en-us https://www.intensedebate.com/users/6223809 Comments by joemocera http://www.worldinconversation.org/2013/04/18/voices-from-the-classroom-304/#IDComment624925262 If I show up to a party with predominately people of different races, I will most likely be very awkward. I would probably get pretty paranoid and think that everyone there is judging me because I would highly stand out. I feel that everyone’s eyes will be on me, and that people would be talking about me behind my back. I would not be judging everyone else, though, because I am not the person that would do this, but I feel as though it would be awkward. I think, though, that if it becomes a regular thing that I go to parties where the majority of the people are a different race then I think I would probably become a lot more comfortable and not make those assumptions. Personally, all of my roommates are native Puerto Ricans, so I have experience hanging out at parties where everyone is Latino while I am a very white Italian. They generally will always speak in Spanish, and seeing as I barely know any Spanish I can never really understand what they say. At first, it was very awkward and I felt like they were talking bad about me. The more I hang out with them, though, and got to know them as some of my best friends it has become not awkward at all. I still do not understand them at all, but I know because I have become so close to them that they respect me as a person and would never talk bad about me behind my back. I actually went to Puerto Rico for ten days to visit them and I can honestly say it was the greatest vacation of my life. All of their friends and family members accepted me like they had known me for their whole life and I felt welcome. So once I was able to get to know them and become very good friends, I was able to not have those assumptions when hanging out at parties with the majority of the people being Puerto Rican. This is not to say that I am expecting people to judge me if this ends up happening. I just think that I would naturally make these assumptions because I would initially feel very awkward in that situation. When people become closer and make better friends with each other, they are able to trust each other a lot more and recognize that they would not talk bad about each other behind the other ones’ backs. Most people these days do not have the mind set where they are thinking bad about other people because of their race or ethnicity, but it is not avoidable for people to have these thoughts. Mon, 22 Apr 2013 02:00:45 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2013/04/18/voices-from-the-classroom-304/#IDComment624925262 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2013/04/09/voices-from-the-classroom-298/#IDComment619346043 I feel that I do not generally ask the girl who I am with if they had an orgasm was because nice times out of ten she probably did not have one. The odds are against me, so what is the point in even asking? Knowing that she probably did not have an orgasm does not really affect me personally, so I have no intention to ask. Also, sometimes I just do not want to know that I could not completely satisfy her and get her to where she wanted to go. That may seem selfish, but hearing her say she did not get to have an orgasm seems a lot worse on my ego compared to me just assuming she did not have one. It is very unfortunate for women that they do not get orgasms as easily as men do, but being a man it is hard to sympathize because I do not have that first hand experience. I would rather it be a “don’t ask don’t tell” sort of thing because of the damage it could have to my confidence in future endeavors with her or other women. Although, there can be circumstances in which I would ask the girl if she had an orgasm. It mostly comes down to if I feel confident enough that it would not damage my relationship with her if I do know whether or not she is getting an orgasm from me. For example, if I was in a long-term relationship with a girl and I knew that we had a solid relationship then I might ask every so often just to see how she is doing and how she feels about our sexual relationship. It may be good or it may be bad, but what matters is that you are open with one another and you can talk about these things and not let it affect your future sexual relations. I do not think guys should ask girls if they are having an orgasm because sometimes they just do not want to know. From a guy’s perspective it puts a damper on the fact that they just got laid. No guy wants to have something negatively affect his ego like that. If it becomes obvious that the girl does have an orgasm, though, then maybe asking would be a good confidence booster. It may be embarrassing for the girl, but if she is willing to have sex with a guy, I am sure she would be willing to admit to the guy if he was able to make her have an orgasm. There is really no shame if a guy cannot get a girl to have an orgasm because most of the time girls never do, so it really is not something a guy should be self-conscious about and ask a girl all the time. Sun, 14 Apr 2013 21:43:49 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2013/04/09/voices-from-the-classroom-298/#IDComment619346043 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2013/04/05/voices-from-the-classroom-293/#IDComment614156761 I think I would be a little more sympathetic if Tammy was a Native American woman instead of a white woman. The reason behind my thought process is because it is pretty much proven that it is harder for Native American people to get ahead in life. Ever since their land was taking form them centuries ago, it has always been hard for them to be successful in the ever changing society of the United States. It is very unfortunate because it is always unfair when people are unable to have the life they want to live just based on the color of their skin and their beliefs and culture. I feel that I tend to sympathize with people who have less of a chance than those who have better odds of becoming