en-us https://www.intensedebate.com/users/3087667 Comments by jah5461 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/06/30/week-8-%e2%80%93-lesson-14-affirmative-action/#IDComment170136017 I couldn't agree with you more, I am a female and would probably not be at Penn State either if it wasn't for Affirmative action or have a good job that allows me to come back to in the summers when I am home from school. Also like you said if it is a way to help create opportunities for woman and people of color who are automatically going to have a harder time making it I'm all for it. Over the weekend at work we had a woman of color come in who actually has a business that works up at Penn State I had never heard of it but its at Innovation park she said. She is in politics and she said she should have represented PSU in DC when fighting for our budget, and its the "young girls" fault that we lost funding. Every comment she continued to make after that really got under my skin, she was clearly one of those manipulative politicians and all she did was praise all these older aged white men (she was showing pictures too) that would have done a better job. I just couldn't understand why one woman was holding another woman down when we all fight for the same thing, to be equal. I feel like people like her are the reason affirmative action still needs to be in use. She seemed brain washed, maybe she could take a day and sit in Sam's class people like her I feel like are the ones who really need to be in his class. Wed, 6 Jul 2011 01:48:32 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/06/30/week-8-%e2%80%93-lesson-14-affirmative-action/#IDComment170136017 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/06/30/week-8-%e2%80%93-lesson-14-affirmative-action/#IDComment170133080 The Oprah video about the high schools really shocked me. First the school in the suburbs must have a lot of funding because I went to high school in the suburbs but my school did not have a pool or a nice gym like that. We also had AP courses offered I don’t think we had 9 though. I think we had about 5, so it actually made me realize maybe I missed out on some opportunities, I feel like I did receive a good education I didn’t struggle more than most college students would freshman year, but at the same time maybe I could have been more prepared and not struggled at all if I had the opportunities those kids had. We had a small weight room no treadmills except for the one in the trainer’s office with a few other exercise machines which were new. Our swim team used the Vocational schools pool but now that I think about it I think the other schools did have their own pools. As for the school in the city I can’t believe students are allowed to go to a building that’s supposed to be there school but it’s all falling apart. If someone took action and fixed these schools, I mean really look at all the money that suburban school has you can’t take some of the funding from them and give it to the city and increase their curriculum and create better work ethics. Then with that help in the schools it is a start to helping those children have a better chance at graduation and college. As for nepotism Sam asked us if we ever got a job because you knew someone. I have been working at the same job for 5 years and my sister worked there in fact she was a big time manager. The girl who interviewed me didn’t know my last name so she didn’t realize who I was, so I was told. I really don’t know but it was actually annoying I felt like people always said I was hired because of her and I got whatever I wanted. When in all reality I always felt I had to do more and work harder to prove myself, it was my first job I was 16 and really just enjoyed working for my manager she was so helpful and without her I probably wouldn’t have learned what I learned. But it is true that the reason I even was given a chance was because who my sister was, but I learned to not let it bother me once I realized most of the people there knew someone and got hired that way. Wed, 6 Jul 2011 01:35:07 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/06/30/week-8-%e2%80%93-lesson-14-affirmative-action/#IDComment170133080 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/06/26/week-7-%e2%80%93-lesson-13-immigration/#IDComment169472893 I had the same feelings about history class, they really make it come off in a way that you don't even think about how wrong we were for what happened to the native americans. they teach you about the wars we had about them but they never explain how to this day they are still treated terribly. I actually had a discussion with my coworker recently and I tried to explain to her how wrong we were for taking over the country and she said well they choose to live on the reservations and be poor they could go get a job, and I just didn't even want to waste my breathe explaining you could already see she was completely close minded. I wasn't aware illegal immigrants paid taxes either, and my dad works for the IRS it really made me interested in asking him about it, which I plan to do and it made me wonder if he really knows how all that works. I completely agree anyone who thinks they really understand everything is not worth taking advice from I am not a fan of know it alls. Mon, 4 Jul 2011 01:49:11 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/06/26/week-7-%e2%80%93-lesson-13-immigration/#IDComment169472893 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/06/26/week-7-%e2%80%93-lesson-13-immigration/#IDComment169472056 The first thing I always thought of when immigrants are brought up are illegal immigrants. I feel like illegal immigrants are portrayed so terribly in America. Everyone says how they are here to take all of our jobs, like Sam said we are scared of our resources being taken away from us. But that is exactly what