en-us https://www.intensedebate.com/users/2397414 Comments by jerseygirl309 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/04/19/would-you-hire-illegal-immigrants-over-legal-residents-for-less-pay-119-blog/#IDComment144915114 When asked the question would I ever hire an illegal immigrant for less pay over a legal of the United States my answer would be yes. There is several reasons why I do not really find a problem hiring an illegal immigrant for less pay. First of all the effort and effectiveness of the labor would be the same as a legal resident. Also the jobs that these illegal immigrants are willing to take, are jobs that legal residents are not or a lot less willing to take. I feel like hiring the illegal immigrants would help the economy in the long run. This is because people who are legal residents are more likely to have a better education and are more likely to have a better job. The jobs that do not require a high education or even any education are open and need laborers. This is where the illegal immigrants come in perfectly. These people are more than willing to take part in these jobs because they do not have the expertise or education to do any other job. This is a way of spreading the labor to the lower income class of people who are in the United States (including illegal immigrants). I do not think that it is wrong to hire an illegal immigrant who will provide labor for less money, because this will be better for the business in the long run. If the labor provided by the immigrants is effective and cheap than I feel that is can only be helpful to your business. However, if the labor is not the same in terms of effectiveness and the effort put into it, than I would hire the more effective laborer. Some say that this is a way of giving illegal immigrants jobs that should be legal residents jobs. However, the majority of legal residents of the United States would not be willing to take these jobs. Also the legal residents would be more likely to be asking for a higher pay because of competition in the economy. Many businesses in society today are using the cheap labor provided by illegal immigrants. This is working out for the better of the business because immigrants are generally very hard workers are are very committed to their work. When they immigrate over the United States they just want to be employed and keep their job. This is why they put intense effort into every job that they come in contact with, so they can make the most out of their life changing immigration to the United States. The real problems will arise when illegal immigrants begin to take the jobs that are high-scale and require a certain level of education. Thu, 21 Apr 2011 21:11:54 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/04/19/would-you-hire-illegal-immigrants-over-legal-residents-for-less-pay-119-blog/#IDComment144915114 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/04/12/is-nepotism-a-good-or-bad-thing-in-the-long-run-119-blog/#IDComment142377225 Our lecture today was on nepotism and affirmative action and some of the effects or benefits that people have experienced from them. Many people have different views on the positive and negative outcomes of nepotism. Nepotism is basically showing a type of favoritism to a person based solely on the relationship with the person. Nepotism disregards the idea of granting something based off of merit. Nepotism is not fair and should be illegal in the corporate world, and education systems. The sad thing is that nepotism proves to be very beneficial to a mass of people in the world today. However, just because someone is benefitting off if something does not make it “right” or a “good” thing. Some people live their lives based off of their luck with nepotism. Ultimately, nepotism in the long run is a very negative thing. If someone goes through life basically living off of networks and family relationships, they are less willing to learn important communication and other skills that will help them succeed in life. When someone gets a job, or is admitted into a school based off of whom they know, this is not fair to the other people who are being accepted off of merit. The people benefitting from nepotism do not need to acquire the same skills that someone who doesn’t benefit from nepotism, needs to acquire. These people will go through life and be placed in good positions just based off of affirmative action. This will lead to careless, lazy, and selfish people in society. These people will no longer attempt to show effort in their work because they know that their networking is strong enough to keep them at the position they are currently at. Regardless of the characteristics, personality, or skill of a person, nepotism makes the person feel that they are better or more qualified than another person for a specific position. However, these individuals are benefitting off of who them know in the world to keep them with a stable life. When people are growing up and going through their life's with nepotism playing a significant role, they are more likely to have children who will also benefit from nepotism. In the long run, society will be full of networking and skill will no longer have any impact on one’s success. Many people are lazy to begin with, but now with the wide spread idea of nepotism, people are beginning to rely solely on the benefits from nepotism. Eventually no one will work for where or what they want to be in society, they will just have to easily meet the right people. This is sad, but it is reality. Nepotism needs to stop and the most qualified people need to rule society before it is too late. Wed, 13 Apr 2011 02:59:35 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/04/12/is-nepotism-a-good-or-bad-thing-in-the-long-run-119-blog/#IDComment142377225 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/03/31/what-was-more-enlightening-the-information-on-your-own-sex-or-the-opposite-sex-and-why-119-blog/#IDComment140601045 I found this lecture to be extremely interesting and enlightening for both sexes. But being that I am a female, I found the information of the female perspective more enlightening. I found this to be the female side of the lecture because it was less obvious to me. I have never taken my role in a relationship out of context and analyzed exactly why and how things happen. Hearing the lecture helped me to realize the role that a female plays in a relationship and what every women goes through. The perspective