I found this scenario very thought provoking. Initially, it seemed like an easy answer for me. When the speaker first asked who would save their mothers, I immediately raised my hand. My friend sitting next to me seemed shocked by my fast response, and I told her “of course I’ll save my mother because my ‘kids’ and ‘significant other’ are non-existent.” To me, picturing this scene, I saw myself and my mom in a boat with two other blank faces (as I have no children and am currently single) so it was my natural instinct to want to save my mother over these hypothetical people that I cannot even identify.
Then, as a discussion ensued amongst the speaker and various class members, I began to think of the situation as more real. I pictured the children of one of my close friends: two very real little girls who I know and can visualize in that situation and the decision became suddenly harder. I thought of other people I care (or have cared) deeply about in substitute of a husband/significant other and the decision became harder still.
Students brought up some logical, some humorous, some thought-provoking reasons as to why they would save one and not the others. My reasons for each would have to be as follows. My mom is the reason I am alive, obviously, but also she is the reason why I have a healthy and happy life. She has always cared for me and still does, even though I am now an adult. I know that she would do anything for me and I feel guilty that I can’t always do the same for her. So for me to know that I was the cause of my own mother’s death; by some decision that I made, my mother died? I could never live with that. Then I think about how I would feel if I became a mother. Likely I would feel the same way about my child as I know that my mother does about me. So if I would do anything for my child, would that entail taking the life of everyone I love, including my own mother, in order to save my child? I definitely agree with the people in class who said that their mother wouldn’t let them save her or would make them save their kid instead. My mother would be the martyr in that situation as well. I could more easily justify not saving the significant other because, as someone mentioned, they are replaceable, as terrible as that sounds. They aren’t blood. Even if they are your “soulmate” I would see it as more a betrayal to deny life to your own mother or child. Not that I’d ever easily just let my significant other die, I just feel that that choice would be the least of all evils, although it may cause the most loneliness as a side effect because you lost your life partner.
If a situation like this were to ever actually happen (which 99.9% chance it never would) hypothetically speaking, I think I would stay on the boat with them and just die. As morbid as that sounds and as unsure as we can be about how we’ll actually react when a situation presents itself, I’m pretty sure I’d choose my own death over causing the death of two other people who mean a lot to me, and then living with the guilt forever. Plus, I imagine how guilty the person who I did save would feel as well. Living with the realization that two other people (who they would probably be very close to too, since we’re all family) had to die in order for them to live. That’s a lot to digest. Tough question!

I am a nutrition major so I could use my knowledge of food and nutrition to help the people of Haiti to improve their health and nutritional status. It would be fun to go to the school that was built and teach the children basic nutrition facts. I have had to create several lesson plans in various nutrition courses so I’ve had experience targeting an audience and tailoring lessons based on aspects such as audience’s age, culture, knowledge, health status, etc. Also, in regards to the issue that was raised in class about agriculture, it would be interesting to see what foods they do grow down there. I could emphasize the nutritional benefits of those foods and the importance of eating locally to preserve nutrients and overall quality to give the people more incentive to buy within the community and support local economy. My skills in the nutritional field could help the Haitians improve their health and their sustainability.
Also, I’m pretty sure it was mentioned in class that the people in the community we are supporting speak French. I was originally a French major when I first started college. I took five levels in high school and two levels in college so I would be able to communicate with the people and act as a basic translator between the Haitians and Americans.

I'm glad you asked this questions because I was thinking the same thing. Everyone jumped on that guy for simply expressing his opinion as to why that video is funny according to our culture’s common definition of humor. When the Asian students gave their opinions, no one raised hell because they thought it was funny. I guess maybe they were “allowed” to find it funny because it was poking fun of “their people”? Whereas if the white guy thought it was funny, it was inappropriate because it was poking fun at “other people”?
I personally thought the video was a little uncomfortable and a little funny at different times. In some cases, the students being interviewed seemed to be laughing along with it and having fun with the whole issue but other times I think they were actually confused and didn’t realize this was something for comedy. It was kind of one of those things that you laugh at in an awkward kind of way, if that makes sense.
I’m really looking forward to the class discussion we’ll be having on what makes the difference between insult and comedy. Maybe the people in class who freaked out at the white guy think that you have to be a part of the group that’s being picked on in order to be permitted to laugh at the joke or tell the joke? I really think it depends. I’ve seen black comedians joke about Mexicans, Mexican comedians joke about Vietnamese, and so on. Is that ok because the joker and the jokee both aren’t white? Is it ok for me (as a white person) to laugh at these jokes? Is it ok for white people to joke about anyone other than white people? When’s the last time anyone heard Dane Cook joke about people of other races.. would that be too taboo for him to do?
Sam mentioned something briefly that a joke is funny only if the butt of the joke knows that they are the butt of the joke. But then what about shows like Candid Camera and Punk’d? There are entire TV series based off of purposely putting people in awkward situations, secretly filming them, and then laughing at their reactions. That’s basically what was going on in the video we watched with the Asian students. I guess as soon as race or culture come into play, some people get really sensitive, which is fine. I just found it interesting that most of the people who had a sensitive or offended reaction didn’t appear to be of Asian descent.

