This is a good idea, but I don't think it would solve anything. The immigrants that would be sent back would probably just come to America illegally again. And there's no efficient way of keeping track of how long someone's been in the country. I think a lot of people would get lost in the paperwork and immigrants would probably not bother to register and still just sneak in illegally.

I’m divided on the issue of immigration. Sure it’s right and moral to give everyone a chance at a successful life in America, but it also takes away jobs from me and my family. The main objective of an immigrant is to make money and provide for his or her family, and that’s the same objective that American’s have for their families. Isn’t that the American dream? If we deny everyone the right to immigrate here, it really says something about our government. We criticize Cuba for not letting anyone in and anyone out, but not allowing immigrants into the United States would put us down on their level. Also, not all immigrants come her illegally. I understand why those who come here illegally have to. The government makes it very hard for an immigrant to get into the country, and a lot of the immigrants don’t have the time or the money to do it legally. I can also understand your frustration on competing for a summer job, but I think you need to be a little more open minded about why that’s happening. You can’t just blame it on illegal immigrants, there are a lot of factors. We now have to compete against adults who maybe got laid off, or can’t afford to be retired anymore and need to work a job that would otherwise be mostly filled by people our age. Bottom line is, we would still have trouble finding a summer job even if there weren’t any “his or her illegal immigrants,” what does that even mean?
Where I’m from, there’s this part of town that everyone calls ‘little Mexico’ because it is predominantly Mexican immigrants. A lot of them work for the landscaping and lawn care companies and I can honestly say they are probably the hardest working people in my town. A lot of companies hire them because, yea they’ll work cheap but it’s a tough economy and businesses have to get through it no matter what. I’m not saying hiring illegal immigrants is right, but if given the choice between a high schooler who would get paid minimum wage (which I think is $7.25 in Pennsylvania) or an illegal immigrant who you could pay under the table, I’m thinking a lot of people would chose the route that’d save them money. Above all, I would pick the worker I know would work the hardest. And a lot of immigrants feel that they need to work hard to prove themselves, not because they just want to send money back to their families (which probably doesn’t really happen).
Also, I think the last thing you wrote about needing to worry about our country first, I just think that’s selfish. Yea, we as human beings tend to look out for ourselves above others but just turning your back on someone who needs help is wrong. Like Sam said in class, treat others the way you would like to be treated. I guess I’m not really divided anymore, I believe the immigration system needs to be revised to make it easier for people to become citizens and work legally.

We talked about this issue in my recitation class today. It was funny because my class only has four guys, and two of them are our teaching assistants. But when one of the other girls asked them kind of the same question, a lot of the guys seemed to get uncomfortable. We were talking about what defines American society and somehow it turned in to a discussion about clothes and Sam’s comment about having clothes picked for you and dressing for others. The girl asked our TA if guys were the same way, and if a guy would ever compliment another guy about his clothing. At first, it seemed like all the guys in our class were like ‘hands down no way.’ But after talking about it for a while it became clearer that guys would never compliment another guy, they would only compliment the piece of clothing. For example, instead of saying ‘yo man, that shirt looks good on you,’ it’s more acceptable to say ‘dude, that’s a fresh shirt.’ On the other hand, I think girls are more open to complimenting other girls because we know how good it feels to be complimented and we want to spread that feeling. I don’t want to speak for guys, but personally I think it has more to do with looking masculine and tough. If you compliment someone it’s kind of like revealing a weakness that your jealous, or not jealous but want something you don’t have and they do… My brothers are really funny about this subject. One of them, Brent, is so into his appearance and how other people think he looks. He’ll buy the most expensive pair of vans he can find just to say he own them. But my other brother, Tyler, just rolls out of bed and puts on his lax shorts from practice the night before. Sometimes, when they think they’re alone, Brent will make comments about Tyler’s clothes and say things like ‘why don’t you let me take you shopping,’ or ‘I have the best dickies shirt that would go with those jeans.’ I guess personality plays a big part in it too, because Brent is definitely the more outgoing of the two while Tyler is more reserved and would prefer not to draw attention to himself. I guess from a female’s perspective it doesn’t seem like guys try to conform to society but I can’t think of on guy who would go through the ridicule of his friends to be individual and dress like he wants to dress. So guys definitely conform in some ways, whether it be how his group of friends dress or how his girl friend would want him to dress.

