I was really happy Sam played this song in class, and that he has brought up the atrocities bestowed upon the Native people here in America. In high school I was assigned a project in which I had to write a research paper on why white people rule America. So without guidance my classmates and I proceeded to find out that we did horrific things to take control of America. Most of it was because we needed the resources from under their feet and they weren’t using them so we just kept pushing them west. Even though these people helped us survive our first years here and set up permanent settlements we were still corrupt enough to take over their land and use it for our own profit. I personally do not like Dave Matthews so when he said he was going to play this song I kind of rolled my eyes and thought okay let’s get this over with. Then He put up the lyrics to accompany the song and I realized what it was about. The song really hit home with me, I’ve always hated how we have to study the holocaust and when they teach us about our colonization of America teachers do not mention that we more or less destroyed an entire race. The fact that we continue to put down Indians and think that giving them small reservations after we have taken everything away from them is atrocious. Dave is right we took their fire where they warmed their feet from them and then and warmed our hands by it. And rather than share and be brothers we forced anyone that did not look and act like us away. It was assimilating now or die. Early on in the colonization process we literally gave them blankets that had been used on small pox patients so that we could wipe out entire Indian nations without having to race a hand in violence. I wish that more people talked about the genocide of Indians and when Sam enlightens people on the topic I hope they really listen because it is a widely disregarded fact that we destroyed an entire world of people for our own gains. And now in modern day America we sit as a well off, possibly even the most powerful country in the world because we sit atop a huge nation of natural resources that before us had not been touched because the Indians never destroyed the land scape like we chose to do then and still choose to do today. I just think that more people should be aware of just how much we owe the Native American people and how atrocious the things we did to them are. Even if they are just one of many minorities we have chosen to put down in order to gain more power for people who look like us.

Putting myself in the shoes of others changed my view on the war in Iraq significantly. The points that hit me hardest were the oil points, and the bible points. I thought it was interesting but I am still very skeptical about the oil point. Yes I know that we’re there for oil because we do not just go and try to end every dictatorship that is torturing its people. But at the same time is it not true that that was going on, and that Saddam Hussein had mass graves of people that he killed for no reason other than to keep people in their place. The guy that told us that there were weapons in Iraq that were being made with chemical warheads he lied. He says he lied about where he worked but that he knows that it was always talked about because it was a confirmed fact that Saddam had tried to produce them in the mid 90’s. But when the interviewers asked him why he would say there were chemical weapons and send his country to war even though he had never seen the weapons to ensure their existence. He had two reasons. Firstly he said that he wanted to get his family out of Iraq and find a place where his children could live a good life. Secondly, and he was very adamant about this, he said that Iraq was a better place now due to the war in Iraq. He talked about all the people that he saw killed for no apparent reason and how the majority of people in Iraq hated Saddam Hussein and had little if any freedoms. Then when I was thinking about that I started to think about how Sam never mentioned that. Not once did he mention how millions of Iraqis hated their dictator and some people actually find salvation in American Relief. Sam almost propagandistically focused on all the negative aspects of us being there. Regardless of whether or not we wanted oil I honestly believe that Iraq is a better place without Saddam and that there are people there that appreciate that.

The other thing that I had never thought about and really changed my opinions was the picture first of an Iraqi soldier with a rocket launcher and the Koran. This image instilled anger and fear in me and I associated their fight with a jihad not just a battle. Then we saw images of American soldiers holding their bibles and praying and I realized how hypocritical it was that I almost felt some kind of pride by that picture and why people from Iraq would feel the same thing and I shouldn’t judge them for it. Overall I thought it was a really interesting lesson but as I think more and more about it I find myself questioning it. The point of the lecture was there is more than one way to view things. The more I think about it maybe there are more than 2 ways to view this.

I thought this was very interesting. The article is a man’s account of his heritage in the respect that he is so diverse ethnically and born in such a diverse place that humanity is his “raza.” When I first read the article I found myself assuming that it was someone from the class that was simply writing about how race doesn’t define themselves. As I got deeper I found that it had some more meaning. The way he describes meeting people of all walks of life and of all races and having an intense personal connection with them. When he talked about his first loves father calling him a “spic” and how mortified and afraid he was, even though I’m white I found that I was affected. I found myself feeling like I did when I met the first girl I thought I loved when he was so articulate in describing their interaction and the family reaction.
And as I read on I realized this was an essay by one of the Pennsylvania Lifer’s. I found myself extremely connected to this person through his writing and through how he painted a picture of just a few weeks of his life. I really felt an emotional connection with this person until he dropped that he was 10 years in with no hope of parole. I know I’ve said it before about not knowing what this guy did, but I do not care this time around. Someone so well spoken so honest to god truthful in his writings must have made some grave mistake. I almost do not want to know what he did.