The town I grew up in is mostly white, with few minorities. It’s the stereotypical small southern Pennsylvania town and a lot of the people who live there have that stereotypical small town view. I would describe this view as a general ignorance about and disinterest in other cultures and races, emerging from a lack of diverse life experiences and interactions. Sadly, a lot of people who are uninformed about people who are different from themselves often view these other groups negatively and stick to common stereotypes. For example, my grandmother held racist views against black people, as a result of the time period and the area in which she grew up. She lived with us while I was in fifth and sixth grade and she would make comments about posters I had on my walls (I was a big Nelly fan at the time) like “Ohhh he’s so dark, why would you find him attractive? He’s black.” I remember recognizing, at the age of ten or eleven, that my grandma made these comments because she didn’t really know any better and didn’t desire to learn. So I would say I was viewing the issue of race from a pretty mature viewpoint at that age, considering my cultural and familial background. I remember one other instance while my grandma was living with us. One of my close friends was black (when I got older, I realized she was actually half black…I was always confused as to how/why her mother was white). Anyways, I was having a birthday party and I remember my mom and I having a conversation with my grandma beforehand to let her know that there would be a black girl at our house and she needed to not make any comments. I don’t mean to make my grandmother sound like a bad person; the comments she made were never overly rude or vindictive. She would just point out people’s color as if it mattered way more than it does, if even at all.
Another example I have of the “small-town view” is my very good friend from back home. A few years ago, I was dating a Puerto Rican guy. My friend just could not imagine how I could ever find a “black man” attractive (and then I had to explain that he wasn’t black, to which she replied “well he’s not white.. so he’s Mexican?”). She liked him as a person and we would all hang out and have fun, but she was always very shocked that I found him attractive and wanted to be with him. She would make other comments about minority people that were just overly simplified and very uneducated and I found myself sometimes scolding her for the things she would say about certain people because of their race (or supposed race, because she really only recognized white people, black people, Chinese and Mexicans). Some time later, I went over to her house to watch the superbowl with her family and I realized where she got these crazy views from. All throughout the game, there were comments flying about the black and brown players on the team, not necessarily “mean” but very stereotypical and ignorant. I left that night thinking that her family was immature and close-minded. Moreso, they all came across as very uneducated (even though the majority of them have bachelor’s degrees and one has a master’s degree).
It was at this point in my life that I realized how differently some people really view the world. She and I grew up in the same town, same elementary/middle/high school, similar neighborhoods and family dynamics. Both of our parents were born and raised in that small town (my dad even had slightly racist parents) and I was never raised with racist views, while she was. On the other hand, I was never raised with “cultured” views; as I said, my parents were born and raised and really never traveled much of anywhere that was diverse in race and culture. I don’t know at what point in my life I broke out of that small-town view, but I’m very glad that I did and I believe I have a relatively open mind and have a desire to learn more and expand my views.