successful. I would also say that much of society thinks just like this, too. I prime example of this is through a huge event that is recently going on right now in our society: March Madness. Everyone loves a “Cinderella story” because they are facing such tougher odds than their opponents, but they are actually achieving at the same level as every one else who has better odds than them. ESPN will report on these “Cinderella stories” non-stop until their success comes to an end. The network knows that people enjoy hearing these stories in which will increase their ratings, so they bring about as much attention to them as possible. Although March Madness is a much different scenario than that of Tammy, but I feel like if Tammy was Native American she would be considered a “Cinderella story” of society in this situation. Tammy’s story, though, is very unfortunate and there’s no doubt that every one should sympathize with her because it is very hard to live a life in that situation. I could never imagine having to walk so far just to go to work, even if it was poring rain outside. I have trouble just walking to class when it is raining outside. That is only fifteen minutes compared to a multi-hour journey just to get a pay check. She has determination to work that not many people are willing to have. Many people would just give up and settle with receiving welfare checks from the government, but Tammy makes a point to show that she is willing to work hard for the money she receives. That is something not many people can say they do. And even though she says that her son should not feel like he is a higher class than her, I think it is good for him to have a goal in life and want to be able to get out of that trailer. If he has the same determination as his mother he will be able to make a name for himself and earn a more comfortable living. Mon, 8 Apr 2013 03:10:21 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2013/04/05/voices-from-the-classroom-293/#IDComment614156761 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2013/03/28/voices-from-the-classroom-281/#IDComment608295036 I feel that the two classes from Jasiri X and Sam were much different in the way they presented their arguments for people to sympathize with their causes. Jasiri’s message seemed to be very aggressive because of his music videos. It almost seemed like through his music he was trying to intimidate white people to get the inequality that he wanted across the country. I am not saying I am against his cause or anything like that. I just think the aggressive style he puts out does not seem to be the most effective strategy. The reason Martin Luther King’s strategies worked so well in the sixties was because they were non violent and not aggressive, so that the African American community would be sympathized with in order to gain inequality in America. When Jasiri spoke, though, I did appreciate how he heard both sides of these issues (the “black” and “white” perspective) and respected every one who spoke in class. Personally, I did have something to say, but I felt somewhat intimidated by him, so I remained quiet. Granted, though, I have never spoke up in class, but that was the first time that I had something to say. After thinking about it more, though, I thought that I could have been intimidated was because I am not a very big fan of rap music. I more enjoy country music that is a lot less aggressive lyrics, so I think sometimes I do not really pay attention to the messages directed from rap music, whether or not the message is positive. Sam’s lecture, through the videos he showed us in class, seemed a lot less aggressive and focused more on physically showing the problems that Native Americans face every day. His videos showed images of the people and their struggles, so I felt like I could sympathize a lot more with the message he was putting out to us than the message Jasiri was promoting. Sam seemed to have more facts and physical evidence as to what is going on with the Native Americans, and I feel I can comprehend and understand the problem a lot more through this approach. I also think that in regards to white guilt, I think Jasiri seemed like the purpose of his message was to make white people feel guilty for the inequality injustices in our society. Sam, though, mentioned multiple times in his lecture that his goal was not to promote white guilt, but instead to get the information out to people and make sure people knew of the problems going on in the world. These two approaches to talking about inequality in America by Sam and Jasiri X prove to be very different based on how they promote their ideas. Sun, 31 Mar 2013 17:22:00 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2013/03/28/voices-from-the-classroom-281/#IDComment608295036 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2013/03/21/voices-from-the-classroom-274/#IDComment603349544 I think every person that is offered a hand out will most likely take it because it provides an opportunity that they might not have otherwise. It may not be fair to others that might be more qualified for the position, but many people in the world will generally put themselves before others. It is not proof that people who accept handouts are selfish, they are just very opportunistic and know that they should take advantage of opportunities presented to them. Personally, I have received a hand out that I took advantage during high school. My dad has his own CPA firm, and seeing as I am majoring in accounting and hope to become a CPA after graduating he offered me a job as an intern at his office. This job was able to give me experience of working in the accounting field and in the real world. I am sure there were other candidates that had better experience and qualifications than I did, but because the boss and owner of the firm was my father, I was given the opportunity to work at his firm. It was a great opportunity for me. I was able to add a great piece to my resume. Having this job on my resume made me stand out at Penn State’s Career fair