en-us https://www.intensedebate.com/users/6233235 Comments by ehw5037 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2013/04/18/voices-from-the-classroom-302/#IDComment624899391 When I first signed up for the class I had no idea how this class was going to pan out. When I was in fourth grade 9/11 occurred and that day would forever be a day never to forget for the rest of my life. It was caused Muslim terrorists who wanted to destroy America. I never thought I could forgive any Muslim person for what they have done to our country. The media portrayed all these people as terrorists who we cannot trust. But you become older and see that most people do not represent these terrorists. As a Jewish male from Long island I don’t have many Muslim people who live around me. In fact I don’t recall having any Muslim friends before high school. My one Muslim friend came during high school and my other in Soc 119. The first day we met Maziar I was a little weary of what he would say. But he was a kind heated Iranian. I never talked to anyone from Iran and I wouldn’t call my self a racist at all but I never have spoken to an Iranian. Not because I judge them I just don’t have the opportunity to based on where I live. You can say I’m closed minded but Penn state did open my eyes to the world. When we met Maziar and he told us that no one he knows supports terrorists and that he is scared of them was a warming moment and an eye opener. Because of this class I understand race relations a lot better than before I took this class. When Maziar wanted to speak to our class when it was 1 AM in Iran to talk about the Boston tragedy and let it be known that he supports U.S. in finding the criminals who did this was a great moment to be there for. I remember the feeling that I got when 9/11 occurred and that feeling came back during the Boston tragedy. I felt hopeless and mad. After the tragedy people were quick to assume it was a Muslim extremists and perhaps I may have thought it was another attack on the U.S. But it wasn’t and I wouldn’t say I was happy it wasn’t a Muslim man but relieved that people were wrong in saying that they were Muslim. When Maziar reached out to us it was a moment where I sat back and thought that my barrier should be taken down. I realize that the Iranian people are good people it’s the very few extremists that we see in the media that portray Iran as this hateful country. And they are not. Maziar has changed my view and I thank him for that. Mon, 22 Apr 2013 01:10:58 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2013/04/18/voices-from-the-classroom-302/#IDComment624899391 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2013/04/09/voices-from-the-classroom-298/#IDComment619482249 The needy penis lecture was very interesting and I’m glad I went to that lecture. It made a lot of things be brought to light for me. I realized how “needy” the penis is. We live in a world that is centered around the male. Obviously there are some matriarchal societies but I would say most are male centered. And so if a society is centered on a male it’s about him getting pleasured first and the woman second. The stats we uncovered in the lecture really blew my mind. Most women don’t get pleasured until orgasm ever. I don’t know why we don’t make our intimate sessions last longer but they should so women feel as good as we do. They are no less of a person than we are and they should benefit just as much as males. The world we live in just doesn’t let that happen. We think that sex is done when the male ejaculates and I would agree. I had a girlfriend for a year and 90 percent of the time I would assume that our sexual relations would end after my ejaculations. I don’t recall but to my knowledge I never pleasured the girl after I was done. I would try and have her obtain an orgasm before I finished. But if she didn’t achieve it I didn’t pleasure her more. It never crossed my mind that I should pleasure the girl after I finished. I’ve definitely asked if she had an orgasm after that fact but if she said no I don’t remember going back and trying again. But I would try harder next time so she would achieve her orgasm. I guess I was oblivious to the fact that we do live in a world where the penis comes first in terms of neediness. I feel like we ask women to pleasure us more than they ask us. But I also think this is just science. How do women get pregnant? Sperm impregnates the female when ejaculation occurs. And so biologically speaking sex is done when the male ejaculates into the female. Nothing else really matters because as long as the sperm gets into the female. That’s all that needs to occur for children to be made which is the only reason that we are here right now. Reproduction is the primary purpose that we are on this planet right now. And for humans to pass on genes the male needs to ejaculate. I think we should change history and change they way to look at sex. Sex needs to be where both partners experience an orgasm because this is what they are going into the experience trying to achieve. We need to be the ones trying to value the woman and have sam’s class in the future be the “needy vagina” lecture. Mon, 15 Apr 2013 03:10:13 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2013/04/09/voices-from-the-classroom-298/#IDComment619482249 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2013/04/09/voices-from-the-classroom-298/#IDComment619481667 The needy penis lecture was very interesting and I’m glad I went to that lecture. It made a lot of things be brought to light for me. I realized how “needy” the penis is. We live in a world that is centered around the