Wow. I got chills when he said “how many of you would join the insurgency?” and one by one, the hands started going up. We tend to have such a strong sense of patriotism in this country, so to put ourselves in the shoes of those we are fighting against, it only makes sense that we would feel the same if we were the ones being invaded. But, still, with the question being stated so frankly: “would you fight against American soldiers?”, I was shocked at how many people actually raised their hands and admitted it in front of the whole group. Now I’m thinking of the example given in class about the Chinese overtaking our land and resources. Visualizing that scenario actually happening, I felt angry and vengeful, I wanted to get those arrogant assholes out of my country and tell them to mind their own business! What gives them the right over me, my country, or any other nation of people in the world to just come here and do whatever they want? They may have the power to do it, but how could they have the RIGHT? How is that fair? Then I realized, WE are the Chinese and the Arab/Muslim countries are us… are me. And I can definitely understand their thought process.
Even if it’s not that; not us just over there doing whatever we please and taking all their resources, most of these people don’t know that. Just like we only know what we “know” about our enemy, making huge generalizations and judgments off of the little information we have about a small population within that group, they are doing the same about us. I didn’t know this before it was mentioned in class, but if George Bush called this war a “crusade”, what else would you expect? Especially since the definition of a crusade specifically mentions taking land from Muslims. So I can definitely understand why these people feel the way they do about us.
I have never been one to pay attention to politics, current events, etc., including the war in the Middle East. It’s not something I ever thought about before, really. It was, and still is, hard for me to formulate an opinion based off of what little I know. Today in my discussion group, we have a war veteran who was explaining a lot of what has happened and is happening with the war and we had a great discussion about it. I learned more in that short period of time than I ever bothered to learn beforehand. Now I’m feeling mostly conflicted. There is still a lot I don’t know and it’s still hard for me to develop an opinion about the war, as far as taking a side (“should we be fighting the war?” “are we helping or hurting those countries?” etc…) it’s not that simple. But for me, having insight from someone who has been there, as I got to experience today, was really cool and I was able to think of things from that perspective. I’ve also been seeing things from the perspective of our “enemies”. These past few class periods have been interesting, a little controversial, possible taboo…but most importantly to me, they have been very thought-provoking. This video sums it all up.

Wow. I got chills when he said “how many of you would join the insurgency?” and one by one, the hands started going up. We tend to have such a strong sense of patriotism in this country, so to put ourselves in the shoes of those we are fighting against, it only makes sense that we would feel the same if we were the ones being invaded. But, still, with the question being stated so frankly: “would you fight against American soldiers?”, I was shocked at how many people actually raised their hands and admitted it in front of the whole group. Now I’m thinking of the example given in class about the Chinese overtaking our land and resources. Visualizing that scenario actually happening, I felt angry and vengeful, I wanted to get those arrogant assholes out of my country and tell them to mind their own business! What gives them the right over me, my country, or any other nation of people in the world to just come here and do whatever they want? They may have the power to do it, but how could they have the RIGHT? How is that fair? Then I realized, WE are the Chinese and the Arab/Muslim countries are us… are me. And I can definitely understand their thought process.

Even if it’s not that; not us just over there doing whatever we please and taking all their resources, most of these people don’t know that. Just like we only know what we “know” about our enemy, making huge generalizations and judgments off of the little information we have about a small population within that group, they are doing the same about us. I didn’t know this before it was mentioned in class, but if George Bush called this war a “crusade”, what else would you expect? Especially since the definition of a crusade specifically mentions taking land from Muslims. So I can definitely understand why these people feel the way they do about us.

I have never been one to pay attention to politics, current events, etc., including the war in the Middle East. It’s not something I ever thought about before, really. It was, and still is, hard for me to formulate an opinion based off of what little I know. Today in my discussion group, we have a war veteran who was explaining a lot of what has happened and is happening with the war and we had a great discussion about it. I learned more in that short period of time than I ever bothered to learn beforehand. Now I’m feeling mostly conflicted. There is still a lot I don’t know and it’s still hard for me to develop an opinion about the war, as far as taking a side (“should we be fighting the war?” “are we helping or hurting those countries?” etc…) it’s not that simple. But for me, having insight from someone who has been there, as I got to experience today, was really cool and I was able to think of things from that perspective. I’ve also been seeing things from the perspective of our “enemies”. These past few class periods have been interesting, a little controversial, possible taboo…but most importantly to me, they have been very thought-provoking. This video sums it all up.

Before Thursday’s class, I had never heard the saying or belief that white people smell like dogs when they get wet. I have, however, encountered some white people that do smell really bad, whether it’s because they are wet or sweating or just standing next to me. But, I have also been around smelly black people and smelly Asians and smelly Hispanics and smelly Middle Easterns… etc. I think it has more to do with personal hygiene and bathing habits than it has to do with race. If I didn’t shower for a few days and I was out in the rain, maybe I would smell like a “wet dog”; but if you put people of all different races out there with me, who also hadn’t showered in days, what is the likelihood that any of us would smell good? My guess is that when black and brown people say that white people smell like wet dogs, they are referring to white people who don’t practice very good hygiene, then making a generalization about the whole race.

