en-us https://www.intensedebate.com/users/2410092 Comments by gap5093 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/04/19/how-has-your-opinion-changed-on-illegal-immigration-119-blog/#IDComment144405519 My opinion on illegal immigration before today's class was that I really didn't think twice about it. I have never cared if snuck into the United States, it happens so let them do as they want! I always that it was annoying to hear people bash illegal immigration and the people that come over, it's rude and brash. People are just so quick to judge things that may have affect them in some way. I never thought that illegal immigration effected my life, so that is probably why I didn't think about it. It is interesting to put yourself in the shoes of Native Americans and think that everything you know about your family could be lie, we are all illegal immigrants. My grandmother came from Germany in the 50s and her story about having to escape threw the sewers to the west side of Germany(I think) and then flying to the United States, was always seen as a brave and glorified event. Now that I think about it, it is just a different form of immigrating. Although, when thinking of this and today's class, I must say that I think I have just become really confused as to what illegal immigration is. In my mind, I distinguish that if you do not come with a green card, it is illegal? Because it got me thinking, everyone in the United States is from somewhere else, sure we have our own culture...but our history traces back to all parts of the world. This probably just proves that we are all immigrants on Native American land. After today's class, my perspective changed in the way that I am just angered at people in our world. Why does everything have to be so black and white, people just bash 'illegal' immigration and the people that come? It almost makes me sick, why can we not just be and accept that people want to do something better for themselves and their families and let them come into the United States. Chances are that they will help our economy or make people in the country work harder. Well, I don't know but it sounds really nice. As proven in today's class, the United States cannot survive without illegal immigrants so legalize them! No one was working Californian packaging plants after that bill was passed and they sure learned their lesson quick. Just let these people come in, there should be something that helps them come into our country. Because I know for me, I want to live in Japan, and I don't want to get there and have to be turned around because they think I'm going to take their jobs. Everyone should just let everyone BE and let them live. It was definitely shocking that businesses are the prime reason and foundation of immigration. Although, I feel like I knew this to an extent, to have it put on the table so openly was shocking. Businesses let them come because they want people to do the dirty work in their factories. What we didn't talk about was that when the police come to get the immigrants, the businesses do nothing to protect them and just let them go. Because chances are their will be more immigrants coming in to take over their jobs. That is just annoying, how can people say illegal immigration is bad but still want these people to do all their dirty work but give them no rights. It is ridiculous. The main way my thoughts have changed is just that I have become more knowledgeable about this topic of illegal immigration, I mean I may not have the answers to this issue but I hope one day someone does. Preferably someone who thinks outside the box of race and can make an educated decision for how to deal with illegal immigrants. Wed, 20 Apr 2011 04:31:36 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/04/19/how-has-your-opinion-changed-on-illegal-immigration-119-blog/#IDComment144405519 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/#IDComment143014230 The fact that our society's schools are more segregated now that in the 1970s, says that our society enjoys finding comfort zones and that the socio-economic status is not equal within races. I can think of two specific points that may give a reason to why it is more segregated now. First, if you think about it, when people are put in a different situation, that they are not used to, they tend to look for something that will comfort them. In this instance, the most qualifying comfort is sometimes race. Imagine, you are a Black student and it is your first day of High School, won't you be drawn toward the people who look the same as you? Races tend to drift toward people within their race, in many given situations. Another example, is Penn State, we must agree that all we see is White students talking to White students, Black students to Black students, and International students to Internationals. It is a common problem in our society that it is really hard to get past because of our society's beliefs. We think that staying in a comfort zone is okay instead of venturing out and trying to learn something new about someone. Something that bothers me all of the time about Penn State is the fact there is a multi-cultural or 'black' dorm such as Pennypacker, that obviously segregates people. It is promoting that these racial comfort zone are okay and helpful at that. Why is nothing being done to stop it, it's obviously a problem? The short answer is that Americans get complacent with the way things are and decide not to change anything. The second reason for which schools are more segregated because of the law that states you must live in a certain area or county to go to a certain school. It is a re-occurring situation in the United States that inner-city schools have less money in comparison to suburban schools. So if you live in the city, you are forced to go to a school that may not have the finances to give you a good education. As