and led to me getting an internship during the spring at a local accounting firm. I took advantage of the opportunity my father gave me and it paid off in great lengths. I do not feel that nepotism is necessarily as unfair as affirmative action because how people get jobs is based of their networks and nepotism is technically a form of network. Affirmative action gives jobs to minority citizens without really knowing who they are on a personal level, and that can be the most important aspect of a person in the work environment in most cases. Because nepotism involves family members or close friends, those giving the opportunities will know the employees already on a personal level and if they feel they will be able to do the job well and can fit into the company than it makes sense they should hire them. They’re not going to hire someone that would cause harm to the company or business because their integrity and/or profits are on being risked with the hiring of these employees of nepotism. I think handouts are okay in society. Maybe it is because I benefited from a handout, but I think people should be able to take advantage of opportunities given to them. Maybe other people are more qualified, but if the person can perform the job given to them well and fits in with the company than I see no problem in nepotism or affirmative action. Sun, 24 Mar 2013 22:46:11 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2013/03/21/voices-from-the-classroom-274/#IDComment603349544 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2013/03/16/voices-from-the-classroom-273/#IDComment598120824 This is kind of a sensitive topic because if you say America should stop giving aid to Haiti, you are essentially saying you are against helping others, which comes across as being sort of selfish. On the other hand, if you say America should keep giving aid to Haiti, you are blind to the fact that the aid does not necessarily prove helpful to the people of Haiti. After hearing Sam’s lecture and thinking about it for a while, I think that it is probably best that America should stop giving out aid to Haiti. If Haiti is being negatively affected by the aid, then why would we even want to waste our money and resources? The farmers in Haiti would be able to prosper much more if America was not selling our cheap rice to Haitians. We take away the demand for their rice, and when there is no demand, there is no sell. And when there is no sell, there is no profit, and the farmers lose money and fall into poverty. America pretty much made them a monopoly of rice being sold to Haiti. The government has laws against monopolies in order to prosper our own economy, but when it comes to other countries’ economic situations, they are blind in seeing the hypocrisy of their actions. It seems ironic at first that our aid hurts another country, but when looking at the details it actually makes a lot of sense. Not only is the aid negatively affecting Haiti, it is also having a negative affect on America. If our aid is hurting more than it is helping, then we are wasting our own time, money, and resources. We could spend more efforts rebuilding our own economy back to large amounts of prosperity. We could give aid to other countries that will actually prove to be much more beneficial than giving to Haiti. There are countless other projects, issues, etc. that could be handled with the money and resources being somewhat wasted on sending aid to Haiti. But instead we waste time, money, and resources on what seems to prove to be a lost cause. People rarely look into things like this, so when people hear that aid is being given today they say that it is good and move on with their every day lives. It takes people who investigate every single implication of actions of our government to uncover the real situation around the world. When this sort of issues are revealed to more of the public around the country, I am sure much more people will agree with me in saying that the United States should probably stop giving aid to Haiti in an effort to not only help their country, but help our own as well. Mon, 18 Mar 2013 02:26:09 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2013/03/16/voices-from-the-classroom-273/#IDComment598120824 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2013/03/01/voices-from-the-classroom-264/#IDComment591957110 I think that the reason people sensor themselves is different with every person because every person is raised differently. If a person is raised to respect every person no matter what their race, ethnicity, etc. is, then they are more likely to sensor themselves out of respect for others. Today, it has become the norm to treat everyone fairly, so most parents presently are teaching their children to see everyone equally. When children are raised with that mindset, it is most likely that they will keep that mindset throughout their lives. These people do not really even need to sensor themselves because they never have anything negative to say about other people. Sometimes, though, those people may have negative thoughts about individuals or groups of people. Because of their upbringing, they still have respect for every person no matter what their background or race is, so they sensor themselves out of respect. They care about the feelings of the other person and respect the fact that they are human beings as well. Society has grown to be very critical of people who publically make racist comments in a negative fashion. When people make these comments, especially publically, they receive a lot of criticism from the public and damage their reputations. This growing amount of criticism is a good thing. People fear the criticism they will get if they make these negative racist comments, so they will refrain themselves from saying anything in that sense. Also, if a racist comment is made toward someone of a certain minority, that person may possibly respond or retaliate in an aggressive fashion whether it is through yelling and screaming or doing physical harm. That is another reason