en-us https://www.intensedebate.com/users/2413593 Comments by ebs5075 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/04/19/would-you-help-someone-illegal-immigrate-into-the-country-why-or-why-not-119-blog/#IDComment144884049 I not help someone illegal immigrate into the United States because I would be too afraid of the consequences that would happen to me and that person if I got caught. If I really felt the person or persons deserved to be citizens, I would help them get full citizenship the right way. In the meantime, I would give financial help to that person to help them live a better life in their country. Usually people do not like their country because they live in adverse conditions or have some health issue that they are seeking better healthcare elsewhere. If worst came to worse and they were not granted citizenship, I would help them find a better place in their country. If they didn’t have a job and were not qualified I would help them get the proper education or other training in order to land a job. More than anything, I would just make sure they were safe and happier than they were before. I would help them as much as I could without breaking any laws and keeping them safe. I would never want to endanger my citizenship to this country because that only harms us both. Also, I would not help smuggle illegal immigrants because that puts a greater burden on our already struggling government. I know this is selfish, but I need to worry about our country before I worry about people from other countries. Our country is struggling at the moment and we cannot have illegal immigrants taking more time and money from our government. I would be more than willing to help in any legal way possible to the best of my abilities though. Also, I would worry about what the true reason the person is wanted to leave their country. If it was because they had long lost family in the United States, fine, that is legitimate. If the illegal immigrant just wanted to come here because they were running from their native government, which would be one more reason I would not help them. I am not looking to get myself into any trouble nor would I want to help them set themselves up for a worse situation. I think that our government should still be strict on immigration but maybe make the green card process easier to obtain so that people are more likely to go about the process the legal way. The more you convey that the process is impossible, the more likely someone is to go about it the illegal way. In conclusion, I would not help someone illegally immigrate into the United States but I would help them in any other way. I would absolutely help them financially if I could and I would help them make a better life for themselves. Thu, 21 Apr 2011 18:57:08 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/04/19/would-you-help-someone-illegal-immigrate-into-the-country-why-or-why-not-119-blog/#IDComment144884049 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/04/14/what-does-it-say-about-our-society-if-schools-are-more-segregated-now-than-in-the-1970s-119-blog/#IDComment142998671 I did not know that our schools were more segregated than they were before. It makes me feel like our country has gotten worse with racism than we ever were before. I always thought that we were moving in a progressive manner in the way of becoming less segregated but clearly, it is not. I think that it means our country is becoming more closed-minded. I do not think we are becoming more racist I just think we are becoming more reluctant to others’ opinions. Generally speaking, we tend to hang around with people we feel most comfortable with and people who we can identify the best with. Different races are becoming more and more identifiable with the culture they grow up with and the lifestyles they live in. As the United States has evolved, we have coined certain jobs for specific types of people. For instance, top executives we generally think of white people. Engineers, we generally picture an Asian person. When thinking about a police chief we would picture a black man. Why do we feel these specific jobs are best suited for certain races? Most likely we fall into certain categories because culture has told us which ones we are best suited for. As a woman, according to society, I should be a nurse, or a stay at home mom or a teacher. Because our country has stereotyped professions, certain races make different incomes and therefore put their families in different areas of the country. As a whole, most white families have a moderate income and are able to send their children to nice schools. Families who are immigrants may all congregate in a certain area because of the jobs offered there or because of the acceptance of their “different” traits. Once area are known for being, white, black, Asian, Spanish, etcetera, we tend to only migrate to areas that are like us. I really truly would like to believe that we simply have segregated schools for our own personal comfort but even for that matter, it is sad we feel uncomfortable around people who are not exactly like us. It is only natural to migrate towards those most like yourself but the best way to get rid of racism is to teach integration at a young. There is no better place to teach your children that other races are ok than in schools. If all children grew up with best friends and classmates that didn’t look just like them, we would probably be able to get rid of the idea of racism very quickly. I think we have a long way to go as a nation as far as the segregation of schools but we will continue to grow. The rise in terrorism has not helped the problem because