After watching videos and talking in class, I can’t say that my view on the war has changed much. I wouldn’t say that I have full knowledge on what is going on in the war, but I know enough to say that I don’t support the war. I’ve had many conversations with people, and finally after talking to my dad, I realized why we were actually in the war. For so long, I thought that the war was just a retaliation of 9/11, but then I realized that all of this really started before 9/11 even happened.
I had no idea that our government was basically trying to corrupt other countries’ governments. Okay, maybe corrupt isn’t the correct word, but you get the gist. Why does our government think that they can tell people what is right and what is wrong? Who says our country is even doing everything right? I don’t understand why we think it is our responsibility to tell people how to run their country. No one is trying to tell us what to do, so why should we try telling other countries what to do? It really makes absolutely no sense to me.
Is killing our own citizens really worth trying to tell someone how to run their government and country? I don’t exactly think so. Does our government really believe that they can change the way other countries work? Do they really think that other governments are going to listen to them? Okay, maybe a better question is would we ever listen to another country if they tried to change the way we do things? I’m going to go with probably not. It’s extremely frustrating to think that your own government is trying to change the way other people are doing things. Frankly, it’s not really our business. As long as they don’t bother us, I don’t understand why we have to bother them.
In the long run, we are the cause of this war. People may disagree and say that Iraq’s government is wrong and that’s why we’re in the war, but Iraq’s government wasn’t bothering us until we went to tried to tell them what to do. What is this, middle school?
All in all, I don’t support the war, and I don’t think my view on that will ever change. Those videos pretty much just validated what I already thought; that this war is not only a waste of our time, but a waste of many people’s lives. I would like to see Obama go to Iraq and fight in a war and maybe then he’ll realize that this really isn’t worth it. It’s truly disappointing to see your government do something that they think is helping people when really it’s just hurting us and others even more.

I have definitely learned a lot of lessons in the past week. I think the biggest lesson that everyone has learned is that something the right thing to do might not necessarily be legal, but if it is the ethical and moral thing to do, then sometimes you just have to break the rules. I think if McQueary had called the police directly rather than doing what his contract had said to do, then none of this would be going on today. I understand that it’s a hard place to be in, but sometimes you just have to forget about the legal aspects and do what you think is the right thing to do.
I have also learned that people are never who they seem to be. Everyone that found all of this out about Sandusky was shocked and some didn’t even believe it. There were so many people who said that Sandusky was the nicest guy and he would never do anything like this. Well, the truth is that he did. He wasn’t and isn’t the person that everyone thought of him to be and it’s a sad thing to think about, but it’s true. The fact that he could sit there and lie for all of those years, straight to people’s faces is just truly disgusting. It’s sad how people can have two polar opposite sides to them.
Going off of that, I have also learned never to judge a book by its cover. You see a football coach at a prestigious university and the founder of this great charity and you think that he is harmless and he could never do anything wrong. But in reality, he was a monster that truly hurt kids and took away their childhood. You never know who a person truly is and that makes it so hard to trust people. It’s devastating to think that a person who was so trusted by a community of people became a completely different person overnight. I mean, the personalities of the two sides of Sandusky are polar opposite and it’s disgusting to think that a person can be so different from what he seems to be.
I think as a whole, the university has learned a lot in the past week. We have all learned that we need to stick together in hard times like this. Our school has never gone through anything like this so no one really knew how to deal with it. People were angry and were flipping cars, while people were upset and crying. There was such a mixture of emotions that no one truly knew how to react and I think in the next couple of months this whole debacle will just make our university and the Penn State family stronger.

I do not think that immigrants should have to speak English. There is no legitimate reason to make immigrants speak English. If they can live their lives speaking whatever language they can, then let them. I get quite frustrated when people get mad at others who speak a different language in front of them. Have they ever thought that maybe those people don’t know how to speak English? It’s not fair to get mad at them when they just come to this country looking for a different, better life. Maybe they want to learn English and they just haven’t yet. Who is anyone to judge them for speaking their own language?
It’s almost the same thing as if someone from the United States went to a different language speaking country and spoke English. Is someone from say, Italy, going to get mad at an American for speaking English in front of them? Probably not. So what gives Americans the right to get mad at people who come here and speak a different language? One might say that immigrants should learn how to speak English because they are living here, but that still isn’t fair. Why does that matter, exactly?
It does, however bother me when public officials talk about making signs that are in different languages, or when they say they’re going to make it mandatory for students to learn the Pledge of Allegiance in Spanish (which they have actually done.) I think that we have to remember that this is America and that English is the first language here. I mean, I guess I kind of makes sense to make Spanish the second language, but that’s only because so many people from Mexico come to America and Spanish is their first language. But why exactly do we need a second language? There aren’t many countries out there that have second languages. And why does it need to be Spanish? Why can’t it be Chinese or Japanese or French? There are a lot of immigrants from Asia and Europe as well. I don’t think it’s fair to pick Spanish as the second language because then America is just being biased towards that group of immigrants.
In conclusion, I just think that immigrants should be free to not just speak whatever language they want to speak, but do whatever they want to do as well. They shouldn’t have to deal with the judgments that Americans give them every day. They should be able to live their lives as we do, freely. But they don’t, and unfortunately, I don’t believe that they ever will be able to do so. I guess I never realized all of this until this blog because immigrants don’t really bother me at all.

