How the videos and images of how the United State soldiers treated the Iraqi people make you feel? The videos that we viewed in class really changed my opinion of American soldiers. I once thought of them as heroes that could do no wrong and fought only for what is considered right and just. I saw them as morally upstanding citizens that would never hurt the innocent. After seeing the videos and images in class, however, I have come to realize that not all soldiers even American ones are perfect and kind. The videos shattered the sheer respect and honor I previously felt towards all United States soldiers. Especially shocking was the video of the American soldiers running the Iraqi car off of the road simply because they felt like it and thought that it would be funny. I couldn’t believe that they would just target some innocent citizens based solely on the fact that they were Iraqi people. It is no longer a mystery to me why many of the Iraqi people hate Americans and the fact that we are in their country. Now I understand that we are not just in their country to help or because we have to be to combat terrorism. We are there as invaders. I would share the same disdain towards the soldiers as the Iraqi citizens do. The video of the American soldiers running the car off of the road also makes me realize that they view the Iraqi people as beneath them. The soldiers also seem to have a blind hatred of all Iraqi people, even if they have done nothing to deserve their cruel treatment. The picture of the soldier tearfully holding the dead Iraqi child is a common image that comes to mind when I think of the war that is currently taking place overseas. I never considered that I may only be exposed to the images that the American government wants me to see in order to shape my views and make me believe that we as Americans are the ones who are doing the right thing and have respect for human life. The other images we saw in class of the American’s cruel and violent treatment of the Iraqi people made me realize that we are not as sublime as I had originally thought. The violence and degradation that the Iraqi people are experiencing at the hands of some of our American Troops is sickening. Sam’s lecture made me consider what it would be like if we were experiencing what the people of Iraq are going through. If I were in their position, I would likely grow to hate America as well. I hope that the people of Iraq realize that not all Americans behave with such cruelty just as we need to realize that not all Iraqi people are evil terrorists.

“Does money really not equal happiness?” This is a very multifaceted and extensive question to which I’m sure there are a myriad of responses and answers. Today, in response to this question my answer would have to be yes and no. “Money does not buy happiness” is a phrase that I’m sure many of us have heard at some point during our lifetime. I used to just blindly agree with this statement and I still do up to a certain point. However, there are some truths that can’t be avoided involving happiness and money. In today’s society, money is an integral part of our daily lives. As pointed out by a previous article that Sam posted on the soc blog page, money can help people to achieve happiness. For example, happiness is achieved in part by making memories and doing things with the people you love. Often these memories are made at restaurants, amusement parks, at the movies, or any number of other locations. The problem is that these places all involve the need of money to have the experience. Many passions and hobbies such as sports and traveling also require a great deal of money to be realized. Money also brings about a peace of mind. Whenever I have to worry about whether or not I can afford something and I have to consider sacrificing wants and even needs, it can be very stressful. I would much rather know that I can afford whatever it is that I want or need without worrying about if it will break the bank and leave me worse off. Earning money brings about a sense of accomplishment and pride in oneself that also is an element of happiness. We are all going to college with the hopes of landing a good job with good pay so that we can live comfortably and not have to stress about money problems. Not having money can certainly bring about a lot of unhappiness. If you struggle every day to put food on the table, clothes on your back, and to pay your rent or mortgage than you are certainly left wishing that you had more money to alleviate concerns and stresses. At the same time, however, money is not the end all solution to all problems. Money can’t buy you true love or friendship and it can’t always fix all human-to-human problems. Money can’t make us be happy with and accept ourselves. Also the desire for money can bring about unhappiness because it can cause a person to never be satisfied with what they have. This can bring about and endless cycle to get more and more which could cause us to miss out on life’s experiences and being content with what one does have.