it makes us reluctant to others but I still believe we will over the issue. Fri, 15 Apr 2011 03:26:18 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/04/14/what-does-it-say-about-our-society-if-schools-are-more-segregated-now-than-in-the-1970s-119-blog/#IDComment142998671 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/04/05/did-putting-yourself-in-the-shoes-of-the-middle-easterners-change-your-views-on-the-war-in-iraq-119-blog/#IDComment141111068 As I put myself in the shoes of Middle Easterners, I definitely had a slight change of heart in regards to the war. I never really thought about what their perspective might be on it until class. I do not agree with how a lot of citizens of the Middle Eastern countries are treated but I also do not agree with us Americans treating their valuable goods as our own. Yes, we are dependent on foreign oil and it is the center of most of our lives whether it be how we heat our homes or how me get to and from work, school or our friends’ houses, we need their oil. Regardless of our “needs”, they should not be forced into a war because we are being bullies. I think that we need to come up with alternative energy sources. We have been working hard to come up with alternatives but seem to be failing, miserably. In respect to how the lives of Middle Easterners have been affected since our invasion; I think they have seen both good and bad things come from this war. Some of their lives have probably been made drastically better. The government has made some changes that the United States has been trying to implement for years. As for the other people who have not seen good changes, and rather had loved ones and family members killed over oil, I feel terribly for them. I can only imagine how even American families feel having to send their sons, brothers, husbands, father and uncles overseas to fight a war over a good that is not even ours to dictate the use of. Until we had the class on this, I would have never looked at the war from this perspective. In fact, I was more pro war than antiwar. I am a firm believer in being fair and serving justice. With that said, I think that we owe something back to the Middle Eastern countries we have invaded in regards to their oil. Do we pay top dollar for their oil? Absolutely. I am not suggesting that we pay more for their goods or give it back but I think we need to come to a mutual agreement on their terms. We would probably all benefit if we could allow them to make the terms on their oil. They may even be more open to the idea of us helping them with their government and other cultural issues if we gave them back their freedom to dictate the true use of their goods. I would be completely offended if someone walked into my territory and did what we are doing to them. Wars are unnatural events that take place seemingly naturally in today’s world. We will not end this war in a day, or even weeks, but in the end we need to find a way to not bully other countries into handing over their goods. Fri, 8 Apr 2011 23:06:27 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/04/05/did-putting-yourself-in-the-shoes-of-the-middle-easterners-change-your-views-on-the-war-in-iraq-119-blog/#IDComment141111068 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/04/05/did-putting-yourself-in-the-shoes-of-the-middle-easterners-change-your-views-on-the-war-in-iraq-119-blog/#IDComment141110040 As I put myself in the shoes of Middle Easterners, I definitely had a slight change of heart in regards to the war. I never really thought about what their perspective might be on it until class. I do not agree with how a lot of citizens of the Middle Eastern countries are treated but I also do not agree with us Americans treating their valuable goods as our own. Yes, we are dependent on foreign oil and it is the center of most of our lives whether it be how we heat our homes or how me get to and from work, school or our friends’ houses, we need their oil. Regardless of our “needs”, they should not be forced into a war because we are being bullies. I think that we need to come up with alternative energy sources. We have been working hard to come up with alternatives but seem to be failing, miserably. In respect to how the lives of Middle Easterners have been affected since our invasion; I think they have seen both good and bad things come from this war. Some of their lives have probably been made drastically better. The government has made some changes that the United States has been trying to implement for years. As for the other people who have not seen good changes, and rather had loved ones and family members killed over oil, I feel terribly for them. I can only imagine how even American families feel having to send their sons, brothers, husbands, father and uncles overseas to fight a war over a good that is not even ours to dictate the use of. Until we had the class on this, I would have never looked at the war from this perspective. In fact, I was more pro war than antiwar. I am a firm believer in being fair and serving justice. With that said, I think that we owe something back to the Middle Eastern countries we have invaded in regards to their oil. Do we pay top dollar for their oil? Absolutely. I am not suggesting that we pay more for their goods or give it back but I think we need to come to a mutual agreement on their terms. We would probably all benefit if we could allow them to make the terms on their oil. They may even be more open to the idea of us helping them with their government and other cultural issues if we gave them back their freedom to dictate the true use of their goods. I would be completely offended