentioned that the US Hummer’s have signs stating that people must remain 100 feet or more away from them, and that the troops will confront people if they violate the rules. I know I would not want to live in the militaristic state and I actually feel their pain. It was shocking to hear the opposition to our occupation their but after speaking to a local, un-biased man, I can definitely put myself in a local’s shoes and understand their point of view.

Seeing the video about the Native Americans and learning about their true way of life is really startling. When we think of Native Americans we think back to how they lived in the 18th century when this country began to become heavily settled by Europeans and we go off of what the settlers described their life as. Historical accounts of Native American life were one of hunting, fishing, gathering, living in teepee villages in the wild, respecting the land, and also Indian warfare. We do not think of Native American life today and what they go through. When you see these shocking videos of how they live, you start to see the true poverty we have forced them into. They used to live wherever they wanted and once the Europeans settled here they were pushed into these reservations on undesirable lands in usually bad climate areas. The video showed what looked like a run down trailer park with people driving 20 year old cars that most of them did not even work. People were pushing cars down the road, living in mobile homes, and struggling to get by. Many are unemployed and have little ways to even earn money to support them. Sure, some have casinos, but there are a select few that are actually successful and those are the popular ones we hear about today like Mohegan Sun. I feel bad for the life they are now forced to live. I ask why they do not just come out and live amongst the general population of Americans in possibly their own neighborhoods instead of living in desolate areas of America like central Montana, South Dakota, and other Midwestern and western areas. They live in such poverty yet there are opportunities for them to lead a better life. People with Native American background can easily get into better colleges and probably would have easier access to various jobs with their diverse background to secure a better job. If they stay in this life of poverty it will be a never-ending circle. I do not see their way of life changing very soon, nor life on the reservations getting any better but I have think there are ways that they can change and try to lead a somewhat better life. It is terrible that they live like that and seeing the video really made it a reality. There is a reservation somewhat near my house that I have never been to so it’s weird seeing that life on the reservation can be like that, especially so close to where I live. The video in class definitely an eye-opener and I hope they can eventually break out of this life of poverty.

Seeing the video about the Native Americans and learning about their true way of life is really startling. When we think of Native Americans we think back to how they lived in the 18th century when this country began to become heavily settled by Europeans and we go off of what the settlers described their life as. Historical accounts of Native American life were one of hunting, fishing, gathering, living in teepee villages in the wild, respecting the land, and also Indian warfare. We do not think of Native American life today and what they go through. When you see these shocking videos of how they live, you start to see the true poverty we have forced them into. They used to live wherever they wanted and once the Europeans settled here they were pushed into these reservations on undesirable lands in usually bad climate areas. The video showed what looked like a run down trailer park with people driving 20 year old cars that most of them did not even work. People were pushing cars down the road, living in mobile homes, and struggling to get by. Many are unemployed and have little ways to even earn money to support them. Sure, some have casinos, but there are a select few that are actually successful and those are the popular ones we hear about today like Mohegan Sun. I feel bad for the life they are now forced to live. I ask why they do not just come out and live amongst the general population of Americans in possibly their own neighborhoods instead of living in desolate areas of America like central Montana, South Dakota, and other Midwestern and western areas. They live in such poverty yet there are opportunities for them to lead a better life. People with Native American background can easily get into better colleges and probably would have easier access to various jobs with their diverse background to secure a better job. If they stay in this life of poverty it will be a never-ending circle. I do not see their way of life changing very soon, nor life on the reservations getting any better but I have think there are ways that they can change and try to lead a somewhat better life. It is terrible that they live like that and seeing the video really made it a reality. There is a reservation somewhat near my house that I have never been to so it’s weird seeing that life on the reservation can be like that, especially so close to where I live. The video in class definitely an eye-opener and I hope they can eventually break out of this life of poverty.