why people are scared to make racist comments. Censoring oneself, though, does not exactly solve the racism problem because he or she still has these racist thoughts being kept in. The key to solving the racism problem is to change the mindset of those who have racist values. Even though people may sensor themselves when talking, they still have racist thoughts and views towards minorities. They may not be taking action or speaking poorly about minorities, but the fact that they have to sensor themselves is wrong in itself. With that negative mindset, you never know when they will do or say something racist later on even though they do not say anything at the present moment. Having everyone with a positive mindset towards racism is the way to ensure a true solution to racism as a problem in our society. To answer the question I think most people these days sensor themselves out of respect because society has grown to accept minorities as equal, so the general mindset of people in our society is positive towards minorities. Mon, 11 Mar 2013 02:53:19 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2013/03/01/voices-from-the-classroom-264/#IDComment591957110 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2013/02/21/voices-from-the-classroom-257/#IDComment578503988 If I were to wake up one day to every newspaper and news channel reporting that G-d does not exist I do not think it will change my life or lifestyle at all. Do not get me wrong. I am Jewish and I believe there is a G-d somewhere around us. Religion, though, is not such an important part of my life to me at this point in my life. I think because I am a college student and I am busy with classes and involvement with organizations. I also spend a lot of time focusing on recruitment for a career after school, so it is hard to dedicate my time practicing my religion regularly. I wish I would be able to practice my religion a lot more, but it is hard to right now. Hearing the news would not have a large negative impact on my life. It would, though, make me fear death a lot more. If G-d does not exist then there probably would not be a place for our “souls” to go once we die, so would that mean death is the last thing we ever get to experience. I try to believe in G-d, so I can have a sense of security in my head for when I do die. Its hard to think about where we go after death, but believing that there is someone watching over all of us to keep our souls safe after death is reassuring. It is also a good feeling to believe that G-d is watching over me and protecting me from dangers or sickness. I think the reason people practice religion is so they can feel safe and protected from hardships in life. People pray to G-d for his protection and a reassurance for them to have a reassurance for after death. There would be a lot of criticism of the news that G-d does not exist. Many people who are very devout in their religion would be extremely upset at this notion. Even if this information is discovered, it might be best if was not released to the public. There would be a lot of controversy that would follow because of how important G-d is to their lives. People will go to extreme measures to ensure that what they believe in is the correct belief. This is evident all throughout history in events like the Crusades and the Holocaust. It is a shame that people are willing to fight over beliefs and religion that they are not even sure that what they believe in really exists, like G-d. I, though, would not be so offended by the news. My personal reaction would be to keep living out my life the way I have except I will have to play it a little safer. Sun, 24 Feb 2013 21:30:34 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2013/02/21/voices-from-the-classroom-257/#IDComment578503988 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2013/02/14/voices-from-the-classroom-248/#IDComment573630452 I think that the reason that there is so much negativity towards Muslims is the fact that people are uneducated about the various different cultures and religions in this world and also that people are either too naïve to learn about other cultures and religions or just do not give a damn about anybody else besides themselves. When 9/11 struck the hearts of Americans across the United States, they looked for people to blame for this evil act of violence. When people learned that the men who crashed the planes were Muslims, they were quick to associate Muslims with terrorism. But why though? Islam is not as widespread across the United States as the other two large religions, Judaism and Christianity, so many Americans do not have the ability to experience the religion and learn about many similarities they have in common. The association of Islam with the terrorists combined with the lack of knowledge attained by Americans leads to a national negative mindset towards Muslim. It is unfair, but that is how society works. Another factor that leads to why Americans have little knowledge of the Islam religion leading to the dislike of Muslims is the fact that many Americans are naïve to the fact that there are other ways of life out there that may be different, but are still peaceful, sociable, and other good qualities of a society. Many Americans do not travel outside of the United States because they have no need to see other cultures and experience different lifestyles across the world. Many just think their way of life is the correct way and every one else is wrong, so they do not just feel negatively towards Muslims, but actually towards many different people around the world. If Americans possibly took the time to learn more about other cultures, then they would be able to learn more about other people and understand what they are all about and that there are not that many differences between themselves. Due to the lack of knowledge Americans have about Muslims, they are forced to make assumptions about Muslims due to just one action of one Muslim. This one action permanently sets this view into Americans’ minds because it is the