en-us https://www.intensedebate.com/users/5328830 Comments by katehall94 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2012/12/07/voices-from-the-classroom-224/#IDComment513074258 There have been so many great points brought up in Soc 119 and so many topics that I was truly interested in learning about all semester. I feel like after taking this class it has made me want to be so much more worldly and really escape my comfort zone more. Hearing Sam talk about how he lived all over the world and all of his crazy stories makes me feel like there is so much more I can do with my life. I realize I need to take advantage of all the opportunities I have while I am still in school, as far as traveling and learning as much as I can. Through learning about different things like the Native Americans, the thing that has stuck out the most to me from taking this class isn’t necessarily a certain lecture of topic. It is more of the idea that Sam brings up a lot. We need to open up our minds to differences and not only accept them but celebrate them. We also need to be aware that we might not agree with everything we hear, but conversation is the best way to solve problems and make differences. After learning about the Native Americans, I feel like I have a whole different perspective. On Thanksgiving I literally googled “How do Native Americans feel about Thanksgiving,” and I read some articles. Most of them said how they don’t understand why Americans only have a day of thanks one day a year – in their culture, they are thankful everyday. That really stuck in my head, because it is completely true. All cultures are different and I don’t think any are better than any others. That’s why it makes me so mad to think that Americans came here and pushed Natives off of their land. They weren’t open to any cultural differences and believed they were completely dominant. This goes along with one of the ideas that has stuck with me; be open to differences. I feel like I am now more likely to want to learn about different cultures and not just think one way. There are so many people in this world, all different and unique, and that is something extremely special. I find myself wanting to volunteer abroad and teach in different countries and a big part of it was the idea of putting yourself out there and taking the time to learn, another point that has stuck with me. Through all of Sam’s lectures I have learned so much. There wasn’t a specific day that was the best for me or a topic that I really loved the most, but I did take away some great points that I will always hold with me. Fri, 7 Dec 2012 20:16:58 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2012/12/07/voices-from-the-classroom-224/#IDComment513074258 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2012/11/29/voices-from-the-classroom-214/#IDComment505134128 In so many ways I can never fathom the extent of hatred there was when Hitler ruled and the Holocaust happened. I come from an area with a good amount of Jewish people and attended many Friday night services with my best friend growing up, so I feel that I have a fairly good sense of the Jewish faith. I also took a class in high school called Holocaust and Genocide, and as the name suggests, a large portion of the class was dedicated to learning about the Holocaust. Although I know what it is and have learned about it throughout my schooling, every time I learn more and see more images it makes it even worse. I don’t understand how somebody could create so much hatred and lead to killing 6 million people. I really think it comes down to scared people wanting someone to turn to, and when a leader stepped up they were there to follow him with every word he said. It really boggles my mind, though, how Hitler and other anti-semetics could feel that way. No matter what group you come from, how can you say that every person from a certain group is bad and needs to be killed? Their attempts to destroy an entire religion, faith and what some see as race were horrible and made lasting impacts. I don’t understand what causes someone to hate Jewish people, or anyone for that matter, to that extent. They are human beings and no different than anyone else on this earth. I think the actions that the Nazis took were so irrational and extreme that I could never understand what they were thinking. I think a large part of it is ignorance. When people hate another group, it is probably because they don’t know anything about them and don’t want to take the time to learn. All religions are different but they have similarities, too. It is simply ignorant to hate a whole religion or race. Anti-semitism is something that makes no sense to me at all. There is no way you can even classify or group so many people and claim to hate them all when they are all individuals. I’m glad we took time to talk about the Holocaust because it really was such a serious event, and although it happened long ago it still has affects. When people today that show anti-semitism, to me it is even worse. Have they not learned anything in life and realize that their decision to hate a race or religion is simply irrational? The events of the Holocaust were so devastating and terrible. The world would be a much different place if all of the killing hadn’t happened. There is no way to take back history, but we can all learn from the ignorance and horrific acts once committed. Fri, 30 Nov 2012 01:23:52 