of Sam and his wife was extremely helpful to hear because it proved that the idea is widespread, and that I am not the only one who has had trouble dealing with the opposite sex in some situations. It was interesting to see that others feel and see the same issues with men and their relationships. The lecture also brought up an interesting idea about how women are more willing to say “no” when it comes to sexual activity, while men never give “no” a thought. We as humans, are obviously interested in sexual activity, however a man is much for focused on that than women. Women are more about the intimate attachment, and emotional factors, while most men focus on the pleasure aspect. As Sam and his wife discussed the reasoning behind this, it all made sense to me. This lecture made me and other women(most likely) not to feel guilty or mean for saying “no” in a situation where they do not feel comfortable. Women should never have to feel uncomfortable in a sexual situation, and should be able to get out of it easily, with no guilt attached. This was truly enlightening and hopefully will help many people, including myself, with relationships in the future. Even though I found the female side of the lecture more enlightening, I believe that the man’s part of the lecture was very true as well. It was nice to hear the things that I have been thinking about from somebody else, and to know that other women go through the same things. The man’s portion of the lecture was a reinforcement on my beliefs already, but I believe that many men in the classroom were shocked to hear the majority of the facts. I wish that all men that are in a relationship or plan to be in one in their lifetime were required to listen to this lecture! It was enlightening to many an brought up so many topics that provided the solid facts. I believe that this lecture can have an impact on ones relationship and will teach many men and women to think about their actions beforehand. Thu, 7 Apr 2011 00:11:53 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/03/31/what-was-more-enlightening-the-information-on-your-own-sex-or-the-opposite-sex-and-why-119-blog/#IDComment140601045 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/03/31/what-was-more-enlightening-the-information-on-your-own-sex-or-the-opposite-sex-and-why-119-blog/#IDComment140600962 I found this lecture of the “needy” penis extremely interesting and enlightening for both sexes. But being that I am a female, I found the information of the female perspective more enlightening. I found this to be the female side of the lecture because it was less obvious to me. I have never taken my role in a relationship out of context and analyzed exactly why and how things happen. Hearing the lecture helped me to realize the role that a female plays in a relationship and what every women goes through. The perspective of Sam and his wife was extremely helpful to hear because it proved that the idea is widespread, and that I am not the only one who has had trouble dealing with the opposite sex in some situations. It was interesting to see that others feel and see the same issues with men and their relationships. The lecture also brought up an interesting idea about how women are more willing to say “no” when it comes to sexual activity, while men never give “no” a thought. We as humans, are obviously interested in sexual activity, however a man is much for focused on that than women. Women are more about the intimate attachment, and emotional factors, while most men focus on the pleasure aspect. As Sam and his wife discussed the reasoning behind this, it all made sense to me. This lecture made me and other women(most likely) not to feel guilty or mean for saying “no” in a situation where they do not feel comfortable. Women should never have to feel uncomfortable in a sexual situation, and should be able to get out of it easily, with no guilt attached. This was truly enlightening and hopefully will help many people, including myself, with relationships in the future. Even though I found the female side of the lecture more enlightening, I believe that the man’s part of the lecture was very true as well. It was nice to hear the things that I have been thinking about from somebody else, and to know that other women go through the same things. The man’s portion of the lecture was a reinforcement on my beliefs already, but I believe that many men in the classroom were shocked to hear the majority of the facts. I wish that all men that are in a relationship or plan to be in one in their lifetime were required to listen to this lecture! It was enlightening to many an brought up so many topics that provided the solid facts. I believe that this lecture can have an impact on ones relationship and will teach many men and women to think about their actions beforehand. Thu, 7 Apr 2011 00:11:19 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/03/31/what-was-more-enlightening-the-information-on-your-own-sex-or-the-opposite-sex-and-why-119-blog/#IDComment140600962 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/03/31/what-was-more-enlightening-the-information-on-your-own-sex-or-the-opposite-sex-and-why-119-blog/#IDComment140473401 I found this lecture of the “needy” penis extremely interesting and enlightening for both sexes. But being that I am a female, I found the information on my sex more enlightening. I found this to be the female side of the lecture because it was less obvious to me. I have never taken my role in a relationship out of context and analyzed exactly why and how things happen. Hearing the lecture on the “needy” penis helped me to realize the role that a female plays in a relationship and what every women goes through. The perspective of Sam and his wife was extremely helpful to hear because it proved that the idea is widespread, and that I am not the only one who has had trouble dealing with the opposite sex in some situations. It was interesting to see that others feel and see the same issues with men and their sex lives. The lecture also brought up an interesting idea about how women are more willing to say “no” when it comes to sexual activity, while men never give “no” a thought. We as humans, are obviously interested in sex, however a man is much for focused on that than women. Women are more about the intimate attachment, and emotional factors, while most men focus on the pleasure aspect of sex. As Sam and his wife discussed the reasoning behind this, it all made