we learned in Soc 119, socio-economic class is higher for Whites and lower for minorities. So wherever you move, where you can support your family, shows what kind of school you go to. So if Whites have more money, live in a better side of town, they have better schools and may have a pre-dominantly White school. If it is said that Blacks make less, they will live somewhere cheaper, so the school will not be as good. So all of this leads to segregated schools in our society, the most important factor is socio-economic and second the comfort zones. Fri, 15 Apr 2011 04:43:08 +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/#IDComment143014230 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/#IDComment140918946 After putting myself in the shoes of Middle Easterns, it sort of had an effect on my views of the Iraq war. Of course, it was the most amazing lecture I think I've ever had in my first year here. It was very interesting to see that side of the war, the more equal humanly side that only cares about people as a whole. Everyone in their right mind wants to do the best for them and make the lives and future of their families better off. So why should people set themselves apart from Middle Easterners when all they want is the same thing...happiness. I never thought about it that way. Especially, with the media that is shown. We all know that media usually only shows, bad news about what is wrong with the world. So the minds of the people are being influenced negatively, which is annoying. It happens in the Middle East and in America, that is just a problem that our generation must fix. We have the opportunity to see things from a different perspective, so we must do something about it. Being from a Military family, I always saw the Iraq war as wrong. Yes, there are terrorist groups, I understand...it's Iraq's form of the Military isn't it? Although, their methods are more direct I'd assume. But, just for the fact that there was a hidden reason to partaking in the war, set me off. For personal reasons granted, I didn't want my mom to miss two years of my life while she was away, what kid wants that? But, it was her duty so that part it understandable. I don't think it is America's place to go into their country and start changing things, when they don't even want it, especially all over oil. We should be lessening our foreign resource dependence and maximize the energy opportunities in our country. Everyone doesn't think that, but at sometime we will have to take responsibility for our own actions and future. I know, another reason was 9/11...I just think that gave us a "real" reason to go, I think we picked the wrong method of doing things. I think every American should have to put themselves in the shoes of Middle Easterns, because it really knocks you down a step. There is no difference between Middle Easterns and Americans besides their beliefs and language, we all have the same long term goal: happiness and success. So what is the point to fight and act unjustly or racist toward these people. We are all human. This exercise gave me hope for our generation and future, to rise up and do something about the issue in the Middle East and race relations. That one day the wars will be over, and we can all be equal. Because personally, I do not want to see my mother and friends have to go back. I know that is really optimistic, and that the war has potential to go on for another 5 years, because we are already "in it," and we cannot just leave...but it is just my hopes. Fri, 8 Apr 2011 05:17:11 +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/#IDComment140918946 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/03/29/would-you-be-willing-to-learn-a-new-language-for-a-job-119-blog/#IDComment138706025 Would I learn a new language for a job? Of course I would! Although, knowing different languages is a resume builder, learning a different language can provide you so much more. I traveled a lot during my childhood with my family and the hardest part of the trips was the inability to be able to communicate with the local people. In Germany, my mother could get by because she was able to speak the language, but for me all I could grasp was "Cacao" which is hot chocolate in German, try getting around the country and talking to family when the only thing you could do was ask for hot chocolate. Although, I can't really complain...I do love hot chocolate. It would be awesome to be able to travel around the world and not have to worry about the language barriers that are inevitable. Technically, you only really need to know a couple of languages to get by because most likely, these core languages, like Spanish, French, or Japanese, have been based off of for a native language. Personally, I want to travel when I get older and the only way to do that is at least know the basics of the country I am going to. Also, I hope to live and work in Japan one day, which is why I am minoring in Japanese. Although, it is an extremely hard language to grasp, just saying that I know Japanese would be the most amazing thing. To be associated with its amazing cultural and history is worth more than the long hours I'll have to spend learning the language. I feel as if everyone should learn a new language to have this same association. It is just awesome to know that you can have a cultured opportunity just by knowing more languages. It's better if you want to expand your worldly views as well. If a job that I got wanted me to speak another language when I didn't already, I would love to take the opportunity! Especially if they paid for you to take classes or to get a computer program to help with learning the language. I know in some military branches that you can get some versions of Rosetta Stone for a decreased price or even free! That would be my suggestion to the company, by giving it to their employees; they directly give