I wouldn’t say that I’m comfortable with the fact that whites will become the minority in the future because I am white, but I would say that I agree with the fact that this will eventually happen. We talked about this in our discussion group. We were mainly talking about scholarships. Recently, I got an email from the Communications school about a scholarship. Intrigued by the fact that they were giving a scholarship, I opened the email. However, I was extremely ticked off when I saw the words “minorities only.” Excuse me, what? Okay, I get the fact that IN GENERAL and ON AVERAGE minorities have less money than white people, but here’s the thing…my family doesn’t have enough money to put me through college, so why can’t I apply for this scholarship? There are no “white only” scholarships. Actually, on that topic, could you imagine what would happen if someone made up a scholarship and put that only whites could apply? Excuse my language, but shit would hit the fan. It would be all over the news and a nationwide, maybe even a worldwide scandal. While people in the discussion group said that they “didn’t care” if this happened, I know deep down they would be pissed off. I’m sorry, but just by calling yourself a minority, you get pissed off when anything benefits whites.
Here’s another question, why are there minorities? I know I’ve talked about this in another post, but it really does piss me off. Why do there have to be minorities? Why can’t we all just be equal? It’s almost as if minorities make themselves the minorities by saying that they’re minorities. (Did that make sense?) As a white person, I don’t automatically look at a black person or a Mexican and think “oh, he’s a minority.” Like, no, sorry, doesn’t happen. But black people and Mexicans bring this attention upon themselves by calling themselves a minority. Maybe there wouldn’t be a such thing as minorities if there weren’t special scholarships for “ethnic groups,” or if we didn’t bring it to attention that these people make less than whites, which also doesn’t make sense. Black people and other, although I hate the use the word, minorities say that they can’t be CEO’s or the “suits.” WHY THE HELL NOT? YOU are creating this thought in your head that you can’t do this. YOU are creating this glass ceiling. NO ONE is telling you that you can’t go be the CEO or the suits, so go do it and stop complaining about it.
Now that I have completely ranted, I would like to make a point to say that yes, eventually in hundreds of years whites will become the minority because so much attention is being put on the “minorities,” but hopefully, eventually, there will be no such thing as minorities because I personally, hate that stupid word.

I completely agree with this article. I think people have this false conception of happiness and that’s why people believe they aren’t happy. There has to be a reason that there are so many people that believe they aren’t happy. People are under the impression that they can make themselves happy, but in reality, you can’t make yourself happy. Just like the article says, happiness equals luck. You have to be able to live day to day to be happy. You cannot make a plan to be happy. You actually believes that? Oh, next week I’m going to be happy. I’m not going to lie, I used to be like that. Tell myself that I was going to work on myself and make myself happy. How could I actually believe that I can do that? I, myself, have to learn to live day to day. I think everyone has to learn to live day to day. You have to learn to live in the moment. Nothing can create happiness except for time. Why plan out your life? Why make plans for the future when you can simply live in the moment and just focus on that particular moment. The article says that everyone knows that life isn’t a fairytale, but I question that statement. I think that there are people out there that believe that life can be a fairytale. I also believe that these same people, and others, believe that money buys happiness. Like, for real? Nothing can buy happiness. Like i said earlier, nothing can create happiness. I feel as though happiness is almost a privilege. You receive the happiness you deserve just like you receive the respect you deserve. If you’re going to be a miserable human being and be rude to people and hate the world, then why exactly would god grace you with happiness? Happiness is a virtue. Happiness is a special thing, it is not just given to you. You have to earn happiness. So how exactly do you obtain this so called happiness? That’s a question that I think no one will ever understand or know. It’s like karma. Where does karma come from? No one really knows. Does happiness come from god? Does happiness come from each other or from within? I personally wish that I knew where happiness came from. Hell, I wish I was happy. I think that might be why people go to therapy. Its not like they are only complaining about why they aren’t happy, but they are also searching for that happiness. They are hoping that someone can tell them where they can find this happiness. But the truth is that no one will ever really know, so for now, we just have to live in the moment and not plan for the future. And maybe, just maybe, then we will all be able to find happiness.