sense to me. This lecture made me and other women(most likely) not to feel guilty or mean for saying “no” in a situation where they do not feel comfortable. Women should never have to feel uncomfortable in a sexual situation, and should be able to get out of it easily, with no guilt attached. This was truly enlightening and hopefully will help many people, including myself, with relationships in the future. Even though I found the female side of the lecture more enlightening, I believe that the man’s part of the lecture was very true as well. It was nice to hear the things that I have been thinking about from somebody else, and to know that other women go through the same things. The man’s portion of the lecture was a reinforcement on my beliefs already, but I believe that many men in the classroom were shocked to hear the majority of the facts. I wish that all men that are in a relationship or plan to be in one in their lifetime were required to listen to this lecture! It was enlightening to many an brought up so many topics that provided the solid facts. I believe that this lecture can have an impact on ones relationship and will teach many men and women to think about their actions beforehand. Wed, 6 Apr 2011 13:40:11 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/03/31/what-was-more-enlightening-the-information-on-your-own-sex-or-the-opposite-sex-and-why-119-blog/#IDComment140473401 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/03/31/what-was-more-enlightening-the-information-on-your-own-sex-or-the-opposite-sex-and-why-119-blog/#IDComment140322907 I found this lecture of the “needy” penis extremely interesting and enlightening for both sexes. But being that I am a female, I found the information on my sex more enlightening. I found this to be the female side of the lecture because it was less obvious to me. I have never taken my role in a relationship out of context and analyzed exactly why and how things happen. Hearing the lecture on the “needy” penis helped me to realize the role that a female plays in a relationship and what every women goes through. The perspective of Sam and his wife was extremely helpful to hear because it proved that the idea is widespread, and that I am not the only one who has had trouble dealing with the opposite sex in some situations. It was interesting to see that others feel and see the same issues with men and their sex lives. The lecture also brought up an interesting idea about how women are more willing to say “no” when it comes to sexual activity, while men never give “no” a thought. We as humans, are obviously interested in sex, however a man is much for focused on that than women. Women are more about the intimate attachment, and emotional factors, while most men focus on the pleasure aspect of sex. As Sam and his wife discussed the reasoning behind this, it all made sense to me. This lecture made me and other women(most likely) not to feel guilty or mean for saying “no” in a situation where they do not feel comfortable. Women should never have to feel uncomfortable in a sexual situation, and should be able to get out of it easily, with no guilt attached. This was truly enlightening and hopefully will help many people, including myself, with relationships in the future. Even though I found the female side of the lecture more enlightening, I believe that the man’s part of the lecture was very true as well. It was nice to hear the things that I have been thinking about from somebody else, and to know that other women go through the same things. The man’s portion of the lecture was a reinforcement on my beliefs already, but I believe that many men in the classroom were shocked to hear the majority of the facts. I wish that all men that are in a relationship or plan to be in one in their lifetime were required to listen to this lecture! It was enlightening to many an brought up so many topics that provided the solid facts. I believe that this lecture can have an impact on ones relationship and will teach many men and women to think about their actions beforehand. Wed, 6 Apr 2011 02:21:57 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/03/31/what-was-more-enlightening-the-information-on-your-own-sex-or-the-opposite-sex-and-why-119-blog/#IDComment140322907 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/03/31/what-was-more-enlightening-the-information-on-your-own-sex-or-the-opposite-sex-and-why-119-blog/#IDComment140322734 I found this lecture of the “needy” penis extremely interesting and enlightening for both sexes. But being that I am a female, I found the information on my sex more enlightening. I found this to be the female side of the lecture because it was less obvious to me. I have never taken my role in a relationship out of context and analyzed exactly why and how things happen. Hearing the lecture on the “needy” penis helped me to realize the role that a female plays in a relationship and what every women goes through. The perspective of Sam and his wife was extremely helpful to hear because it proved that the idea is widespread, and that I am not the only one who has had trouble dealing with the opposite sex in some situations. It was interesting to see that others feel and see the same issues with men and their sex lives. The lecture also brought up an interesting idea about how women are more willing to say “no” when it comes to sexual activity, while men never give “no” a thought. We as humans, are obviously interested in sex, however a man is much for focused on that than women. Women are more about the intimate attachment, and emotional factors, while most men focus on the pleasure aspect of sex. As Sam and his wife discussed the reasoning behind this, it all made sense to me. This lecture made me and other women(most likely) not to feel guilty or mean for saying “no” in a situation where they do not feel comfortable. Women should never have to feel uncomfortable in a sexual situation, and should be able to get out of it easily, with no guilt attached. This was truly enlightening and hopefully will help many people, including myself, with relationships in the future. Even though I found the female side of the lecture more enlightening, I believe that the man’s part of the lecture was very true as well. It was nice to hear the things that I have been thinking about from somebody else, and to know that other women go through the same things. The man’s portion of the lecture was a reinforcement on my beliefs already, but I