Ever since Sam and Laurie brought up their experience in visiting the "lifers" I was very intrigued on how these people continue to live their lives knowing they will never get out. I am currently a Crime, Law, and Justice major and hope someday I will have a career in this field. Therefore, I have been learning a lot about different cases on murder, but have never looked at the eyes of the "other." This is why this blog immediately caught my attention and this letter fascinated me more than ever. I have never been "for" the death penalty even being that I do want to work in the court system in the future. I actually feel that many criminals should be given a second chance and not be sent to prison right away. In Japan, many criminals are given a second chance and the country actually has much lower crime rates than the United States does. Anyways, I strongly believe a person should be able to continue their life even if it is in prison for a hundred years. People change who they are in a matter or years regardless of where they are. This is why it does not surprise me that this "lifer" writing this letter speaks so eloquently with more wise and kind words of thought than from some "innocent" people I know. This letter really struck me. To know this man murdered someone, but then completely forget it as the letter goes on is incredible. All in all, this man is a human being. Just like Sam has been teaching us in class about ethnocentrism and how to look at the other perspective, I felt I was doing just that while reading this letter. Seeing the media portray how prisoners really are totally blinds us and forces us to generalize them into this one big nasty group of people. I have never doubted inmates learn more the more time they spend in prison. Just like this letter, the man explains his lesson of compassion in where it can be found in the most dreadful and of all places. This man has just taught me a lesson, this man who has murdered someone, this man who will spend the rest of his life in prison. Just because he maybe in prison does not mean his life is over. Obviously this lifer is learning about life probably more than innocent people do everyday because we are so caught up in our busy lives. For him to notice these little gestures and notions of compassion in a place where it so hard for anyone to, to me, is beautiful. I give this man much credit. This story really touched my heart and I actually would like to hear more personal stories of inmates. I believe many are sorry for what they have done and may not even deserve to be there as everyone might think. Hopefully, while being in prison, many will find the power to forgive themselves.

I cannot even believe a video game like this even exists. I already find it hard to believe other video games that promote violence such as Halo and Counterstrike even exist. However, this is definitely crossing the line. Obviously, Japan has a culture completely different from the American culture and rape is more accepted if anything in their culture. Yet, this is completely absurd. Psychology studies are still trying to find out if violent video games are the causation for violence among juveniles. I believe this to be absolutely and utterly true. If a child, teenager, or even adult is exposed to violence on a regular basis even through a video game, they internally form this idea in their minds that it is natural and "okay." If anyone were exposed to this game and were to constantly play it on a daily basis, obviously they become conditioned to thinking it is "okay" to do in real life as well. The media influences thousands of children in advertisements, magazines, television shows, etc, everyday and it has been proven that they do a good job doing it as well. This is a major reason as to why many teenagers suffer from anorexia or bulimia because of what the media keeps reminding them of what "beautiful" is by showing the same flawless people in magazines and advertisements. Thus, they begin this trend of trying to look like what they see. Needless to say, there is no doubt when teenagers are exposed to and play this video game that they will be influenced as well. I am not saying that after playing the game, a person will automatically want to rape a woman. Yet, they will continue to go through their day thinking it is merely okay and a norm of society. How did the creators not find anything wrong with this idea? I wonder if they questioned it at all. Even creators who make video games of people shooting other people, did they think that was okay? Do they realize the impact they are having in this generation? Video games are addictive, especially to young children. Why would creators want to make kids addicted to something perceived as wrong or bad? Do they want these kinds of kids to be our future leaders? Growing up as child, I never played video games and I still don't until this day. I feel I got to experience a wonderful childhood many children miss out these days. I played outside everyday, was very active in sports, meeting other kids in my neighborhood, going on play dates, hanging out at the park, even helping my mom garden. The best quality of children is their innocence and purity. They have no care in the world. However, by exposing young children to these gruesome games, makes me wonder is there any innocence left in this world anymore? Any hope for good to conquer evil?

