I thought that video was awful. There were even people who agreed with the guy at the counter! It just goes to show how uninformed and ignorant a lot of people in this country really are. Just because one person of a certain culture committed a terrorist act gives people the right to think this way? I do not see how people can be so narrow minded. One evil person should not reflect on the entire culture. Because of this, if it were me in that store, I really do think I would say something. Granted, I know everyone would like to say that they would actually say something, I really believe I would. I am not a quiet person first of all, and second of all when I am mad I do not hold my opinions in. Seeing someone being wronged in such a narrow minded way would piss me off to no end. I would definitely stand up for the person at the counter and definitely never buy from that place again. It is wrong beyond belief to deny someone something because of their culture. Do we not live in the United States? This is supposed to be the most culturally diverse country on the planet, yet we have people who discriminate in these ways?
However, I could see possibly why some people might not have said anything. Some people are not as outspoken as others. They try to avoid conflict as much as possible. I like to think that a lot of those people who did not say anything were just shy because to think of them not saying anything because they agree with the man at the counter is disgusting. People of different cultures, religions, whatever are all the same as us. We are still all human beings and we still all have feelings. I can not even imagine what it would be like to be discriminated against in such a way. Were I the girl being discriminated against, I would have probably gotten pretty nasty with the man at the counter.
Again, granted, I have had the pleasure of taking this sociology class on race and racial relations. Because of this, I do believe I am definitely not as ignorant as some of the people in the video. Maybe if they were to take this class they would not be as stupid. We can only hope more people decide to become more educated in these subjects. This country can not continue on this way

When people see a woman walking down the street in a bikini, most often people equate her with awful words like whore or slut or something along those lines. In other words, they are just wearing the bikini for attention. I mean, who would wear a bikini down the street? Bikinis are meant for swimming, and should only be worn at a swimming pool or on a beach. Not saying that I agree with this at all, but that is often what most people think, if they are thinking conservatively. If they are thinking conservatively in this way, then they also believe that the woman does not think very much of herself, or she does not respect herself. A lot of people have thought this way for years and years. We have been discussing this issue in my women’s studies class. However, it is okay for a man to walk around in his swim trunks. No one says anything about him not respecting himself or being a man whore.
Nowadays, though, some people do have a different opinion of a woman wearing a bikini or revealing clothing down the street, including me. Maybe they have somewhere to go or are going swimming or something and just have to walk there instead of drive there. Therefore, everyone has to witness them in their revealing clothing or bikini. It does not have anything to do with respecting yourself. If anything, you do respect yourself; you think highly of yourself and your body and respect yourself in that way. If you are confident, then go ahead and flaunt it, ya know? When I dress up to go out somewhere, yeah, I am going to wear something revealing or something that makes me stand out or look attractive or gain attention. What else do you want when you go out? Has it not always been said that when you look good, you do better or have a better day? You do not always have to dress thinking about respect and deep issues. You just have to dress for yourself. I dress to have fun. I want to go out and dance or go swimming or whatever, I will dress how I want to have the best time I can.
What I do not understand, is that why it is such a big deal. If a woman wants to dress that way, then she should be able to dress that way, and if she decides not to, then it should not be a big deal. Men do not get criticized for what they wear nearly as much as women, and I think it is wrongfully so. Just like how some people do not wanna see my vag hanging out, I really do not wanna see your ass hanging out either.

As much as everyone is not willing to admit it, of course this is how the situation would end up. Here in the United States, black people are the minority. Therefore, when they are seen to be doing something wrong, they are called out for it much more often than white people are because white people are the ones doing the calling out. Were we to switch this to somewhere predominantly black, the white kid would be the one called out on stealing the bike instead of the black kid, or so I think? Everyone has their own racial stereotypes ingrained in their head from who knows when, and once that is in there, it takes a lot for someone to get around it. Was it me, I probably would not have even said anything in either situation because I would not want involved. However, there are many people who would say something, and if they are white, they are not going to believe that someone of their color is doing something wrong or unlawful. Of course they want to blame it on the black person. We have seen this all throughout videos and lectures and everything in this class. It has been this way for quite some time, and will probably remain this way for quite some time. I would love to see it end, as I am sure many people say they would also. I am not sure how we can easily change this though. I wish it was as easy said as done.
I think everyone can agree that something does need to be done, though. Throughout all of the things we have seen in this class this semester, it has been proven that white privilege is very prominent here. Which, I mean, you would think it would be in a predominantly white society. However, the United States is supposed to be a mix of all types of people. Because of this, something like this bike experiment should not have happened. Both boys should have had the cops called on them for it.
I would really like to see the experiment done with more black people walking by then white people and see what happens then.
Also, the boys should be dressed much more similarly. The black kid’s clothes seemed baggier than the white kid’s clothes, which usually people are more suspicious of looser fitting clothes than tighter fitting clothes. I think the white kid should have had baggier clothes on, also. Not saying that this would make much of a difference, though. It is just interesting to think of different possible outcomes were the controls of the experiment monitored differently.

