I want to first start off by saying that sexuality is an even harder subject for me to talk about than race. It is something that I have not experienced or had to learn about in my life so far. I don’t personally know anyone who is LGBT. The only knowledge I have is from media and friends with more knowledge than I do. However, in my mind, I do think it would be a totally different situation for a person to come out if there parents were straight as apposed to homosexual. If someone had homosexual parents, their parents I’m sure would be much more understanding and could relate to their child’s situation and the difficulty going on in their life. On the other hand, if a child was homosexual and their parents were straight, it would be a totally different situation. Those parents may be very conservative and not accept it or they may be accepting of it but they may never fully understand what their child is going through. However, I do realize that in either situation, this would be incredibly hard for a person to go through. As a young, white, heterosexual female, I face very little obstacles that have to do with race or sexuality. The closest I can relate to is being a female but that is a small discrimination compared to what other people in the world go through. Very recently, I met the first person in my family who is lesbian. At a family reunion, my brothers noticed one of my mom’s cousins was affectionate with this other lady. They first thought the two were sisters and my mom later explained that was her partner. At first, we were very shocked, especially without any warning from my mom. Through talking to her later I learned that her parent’s weren’t very accepting of her sexuality but my grandparents (her aunt and uncle, who are very conservative and Christian) were accepting, simply because they knew what a wonderful person she truly was. I think that’s key in accepting the homosexual culture. You need to get to know them and not judge them by how they look or act or what they do in their everyday life. I later talked to her partner and learned she went to Penn State and was in a sorority just like me, totally normal. It was such a little thing but such an eyeopening experience. I think everyone needs something like that to accept the homosexual way of life. It won’t make us understand what they go through and how people treat them but it’s necessary to move forward as a society. Hopefully, that will increase as time goes on.

After watching the clip in class of the what would you do show, I truly think I would have said something or made an effort to help to women get the food she wanted to buy. A realization the clip did not point out was that the most of the people that agreed with the clerk were white older men. The people that said something or left specifically because of the discrimination were mostly younger and women. Me being young and a women, I really think I would have said something. For me, that’s a big thing to admit because I am very much a person who thinks I just shouldn’t get involved unless necessary but this discrimination in the clip was so outright and blatant that I would feel like I had to explain to him that serving the Muslim women wouldn’t mean he was serving a terrorist. The two girls at the end that made the biggest scene in helping the women were both young women, one of which was white and one that was also Muslim. Something else I noticed was a few people noted that they had a family member fighting in the war. I think they were deeply offended because their loved one was fighting a war and ensuring our freedom while this man is refusing service because of a women’s religious outfit. Personally, I will admit that even I have some prejudgments on people depending on their dress simply because of what I see in the media and things like that. However, if I owned a business, I would never ever refuse service to a customer because I discriminated their race. I believe that if you have a business of service, you should love to serve people of all kinds and want to own a successful business. That’s not going to happen if you don’t serve someone just because of their dress. I believe in the right to choose who you serve but I wish people used that right for the right reasons. However, back to the question, I really think I would have helped the Muslim women. I would have at least said something to the effect of, “Sir, that’s really no reason not to serve her.” If the clerk would have continued I would have tired to buy what food the women wanted of helped her in some way. Thinking about it now, I also think I would have told the women to take her business elsewhere and not give this man any business ever again. However, if I was that women, I wouldn’t have wanted to only be able to go specific places because of my race or clothing. However, in the end, I can never be 100% what I would have done.

As a young woman, I can totally relate to this question. However, I have never thought about this idea in the way that the question was just asked. Before I heard this question, I had my own personal questions on why we expose ourselves to such a degree when there are harmful consequences as a result. It really just doesn’t make sense. I didn’t see this side until I started getting older and had my body focused on so much. I hate the uncomfortable feeling the second you walk out in your bathing suit for the first time of the summer or whatever it may be. It’s just stares and judgement about weight, shape, and color. I never thought of how this attire may be disrespectful to other people from other cultures. Personally, I can’t recall ever seeing a Middle Eastern woman at the beach but I guess that’s for a reason. They don’t flaunt themselves in tiny bikinis. However, I don’t know if their reason for that is because they respect themselves. From my view, it kinda seems like they don’t show a lot of skin because they are traditionally not allowed to. Are they covering up out of fear? Or is it really because they do respect their bodies? I’m really not sure. I never understood why Middle Eastern women that go to Penn State wore their scarves on their head (not sure if that’s the correct terminology, probably not). To me, we’re in America, show who you are, express yourself how you choose. As I think more about why this is this way, maybe they are doing it out of respect for where they come from rather than respect for their body. To me, that would make more sense. I surely hope they are not doing it out of free and I would love to learn more about this topic but I just don’t know anyone to talk to let alone someone I’d be comfortable enough to talk to. If they are doing it out of respect for their bodies, I don’t really see how it respects it. I think it’s better to be proud of your body and appearance and show how confident you are in your own skin, which doesn’t include covering up. By no means am I saying we should walk around naked or something to prove our confidence to others but I think it is definitely okay to some degree. I guess I’m not really sure about this topic and what it really means to myself and to others because it is not an everyday topic and I don’t come in contact with people from that culture very often. I think both sides have a story though.