we did to the Native Americans and we did everything in our power to make sure they didn’t get back what was rightfully theirs. I always wondered how did Christopher Columbus discover and explore America when there were already people living here claiming this land? I understand the rest of the world wasn’t aware of the land but that does not mean he should get credit for America, I just feel like the way history is taught in grade school makes you almost forget that Native Americans were not even here and this was not their land and that what we did was no big deal. The comics Sam showed in the beginning of lesson 1 were comical and completely true. Who are we to say no illegal immigrants when that is exactly what we were by definition? I also found the statistics of immigrants who have college degrees very eye opening. Everyone just assumes people come here (at least it’s what I believe from what I hear people say) for a better opportunity for jobs and a way out of their country that people in America make sound like those other countries are so terrible, again ethnocentrism at its finest. The comments made about Mexicans are ridiculous it again shows how Americans think we deserve everything and we should just shut the door to everyone else. Our nation seems to send a clear message that we do not like immigrants and we are the only ones who should be allowed to have the American dream. What is so wrong with someone wanting to get a better job, America has labor laws that are strictly enforced some other countries working is basically the same as being a slave the only difference is they are paid maybe 40 cents. An immigrant sees America as a way to better themselves and have a better life for their family; there is nothing wrong with that. The pictures of the men driving around on bikes with their speakers I could easily see people making rude comments about that. What people don’t understand is that is their culture like Sam said it is a popular innovation in their home countries. Just because they are in America does not mean they have to rid themselves of their culture and environment in which they were raised. Mon, 4 Jul 2011 01:44:23 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/06/26/week-7-%e2%80%93-lesson-13-immigration/#IDComment169472056 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/06/26/week-7-%e2%80%93-lesson-12-multiculturalism-lgbt/#IDComment167789811 I think its really cool that your neighborhood openly has the cookouts and includes everyone. My street isn't really a neighborhood its on a main road so I never really got to run around with the neighborhood kids. I always had to be driven to my friends houses or what not and always wished we could have the cookouts. If you drive through the parts of my town that are developments you can see all the families together. And I agree the statistics about multiculturalism are really eye opening. It was really cool to see that they predict by 2050 we could lose the minority majority thing as well. I definitely agree with you that just because you choose to move else where you should not have to lose your culture but speaking the countries language is a must. Exactly what you said if I were to up and move to Spain, I would expect to learn Spanish, I mean how else would I get by on a day to day basis if I didn't have a clue how to communicate with the people who live there. Wed, 29 Jun 2011 03:29:48 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/06/26/week-7-%e2%80%93-lesson-12-multiculturalism-lgbt/#IDComment167789811 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/06/26/week-7-%e2%80%93-lesson-12-multiculturalism-lgbt/#IDComment167787479 I live in a pretty diverse community, but there are towns right next to mine that are not so diverse they are still more diverse than many areas but to me they are not. I am used to 50/50 communities at least, by 50/50 I don’t mean just two races but I mean equal amounts of people from each culture or race. The comment about church being the most segregated hour of the week really bothers me. It made me think though, maybe that is why I never was really comfortable going there it was always a room full of white people it seemed so conformed and structured. I think I have a little bit of an issue with that. I would say I am even a little uncomfortable at Penn State, I am white but I would say it is too white at Penn State. I am used to more diversity all the time instead of just all one type of person, diversity makes me feel more comfortable. I think with more diversity people would possibly be less cliquey, I know they say people are more comfortable with being around people they relate to most, but I don’t always feel that is true. What really catches my attention is how America is the most multicultural country in the world, yet we are the most ethnocentric. With so many cultures here how are there still people here who are so against other cultures. I hear people day in and day out talk about other countries and certain things they do that is “so weird” I always ask why is that weird? Is it weird because it’s different and you didn’t grow up doing it? Like the girl said about living in China, and how we basically live in a bubble and don’t embrace the culture. Why wouldn’t you embrace the culture while you’re living in that culture? It makes no sense to me; it doesn’t mean you have to like the culture but you could at least try it out give it a chance. Sam talks about how parents would feel if you dated/fell in love with someone of a different race. This is something that was very common in my community, it was never really a big issue at least to all of the kids, everyone dated who they wanted there was lots of interracial relationships, myself included. There are some parents in town you know had an issue with it because you’d hear your friends talk about it, and