en-us https://www.intensedebate.com/users/5380550 Comments by jquintana21 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2012/12/07/voices-from-the-classroom-220/#IDComment514938398 When I first saw the image in class I didn’t initially see the signs and I just thought everybody was wearing stereotypical outfits and that was it. Then once I seen the signs I began to take a bit more offense to the whole situation. Especially from my perspective as a Hispanic student on campus, I was particularly displeased with the picture. I truly believe it was done as just a joke and without malicious intent, but nonetheless people are responsible for their actions and need to be held accountable as such. The signs really were just so blatantly careless and gave no thought to the feelings that others outside the group may have. What makes them so offensive is just that there are millions of people who come here each year to seek an opportunity to better themselves and their families and as a society we just stereotype them as grass cutters and weed smokers. With that in mind to have a Mexican themed party and have those signs in the picture just make this seem extremely ignorant and insensitive. I think it is rather clear that the extent of this situation would not have been as severe had the signs not been present in the photo. Unfortunately for the girls of this sorority the signs were present and the sorority has unfortunately been made an example of. In today’s society you need to be careful with what you do especially if it is going to be on the internet. I am amazed that still so many people still put pictures like this or drunk pictures on Facebook and expect no repercussions. Whether or not everyone thinks it is offensive, the signs were clearly inappropriate and obviously offensive to a lot of people. I think people need to understand why this is being made into such a big deal and try to understand where those offended are coming from. I have seen a lot of comments saying that this is being made into way too big of a deal, but it is much easier to say that when you are not invested in the Mexican community. If this was about Puerto Ricans and made a comment along the lines of all Puerto Ricans being lazy, alcoholics, and/or women abusers I would be really irate, just as many people from the Mexican community are about this issue. So I am very understanding as to why this is being made into a big deal. The issue is more than just a group of sorority girls having an innocent party, but more importantly a cultural unawareness and insensitivity towards other cultures. It is key that we as a people take more initiative towards trying to be more understanding of each other and each others’ cultures. If we can do that we can hopefully avoid situations like these down the road. Mon, 10 Dec 2012 04:19:17 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2012/12/07/voices-from-the-classroom-220/#IDComment514938398 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2012/12/01/voices-from-the-classroom-217/#IDComment508330378 I think the difficulties of interracial dating stem from a few different areas. In my opinion, the reason interracial dating is mostly based on outside influences on individuals. For example, I think one main reason interracial dating is difficult is because of the way that the parties involved think that their families and close friends will be judgmental of the decision. People in today’s society are very concerned with what other people think, moreover many other people never shy to throw in their opinions on other people’s lives and decisions. This can make it very difficult to go against what the other people may think, especially if they are people who are important to you like your family, particularly your parents. Another example is because of the general feeling it may give off to other people of your particular culture. I think this is very relevant for all people involved in potential interracial couples not just black or white. I know that there are areas where I am from where the neighborhoods are almost all Asian or Indian, there are some that are almost all white, and even some that are predominantly black. I think just shows that people who are of the same culture not only tend to but even to a degree try to stick together and preserve their culture. I know there are kids from my high school who deliberately did not even consider dating people of other cultures due to the way that they were raised and more likely because of the way their parents were raised. It would not be as simple as bringing home a white guy to a neighborhood and household that was all Asian. It is sad that in the world we live in today this is still an issue, but people, especially foreign cultures, pride themselves on that such culture and do not want their to be any diluting of their culture. I think a final reason causing interracial dating to be far more than difficult than it should be is that we a people look so much into stereotypes. People today love to gossip and say this and that and a lot of what people say sticks in others minds. People may say that stereotypes don’t mean anything to them but in the back of all of our minds we think about them to some degree, it is simply too hard not to. In all fairness, stereotypes do come from some bits of truth but for the overwhelming majority they are great exaggerations. These stereotypes can be sometimes difficult to get around though and that can create barriers between people of difference cultures that may often time not be easy to overcome. As a whole, I think people have gotten a little better in recent history at breaking down the barriers but there is still definitely work to be done. People need to be more concerned with finding a good person to make them happy, not a someone who has to be the same race as you and nobody else. Mon, 3 Dec 2012 03:43:38 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2012/12/01/voices-from-the-classroom-217/#IDComment508330378 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2012/11/15/voices-from-the-classroom-211/#IDComment493749441 I found the video lecture to be an extremely interesting and mind opening one. I do greatly wish that we could have received this lecture in person, but either way it was an extremely informative class. Personally, being a broadcast journalism major I find it interesting to discuss how media portrays certain things whether it is in this