Wow Dan Coyne is a good example of the good people that are still in our society. It really shows the effect that simple kindness can make. This is obviously more than simple kindness, this was a huge donation on his part, but it makes you think what have you done today? Even doing something as small as picking someone’s books up when they drop them all or giving someone an extra dollar when they are short. I know that these simple gestures can truly make me smile and brighten up my day. Dan gave a part of him, literally, and he was more than willing to be able to make a difference in this kind grocery clerk that he had been going to for years. It just makes me feel so unkind when I think about how I am too lazy to take a few hours out of my weekend to go to a philanthropy event. He underwent pain so hers could stop. If everyone did small things like this, well we would never be short blood for one. I have to admit that I have rarely given blood simply because it takes time out and will make me weak for a few hours. What about the people who are weak for weeks and years? This really put things into perspective for me. If Dan gives a kidney I can give my blood along with a few hours of my time. Some people are so easy to simply give a few dollars donation, but sometimes there are things more important and necessary than money. Surprisingly enough people’s money can only go so far. In America we often think money buy happiness but in reality kindness like this makes happiness. People caring and loving builds happiness. Obviously money helps but it isn’t necessary. I would love to be able to meet Dan Coyle and the lady he donated his kidney to and see how it has affected their lives. I know that for me it would be a life-changing experience and I hope that someday I will be able to make a difference like this person made a difference. For now though I will get by giving small kindness to whoever is willing to take it. Whether that is opening a door for another, telling someone I love his or her outfit, or reaching a hand out to someone in need. I know that even these small outreaches can and will make a difference. Then hopefully my outreach will help that person in turn to do the same to another. A cycle of kindness quickly begins and how difficult was it for each of those people to take a few minutes out of their time? Not difficult at all, but that is how we can slowly change the world.

I agree with the girl in this video greatly. The girl talking in class didn’t really think about all the things in the way of an immigrant becoming legal. It not only is a great financial investment but there are many other things in the way of becoming a legal citizen. Most immigrants don’t have much financial stability in the first place, which is why they want to come to the United States for better opportunities. It sucks that they have to put up so much right in the beginning. Obviously all of the rules and regulations are making roadblocks for them on purpose and are working towards not allowing a lot of immigrants into the country. Even for people who can afford it it’s hard to become a U.S. citizen. I have a friend who is studying abroad here currently and wants to stay here to work but isn’t allowed to because his VISA is up and he is trying so hard to find some way around it so that he can stay here as a citizen. It’s sad that some of the hardest working people in this country are immigrants. It is also sad that they are one of the lowest paid people in this country. So many jobs here wouldn’t be done without all of these immigrants because none of us are willing to do the grunt work. U.S. citizens could learn from their hard work and dedication. I wish that we could just let anyone who wanted to live here live here but I understand that is impossible and there has to be some rules and roadblocks. I just wish there could be a better way about it and that so many people didn’t have to live here illegally. I also wish that the people who do live here illegally didn’t have to get paid so poorly that it’s hard to make a living. As Americans we take for granted all of the things that we were born with. We were born with so many rights and privileges that we take for granted everyday. I hope that more people will become aware of what’s going on with immigrants and stop taking for granted everything we’ve been handed. I know that I enjoy working hard for everything I do because once I achieve it it feels so much more well deserved. Looking at things in an immigrant’s perspective really puts everything in perspective. I think it would be really interesting to have a class where we are all in the immigrant’s perspective for the class, like the class we were in a Muslims shoes. I hope everyone really pays attention to these lectures and lets it set in and makes a difference in their life rather than just memorizing things for a test because this class isn’t about memorizing facts but rather dealing with these issues.

I really liked this blog question because it is such an important issue in society today. Women are constantly haunted by the picture perfect Hollywood portrayal of what a woman should look like. Everywhere a woman looks she sees pictures of women with perfect bodies and big boobs. The media falsely shows a society of perfect looking women when the truth is everyone has different body types and needs to embrace it. Everyone is born with a different body and everybody is beautiful in its own way. With the way the media portrays women it is hard for people to accept themselves for who they are. Why are women expected to have big boobs, what is it about them that makes it sexier? I liked the fact that the play showed an opposite society where it was more lust worthy to have a small chest. Society always adheres to what is “supposed to be” sexy or attractive but in some cultures big woman are found more attractive. Society needs to stop dictating what is attractive and allow people to be attracted to what they like and accept themselves for who they are.

Being a woman means that you have a vagina, and yes boobs. It means that you are generally more empathetic and are the one who must bear children. It means that you are born with a disadvantage in the workforce and have to deal with different things than men. However, it does not mean that you must be skinny and thin. The play so greatly showed how many insecurities teenagers feel to fit in. Teenage girls never feel like they are good enough they are always saying, “Does this make me look fat”, “But my boobs aren’t big enough”, and “I’m too ugly for him”. Society doesn’t help these issues it only reinforces it. These issues are greatly shown at Penn State where many girls are thin and walk around with minimal clothing flaunting their bodies. Girls here feel so much pressure to be able to fit in and wear and look like the rest of the crowd. I wish that this play along with other plays with similar story lines could be shown to a larger audience so that girls could maybe understand how trivial these issues truly are. The face that people are willing to go through such major surgeries that are extremely expensive as well as dangerous is amazing. The amount of plastic surgery that takes place per year is only increasing and coming to ridiculous levels. When looking to Hollywood it is disgusting how far some actresses and models will go to have the perfect image. I understand doing something that will make you feel better about yourself, but putting yourself in danger at the same time? Many girls need to get their priorities in line, but the question is how to get this to happen?