“My name is J.V.G. and I AM WHAT I AM.
Years in: 10”
I was lost for words when I read those lines. Firstly I am what I am and for some reason you can imagine the conviction with which he says the words after having read the essay. You can tell he sat and thought about every word he put down on the paper and that hit home. And like I said earlier when I saw Years in: 10 I was lost. Like how can this guy be a lifer. He seems infinitely more well spoken then me, more cultured, and will never have another opportunity in his life. That is unfair and absolutely crazy.
These lifer post’s are my favorite to read because when you listen to how smart some of these men are, even with those that sound ignorant, I could not be further from agreeing with life without parole now. I understand life sentences but people can change. People make mistakes. People need to be able to acknowledge their wrong doings and ask for forgiveness. I’ve been on edge about this issue but this one instance made me change. The LWOP system is awful.
On a side note I read a little about the 484 LWOP inmates that were convicted as miners and it made me feel sick. I could not write a post about it because I found myself so much against it.

This guy is saying that whites should get more scholarships. I think that this is an interesting topic because there are definitely myriad scholarships for minorities. But white people also clearly have been given the distinct life advantage for hundreds of years. I think it is fine to offer scholarships to specific minority groups but I think affirmative action and some of those scholarships should not target minorities necessarily but target people in the lowest socioeconomic class. I feel like white people who have been poor for generations definitely do not have an advantage in getting into a good school. I believe that more scholarships should be geared to people from the worst or poorest areas. It does not make sense to give a scholarship to a Black or Asian person with obscenely rich parents when there is a white person who cannot afford to go to the same school. I don’t really know how it works so it is possible I am ignorant.
That being said its worse for someone, way, way worse for someone to gear a scholarship directly to white people. That makes no sense. Affirmative action only makes sense because of the awful “institutionalized racism” that black people especially but all people of color felt to for hundreds of years and they still do today. Like Sam said in class being born white has made my life easier, and I know that I understand it. This guy seems like he is trying to get back to school and get educated but he feels discriminated against and that is not necessarily fair either. I think it would have been smarter for him to have made a scholarship fund geared towards veterans. I’m sure that that already exists so then its stupid. It’s weird for me because I’m torn between the two sides. On one hand he wants scholarships for white men and that seems super racist but on the other hand he’s kind of right. He’s trying not to see race and he’s saying I’m making a scholarship that is the exact same as thousands of scholarships they have geared at one race so why is what I’m doing wrong? If he is being honest, and his ignorance or stupidity allow him to ignore race it makes sense. And he said we shun racial bigotry and won’t accept donation from those types of people.
After thinking about it I think I am ok with this. Mostly because the people who donate to this, are they really going to donate somewhere else if they can’t donate to this one, the thing is you gotta know that the majority of people donating and supporting this won’t have this guys politics. I think it should be allowed to continue but there is a fine line here on a touchy subject that if he crosses even accidentally is gonna bring the hammer down on him.

I think like a lot of things in this class this depends on the situation. There are times when people are brought up with a big family it could be, in a way, part of their culture but other times I think its totally selfish. If you can’t afford the necessities for the child you have you should not be having another kid. Some people on farms have a lot of kids but they work and people are raised that way. I do not know that selfish is the right word because maybe those people just aren’t smart enough to use protection and then can’t afford an abortion. That said isn’t cruel in a way to bring a child into a world where they will always be struggling just to eat just to get food to put in their mouths. I think that it is just stupid. Like a child is a huge cost to a family and having a child and guaranteeing that he or she has an extremely difficult life is cruel, and stupid. Especially like that woman. She was on welfare she has a trash heep in the back yard but she still thought it would be ok for her to have 4 children. That is four kids who don’t have a car to get to school or go anywhere, four kids who are just struggling to make ends meet and even the kids were just complaining about having a bad home life. Like it is unfathomably selfish of a person to have a child and know that they are just bringing one more depressed person into the world.

On the other hand that woman clearly thought she had an ok life. She grew up with 22 siblings and got by and she even said she thought that her father would be proud of her for trying to work. So she might really think that she has a good life, and if she does god for her, but those kids have to live in a place where they will always be the at the bottom wrung of society and struggle through life.

One other point is that poor people can be happy and what is more solid than a family. Like as long as they love their children and take care of them so be it let them live their life but I do think it is still selfish but it is part of their culture and that should be allowed. It may be ignorant, but if you have a child and you honestly believe you can provide he or she with a life you think is good than I don’t think it is selfish. But if you have kids and already cant support them and then have more your stupid ignorant and yes selfish.