In the beginning of class on Tuesday, Sam opened with imagery that the entire class was Iraqi citizens, living in the middle of the current war zone. He wanted us all to picture that we were regular Iraqi’s, going about our daily lives when he described the American invasion. When put into terms like that, your view on the whole war starts to change. I certainly know it did for me. If you start it imagine that the invasion of a foreign army took place on our home soil, your view on the whole purpose of the battle seems different. I would certainly agree with the overall mission of capturing terrorists and removing the harsh dictator currently in place in the government, but I would question the other aspects. Think of the other stories you hear of, bombings and raids where civilian lives are lost. The invading army tried to bomb different targets in various cities where suspect behavior is taking place, but when bombs are dropped, civilian life will be lost. They can say all they want that they are minimizing loss of non-military personnel life lost, but if someone lost is close to you, you would still question the whole operation no matter what. Beforehand I viewed what was happening as just a necessary part of our mission, and that we were eradicating the “bad” people and trying to restore peace in the area. But when you look at it from the local people’s perspective, their land was being invaded for a few extremists and their harsh dictator. If we put ourselves in their shoes, say we had a harsh dictator and within our country’s borders there was a group of extreme people, going around the world killing innocent people, and our civilians took the retaliation. Innocent people were killed and then that country’s forces would be in our land, killing our innocent people in search of the bad guys. In theory it makes sense but when a story like that hits closer to home your view really can change. All in all, I would certainly not like it if a country that was attacked by one radical group from our country, came and terrorized our land and killed innocent people while securing our land with their military force. Sam showed videos of the US military patrolling the streets and destroying people’s property because they stole wood and running cars off the road for driving too slow. Living in a militaristic state run by a foreign entity would be terrible and I would certainly not want to be the local people in an occupied country. After really thinking about this situation I have a lot more compassion for the Iraqi civilian people enduring this war and I do not just see it as a simple mission of eradicating terrorists, but a conflict with many down-sides as well.

I have been in many different situations where people around me are speaking another language besides English. Growing up in the New York area I was exposed to a lot of diversity of cultures all within close range of my house. A simple twenty minute drive into Queens, NY to a different neighborhood can leave you plopped in the middle of an Indian neighborhood, just blocks from a Spanish neighborhood or any other different group. People in those areas speak their language, eat their food, and live life almost as if they did back in their home country. I have a close friend who is Puerto Rican and I have gone with her many times to her grandma’s apartment in Queens that is a very diverse neighborhood. This neighborhood has a lot of different kinds of people, but predominantly it is a Puerto Rican area. Walking down the street, everyone is speaking Spanish, and even in her grandma’s apartment, her whole family would be talking in Spanish, leaving me clueless as to what was happening around me. I feel generally uncomfortable in these types of situations for different reasons. Mainly it is because I do not know at all what is going on and feel like they could easily be talking about me and I would have no idea. If they were talking about me right in front of me, then I continue to be nice to them right afterwards, just makes me look like a fool. I do not like the fact that everyone around me can converse but I cannot. I usually can talk anyone’s ear off and can usually hold a conversation with just about anyone, but when placed in these situations, I am stuck their silent. I would basically sit there until someone would talk to me in English or my friend would translate something from the conversation. It is awkward when they tell stories and everyone will be sitting around laughing and here I am having no idea what is going on, would that not make anyone feel a little bit uncomfortable? From this I decided I want to become more fluent in Spanish and try to be able to converse with Spanish speakers. As time went on I gained a greater knowledge of Spanish and can usually understand what is going on now and converse on a limited basis. While in those situations I feel a little more comfortable, if I encountered another situation with people talking a different language I would be right back where I started from. I do not see how this could not be even a little bit uncomfortable for anyone. I like being able to have a full group discussion or conversation and when people speak to others in front of a non-speaker it just leaves them clueless.