their employees a increased and positive worldview. However, let's face it, if someone comes straight out of college and they know two languages other than English, they are a shoe-in for the job (if the meet the requirements) and will receive higher pay just based off that fact, double even. And who doesn't want that? Wed, 30 Mar 2011 22:24:24 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/03/29/would-you-be-willing-to-learn-a-new-language-for-a-job-119-blog/#IDComment138706025 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/03/22/what-do-you-think-about-interracial-relationships-119-blog/#IDComment136896488 I must say, I love everything about interracial relationships. What better opportunity to get to really know someone of another race, ethnicity, or color. I may be a little biased in this subject because I'm of mixed race, Black and White. So I say why not be in an interracial relationship? As a mixed kid, who exactly should I date...I can't stay within my color, because I have two of those. Should I date another mixed person? I know that personally for me, I don't know which race I identify with the most, sometimes I don't feel as if I’m either, just mixed ( just brown if you will).I've been in a couple interracial relationships during high school and depending on where I was, I got many different reactions. The only one that stood out the most in my life is when I was dating a white male and his friend went to work one day and someone he worked with said this "I'm fine with White and Black people dating or getting married, but they should NOT have children...it's wrong and it is hard on a child." Really, did someone just say this, to my friend no less? My mind just thought how naïve and offensive this person was. It should be up to the person in the relationship. Otherwise, many of people have just asked me what it was like to date outside my race. I don’t understand why it is such a big deal; we are all human beings who have the same goals to be successful in life, so why should race be factor to why people date. Just because we are different races doesn’t mean we act any different from each other! My friends and family were supportive of my interracial relationships and didn’t think twice about it. I should add that I was raised around the military, a very diverse organization, so that could have been a factor. I was raised in a different environment than most people, I move a lot, so the range of diversity at my school was random each time. Besides that, it isn't the friends or families choice if someone wants to be in an interracial relationship; the only thing that should matter is that they are happy together. Sometimes, it really makes me angry when I hear of parents who want their daughter or sons to marry within their race. Specially because I know of someone whose family thinks this, and I just think how I could never truly be accepted in that family for being of a different race, or color even. Yes, I understand it is tradition, but we are in a different time and people have different views/preferences than people of the olden days. They should let their kids be in charge of their life! The older generations and society should accept interracial relationships, because after they are gone, that is all there will be. Everyone will be mixed with a little something or other! Basically, I’m completely for interracial relationships because there is nothing at all wrong with them; as long as the people in the relationship love each other and are happy, that is all that matters! Wed, 23 Mar 2011 02:08:33 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/03/22/what-do-you-think-about-interracial-relationships-119-blog/#IDComment136896488 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/03/15/how-do-irrelevant-racial-signifiers-affect-racial-stereotypes-119-blog/#IDComment135495560 The question of the way that irrelevant racial signifiers affect racial stereotypes is pulling me in two different directions. On one hand I want to say that we don't need irrelevant racial signifiers and that they enhance someone's perceptions of racial stereotypes. But on the other hand, throughout this whole class we have made it a point to say that people must talk about race to get past it, isn't this talking about it? For my first point, I do think that using irrelevant racial signifiers affect racial stereotypes because it implies that it is an issue. The fact that you add someone's race into a conversation that has nothing to with race is ridiculous. Yet, don't we all do it? I never really thought about it until we started to talk about it in class because I'm sure I've told a story and mentioned someone's race/heritage. For the reason that people irrelevantly mention race in conversation just shows that there is a problem in our society. It just shows that even if we do not directly say it, race is always on our mind. By mention these races, it may also affect racial stereotypes based on the situation they are put in. For example, if you mention a race in a negative connotation, then that person will have that story in their mind forever and connect it to future situations with that race. This may be especially so for children. At a young age, everything around a child leaves an impact on them. So imagine telling a negative story that you happen to mention a race in, they may conclude that everything about the race is bad? This should technically go into the Political Correctness debate, shouldn't it? As we learned political correctness is bad, which leads me to my next point. Although, this may affect racial stereotypes in a negative connotation, isn't the point of this class to realize that race is a problem that we need to talk about? Let's face it, everyone uses irrelevant racial signifiers. Does that not mean that we are talking about race? Of course, I understand that people are not using it