country or in another. It is really quite crazy at times how we can be so heavily swayed by the media and not even notice it. I agree that we as a nation generally have a very negatively skewed view of the Middle East and we may always due to the media. I honestly have almost never thought of or even considered the real view of our country in the eyes of those in the Middle East. I typically assumed that they I had a fairly negative view of our country as a whole similar to the way we are made to think of them. At the same time, I have heard accounts from men and women who have served in these countries and say that the people are on a large scale grateful to have our troops there. This may be true, but we viewed some pretty striking evidence in class that, looking at from the eyes of a muslim, would not make me happy to have these people in my country. The video of the soldiers running over the car of the man who they claimed was “looting” wood from his neighbor is pretty eye-opening. It is really a bit of a culture shock for me and I am sure many people. I realize that is not the behavior of the majority of the troops but to think it is even taking place is quite disappointing. Additionally, the video with the Christian camp was also a bit shocking too. I am very religious and even for me that video was extremely radical and even a bit uncomfortable. I would have never thought that we are being portrayed to other nations as the type of people who engage in activity such as that demonstrates. Clearly that is such a small, minute group of people and that is exactly why it is so important to see that, because that is exactly what our media portrays the entire Middle East as. We are shown radicals and extremists but seldom do we see a group of muslims engaging in some type of daily behavior or even some type of good deeds. It is unfortunate to me that media in any country has such a strong hold over the minds of its people. I greatly appreciated the message that Sam was speaking on in the video and think it is one that needs to be seen and understood by everyone not just a few people. Sun, 18 Nov 2012 02:54:02 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2012/11/15/voices-from-the-classroom-211/#IDComment493749441 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2012/11/11/voices-from-the-classroom-206/#IDComment487702292 As I was watching the video in class I was in utter amazement. To think there are still people in our world today who can live a life like that is amazing. I think we need to make people like that more known. If it were not for this class, I probably would have never heard of Jorge Muñoz and I think that is a shame. We all know the biggest athletes and movie stars and even biggest criminals of the time, but the people who are normal people like you and I doing great things in this world seem to get unnoticed very often. I think this man is living a lifestyle that Jesus would be proud of and would love to see more live. That is not to say that Mr. Muñoz is perfect, because he by no means is, but he is living a very selfless life. He is living more for others than himself, which is an amazing quality that far too little people today exemplify, particularly like Jorge does. I was truly touched by the actions of Jorge Muñoz as we watched that video and it really made me want to join him in his efforts. I always feel inspired to do better for others when I see people like Jorge Muñoz. To see someone so clearly touched by God and doing the work of the Lord I cannot help but want to join him in his journey. It is rather crazy to think that we all have the capability to do something like Muñoz. He lives within his means, he even spends less on himself than he needs too. We could all spend a little less money on going out to eat, material possessions, or going out on the weekends and use the money for things like Muñoz does. Unfortunately, we do not all do more than we do now. Of course I understand Muñoz is a special kind of person, and it takes a person with an unlimited amount of dedication, determination, and love for others and God to be able to do what Jorge does. That being said we could as individuals and groups like we are doing for the Haiti Project do more to live like men and women like Muñoz on a daily basis. Muñoz is not Jesus by any means but he is blessed by God, in my opinion, with a heart concerned more for others than himself. If we can each strive a little bit to bring ourselves to be more concerned with bettering ourselves, as well as our fellow man, we can all be a little bit more like Jorge Muñoz. That would be a way to follow in the footsteps and live a life that Jesus would want and be proud of. Mon, 12 Nov 2012 04:55:28 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2012/11/11/voices-from-the-classroom-206/#IDComment487702292 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2012/11/01/voices-from-the-classroom-201/#IDComment480517939 I think the issue with rape, pregnancy, and abortion is an extremely tough one. I truly do understand both sides and do have empathy for the situation. Under normal circumstances I am against abortion entirely. There are a few reasons for that. One is being religion and that is an important one for me but it is not the only one. And I think it is important to note again that I am open minded and that is why I struggle so much with the issue of abortion in rape cases. I have discussed this issue with my parents actually because my mother is totally against abortions and my father is not as strong against them. He does not support them but he always brings up the rape situation and that is where I just really struggle to fully decide at this point. I think this case should be the only exception. I think that abortions should not be permitted unless it is in the case if a rape victim. I know people can argue at what point a human life form is formed and that also plays into the way in which people decide their beliefs on this. To me I believe once conception is made a life is present. Maybe I am wrong but that is simply my beliefs and I plan on sticking to them. I know if it was someone I loved like my mother, or sister, or my girlfriend I would be devastated and I would not tell them I think they do not deserve the right to decide what to do with their bodies and their lives. At the same time though, I honestly would not immediately tell them to abort the child. I know to some that may be