I have read the Hunger Games series and absolutely loved them. However, I have yet to see the movie. When reading these tweets, though, I really wish I would have gone this past weekend. It sounds like the director actually stayed true to the movie for once, with appearance of characters and everything. But what the hell is wrong with the people posting these tweets? Shaking their heads because all of the “good characters” are black? They are supposed to be black, first of all, and this is just further proving the studies shown in those videos we watched in class last week with the baby dolls. The children were shown two baby dolls, one black one and one white one, and were asked various questions such as which doll is good, which is bad, which is pretty, which is ugly, which is better, which is worse, and which one looks like you? The study showed that kids, even from very, very young ages are trained to think of white as being supreme and beautiful compared to black. Almost all of the children chose the little white baby doll over the black baby doll. Even when a little black girl was asked which doll she looked like, she struggled choosing the black one because she had just said the black baby doll was “bad.” Anyways, this is just proving this. Even as teenagers and adults, many people think “good characters” should be white. Why in the world is it still this way today? That is how they were portrayed in the books, and that is how they should be! And what does goodness have to do with skin color? I just have trouble understanding where these people are coming from. When I read the books, I was not concerned with the color of their skin; I was concerned with the racing plot line. If their biggest concern is skin color over what is actually going on in the movie, then they really need their priorities checked, or to take a class such as this so as to notice the error of their ways. One guy even admitted to being racist in his tweet. He said that one character, Rue’s, death was not as sad when he found out she was black? Why?! This very much relates to the recent death of Trayvon. Because he was black, he was shot for looking suspicious, and nothing has been done to the guy who shot him yet. However, were it a little white boy who were shot, everything would be done to get the guy who shot him in jail. This just makes me question what is wrong with everyone. Now I’m shaking my head…

For me, the video and the accounts of the veterans really said a lot and got me to think in ways I had never before (so congrats, Sam). Anyways, the video did make me feel empathy for Iraqis. Not that I did not feel anything like that for them before, I just never thought of it this way or thought of them exactly like me. I still felt terrible when I heard of Iraqi civilians being killed, but now I understand and I understand more when American civilians are killed by Iraqis. Both of these cases are equal to me now. One life is not more valuable than another life. I should have known this before, but if I did, it was just never prominent. After viewing the video in class, I know actually think about it, and wonder what it is like to live in Iraq and have to deal with people invading their country. Were there Muslim invaders over here, I am not sure what I would do. I do not see where people come up with justifying these things. However, I also wonder if the Christian invaders thing was a bit over exaggerated. I have never heard of a church training their children to go into the military and go overseas and preach Christianity to everyone in a threatening way. Maybe I am just not reading into the correct media, but I have never come across this. I could see, however, how the Iraqis think this because of the impression one American Christian soldier can give off. I am not sure I agree with everything Sam said about the Christian invaders, though. It seemed like a lot of people to be over there trying to convert.
I also thought it was interesting when it was brought up that one of the veterans, Aaron, I believe, was afraid of Muslims when he came back. It was so severe that he could not be in the same room with a Muslim without freaking out. And then the other veteran, whatever the girls name was, became a huge activist for Muslim rights in the US after her return. They are both polar opposites. It just seemed strange to me that their experiences were that different. I understand war is a terrible thing and does terrible things to a person’s mind, and that everyone’s experiences are different, but I did not believe they could be that extremely different. For the most part, I figured US soldiers would have a mutual feeling towards the Iraqis and Muslims, even if I was not sure of what they really would be feeling.
The last class made me think more than any of the recent classes have. I am glad that this class kind of picked up the pace. The last few were slightly boring.