male. Obviously there are some matriarchal societies but I would say most are male centered. And so if a society is centered on a male it’s about him getting pleasured first and the woman second. The stats we uncovered in the lecture really blew my mind. Most women don’t get pleasured until orgasm ever. I don’t know why we don’t make our intimate sessions last longer but they should so women feel as good as we do. They are no less of a person than we are and they should benefit just as much as males. The world we live in just doesn’t let that happen. We think that sex is done when the male ejaculates and I would agree. I had a girlfriend for a year and 90 percent of the time I would assume that our sexual relations would end after my ejaculations. I don’t recall but to my knowledge I never pleasured the girl after I was done. I would try and have her obtain an orgasm before I finished. But if she didn’t achieve it I didn’t pleasure her more. It never crossed my mind that I should pleasure the girl after I finished. I’ve definitely asked if she had an orgasm after that fact but if she said no I don’t remember going back and trying again. But I would try harder next time so she would achieve her orgasm. I guess I was oblivious to the fact that we do live in a world where the penis comes first in terms of neediness. I feel like we ask women to pleasure us more than they ask us. But I also think this is just science. How do women get pregnant? Sperm impregnates the female when ejaculation occurs. And so biologically speaking sex is done when the male ejaculates into the female. Nothing else really matters because as long as the sperm gets into the female. That’s all that needs to occur for children to be made which is the only reason that we are here right now. Reproduction is the primary purpose that we are on this planet right now. And for humans to pass on genes the male needs to ejaculate. I think we should change history and change they way to look at sex. Sex needs to be where both partners experience an orgasm because this is what they are going into the experience trying to achieve. We need to be the ones trying to value the woman and have sam’s class in the future be the “needy vagina” lecture. Mon, 15 Apr 2013 03:08:55 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2013/04/09/voices-from-the-classroom-298/#IDComment619481667 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2013/04/05/voices-from-the-classroom-290/#IDComment614128745 One of my favorite networks to watch is the Travel Channel. This network inspires me to go abroad and study as well as work oversees for years at a time. I’m not the kind of person who wants to be in the same place and live the same life day to day. Going to different countries would ensure that this is not how I live my life. My most passionate hobby in life is to explore different cuisines. Food can be incredibly complex as well as simple. I want to try as many cultures’ food as possible. I watch this show called Bizarre Foods with Andrew Zimmern. In this show Andrew travels to many different places on earth to learns about the foods these places consume. He gets to know the people and learns their cooking techniques. He uses the utensils that the culture uses so he has the full experience just like the natives do. That is my dream job. Going abroad to remote places and trying food that most people would never think about touching or even eating. I’m so curious to know how different cultures get their food and cook it. I am planning on living outside of the U.S. for most of my adult life. I might even look to start a family abroad. It’s shocking to me that most people do not own passports. I love traveling out of the country with my family because learning and experiencing how other people live is intriguing to me. I also want to learn about my roots in Poland. My grandparents are from Poland and although they went through pretty harsh times I want to see and eat the food that they did. Some people think that they never need to leave America but this is so false. If you want to be ethnocentric you don’t have to leave but if you want to be an individual going abroad and seeing how other people live will really change you. Discovering and adventuring to new places is what I am about. So working abroad is definitely on the list for me. I am studying biology wanting to become a chiropractor and I have heard and done some research that people want to heal naturally because nowadays it’s easy to become addicted to painkillers and other prescription medications. Chiropractic studies are all about aligning the body so it has the full potential to heal correctly without the use of drugs. Countries like china are very into natural healing and chiropractors are scarce in china. This would be a new market and a good way to show people all about my passion of chiropractics. Traveling around the globe will always be a dream of mine and I hope to travel to as many countries as possible. Mon, 8 Apr 2013 02:15:26 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2013/04/05/voices-from-the-classroom-290/#IDComment614128745 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2013/03/28/voices-from-the-classroom-283/#IDComment608567221 In our government’s budget there is a section for foreign aid. This section holds millions and millions of dollars to help countries when disasters strike and in times of need. The U.S is one of the wealthiest countries in the world and the only powerhouse of a country to dish out so much money to another country. I think we should give out foreign aid but not give out as much as we do. Like we talked about in class the