other parents who just didn’t care at all. It seemed most of the younger parents didn’t care but older parents had more of an issue. Also single parents seemed to have less of an issue with it as well. The issues from the parents were not just from one race it was a mixture of all the races. In fact my one boyfriends mom said I don’t care if you date a white girl but don’t marry her they just use men for money. It just shows racism comes from all over. Wed, 29 Jun 2011 03:20:14 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/06/26/week-7-%e2%80%93-lesson-12-multiculturalism-lgbt/#IDComment167787479 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/06/07/week-5-%e2%80%93-lesson-9-stages-of-racial-identity-%e2%80%93-white-people-stages-3-4/#IDComment164151000 White guilt is something I know I felt very strongly for a while and after this class I am starting to realize exactly what you said white youth shouldn't feel guilty seeing as we did not commit the crimes (unless like you said i was a clear act of racism and serious consequences to the victims occurred. I guess I always felt like I had to make up for the mistakes made and for some of the white people who still have misconstrued beliefs. I definitely agree with you at some point it is a decision someone makes to be racist, like the two twins - they are brainwashed by their parents to believe what they are doing is right, and I hope one day they can be shown that those beliefs are wrong. I grew up in a town that was extremely diverse and I guess I look past that there are people as extreme as those twins. I know there are people with some misguided beliefs but those girls are really extreme with their outrageous beliefs. I really enjoyed your idea on guilt is a path to tolerance, I never really looked at it but I definitely agree with you, its a great thought actually! Sun, 19 Jun 2011 04:35:41 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/06/07/week-5-%e2%80%93-lesson-9-stages-of-racial-identity-%e2%80%93-white-people-stages-3-4/#IDComment164151000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/06/07/week-5-%e2%80%93-lesson-9-stages-of-racial-identity-%e2%80%93-white-people-stages-3-4/#IDComment164144890 I first wanted to comment on Sam and how he said how he gets so angry when he is in conversation with white people who do not know things he knows. He asked the class how many people have gotten into arguments since starting this class. I definitely have and as soon as it starts I just start talking about everything I have learned in class. Sometimes it isn’t an argument but I hear someone make a comment and for some reason I feel obligated to now kind of correct everyone that has the wrong idea. I feel like since I have the knowledge from class I should be sharing it just to help people maybe understand, I’m sure not everyone really listens to what I say to them but for the ones who take what I say and actually think about it is enough for me. I figure if what Sam does and says to all of his classes and really leaves an impression on his students than maybe if his students continue to voice their opinions and the facts we have learned than maybe it will help the rest of the world. I also would say I am guilty about being white. I always kind of felt some type of way about it because I can’t believe some of the things white people in the past did and I feel like when people look at me and see me as white they immediately think of the things we did in the past. Also even when I was a little girl and through high school and we would learn about the Holocaust and because I have blonde hair and blue eyes I even felt bad about all of that even though I obviously had no parts in it. I felt bad because there were always comments made by students even a teacher when I was in elementary school made a joke and said “well you would have survived you were the perfect example of the perfect German” that drove me insane. When I was little I didn’t understand the full extent to how bad it was, but when I got into high school and took a Holocaust class it all hit me and the guilt became so much stronger. I don’t even know if I am German but because we learned about the holocaust every year in social studies/history and it was blonde hair blue eyes I was automatically looked at and assumed to be German. When we saw the clip on the twin girls it reminded me of those comments. I honestly can’t believe they really said that they think all the Jews that were killed was exaggerated, I feel bad they are so ignorant to the truth honestly. Sun, 19 Jun 2011 04:15:39 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/06/07/week-5-%e2%80%93-lesson-9-stages-of-racial-identity-%e2%80%93-white-people-stages-3-4/#IDComment164144890 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/06/07/week-5-%e2%80%93-lesson-8-stages-of-racial-identity-%e2%80%93-white-people-stages-1-2/#IDComment162652958 I completely agree with you that as a society it is never talked about what it means to be white. I would never say I fully understand what it means to be white either, but I do not ignore the fact that I am white. In my view nothing is right or wrong or better than the other it just is who you are. That does not mean I am ignorant to the fact that being another race is harder than being white because it is. Just another thing that just is. When people ask me my nationality I never even know what to say sometimes I just want to say white because I honestly have no idea, when I ask my family I have heard so many different things it is actually become comical to me now. I've heard so many different things that I have actually just said I'm a mutt, I'm also sarcastic lol. So how it is easier for you and many other people to identify with their background in my case it is not because I really have never gotten a straight answer. I am the type of person who white