believe that many men in the classroom were shocked to hear the majority of the facts. I wish that all men that are in a relationship or plan to be in one in their lifetime were required to listen to this lecture! It was enlightening to many an brought up so many topics that provided the solid facts. I believe that this lecture can have an impact on ones relationship and will teach many men and women to think about their actions beforehand. Wed, 6 Apr 2011 02:20:47 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/03/31/what-was-more-enlightening-the-information-on-your-own-sex-or-the-opposite-sex-and-why-119-blog/#IDComment140322734 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/03/31/what-was-more-enlightening-the-information-on-your-own-sex-or-the-opposite-sex-and-why-119-blog/#IDComment140322609 I found this lecture of the “needy” penis extremely interesting and enlightening for both sexes. But being that I am a female, I found the information on my sex more enlightening. I found this to be the female side of the lecture because it was less obvious to me. I have never taken my role in a relationship out of context and analyzed exactly why and how things happen. Hearing the lecture on the “needy” penis helped me to realize the role that a female plays in a relationship and what every women goes through. The perspective of Sam and his wife was extremely helpful to hear because it proved that the idea is widespread, and that I am not the only one who has had trouble dealing with the opposite sex in some situations. It was interesting to see that others feel and see the same issues with men and their sex lives. The lecture also brought up an interesting idea about how women are more willing to say “no” when it comes to sexual activity, while men never give “no” a thought. We as humans, are obviously interested in sex, however a man is much for focused on that than women. Women are more about the intimate attachment, and emotional factors, while most men focus on the pleasure aspect of sex. As Sam and his wife discussed the reasoning behind this, it all made sense to me. This lecture made me and other women(most likely) not to feel guilty or mean for saying “no” in a situation where they do not feel comfortable. Women should never have to feel uncomfortable in a sexual situation, and should be able to get out of it easily, with no guilt attached. This was truly enlightening and hopefully will help many people, including myself, with relationships in the future. Even though I found the female side of the lecture more enlightening, I believe that the man’s part of the lecture was very true as well. It was nice to hear the things that I have been thinking about from somebody else, and to know that other women go through the same things. The man’s portion of the lecture was a reinforcement on my beliefs already, but I believe that many men in the classroom were shocked to hear the majority of the facts. I wish that all men that are in a relationship or plan to be in one in their lifetime were required to listen to this lecture! It was enlightening to many an brought up so many topics that provided the solid facts. I believe that this lecture can have an impact on ones relationship and will teach many men and women to think about their actions beforehand. Wed, 6 Apr 2011 02:19:56 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/03/31/what-was-more-enlightening-the-information-on-your-own-sex-or-the-opposite-sex-and-why-119-blog/#IDComment140322609 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/03/24/would-you-date-someone-like-me-119-blog/#IDComment138517126 I believe that there is several reasons why white boys are somewhat hesitant to date black women. I know that there is many white boys who have only ever been associated with or even have been friends with white women. This brings up the reason, that white boys are nervous to experience new things that are outside of their comfort zone, which is in this case dating black women. The face that they do not want to experience or try new things does not just apply to white boy, it goes for all races and cultures. People of different cultures and races are less likely to step out of what is known and try foreign things. It is just human nature.Even if the white boy is physically attracted a black women there is several factors that may mentally hold them back from attempting to socialize or date a colored women. Another reason why white guys are hesitant to attempt to date black women is their friends and family may not be acceptive of the idea. Many guys do not like to talk about their feelings and have trouble explaining if they really have feelings for a girl with their friends. So, if the girl happened to be black, this may make the situation even more complicated. On the other hand, family is a huge factor in whether or not a white boy will date a black girl. If the family does not accept or has not accepted a colored person in the past, the boy is less likely to attempt to date a colored girl. This is because no one wants to disappoint they’re family, especially if it is only over a girlfriend. I believe that the main reason why white boys don’t normally try to date colored girl is because of their differences in culture. The culture between a white person and a black person can be extremely different depending on specific people. In order for the culture not to be a problem in a relationship, each of the people in the relationship would need to of had a lot of experience with other races and cultures. If not, than it will be difficult to adapt to the cultural differences. Many people are not willing to adapt or chance their culture for a girlfriend or boyfriend. Men, like women as well, are afraid of rejection. This goes for all men, not just white men or just black men. So trying something new, such as dating or attempting to date a black women, comes with the chance of rejection. Many men will not even attempt to talk to a women if they have doubt that the women will accept the mans offer. This is another reason why white boys are hesitant to approach or attempt to date a black women. Wed, 30 Mar 2011 03:02:29 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/03/24/would-you-date-someone-like-me-119-blog/#IDComment138517126 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/03/18/where-do-the-messages-come-from-119-blog/#IDComment137123674 The video that was shown in class was shocking, not only to me, but to the majority