Native Americans are being neglected in this country. In our history we have kicked Native Americans off the land they inhabited and set up areas designated for Native Americans. They now have areas where infant mortality is 8 times higher than the national average. I think a larger part of our aid should be designated to helping Americans. Everyone who’s ever had a job in the U.S. pays taxes to the federal government and these taxes are high. Our taxes pay for Medicare and anything the government spends money on. And I expect what we put into the government should be given back to the people. This is a country for the people and we should do things in the United States’ best interest. I understand lowering foreign aid would maybe even cripple other countries but people in our own hometowns are struggling to stay alive and keep healthy because we haven’t given them the respect they need. We wouldn’t be here if the Native Americans didn’t have the history they do, so I think we need to give them space and money where it needs to be. We can think of new innovations that can feed more people in other countries and develop ways for people to be healthier in those countries but more of the budget needs to be allocated to the American people. Our government has repressed Native Americans and made this culture move thousands of miles across the U.S because our government is greedy. Now that we have a black president I feel he should help the minority culture in the U.S. The wealthiest 10% of the population holds 40% of the countries wealth and I feel that since this is so the country needs to help the poor. This will be a topic of discussion for the rest of the United States’ history because this budget affects everyone in the world and we need to be smart about how we spend our trillion-dollar budget. We spend so much money on health care and if we spend some of our foreign aid money in the United States in categories such as disease prevention people would be healthier and be less of a burden on the health care system. We need to be a better country and if we can solve our own problems before others’ we will be a better country. Mon, 1 Apr 2013 02:01:04 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2013/03/28/voices-from-the-classroom-283/#IDComment608567221 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2013/03/21/voices-from-the-classroom-276/#IDComment603438426 Nepotism and affirmative action are topics that have been debated for years and will be topics of interest in the future to come. Affirmative action has done great things for the U.S like getting people into college. But if you look at what affirmative action is, it is giving minorities the leg up over the majority. I am a white male so affirmative action doesn’t really apply to me but I do have thoughts about its existence. Due to the history of the United States white people have been “on top” so to speak because of our history of slavery. We have not given minorities the chance to get on equal ground as the white people because as they gain more wealth so do the whites. So obviously white people don’t prefer this program because it doesn’t help white people get into more colleges but rather get denied because minorities have to take some of those spots. But I think that this program is fair. I understand that this program allows not as qualified people to get the acceptance letter but I believe that this is America and everybody has to have an equal opportunity for success. If minorities don’t have the opportunity to succeed then America cannot be successful. We have to give opportunity to people who normally couldn’t shine get the ability to and show who they could really be. But then again with nepotism we don’t let the minority get the leg up. With nepotism the more qualified people who need that job do not obtain the position. In this world it is all about connections and the people you know and nepotism plays a big role in this cycle. With nepotism the family friend is getting the job who usually is qualified but if this job was to be published in the newspaper and then people came in to interview for that position almost always those people will be more qualified for that position. You need experience to get the job and how can the minority get those jobs if they don’t even have the opportunity to? I remember Sam talking about people who went to prison and who would get a job after they got out of jail. White people were more likely to get the job than a black man even if they were convicted of a crime. It’s a vicious world and I think things needs to change. But it’s up the employer and that’s how it works. I have been in a position where nepotism works for me and I am grateful for it, but I know that there is someone out there that needs that job more than I do and is more qualified than I but the position wasn’t publicized; it was created so I could work there. I can’t complain about this but if people could allow the minority to have an equal opportunity as white people we would be a better country. Mon, 25 Mar 2013 01:40:45 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2013/03/21/voices-from-the-classroom-276/#IDComment603438426 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2013/03/16/voices-from-the-classroom-273/#IDComment598120086 Giving out foreign aid to countries has been a topic that has sparked debate for many years now. We give billions and billions of dollars out to countries to try and boost their “economy” or even help people get access to clean water. But honestly I don’t think that our money is making a difference. I know we hope it is but I think the reality of our foreign