“Is this just a few bad apples” blog really shocked me. I had heard a little about this through the news and friends but was awestruck at the severity of the things that occurred at the “Tea Party” protests. The big question is what were these protests really about?! It seemed they were more showing how disrespectful people could be and trying to go against all of the progress we have made in the civil rights movement. I was so baffled by why things like this are still going on. Comparing Obama to a Nazi or Bush to Hitler is simply ludicrous. Not only is this disgusting and wrong but if these are the thigns we are saying about our own President then what are other countries going to think about us. The donkey poster with Obama and the caption, “You can keep your change,” was simply ridiculous. Yes we have freedom of speech, and when people do these types of things they are abusing that freedom. In the article I did not see anything about healthcare or the people making rational objective claims against the new plan for healthcare. It is one thing to protest and have legitimate things to say and to do in a civilized manner- a whole another to do it in the way these protesters did. It seems as though we are backtracking all of the progress we have made. The title of this blog addresses this, are these protesters a “few bad apples” or are there many people that still think and act like them. I really hope that this is only a few bad apples. I have never witnessed this degree of racism and outright rudeness to anyone; however, I have seen small signs of racism. This just makes me wonder how much more we have to do to be able to overcome all of this racism. I simply don’t understand how a human being could spit on another person like that, let alone an elected official. Clyburn’s response about how this isn’t about health care that “it is about trying to extend a basic fundamental right to people who are less powerful,” might be right and maybe we should be looking at the other issues involved with this.
Also with this issue comes when does free speech go too far? In many countries people disgracing their administration in this way would surely not be allowed or punished. Obviously the fact that we have such great freedom of speech is amazing and a privilege. People need to take this right and use it in good ways to speak their mind, but in a way that is appropriate and not disgraceful. I hope people will see this “tea party” and learn from it and see that there is a right way to do things and a wrong way.

“I Reckon She Can Hit” is a pretty cool video that shows the progress we have made in society. I think it’s awesome that a woman was able to gain this ground that she was able to enter a majority male sport as a coach. She comes across ad a very confident and strong woman who is both comfortable with herself and her job. I liked the fact that she really wasn’t cocky about the fact that she was the first woman football coach or trying to play up the historical part of it. And with this she is right, this shouldn’t be a big deal it should be something that is normal and generally accepted. The problem is that, like she said, football is mainly played by men and the woman who plays it or largely overlooked. Even if woman don’t play the sport I still know many who are so into the game that they would be just as capable as a man to take the role as coach. I’m glad that she entered into it trying to prove herself by being confident in the fact that she can coach and she holds the ability to be able to both teach and be a coach. Not only is she a woman but also African American, which also helps show the progress, we are making. Sports are so largely male dominated that it helps to show that woman have the capabilities to do everything that men can- just in different ways. There are so many categories and breakdowns in the world today it is always a great feat when we are able to break down another wall. Natalie Randolph was able to break down another wall by becoming the football coach for Calvin Coolidge High School. Hopefully this will be followed with many more jobs for woman in male dominated sports. This only makes sense considering there a great number of males that are head coaches for female teams and this is looked at as if it is no big deal. The hope is to one day not notice race or sex and have it simply be something that is- in a sense be color as well as sex blind. The day when we don’t have to make a big deal of a woman coach or create a “national holiday” for something that should be so trivial will be a great day. The day when we no longer have to have a race relations class because there is no longer any separation. I love this class because it does teach you so much or makes me more aware of issues that I often don’t think about. Which shows me how ignorant some people must be about race and sex issues because I am pretty open minded. Hopefully this day will come soon.

“White’s Only” basketball league….really? What does a different style mean, a fundamental style? He doesn’t even explain what this really means just uses a lot of vague terms to describe it. Moose describes him well, the fact that he looks and is a goofball. If he really didn’t expect a backlash at this “All American league” he was joking himself. I like how Sam continually uses the name Moose because it just makes this topic even more of a laughing matter. If people allowed this to happen then what would happen next? This would escalate into other sports and other matters. This is taking a big step backwards. We talk so often about all the steps we have made and how much progress we still need to make, and also the things that set us back again- this is an example. No matter his intentions, racist or not, this will hurt some people with different skin colors and they will take it personally and see it as a race issue. This portrays well the issues in “Making Peace Between our Colors”, in that so many people see things differently- they see things from their own “box”. It is so difficult to see people’s perspective because we have a hard time putting ourselves in their shoes.