The question proposed is whether or not Barack Obama’s presidency has the helped the race movement in today’s society. To answer this in short: yes, but I do not think it has helped the race movement to the degree originally thought. I think in the beginning when it seemed apparent that Obama could easily become the president once he took the Democratic national ticket, black people and other people of color across the country gained a sense of hope that he would bring about more equality to our country and the world. Some people seemed to think that new initiatives would be taken that would help bring about equality and make society better for blacks and other people of the minority. This has not really happened since then and doubt anything along those lines would even occur, but I do think it has helped the race movement in our country a little bit. Just as the video we watched in class said, that by him overcoming all the obstacles in his life to eventually win the presidential nomination for the US, is remarkable. To echo the video, I would say that it gives children of color in our country and even the world hope, that one day they too could rise to the most important position in the free world. He was an average black child growing up in Hawaii with an African side and a white side family, and grew into the crooked business that is Chicago politics. He was able to climb the ranks as a community organizer to a US Senator then into the US Presidency. If this does not go to show that another black child in our country can do a similar thing then I do not know what to say. Flash back fifty years ago and people would laugh at the idea of a black person in a relatively important position, let alone as President of the United States. Black people even in very recent times have had trouble attaining the proper respect in the world and workplace, and by Obama rising to the President, this goes to show anything is possible for people of all colors in this country. It demonstrates we have come such a long way from the Civil Rights movement days and I think the fact he could do this can give hope to everyone. People all around the world can not only look to what a great system we have in place here in America, our democratic ways that can let anyone rise to where they want to be as long as they have the determination and support of the people. The fact that anyone, even someone in the persecuted minority could rise up and gain the support of well over half our country to be catapulted into the Presidency is really astounding if you think about it. While this has not legally helped the race movement, I think the hope given to people of all colors all over the world is remarkable in its own right.

Diversity anywhere is a big issue nowadays. Companies and schools are so focused on being diverse and multi-cultural. They want to have a diverse climate that shows they are accepting of all different races. Companies have to adhere to different laws of affirmative action where they will have a staff of mixed males and females as well as different races. Companies and schools back in the day used to be predominantly white and male, which after the civil rights movement and woman’s rights movement, people began to rise against such actions. Women wanted to enter the work force and people of color wanted to be more accepted in society today. From all of this, schools and companies are focused on being diverse and “open to all races.” Penn State is an interesting mix of people. While acceptance of women into the work force and schools has become more common place but acceptance of people of color has been a slower process. At Penn State, whites make up about 80% of the student population; blacks make up about 3%, Hispanics 3%, and the rest being mixed or “other.” At first this could seem shocking and overwhelmingly white but if one were to look at the racial make up of the state of Pennsylvania, Penn State’s demographics are very similar. I believe that a school that is a state-sponsored school that is created for the students of the commonwealth (among other out of state students) should be representative of the respective state. If Pennsylvania as a whole is 80% white, a state school representing the state can easily have the same demographics. When walking around Penn State though it is so easy to notice the lack of diversity here. From personal experience, most of my classes are predominantly white, mostly all of my friends are white, and most people I see are white. I have a few black friends that are very involved in various black organizations so I have experienced many black students here, but these groups are clearly limited. I have visited friends at other schools that are clearly a lot more diverse and it is such a stark difference then Penn State. My cousin goes to Fordham in the Bronx, NY and you can experience a lot more people of color when walking around campus and in classes. Altogether though I would not go as far to ridicule Penn State for a lack of diversity. I feel if Penn State was even more so white then the demographics of the state, it could be a subject of ridicule. There are many other schools in our country that are much less diverse. I feel diversity brings about a great mix of cultures and can be a great learning experience, schools that lack a mix of students do not provide the same cultural experience. Penn State can certainly be more diverse but I would not raise concern over the lack of diversity here.