aid isn’t helping the country be sustainable. I know that our country relies on money from other countries too but the money we give out to other countries exceeds what we take in. I’ve seen documentaries where some countries we give aid to still look as if they suffered their environmental disaster yesterday. All of the houses and structures are still demolished and people are still living in tents with no real beds or even have a foundation. All of this money taken out of our taxes could be put toward the U.S. system. Soon we will be facing a horrible crisis due to social security and the aging population of the U.S. and I think some of this money could be used to divert the crisis. I know it sounds bad to say that we shouldn’t give aid to other countries but I stand strongly on the fact that we need to be on good standing with our country rather than see no progress in other countries and billions of dollars wasted. I think we could solve the crisis of childhood hunger with the money getting shipped out of our country. Farms can be set up on this money and raise livestock and crops. It would also create jobs, which means more money would be put into the economy, which is always a good idea. I don’t know if these countries can survive without all the money pouring into their country but I’m sure not all of it actually goes to the people. Governments are corrupt and hold a lot more power than our government. So I’m sure they can withhold some of the money and use it as they want to. All of these governmental problems arise from when the stronger countries colonized these weaker countries because they didn’t have a government and so they put one in. But it wasn’t the people ruling the country it was the country that ruled over them and so the people have no skills of running the country when they demand independency. If the people were left to govern themselves I think these countries would be better off because they would know what’s best for their economy and their resources wouldn’t be exploited to their ruling country. I don’t think we will ever stop giving out foreign aid but if we do I think we will see a more unified United States of America. Mon, 18 Mar 2013 02:24:42 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2013/03/16/voices-from-the-classroom-273/#IDComment598120086 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2013/03/01/voices-from-the-classroom-264/#IDComment592157596 Censoring language happens everyday because people think that certain language is offensive. No one is perfect and we make mistakes. We may try to censor our language around a new friend or to your boy/girl friend’s parent. We try not to insult people and we proceed with courtesy in new social situations. I know I censor my mouth everyday in college. Since enrolling in this class I have some new friends who wouldn’t normally be my friends and I sometimes have to take caution when talking to them. I try not to offend peoples races and when talking I take every image of the stereotype about their heritage and put it in the back of my head. We also censor our language out of fear. I remember a couple years ago I was watching the news when a news anchor was reporting her news and out comes, “What the fuck are you doing”? It went straight to commercial as I sit there in shock of what I just heard. I’ve never heard that word not bleeped out on the news before. It was weird why it shocked me. I say the word everyday and it’s used in our vocabulary but when it’s on the news it seems like if someone says a curse we make a big deal out of it. That’s the job of the media to expose crazy things done in the world but for cursing I don’t know why we make such a big deal. The News came back after commercial break and the anchor looked the camera in the lens and apologized for what she had said right before the commercial break. I think the company was in fear that if she had not apologized for her language that they would lose ratings, which would look very bad on the program. I think we fear saying something wrong because we don’t want people to judge us and anyway and that censors our language. In distinctive situations we perceive our language differently. If you were in a place or worship you do not curve because it is out of respect of the G-D’s we pray to. If we are at a party with loud music we don’t really censor our language very much at all. And it’s very easy to upset someone with our language in these situations. I don’t know why some curses offend some people because we gave these words a meaning and as long as we are not offending someone race, ethnicity, or heritage with these words I don’t see why they offend people. I am guilty of censoring my language because I think its fear. It’s that driving force in your head that says watch what your saying and be careful of how you say it. Mon, 11 Mar 2013 07:58:42 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2013/03/01/voices-from-the-classroom-264/#IDComment592157596 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2013/02/14/voices-from-the-classroom-250/#IDComment578733333 When we talked with Maziar I was very focused and interested in what Maziar would say to our questions. That was an interesting class because Sam likes for people to establish relationships who you normally wouldn’t associate with and this was an extreme example. We video chatted with a citizen from Iran and Sam would ask him questions about his life and racial questions. I’ve never talked to someone from Iran before and it was a good experience. Sam asked him many questions about race but he also asked if Maziar hated Americans. Maziar quickly said no we