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2012/11/29/voices-from-the-classroom-214/#IDComment505134128 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2012/11/11/voices-from-the-classroom-205/#IDComment492848980 After listening to the class on immigration, it made me realize how interesting of a topic it is. In America, some people and politicians are so concerned and racist towards immigrants entering the country. However, if we all take some time to step back and really think about it, Americans have no room to talk about immigration. There is no way that we can sit around and say how we don’t want people immigrating from other countries to the US because that is exactly how all of us “native” Americans got here. As much as we think we are meant to be here and the colonists founded this country, we did much worse to Native Americans than what people from other countries are doing to us by coming to America. The hypocrisy of it all makes me angry because I really have come to feel for the Native Americans. I really hope to one day go to a Native American reservation and see what life is like there. Sam has shown us countless pictures, brought someone in that is Native and has read many statistics. From what I can tell, the conditions are far from perfect. The reason that the suicide rate is so high, there are few college graduates and people want to stay on the reservation for life is because of Americans. Their land was taken over by people who were not native to the country. If we think about it in a different way, it would be like all of these immigrants coming and taking over the country that we had established. We would be extremely upset and not understand why people thought they had the power or right to take away something that was ours. If you look at it from that perspective, then it is extremely terrible what we did to Native Americans. Especially because if anything even remotely close to that was tried by people of other countries, we Americans would do all we could to fight back. The one image that Sam showed us with the cartoon characters really showed how hypocritical it all is. It had a big business man talking about reclaiming land from illegal immigrants, referring to Mexicans. Next to him, is a Native American with a speech bubble that says, “I’ll help you pack.” Some Americans are so concerned with immigration and keeping our country free of “illegal aliens,” but if you really take out all emotion and look at it from a historic perspective, I think we as Americans should be considered the immigrants. We came in and claimed land that wasn’t ours from people who had established their lives here. When I really put myself in the position of a Native American it makes me so mad. I feel extremely empathetic towards them and wish there was a different way that everything could have worked out. Sat, 17 Nov 2012 02:14:56 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2012/11/11/voices-from-the-classroom-205/#IDComment492848980 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2012/11/01/voices-from-the-classroom-202/#IDComment483309441 Throughout my life, I have not been exposed to that many African Americans or other races. My schools from elementary school to high school were 98% white, with little diversity. Although I didn’t have much contact with other races, it never made me think any differently of them. A very close friend of mine from high school is black, and he never felt different at all. Something that has really interested me in the past few years is urban education. I am an elementary education major and one day hope to teach in an urban school district. I have learned a lot about how underprivileged schools in urban areas lack good teachers, resources and the students lack motivation. Most people have seen images through TV or movies that depict minority students struggling to make it through school, then they have one teacher that helps them overcome it. There are clear statistics that urban schools, with the majority black or latino students are less likely to graduate, go to college and make a life for themselves. Over the summer, I went to a classroom in Philly. I was essentially a student teacher in a 4th grade classroom with 25 students. Twenty-two were black, two were Hispanic and one was white. It was the most contact I have ever had at once with children of another race and it was absolutely life changing and an amazing experience. I learned so much in my two weeks to Philly about how different children in these schools are but also how they are the same as anyone else. The school I was in had teacher shortages, no air conditioning in 90 degree weather, and went from kindergarten to 8th grade. The students roamed the hallways, spoke back to teachers and I also had to break up fights between nine year olds. Above all this, though, they had the heart and determination to succeed. Some of the students in my class were so bright and wanted to excel in school. It was a clear indication that kids are kids everywhere, and we should never treat them differently or have low expectations. What they need are people to motivate them through everything. I have no idea how hard their home lives could have been. My mentor teacher told me that many come from single part households, some parents have drug or alcohol problems and many live in poverty. But to see them come in to class everyday with a smile on their face and wanting to learn made it