To those of you saying you believe it is a choice to be gay because it is a new style/trend, you really have some nerve. Some of my best friends are gay, and they cannot just choose to be straight. One of my friends even tried to be straight, and she said it just did not feel right. It is not a choice. You are born with it. Isn’t there scientific data proving this nowadays? Honestly. I am a Christian, and I still see absolutely nothing wrong with it. Love is love, right? If you think it is a choice, could you freely choose to be gay? I am straight, and I am pretty damn sure I could not just all of a sudden decide to be a lesbian because that is what is “cool.” It has nothing to do with being trendy. Also, why is this a big issue in the news when there are plenty of other way bigger problems occurring in the world today? Less negative light needs to be shined on the gay population of this country and shined on the problems of our huge national debt, or some of the things we have been talking about in this class, such as white supremacy. Anyways, why is it such a problem that his legs are around his boyfriend or lover or whatever? If this were a picture of a husband and wife, no one would even say anything about it. I know for sure that if either I or my husband were coming back from a terrible war, we would jump on each other just like that, regardless of whether or not people are watching. It is just a showing of love, and I think it could give a lot of people hope and excitement who have loved ones in the war and overseas, thinking ahead to that beautiful day when they finally return. I think it is a beautiful photograph, and it would be beautiful whether it is of a man and a man, a man and a woman, or a woman and a woman. And also, I do not see why people have such a problem with PDA. Like, no I would not have sex or anything in a public place, but why is kissing so frowned upon by most? It is just a display of affection. I think it is very sweet when you see that kind of thing. We are living in the 21st century, and this stuff is just not going to go away. Everyone will just have to get used to it.

So the topic that I further want to rant about, or discuss, is that SAT scores and standardized testing scores are repeatedly found lower for students who come from low income houses, and houses in which their parents did not go to college. In other words, they are a first generation college student. I come from a family in which we can sometimes barely afford food for the two weeks between my mother’s paycheck from her job as a teacher’s aide at a local daycare. My father went to college at Penn State DuBois for two years before he had to drop out. He was diagnosed with Isaac syndrome, a ridiculously rare neuromuscular disease in which it became impossible for him to sit or stand for long amounts of time. He cannot work and is paid via social security on disability. Also, I have a younger brother my parents have to take care of. While he is only two years younger, he is still living in their household. Anyways, I scored a 1950 on the SATs. I would say that is a pretty decent score, especially when people say this bullshit about kids not being able to do well when they come from a poor household. I had all As throughout my school career prior to here, and I am currently sitting on a 4.0 GPA for my freshman year at Penn State. I would say that is pretty awesome. Also, I am a first generation college student, as my mother never went, and my father did not finish out his degree. I very much so disagree with the statements that poor kids do worse on standardized testing. I do not think it has anything to do with your economic status. Public schools are still available, and everyone has access to education in the United States if they are determined enough. That leads me to another topic I wanted to discuss more. The determinism versus free will topic got me a little fired up. Yes, there are unexpected circumstances in life that pop up, but they should never determine your success. Nothing should hinder your success in life. You should be able to continue on and work hard. I have always believed that hard work will get you where you need to go, and I still believe that now. I am in college, and I pay for it all myself. My parents can’t afford to help me, like I mentioned previously. They have their own bills to worry about each week. I pay for my schooling with money from the state and scholarships for working hard. I believe 99% of your life is determined by free will. You have to want it.

Again, I am just going to ask, “Why does it matter?” To this day, I cannot understand what the big deal is about interracial dating. As we have been discussing in class, race is practically a made up term just so that people can compare to people who are different from them. It is stupid and irrelevant. You should marry for love. We are no longer in the days of arranged marriages for wealth or power (at least here in the Unites States). I could (almost) understand if this were being talked about in India, where arranged marriages are still a huge part of their culture. But here, in the United States, why are we asking questions about interracial marriages and dating? You should be with someone you love, and sometimes the person you love will not be the same skin color or heritage as you; that is just how fate has it. You marry someone for the way they make you feel. Skin color has nothing to do with it. I guess I could see where people are coming from when they say they want to preserve their culture. But what better way to preserve a culture than to teach it to people who did not come from it? Everyone could learn about it, and maybe even then choose to become a huge part in it. For example, my friend is black and he says he would never marry a person of a different color because he could not pass down his family’s traditions because it would not make sense. Why would it not make sense? You could essentially educate the entire world about your culture, which is therefore preserving it in a larger way. Skin color should not be the determining factor in what gets passed on from generation to generation. I am glad that some people must agree with me, as according to the article linked to this blog the rate of interracial marriage is greatly increasing. I just do not understand why we still have to talk about it, though. It should not be a newsworthy topic of discussion. People should be with who they want to be with. And on the Jewish part of things, if they want to preserve a culture that is under attack, what better way than to share it with someone outside of their faith? Why can a household not celebrate both faiths? The Jewish girl on my floor celebrates both Hannukah and Christmas, but if a Christian were to celebrate both just for the heck of it, they would be looked upon badly by Jewish people. This does not make sense to me. I believe that if you want to preserve and have people understand your culture, you have to go out of your comfort zone and share and express it with others that are not immediately involved with it. This could potentially mean celebrating multiple religions in a house. I do not see anything wrong with that. People can believe what they want to believe, and everyone should just accept that.