of the class. It is hard to believe that these young children are already thinking that there is a superior race in our society today. Just when people in society are speaking of how much we have evolved, in terms of racism and stereotyping, this video is shown. These young children were somehow shaped to believe that the white doll was the “good” doll, and the black doll was the “bad” doll. However, there are many different ideas of what exactly has shaped these young children to believe this. We spoke of this video in recitation and many people, including myself, seemed to believe that the colored children are molded to believe that white is “good” because of several materialistic reasons, rather than inborn racism or stereotyping. The first, and the largest, reason for colored children thinking white is the “good” race is the media. When children are growing up, the majority of their activities are based off of television, movies and books. This media involves characters that are predominantly white. This is a huge reason for all children to believe that white is “good”. Children aspire to be like that famous superhero, or their favorite Disney princess. When your favorite characters are predominantly white, how could you think that white is “bad”? The first black Disney princess has just recently arrived in the media, which shows that the media is slowly progressing, however it is not enough to change the undeveloped minds of young children. I believe that the children believing that white is “good” and black is “bad” comes from materialistic reasoning more then racism. Children are far too young to make solid opinions on controversial topics such as race. Another reason why young colored children think that white is “good” is because white people are the majority of people in society. When a child first discovers that they are different, even it is just based on skin color”, they immediately think that this makes them “bad”. Especially when a peer calls them out on it. Children, being brutally honest, tend to call other children out on things that may be harsh. For example, a comment on darker skin, compared to their white skin. Family influence also has a huge impact of whether the colored children will believe their race is “good” or “bad”. Throughout a child’s youth it is extremely important to constantly reinforce their self-esteem. If a child does not have the love and pride from their parents, they will develop self-esteem issues, which may in turn lead them to believe that their skin color is “bad” Thu, 24 Mar 2011 00:11:33 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/03/18/where-do-the-messages-come-from-119-blog/#IDComment137123674 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/03/15/lgbt-families-theres-a-lot-of-fear-out-there/#IDComment135655288 I very much enjoyed this video and believe that Zach Wahls is doing an amazing thing by advocating and informing about gay marriage in his state of Iowa. Many people in the world are against gay marriage for their own personal reasons. However, with the help of people like Zach, maybe many people will change their opinion when they become informed with true information and real experiences. These experience can be from a gay couple raising children or just a gay person in general. Society needs to realize that sexual orientation does not deform or differentiate our character from the normal human being. Zach opened up a entire different issue, can a gay-lesbian couple raise children? Many believe that the child will be raised extremely different because the don’t have that father-figure or the motherly nurturing. However, Zach Wahls is living proof that growing up with lesbian parents did not make him any different than another child who has grown up in home with a mother and a father. Zach seems to be extremely intelligent, well mannered and aware of the social issues going on in the world today. In fact, he seems more aware of social issues that need advocation than a person who has grown up in a home with a mother and father. Zach is fighting for the right of gay-lesbian marriage in the state of Iowa. He is making the statement that not giving the right to marry is considering the gay population to be second class citizens. This is true to some extent because they do not have the right to marry the person they love. To be honest, I have not had much experience with children of gay couples, but now I look at it from a completely different viewpoint. I’ve realized that there is no extreme negative effect of having homosexual parents. Zach also points out that their family life is very similar to a family with heterosexual parents. They definitely have their ups and downs,arguments and life lessons. One thing is for certain, and that is the unconditional love of the gay-lesbian parents is the same as a straight parents. Also, I agree with what Zach said about how commitment to each other and showing trust within one another is what truly makes a strong family. It is based off of not having a mother and a father, or being “blood related”. Family is a relationship between human beings, not matter what color, or sexual orientation. The state of Iowa and the rest of society needs to realize this and stop discriminating against gay-lesbian couple who want to formalize their love with marriage, and starting a family. Thu, 17 Mar 2011 19:23:19 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/03/15/lgbt-families-theres-a-lot-of-fear-out-there/#IDComment135655288 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/03/02/how-can-we-save-our-scarce-resources-119-blog/#IDComment131982684 The amount of people whom are living in poverty today in the United States is truly eye-opening.This number is only going to increase, if we do not take action. I believe that many upper and middle class citizens of the United States still are not aware of the large number of people living in poverty throughout their own country. I feel that this needs to be addressed first. I agree that something needs to be done in order to control the population, which will in turn, keep the level of poverty from increasing in the future. Since the overall population of the United States will naturally grow in the future, something needs to be done as soon as possible to fix this economic issue. One of the main issues is that families that are living in poverty are continuing to have children and are building their families larger and larger. This is terrible