all worth it. I knew that teaching in an urban area with students outside of my race would be a challenge, but really, it was the best kind of challenge I could have had. I loved working with them and seeing that race has affected them, but shouldn’t hold them down. These kids were born into these situations they can’t overcome and I know my job as an educator is to prove to them how worthy and special they are. My attitudes changed a lot towards urban education when I was in contact with African American students. Even though their situation was much different than any other school setting I was in, they were hardly portraying the negative stereotypes of fighting and not working at all in school. Contact can do a lot for how you look at a certain group and it allows you to open up your eyes to differences, while at the same time accepting all the similarities. Wed, 7 Nov 2012 18:30:00 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2012/11/01/voices-from-the-classroom-202/#IDComment483309441 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2012/10/25/voices-from-the-classroom-196/#IDComment478306070 There are many implications or consequences of the latent prejudice that we have in society. Latent prejudice is tricky because it isn’t exactly the same as being out-right racist. It is of discriminating in small, subtle ways that we don’t always notice. It is more subconscious; thinking certain things and favoring certain people or ideas but not coming right out and saying them. I think it is safe to say that many people are prejudice or have some of this latent, or hidden, discriminations. I myself believe that I am not prejudice. When Sam asked the clicker question about adopting a baby of a different race, I didn’t hesitate to say that I would consider it. When he took it slightly further, though, it took me some time to think if I would want to have a baby with an egg or sperm that was a different race than mine. I don’t think at all that I would say no, it’s just a weird question that I have never, ever thought about. Questions like this make me deeply think that maybe I do have some latent prejudice, as most people do. There are many social and economic consequences that are associated with people having this prejudice. One of the biggest and clearest examples shown in class was all of the statistics Sam told us about hiring black people and white people. Although I have heard it before, it always shocks me to hear that people discriminate based on something as simple as the person’s name. How is there any way that someone is less of a person and less capable to do a job simply because of their name? It makes no sense to me. It is the perfect example of latent prejudice. The people hiring don’t come out and say they are racist, but by simply seeing on an application a more “black” or “white” name makes them change their judgment. This also goes along with the fact that white men with criminal records are more likely to get hired than black men without criminal records. Besides the record, they have the exact same resume, attributes, look and everything. These prejudices make it so hard for people of color to make it. If there is so much prejudice against them in the work place, it has huge economic consequences for them. Latent prejudice is something that keeps people of color down while white people are continuing to go up the ladder. I realize I am mainly talking about white people having prejudice towards people of color, and I don’t doubt that it can happen the other way around, too. However, most of the statistics and information I have seen lead me to believe that most of the time the prejudice is towards people of color. Socially and economically, it keeps people of color at a more disadvantaged place. It becomes so difficult to make money and prosper when there is always slight prejudice. Fri, 2 Nov 2012 02:36:26 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2012/10/25/voices-from-the-classroom-196/#IDComment478306070 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2012/10/24/voices-from-the-classroom-193/#IDComment473556321 After seeing the data about child abduction, I was very shocked. I expected there to be a much higher number of abductions because it seems to be something that is covered so frequently on the news and in the media in general. My parents were often worried about me and didn’t like me doing things like walk around alone, especially at night. Even in my own neighborhood that was extremely safe, they wanted to know I was safe. It is natural, I think, to feel protective and worry about your children. We believe that bad things happen often. I remember when I was younger seeing a news report about a girl that was kidnapped from her bedroom and I was so scared. Now, I realize there was no reason to be. The chances of getting abducted by a stranger are so low and it really is rare. Although I see the facts in front of me, it is hard to go past my beliefs and think that I should be completely worry-free when I have kids of my own. Knowing that most beliefs are based on false understandings makes me want to adjust my own beliefs and learn more. However, I think it is easier said than done because many times people can be stuck in what they think and it takes a lot to change. In my opinion, beliefs are extremely skewed by media, tv, news, peers, interactions and so many things. Sometimes, we hear something once and that is what we