if someone walked into my territory and did what we are doing to them. Wars are unnatural events that take place seemingly naturally in today’s world. We will not end this war in a day, or even weeks, but in the end we need to find a way to not bully other countries into handing over their goods. Fri, 8 Apr 2011 23:00:30 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/04/05/did-putting-yourself-in-the-shoes-of-the-middle-easterners-change-your-views-on-the-war-in-iraq-119-blog/#IDComment141110040 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/04/05/did-putting-yourself-in-the-shoes-of-the-middle-easterners-change-your-views-on-the-war-in-iraq-119-blog/#IDComment141041967 As I put myself in the shoes of Middle Easterners, I definitely had a slight change of heart in regards to the war. I never really thought about what their perspective might be on it until class. I do not agree with how a lot of citizens of the Middle Eastern countries are treated but I also do not agree with us Americans treating their valuable goods as our own. Yes, we are dependent on foreign oil and it is the center of most of our lives whether it be how we heat our homes or how me get to and from work, school or our friends’ houses, we need their oil. Regardless of our “needs”, they should not be forced into a war because we are being bullies. I think that we need to come up with alternative energy sources. We have been working hard to come up with alternatives but seem to be failing, miserably. In respect to how the lives of Middle Easterners have been affected since our invasion; I think they have seen both good and bad things come from this war. Some of their lives have probably been made drastically better. The government has made some changes that the United States has been trying to implement for years. As for the other people who have not seen good changes, and rather had loved ones and family members killed over oil, I feel terribly for them. I can only imagine how even American families feel having to send their sons, brothers, husbands, father and uncles overseas to fight a war over a good that is not even ours to dictate the use of. Until we had the class on this, I would have never looked at the war from this perspective. In fact, I was more pro war than antiwar. I am a firm believer in being fair and serving justice. With that said, I think that we owe something back to the Middle Eastern countries we have invaded in regards to their oil. Do we pay top dollar for their oil? Absolutely. I am not suggesting that we pay more for their goods or give it back but I think we need to come to a mutual agreement on their terms. We would probably all benefit if we could allow them to make the terms on their oil. They may even be more open to the idea of us helping them with their government and other cultural issues if we gave them back their freedom to dictate the true use of their goods. I would be completely offended if someone walked into my territory and did what we are doing to them. Wars are unnatural events that take place seemingly naturally in today’s world. We will not end this war in a day, or even weeks, but in the end we need to find a way to not bully other countries into handing over their goods. Fri, 8 Apr 2011 17:07:55 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/04/05/did-putting-yourself-in-the-shoes-of-the-middle-easterners-change-your-views-on-the-war-in-iraq-119-blog/#IDComment141041967 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/04/05/did-putting-yourself-in-the-shoes-of-the-middle-easterners-change-your-views-on-the-war-in-iraq-119-blog/#IDComment141041937 As I put myself in the shoes of Middle Easterners, I definitely had a slight change of heart in regards to the war. I never really thought about what their perspective might be on it until class. I do not agree with how a lot of citizens of the Middle Eastern countries are treated but I also do not agree with us Americans treating their valuable goods as our own. Yes, we are dependent on foreign oil and it is the center of most of our lives whether it be how we heat our homes or how me get to and from work, school or our friends’ houses, we need their oil. Regardless of our “needs”, they should not be forced into a war because we are being bullies. I think that we need to come up with alternative energy sources. We have been working hard to come up with alternatives but seem to be failing, miserably. In respect to how the lives of Middle Easterners have been affected since our invasion; I think they have seen both good and bad things come from this war. Some of their lives have probably been made drastically better. The government has made some changes that the United States has been trying to implement for years. As for the other people who have not seen good changes, and rather had loved ones and family members killed over oil, I feel terribly for them. I can only imagine how even American families feel having to send their sons, brothers, husbands, father and uncles overseas to fight a war over a good that is not even ours to dictate the use of. Until we had the class on this, I would have never looked at the war from this perspective. In fact, I was more pro war than antiwar. I am a firm believer in being fair and serving justice. With that said, I think that we owe something back to the Middle Eastern countries we have invaded in regards to their oil. Do we pay top dollar for their oil? Absolutely. I am not suggesting that we pay more for their goods or give it back but I think we need to come to a mutual agreement on their terms. We would probably all benefit if we could allow them to make the