On the other hand, I have noticed that some black people have a scent that I’ve only ever smelled coming from black people. It’s not really a good smell or a bad smell, it’s just a bodily scent. And it’s not all black people, I’m not generalizing it and I’m not turning it into an insult. It’s just an observation. So I kind of agreed with the white guy who bravely (maybe stupidly?) asked that question in front of the whole class. I didn’t like that he generalized though. But what I really didn’t like was when the person who responded generalized and turned it into an insult. The way that the question was asked originally seemed like more of a curious personal observation that black people and white people smell different. “White people smell like wet dogs” is just a rude thing to say, and it’s not just because I am white myself. I would feel the same way if a comment like that was made to generalize and insult people of any race.

I like what the one TA said about learning in her bio classes that we have different oils in our bodies that can produce a variety of smells; and people of a given race have certain physical characteristics that can include oils and levels of oils and that can make our particular group of people have a distinct smell that’s different from other groups. Then again, every single person has their own body composition and their own unique smell, even within racial groups. As far as generalizing people of a different race than your own to one particular smell, I would guess that this is similar to generalizing people’s appearances; such as a white person saying “all black people look the same” or a black person saying “all Asians look the same” or vice versa, etc. It’s harder to notice differences in appearance among people of another race so maybe it’s harder to notice differences in body odor, therefore easier to generalize scent to a group based on race.

My overall opinion of the “wet dog” comment is that it was unnecessary and said as a comeback to the white guy who approached the original issue. Mostly, I was annoyed that it diverted away from the question at hand. That was supposed to be a mature and honest discussion class period and then when someone asked one of those difficult, politically incorrect questions (which Sam encouraged us to do) he, and the rest of his racial group, were treated with disrespect. This is precisely the reason why I don’t speak up in class, because some of my classmates cannot discuss these issues in a mature, respectful, and open-minded way. We are there to learn from and appreciate each other, not to ridicule and belittle each other.

I agree with his reaction to the issue of “race difference” – I was shocked to hear that, when controlling for economic/class variables, differences are still present. The thing that I have the hardest time understanding is the difference in test scores. I’m not sure I can accept Sam’s simple explanation that, for instance, if you ask a black/brown student to state their race, it freaks them out and they perform lower. I could see that happening in particular individuals, but I don’t know how that could transform into a national trend. I feel that if someone wanted to test me on a certain skill or performance, and then told me I was expected to perform poorly, I would concentrate on trying even harder than I would if it were “just for fun”. I understand that this pressure might throw some people off and result in a weaker performance, but what about those who strive under pressure? Or people who have lived their whole lives having to prove themselves? I think a stereotype against you would act as motivation and result in a better performance in many, if not most, people.

As far as differences in sports, I feel like we kind of glazed over the actual cause for the trend of “black sports” versus “white sports”. This left me with a question especially concerning ice hockey. We discussed that ice hockey is a very expensive sport that requires proper equipment and a proper arena – not something you can pick up in your own backyard. We also discussed that ice hockey originates in colder climates which were historically occupied by only white/European people. My question is this: what about the black/brown kids who grew up in well-to-do neighborhoods (as Sam stated, is 50% of the black population) and live in the northern United States? The fact that the numbers have relatively evened out over time, why are we seeing practically all white hockey teams? To me, this implies that it does involve internal factors. And my best guess would be that that factor would be “interest”. Maybe black/brown people don’t find as much of an interest in ice hockey as they do in other sports. But why would this be? Maybe because of societal stereotypes and expectations or internal factors that are specific to genes?

Could we then relate this sports example to the academic/testing example? Could it be an issue of “interest” that results in black/brown people earning generally lower scores? Are tests set up to examine minimal aspects of certain academic areas that tend to speak more strongly to white people? Maybe it’s the way the questions are worded or the strategy with which people would have a propensity to use when answering. So then maybe this could be a result of the “white supremacist” view that dominates society, which we’ve been discussing in class. What if the tests are being written in a way that sets up white people to excel and other people to struggle? But then again, even this possible explanation implies that there would be things white people would be more apt in answering/performing than those of other groups. So then, could tests be written in a way that black/brown people would excel? Would we be able to determine these differences and create tests that create the possibility to excel for different groups in different areas? Or would a “white supremacist” society sweep these findings away and continue to try to keep white people on top and make everyone else feel inferior?