think. As Sam pointed out, though, most of our beliefs are based on misinformation. It surprises me to hear this but it makes sense. From tv shows and the media, one might think that the biggest crimes are robbery, murder and all of the “juicy,” scary things. In reality, the top crimes on tv do not match at all what the top crimes are in real life. Things like fraud aren’t shown all over the news because it wouldn’t get the same reaction as a murder of kidnapping. I wish that my beliefs were based on facts because it would probably make things much clearer and I wouldn’t have to worry about things that aren’t true. I personally don’t know a lot about other countries, especially ones in the Middle East. As we talked about before in class, sometimes our beliefs are based on the actions of just a few people. Not everyone in Iran and Iraq hates America. In fact, when we video-chatted with the Iranian man he said many would welcome Americans with open arms. It isn’t until we have conversations and learn to open up that we realize our beliefs don’t always match reality. By learning more we can hopefully expand our belief systems and change them for the better. Fri, 26 Oct 2012 18:08:03 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2012/10/24/voices-from-the-classroom-193/#IDComment473556321 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2012/10/16/voices-from-the-classroom-188/#IDComment467269632 The exercise we did in class about who is entitled to what land made me think a lot. For every answer, I did say that it was the Native American’s right to get the land that they lost. Even if it was years later, that land would have most likely still been in their family. The fact that it was taken away to begin with is a huge injustice and the main reason I believed it should go back to the Natives. It got a little shaky, though, and I started to doubt it a little bit as it went further and further. There was no doubt in my mind that it was a complete travesty that the person got kicked off their land to begin with. They have every right to try to get back what is theirs, and the fact that Americans committed these acts makes me question our judgment more and more. I also thought 100% that the child of the person that lost the land was entitled to get it back. It would have been passed down to them, and they are the closest generation to who got pushed off the land. I did not hesitate at all to answer the clicker question and say it was completely entitled to the Native American. The next level was the grandchild. I also thought that the grandchild should be able to claim the land back, but it was slightly tougher and I questioned myself a little bit. Being two generations and maybe 80-100 years later makes it hard to blame the Americans who pushed the Natives off of their land. Yes, it should not have happened but the American whose grandparents got the land should not be at fault. For the American to have an established life and have someone come in and take it back from them would be difficult to deal with, too. There are many ways to look at it. Above all, I think that the act of pushing people off their land itself is completely horrible. They should have every right to get it back, no matter how many years later. But, if it happened to my parents and people told us 100 years ago their family owned the land and they wanted it back, it would be a difficult pill to swallow. When we had the little discussion with our neighbors about what they said, we had this talk. It isn’t necessarily right for someone who had nothing to do with it to now lose their land, but it wasn’t right in the first place for their family to kick them off. That’s what it really comes down to; the initial wrongdoing. It will never make sense to me how we ever thought this was a noble or right thing to do. Years later it has had such severe consequences and things would be much different had we never taken away land that wasn’t ours. This exercise made me look at it from both perspectives, but in the end the land is definitely entitled to the Native Americans. Fri, 19 Oct 2012 00:46:35 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2012/10/16/voices-from-the-classroom-188/#IDComment467269632 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2012/10/10/voices-from-the-classroom-182/#IDComment461898429 I have been struggling to decide what I think is more prominent; free will or determinism. Yes, I completely see that people make decisions for themselves but those decisions are so largely based on factors outside of their control. Often times, the paths in life we take, situations we are in and decisions we have to make happen because of things outside of our control. When Sam said that the two are invariably connected, it completely made sense. Getting to the point where I am today has been a complete combination of free will and determinism, and I think even more determinism. I work extremely hard, but I completely understand that I was born with advantages that were outside of my control that I am lucky to have. I grew up in an upper-middle class area outside of Princeton, NJ. My schools were always smoothly ran, 95% white and consistently made AYP. I never had to worry about money, and my family is not close to rich but we are definitely comfortable. Being born into the socioeconomic status and race that I am put me at a head start from the get-go. I was able to afford to play sports growing