I agree that people use that excuse a lot but I feel like sometimes it is impossible to be aware of all of this that is going on. I'm busy all the time with school and if I used all my off time trying to find out about all of the injustices in the world I would be depressed. I actually did a project on child slavery and modern slavery in the US for a class sophomore year so I understand that it goes on and how awful it is. But at the same time there are government agencies working all the time on the child and sex slaves in Los Angeles. When I did the project that was a huge hub for slavery going on in the US and even though I didn't know the whole deal beforehand but afterwards I was equally as helpless to help. If I spread all the money I'll ever make over all of the charities and causes that are worthy of help none of them would receive very much. Thon is a great cause and I feel personally connected to it so I donate to that but there are still thousands of other awful things going on in the world. Like the guy from Haiti that needs money to get to Mexico. Sure Sam met him and wants to help him out and yes he is definitely a harder worker than me and yes I would love to give a few dollars to help him out. But you could spend a lifetime getting money together for people who don't have the money for an education and there would still be millions left over. Maybe ignorance is a stupid and sometimes frustrating excuse but unless you want to be depressed and stressed all of the time you need to pick something to dedicate yourself to and move on from there. I'm an electrical engineer and I picked my major and I'm making life decisions based on the fact that I want to help create cleaner energy. If I am unaware of some of the other atrocities in the world does it make me a bad person? Knowing about them and spreading knowledge about them is one thing, but putting your heart and sole into everything is impossible.

I guess I am saying that yes I may be ignorant to many things but to pretend that I’m ignorant is offensive. Not even Sam knows about everything that goes wrong in the world and I think calling it ignorant or calling it an excuse is just choosing words with bad connotations. You can call me ignorant if I was wasting my life away drinking and doing drugs wallowing away my life trash but when I get up every day to get an education and to better the planet I think that I shouldn’t feel like a waste of space because I don’t know about all of the wrongdoings on earth and I’m not involved. And just knowing that something exists doesn’t make you not ignorant. Now everyone in class knows about modern slavery and yet I bet 95% don’t do anything about it.

I found myself particularly affected by the poem. I just feel totally conflicted. As I read it I truly felt sorry for this person and I found myself feeling like he should be let out. But at the same time I think about how I’ve been in arguments with people at bars and I don’t know what happened with him but he killed a man. He ended a 19 year old kids life. That is an indefensible thing and it seems like hes sorry and hes calmed down. The fact is he did do it and the law says that his punishment is life in prison so I have to say that he should stay. I’m glad that he feels sorry but feeling sorry isn’t enough. Putting people in prison for life is more of deterrent as an example for other people not to kill anyone. Being sorry isn’t an excuse because being sorry doesn’t change a thing. If you kill someone whether you were angry or not you killed someone. I don’t care that anyone could be drunk and angry why did this guy have a knife. Sam also said something about this in class and said something about judges that give the death penalty are killing someone. I disagree with that. We collectively as a state and a country have enacted the law and a judge just interprets the law. Also if you think its ok to stab someone I think you deserve to be stabbed. Like I bet this same guy if I stabbed his brother or he lived a normal life had kids and I killed his kid at 19 I guarantee that he would want me in prison for life. I’m glad that he seems remorseful and when I first read this I thought he should get paroled. But the more I sit here and think about it I don’t care that this guys life sucks a life in prison is more of a life than getting stabbed at 19. The only thing I would change about our judicial system is that I would give them the choice for the death penalty and I would let prisons be really awful for career criminals. I don’t know the statistics but knowing that I would go to a super shitty pit where theres gonna be killers rapists and god knows what else I would not break any of the crimes where you could get put in that kind of prison. I also found the last line interesting because I’m an agnostic and of all things this guy has said at least he found some solace in religion.