crazy but it I know I can honestly say that. I know it would take an extremely strong woman to do that and one who really is not willing to go through an abortion. I know my mom is the closest I can think to an example of this kind of woman. She too is extremely against abortions and does not support them at all, but I think she would consider also having an exception in this case for most women. Now finally, I would like to present my strongest reason that I and my mother are against abortions, and I intentionally saved it for the very end so I could really give my reasoning a good anchor. The reason my mother and I are both pretty much entirely against abortions is because 3 years prior to me being born, when my parents were not married, my mother got pregnant and my father, who already had two daughters from his previous marriage, told my mother he did not want anymore children and that she needed to get rid of the child. So my mom, who at that time was a much different woman than she was those 20 some years ago, went and had an abortion. She admitted to me it was one the greatest regrets of her life, it haunted her for 20 some years. And three years after her abortion my mother became pregnant again with me, at this point my parents obviously both three years older and still unmarried, were not looking to have a kid. So again my father told my mom that he wanted no more kids and she needed to take care of it again. This time though she fought back and refused and it caused a lot of strife between my parents for years, and I think throughout their whole marriage it was always in the back of my mom’s mind. So if my mom was not such a strong woman and refused to do as my father demanded I would not be here to write this blog entry. Therefore, I simply cannot support abortion, I am open minded to the rape victims and their unique scenarios, but I am not even able to say I believe they should automatically abort it. That is the only scenario I give exception to though. Sun, 4 Nov 2012 20:04:58 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2012/11/01/voices-from-the-classroom-201/#IDComment480517939 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2012/10/25/voices-from-the-classroom-195/#IDComment475284266 I thought our discussion on what the true reality and meaning of latent discrimination was really interesting and it helped me get a better grasp of the topic of discrimination in our culture today I believe. I think that the implications made by all this is the fact that inside of everybody there is a tendency to side more with something they are comfortable with or they also more likely to find fault in something they are not as used to. For example, in the video with the two teenage guys pretending to attempt to steal the bike, by far and large more people went out of there way to question or even prevent the black teenager from getting away with the bike. Of course the majority of the people who stopped him were white adults. Granted I believe there were definitely some who would have stopped the white teenager too because they were just so determined to not let the bike be stolen, the majority of people found it more of an injustice when they seen the black teenager than the white. I do not think that this necessarily means that every single one of these people are racist, but it does lend itself to make one question why the numbers were so skewed. I think that is where the latent prejudice or discrimination comes into play. People are more likely to give the benefit of the doubt to someone who they can relate to more or they believe is closer to them. I am sure the results would have been relatively the same if it would have been a hispanic or middle eastern teenager rather than black. For me this was also seen in the example when Sam asked the different students if they would be willing to use the sperm or egg from a completely different raced person than them or their spouse. I think the majority of people would honestly prefer not to but no because they are racist but they simply want the child to resemble more of them and their spouse, which I think is understandable. I do not know if I could honestly say I would want my wife to be inseminated by a donor of a different race such as Asian or Indian because I am hispanic and she is white. I would just feel odd at first. Obviously at the end of the day once the child is born it would not make one ounce of a difference, but the initial thought for me would not be to prefer that. Again I’d like to think that does not make me racist but I do understand the point of the latent racism or discrimination. I think it really just implies that everybody inside has the likelihood to associate with what they are more comfortable and based on first impression which is typically the exterior appearance that makes people more likely to make judgments based on race. Mon, 29 Oct 2012 04:01:28 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2012/10/25/voices-from-the-classroom-195/#IDComment475284266 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2012/10/10/voices-from-the-classroom-180/#IDComment460994541 I think prior to our discussion in class I already understood that free will and determinism were intertwined, but I think that I definitely got a better understanding of how during class. Obviously, there are clear situations when one of these is more prevalent than the other, but I think it is very difficult to think that really only one of these factors makes up the events that happen in our lives. I personally tended to look more towards free will I believe prior to class, and honestly I still do only because I focus more on concerning myself with the things I can control. If it is something that I cannot control, which would then be more as a result of determinism than I try to not give it as much thought because I really cannot have much impact upon it. On the other hand, if it is a situation that is directly connected to a decision that I make I try to give it more thought and pay it more attention so that way I can feel confident that I am making the correct decision. For example, my parents divorce was not something that my free will could have really affected, obviously that is something I thought about a lot but I was young and did not fully understand the ramifications initially. As I aged and the reality began to set in I tried to worry about it less and just appreciate the relationships I had