in the right context, but the fact is that people are talking about it even if they are judging something straight away. Hopefully, chances are that when people use these irrelevant racial signifiers, the person they are talking about question why they used the signifier. This means that by talking about the subject, they are talking and learning about race. So to an extent shouldn't that be good? The extent is that it is most likely that the person using the signifiers doesn't notice or the person that they are talking to. So I guess that I am just confused about this question and how to exactly address it. Clearly it should be negative, but at the same time we are finally talking about the elephant in the room, race. Thu, 17 Mar 2011 05:32:37 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/03/15/how-do-irrelevant-racial-signifiers-affect-racial-stereotypes-119-blog/#IDComment135495560 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/03/02/is-it-possible-for-affirmative-action-to-take-things-too-far-119-blog/#IDComment134296271 Does affirmative action take things too far? That is a hard question to answer, because there are so many different things that go into effect. Maybe it is being forced in the wrong direction. If you think about, the only people who do not get assistance from affirmative action or diversity scholarships, is the average heterosexual white male. People of diversity benefit most from these systems, that being different races, women, and homosexuals. These programs were set up in hopes to stop the unequal opportunity and treatment that a diversity student may face when applying to colleges or anything else. They do help with the student’s life because who is to say that they would have gotten this opportunity without the assistant of affirmative action. Affirmative Action was enacted to give other diversities opportunities that were usually given to Whites, aka white privilege. This was needed after Blacks and Whites became "equal." These programs forced people that were in charge of institutions to make equal opportunity decisions. It was more important during the past, so people could get over race issues. It's hard to tell if Affirmative Action has taken it too far, because it helps a wide range of people. I think it’s a fact that the only people that it is really targeting are people of another race. But I think people forget to mention women and homosexuals. All of these people being ones who don’t have equal opportunity in our society, so isn’t fair that they are given a chance too? Is it fair to white males? Again, how can we say if it is or isn't because white males, from birth, have the opportunity of white privilege to get them certain things in life. Personally, I think it would be interesting if Affirmative Action, for example scholarships for diversity students, could consider social status or a person's ability to pay for college. I think it should be less about race in this day in age, and more about if someone can pay for college; shouldn't it help and accept people from lower incomes? I don't work in admissions, so I couldn't tell you the first thing that they look at when it comes to accepting someone, but it seems that Affirmative Action Is kind of acting as benefactor to reverse racism. I think that before Affirmative action gets canceled, there must be a deciding factor between affirmative action and white privilege, they must both be gone to be done with affirmative action. If one day we could get over the racism in our world and accept everyone as is, we wouldn’t need these programs. Although, I know that this isn’t going to happen for awhile, hopefully the next generation, it is nice to dream that we won’t need affirmative action. Fri, 11 Mar 2011 22:09:26 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/03/02/is-it-possible-for-affirmative-action-to-take-things-too-far-119-blog/#IDComment134296271 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/02/22/do-you-think-in-today%e2%80%99s-society-people-are-more-racist-toward-muslims-or-blacks-119-blog/#IDComment130479709 With what is going on in the Middle East today, I would definitely say that there is more racism toward Muslims than African Americans. I say this because everything that is happening affects how people act toward certain things. After 9/11, the war in Iraq and Afghanistan, people tend to dislike them because that's what they think is right. Americans have been doing this for years. I remember in high school, when one of my teachers said that they hated the French! The French, really, I always wondered if he even knew a French man? People are so ignorant to things that affect the nation, because most likely they act how they think they act and don't know anything on the topic at hand. When people get on planes and see a Muslim, they automatically think terrorist. When a Muslim goes through security, he or she is asked to the side for a more thorough pat down. When people see their signature scarves, they freak! It's obviously racist on every account, people try to justify themselves by saying that they are just "making sure." It's ridiculous that people generalize a whole culture group as terrorists and show emotions like fear or anger toward these people. For Americans, the Muslim culture is just so different in comparison to ours that we automatically judge. People judge what they wear, their religion, how they look and act. We never think that Americans were in the wrong for invading their country, there was obviously Saddam and his terrorist group, but ten years later, why are we still there? Americans always think that America is right on every account, but no, that isn't true at all! Although, I would still say that there is still Black racism, but it has lessened over the years. When someone sees a Black person, they don't automatically think that he or she is a bad person or