up, which definitely shaped me into the person I am today. I had an SAT tutor, that was pretty expensive, and it made a big difference on my scores. These are just two simple examples of how the lifestyle I have lived has shaped me. Factors like this were completely out my control so a lot of it is determinism. I have always worked extremely hard and I don’t deny that my hard work and free will has gotten me places. It was my own choices to take AP classes, study and make decisions for myself. However, I now really see that it is determinism that has led me to even have the chances and opportunities to make these choices for myself. Another huge instance of a combination of determinism and free will that has happened in my life is deciding to come to Penn State. Ever since I was little, I knew I waned to come to Penn State. We have a “Penn State” room in my house, both of my parents went here along with countless other relatives and my older brother. If I had never been exposed to Penn State growing up, there is no way of knowing that my free will would have led me here. It was completely my choice to apply and come here; my parents didn’t pressure me at all. However, it was also the factors like them having come here that had a huge influence on my decision. If they hadn’t gone here, would I be at Penn State today? Fri, 12 Oct 2012 20:15:25 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2012/10/10/voices-from-the-classroom-182/#IDComment461898429 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2012/10/03/voices-from-the-classroom-176/#IDComment454696490 It was definitely difficult when I began to think about what causes such a disparity in salary for the races in the US. To see the numbers up on the screen made it much more real than just thinking that white people make more than black or Hispanic people. And the fact that Native Americans have such a high poverty rate and low average income that they didn’t even make it on the chart is terribly upsetting. How can it be that the people that were on this land first now have it the worst? It all has to do with power. White people in society have the power, and connecting to the King of the Hill game, they can then make adjustments and rules and only allow those they want to succeed. Asians are also at a pretty good place here in America because they needed money to get here in the first place. When the girl that volunteered talked about how expensive it is to go to school here, make a life here and learn the language, it really made sense to me. They are doing so well because when they came to America, they were already near the top. On the other hand, I think that slavery had a huge impact on how African Americans living in America make it. While white people were making their livings, they used black people as their slaves. They had no rights and were treated terribly. By the time slavery ended and they were all freed, they had to start from the bottom up. I can’t even imagine how difficult it must have been to get a job, work and make a living when people have treated you so badly for many years. Even though they were free, I think it is safe to say there was still a lot of discrimination. For Hispanics, many also came to America with hopes of making money and having a better life. They could have come with nothing, or very little, and also had to learn a new language. All of these factors of how people of different races were years ago affect their success now. White people were on top back in the times of slavery and they still are today. There was never anyone in their way to put them through hardships. When they succeeded, they had the power and allowed other white people to have power, too. For African Americans and Hispanics, some negative trends began. Like the volunteer pointed out in class, a lot of it has to do with where they live, socioeconomic status, and even family dynamics. African Americans and Hispanics have more single parent households, which affects income and sometimes, unfortunately, future education for children. If children grow up and don’t go to school or college, then they will have a more difficult time making it. The demonstration in class explained it perfectly. African Americans and Hispanics started behind, so now it is almost impossible for them to catch up. I think that many things contribute to the differences in income that we see today, but a lot of it goes back to the past. Wed, 3 Oct 2012 18:52:41 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2012/10/03/voices-from-the-classroom-176/#IDComment454696490 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2012/09/25/im-wondering-how-i-would-see-things-if-i-walked-in-this-mans-shoes/#IDComment450050319 The video about Mohammad Nasim’s imprisonment and torture stirred up a lot of emotions in me. To think that an innocent man lost five years of his life for presumably doing nothing is something that we can never give him back. Our military does so much great for out country and I am in no way discounting that. I just feel confused and a mess of emotions when I hear about some of the things that happen in the Middle East. September 11th, 2001 was a day that would go down in history and change so much about the US and our nation’s relationships and actions regarding other countries. Since then, there has been paranoia about history repeating itself and we have tried to do whatever we can so it doesn’t. We go to other