because these families have no resources or means of providing food, clothing, or even shelter for these children. This needs to be controlled. The United States should control the amount of children that families living in poverty have. This will help them to care for themselves and a smaller family, instead of taking care of eight children while living in harsh conditions. I understand that this may seem discriminatory to control the amount of children people living in poverty can have. However, it is necessary to keep the level of poverty from rising in the future. It is sad that these people should have to control the amount of people in their family and still work hard to get themselves out of poverty. This is necessary to take a step in the right direction, and a positive way to lower the level of poverty in the United States. On the other hand, in terms of actually helping these poor people whom are living in poverty, our country seems to be hesitant to help. Many people throughout our country and around the world are selfish. That is, if a situation doesn’t directly effect them, they will do nothing to help or fix it. Many people in the United States believe in free will, which means they have the chance to make a living and get a job to provide for their families. However, their is also the determinism side which says some people are born into these lifestyles and it is almost impossible to be successful in life. I think that the upper class citizens in the United States should take the initiative to give funds to these poor people and help them get back on their feet. Not saying they will need to fund them for their entire lives, but just enough to help them be stable in society. Thu, 3 Mar 2011 01:01:56 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/03/02/how-can-we-save-our-scarce-resources-119-blog/#IDComment131982684 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/02/17/how-can-we-make-people-more-aware-of-the-slavery-that-is-still-going-on-119-blog/#IDComment130245296 When most people throughout the Unites States hear the word slavery they immediately think back in history of the African Americans being bought, sold and abused as property back in the 1800’s. Most people believe that this was or is the only type of real 
“slavery” that has gone on throughout our country and the world. The word slavery is generally looked down upon throughout the United States because of the harsh history that people of color have with it. Many people are sensitive about slavery and as a result it is hard to believe that there is still slavery going on in the world today. Many people force themselves to believe that slavery is extinct. However, this is not true whatsoever. Slavery is being used in countries around the world to produce goods and food products that us, Americans are purchasing on a daily basis without even being aware of it. Most people are not aware of the slavery that is going on throughout the world because nothing is radically being done to stop it. So in other words, it does not personally effect us Americans so the majority of people turn the other way or do not care about this issue. Another reason why people throughout our country are not aware of slavery in the world today is the products that are made by slaves are just generalized with all the other products in the market so we are not sure which products are actually produced by slave labor and which are not. For the people who are informed that there is slavery going in the world today, many are not concerned about which products are made through slave labor, since they are not directly effected by it. In hopes of heightening awareness of slavery that is going on throughout the world today, manufacturing companies should state on their packages that their products are made through slave labor. Being in SOC119, exposed me to this new information of slavery that is going on in the world today. I think that many people are still not informed and the media needs to start exposing this to society as soon as possible. This, in turn, will hopefully halt slavery across the world for good and give everyone a equal chance to live their lives without being discriminated against for their race. This will difficult to achieve because the people who actually operate the slavery keep their workers under cover and keep them producing a lot of goods. Slavery is horrible, and to know that it is still going on in the 21st century is even worse. People should have the right to live their life, while being able to support themselves and a family, and this is why the end to slavery needs to be advocated throughout the US and the entire world. Thu, 24 Feb 2011 04:21:53 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/02/17/how-can-we-make-people-more-aware-of-the-slavery-that-is-still-going-on-119-blog/#IDComment130245296 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/02/16/do-arrests-of-different-races-occur-more-due-to-racism-or-more-police-in-urban-areas-119-blog/#IDComment128438182 This question is asking if arrests of different races occur more because of racism or because of a greater number of police in urban areas. This is a difficult question to answer because, the statistics according to the criminal justice system are very misleading. For example, the statistics that we viewed in class show that more white people are doing drugs in general, however more black people are being arrested for doing drugs. This proves that there is some certain factor that is avoiding the arrests of more white people. This factor has not been proven, but many believe that the race of the person being arrested has a lot to do with it. This is very unfortunate but it is the harsh truth, according to statistics. I believe that there are many racist people in the criminal justice system, and it will take generations to completely get rid of it in society.The idea that there are more police officers that are patrolling in urban areas is a valid reason for the greater number of arrests in these areas. Urban areas usually have a wider diversity of people. With diversity comes more black or colored people. Ultimately, the police officers are going to these urban areas because they are attempting to bust black/colored people. An officer is unlikely to go to an urban area expecting to bust a group of white kids. The generalization would be that there are more black/colored people living in these urban areas so the criminal justice system is