I have always identified myself as white. Both of my parents are white, my grandparents are white, and my great grandparents were white. Past that, I am not entirely sure. Of what I do know, though, it seems I am white. I believe that white is a generic term though. White people could be German, Irish, Polish, etc. However, I am not entirely sure what I am. I have asked my family in the past what we are and they have never been entirely sure as to how to respond to that. This is another reason I just say white. Also, I believe it is just easier for people who actually know what they are made up of, like German, Irish, and Polish, instead of just saying all of that or saying that they are a mix. I essentially believe that that is how the term white came to be, seeing as white is not really an ethnicity. Also, I think a lot of people feel they have to identify as white because when you take a standardized test for example, they ask what you are. Usually, the only choices are White, Black, Hispanic/Latino, Asian, and other. These are all very generic terms. I still am unsure as to why people feel they have to generalize themselves in this way, though, especially for something like taking a standardized test. One race or ethnicity is not smarter than another, so why does it matter? I still think that race is a made up term, which is why I am so lazy when I say I am white. Saying that I am white tells you nothing about my intelligence, personality, anything really, besides the color of my skin. However, as we were shown in class last week, people who like white may not even be whatever white is. Because society mandates that we choose to identify ourselves as a race, though, I have come to the conclusion that I am white. Were I to find out about my ethnic backgrounds, this might change, but maybe not. I still do not think it is very important to know exactly what someone’s race is, so I would probably just still say that I am white. People should be paying closer attention to people’s personalities, accomplishments, intelligence, etc. than their appearances. Also, like mentioned in the video, it probably does have a lot to do with the way you were brought up. I am sure other races might have customs that maybe white people do not that they want to preserve. However, I think customs are really more of a family thing. Like, African customs should be carried on always, and not just by Africans, and Native American customs should always be carried on just for the sake of preservation and remembering what society used to be. It does not matter what you skin color or race is.

I do believe that if a white girl had said that she had not wanted a black baby, people would have been offended. Or, not necessarily offended, but everyone would wonder why she would say that in front of people instead of picking the “socially acceptable” answer. However, I think that only white people would think this. I do not think black people would have been offended by this. Like stated in the video, had a black girl been asked if she wanted a white baby, and she had said no, no one would have been offended. I believe this is because of the way society has molded us so that white people are afraid of saying anything to offend black people. I have Soc 119 with four other people on my floor. Two of us are white girls, three are white males, and one is a black male from Nigeria. On the way back to our floor from class, we were discussing what everyone would do if they were asked to adopt a baby of a different race. Both me and my roommate said that we would adopt any child if they so needed it, no matter of race. One of the white males said the same, while the other two would not. The black male said he would definitely not adopt a baby other than that of his own race because he has to carry on African traditions. He said he could not do that if the baby was white, and none of us were offended by this. So, I wonder, had the white girl said she had some “white” traditions to be carried down that can only be passed on to a white child, would black people have been offended? I would like to say no, but the way everyone reacted when Sam had a white girl pick out the darkest person in the class leads me to say that yes, black people would feel offended and discriminated against. I do not see why picking the darkest person in the class was such a big deal; plenty of white people kill their skin cells in tanning beds daily to be darker. That’s beside the point, though. So, anyways, were I the white girl in a situation where I had the choice to adopt a baby of a different race, I would. It does not matter what race they are; I would try to be the best mother I could be. Also, I would take the sperm of a man of a different race to be inseminated with, could I not have children a more natural way. The child would be beautiful no matter what color they are.