with each of my parents. Of course I had a lot of assistance from my parents on getting over it, but nonetheless that was clearly a situation of determinism rather than free will. Now from the opposite perspective, my choice to go to Penn State over Hofstra or TCU was more based on free will. Of course there are some factors of determinism included such as finances and things of that nature, but the main decision was up to me and my free will. I knew ahead of time what the involvement of my parents would be in paying back my college tuition so they left the decision more in my hands. That being said I could have chose to go to TCU which at the time I wanted to go to more than PSU, but I knew I would have had more to pay back after school. So obviously, I chose PSU and that was a decision I myself made. Again though, I do realize there are elements of both in each example. I enjoyed the discussion that came from class and being able to see things more in detail and I definitely agree and see the point that both factors are so intwined together very often they cannot be separated but I will still continue to focus slightly more on free will. Thu, 11 Oct 2012 20:35:05 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2012/10/10/voices-from-the-classroom-180/#IDComment460994541 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2012/10/07/voices-from-the-classroom-178/#IDComment457931063 I think there are many reasons why nobody raised there hand to proclaim there status as rich. I am honestly not terribly surprised that nobody raised their hand. More often than not, the topic of financial stability can be an uncomfortable one for people. Whether they are on the higher or lower end of the spectrum people still often do not prefer to really get into the topic. Due to this, there are a slew of reasons I believe people did not want to raise their hand. One main reason is because the perception it can give if someone quickly, willingly just raises their hand to say they are rich. The perception would not be a positive one most likely if people were to just raise their hand and say they are rich. It would make people think that they may feel superior or are stuck up. Obviously, by no means is this all true, but the fact remains that there is a very good chance that the majority of people would not react positively. I believe it has just become one of the things in our society we simply do not talk about. It is even a bit of a taboo to a degree. Another reason could be the way that people are raised. Some people just simply do not feel it is appropriate to share that they ave money and so they instill in their children a similar mindset. I know people who are either well off or rich depending on how you see things and the way they live their life you would never be able to tell. They are extremely humble, giving, and they do not own extremely lavish things. It also could depend on people’s perspective of what rich is. I am sure there is some figure that defines what makes people rich, but then where do you draw the line between rich and well off. I think many people who are upper class would consider themselves well off or comfortable but they would not classify themselves as rich. I think it really mostly comes down to the social stigma that the term rich has around it. The fact is that in the culture we live in so much of the way people act and behave is determined by the way that they think other people will receive their behavior. It is unfortunate that so many people live there lives based on that but it is really true. I think that if Sam would have presented that question as a clicker question where everybody’s responses would be anonymous then you would have had people responded and there would have been a small group of people who are wealthy or rich. Mon, 8 Oct 2012 03:41:44 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2012/10/07/voices-from-the-classroom-178/#IDComment457931063 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2012/09/27/voices-from-the-classroom-174/#IDComment452555947 I thought last class was really interesting. It raised a lot of very though provoking conversation. Initially upon seeing the picture of the girl from Ohio University, I was surprised but I honestly felt like there was a legitimate reason why she would have that appearance. Obviously it turned out that she does not shave or cut any of her hair for religious reasons. I may not be physically attracted to her but I have the highest respect for her and her lifestyle decisions. I truly wish I could be as dedicated to certain aspects of my religion. I do truly take my religion seriously and try my best to abstain from as much sin as I can but of course I have my vices. To fault someone for remaining true to their religious beliefs I think is a bit unfair and those types of thoughts should be kept to themselves. That being said I do not think that men today really force women to feel that they need to keep their appearance a certain way. I think that society as a whole has been this way for a long time and as time has gone by our culture has moved more towards an appearance based society. I do not think it is the best thing by any means but I also really do not think you can say it is men who solely drive women to think they need to shave their legs and armpits and so on. There are clearly girls and women in our culture today who are comfortable enough with themselves to make their own decisions and don’t regularly shave their legs and armpits. I think that is a perfectly respectable decision, but at the same time I do not think it makes me a lesser person for not finding that to be an attractive appearance. I would not disregard someone as a friend based on their appearance but I think it is ok for me to not prefer that in a girlfriend. I think the same also does go for girls to guys. Guys alter their appearance to be more aesthetically appealing to girls, it’s just the way our society functions. I do think that our society invests too much into appearance and what others think but it’s more or less all we know. It will take several generations of change to create a real overhaul to this type of mindset. I think it is a personal choice on how people choose to take care of their body. Some people may view their decisions on a solely religious point of view which deserves so much respect and others choose how to take care of themselves from a less deep mindset and that too is