Affirmative Action when it was first created set out to create more equality in our country. This would ensure that people of minorities have an equal chance at receiving jobs or various positions while competing against white people for them. Studies have shown that white people on average will receive a position more so than a person of color would be likely to receive it, even if they have the same credentials. Now of course there can not be much said against this because this set out to foster a more equal environment in our country, but some may ask, has it gone too far? I would slightly agree with this. I do agree that it is a necessary thing to keep equality in our world but I feel sometimes people can be looked over for a position because the company wants to focus on hiring minorities or the school wants to have a good diversity ranking. One example that springs to mind is a black student I know at Penn State. I am white and applied to this school with higher SAT scores, a higher average and from a prestigious high school, and with loads of work experience. This student had lower scores, grades, and no work experience at all, but received a full ride to Penn State. My first question is, WHY? Is he more qualified to be here because he is black? I know after Sam’s lecture how white privilege is usually an unconscious thought of ours and we really do not think, “oh I got this job because I am white!” but things like this make me wonder. What does he have that deserves a full scholarship, all expenses paid to come here over what I have to offer? I am not boasting about myself and saying I deserve one too, I am simply wondering why things like this occur. If we really want to go on about equality, we would not even be looking at race at all; it would be merit-based rewards. If the application process did not show ethnicity and just merits achieved, would he still have been granted this scholarship? I highly doubt that it would have occurred if race were not even brought in to it. I think a school or a job should be a collection of the best possible people interested in the position and affirmative action should help that race is not taken into account in a job, not to secure a nice diversity ratio in an office with an even balance of minorities: whites. I feel in some instances affirmative action may be taken to far because companies and schools want to have a nice diverse environment so people will not accuse them of racism in hiring or acceptance, rather then companies or schools looking for the best option with race not even brought into the picture.

There are a lot of different prejudices in today’s society apparent around the world. Different people have different views on people of the world. There are many people who are prejudice free and are not racists at all, but I would be completely lying to you if I said that was true for all society. Although a lot of racist actions are not as prevalent in open society as they used to be back in especially Civil War times and previous, it is still alive and flowing today. Many white people look down upon blacks too and associate with the old movement of hatred and degradation of blacks especially in America today, which is completely out dated. Many people have some terrible things to say about them and when someone is accused of being a racist, usually people assume they said or did something against African-Americans. A big topic in today’s society is racism towards Muslim. There weren’t as much dealings with Muslims around the world before September 11th. Since then Americans have developed a hatred of this region of the world and people that reside in them. What makes this situation tricky is that the people who committed terrorist acts against the USA are not from one specific area in the Middle East. There is a lot of secrecy over these people and in turn many Americans have a general distrust and dislike of the entire region of the world. This feeling spread so quickly around the US and other western nations that I personally think it is as prevalent as racism towards blacks, if not, more. There always has been a deep seeding dislike of some black people by certain people for whatever reason they may do so, but the dislike and distrust of Muslims has spread like wildfire because of the attacks that a select few extremist carried out on our country. Many Americans have little knowledge of Muslims and the Arab world and tend to lump all Muslims together with the extremists that carried out the terror attacks. People here know a lot more about African culture and blacks in today’s society then they do about people in the Middle East region. People make more generalizations and seem to be even scared of Muslims. People that do not like people of African descent are more racist in the fact that they have bad things to day about them and have a general dislike for them, but people today are scared and hate people from the Muslim world. Of course I am speaking in generalization terms but this is a largely prevalent view spread across the USA. People are scared of another attack and do not want to be around people of Arabian descent at all, accusing them of being a terrorist in many instances. I think eventually as people learn about this part of the world, people will begin to realize the difference between the extremists and regular people and realize that it is only a small group of people in one of the largest population centers of the globe. I think this racism towards Muslims is a little more hateful and prevalent today than the racism present towards African-Americans in today’s society.

Part 4
Some countries are not in the position to start to build up yet though unfortunately. There is so much political unrest these days though. The only way for people around the world to increase their standard of living is when they will come together to move forward. If we could do it, other nations can too. Poverty is so prevalent these days and it can change.