I remember reading in ‘Disposable People’ that selling young girls for sex was popular in Thailand, and I’m wondering if that’s the case in Japan too. I think that if what sociologists believe, that media mimics society, is true than the situations depicted in this video game must be more common in Japan. If that’s the case then we don’t really have any jurisdiction to order them to change things, it’s really none of our business. This game isn’t being sold in the United States, although you can download the full game online, so it’s not our problem. But knowing that there are people out there who find this sort of video game fun and entertaining is sickening. I know it’s just an animation but the thought behind the actions is what grosses me out. I wouldn’t like knowing that my boyfriend or my brother enjoyed going home after class and playing ‘rapelay.’ It definitely says a lot about a person. I think all these types of games should be banned, including killing games like Grand Theft Auto. But then the question of war games, ‘Call of Duty’ and ‘Medal of Honor’, should be banned too. It’s an endless circle of what’s considered morally right.

I don’t know if gaming in Japan is like America, where there’s an entertainment software rating board (ESRB) that restricts certain things and creates ratings for the games but after the controversy over this game, I bet there will be one developed. What I don’t understand is how this hasn’t been brought to everyone’s attention when it was released in Japan, it had to be posted on youtube and somehow stumbled over to be brought to the attention of CNN. I guess culture in Japan is different, I’m pretty sure that women aren’t seen as equals as we are here in the United States. This game is just a way to say that men still have control over women and women are at their disposal.

Wow. I never knew anything like this existed. I definitely think this game crosses the line, they couldn’t even show some of the scenes on CNN because they were so graphic! I don’t think this game will be an “outlet for potential rapists.” It basically is a ‘How To’ on raping girls. But I can’t say I’m surprised. Who knows, in Japan they could be looking at America’s Grand Theft Auto games and be outraged about that. I’ve heard before that in Japan they have sexual graphic novels and comic books depicting girls being raped but this video game takes it to a whole new level! I also remember reading somewhere that the media (video games, television shows, music) reflects society instead of influencing society. So obviously some messed up person knew they could make money off of a game like this and decided to develop it.

On the ethnocentrism subject, I think it’s extremely hard to step outside of your shoes and experience the world in someone else’s way. Sure we can travel to other underdeveloped countries to give them aid but living like they do for a summer or a year only gives us insight into their lives for that small amount of time. There is no way for someone to truly understand someone else’s life, that’s why I don’t think guys would understand a girl having her period. And they never will because they’ll never experience it. I think a lot of the people in class got so worked up because they didn’t want to hear about girls having their periods, where I was sitting a lot of girls even cringed. I can’t tell you why talking about periods and boners in our society is considered unacceptable and I don’t want to say ‘that’s just the way it is,’ but really, that’s just the way it is. Sam did a good job of asking us that question and it obviously produced a good response. It got me thinking, and I think it got a lot of other people thinking too.

I don’t think people are “truly resistant to thinking about something,” I think people enjoy thinking about ‘deep’ subjects but wouldn’t fess up to it. I, personally, ask myself questions like this once and a while. When something is truly astounding and worth thinking further about, I think people will talk about it. That’s how we get smarter! You can take questioning things too far though. The only example I can think of is in religion. That’s when you’re supposed to have faith, and trust what you are being told. I bet a lot of politicians wish it was like this for them too, but since the beginning of time, if you’re being told something, you have to question ‘why.’ Sam’s class is an hour and a half of asking that question and I believe a lot of people appreciate that. He’s really made me realize that I should be asking more questions and questioning why things are the way they are. Most importantly, not accepting ‘that’s just the way it is’ as an answer.

On the ethnocentrism subject, I think it’s extremely hard to step outside of your shoes and experience the world in someone else’s way. Sure we can travel to other underdeveloped countries to give them aid but living like they do for a summer or a year only gives us insight into their lives for that small amount of time. There is no way for someone to truly understand someone else’s life, that’s why I don’t think guys would understand a girl having her period. And they never will because they’ll never experience it. I think a lot of the people in class got so worked up because they didn’t want to hear about girls having their periods, where I was sitting a lot of girls even cringed. I can’t tell you why talking about periods and erections in our society is considered unacceptable and I don’t want to say ‘that’s just the way it is,’ but really, that’s just the way it is. Sam did a good job of asking us that question and it obviously produced a good response. It got me thinking, and I think it got a lot of other people thinking too.

I agree that questioning is the best way to learn but there are some questions you just don’t ask. I didn’t get upset about the whole period or “bleeding” comment but I kept thinking of more examples that fall into the same category. Like guys getting an erection for example. That’s something natural that occurs yet guys don’t go around talking about it. Most guys are embarrassed about it just like a lot of girls are embarrassed if their tampons leak and they get a huge spot on the butt of their jeans. I think comparing the race issue to this is a completely separate discussion. I think people didn’t talk about how blacks were oppressed because they knew what they were doing was wrong but didn’t know how to change it.