This video emotionally stirred me while watching it in class. In a way, it was quite disturbing seeing these young children making a strong statement of society without having to say much. I'll admit society has been trained and brainwashed to believe the white, lighter skin color is often the "better" or more "beautiful" color. That's it. That's what I have been forced to consume and this is what these children and millions of other children are taking in slowly as they learn more about how the American culture works. I guess it does all depend how one is raised by their parents to see what "color" truly is. However, for most children, they do not even have to be taught because the truth is evident. The lighter you are, the more praise and attention you will be given as opposed to a colored person. This all has to do with stereotyping and generalizing groups of people. Like the video points out, white people are looked at as the "good" race whereas the black race is "bad." Why have our minds been trained to think like this? It actually puts me very down that something no one can control like skin color gives people the right to automatically judge. I just cannot understand. I wonder how this same scenario works out in terms of choosing a significant other to marry. Do people tend to choose someone of their own race to marry, do they marry whoever is of "lighter" color, or do have no preference? As for me, my parents have been pretty open with me dating whoever I want regardless of skin color. However, they have tried to sway me in choosing someone who is the same race as mine. I have dated some guys sharing my race and others who have not. Somehow, I have always had some attraction to black guys. I don't know why, it's not like I have been socialized to think this way. Therefore, I seriously wonder what it is that triggers some people to be attracted to a certain race or color. A lot of my white male friends are attracted to asian females. Again, have they been socialized to think this way, just like the kids in this video? I wonder. Regardless, I'm just in shock how we are all socialized at a young age to think a certain way mostly because of who we are surrounded by most of the time, such as our parents. Then, when we grow up we may choose to stay the same way or change our attitudes on what our parents think and start thinking for ourselves. I feel our society will always be structured the same way though. The way these children so unconsciously pointed out--white being the higher, better class and the colored being the "unwanted."

Since I am half Asian, I do find it confusing on how to categorize myself when Sam speaks of white, brown, and black people. Being that I am also half lebanese which in Sam's definition is supposed to be categorized in the "white race," I am split. However, I do feel I am part of the minority therefore I usually classify myself with the "colored" people as Sam calls it. However, this is all beside the point. I feel Sam, majority of the time, brings up the two extreme sides--black and white. He most frequently speaks of stereotypes of black people vs. white people however, barely brings out other cultures into play. Hundreds of cultures make up this melting pot in the United States however, the ones in the "middle" I feel are always neglected, such as the Asians. When Sam brought up this idea of individual judgement vs. group judgement, Asians are barely looked at as an individual as well. I've heard at least a dozen times that "all Asians looks alike." I guess I do not get classified into this stereotype because I am mix and barely look Asian whatsoever, however, I have grown up around Asian people all my life and can easily distinguish one Asian from a different kind of Asian. Many other stereotypes, such as all Asians are good at Math and Science, need to be broken down. Yet, I feel as if though Sam barely brings up these ideas. I feel I can never fully sympathize or empathize with what he discusses in class because I am neither black nor white. I am just stuck in the middle, yet I have experienced much discrimination as well and have also felt guilty for discriminating all the same. Same goes for the discussion group I am in. About 95% of my discussion group are white females. I feel like the odd one out at times, however, I have also grown up with many white people in my life and have accustomed to their lifestyle so I do not feel as uncomfortable as other colored people might feel. Again, I feel like I still do not know where to place myself. I am in neither side of the extreme therefore I feel I can barely discuss my perspective because the topic seems to always come down to what what people vs. black people think. Other might think differently, however this is how I have been experiencing for quite some time now. I wish Sam would talk more about the Asian culture or the middle eastern culture because there are so many discriminations and stereotypes against them. I feel like I would be more engaged in the class if I could relate a lot to what he was lecturing about. I feel many of his ideas are getting quite repetitive on this struggle between white vs. black, yet there are so many other cultures that come into play here and not just whites against colored people but colored people vs. other kinds of colored people. The list simply goes on.