love America and their people. I wasn’t so quick to trust him just because our countries are in a war with each other but then I realized that our war isn’t with law-abiding citizens but rather their government. Maziar was a normal outgoing guy who liked to laugh and joke with us. Another question that was interesting was that a student asked if Maziar hated his government. Sam was quick to tell Maziar to not answer that and move on to the next questions. This took the class back a little bit because Sam stopped Maziar from answering the question completely. And then I thought about how strict their government was and that if the government knew how he felt about the government that they would probably do him harm and Sam did not want this answer getting back to him. I think that Americans have these preconceptions about Iran because of the fact that we are in a war with them right now. Its unfortunate but this is how our culture feels. At the airports Muslims are searched more and its racist but that is just our culture’s views. Americans “look down” on Muslims and we are racist towards them because of our current situation. We think that their government is out of control and their people are terrorists. But we obviously know most are not. We watched a montage in class about the nightlife in Iran. It was young Iranians having the time of their life. They were out partying, smoking hookah and drinking alcohol with their friends. Most of us wouldn’t want to visit Iran before that montage but after the video the whole class was willing to go and have fun in Iran. It was great meeting Maziar because he talked highly of our country and his favorite shows to watch on T.V. were all American shows and still says it’s the land of opportunity, which is great to hear. I think before this class if we got a full paid trip to Iran not even half the class would take it. I think so because the media only portrays the bad things about Iran and not the partying and happy side. Mon, 25 Feb 2013 04:13:06 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2013/02/14/voices-from-the-classroom-250/#IDComment578733333 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2013/02/14/voices-from-the-classroom-245/#IDComment573752606 I think that if 35,000 people did not die a year it would be catastrophic. I understand how horrible that sounds but the cycles of life don’t say that everyone lives healthy till they are in their 80’s. More people are not what we need in this world. Overpopulation is becoming a huge issue because our natural resources are not infinite and we need our reserves to last as long as possible. So the less people we have in the world the more resources we can conserve and use wisely. I know this sounds like I’m very selfish but I think that’s just the way the future is going to be. Our doubling rate for the U.S. population is decreasing in years, which means that the entire population will be doubled in around 70 years. I do not think we can survive with a doubled population. Americans like space but if our population keeps increasing our big spaces will have to get smaller to make room for million and millions of more people. Overpopulation in the world would have a huge affect on the world. We pollute the atmosphere and have extreme garbage removal problems that if we cannot fix these issues there will be tremendous problems in the future. Our metropolitan cities are already crowded and cause gridlocks and imagine if there were millions of more people in the U.S, we would have that many more jobless people living and struggling to find a living. I think our economy would suffer and I don’t think our cities can handle this huge flux in people. The crazy thing is that all these issues are a reality and with more medicine and technology becoming available people are dying less and living longer which is obviously great but in terms of sustainability it is not good. We are using more resources than ever and I think our intake will just keep increasing to the point where we can’t supply enough for our usage. Who knows how much clean fresh drinking water we have left and gasoline to power our electronics and cars. I sure as hell have no idea but I do know its not endless and I think there will be more wars over resources and control of land for a surging population. I don’t know of a plan that we can follow and I’m sure were going day by day to deal with all our problems but I think that the next presidency and the people in power after that are going to have the issues of dealing with our natural resources and population control rather than all the bullshit politics that our politicians talk about. Both parties have to compromise and use their knowledge for the benefit of the U.S. and not fight because their pride gets in the way. Mon, 18 Feb 2013 04:40:03 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2013/02/14/voices-from-the-classroom-245/#IDComment573752606 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2013/02/07/voices-from-the-classroom-241/#IDComment568319408 Personally I do not think there is a different in being friends with a gay male or a gay female. We are all people and we should not judge people based on their sexuality. I live in New York City for the summers and when you are in New York City you are in a place where creativity and originality come to life. Being around the city you meet a lot of homosexual people. And I am friends with many gay people and have no problem being around them. They are regular people and they should have the ability to do whatever they want in this world. But the media and the United States’ past put a barrier up toward gay