only act they can draw back on when they think about Muslims. It does not matter if the act is positive or negative. That one action can determine how a person thinks about an entire race, religion, ethnicity, or group for the rest of their lives. If only Americans were able to stop being naïve, learn about other cultures and religions, and accept them for who they are then the negative perception of Muslims may some day never exist again. Mon, 18 Feb 2013 00:08:03 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2013/02/14/voices-from-the-classroom-248/#IDComment573630452 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2013/01/23/voices-from-the-classroom-233/#IDComment568299855 I think racism is defined as putting a person or a group of people down because of their race or ethnicity. Putting someone one down can be a numerous amount of actions. When someone is kept from getting a job because of his or her race or ethnicity is racism He or she may be a better candidate, but he or she can’t better his or herself with a job due to his or her race or ethnicity. It is an unfair way to make decisions when they are made based on race, so that is one important aspect of racism. Another way one can be put down due to racism is by treating someone poorly because of his or her race or ethnicity. This could include making racist comments towards him or her, excluding him or her from activities or groups, or hurting him or her physically or mentally because of his or her race or ethnicity. Putting that person down in these ways is racism because it takes advantage of his or her differences in his or her race or ethnicity and puts those differences in a negative connotation. This hurts the person emotionally and/or physically, so it cannot be accepted in society. This is why racism is known as a problem to our society. As for the comedian in a comedy club example, I don’t see that as much as racism than my examples above. Generally when comedians, television shows, movies, etc. make those jokes about a race or ethnicity, they will make jokes or comments about a multitude of different races and ethnicities. They don’t specifically pick on one group and make fun at them. My thought on this is that people should have the ability to laugh at themselves or laugh at generalizations made about them because most of the time they are just ridiculous which makes the jokes funny. Having the humility to laugh at yourself is what can make society a lot more peaceful. This could decrease the amount of racism in our society because people will get a lot less offended by harmless little jokes that don’t define what our society thinks of different people. Racism is how people keep others down and hurt them physically and emotionally. It is definitely a problem in our society, but when you think about it our country has improved a great amount. We have come a long way since there was segregation, a very demeaning form of racism. We have come an even longer way since there was slavery, one of the worst forms of racism. Our society has built laws that makes racism very hard to remain prevalent in our society, so hopefully in the future racism will be almost non existent. Mon, 11 Feb 2013 02:53:25 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2013/01/23/voices-from-the-classroom-233/#IDComment568299855 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2013/01/31/voices-from-the-classroom-237/#IDComment562158254 I personally think that how a person celebrates his or her ethnicity and race is the most important aspect of race. Knowing and celebrating the culture of your race and ethnicity shows your pride for who you are. Your race and culture is an important part of your identity, so you never want to be embarrassed of who you are. For example, I am Italian. I am proud of my ethnicity and I try as much as I can to demonstrate my pride. Many Sundays in Boston, there are festivals and feasts for saints in the North End. The North End is the Little Italy of Boston, so mostly Italians attend the festivals. Every chance I get, I drive into Boston to enjoy the festivals and celebrate by Italian pride. Celebrating your ethnicity does not just have to be observing holidays and festivals common in your ethnicity’s culture, though. I love eating Italian food and I always suggest going to Italian restaurants when going to dinner with friends. I demonstrate my Italian pride by just simply enjoying the food common to my ethnicity and promoting it to my friends. As for perception of people because of their race I personally do not judge or make perceptions of people based on their race because I know not to judge a book by it’s cover. Many people say this, but are not being truthful. A lot of people have perceptions of people based on race because of stereotypes that society has built. It is very unfortunate, but that is just what society has done to people’s perceptions. Stereotypes cloud people’s perceptions of everyone. When people meet a black person, they think he or she is good at sports. When people meet an Asian, they think he or she is good at math. These perceptions are not always true, so people have false perceptions of others all the time. Another important factor in how people perceive each other is how they carry themselves and how they act around people. Whether they like it or not people represent their race and ethnicity based on how they carry themselves. If a person makes of fool of himself or herself, they create a negative perception towards their race and ethnicity. It is not fair that this happens, but that is just how society works. People make conclusions about a whole group of people based on one person’s actions because they connect that person to the entire group. It is hard to determine the most important aspect of a person that affects people’s perceptions, but I would definitely have to say how you demonstrate your pride in your race or ethnicity affects my perceptions of you the most. Mon, 4 Feb 2013 02:18:18 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2013/01/31/voices-from-the-classroom-237/#IDComment562158254 