“White’s Only” basketball league….really? What does a different style mean, a fundamental style? He doesn’t even explain what this really means just uses a lot of vague terms to describe it. Moose describes him well, the fact that he looks and is a goofball. If he really didn’t expect a backlash at this “All American league” he was joking himself. I like how Sam continually uses the name Moose because it just makes this topic even more of a laughing matter. If people allowed this to happen then what would happen next? This would escalate into other sports and other matters. This is taking a big step backwards. We talk so often about all the steps we have made and how much progress we still need to make, and also the things that set us back again- this is an example. No matter his intentions, racist or not, this will hurt some people with different skin colors and they will take it personally and see it as a race issue. This portrays well the issues in “Making Peace Between our Colors”, in that so many people see things differently- they see things from their own “box”. It is so difficult to see people’s perspective because we have a hard time putting ourselves in their shoes.
So Moose may see things from his own box- that this isn’t racist this is just wanting a league for white people to be able to play and to play in their own style. I can see where he is coming from in part but from my own box I don’t understand it and see the faults behind it. He needs to come to the race circle and try to see the views of others and see what is wrong with his view. In the very least he could do this on a smaller scale simply with his friends so that he as a white man can be involved- but he should still like people of other races get involved if they so wish. White men may find this idea attractive because they have difficulty entering high level basketball because their skill isn’t as great as many people of other races. This makes the issue with sports difficult because many times certain races do dominate certain sports because of their body type. But the idea overall is way too controversial and opens the door to so many other issue that other people would then try to justify as okay. This incident shows the many people who believe that race is no longer an issue that obviously it is. Can’t we just all play together in this game and the game of life and slowly let the colors fade? Hopefully with classes like this and people actually voicing their thoughts and feelings about race relations we will one day be able to do this- and hopefully that day will be soon.

“White’s Only” basketball league….really? What does a different style mean, a fundamental style? He doesn’t even explain what this really means just uses a lot of vague terms to describe it. Moose describes him well, the fact that he looks and is a goofball. If he really didn’t expect a backlash at this “All American league” he was joking himself. I like how Sam continually uses the name Moose because it just makes this topic even more of a laughing matter. If people allowed this to happen then what would happen next? This would escalate into other sports and other matters. This is taking a big step backwards. We talk so often about all the steps we have made and how much progress we still need to make, and also the things that set us back again- this is an example. No matter his intentions, racist or not, this will hurt some people with different skin colors and they will take it personally and see it as a race issue. This portrays well the issues in “Making Peace Between our Colors”, in that so many people see things differently- they see things from their own “box”. It is so difficult to see people’s perspective because we have a hard time putting ourselves in their shoes.

“White’s Only” basketball league….really? What does a different style mean, a fundamental style? He doesn’t even explain what this really means just uses a lot of vague terms to describe it. Moose describes him well, the fact that he looks and is a goofball. If he really didn’t expect a backlash at this “All American league” he was joking himself. I like how Sam continually uses the name Moose because it just makes this topic even more of a laughing matter. If people allowed this to happen then what would happen next? This would escalate into other sports and other matters. This is taking a big step backwards. We talk so often about all the steps we have made and how much progress we still need to make, and also the things that set us back again- this is an example. No matter his intentions, racist or not, this will hurt some people with different skin colors and they will take it personally and see it as a race issue. This portrays well the issues in “Making Peace Between our Colors”, in that so many people see things differently- they see things from their own “box”. It is so difficult to see people’s perspective because we have a hard time putting ourselves in their shoes.
So Moose may see things from his own box- that this isn’t racist this is just wanting a league for white people to be able to play and to play in their own style. I can see where he is coming from in part but from my own box I don’t understand it and see the faults behind it. He needs to come to the race circle and try to see the views of others and see what is wrong with his view. In the very least he could do this on a smaller scale simply with his friends so that he as a white man can be involved- but he should still like people of other races get involved if they so wish. White men may find this idea attractive because they have difficulty entering high level basketball because their skill isn’t as great as many people of other races. This makes the issue with sports difficult because many times certain races do dominate certain sports because of their body type. But the idea overall is way too controversial and opens the door to so many other issue that other people would then try to justify as okay. This incident shows the many people who believe that race is no longer an issue that obviously it is. Can’t we just all play together in this game and the game of life and slowly let the colors fade? Hopefully with classes like this and people actually voicing their thoughts and feelings about race relations we will one day be able to do this- and hopefully that day will be soon.

“White’s Only” basketball league….really? What does a different style mean, a fundamental style? He doesn’t even explain what this really means just uses a lot of vague terms to describe it. Moose describes him well, the fact that he looks and is a goofball. If he really didn’t expect a backlash at this “All American league” he was joking himself. I like how Sam continually uses the name Moose because it just makes this topic even more of a laughing matter. If people allowed this to happen then what would happen next? This would escalate into other sports and other matters. This is taking a big step backwards. We talk so often about all the steps we have made and how much progress we still need to make, and also the things that set us back again- this is an example. No matter his intentions, racist or not, this will hurt some people with different skin colors and they will take it personally and see it as a race issue. This portrays well the issues in “Making Peace Between our Colors”, in that so many people see things differently- they see things from their own “box”. It is so difficult to see people’s perspective because we have a hard time putting ourselves in their shoes.