people. For someone to not be friends with someone just because of the fact that they are gay is outrageous. I think the media has portrayed gay males somewhat different than gay females. I think they portray all males as flamboyant and openly gay. And that is not how most gay people are. I think if a random male was to talk to a gay male and the straight male did not know the other person was gay I do not think he would suspect he’s gay. But if that straight male knew he was meeting a gay male before hand I think he would have this prejudgment about who the gay male is without even knowing him. I blame the media for this problem. I do not blame our parents. If our parents made comments bashing gays yes they will probably stay in your head but you form your own beliefs. And the media has portrayed gay people as a ‘different type of person’ if you will. In class we were showed a chart, which explained that homophobic people were more turned on by gay porn than non homophobic people. How do you explain that? I think that homophobic people are very curious about gay people but have this barrier they put up that for some reason they do not want to be associated with someone gay and I will never understand why. But I’m sure that some of these people have a lesbian friend. Which would make no sense if they are against the gay community. But it’s the fact that a guy is gay doesn’t make it ok to them. Like we were talking about in class if a girl calls a guy hot but then a guy calls a guy hot we are more likely to feel “threatened” by the male then by the women. Males would think its awesome if a lesbian girl calls you hot but weird and creepy if a male does that. I would take the compliment if both people said that to me and think nothing of it but rather be happy. Mon, 11 Feb 2013 03:39:15 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2013/02/07/voices-from-the-classroom-241/#IDComment568319408 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2013/01/31/voices-from-the-classroom-235/#IDComment562247408 The world is not perfect and everybody struggles with something throughout his or her lifetime. Struggles affect everybody whether they believe so or not. In class Sam spoke about how people harm themselves such as cutting to go to another place to forgot about a traumatic event. If I were to help this person going through these types of self-maiming struggles I would look at the situation they are trying to avoid. They are obviously maiming themselves for a reason. If for example the person was raped and now they cut themselves I would look at another person who has been raped and see how they deal with the aftermath of the situation. If that person had a better coping strategy than to just cut themselves I would try and see If I could bring them together and talk about how to overcome the cutting and cope better. I would do this because people going through the same situation could relate to each other and talk things out and help each other get over the event. If that didn’t work I would sit them down and talk about the people who have it worse than them. I would try and motivate them to see the real potential in life rather than sobbing about something you cannot control. I had a friend who went through bulimia for a while. I had not known until one day she told me. I was the only person she told and I was overwhelmed. I did not know what to say. The first thing I said was why and she told me that she thought she was fat. But that wasn’t the case to the public only to herself. I asked her who she thought would think she’s fat. She told me everyone probably thinks I’m fat. That’s when I began to talk about our friends group. I told her not a single person thinks she’s fat and that she’s the most beautiful girl in our friends group. She began to deny it and since I was her really good friend I began to go on this “journey” with her. She never told a person about her situation only me. The first thing that you need to have to be able to change a behavior of someone who’s struggling is trust. The person has to be able to trust you or nothing will stick in their brain. She came over weekly to talk about her week and how things were. I couldn’t just tell her to stop binging and purging all of a sudden because I didn’t think it would work and It would be a long process. During our talks I rarely put her down or told her she was stupid because I knew that she didn’t want to hear that but sometimes you have to give to the person the hard way. A couple weeks in she was telling me that she could not stop binging and purging and I lost it. I started raising my voice at her telling her that she’s the only person who thinks she’s fat and that she is acting out of control. I told her that enough is enough. I sat her down and told her that she is just part of the statistic of people who binge and purge. I know I was being mean but she had to hear it. I also told her that there is no reasons for this you have two loving parents and they want you to be healthy. People can get severely hurt from this and I asked her what would her parents do without her. She had no answer. Every time you binge and purge think about your parents I said. Family is a strong word and it had seemed that this had motivated her to get healthy. She did after our talk. Mon, 4 Feb 2013 04:37:53 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2013/01/31/voices-from-the-classroom-235/#IDComment562247408 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2013/01/23/voices-from-the-classroom-233/#IDComment555851853 Racism can exist in many forms. I believe racism is when what’s being said offends a culture and