I heard about this news earlier this week and for some reason got extremely excited. Now, listening to this video makes me even more excited. Somehow, I feel incredibly amazed how one woman can make a breakthrough for the female race. Watching the video, Nathalie Randolph seems quite calm or maybe just not fully aware of how great of an impact she is making to women everywhere. I just recently learned in my Women Studies class about how the average of female coaches, for not just football, but other sports as well, is severely down compared to male coaches. In high school, I have seen and experienced my fair share of female coaches and gym teachers. However, rarely have I ever seen a woman coaching a certain sport to the boys’ baseball or soccer team. Let’s face it, throughout the generations, sports have always been classified as a “guy’s thing.” Guys thrive in watching and playing sports. Women bring involved in sports is still a new thing even today. Therefore, only time can help females progress in the sports industry. Women should not be discouraged to go all the way with a certain sport because the percentages of women making it big are very slim, instead, more women should be encouraged to change that statistic. I believe this is exactly what Nathalie Randolph is doing and encouraging other women to do. If someone is qualified for the job, what should gender or race even matter? I’m sure Randolph has gone through many if not even more than a man’s strives in trying to accomplish achievements in football. I feel this is merely the beginning. I am hoping ten years from now, I will be able to see a woman coaching an NFL team. I mean, we have a black president now which many years ago I’m sure could never have been imagined. Obama is a figure for change in race, where I feel Nathalie Robertson is a figure for change in gender equality in sports. The truth of the matter is, we need more female coaches in our school systems. Girls need someone to look up to as a role model and to encourage them to join and stick to a certain sport. If men can coach women, why should it be any different the other way around? I am sure this issue has gotten some controversy. However, I am hoping Randolph will do her job well and her team will treat her with much if not more respect than they would a male coach. I find it very interesting how this will work out. However, I believe the title itself is enough to get many women like myself excited.

Wow. I never realized how unbelievingly true this fact is. I have watched a few seasons of the Bachelor/Bachelorette and just by listening to this question, only now have I become aware of the show only broadcasting white people. I guess I have noticed the fact that the people in the show are predominantly white, however I have never asked myself why and how racist the show now comes to me. First off, the bachelor/bachelorette is always a white male/female. Therefore, it seems to me that the contestants for the show are probably chosen by what the white bachelor/bachelorette prefer in a mate. Studies do show that a large percentage of people will marry a partner affiliated with the same race or culture. Therefore, I guess I can understand why the color of the bachelor vs. the contestants are usually the same. Then again, studies also show that our society is becoming very fluid in choosing partners from many different backgrounds. Thus, I am sure these people on the show are not actually racists, however, there is a bigger picture to look at. Generalizing the white race seems to always be equivalent to wealth, power, and other desirable characteristics. The bachelors that are usually chosen are not some bum in the street looking for a mate, but a successful and attractive person, By choosing all the people who go on the show to be white, it seems society is trying to send a message that whites are usually the "desirable ones". They are the rich, the famous, the appealing. This does not only occur with The Bachelor, but other shows as well. Other shows that have been broadcasted by Disney such as Lizzie McGuire, Boy Meets World, Hannah Montana, etc., the characters are mostly predominantly white. Even though shows think by sticking a black person or an asian person in the mix, they are not being racist, the main characters always seem to lean towards one side of the color spectrum, which is usually white. In movies, the leading roles are usually played by well-known, attractive white people. The same thing goes for magazines. Our media is immersed in trying to keep the white race on top and being discreet in that they throw a couple of black people into the mix. However, our country is filled with hundreds of diversities, yet it is difficult to see that when shows like the Bachelor, a popular American show that has been running for years, portray this generalization of the United States of America. I am sure there is a successful woman or man of color who is also looking for a mate. Yet, why isn't a show like that aired? The Bachelor show thinks by keeping to its predictable standards of choosing a bachelor, they receive better ratings. However, I'm sure this country of America would graciously like to see a totally diversified show.