If people are speaking a different language around you does it make you feel uncomfortable and why or why not? My knee jerk response would be to say no but that’s just the politically correct part of me that’s influenced by media talking. After talking about it in class, I’m unsure how to feel about people who speak another language around me. I encounter it almost every day on campus, but it’s still something I’m not completely used to yet. Truth is, I used to feel really nervous when people spoke in another language near me and I would always wonder, “What are they saying? Is it something that they don’t want me to hear?” I’ve even heard people get so paranoid as to think that they people speaking in another language were talking about them. Whenever I hear people speaking in a language other than English, I can’t help but to listen more closely to them and be distracted by them even if they are speaking at the same volume as everyone else in the area. I wonder if I am subconsciously trying to see if I can pick up on what it is that they are saying or if it is simply because it is something that I am not used to hearing everyday. Now that Sam made us consider putting ourselves in their situation, I realize that there are a few more possibilities. Likely, they are not trying to hide something they just simply are more comfortable speaking their native language. I never before considered how intimidating it would be to move to a completely different country where the native language is not your first language. If I were to go to another country where English is not the dominant language, I would likely seek out other English speakers and signs to make me feel less alone and out of place. They would also become necessary to help me get acclimated and find my way around a country that I have never lived in before. Perhaps, speaking in their native language helps them to connect to their home country when they are so very far away from it. Or they may not be speaking English in America because they are simply not as fluent as other English speakers and they are not as comfortable speaking it. I could even believe that there are a select few that actually enjoy when they hear people speaking another language, especially if it is one that they have studied in the past or are currently studying in college. I am currently in Spanish Three and when I overhear people speaking Spanish, I can’t help but to try to test my skills and see if I can make out any of what they are saying to each other.

When I first read the article about the senator’s vote to allow college clubs to have the right to exclude and refuse members, I immediately thought of sororities and fraternities. Recently, A friend of mine pledged and joined a sorority here at Penn State University. She told me the details of the process and that there is a very real chance that the sorority that you want to join will not choose you, thus not allowing membership. She said that they look for girls who look like and act like the girls that are already members and would assimilate into the group and share similar opinions. The thought of clubs doing the same did not seem that foreign to me at first. I thought that it made sense, because why would you want someone who doesn’t support your opinion or even who opposes your opinion to have representation in your group. As I continued reading, the article touched upon something that I had not originally considered: refusing members on the grounds of differences in physical appearance and sexual orientation. Excluding someone on those grounds would be an abuse of the power granted to them by their state senators. It is a very thin line to cross between excluding someone for not believing in the groups cause and excluding him or her simply because they are different. The example given pertaining to refusing gay students admittance into a Catholic club is a very complex issue. It is one of the aspects that I for one truly cannot stand about certain religious groups. The hatred of the queer community by certain religious groups is unfair and could certainly pose a serious problem when applied to the admittance of club members. At first, Penn State Club leaders would likely be very excited about the prospect of having the authority to control that aspect of their club, but any time there is power there is often an abuse of it. I don’t think the story would be any different here at the University. Students would be unjustly denied admittance and they would protest. I personally think that more thought should have been given before the vote was made. They should have considered all possible consequences and ramifications and adjusted the law to cover these possibilities. Exclusion based on race, gender, and sexual preference for instance is something that the senators should have thought of beforehand and then prepared for. Because they did not, it doesn’t seem very far-fetched that those excluded on the aforementioned basis could attempt to get the leaders who refused them in trouble for hate crimes. The quick and poorly planned passage of the law will only succeed in creating more animosity.

“Is someone a poser if they hang out with a group of people that are a different race from themselves?” This is a great question. If someone would have asked me this question before I learned about the six different racial stages in sociology class this semester, I would have answered a definite “yes!” right away, because I would have pictured the “wiggers” in my school that were total wanna be’s that we all looked upon in a negative way. Now that I am more educated about the subject, I am beginning to realize that these white kids in my school that hung out and dressed like the black kids may have just been in different stages of racial identity development. For example, they could have been at level three because they noticed all of the hardships and discrimination that befall people of color and blamed their own race because they felt guilty about the inequalities that many people of color face in our society. Likewise, they also could possibly have been at level five (which, as Sam says, is much less likely). They could have been searching for approval from the black kids that they hung around with. The same is true for people of color. If they only hang around with people of a different race they are likely doing so because of the level they are at in dealing with race. They could be at level two because they have noticed race and are struggling to fit in with the dominant white culture. They could also be at level four, where they begin to be angered by people of their own race because of the hypocrisy. On the other hand, the white or colored person could be at a much higher stage of development and be able to establish meaningful relationships with anyone, regardless of race, that they have something in common with. Who somebody feels more comfortable spending time with and being around could also have to do with whom they grew up around. If they grew up in an area where the predominant race was different form their own then they could possibly be more comfortable around that race and identify with them more. Of course I do still think that there are some people that try to pass or fit in with another race simply because they think that that race is cooler than their own and they would rather try to fit in with them than their own race. Overall, I feel that I have learned that it’s better not to judge someone or assume that their a poser right off the bat with little insight or information on their background or what stage they may be at.