First off I'd like to be direct in saying, yes the world would be a way better place if we lived like monkeys. And by that I mean that we wouldnt be raping the earth for its resources and flattening beautiful forests so that we can live in places with huge lawns made from non native growing grass. Would life be as good for us as humnas? No. We would just live. Maybe you might consider that a better life, just constantly acting on instinct and living life more free than we are now but I wouldn't I like being happy I like being sad and I enjoy life. On a different note I didn't like what Sam was saying about genetics. It demeans the whole argumnet and point when you throw around scientific information that I know isn't true. For instance he mentioned how were 99.99 the same. Which isn't accurate were 99.9 percent the same and when .01 percent is the difference between Yao Ming (7'3'' Chinese center in the NBA) and some white midget telling us about how were the exact same isnt true. In fact a chimpanzee is 97% similar to humans another fact demeaned when he said that myth about black people running faster because they have an extra bone that would make them like 91 percent similar and thats impossible. Thats foolish because people are born without their last rib occasionally (around 1 in 20 people) and those people are still close to identical genetically. He went on to talk about how west african people do have longer legs and shorter torsos. Why did he use that as an example to prove that were all the same? No were not clearly there are differences. I think that whole speech could have been infinitely better if he found a biochem engineer or someone who is an expert in genetics explain just how similar we are. But using percents in gentics is unfair when the smallest change can make a world of physical difference. Anyways now that I got that off my chest I think that maybe wed be happier if we didnt have a consciousness that we do. But I've got to say if I was given the opportunity to never be sad again if i just gave up ever being happy again I would say no. The highs never feel as high without the lows. What is happiness other than just being better than normal. Plus before the invention of tools we were still pretty much the same genetically but we lived like apes do. Without proper language, without being depressed, well we probably got depressed but then you probably just died cause you were slower.

It depends on the situation. I think this question is just a loaded question goading people into thinking harder than they need to. I don’t classify myself as anything. While I’m abroad I’m an American. When People ask what ethnicities I am I would answer that my ancestors were from Germany, England, Ireland, and Scotland. When I work over the summer I’m a student from Penn State. While I’m at Penn State I’m an Engineer. When people constantly talk about race and then we talk about classification doesn’t it make sense that race is the first thing that jumps to mind. We talked about what race makes you and how race defines people in class. Then we talked about how race really doesn’t define anyone. I think that people in my eyes at least I judge more on their socioeconomic backgrounds than they’re race. I don’t think that being any race makes you smarter or more athletic. To ask this question during race relations is to automatically focus us on race while asking who we are. That is not fair. So if someone had to classify me. I would say that I am white I was raised in a lower middle class family outside of Boston. I’m now an engineer and I live in a house with 8 other people. Why do I have to classify myself. It makes it easier for people to immediately guess what your like but to classify yourself is really just to introduce yourself. To me after you know what you know about me its your job to get to know me and understand who I am. I don’t really get the question why do I need to be classified or defined. People are constantly changing, everyday we see new things meet new people change our ideas. Were in college and politically I sway all the time, I’m trying out new things who knows what my opinions or attitude will be tomorrow and why is where I came from defining who I am? I guess just like yes classifying someone is the quickest and easiest way to identify with someone or find a difference but realistically what does your classification have to do with your mindset. When I thought of classification the first thing I thought of was engineer. When I thought of why, more than half of my friends are engineers but almost none of them are in my major so I don’t really associate myself outside of schoolwork with that group. When I first started answering this question I was being kind of defensive I feel like asking me to define myself in race relations is to pigeonhole myself. I don’t want to be the came from a white suburban neighborhood white engineer in race relations.

We don’t need to be politically correct. Why do you hold the door open for the person behind you? If you are interacting with someone and you want to convey a point there may be multiple ways to do so. If your interacting with someone and you do not know them why would you use a phrase that could offend them if you could just avoid making someone angry? Certain things that do not offend me could offend someone else, so rather than saying something that may be offensive why would I not just avoid alienating myself from someone. I’m not you and your not me so I don’t think it’s right to assume that I can say possibly offensive things. Being politically correct to me is just a way of phrasing things in an audience where I would feel like I didn’t know anyone and I didn’t want to make anyone uncomfortable. In media when the anchors and correspondents are politically correct it’s because they are airing to a huge audience and they want to make as few waves as possible with as few people. At the same time I’m saying that though if I am consciously changing how I normally phrase something does that make a bigot, or superficial? If I change what I say as not to offend anyone then is what I was going to say offensive? No. I don’t think so. I would never want to offend anyone but sometimes I say things and everyone does that I would be embarrassed to say in different company. Why is that so wrong? Being “politically correct” is just another way of saying your being polite. I have heard tons of offensive jokes and I’ve laughed at a lot of them, I might repeat them in front of people I know well that I know but I would never say those things in front of a crowd of people. You don’t have to be politically correct but it’s like Sam said in class why do we have to know what people like to be called? Why is calling a person colored offensive? Because you don’t know that those people collectively do not like to be called that and it just makes you look ignorant and stupid, like you can’t just address someone as they would like to be called. No one is making anyone be politically correct but if putting in a tiny little bit of extra effort can let you not offend people why wouldn’t you put the extra effort in? Being politically correct is just being nice. On a total reversal I am the kind of person that lets anything slide off and if people speak bluntly and honestly even if it could be offensive I can look past it and even though what someone might say might not bother me I will just think less of that person.