countries and claim that we are trying to help them but then we imprison innocent civilians. I don’t doubt at all that this actually happened, especially since there were some pretty accurate accounts in the records. The video overall was extremely disturbing and upsetting to me. I can’t fathom the pain and torture that Nasim had to endure. Innocent people shouldn’t be put into prison for doing nothing wrong. To think that there are people in the US military that would torture innocent people like this seems like it is against everything we as a nation stand for. US soldiers are held in such esteem, as they should be, but hearing things like this makes me upset that they could be so full of hatred. If they all acted like “social workers with guns” it would make for more dialogue and conversation. I think a lot of it goes back to the fact that we have changed drastically as a country since the attacks on September 11th. This class has put a lot of things into perspective for me, one of which is people are not all bad. Just because we associate certain countries, races and religions with terrorism, doesn’t mean that everyone in that country or who practices that religion is like that. Not everyone from Iraq or Afghanistan are terrorists and want to destroy the US. I realize that so much of what I think and how I view things is based on the media and what I see. I see clips about terrible people torturing US soldiers and am appalled. But now, my eyes are starting to open more. We aren’t always the good guys. It is stories like these that make me question what we are really about as a country. Do we stand for the torturing and killing of innocent people? I would certainly hope not. Nothing will ever take away the pain, sadness and overall horrible effects of September 11th and it is so sad to think that our country has never been the same. Thu, 27 Sep 2012 17:46:37 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2012/09/25/im-wondering-how-i-would-see-things-if-i-walked-in-this-mans-shoes/#IDComment450050319 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2012/09/20/voices-from-the-classroom-169/#IDComment445580521 Seeing the quote today really made me think about how much religion impacts our lives and makes such a huge difference in people’s perspectives. When the first quote was shown, it said terrible things regarding Christianity. In our class, at least, there seem to be many more Christian people than people that practice other religions. Not only that, but in America as a whole the predominant religion is Christianity or a branch of it. Even if you aren’t Christian, like myself, I have many friends that are so I am exposed to it often. When the fake quote suggested that the Iranian man intended to kill all Christians and believed they worshiped a different God than Islamic people, it was shocking and scary. I personally was scared that someone would say something so harsh and drastic. It was comparable to Hitler wanting to get rid of all of the Jewish people. Also, coming from an Iranian man makes it sound even worse to some people because we associate Iran with the actions of September 11th. People around me and myself included, said that this man is very ignorant, not open to conversation and overall very narrow-minded. However, the tides quickly turned. When the next slide revealed the real quote, it took me a minute to understand which was the real one. I read it a few times with the new perspective, coming from Bush’s Spiritual Advisor. It was the exact same thing as the other quote but instead of Christian it said Islamic. The quote basically said that all Islamic people should be killed using whatever weapons it took. The date was only a few days after September 11, 2001. My feelings towards the speaker didn’t change at all. I was so mad to think that someone working so close to the president would vocalize this and feel such a strong way. Was it really the Islamic religion that caused the attacks on September 11th? Are all Islamic people terrorists? I think I was even more upset and ashamed to know that it actually came from the mouth of an American. Not everyone agreed with me, though. Some people pointed out that in a way it made sense for him to be so irrational because of what devastating event had just happened. I don’t buy it though. Either way, to me he seems close-minded, ignorant and completely unforgiving of even the people that had nothing to do with it. The most respectable thing to do during this time was something that Sam pointed out that George W. Bush did. He went to a mosque and spoke. How can it be so terrible if one person says it about a religion that is so dominating in the US but okay when an American says it about another religion? There is definitely a double standard that some people feel, and they think it is okay because he had a “good reason” to say those terrible things. Beliefs are shaped a lot by religion and I think that is a major reason why there is a double standard. Fri, 21 Sep 2012 18:33:31 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2012/09/20/voices-from-the-classroom-169/#IDComment445580521 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2012/09/07/voices-from-the-classroom-161/#IDComment440801236 This class was one of the largest and heated arguments I have ever been a part of. When one student said “colored people” in an instance where some think she should have said “people of color,” emotions