Every part of me wants to say that it wouldn’t bother me if my child told me they were gay. But in reality, as awful as this sounds, a small part of me would be shocked and maybe even a little hurt. Most people’s responses are that they would be upset because they couldn’t have grandchildren or that they couldn’t see their son or daughter get married. But the fact of the matter is that all of those things are possible now, so I’m not exactly sure why I would be upset. Of course, I’m going to love my child unconditionally, there is no doubt in my mind about that. But while I say that, I am making a condition. Don’t get me wrong, I’m totally pro-homosexuality. I love gay people, I think its great when they stand up for themselves and come out, but then why would I be upset? I can’t exactly think of an exact reason. I guess maybe I would be upset because of all of the reticule and controversy he or she will have to face. Although, I do hope that by the time I have children, there won’t be as much controversy as there is now. People believe that being gay isn’t normal, they don’t believe that it is the social norm. But it actually is becoming a cultural norm in the United States today. There are so many gay people. I’m sure that every single person is somehow connected to a gay person and that’s awesome. That just means that more and more people are becoming confident and not afraid to be who they are. If my child was gay, I would be so proud of them for being themselves. I would be so proud of their strength and I actually, probably would be happy. I would be happy that they are being honest with not only me and the rest of the world, but themselves as well. I would be happy that I raised such a strong person that isn’t afraid of the world full of hatred and reticule.
Clearly, I have mixed feelings about what would happen if I had a gay child. But either way, I would love them no matter what. Nothing would ever change that. I actually, truly hate myself right now for even saying that I would be upset if I had a gay child because I never thought I would say that until I actually sat and thought about it. Anything that isn’t considered a social norm is going to be hard to deal with, but as a parent, you have to be there for your child and make them know that no matter what you support them. That’s truly all that matters.

I think stereotypes are actually really funny, but also stupid. I also think they’re pretty rude. For example, when a girl says something stupid and says “I just had a blonde moment.” Like, really? Why do blondes have to be dumb? I know a significant amount of blondes that are actually extremely smart. Um, Hilary Clinton, anyone? It amazes me how people act towards different groups of people, especially blondes. What exactly makes them dumb, because it certainly isn’t the color of their hair. It amazes me, also, how people just sit and laugh at the ones who make these jokes, when the truth it they’re actually really rude and disrespectful.
Another stereotype that I don’t believe it is that Jewish people are “cheap” As in, they don’t like to spend money. Which isn’t true at all. People, in general, are cheap. No normal, sane, person is just going to run around spending whatever kind of money that they want to spend. So, doesn’t that make all of America cheap and not just Jewish people? Apparently not because Jews have this label of being cheap and not spending money. Also, Jews are apparently really rich. So, they’re rich and they’re cheap at the same time? Doesn’t make sense, does it?
All Asians are really smart, right? Wrong. So many people see an Asian just walking and they just automatically think that they’re smart. My one friend is Asian and I make jokes all the time about her being really smart. The truth is, though, she isn’t exceptionally smart. That’s the truth for a lot of Asians, as well. It’s not like there is something in their genes that makes them smart. They don’t have a special chromosome to make them smart. They’re just American like the rest of us. Yeah, some Asian parents might pressure they’re kids (I repeat, some) to do well in school, but that doesn’t automatically make Asian people smarter than the rest of us.
The fact that so many people in this country will see a black people and get scared actually baffles me. It truly angers me as well. It amazes me that the color of a person’s skin can have that much of an effect on someone. People, mostly very sheltered people, see a black person and automatically think that they are going to get jumped or mugged. Like hello people, they’re just as human as the rest of us! Just because their skin is a different color doesn’t mean anything.
Like I said, stereotypes really do make me angry. People think that just because a person is different than them that they have the right to label them or judge them. Like why don’t white males have a stereotype or brunettes or Catholics? It amazes me that people can be so ignorant and judgemental.

As ignorant as this may seem, after everything that has happened in Haiti, I honestly didn’t even realize that businesses were even still existent. Especially not businesses such as the ones I just read about. To think that there are businesses that could be potentially thriving even after everything that has happened in their country. It truly amazes me. I read mostly about women because their businesses interested me a lot. I read about Clorene Blaise, Anaese Blaise, Madame Lamour, Euclid, and a few others. However, the ones that I named interested me the most. These women are actually really successful for the place that they live and the resources that they have. To think that they have actual businesses in which they are making gowns and designer totes. Excuse my ignorance, but I didn’t even realize they thought of people as designers in Haiti. I didn’t even think they would have expensive totes and dresses.
The community projects also interested me a lot as well. Again, excuse my ignorance, but I just always thought everyone was just suffering in Haiti. I had no idea that people actually had the resources to help out down there. It’s amazing that people are concerned about solar power and saving energy down in Haiti as well. I think it’s awesome that ERNESA is making solar powered street lights. I always just thought that the United States was the only country that was even paying attention to the environment and such. I guess I need to pull my head out of the gutter. I honestly think that it is so cool that people are even able to help out down in Haiti. For example, the hospital gowns and meals for patients from the Patient Project. I’m truly amazed by the resources that have become available in Haiti even after all of the heartache.
Watching these videos and reading their stories made me want to help out so much. Going into this project, I figured we might be helping a local food shop or a small store that sold hardware to build houses. I had absolutely no idea that people actually had businesses like the ones I read about. It made me want to work on this project and help out even more than I wanted to before. Haiti needs a culture. They need to become a strong country, and while now it may seem impossible, by having businesses like the ones that I just read about, it truly is possible. I think if these businesses could make a name for themselves and get themselves on the map, Haiti won’t just look like a charity project. There are people like me out there who don’t even realize that Haiti has business or resources like they do and if these businesses were even more successful than they are already are, Haiti can be treated like a regular country again.