their background. Racism occurs all the time and is very prevalent in our country. People are quick to think that, “That’s racist” and other comments like that but in certain places it is accepted. When people go to a comedy night the comedians skits are all about racism and stereotypes. But why is it accepted there. We expect to hear racist comments and other phrases that fit stereotypes of all races. It’s their job to be racist. Is that right? But in our society it is. When a sorority at Penn state dressed up as Mexicans for Halloween yes that was “racist” but its Halloween and people can dress up however they want for that holiday. Its encouraged to dress up and put on funny costumes. So then why did they get in trouble? Maybe it was the media making a big deal out of it but then if I dress up like a Chinese person for Halloween are people going to call me racist? It’s the one day a year that people can put on whatever they want and not be judged. But for some reason this sorority put costumes on and then the president of Penn State sent out an email regarding the situation for damage control. Yes they dressed up but I don’t know that there is such a thing as going overboard for Halloween. If someone dressed up as a Jewish person and wore a yalkmukkah for Halloween I would not be offended or even think twice about it. It’s a day that people should not be thinking about racism. But outside of Halloween making degrading comments about a culture is racism. Putting a culture down for the way they dress or they way they speak would qualify as racism. Anything people take offense to would be racism. But then again it is situational. When you are in that comedy club and he/she says something that offends you what are you going to do about it? Stand up and say that’s racist? If Sam says something racist in our class we also think its funny but I’m sure for some people it does offend them. I do not personally take offense because I let my guard down in that class. But for most people when another person insults what they believe in that person is immediately going to say they are racist and think differently about them. Racism occurs because one culture thinks they are superior to the next. This is how wars have started and this creates many issues. I wish just as the next person does that world peace would be incredible but with politics and pride in the way this just won’t happen. Mon, 28 Jan 2013 04:53:47 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2013/01/23/voices-from-the-classroom-233/#IDComment555851853 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2013/01/18/voices-from-the-classroom-228/#IDComment549626709 Why do people still think that barrack Obama is Muslim is a great question? I think people are naïve. I think its because of his skin color. He is the nations first black president because he is half black. I remember when he was elected president people immediately said that he will be assassinated. Why? Because this nation is so quick to make assumptions without even knowing the situation or what is going on. His skin color is not so dark though it is brown. This also leads people to think that he is Muslim because, All brown people are Muslim is the stereotype. People also think that Barrack was not born in the United States, which makes no sense. Well then he couldnt be president. I for one do not care about religion and do not care why other people care. He was voted in by the American people, which means that the majority of people voted to have him in power. I am Jewish and a lot of people make assumptions about my heritage also without knowing who I really am. So I kind of understand what he goes through but not to the extent of Barrack Obama. If all the data says he is Christian why do people still have to constantly question it? That is something that I think will be going on for years and years to come. If he was baptized and goes to a Christian church well then he is Christian. There shouldnt be a question about it. This has not happened to any other president in the past and this is because of his skin color. We even did a clicker question in class and a lot of people thought that he was Muslim. As the age group who just started to vote for the presidential elections I think that we should be learning more about the person running because clearly we dont even know his religion! If barrack were 100% white I dont think his religion would be in question one bit. Even if he were to be Muslim chances are he was born into it. Normally religion is inherited and if Barrack was to be born Muslim theres not much he can really do about that when he is a young child. I think people in America didnt want as much change to our president as what happened in 2008. But the country is in a recession and a new leader came about by this downfall in our economy. People looked for a different way to find change and America found it in Obama. For most people religion signifies a lot. Because I am Jewish and Judaism isnt the main religion of America people think that we as a culture are different human beings and are quick to judge. Ive met people at Penn state who have not met a single Jewish person in their life and when I meet them their perception changes. They tell me, Youre normal and I thought youd be different. Some of those kids are my best friends now to this day. I think America needs to stop judging people for their religion and to get to know people for who they really are rather than what they believe in as a religion. Mon, 21 Jan 2013 04:33:19 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2013/01/18/voices-from-the-classroom-228/#IDComment549626709