I agree with the theory of this question but I also see the other side on why non related races may get offended. In my mind, I don’t get offended by rude racial things (and as I discussed in my discussion group, this may be because I am the minority and never had to think to be offended about anything racial in this country) and get annoyed when other people take it so personally and get extremely offended. Actually, I get offended by the ignorance and naiveness of the person who asked the question or made the racial comment or whatever is may be. It’s so easy to just avoid the whole racial rudeness or offensiveness subject and just keep your possibly mean thoughts to yourself. We all learn this from a very young age to not say anything if its not nice yet adults and “mature” people are being stupid and saying things that no one should be saying. It’s very hard to take the express “walk a mile in their shoes” literally because it can obviously never truly happen. That lack of possibility i think cause a permanent ignorance among people about other races and how they feel about their race. However, I really don’t see why its anyone’s business to get offended when the racial slur isn’t intended for them. I understand empathy and how that’s a good thing and all but if I, a white female, went up to a black male, that was maybe just called the n-word and was like “dude that was so rude, I got offended too” that guy would punch me in the face. I have no reason to be offended and we all know that. LIke I said, it’s one thing to be offended by the person, especially if they embarrassed your race class or whatever, but to me that’s the only option that makes sense. Also, this question kinda made me think more about the ideas behind stage four for both white people and people of color. Is getting offended by a racial comment towards someone else acting against hypocrisy? In my mind, it falls in the same category. It’s one thing to generally stand up against racist and explain the them the harm they are causing but I don’t think it’s that person’s battle to fight which means they were offended. However, I’m not sure how to fix this problem. As I’ve said in my previous blog posts for this class, I’m not one to force my views and beliefs on other people, but something needs to be done to ease the unnecessary offensiveness that is happening. I’m sure nothing will change, which is just the way it is.

I agree with the theory of this question but I also see the other side on why non related races may get offended. In my mind, I don’t get offended by rude racial things (and as I discussed in my discussion group, this may be because I am the minority and never had to think to be offended about anything racial in this country) and get annoyed when other people take it so personally and get extremely offended. Actually, I get offended by the ignorance and naiveness of the person who asked the question or made the racial comment or whatever is may be. It’s so easy to just avoid the whole racial rudeness or offensiveness subject and just keep your possibly mean thoughts to yourself. We all learn this from a very young age to not say anything if its not nice yet adults and “mature” people are being stupid and saying things that no one should be saying. It’s very hard to take the express “walk a mile in their shoes” literally because it can obviously never truly happen. That lack of possibility i think cause a permanent ignorance among people about other races and how they feel about their race. However, I really don’t see why its anyone’s business to get offended when the racial slur isn’t intended for them. I understand empathy and how that’s a good thing and all but if I, a white female, went up to a black male, that was maybe just called the n-word and was like “dude that was so rude, I got offended too” that guy would punch me in the face. I have no reason to be offended and we all know that. LIke I said, it’s one thing to be offended by the person, especially if they embarrassed your race class or whatever, but to me that’s the only option that makes sense. Also, this question kinda made me think more about the ideas behind stage four for both white people and people of color. Is getting offended by a racial comment towards someone else acting against hypocrisy? In my mind, it falls in the same category. It’s one thing to generally stand up against racist and explain the them the harm they are causing but I don’t think it’s that person’s battle to fight which means they were offended. However, I’m not sure how to fix this problem. As I’ve said in my previous blog posts for this class, I’m not one to force my views and beliefs on other people, but something needs to be done to ease the unnecessary offensiveness that is happening. I’m sure nothing will change, which is just the way it is.