terrorist. Black racism is more of a individual phenomenon, where as Muslims is more of a worldwide issue. If people just became more knowledgeable about the war and the people that live in the Middle East, we wouldn't see this racism. Muslims are people too and everyone wants the same values in life, to be happy. What is wrong with that? It’s sad that we group these people together as a terrorist group because most of the people who America is killing in the Middle East are innocent people; mothers and children. I know a woman, who my family helped come to the United States, whose husband and son were killed in the war. Her son was six, what makes it okay to say that we should be killing these people? She just so happens to be one of my biggest role models because as a single woman in Iraq with four kids, there is not much you can do because everyone looks at you as scum, and she rose above all of that. These people do not deserve American’s hatred, they deserve to be treated like the humans that they are. Fri, 25 Feb 2011 02:53:59 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/02/22/do-you-think-in-today%e2%80%99s-society-people-are-more-racist-toward-muslims-or-blacks-119-blog/#IDComment130479709 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/02/10/do-we-have-a-responsibility-to-fix-inequality-119-blog/#IDComment128248940 Do we have a responsibility to fix inequality? Of course we do! This is our generation and life and if we truly want change then we have to do something about it! Personally, I do not think that we can directly change or fix inequality. However, first we must teach everyone to acknowledge that these inequalities exist and are prevalent. Second, we must teach future generations about these inequalities and racism/stereotypes. When people say they are the future and they will be running the country, they are very true. So why not teach them about these things; they will become aware and start to get pass the elephant in the room. That is our problem now, that we don't talk about race...we just beat around the bush, but it's an issue that needs to be mentioned. The only way to fix something is to talk about it and acknowledge it. Recently, they have started to teach sexual education to younger children, such as kindergarteners. They have found that kids that learned about it when they were younger and grew up with a mandatory learning of sex, they were the ones who were LEAST likely to get pregnant young or have teenage sex. This could be the same thing with race, if we integrate race relations into our school systems, then we can finally fix this race problem. Then, if there is no race problem, there will be no inequalities. One day everyone will forget about the issue of race and see each as people. People will appreciate other people's differences and backgrounds. Also, we cannot just sit back and watch the inequalities that we KNOW exist, continue to transpire into the future. It's just not fair. It's like watching someone get hit by a car, but not doing anything about it like calling the police. Should we choose to just stand ideally by as something so bad continues right in front of our eyes. However, I do understand that many people do not know of these inequalities and think that everything is "fair” in this perfect world of ours. That is where acknowledgement has to come in. Also, I know that I am saying that we must do something to change/fix inequalities between races all gun-ho. I do acknowledge that it won't have a quick result. It may take awhile and by saying all this, I really need to do something myself about it. I cannot just sit here and say how we should fix inequalities and change the world, I have to do something. But just like everything, it's hard to do! How do we go about changing something that encompasses the mind of majority of the world? We'll just have to give it sometime and rely on the future generations to get rid of these barriers. Wed, 16 Feb 2011 05:29:01 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/02/10/do-we-have-a-responsibility-to-fix-inequality-119-blog/#IDComment128248940 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/02/08/interpret-the-lupe-fiasco-lyrics-119-blog/#IDComment127056727 Wow. This is such an interesting song! Probably my new favorite, I read through the lyrics and what I got from it is all of the uncertainty and fear in the world is effecting our population. Our fear gets in the way of everything that we want to say and do. The words "I think that all the silence is worse than all the violence" definitely has some intense meaning in our world today. I think this could also be described as "the elephant in the room" that everyone notices but ignores. This silence or "elephant" is about so many things going on in our world, from race, gender, war, the people who represent our country, the media, religion, violence, it's just everything! Since this is a race relations class, I'll focus on race. Race is one of those things that people try to stay away from talking about. They try to use "political correctness," but why is this? Why can we all not "Just Be?" If we relate this to the ongoing war; for all of the terrorist events that happened around us, I understand that we had to do something. But what we did was just cause more uncertainty in the world and lies. Why do people walk do the street and see someone of Middle Eastern dissent and clutch their purse or give dirty looks? Why do people talk about hating Middle Easterners when they never did a single thing to us? You cannot just generalize a race because of one person that did something bad. One of my greatest role-models are Iraqi and it’s unfair that people think this way. Why can't we talk about these things? It's because we are afraid to tell and learn the truth. We don't realize by doing this, it can lead to something much bigger: leaving the thought of race