I agree that a lot of people decide to follow a certain religion because their parents raised them to believe as they do. I started going to church when I was an infant, which was clearly not my own decision. I went to my parents’ church every Sunday until the day I turned eighteen and deemed myself an adult, old enough to make my own decisions. Not that I ever had a problem with my parents’ beliefs, it was moreso the people I went to church with and the waking up early on weekends that I didn’t like. Regardless, throughout my childhood, there was never a time when I decided to really learn about another religion. Besides questioning my catholic friend as to why she was giving up chocolate for a few weeks, I never had any other friends of another religion to learn anything from. Even now, the majority of my friends come from Christian backgrounds, and most of us consider ourselves “out of practice” so religion is almost never a topic of conversation.

I was raised a Christian and was brought up reading the Bible. I could tell you basically every Bible story and character to this day. I was introduced at such a young age that I never questioned these stories or whether they were true, I always just knew that the Bible was true and Christianity was the “right” religion because that’s what I grew up with. I remember getting to a certain age and thinking… if everyone else thinks that they’re religion is the only true religion, and I think that my religion is the only true religion, then how do we know which one of us is right? Because we all “know” we’re right, but how do we really KNOW who is right? So now I’m kind of sticking with that thought. Who knows, maybe all of our religions are essentially the same, maybe it’s the same God being seen in different ways. I mean all religion really is anyways is a bunch of man-made rules and documents, so yes, somewhere down the line some guy decided to believe in something. And then it spread down through the generations and people are believing what they’ve been taught and it turns into faith which turns into religion.

I wouldn’t have a problem with learning about another religion. However, I don’t think I could ever know another religion the way I know Christianity. It took me eighteen years of Sundays on top of everyday life with my parents to reach my current knowledge and opinion about Christianity and the Bible. It would take a lot to convert me to another religion, not saying that it wouldn’t ever happen, but I think I’d have to have a major life-changing experience to make me give up my beliefs. Even though they were pushed upon me by my parents (as all parents tend to do with their beliefs) my beliefs are still my beliefs. I sometimes question things and I always have curiosity but for now, I’m content with my religious views the way they are.

They say “beauty is in the eye of the beholder”; I believe that when it comes to human physical beauty in the United States, “the beholder” becomes societal norms and “beauty” becomes very strictly defined. It is because of this definition and societal expectations of beauty that people often look at certain physical attributes and wish they were different. To me, this has nothing to do with God. God designed everyone to look a certain way. We wouldn’t have a problem with any of these looks if we weren’t socialized to find beauty in only certain appearances. I don’t believe that disliking your own features is snubbing God. If we dislike something about the way we look, it’s only because society tells us that it’s not good enough. We all innately have the desire to be wanted and admired by the people around us, the people in our culture. In order to do so, we subconsciously strive to have the most “attractive” features, at least in accordance with what the culture finds attractive at that point in time.

If you are unhappy with your nose, eye color, hair type, height, shape, lips, hands, feet, etc. it’s almost always for cosmetic purposes. It doesn’t “look” right or it’s too big, too small, not “pretty” enough, not “manly” enough. All of these descriptors are used by society to paint the picture of what is attractive in our culture. You were born with a nose, eyes, hair….etc. – God didn’t screw up! And to consider certain physical features “ugly” is not saying a big “screw you” to God. It’s simply saying that society doesn’t favor the way you look. It only makes sense that you, as a part of that society, don’t favor “unattractive” looks either, even if they are your own. And of course, we are our own biggest critics so we’re more apt to think negatively about our appearances anyway.

On the other hand, if someone is physically flawed, disabled, deformed, born without certain body parts or functioning of parts, that’s when it comes into question why God would create someone who will have to live life with daily obstacles, struggling to be “normal”. But that’s not the same as thinking you’re unattractive. Your features might be too big or too small compared to what we see on magazine covers, but that doesn’t mean it’s wrong – just different. And what’s so wrong with that? This world would be so boring if we all looked similar. Sure, some people are going to be considered “more beautiful” than others and there are some physical characteristics that simply can’t be helped (height, facial features, skin tone, hair type, etc). But that’s what makes people unique and I think a lot of people just don’t get that. Your features are your features and no one will EVER have the same as you. And I think that’s a really cool thing.
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