I agree with the theory of this question but I also see the other side on why non related races may get offended. In my mind, I don’t get offended by rude racial things (and as I discussed in my discussion group, this may be because I am the minority and never had to think to be offended about anything racial in this country) and get annoyed when other people take it so personally and get extremely offended. Actually, I get offended by the ignorance and naiveness of the person who asked the question or made the racial comment or whatever is may be. It’s so easy to just avoid the whole racial rudeness or offensiveness subject and just keep your possibly mean thoughts to yourself. We all learn this from a very young age to not say anything if its not nice yet adults and “mature” people are being stupid and saying things that no one should be saying. It’s very hard to take the express “walk a mile in their shoes” literally because it can obviously never truly happen. That lack of possibility i think cause a permanent ignorance among people about other races and how they feel about their race. However, I really don’t see why its anyone’s business to get offended when the racial slur isn’t intended for them. I understand empathy and how that’s a good thing and all but if I, a white female, went up to a black male, that was maybe just called the n-word and was like “dude that was so rude, I got offended too” that guy would punch me in the face. I have no reason to be offended and we all know that. LIke I said, it’s one thing to be offended by the person, especially if they embarrassed your race class or whatever, but to me that’s the only option that makes sense. Also, this question kinda made me think more about the ideas behind stage four for both white people and people of color. Is getting offended by a racial comment towards someone else acting against hypocrisy? In my mind, it falls in the same category. It’s one thing to generally stand up against racist and explain the them the harm they are causing but I don’t think it’s that person’s battle to fight which means they were offended. However, I’m not sure how to fix this problem. As I’ve said in my previous blog posts for this class, I’m not one to force my views and beliefs on other people, but something needs to be done to ease the unnecessary offensiveness that is happening. I’m sure nothing will change, which is just the way it is.

I agree with the guy who asked the question and we have a similar story. I grew up in a community with mostly white people and the minorities mainly only consisted of African Americans. I never talked about race too much with my family. It was never a problem really that ever needed to be addressed. However, I don’t feel like I am too naive about other races and minorities. I feel like I am comfortable with speaking to and meeting all different kinds of people. However, my time here at Penn State has opened my eyes more than I thought I needed to. I see that not everyone is comfortable with race. I see that some people don’t care about race and don’t want to interact with other races. I wish those people wouldn’t be so close-minded and they could grow as a person through learning about other races but that’s not me to force my thoughts and ways of life on people, especially ones that I don’t know. I know I have a lot more to learn once I leave Penn State and am in the real world but for now, I’m seeing that minorities come from tons of different kinds of backgrounds and not always the typical stereotype. I’m not sure why I ended up the way I did though. My grandparents were all very racist people and forced their thoughts on my parents but my parents never forced that on me. I think in todays world, there are so many new views and ideas coming about such as homosexual marriage and interracial marriage that my parents, thankfully, didn’t wanna force old, traditional views on me and my siblings. Maybe those people that are close-minded and frustrated had parents force beliefs on them. If that’s the case, I can’t blame those people, it’s all they know. Reading back on my response, I’m not really sure what stage I’m in. I think it may be a mixture of tons of different stages, if that’s possible. Throughout the majority of the day, I don’t think about race because I never really come into contact with the problem and aren’t required to think about it. One the other end, if a friend of mine says a racist comment or something like that, I don’t stand up and defend who ever they are making fun of but not because I’m not proud of the fact that I am very accepting but I just don’t want to force my ideals on others. I think that’s the difference between me and other stages, because I just don’t act the way I’m “supposed” to act.