behind. Our silence is worse than all the violence, because we are not doing anything to stop it or change the world. People just sit around and complain about things that happen. That's why I tend to not feel sorry for people who say that don't vote, yet feel as if they can complain about things. Our right to vote is so much more than an American right. It is something that says you have a say in your future and that you care. You can make a difference by just doing one thing, like voting or even sending an email to your congressman. Silence is an excuse for lazy people to get away with being in charge of their life. If you decide to be silence on an issue that you care about, then you are just hurting yourself. Resistance is needed in this life if you want something to truly change. For example, race, if we want to finally get rid of this race problem we have to do something to change the people in this world. By silently sitting back in the room and letting the elephant take up space is a cop-out. We must make people knowledgeable of things that are a problem in our world, like race. This makes silence worse than violence, because with violence you are actually getting something done and making yourself known. (Even though I would say I was against violence) But, with silence, it just makes an excuse not to do anything and be complacent with the world how it is. Like Gandhi said “Be the change you want to see in the world.” Thu, 10 Feb 2011 05:29:48 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/02/08/interpret-the-lupe-fiasco-lyrics-119-blog/#IDComment127056727 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/02/03/do-you-think-race-can-stop-being-an-issue-in-the-future-119-blog/#IDComment125833897 I think without people around the country having to take a race relations class, then race will still be an issue in our future. I say this because like everything in life, people need to be informed. Especially when it comes to race as an issue, because people may not know that their thoughts are stereotypical and racist. I think there is a quote that states “With Knowledge comes change” or something along those lines but it makes total sense. Without learning about the stereotypes and effects of race on life, race cannot become a thing of the past. Often, I have heard that once the Baby Boomers and Generation X finally die off that there will be less racism in the world. Sadly, that is not true at all. These baby boomers and generation x-ers are the ones that pass down their thoughts and biases to their children and grandchildren. It is a known fact that a child gets most of their ideas from their parents, because they are the ones who raised them and the fact of the matter is that when raising children, parents tend to make a carbon copy of themselves and pass along their minds. So this statement is completely false, because if they teach their children these ideas about race, then chances are that in the future, the children will pass their parent’s ideas to their own children, and so on. It’s a never ending cycle. Although, there is a slim chance that the children who go to college will start to form an identity of their own, and make their own ideas about race. I think that every college should have a race relations class, so that people can become more knowledgeable about race and not leave keep tip-toeing around the elephant in the room. There has to be some kind of enlightenment or change in the world in order to fix the issue of race in the future. I don’t know what this would be, but it would have to be powerful. For example, American’s, in everything we do, tend to be more reactive than proactive. So not until something extreme happens, will we decide to take action. This will eventually start pertaining to race as well. However, I do think that we can try and achieve this goal of making race not an issue in the future. We have an advantage over everyone else by taking this class and moving past the race barriers. We should be more proactive in making sure that the people around us, friends or even family, know about this issue of race and tell them why it shouldn’t be an issue. We are all people, just trying to live our life as good as we can, and race issues are something that hinders our way of living. We have to tell the younger children that are still in K-12 about this, by starting that young we can change their ideas and give them positive ones so they can live in the future that we hope there will be. Fri, 4 Feb 2011 05:00:08 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/02/03/do-you-think-race-can-stop-being-an-issue-in-the-future-119-blog/#IDComment125833897 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/01/26/why-do-we-associate-with-people-of-the-same-race-and-ethnicity-as-ourselves-119-blog/#IDComment124127006 Personally, I'd say that people tend to associate themselves with their same race because it is easiest for them. Let’s face it people hate having to go out of their norm and doing different things so they stay and cocoon themselves into their race. It also may be that they feel comfortable with the people who are just like them, especially for International students, I'd guess because they hang out with people who speak their language. It is just a thing that people do. It also has to deal with where a person came from. For example, if they were raised in a town that did not have a minority and they were only taught stereotypes about the minorities, so once they interacted with them in college, they thought back on their past and stayed away. Everyone has a stereotype in their mind when they look at a person, whether it's good or bad but it probably will limit your interaction with that person. Also, I personally think that the school condones that people of the same race hang out together. I’m a freshman and happened to receive a scholarship to go here. Why is