going to focus on these areas to arrest more people. In the long run, this proves that racism is the underlying problem in the criminal justice system. The statistics show that black/colored and white people are committing some of the same crimes and the black/colored people are being arrested for it. Many white people live in suburban areas, and if there was crime going on in these areas, the police officers will be less likely to find it because there are a lot fewer police officers in suburban areas. Since there are many white cops, some are bound to be racist. This will lead to bias situations and the decision whether to arrest the white person or let them go. According to statistics, many white people are let off the the hook before they are arrested for many crimes. I, myself being white and not racist whatsoever, I think that this is not fair. The criminal justice system should not be racist, however this will take an immense amount of time to fix. This is sad, but society is always going to have racists people, it just it unfortunate that these people are in the criminal justice system. Thu, 17 Feb 2011 01:01:24 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/02/16/do-arrests-of-different-races-occur-more-due-to-racism-or-more-police-in-urban-areas-119-blog/#IDComment128438182 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/02/03/do-you-think-race-can-stop-being-an-issue-in-the-future-119-blog/#IDComment127055931 I believe that in an ideal world that there would be absolutely no racism or inequality in the world and society. Since we are finding out that there is almost no difference in the biological makeup of a white person and a black/colored person, hopefully people worldwide will begin to realize that there is no valid reason whatsoever to discriminate against the minority. This is will take a few decades but I believe it can be done to some extant. However, there are many stubborn,ignorant people in the world that will always hate and discriminate against colored people, no matter what valid or biological explanation is given. People will always have something negative to say based off of an experience or even the media. As far as sports go, I feel that the racism specifically involved with sports is slowly decreasing and eventually will be non-existent. This is because sports is based more off of pure talent. The athletes are becoming less worried about race or ethnicity and more focused on how well they perform at the sport they are involved in. This is seen in basketball, golf, and even baseball which is becoming more and more diverse with colored athletes. This is some proof that maybe someday people will look at other people, not by their skin color or ethnicity but by their actions and personality. Also, other than just being stubborn or ignorant, people are very proud of their cultures and do not want to be categorized with other races or cultures. This is forming a barrier from the world being one race. As long as people have intense pride in their culture, they are likely to judge other people with different cultures or races. The judgement will lead directly to discrimination and hatred against the minority of society. As a upfront answer to if racism will every stop, I feel that it is possible for everyone in the world to stop being discriminatory against other races, but it will take an excessive amount of time. This will not take a few years, it will take decades, in order for the new generations of people to become adults and to realize that race is just a physical feature, and does not have to do with biological features. Another huge problem that needs to be fixed in order for the racism to be discontinued, is the youth of society needs to be taught not to discriminate and why not to. The youth of society is whom will be leading the world in a few decades so it is important to target the youth while we can to have a successful future with no racism or discrimination against the minority of society. Thu, 10 Feb 2011 05:23:01 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/02/03/do-you-think-race-can-stop-being-an-issue-in-the-future-119-blog/#IDComment127055931 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/02/01/do-you-describe-yourself-differently-in-other-countries/#IDComment125513454 I completely agree with this, and I do the exact same thing when asked, “What are you”? I believe that people living in the United States are the only people who have unique experience because in just about every other country when you were asked “what are you” you would name where you live and not your ancestry. This only happens in the United States because the United States of America is comprised of people with ALL the different cultures and heritages of the entire world. We are known as the “melting pot” for this reason of an immense amount of cultures all coming together to live in the U.S.A. Since the majority of people in the United States were born in the United States I believe that there should be a term to describe exactly this(something that basically means “United Statesian”). There is no term that describes a person born in the U.S other then American, however this can mean from South America or North America. I believe that if I were inside the United States and somebody asked me “ What are you?”, I would answer Italian and German. This being my parents ancestry. If I were to answer, “I’m American”, the person whom asked the question would most likely want to know my more about my ancestry because everyone in the United States has different places of ancestry in their family. Saying that you are American does not give any history of where your ancestor’s immigrated from and that is what most people want to know when they ask you “what are you”.On the other hand, if one were visiting another country other than the United States, and someone asked “what are you”, the person would most likely answer “American”. This is because when in another country you would immediately think to answer where you are from, and not where your ancestors immigrated from. Since the United States is essentially made of all immigrants coming from other countries throughout the world, the culture of the United States is difficult to define. This is why we name our ancestry, rather then where we were actually born, when someone living in the United States is asked “what are you”. I also feel like many people throughout the world are extremely proud of their culture and