I agree that people in this class are very close-minded on the twitter feed during class. I wish people understood that Sam is voicing his opinions to spark conversation and not trying to force the opinions on them. Of course, since he believes in them he feels passionately about that but every one should be more aware that this is an open-discussion type of class so that every one can share their opinions respectfully. Class on Tuesday in particular sparked a lot of strong and opinionated comments. I think this topic always bring those characteristics out in people. I think that is because many people are personally affected by this war in many different ways. Whether it’s them or a family member or friend, most people know some one in the war or someone who has died in the war. It’s hard to think their friends/family members were sacrificed for a bad or corrupt reason. With politics in general, people are very passionated and opinionated, which is why I hate talking politics, especially with people I know. There are those certain subjects that people in America are very forceful about. I personally have also been affected by the war in Iraq. A good friend of my brothers was killed in Iraq by a roadside bomb. It was eyeopening and scary. It was scary to think that he died in such a gruesome and tragic way that his viewing could have an open casket. I’m sure there are way way worse stories than mine but all are bad in their own way. And for those people who do survive, we’re seeing the effects, now more than ever, of PTSD. Overall, I think that the people making these sad and embarrassing comments have such little or skewed information because there could be no other reason for such opposite and drastic opinions. I personally never know what to believe or what to read and be confident that I’m getting the right information. And even if you have some correct information, you still don’t know the entire story. No one ever does. The story is too big. I think there are so many corrupt things in this world but the reasons for war is definitely one of the biggest. It has so many counter reactions that cause so many other bad things to happen. I personally like to think that the American head officials are morally making right decisions to ensure the safety of our country and hopefully the entire world too. However, I am not naive enough to truly believe that deep down. To make changes and have some confidence, I challenge people to gather all the information on the presidential candidates and use their right to vote to show their opinions, not force it down people’s throats on twitter.

The class as a whole has stood out to me. Some ways were good and some ways were bad. I think this class is a great way for people to open their minds and share their opinions while listening to others opinions. Some people get way too offended though. I don’t agree with things that same says but I don’t take that in a way that he is personally attacking me because I know he’s not. People need to learn that it’s okay to respectfully listen and share opinions in an open setting. The race and inequality subject really brought these behaviors out to me. In my discussion group, we can have a flowing, nice conversation just to share our thoughts. However, one person could take the things we say the wrong way and change the mood completely. I definitely have been shocked by the openness that Sam has in class and how he isn’t scared for people to challenge and question him. I like how how welcomes questions and opinions and makes people feel comfortable enough to share those ideas in a hugh classroom. Also, the Twitter page is a great way for students to express their feelings and see others’ feelings. I was shocked in the first couple classes by the blatant conversations. The class is making me more comfortable with taboo subjects and making me think about my opinions on these issues. It’ll take time for me to make a solid opinion but this is definitely the beginning. For the future of this class, I would like to learn more about other countries and how racism plays a role in other places. We all know how minorities are discriminated in this country and how it needs to change. I would like to learn about other countries because I’m sure we’re not the only ones who have issues with this. I’d like to see how the world views racism and how as a world it is affecting us. Also, I would like Sam to show us examples in pop culture and media of how racism is used and how we never even notice it in our every day lives but then claim to not be racist. One thing I don’t like is that I feel like the class translates whites as a big group of people who hate other races. For me personally, I’ve worked hard for my grades and opportunities. Yeah, it may have been easier with my background and family. However, I did not have it just handed to me. I worked hard for the things I have and I hope every one else works hard for what they want in life.

I am also not ashamed to say that I am nervous when it comes to speaking about race. I come from a very middle to upper class community is the suburbs with a vast majority of my school being white people, who were mainly Christian. I didn’t even know someone that was 100% Jewish until I came to Penn State. To me, I think my childhood plays a major role in the reason on why I am hesitant to talk about race. I never really know the real facts or seen someone I know personally be negatively affected by race. Then there are others that only know being judged by their race and I truly can’t imagine what that would be like. I really know don’t know what to believe when it comes to sports, test scores, and income. I don’t know if I should think whites really are superior to other races in some ways and that some races are superior to whites in some ways. I’m unsure of if it is a biological factor or a sociological factor, like we discussed in class. I think so many white people are in the same situation as I am, as well. Since I’m white, I’ve always been told to not stare at others that look different because it’ll look bad if I do it. I’ve always been told to ‘stay with my own kind’ and not cause problems. However, I think this generation is making huge leaps in accepting people for who they are. It obviously takes time for people to get over the old ways and habits but as the older generation dies off, their ways will too. I really hope the world as a whole can see how specific races are treated and the truth behind who is in charge of this horrible discrimination. I hope that we can mix races so that blacks and hispanics don’t get stuck in bad city schools and whites get the nice private schools. I’m not so naive that I think that it’s always like this but I know that this is the majority of the case. I hope that our country lives up to its reputation where everyone really does have an equal opportunity to live the American Dream. I hope that our social and economic classes don’t have such a divide. Obviously, some people need to be on the bottom and some need to be on the top but I hope that there isn’t such a controlling divide and that the lower class doesn’t have to be as low as it is. Once we get this country together, hopefully, we can expand to other countries and make the world a better place.