“Five Scientific Reasons Your Idea of Happiness is Wrong” is a very, very interesting article! I feel like this topic should be a class offered at Penn State all on it’s own. Part class, part psychologist visit. The section about working your whole life in anticipation of later happiness really hit home. I totally understand that feeling. Preparing and getting ready for “fun” events is oftentimes the best part about the event. I think that this is because once we’re there we’re all waiting for some magical, awesome feeling that will suddenly happen that will be just like we imagined and expected to feel, yet it never comes. Not only that but during the event one can even feel a little depressed, thinking is this really it? Realizing that things are never quite as awesome as we hoped or expected them to be because that is the way they looked on t.v. can be devastatingly depressing. What we all seem to really be working towards is the idea of happiness, or rather the media’s interpretation of what happiness is. The section about the “carrot on the stick” that makes us keep climbing mountains to achieve the illusion of happiness is a scary thought. Can we really never be content where we are or with the things we have achieved? This seems to ring true even more with this generation that is so used to waiting for the next iphone to come out and make the person who still has an iphone one seem like a total loser. Now we all seem to be looking forward to the next thing and the next thing to be happy instead of living our lives. What are we all waiting for anyway? I totally agree with the section on buying material positions vs. paying to create memories. The times when I am the happiest are when I am creating or recounting memories where I am simply having a good time with loved ones. As we remember them, they truly do seem to be better and better in our memories than they actually were which is probably why that awesome event can never be recreated. Also, I can totally see how trying to keep up with having the coolest, newest, and most cutting edge technologies and fashions can make a person depressed, especially if they fall behind. I also think that there will always be someone that has something cooler than what you have or at least they will soon, so what’s the point of always having to buy the number one thing? Like the article says, it won’t really make you happy. I agree with the author that part of the problem is that people are focused too much on trying to be happy because society says it is what they are supposed to do. I’m going to try not to focus on it so much myself and just let it be.

The question “why are women perceived as more innocent?” has a multifaceted answer, mostly pertaining to underlying societal values and views. Women are often thought of as the weaker and more vulnerable gender simply because of history and a general smaller physical stature than men. Men have always been taught that it’s wrong to hit a girl, because they are delicate and can’t fight back fairly. Before the death of chivalry, men rarely let women do any sort of physical labor as they would rush over to help them do the heavy lifting or other “man’s work.” Women are also the more nurturing and emotional of the sexes. As a result, it is almost unfathomable to think of a woman doing something “bad” like stealing a bike. Like the professional in the video explained, the attractiveness of the woman also helped testify to her innocence, as humans associate attractive/beauty with good. How can something beautiful do something bad? However, as the statistics Sam showed us in class demonstrate, it is not always merely necessarily a presumption that women as a whole are more innocent. More men are incarcerated than women and more men face drug charges than women. The reasons and opinions behind these statistics are varied. One possible answer (or part of the answer) is that charges are dropped or reduced for women more often than they are with men because policemen (or women) feel more sympathetic towards them for the reasons stated above. The question of why some races are viewed as more innocent than others is even more complicated. In general in the United States, blacks and Hispanics are convicted and incarcerated for more crimes than the “innocent” races like whites and Asians. Some people could even make the argument that police and law enforcement personnel target certain races through racial profiling. Whether this is intentional racism or an unconscious act is difficult and often impossible to discern. The only way to know for sure if the situation is an act of prejudice and racism is to have two nearly identical people (different only in skin color) commit the exact same crime and be questioned by the exact same police officer. If one person is given a warning or allowed to go unpunished and the other is incarcerated or punished in some way, only then can one be certain that it was a racist act. In the Youtube video involving the bike thieves, it cannot be determined for certain that the public was being racist. This is because the experiment involved too many variables and was not well controlled. The same citizens did not encounter both boys. Instead, random citizens only came across one of the boys; therefore it cannot be proven what their reactions would have been with the other boy, whom they did not encounter.

The Haiti project really relates to what we discussed today in class. After learning about it in class, I now understand that it is very important for countries to create and purchase their own products rather than relying upon foreign goods. Relying on foreign goods will only hurt them in the long run because it pumps the money into another country rather than into the economy of their own country.
After watching the videos, I was surprised at the quality of the products that the Haitian entrepreneurs produce, especially with such limited supplies and resources. The products were also, for the most part, very fairly priced. While I can see a possibility for an international market, I am curious about how well the products sell domestically. I would have assumed that people would buy more need-based products as opposed to things like handbags and flower arrangements due to the poor economy. Perhaps a plan to sell their goods internationally will be something for my group to consider when we select a partner. That being said, it is simply amazing what these entrepreneurs manage to create with such limited employees and resources. I am impressed by the number of them that work not only to feed themselves, but also to provide for their families and even extended families. Many of them are the sole provider for their loved ones. I am also very curious which entrepreneur my group and I will choose to partner with. I am also still at a loss for finding feasible ways to help these people accomplish their goals. It’s easy to simply say, “Hire more people and buy another sewing machine” but in reality, I know that is not always a possibility. Hopefully once I meet with my group, we can put our heads together and come up with a realistic way to do something to help make her business flourish and support her family as well as the economy of Haiti.
I really like the freedom and flexibility that this project provides. There are so many things to consider when devising a way to assist the entrepreneur and it will be beneficial to brainstorm and bounce ideas off of one another as a group rather than attempting to be creative alone. I like that the project is applicable to the real world. I also like that we actually have the opportunity to help a real person, which gives the project a purpose rather than just being theoretical. I hope that this “experimental project” works out well, as it is much more meaningful than most projects and could possibly make a real difference in someone’s life. It is nice that it is not strictly structured and that the focus isn’t to just get an A.