started to stir. I can honestly say I didn’t even notice that she said “colored people.” It didn’t stand out to me at all when she was speaking and it wasn’t until another person in the class pointed it out that I understood where the anger was coming from. As a white person, there is no way for me to understand what it really feels like to carry around the past of an African American person. Slavery was a terrible time, and I will never know what it’s like to have ancestors who went through it and know that so many of my own people died through the terrible acts of white Americans. I feel sorry for those who hear “colored people” and in their mind get transported back to a time when slavery was the norm and signs saying “colored people aren’t welcome” and various other hurtful words existed. I will never know what that is like. It is also hard to know who would be offended to hear the term “colored people” instead of “people of color.” I think the way that Sam put it was really spot on. He said that for some, it really struck a nerve. There are words that hurt others and have a sting that might not affect you at all. At my discussion today, actually, a few of the African American students said that it didn’t affect them at all to hear the girl say “colored people.” It just really depends on the person and there is no way of knowing who will be hurt by what until it gets put out in the open. When I heard the person say “retarded” it really struck me. It stood out to me a lot and I noticed it right away and almost cringed. I hate when that word is used incorrectly because it has meaning to me. I’m an education major with a special ed minor so I am exposed to a lot of people and children with mental disabilities. It took me a few moments to realize that in a way, this is what it must feel like, or even worse, to hear someone say colored people. This class had a very important lesson to be learned. I feel terrible for the student who said “colored people” because I truly believe she had no intent of meaning it in a negative way or causing any problems. To be attacked the way she was is very sad. It’s important to keep in mind, though, that some things might be taken different ways by different people. You might not know their background, history and what strikes a nerve with them. Fri, 14 Sep 2012 19:13:04 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2012/09/07/voices-from-the-classroom-161/#IDComment440801236 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2012/09/04/voices-from-the-classroom-160/#IDComment435929909 I was very intrigued when Sam brought up the idea that the only reason African Americans are Christian is because of slavery. Sam was very blunt in the way he delivered this idea and it definitely stirred some emotions and upset people. Two touchy ideas were being discussed and put next to each other; religion and slavery. This class is all about pushing boundaries and being exposed to uncomfortable ideas, ones that most of us wouldn think are “inappropriate” to say out loud. When I thought about it deeply, what he said did make sense. These innocent people were taken from their homes, brought to America and sold as slaves. When they were forced to adapt to life in America it was natural that they became Christian since it was the predominant religion at the time. Turning to religion is also very common for people going through hardships so it is very reasonable that African Americans used Christianity as a source of hope. I think it was a very touchy topic to bring up in the classroom for some people because African American Christians most likely don’t want to think of their religion as a product of slavery. I think many people that follow religion strictly and look to it as a source of answers and guidance would not want to believe that the only reason they are that religion is because of something as terrible as slavery. That is a hard pill to swallow; realizing that perhaps slavery was a cause of Christianity for African Americans. Something that also struck me was that although I do think Sam is right in some ways, there really is no way of knowing. If they had stayed in Africa and never had to go through the terrible torture that is slavery, who is to know if they would have ever been exposed to Christianity? It isn’t as black and white as just saying that because slavery happened, African Americans learned about Christianity. Sam mentioned that the strongest, smartest people were stripped from their homeland, so there was little chance for Africa to succeed. If slavery and imperialism never happened, there is a huge chance that Africa would be a booming, wealthy country. There is no one that could say whether or not they would then be exposed to Christianity. Sadly, however, this was not the case and Africa isn’t a booming country like it had potential to be. This topic was definitely an interesting one, and being neither African American nor Christian, it was fairly easy for me to listen to what he proposed and agree with it initially. There are many other factors and unknowns, though, that make it a hard idea to process. In the end, I really think there is no way of knowing. I agree that slavery had a large impact on African Americans becoming Christian but there is also a larger historical context to look at. Fri, 7 Sep 2012 04:13:35 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2012/09/04/voices-from-the-classroom-160/#IDComment435929909