terms on their oil. They may even be more open to the idea of us helping them with their government and other cultural issues if we gave them back their freedom to dictate the true use of their goods. I would be completely offended if someone walked into my territory and did what we are doing to them. Wars are unnatural events that take place seemingly naturally in today’s world. We will not end this war in a day, or even weeks, but in the end we need to find a way to not bully other countries into handing over their goods. Fri, 8 Apr 2011 17:07:43 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/04/05/did-putting-yourself-in-the-shoes-of-the-middle-easterners-change-your-views-on-the-war-in-iraq-119-blog/#IDComment141041937 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/03/29/would-you-be-willing-to-learn-a-new-language-for-a-job-119-blog/#IDComment138697475 I would be more than willing to learn a new language for a job. With the job market the way it is today I am not going to be picky about what I need to do to find a good job. If it means that I need to be put in an uncomfortable situation for a while when learning, so be it. I think that in the end I would be a much stronger and well-rounded person if I were fluent in another language. People from other countries have to learn English all the time to get a job here. It is no different for me if I were to go to another country seeking a job. I would not expect an exception for me since I am American. I think that it would be cool to learn a new language, especially for a job because then there is purpose to it. I am currently learning another language because my major requires it but it is hard to be good at it because I am not immersed in the language and I really have no reason for the language so I will forget it the second I am done with my requirements. I would probably not go to another country or learn a new language if the job was not a good job but if it were, I would absolutely spend all my time learning the new language. As for learning a new language for a job here in the United States, I am not sure I would do that. I would only do so if I was not offered another job in my native language. I have nothing against other languages other than the convenience of already knowing it. In learning a language, you put yourself in a vulnerable situation because there are certain vernacular you are unaware of and mispronunciations of words that take a sentence to a completely new meaning. Also, it makes me nervous to think about offending someone accidently because I learned something wrong or forgot the correct meaning of a word. The other bummer to learning a new language and needing to use it, especially in a job, is that you are more likely to have to ask a lot more questions and speak slower. We associate this with not being as intelligent. I would hate to be taken less seriously, especially since I am already a woman so I would be taken less seriously in a professional setting, due to a language barrier. With that said, I would make the best of the situation and do what I needed to do to become fluent and prove myself to my coworkers and bosses. Learning a language would be difficult but in the end it would better me as a person and as an employee. Wed, 30 Mar 2011 21:35:46 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/03/29/would-you-be-willing-to-learn-a-new-language-for-a-job-119-blog/#IDComment138697475 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/03/22/for-the-white-females-would-you-ever-date-a-black-guy-119-blog/#IDComment137500493 In response to whether or not I would ever date a black man: yes. My sister dated a black man before and it was really no big deal. My parents were not too happy about it at first but after a few months, they opened up about it and let my sister bring him home for Thanksgiving dinner. The thing my parents were so hesitant about had nothing to do with their personal feelings towards people of other races or religions. They were worried about the future of my sister and the man. Like my parents pointed out, even though we don’t think less of mixed couples and we would not hire, fire, or decline a person of other culture or races from a job, some people still do. As much as a mixed couple walking down the street does not faze me, the world, as a whole, has not come to terms with it yet. My parents were concerned for the safety of both my sister and her boyfriend in the case that someone did something harmful to either or both of them. More than anything, my parents presented the idea to my sister that if she and her boyfriend were to ever consider a future together and think about children, think about the hardships they would face growing up. After a while my parents knew they had expressed their concerns and if they were willing to take them on then they would support them either way. The two of them broke up months later but the situation really opened my eyes to the world. I had never considered dating people of other races until that period of time but now I think it might be eye opening. I would never, not date a person I liked because of their race. I think that the world is in a progressive movement towards integration and I would absolutely have no hesitation towards helping that process. I think there are equally as many bad guys out there that are white as there are black, Hispanic, or any other race. If I find a man who makes me happy and who treats me nicely, I will pursue the opportunity no matter what background they have or what their skin looks like. I know that my parents and family will support us as long as I am being treated nicely. As much as we