perfectly fine, it truly is what makes you happy that matters in the end. Mon, 1 Oct 2012 04:03:13 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2012/09/27/voices-from-the-classroom-174/#IDComment452555947 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2012/09/20/voices-from-the-classroom-169/#IDComment447228013 As I read the quote the first time believing it was made from the perspective of a spiritual leader to Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, I was a bit taken back. I felt a bit of uneasiness inside being as it was such a strongly worded comment. Honestly speaking, from a slight knowledge of Ahmadinejad, I did not feel terribly surprised that a comment of that type would be made from someone in his corner. I would not expect quite that harsh language persay but the main idea did not seem that surprising to me. Being a Christian I was a bit bothered at the way in which the quote was spun to make it seem as though the Christian faith was evil. That being said, once the true origin of the quote was revealed I was even more taken back. I think my level of surprise was even greater when we found out the comment was made by Franklin Graham, the spiritual advisor to President Bush because it was just very unexpected. When I really thought about it though, I was not terribly surprised about the comment, especially due to the timing of it. Now by no means am I justifying it or agreeing with it in any way, shape or form, but I found myself less surprised after I processed it a bit more. The comments were made only a few days after the 9/11 attacks and feelings toward the Middle East were so negative. It is very disappointing though to hear comments like these from any perspective. Even more so when it is coming from someone so near to the leader of our country. It is sad to think that comments like these are even a plausible thought in anybody’s mind in today’s world. As a person in a high position such as Graham, he should use more restraint when he puts himself in the public eye. Even more so because the comments he makes not only reflect himself, but the president of our country, and even the entire nation. In a time when relations between our nation and those in the Middle East are at a point of high tension comments like those could do nothing to benefit anybody. Making comments like that at anytime is really quite asinine and uncalled for. Moving forward, I hope that we can make some type of strides as a country to improve our relations with all other nations and as a people become more educated and familiar with other countries and cultures. All in all, these comments are extremely divisive and have absolutely no business being uttered by anybody, especially someone in a high position in our country or any other. Mon, 24 Sep 2012 02:37:43 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2012/09/20/voices-from-the-classroom-169/#IDComment447228013 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2012/09/07/voices-from-the-classroom-161/#IDComment437645781 I found last class to be very interesting on all accounts. As controversial as it was I thoroughly enjoyed being in such an environment, particularly compared to the typical classroom setting. That being said, I obviously do have my own feelings as to the controversy that was taking place. Being hispanic and knowing that the past and even present for all minorities is a struggle at times I can understand some people’s sensitivity to different terms that people may use, but at the same time I think we as individuals must take into account the context in which the terms are being used. In my opinion, it was extremely clear that the term “colored people” was by no means being used in an offensive or derogatory way. The question on the powerpoint said people of color and the girl just said colored people meaning people of color like the powerpoint, but she obviously had no intent of offending anyone. I think it is pretty clear she was a bit taken back at the fact that her simple phrasing of a term caused such a huge debate in the class and by no means did she try to cause any strife for anybody. Again I’d like to reiterate my understanding to a degree why some people were upset by it, but I think it is important to take everything in context and not blow things out of proportion. Unfortunately, not everyone in the world has a fully comprehensive understanding of what some people find politically correct, offensive, or appropriate. Because of that we as people, no matter what race, religion, or whatever need to try and be understanding that some people may just have an innocent slip of the tongue or make a simple mistake. I realize we live in a very provocative and sometimes offensive world but some things need to be taken with a grain of salt and just let go. One thing that did cross my mind during class though, is the fact that certain people freely use derogatory terms such as the “n” word or gay slurs and people seem to rarely have a problem with it, typically because they are people of certain minorities (more so for the “n” word obviously). For example, many black and even hispanic people freely use that word like other kids use the word “bro” or “dude” and a good portion of those particular minority youth have no problem with it, but when a caucasian or different minority race uses that term or even one like “colored people” more people would be inclined to have a problem with it. Although, many may not bring up there problem with it, it would at least linger in their mind more so than if a black or hispanic person used the “n” word. I just find it to be very interesting and a bit of confusing point for me. Obviously these are not all people but some, and again I just find it to be a very interesting part of our culture today, because I never hear two hispanic people refer to each other as “spic” but you do hear the “n” word dropped in casual conversation between mostly black and hispanic youth. I simply do not understand why it has become so common and accepted, yet people will be offended when someone of a far different race or background accidentally says something like “colored people” or “oriental” or someone does not know whether to refer to someone as “hispanic” or “latino”. All in all, I thought it was a very engaging, interesting class. Mon, 10 Sep 2012 03:46:13 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2012/09/07/voices-from-the-classroom-161/#IDComment437645781