or American is not enough of an answer for me. I actually played softball for 4 years with a girl who was 100% Egyptian and people never knew what she was she said on many occasions people had thought she was Indian which I thought was a little odd cause I didn't see that at all. I also am good friends with a girl who is 100% Colombian and everyone takes her to be just a white girl until she talks because she has a little accent to her voice and then they start questioning. So because of my relationships with my two friends I definitely can see what you mean that it all depends on who is defining race. Tue, 14 Jun 2011 19:54:25 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/06/07/week-5-%e2%80%93-lesson-8-stages-of-racial-identity-%e2%80%93-white-people-stages-1-2/#IDComment162652958 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/06/07/week-5-%e2%80%93-lesson-8-stages-of-racial-identity-%e2%80%93-white-people-stages-1-2/#IDComment162647614 I really enjoyed Sam’s lecture this week. One of my personal favorite things is comedy stand up and when the comedians pick out the most obvious things and when they do and people really sit back and think about it how funny it really is. I think why it is so funny is because people are like wow as a whole I have seen so many white, black, Asian, Indians etc do those things. It isn’t meant to harm anyone like Sam said it just is what it is sometimes, it is the obvious being pointed out bluntly to us. I will be the first to admit at parties or bars I have said see look at that boy he’s frat boy wasted, it’s kind of this new term at least to me and most people I hear use it say it is basically like saying white boy wasted. I am a white girl but even I tend to group certain white people in groups because from what I have seen frat boys do tend to get pretty wild whether it is how they have been depicted in the media but anytime I was at a frat house the way media portrays them seemed pretty on point to me. There are certain things they do do or are known to do. I remember a Kat Williams stand up show I watched and he says when you party with white people they will drink anything to get drunk they mix all kinds of liquors and beer they don’t care they are drinking they are just trying to have a good time whether they get sick or not. And black people always have that one drink they stick to one type of liquor when partying. The way he goes about the skit is really funny but after he said that I really started to pay attention to the way different people drink and it was for the most part true. It was nothing I ever paid attention to because I never really cared what people drank. The comment on political correctness and how white people just want to know how to act and what to say. I notice not just white people but people of all races act different towards people of different races, they try and act how they think that race acts. I think it has all just become so misunderstood. Everyone tries to act a certain way to fit in or so that person doesn’t say oh they are acting like a typical white black brown etc person. I think everyone should just be themselves don’t worry about what color you are or how you think people think you act, because maybe if everyone was themselves and felt okay to ask questions then we could really start to understand each other and even ourselves better. Tue, 14 Jun 2011 19:30:42 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/06/07/week-5-%e2%80%93-lesson-8-stages-of-racial-identity-%e2%80%93-white-people-stages-1-2/#IDComment162647614 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/06/02/week-4-lesson-6-race-and-ethnic-inequality/#IDComment160227921 Just something I find interesting, you said how in Detroit or Chicago most arrests described would be gang or drug activity, I agree that those are definitely places just like most cities Philly, NY, LA, Miami, etc all have those problems. What it made me think about was how it is predominately associated with brown or black people, but what gets me is most of the time in movies they show these drug lords, the boss for example is white or very light skinned Hispanic. It just again shows that they put the white image in the spots of power and portray that through the media. Also what is overlooked white people do sell drugs just like brown and black people. Look at the mob for instance white italians, gangs associated with brown or black people, but honestly what is the difference ? The Italians wear suits and ties and are also all dressed up, and the gang members wear their "colors" bandanas and normal street clothing. At the end of the day they are still working the same type of market and have guns under their clothing. I am not saying the mob is a good thing by any means but I do feel like gangs are looked at to be the harsher and scarier choice and I believe that is due to appearance. Tue, 7 Jun 2011 05:13:17 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/06/02/week-4-lesson-6-race-and-ethnic-inequality/#IDComment160227921 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/06/02/week-4-lesson-6-race-and-ethnic-inequality/#IDComment160224599 I couldn’t agree more with the example of King of the Mountain example. Sam talks about how can other races get ahead when white people make the rules. The rules are made to help them out the best, they don’t care that certain other people are being pushed down by their rules. It started during slavery and it still goes on today. Just like Sam said we are free, but we are not free at the same time. We grow up in this society where all these “norms” and ideas are pressed into everyday life. No matter what even if parents try to keep their children away from the stereotypes, they are everywhere, just watch television, commercials, movies shows. They all have stereotypes – watch the roles black people pay in a