“Why Penn State?” I am a victim of this question. I must have been asked this question at least a dozen times since the end of high school. I am also “that guy” that is notorious for asking this question of other Penn State students. For me, the answer is obvious. I choose Penn State because my parents work at the university; therefore I receive the seventy-five percent tuition break. I also live in a town called Bellefonte which is located just ten minutes away from campus. Both of my parents are also Penn State alumni. Another bonus is the fact that a lot of friends from high school also go to Penn State, so I will still get to see them if I want to. I know the area fairly well as I have lived in the area all of my life. The school itself allows a wide-array of opportunities because of the sheer size and number of different classes offered. I am undecided about what I want to do with a future career and Penn State is a great place to get a taste of all kinds of career fields and paths that are available. My proximity to State College allows me to live at home and commute to save money, which was a heavy consideration. This is where the free choice/determinism debate comes into play. Since I was a child, my parents always said “you’re going to Penn State.” This, of course, was for obvious financial reasons. I grew up realizing that I didn’t really have much say in where I was going to go to college. This never really bothered me because it meant I didn’t have to worry about deciding where I was going to go after high school. Now that I think about it, I actually had plenty of free choice about college, though it was embedded in determinism. If I really, really wanted to, I could have worked my butt off and got an amazing scholarship or even a free ride to a different school. This demonstrates how both factors truly come into play in one’s life.
The reason that I always asked other people “Why Penn State” is because some people come from all over the country. For the very same reasons I choose to attend Penn State I wonder why people from out of state choose to come here. Why didn’t they choose to go to a school in their home state? From experience, I have received many possible answers to this question. People’s responses range from “I can get a good quality education at Penn State" to "it is a great party school!” One idea that remains constant among the answers seems to be the fact that Penn State is a reputable school and will look impressive on a resume to a future employer.

Before having class with Sam Richards, I’d never really given any thought as to whether or not a person is really free to choose their gender. Of course people can undergo surgeries or dress in the opposite gender if they so choose but what about the people who don’t want to change their physical appearance, but feel that they act more like or share more in common with the gender opposite from their biological one? In a sense, I can relate to this idea. At my soul I feel that I am a female (as I am physically) and am happy to be, however I often find that I have many more male friends than I do female friends because I feel that I have more in common with males from an emotional standpoint. Societal pressures force girls to like Barbies and boys to play with trucks. Girls are expected to act feminine and be dainty while boys are supposed to be rugged and tough. This is the way that society has viewed gender differences since it was first realized that man and woman look different from each other.
Speaking from a scientific standpoint, no, one does not have the ability to choose his or her gender. Humans are either born as “male” with male genitalia or as “female” with female genitalia, depending upon which chromosomes they have. What you’re born with is what you get. That stance is factual, valid, and obvious. Something to consider that has a much less cut and dry answer is what the theoretical gender of a person. After birth, though a person may not be able to choose their gender (without surgery), I believe that a person can choose which gender they wish to identify with or perhaps none at all. Emotionally, they may feel that they should have been born as the opposite gender. I think this feeling is completely valid if it is what that person truly feels. Emotional makeup and genetic makeup are two completely separate things that do not always influence one another.
As for the question about whether or not a person chooses their sexual orientation, I firmly believe that it is not a matter of simply “choosing” which gender one is attracted to. Though there are those that would vehemently disagree with me on this point, I simply cannot fathom that someone would suddenly decide that they wanted to be gay and endure ridicule and scorn. Just like I couldn’t fathom that I would choose to be anything other than straight. People have no control over their sexual preferences. I think our sexuality is dependent upon certain components and wiring in our brains that we are born with. Therefore, sexual orientation is predisposed.