like to think we don’t see colors while looking at others we do. In my opinion, that is ok as long as we do not judge accordingly. I may realize the person sitting next to me is black but that is ok as long as I do not think less of him because of it. In conclusion, I have an open mind to the idea of dating across the cultural and racial boundaries this country has set. Fri, 25 Mar 2011 14:55:47 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/03/22/for-the-white-females-would-you-ever-date-a-black-guy-119-blog/#IDComment137500493 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/03/18/what-is-your-opinion-of-the-video-119-blog/#IDComment135939202 I think that the video was super eye opening. I never realized that children were so affected by race. It is sad that children of color think they are inferior and that they consciously think about it. I wish there was a way I could help these troubled children. White children have the same perception about white people that people of color do, or children of color at least. There is a common misconception that white people are superior to others. I do not feel that way at all and it upsets me that others do. We, as a white race get stuck with the bad stigma that we are arrogant and think we are superior. Whoever is telling children these things should be set straight in the sense that not all black people are bad just the same that not all white people are good. We learned in this class that there are far more, number wise, bad white people in this country than there are people of color. Even though children do not understand those numbers and statistics, I think we should not portray the different races the way we do. My guess is that people of color are telling their colored children white people are better and that black people are bad. Where else would they get these ideas? White children are ignorant to race in preschool. They would not know enough to force that opinion upon others yet. Since we watched the video, I tried to watch children that I saw and determine how and where these race theories were coming from. I see mixes of white black Hispanic and asian children walking around campus together with no care in the world. They have no idea what race is and in fact you can tell they have no prejudice towards one race or the other. They all hold on to the same rope and sign the same songs while walking through campus. This however, means that these superiority theories are coming from adults. Either these children hear their parents talk or they watch it on television or they simply are flat out told these thoughts. Either way, I wish that people of color would not think this. These thoughts make people of color feel bad about themselves and at the same times makes white people feel self conscious and feel badly that others think that way. I know this video is disturbing and I hope that in ten years there is no such thing as race. Sat, 19 Mar 2011 00:04:49 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/03/18/what-is-your-opinion-of-the-video-119-blog/#IDComment135939202 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/03/02/how-can-we-save-our-scarce-resources-119-blog/#IDComment133751515 I also think that the government should reward citizens for a decrease in the use of natural resources like they already do in some states for energy use. We should send those extras overseas to those who are less fortunate and do not even have access to these items. Thu, 10 Mar 2011 03:04:24 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/03/02/how-can-we-save-our-scarce-resources-119-blog/#IDComment133751515 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/03/02/how-can-we-save-our-scarce-resources-119-blog/#IDComment133751490 As far as what I think about regulations on how many children and at what age people can have a child, I think that is ridiculous. Americans have adopted a lazy lifestyle and there is no reason we could not go out of our way to try and preserve our resources or help to find alternative ways to get our jobs done without using the same resources over and over again. Also, I think that parents should encourage their children to play with each other more, like older generations did, rather than depleting natural resources by overusing plastic devices which require natural resources to break them down. This is a viscous cycle our generation has bought in to. As we become more lazy, we eat less fresh foods, rely on fast foods that require vast amounts of natural resources and then we all end up fat so we drive more places rather than walking. This cycle that has been established is absurd and I think that on top of learning how to be more cautious about the use of natural resources, I think we need to be more active so that we don’t even have as much of a need for them. We would all survive just fine with half as many resources as we rely on today. Thu, 10 Mar 2011 03:04:16 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/03/02/how-can-we-save-our-scarce-resources-119-blog/#IDComment133751490 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/03/02/how-can-we-save-our-scarce-resources-119-blog/#IDComment133751430 I think that we are absolutely using our resources without a tremendous amount of respect. I also think that we do not make very conscious decisions when using natural resources. I know that my parents drive big SUVs and do not think twice when filling the gas tank up several times a week. As we are approaching the summer season we know gas prices are going to rise but the current prices are evidence enough that we, as a nation, do not think about how we are going to save our natural