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2013/01/23/voices-from-the-classroom-230/#IDComment555584910 Race specific scholarships are not racist at all. I am very confused why that kid said he feels uncomfortable when scholarships are offered to just black people. If anything, you should be grateful that you are applicable to apply for these scholarships. I am a Caucasian male, so I am not able to apply for these scholarships. I could say that keeping me out of applying for one of the scholarships is racist because I am not allowed to apply because of the color of my skin. But I don’t say that. I never would because I recognize that minority scholarships are good for society to allow for equality for everyone. Sometimes, though, I feel as though I am at a disadvantage because I am white. I understand that it is proven that Caucasians seem to be more successful in society, but I am seeing more and more opportunities for minorities to get a competitive advantage. Large companies offer internships to those of a minority, allowing them to get ahead in the professional world. These internships can be offered as early as after their sophomore year of college. For me, though, I am not able to get an internship until after my junior year because that is the guidelines these large companies have. How is it fair that a person of minority can attain an internship a full year before me? What if I am more qualified than the minority candidate? I am not saying I think the scholarships, internships, and other opportunities for minorities are unfair and should not be allowed. I just do not like to hear a black person say those minority opportunities are racist when they can help you be successful and get ahead. I cannot see how just because the scholarships are meant for just black people, or Hispanic people, or any other minority means that it is racist. Giving opportunities to minorities is probably the exact opposite of racism. It is promoting equality and equal opportunity for everyone no matter what race they are. It does not make sense why someone would see that as being racist. Even when BlackPeopleMeet.com was brought up as being racist, I was confused. A lot of black people just want to meet and date other black people. That is not racist in the least bit. It gives people what they want, and does not single people out for being black. If anything, it embraces people’s race and their desire to meet and date others of the same race. If it was a white person who said this and pointed out the scholarships and everything else I talked about were racist towards white people or other minorities not included, I would not agree, but I could understand their argument. The fact that a black person said this really confused me because the scholarships and everything else benefits them and other minorities. Sun, 27 Jan 2013 21:07:50 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2013/01/23/voices-from-the-classroom-230/#IDComment555584910 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2013/01/18/voices-from-the-classroom-228/#IDComment549387960 I think the general United States population makes a lot of assumptions when talking about famous people. When they hear different things about a person, they’ll make assumptions about that person’s character and way of life. For instance, I don’t know how many people feel about this, but I think Barack Obama’s name sounds like it is a Muslim name. I think that might have something to do with how people view him. Names are obviously an important part of peoples’ identity, and your name can say a lot about you. Peoples’ last names in particular are signs of their ethnicity or religion, so when one has a last name like Obama that sounds from Muslim descent, many people are going to make assumptions about where he is from and his religion. Many times it is people who don’t stay updated with current events, so they never get the chance to learn basic, good to know facts. People, I feel, like to look for something or someone to criticize. It’s not very hard to criticize the President because it is a very difficult job, so there a bound to be mistakes made. Picking apart every issue with a President is inevitable. Because of events involving Muslims in the United States in the past years, Americans may make assumptions towards all Muslims that they are against America and democracy, and cause a threat to Americans. Once again, assumptions lead Americans to criticize other people. The two assumptions about Muslims and the fact that Barack Obama is Muslim cause the criticism towards Obama. Until Barack Obama, the United States has only had white presidents. When Obama took office, there was a change in the government that could be felt around the country. Having a president of color really challenges the status quo of presidents of our country. Many people across the country appose changing the status quo, so they will either lose interest in following politics or criticize political decisions challenging the status quo. When they lose interest in politics, they become uneducated about the current events and will just assume Obama is Muslim because of his name. When they criticize those challenging the status quo, they might become stubborn and make assumptions even though they may know they are false. Either way, Obama challenging the status quo indirectly causes people to make assumptions about him. I also think that because there is a separation of church and state in our country, religion is not a factor in determining who our political leaders are. Because politicians’ religion doesn’t hold a lot of weight in politics, it does not come up while discussing politics between people. It is also not displayed as much in the media, so some people may just not have heard that he is actually Christian, so they will assume he is Muslim when they hear his name. Sun, 20 Jan 2013 21:15:33 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2013/01/18/voices-from-the-classroom-228/#IDComment549387960