it that they put me and what seems to be every other African American or Hispanic freshman in the dorm, Pennypacker? Technically, I see what they want to do: make a minority student know that there is people around them that are in the same boat as them, so they don’t get “lost” in the ever-so-small minority of Penn State. Really, all they are doing is, letting people stay in their comfort zones and close out the rest of the races and ethnicities that encompass Penn State. It’s almost ridiculous; shouldn’t we appreciate everyone and get to know people who are different from us? Face it, when we are out in the world, not everyone is going to look like us, so it should be important that we step outside our comfort zone and learn how to associate ourselves with people outside our race so we don’t end up crippling ourselves in the future. You probably think that I'm saying that being friends with the same race and ethnicity is okay. On the contrary, I am a biracial woman who has trouble fitting in, in either side of my races (Black and European White). What race am I "supposed" to associate with when I got stereotypes from both sides. I can tell you that my range of friends is like a rainbow. I prefer NOT to cocoon myself in my race and ethnicity and appreciate the different people around me because I can learn a good something from them in the long run. It's refreshing to be friends with people who don't share the same look and ideas you do, because it brings different ideas and change into your life. Yes some people do associate themselves with their same race and ethnicity, and I'd have to say that they are the ones that have to open themselves up because they are just hurting themselves. Don't be afraid to get out of your cocoon and turn into a butterfly. Thu, 27 Jan 2011 15:33:29 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/01/26/why-do-we-associate-with-people-of-the-same-race-and-ethnicity-as-ourselves-119-blog/#IDComment124127006 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/01/14/why-do-we-still-have-stereotypes-blog-1/#IDComment122457574 Everyone, once in their lifetime, has judged someone based off of appearance. Whether it was the color of their skin or the type of clothes they wore. There are still stereotypes in our society for many reasons. If you think about, most of the people from our generation were taught and learned from their parents. These parents have lived a long life and have experienced many things and people. These parents were taught by our grandparents, the baby boomer generation that dealt with slavery and immigration at best. If you were a White American, you were thought as if you were above the Black slaves who were doing the farm work, you were above the Asian and Europeans who came to the US looking for work. This generation was mad when people from different countries came and took their jobs, so they naturally built up a nasty idea about them. The people who were most effected passed these stories down and refused to forgive and forget about the past. The narrow-minded thoughts of the baby boomer passed down family to family as they raised their children. For Eighteen years, children constantly learn ideas and opinions from their parents until they went to college to develop their own opinion. But, your knowledge that you bring to college is based off old opinions, most involving stereotypes that were soon to be proven wrong. Often, people have said that the stereotypes will be gone when the Baby Boomer and X Generation die off. This isn't entirely true if you think about what they are teaching their children. A second reason for stereotypes is based on geography. If you were raised in a town with minimal minority, then you don't know how a different race thinks and acts, so you judge your opinions off of what the people around you say. The comments can be negative or positive, but it is still a stereotype. Technically, whosoever opinion you are listening to probably only has to do with ONE person that they generalized over a whole race. Lastly, for all of the war our great country has been involved in. Whenever, we “lose” or the war ends up badly…we tend to dislike the country and its people. For example, how many of you heard you teachers in high school or elementary school say that they hated the French. When you went on a plane, did you happen to stare extra long at that Iraqi man? Our media ensures that we have a stereotype in these people, when they are humans just like you and me. One person decided that they would do something wrong so people then generalize that race and decide that they are “bad.” First, the media has to get over this aspect and start to realize how stereotypical they are actually being. We need to talk more about race in the media and less of what this man “has the potential to do” A stereotype can’t go away in the short amount of time, even with the death of a generation. It is a long process that must change the views of our generation and teach future generations about. It is just our job to become aware of them, and teach the people around us about them if we ever want them cease. We must teach our children about stereotypes and that they should appreciate everyone and get to know someone before they judge their character, because then our children will live in a world. A world, hopefully without stereotypes. I'm so excited for this class, the whole stereotypical issue is just so interesting! Thu, 20 Jan 2011 07:37:47 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/01/14/why-do-we-still-have-stereotypes-blog-1/#IDComment122457574 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/01/10/last-name-%e2%80%9cp%e2%80%9d-%e2%80%93-intense-debate/#IDComment121185498 soc 119 Fri, 14 Jan 2011 00:19:08 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/01/10/last-name-%e2%80%9cp%e2%80%9d-%e2%80%93-intense-debate/#IDComment121185498