predominately white movie or vice versa. Think about how often you really see an Indian or Asian in a show where they aren’t doctors and are just regular people with a 9-5 desk job. It is rare – not something you often see. Not only media but school, there are going to be plenty of other students especially elementary school kids hear so many different stories and assumptions from other kids or kids hear the things their parents so and they start doing everything and believing everything their parents say. I even remember it from when I was little, I know for a fact I always listened to everything my parents said because when you’re young you just assume your parents know everything. So to truly rid the society of these ideas would take a lot of rebuilding and a new structure. Sam also talked about people driving through cities and seeing how it has become a rundown area. He talked about North Philly and I work in South Philly and occasionally in our store in my hometown. There are so many people, white people who also talk about how where they used to live in Philly has become such a dump and it’s because of all the poor people who live there with no jobs and they are low life’s etc. I always thought that people where so misunderstanding and forget that it is basically white peoples fault because had we not made black and brown people seems so inferior they wouldn’t be having this struggle for good jobs, or getting loans etc. The white man made it so easy for him to get houses and land and now trying to fix this mess seems impossible. But never did I think about how when white people moved out they did take all the money with them, I always thought how the people moved in couldn’t find jobs and where less fortunate. Sam really opened my eyes on how at fault white people really are for a lot of this mess, yet we seem to be the first to complain about everything. I am not saying all white people are terrible but at the same time we kind of created this disaster. Tue, 7 Jun 2011 05:01:58 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/06/02/week-4-lesson-6-race-and-ethnic-inequality/#IDComment160224599 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/05/25/week-3-lesson-5-social-inequality/#IDComment159802755 I definitely agree with your points made about the socio-structural explanation. That is the one I felt was most prevalent to me as well. My parents have some college education but no degrees but my brother went away to college for a year or so before he came home because of financial issues. He actually went back and graduated from Neumann last May. My sister also got her two year degree, so in a way I knew I had to go to college but at the same time seeing how important it was to my parents and how they wished they had gone made me really want to go away. I wanted the experience and the knowledge. In my town the kids with parents who have degrees and what not are the ones who seemed to excel the most. I noticed that alot of kids who came from less fortunate families tried to go away but ended up home and out of school, some made it being away or at county college, but then others just never went away because no one else did so they just didn't see it to be "normal". I think in my town a factor is how important do the parents make college to their children even if the parents have no higher education. Also a lot of kids sometimes go away with the idea that they are going to be famous from sports because we get a lot of recruitment from my high school for baseball and football, these kids aren't going away for an education they are going away because they think its their ticket to stardom. Mon, 6 Jun 2011 02:27:57 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/05/25/week-3-lesson-5-social-inequality/#IDComment159802755 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/05/25/week-3-lesson-5-social-inequality/#IDComment159800346 I can honestly say most of the things talked about in this lecture I never noticed or even thought about before. I can say I don’t think I really can relate to the biological explanation of inequality. I guess to a degree certain traits in you can make you more lazy or more hardworking but to say it relates to how you look I cannot agree with. Exactly how Sam pointed out for us if you put white vs. black and find out the white guy is smarter you assume its race, but when its white vs. white there’s no race to explain. I definitely could relate more to the Socio-structural in the way that hardworking and or laziness is easy to do when that’s how your society or environment is around you. For example in Japan I have heard I may be wrong but they go to school every day of the week or 6 days a week and longer days than the kids in the United States. Also they do not get all summer off. In society I feel as though most people find Asians to be smarter they stereotype them as harder working and better in school. I do not think it is a biological thing I think it is because that is how their society is, if the United States ran our school system that way who is to say the children/students in this country wouldn’t be stereotyped the same way. I really liked how Sam explained the sports and how there really is no explanation as to why more white people play hockey and why more black people play basketball. It is definitely true that if more of each race played the other sport they would still be good at it, they just never try or get into it. I know a lot of boys who love basketball and are actually pretty short and white and I can’t lie they even surprised me how good they are at basketball. I completely agree that every American has the ability to succeed. You hear about it all the time people who come from all different types of backgrounds and life styles. There are plenty of examples of people who worked so hard to just be where they want, they literally