resources. We have the mentality that the government will take care of helping us to preserve these resources and help to regulate cars being made. I am guilty enough in this respect but after it was brought to my attention I am going to try and be more conscious about how I can help save our natural resources. Thu, 10 Mar 2011 03:03:51 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/03/02/how-can-we-save-our-scarce-resources-119-blog/#IDComment133751430 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/02/24/how-do-you-feel-about-the-poor-white-society-and-who-are-you-more-likely-to-help-119-blog/#IDComment130480458 I never really thought about the idea of poor white people versus poor black, Hispanic, or any other race until today. After Sam planted the bug that we are harsher on our own race than we are other races, I thought long and hard about it and I am not sure if I agree or not. After watching the video about Tammy, I truly felt badly for her. Then, I sat back and thought…why was Tammy not on food stamps and why was she not getting the help that I know is available to others who live in extremely poor conditions? Most likely Tammy is so prideful that she does not want to ask for help. I have spoken to a few very poor people in my life, one being homeless. Every person said he would not go to a food shelter or a homeless shelter because he did not like the idea of relying on others. I can understand where they are coming from but at some point, or in Tammy’s case, when your children are not being provided for, you need to swallow your pride and get help. People are willing to help all over the place, you just need to say the word. Also, Tammy should have her children work to help out. Even if her children are under the age of fifteen, there are jobs children are allowed to legally hold. The one boy in the video even admitted to being a couch potato. The reason it angers me is because colored people and minorities get the wrath of poverty but they at least force their children to help out by getting a job. Don’t get me wrong, I get equally as angry when food stamps or welfare goes towards the wrong place, but I would rather my tax money go to some people who are going to use it for good rather than not to help anyone. As far as who am I more likely to help; I would help any race equally as much. Growing up my parents were some of the most generous people I have ever met in my life. They did not only give to those who were asking for a handout, or to charities, but more so, my parents have a knack for seeing those in need before they travel down the wrong path. I find this so admirable. They do not discriminate. When someone is in need, they are worthy of their help. I hope to carry on those same values throughout my life. Fri, 25 Feb 2011 02:59:09 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/02/24/how-do-you-feel-about-the-poor-white-society-and-who-are-you-more-likely-to-help-119-blog/#IDComment130480458 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/02/17/how-much-can-a-person-use-the-ignorance-card-119-blog/#IDComment128818812 I think that the person in the video makes a really good point about us being highly educated. In that respect, I do not think that we should use the ignorance card at all. It is our duty as United States citizens to be aware of the world around us and at least have some sort of sense of what the rest of the world is doing. I know this is easier said than done because I, too, am really bad at keeping up with current events. Especially now that I am at college, I have a really hard time keeping up with current events because I rarely watch TV and hardly have enough spare time to do things for myself. However, because it is my duty, I should find the ten minutes a day to get on the internet and find out the major world events going on. I had a class in high school that required us to report the most current world events every week to the rest of the class. I really enjoyed knowing what was going on and because I really knew, I did not have to use the ignorance card. I think that we, as Americans, should all be required in some way to keep up with not only the world events but our own country’s events. So many people debate about the government and other types of hierarchy but really have no idea what they are saying. In those cases, we play the ignorance card without even having to say, “I didn’t know”. I think we prove our ignorance far too much without ever having to say it. Back to the person’s question in the video, I do not think we should be allowed to play the ignorance card at all. If we make the decision to neglect the world around us and what is going on in other countries as well as our own, we should not have the right to vote or have a say in things. Without being aware of what is going on, how can someone feel okay about voting? If you want to be ignorant, fine, be ignorant, but do not use that card to your advantage when it was a choice you made. We use these ignorance, race, religion, etc cards far too often when the fact of the matter is that we chose to be all of the above. I do not think we should be allowed to use the ignorance card in reference to world issues and current events. If a lawyer were asked how many bones are in the foot, fine, use the ignorance card but it should not be allowed to be used in reference to world happenings. Fri, 18 Feb 2011 14:38:56 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/02/17/how-much-can-a-person-use-the-ignorance-card-119-blog/#IDComment128818812 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/02/08/how-have-the-choices-youve-made-and-determinism-affected-your-life-119-blog/#IDComment126839405 