I, personally, find accents really cool. I mean, I know I think British, Irish and Australian accents are really attractive. I guess, though, that I never really thought about why I think they’re attractive. Maybe people think certain accents are attractive because they’re different from their own. I mean, think about it. Technically, we all have accents, right? So maybe American girls find Australian accents attractive simply just because their different than our own. We aren’t used to their voices, so we find them “sexy,” but probably only because it’s new to us. It’s not every day that you stumble upon an Australian man. (Well, at least not for me.)
Maybe it’s not just accents though. Isn’t it true that American guys find exotic girls attractive? That’s not how they speak though, that’s more of how they look. But they certainly look different than American girls do. Once again, it’s just something different. It’s something out of the ordinary and new to us. It isn’t the norm, and we are drawn to it because it’s almost as if it draws attention to itself because it is out of the norm. We get used to our surroundings, so as soon as something comes along that we aren’t used to, we are automatically attracted to it. No one is really certain why, that’s just the case. Even when we were in high school, and a new kind-of-attractive boy came on the first day of school, weren’t all the girls attracted to him and trying to catch his attention? Weren’t they all just drooling in fighting over him? Because that was certainly the case in my high school.
I think we also find new things interesting. It’s like a new shiny car. Aren’t you just drawn to it? Maybe that’s how accents are. They’re new and fun and interesting, so we are drawn to them. We like them because we find the people interesting. They give the men or women with the accents a certain factor that isn’t found in other people like us. As stated before, we want something different and we want something new, so as soon as it comes along, it becomes that new bright and shiny car and that everyone wants to have.
I wonder, though, if anyone finds American accents or looks attractive. Are our accents cool? Do we have an exotic look to those in, say, Asia? No one ever really thinks of this either. I mean, if we find people from other countries exotic and cool, why can’t we be exotic and cool to other countries? We find different languages attractive too. For example, a lot of people find Italian and French very attractive and romantic. Does that mean English is romantic and attractive to other languages? Just a thought.

I personally think that it is awesome that Obama is black. When I first heard that a black man was running for president, I was younger and pretty ignorant. I didn’t think he had a chance at winning at all. I figured most of America was more ignorant than I and that they were all republicans and/or racist. Clearly, I was extremely wrong. After following the election more closely and becoming much more informed on the whole election, I soon learned that Obama truly is an amazing, brilliant person. He is so well spoken and smart. He gives great speeches (and yes, I know he probably doesn’t write them, but he still delivers them well) and truly made me (and clearly many other Americans) that he was going to turn our country around. I think he is a very brave man to take that leap and decide to run for president as a black man. I, personally, don’t really see color, but just knowing that he is a “minority” (I still hate and don’t believe in that word) and decided to run for president is truly inspiring. He took a chance just running for president. Taking the title, he took another chance. Going to his inauguration was just another chance that he took. There was so much chatter about an attack and an assassination. Do you have any idea how scary that must be to know that there are people out there that hate you so much they want you dead? And he was still brave enough to do all of this. He really is inspiring. I think it’s awesome that we finally have a black president. And while I realize that he hasn’t really acted on his speeches and hasn’t done everything he said he was going to do, I still think this country needs to give him a chance. Nothing that is going on is really his fault. He came into office in a really shitty situation and he is truly doing the best he can. We saw how a republican ran our country into the ground, so if anyone is even considering electing a republican, I think they should rethink that decision. I truly do believe that Obama is doing the absolute best he can and I think he has done a good job of keeping our hopes up. Sure, maybe America’s hopes are a little too high, but at least now we’re optimistic. When we had a white republican in office we all basically hated being American (as bad as that sounds, it’s for a lack of better words) because of everything that was going on. Bush ran our country into an extremely deep hole and while Obama hasn’t dug us out of that whole, he’s definitely lifting us up.