As Sam lectures about this massive genocide of Native Americans that has barely been spoken about, I often ask this same question myself, what can I do? The first thing I think we take do is listen, listen to what Sam is saying and listen to other stories we hear about this tragedy. The second step is to believe, believe that the events of Europeans murdering Native Americans was real and did indeed happen and has been discreetly discussed. The third step is to learn, learn about the culture and history of Native Americans and who these people actually are because they are still out there today and still under appreciated. The final step is to spread the word, let others know about this topic that is rarely discussed and shown in history books and make them want to do something about it. Increasing our awareness helps eliminate history from repeating. Although the acts against the Native Americans were horrific and unjust, they happened and the most we can do now is to educate ourselves and other generations. I believe this is the only way we can honor them, by sympathizing and acknowledging their people and ancestors. By doing this, I agree that educating the young, the new generation, and our future generation, is the ultimate step we can take in order to change how Native Americans are looked upon today and in order to understand their true story. I feel as though these people are under false impression. I'll admit when I was a child, I believed the Native Americans decided to take in the European foreigners and to share their land with them, because these are what the history books told me. It never came to me that the Native Americans were forced to leave their homes, families, and tribes and changed their way because a white man suddenly entered and decided to conquer their land. I feel deceived and appalled I am only hearing about this insane genocide now being in college. I can tell you verbatim the story of the Holocaust in 1939 and the genocide that happened in eastern Europe. However, I can barely tell you about the intense murder of thousands of Native Americans in our own country. I feel like there are so many hidden secrets of our country, but something like this needs to be heard and known. Therefore, I strongly agree children nowadays need to hear the truth, before it is too late and the little history we know about the Native Americans, the first people in this land, will be completely gone. I remember taking my AP History exam junior year and there were 3 essay questions. One was on the Vietnam war, the other on the Civil War. Both those essay questions, I felt confidant writing about. However, the last essay question what about a certain Native American tribe and I had no idea what to write. By the end of the exam, I only had one paragraph about the essay on Native Americans. I feel we learn so much on slavery that occurred in the United States, yet why not about the first slave acts committed on the Native Americans? I am tired of starving for the truth. I want to learn more about this hidden topic and I want to spread the word to children so they won't end up ignorant like me about these interesting and spiritual people.

The major topic I have been struggling with in this class is religion. I have grown up in a hard core Roman Catholic family for years. Attending mass every Sunday, reading Bible stories, chanting prayers, and even becoming a religious preacher myself, I now am feeling have all been a waste of my time. Like what this article brings up and the discussion last class about what the Bible directs its followers not to do, all seems hypocritical to me now. I have been a good person, trying to follow my Catholic beliefs as much as I can, but have done things the Bible does not accept such as using profane language. So will I not be able to enter the kingdom of God just because of these unjust rules? For the first time in my life, I am questioning my faith and I just feel stuck. Personally, I accept homosexuality, drinking, and all of the above. I believe religion should not stop you from living your life and being who you are. Religion should try to guide a person to a better path and life, but completely banning things that are out of the norm and then labeling it “deviant” simply does not make sense and is completely unfair. But then, does that mean I am not a true Catholic? The Bible also says “it is not your job to judge” yet everyone judges inevitably and again hypocrisy comes into play here because the Bible is the culprit of making others judge people such as homosexuals. This class and the article have just got me stirring my thoughts and beliefs on my religion and everyone else’s religion, especially the origins of all these religions in particular. When did all of these religions become present? Vampires, mermaids, Santa Claus—how were they made up and what makes them different from being as imaginary as God? Also, Greek mythology, how about if we all believed that to be real instead of the Bible? Would it make a difference? I am not trying to go against anyone’s religion, including mine, however, I am just befuddled with all of this. Seeing is believing, therefore it’s hard for me to fully trust something people have written centuries ago when I have never experienced anything spiritual myself. I wish there was an answer to all of this, but I know there really is not. I am not going to all of a sudden become an Atheist, however, I am going to try being more open-minded about all of this. I know who I am and I am not a person who hates just because a book tells me what is right and wrong. I feel only experiences can teach you the best lessons and therefore, I feel I can still stick to my beliefs, but who I am at the same time.