My choices as a student in high school influenced my path to my current destination: Penn State. I chose to study hard, do my homework, be involved in school and extracurricular activities in order to be accepted here at Penn State. My parents rather implemented those ideas into our household though. We were taught growing up that you would only go far in life if you work hard at where you are trying to get. I mean, obviously it is inevitable that you will run into people who are handed one awesome deck of cards and has fortune fall into their laps, but the majority of society must work hard to get to their ideal destination. This theory was no different for me. I grew up a very fortunate person. People I love and who love me back, an amazing family, awesome friends and the support of an army for anything I set my mind to, surround me. Regardless of the support I have, I had to make the decision to really want to be accepted here at Penn State in order to get in. Even though I am white, I still think that I have experienced discrimination in my lifetime that have effected how I ended up here for college. Because I came from a small town, I was not exposed to certain things that people in larger towns and cities were able to experience. Because I was super sheltered and did not get to experience culture. In addition, white people are discriminated against in the sense that we are not offered certain things because we are white. Minorities are given special opportunities and are accepted into certain programs and universities just because they are minorities. I do not like that there are certain spots reserved for minorities. If society truly wants us to treat everyone as equals, why do they set up programs that promote discrimination? I definitely think that the choices I have made in the past shaped who I am today. I would not necessarily say that my opinions were at my own free will though. I definitely let my sisters and parents shape how I think sometimes. I also shape their opinions too though. They absolutely had an impact on where I ended up school wise. My three older sisters and my mom all went to Penn State. My little sister just accepted her offer to Penn State. Is it coincidence that we all went to Penn State? I think not. There is no way people can go through life and not be effected by others’ opinions and thoughts. In conclusion, I do not think that I operate on free will and I think that I, too am discriminated against. Wed, 9 Feb 2011 04:27:03 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/02/08/how-have-the-choices-youve-made-and-determinism-affected-your-life-119-blog/#IDComment126839405 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/01/27/who-do-rednecks-look-down-on/#IDComment125822134 Who do rednecks look down on? Because rednecks live an alternate lifestyle to doctors, lawyers and Indian chiefs, they most likely look down on those lifestyles. If you were the milkman, you would think the garbage man had a worse job than you did. If you were the doctor, you would have wished you were a lawyer. We tend to always feel like the grass is always greener somewhere else. Our defense mechanism is to trick ourselves into thinking that the “greener” place is actually worse. I truly believe the reason we look down on rednecks is that those of us who are not rednecks wish we could be as carefree and easy going as they are. I truly wish I had enough confidence about myself that I could walk out in public wearing the mismatched, torn up outfits they do. Instead of leading on to the idea that I envy their sense of freedom, I look down on them because that is what society says is right. If rednecks had a group of people to look down on, besides other sub groups such as professions, I would say it would be black people. Just as if the rest of the world, stereotypically, looks down upon rednecks, rednecks are typically known for looking down upon black people. I know plenty of people who most would classify as “rednecks” and I can verify that they do, indeed, like black people, asian people, Indian people, and all other races. I hate how because rednecks get a back wrap, we assume we should look down on them. I, too am guilty of this, but am going to consciously try not too now that it was been brought to my attention that I do this. The idea that everyone looks down on rednecks is a complete stereotype. For us to assume everyone thinks that rednecks are below all others is just as bad as assuming all white people are racist. I grew up in a rural area where there were many rednecks. Most people would assume that, based on the location of my house, I too am a redneck. Now that I realize I look down on rednecks, much like most other people do, people probably look down on me. The ironic part is that I am as far from a redneck as they come. More than anything, I do not care that people think of me as a redneck because like I mentioned before, I envy their ability to live their own lives. I know that as a teenager, I care too much about what others think of me and I hope to change that someday. I am sorry to all rednecks who are discriminated against. I know it is inevitable and that all groups are made fun of but the person on the video pointed out that most people really look down on rednecks. Fri, 4 Feb 2011 03:35:43 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/01/27/who-do-rednecks-look-down-on/#IDComment125822134 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/01/26/how-do-you-classify-yourself-119-blog/#IDComment123938378 In response to the question regarding how I classify myself, and who gave me those classifications, I