chased their dreams and made it a reality. For example look at Oprah she came from a pretty terrible life. But she worked as hard as she could to be who she is today and she does what ever she can to give back to the community. She made her own “free” choices and made herself who she is today. Mon, 6 Jun 2011 02:19:35 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/05/25/week-3-lesson-5-social-inequality/#IDComment159800346 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/05/25/week-3-lesson-4-ethnocentrism/#IDComment158383955 I definitely agree with you that our news is very biased and one sided. It makes it seem like we are the best and we are doing the best thing to save us. When saving us normally means hurting other countries, the innocent people who really don’t deserve it. We searched for a long time for Osama Bin Laden and I am sure all the harm we did to those countries looking for him is never shown to us, only thing we are allowed to know is we found him therefore we are heroes. Yes it is great we found him but how much damage did we cause in the process. My brother in law actually watches the British News Channel because he sees how our news really only shows one side. Thu, 2 Jun 2011 01:55:38 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/05/25/week-3-lesson-4-ethnocentrism/#IDComment158383955 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/05/25/week-3-lesson-4-ethnocentrism/#IDComment158382693 Professor Richards made some points on certain things that different cultures do that we do not agree with. It really made me think about our country and the death penalty. We think it is okay to put people on death row and the majority of people who hear about it agree with these people getting the death penalty because of some horrible crime they committed. I think the reason a lot of Americans find it to be okay and think that these people “deserve” it is because of the heinous crime they committed. Yet we find it to be heinous that other cultures stone their people for adultery, but how they are raised in their culture their belief is that adultery is just as big a crime as the ones we put people on death row for. And honestly it makes me think do we let people get away too much with adultery? Is that saying that maybe our culture here is okay with lying and cheating? The divorce rate is higher then ever here in our country, but we are raised in a country where we are Free. So therefore we are free to handle our own private lives to a certain extent as long as the laws are followed, therefore that brings up another question we have all these laws to follow yet we are a free country? I understand we need laws, but if you kind of take a step back and really look at this is our culture really that different, the only difference is the “crimes” are different. Just a thought. Learning about the Iraqi’s and the war over there is definitely an eye opener. Iraq is never showed to us on the news as a place that was at one point normal, people lived their daily lives the same as we do right now. We could see through the pictures everything was good the communities were enjoying themselves. Then to see how ruined the country is now was shocking. I think sometimes the news makes us forget that these people are not all monsters like they have somewhat portrayed to us. A friend of mine who is Muslim but from Bangladesh, and I know after 9-11 she felt very weird. She was actually just as angry or more angry then some Americans here. She was so angry because it made her people look bad, it made her people look like monsters she said. The video we saw anyone would make the assumption that these people all believe that all Muslims feel this way, which all Muslims believe that all infidels must die that everyone must be Muslim. Her biggest argument is how untrue that is, not all Muslims feel this way. That was why she was so upset because they made her life much harder by creating a stereotype against Muslims. It is true the Muslims who terrorized us on 9-11 are the ones who feel this way, they are raised to believe we are infidels and we are the root of all evil and we must die. I feel like a lot of people automatically see someone who “looks” or resembles Indian and automatically stereotypes them and that is a big problem of racism against Indians. Thu, 2 Jun 2011 01:49:23 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/05/25/week-3-lesson-4-ethnocentrism/#IDComment158382693 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/05/22/week-two-lesson-2-intro-to-race/#IDComment155885437 I felt the same way about other races besides my own looking the same. I grew up in a school that was predominantly black and white along with a higher percentage of Asians, Indians and Hispanics than most other areas. I still have a hard time telling the difference between Asians and Indians and Hispanics as far as where they are really from in the world. I feel like to myself whites and blacks do not all look the same I see differences, but I definitely do not see all the differences others would notice. You said you were a tall white guy, and you’re right other races probably see you as looking just like other white guys just a little taller. I was always the blonde hair blue eyed girl, but to other races I probably look just like everyone else. In fact just last semester at Penn State I overheard a Hispanic girl say that all the blonde girls just look like Barbie they all look the same. I can definitely relate to the statement persons of one race think people of other races all look the same. Wed, 25 May 2011 05:36:18 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/05/22/week-two-lesson-2-intro-to-race/#IDComment155885437 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/05/22/week-two-lesson-2-intro-to-race/#IDComment155882136 I found it very eye opening when all of the students