Since I was young, I always wondered about how language was created in the first place. Why a chair is called a chair, why a telephone is called a telephone, and so forth. Almost all words in the English language can be traced back to Latin origin, but still, how were those Latin words created, and why don't we use the Latin language anymore? It's just crazy to think that just like people, animals, and any form of life, languages go on, change, become endangered, and suddenly disappear forever. It's also scary to think that this sort of thing can happen and probably will happen to even the language we use everyday--English. I think we take for granted how we are able to speak a language that is pretty much the universal language of the world. However, what will happen if this language all of a sudden is no longer used or spoken anymore? Will all our American and English history and culture be forgotten as well? Language gives us the ability to communicate, become educated, share ideas, show emotions, think to ourselves, argue, make decisions, etc. I don't think we realize what we would do without language. I definitely realize how much language affects life when I travel, which I very so often do. Traveling to Egypt, South Korea, Peru, the Philippines, Lebanon, etc. has taught me how much language shapes a culture and the country itself. Language is the essential and core component of keeping a population of people together. A group of people might be the same color or even the same race and speak a completely different language or dialect and this adds more to who a person actually is and should be classified as. As a biracial person, I speak neither the language of my mother's side or my father's side because I have grown up in America and therefore, predominantly speak English like majority of everyone else in this country. However, sometimes I wish I did grow up speaking other languages. I feel I do not truly understand my culture because I do not speak the language. I also think our country is at a major disadvantage when it comes to to speaking languages other than English. In school, we are forced to take a second language class such as Spanish, French, Italian, etc. However, after two or so years of the requirement is fulfilled, we do not pursue to keep practicing the language and learning even more languages. There are 7,000 languages in the world yet I only know English. To me, this is absurd and I am sure many people feel they are on the same boat. I have met other students outside the United States who are the same age as me and can speak three to four languages fluently. To me, this is unfair and I just don't understand why America is at a disadvantage when it comes to learning many different languages, especially when we are the most diverse country in the world. Certain languages becoming extinct scares me especially because I only know one and if English were ever the language to become lost then I will basically lose myself as well.

After seeing Avatar for the first time, I immediately fell in love with the film. Yes, at times I felt that it fell into the repeated category of Pocahontas and various other movies that capture the same central message of white supremacy vs. native dwellers. Nonetheless, it was a unique motion picture in its own way. Avatar definitely opened my eyes and made me aware of the hidden situation that is still taking place today. I mean, if films like Avatar are still following the same plot of the natural world being corrupt by those in power, maybe it's merely because the problem is still not being solved. I'm not saying that we should all run around naked and start hunting, but we have to finally face the ongoing problem: we are destroying our planet. Sooner or later we are going to realize it and unfortunately it might be too late. Though David Brooks points out that in every movie that tries to point out this idea of saving nature, a "white messiah" becomes the leader for solving the problem, I believe otherwise. While different films do steer attention at this direction, since the "white male" is usually the one who possesses power and privilege, I believe the proper message to get from this is that we need leaders such as presidents, spokesmen, congressmen, who have the credibility to make the change. It takes one powerful ruler to convince a crowd of aimless and frightened people. Therefore, I don't think the "white messiah" fable is offensive as David Brooks points out because I don't think the lesson is geared towards all white people needing to start that push of change. I think the major part to grasp from all of this is that people will listen to the higher being, the authority, those who are in power. If those in control promote the change, then others will follow--as simple as that. Also, to counteract another one of David Brook's comments, I don't believe the film is condoning the elimination of technology or weaponry, but merely pointing out how obsessed and focused we are on materialistic objects which can always be replaced. However, natural resources that we need and cannot live without such as oil, water, energy etc., are disappearing slowly, yet we don't have the time to worry about the important things like that. We can prevent our resources from slipping away so easily, but half of our population does not care and the other half is unaware. Therefore, we are at a dilemma. How many more films like Avatar do we need to finally sink in the fact that we are raping our earth and soon enough we will no longer be able to survive. It's a scary thought, but this is what the movie Avatar got me to think deeply about. Just like the tribe of people having their home destroyed, I empathized with the Native Americans who we did that too and what we are still doing to Mother Nature.