have several answers. As for my sex, that was clearly something I had no control over. I, being a female was determined by biological and physiological factors. Gender is determined by social norms and society. However long ago, someone said that certain characteristics about someone’s body would make them a female based on how she appeared, not necessarily by her genetic makeup. As for religion, I classify myself as catholic. My parents who brought me up as a catholic originally determined this but then as I got older I decided to stick with this particular branch of Christianity. My race is Caucasian and this, again was not something anyone else determined for me. I chose to live out the social norms of an average Caucasian American, but I could not have chosen the color of my skin even if I had wanted to. My job, currently would be a student. This is absolutely determined by society and me. Society determined that it is normal for students to attend college after graduating high school. Because I still do not know what I want to do with my life, if it were acceptable to not go to college I probably would have done that until I knew what I wanted to do. It is funny how social norms form who we are today and how we live out our lives. It is crazy to think that nothing we do is not influenced, somehow, from what other think and what others are doing. Sometimes these social norms play to humanity’s favor, and sometimes not so much. For instance, we know it is the right thing to do to hold the door for someone when they are coming our way, that is a positive influence from social norms. On the other hand, it has also become acceptable to sit at the dinner table and text other people. This is a way social norms have shaped our lives in a negative way. We are far more removed from others than we have ever been. Another way I would classify myself is by what I do in my free time. I would most certainly say I’m a gym rat. Being that I work at the gym and love to be there, I spend most of my free time there working out and being around other people who enjoy to do the same things I like to. We tend to cluster with people who have similar interests and similar personalities because it gives us people to confide in and to classify with. We make some classifications for ourselves, and some are determined by society. Wed, 26 Jan 2011 18:02:37 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/01/26/how-do-you-classify-yourself-119-blog/#IDComment123938378 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/01/18/what-characteristics-would-you-give-your-race-blog-2/#IDComment122643943 I would identify with the Caucasian race as 50% German and 50% Irish. The characteristics I would give to my race would be as follow: Hair: Hair could be either curly or straight, fine or coarse, any color from red, to blonde to brown to black, or any variation within those. Eyes: Caucasian eye color can vary and be really any color. Eye shape is, generally speaking, round, almond or oval shaped. Clothing: A general theme to wardrobes among Caucasian teens is jeans, sweatshirts, athletic apparel, and “going out” tops. Most professional males wear dress shirts and ties or a suit to work. Most professional women wear suits or dresses. Children dress very differently from what they did in the past. Children tend to mimic the teen style, whatever that may be at the time. Speech: Our speech would be classified, slang. We use a ton of acronyms in everyday speech and have been coming up with new terms for things in the recent past. As a society, we are adopting new terms for items or actions and it is far more acceptable to curse now than it was. Body-type: As a whole, I would say Caucasians are either one extreme or the next: super in shape and dedicated to a healthy lifestyle or totally obese and care nothing about their health. Food: We eat pretty much anything. Caucasians eat a ton of junk food such as cakes and candies and fast food. We also eat a lot of vegetables and fruits and red meat. We also have adopted foreign foods such as sushi and tacos, etc. that we have our own variation on. Skin: Our skin ranges anywhere from albino to a dark olive color. We would describe ourselves as pale, light-skinned people. Most white female college students have the desire to have darker skin than they really do, hence the over whelming number of people who fake tan. Religion: As a whole, most white people are Christian. We do not all identify with Christianity but the majority do. Several branches of Christianity dominate the white culture. As a whole, it is safe to say the majority of white people believe in some type of higher being. In general, white/Caucasian people like to think they are very different from other races. Even though we have some highly distinguishable characteristics, we also have extreme similarities with other races. There is no way to give a description of my race as a blanket case. There are exceptions to all characteristics and it is hard to find anyone these days that do not have any blood from different races. As we have evolved, we have accumulated mixes from tons of other races and therefore none of us are completely unique to one group. Fri, 21 Jan 2011 02:59:02 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/01/18/what-characteristics-would-you-give-your-race-blog-2/#IDComment122643943 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/01/10/last-name-%e2%80%9cs%e2%80%9d-%e2%80%93-intense-debate/#IDComment122418846 SOC119 Thu, 20 Jan 2011 03:21:30 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/01/10/last-name-%e2%80%9cs%e2%80%9d-%e2%80%93-intense-debate/#IDComment122418846