went to the front and we found out the different backgrounds they have. I felt bad for the kid because there was no way he could have gotten that right at all. It was definitely amusing, and what really shocked me was the Palestinian and Lebanese student. Honestly to me he looked like an average white boy. It really made me realize how little I know, I guess all I really know is we don’t look the same or have the same physical features. It is so true that people think all of another race looks the same. In fact to me the kids from Iceland looked a lot more alike than the kids from Kenya. I saw more of a different in the Kenya kids that just goes to show not all white people can even tell the differences in white people. It just proves the teachers point even more, that people around you (location) you can see the difference in but when you travel out of your little bubble there is a whole different world going on out there. So far this is all been such an eye opener to me, who thought that I did have a little more cultural diversity then most people. I can say I feel as though people have gotten more aware, but what we are becoming aware of and okay with is not even remotely close to how deep this race and ethnicity thing really is. People always categorize everyone oh he’s white, she’s black, she’s Indian. When in all reality we do not have a clue who is who. What I really found funny was just from one lecture I notice more people making comments about race and all I can think is your so clueless. I couldn’t tell you how many times people just assume someone is muslim because they “look” Indian. I actually told a few people that they were only 23% right because of the statistics we learned last lesson. This lesson just continues to really show that last week was just the beginning to a long long journey of learning how much we really do live under a rock. It is so true the color of skin that comes from our ancestors were simply for survival reasons. Our skin color does not make us who we are, it does not define us. It defines us because of our history but other than that it does not make you good or bad. The picture of the parents with the two babies who look like they came from completely different parents but are in fact twin sisters. Many people would think the baby who looks white was adopted, you can tell they do look alike but that picture throws off many people. Wed, 25 May 2011 05:21:31 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/05/22/week-two-lesson-2-intro-to-race/#IDComment155882136 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/05/14/week-1-lesson-1-whadya-know/#IDComment154225151 I definitely agree with everything you said. I had pretty much the same reactions to those questions as well. You said you were in question of the black male/ white female sex for porn industries and why that is less accepted. I thought that maybe the porn industry thought that Bush Administration would agree with this because, if you think about it white male/black female sex was okay, a question that popped in my head is it because it still keeps the white male the powerful one. In the black male/white female, whites are not the powerful image. Fri, 20 May 2011 03:05:16 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/05/14/week-1-lesson-1-whadya-know/#IDComment154225151 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/05/14/week-1-lesson-1-whadya-know/#IDComment154219368 Originally before taking that quiz I thought it did have a good amount of knowledge on race and ethnic relations. I quickly realized how wrong I was after taking that quiz. Most of the questions asked I had never even thought about ever, and I definitely was using some stereotypes to get to my answers, which ended up wrong most of the time. I am really realizing how much of a bubble I seem to be living in; I have never left the United States let alone the east coast. Even traveling to different regions in America would probably be a huge culture shock, even though I think I have seen so many different cultures, which like I said I see how wrong I am. It sort of made me feel like I live under a rock and I have never felt that way before. It really was an eye opener. What I really enjoyed about the lecture as a whole was how Dr. Richards really just cuts into a lot of well known stereotypes and gave statistics that clearly shocked the rest of the class as well (as the median of the quiz speaks for itself). I had no idea that there were still slaves in this day and age. I knew that there were underpaid workers and I was aware of the unfair labor practices in sweat shops in third world cultures. But not actual slaves, who have no pay and are owned against their will. The fact that it is okay still and this is 2011 really boggles my mind. How do people think that is okay, why do other countries not do anything to stop this? One idea that popped into my head was after mentioning of cell phones being made by slaves, it is what keeps labor costs low in America, if we fight it we have to put out more money to purchase goods. There are certain things that are always on the news and constantly talked about, but issues like the one of slavery are kept quiet. Another question that popped into my head, was all those people living on $2 a day and yet it seems the rest of the world is happier with their lives then Americans. I don’t want to say a majority of Americans hate their lives and always wish they had more because I do not have proof of that, but I feel like constantly around me there is always someone complaining about life. It is so true that day in and day out we take for granted everything we have in America even if we are considered poor, there is always someone who has it worse. Fri, 20 May 2011 02:42:57 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/05/14/week-1-lesson-1-whadya-know/#IDComment154219368