ancestry, so saying that you are “American” sort of just disregard your culture. People who have great pride in their culture are more likely to state what country they are “from”, or in other words where their ancestors immigrated from. This is another reason why the majority of people in the United States of America will state their ancestry when asked “what are you”. Wed, 2 Feb 2011 21:47:28 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/02/01/do-you-describe-yourself-differently-in-other-countries/#IDComment125513454 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/01/21/body-image-issues-119-blog/#IDComment124051119 People around the world develop body image issues for many different reasons or even from events that have occurred in one’s lifetime. This question is asking that if we knew that all aspects of our body were hereditary, would we still be likely to have body image issues, and my answer is yes. I believe that we, meaning all different types of people throughout society, would still be likely to have body image issues even if we had reason for why our bodies looked the way they do. I believe that body image issues develop from more then just your personal perspective of your body and what you want it to look like, but also by the media and society pushing upon that “perfect body” that we see in the magazines, and on television. In society today people tend to focus more on how they will progress toward the “perfect body” , then making excuses of why they look the way they do. Heredity is a valid reason for why people have the bodies they have, however this is not going to stop people from caring about how they look and/or judging the people around them. It would take more then just the knowledge of one’s heredity to completely stop the body image issues in the world today. Society would need to erase all of the media and advertisements about how and why to manipulate your body to look “ better”. For example since people grow up in a society today that focuses on health and being physically fit, saying that one is obese because it is hereditary would still be looked down upon by the majority of society today. I personally believe that everyone should love their bodies the way they are born, and not try to manipulate or change their features in anyway, however many people think differently because of the media and the social idea of what is acceptable or “beautiful” in the world today. By beautiful, this basically means what will come off to be attractive to other. If they do not feel attractive to begin with, they will want to change their features and this is where body image issues spark from. I personally grew up in a home that accepted me as I was and I was not pressured to lose weight or manipulate my body in anyway, however I still strive to have the “perfect body” on my own free time. I cannot imagine living in a home that pressures you to change your body to look perfect. Body image issues only get worse as one gets older, unless one learns to accept they unique beauty and embrace it. This is why body image issues will continue for many years to come. Thu, 27 Jan 2011 06:04:21 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/01/21/body-image-issues-119-blog/#IDComment124051119 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/01/14/why-do-we-still-have-stereotypes-blog-1/#IDComment122607329 After asking myself why stereotypes still exist in our world today, it has come to my attention that there are many reasons for this happening in society and it the main problem is that it starts at a very young age when children are still developing their minds. Stereotypes are molded into a child’s mind at such a young age by the media, and entertainment throughout society. Stereotypes are encouraged from most of our peers in whom we come in contact with from day to day. Also, more than just peers, but parents or guardians have been known to force upon stereotypes on their innocent children who haven’t even had the chance to make their own informed decision about people yet. Unfortunately, stereotypes are still strong in our world today for many reasons. People, especially teenagers are and always have been concerned with “fitting in”. This is a shame and is especially relevant in the high school stage. Stereotypes have become commonly used throughout high school to determine the groups of people. Stereotypes are being built off of the actions of one individual in that specific group. For example just because one cheerleader is the ditzy, catty, and considered the popular girl in school, doesn’t mean ALL of the cheerleaders in the world are like her. This is how stereotypes form and it is wrong. However, teenagers still use these stereotypes because it is a way of grouping the different people they come in contact with. High schoolers are bringing these stereotypes with them for the remainder of their lives. The majority of people are not going to stand out and deny these stereotypes because they do not want to be the “odd one out” or become looked down upon by the rest of society. Basically, the majority of people are scared to stand out against the crowd of judgmental people and attempt to stop stereotyping. Being that I have been judged throughout high school for being the stereotypical “cheerleader”, I know how horrible it is and wish that the mass of people in society would stop classifying people by their looks, color or even hobbies they enjoy doing. Since there are so many judgmental people in the world, these stereotypes will be in our society for a very long time. Proving that these stereotypes are false is not going to be enough to completely stop everyone in society from using these groupings of people and judgmental actions. Since all of the stereotypical groups start forming in high school it will be extremely difficult to change these ideas as one continues to college. I believe a class like SOC119 dealing with race relations will help many students to drop their stereotypes and look at people for who they really are. Thu, 20 Jan 2011 22:57:51 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/01/14/why-do-we-still-have-stereotypes-blog-1/#IDComment122607329 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/01/10/last-name-%e2%80%9ch%e2%80%9d-%e2%80%93-intense-debate/#IDComment120793756 SOC 119! Wed, 12 Jan 2011 00:09:31 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/01/10/last-name-%e2%80%9ch%e2%80%9d-%e2%80%93-intense-debate/#IDComment120793756