Finding out that big businesses are the main reason for immigration did not surprise me. I am a horticulture major so I know how it is with businesses bringing in immigrants during their harvest season to help with the process. Many businesses even have housing set up for the immigrants who come through for a certain period of the year. I had a friend who lived on an apple farm and she would tell me that the immigrants who came and worked on her farm would stay for about 3 months. They always had it mapped out where they would go next for work. Different crops have different harvest seasons so the immigrants can move up and down the east coast hopping from farm to farm. People complain about immigration but seeing it from the business perspective you really just have to deal with it. Sam was right when he was talking about how white poor people who do not have jobs if asked to pick fruit would say no. Immigrants are some of the hardest workers and especially in the horticulture business there help is much needed. In my plant propagation class we were learning about large greenhouses and how the whole process works with propagating mini trees and shrubs. There are immigrants who stay bent over on their knees for 8 hours straight and all they do is poke holes in the media and place the cutting. This is very tedious work and it is very hard being outside all day on your hands and knees just moving down a lot of land doing this. Someone has to do it though. The horticulture business is all of our food crops and what we as a nation need to survive. I like how Sam showed the picture of the woman who looked devastated in California after they stopped letting immigrants in. She was so upset about her crop not being able to be harvested fast enough but if you think about it we should be the ones who are worried too. If that happened to all the crops in the nation then there would be a food shortage causing issued for us. Unless the people of our nation stand up and start doing the work then immigration will need to exist. We only have ourselves to blame when it comes to this situation. There are many unemployed Americans who are too lazy to want to do the hard work. If there is a man or woman who is willing to come in and work their ass off for their family in order to make a better life for themselves then we will have no control over if they are an immigrant or a citizen. Whoever is most willing to do the work will do it and it needs to be done. If someone does not do it then our horticulture businesses will suffer along with our food crops. I am working on a vineyard this summer outside helping with the other workers. I am not sure yet what I am going to be paid but I can predict that it will not be a lot, and I know I will be working with immigrants. This does not bother me at all because as long as they are hard workers and getting the job done then who are they really hurting?

Reading this actually shocked me. When I was first reading I was thinking to myself yea yea this is what everyone woman wants but men would never understand. I was thinking that a woman wrote it till I reached the part about how prison made him realize all of this. Reading this made me very happy to know that some men do think like this. I feel like with our generation so much has changed. Back in the day this is how it was. Men would call woman, and make more of the effort. Now I feel like it has flipped. Many guys feel like the girl should chase them, but that is not how it should be at all. Guys think it is cool to act all macho and manly. I like when he said that men should be able to let down their guard and share all their secrets with their lady. Being in a long term relationship that could end up in marriage should be like this. That person is suppose to be your best friend. The one person you can trust will all your secrets and opinions. They also should be someone who you are so comfortable around that you can 100% be yourself. I feel bad that it took prison for this man to realize all of this, but I am still happy it happened. I do not think he could have described it any better. Everything he said I completely agree with. The only part I did not understand was when he said that all woman want is sex and money. Is this really what guys think? All woman want is someone who they can share the rest of their lives with, a lover and a best friend. Yes I am sure there are some gold diggers out there but deep down they also want love. Every woman wants love. If she says she doesn't then she is lying.

Putting myself in the shoes of the middle easterners changed my perspective on a lot of things when it comes to the war. I like how Sam started the class out with showing us the video on Jihad. After we watched that video I was scared. I had never seen anything like it. I have heard my parents and family talk about Jihad but seeing the video made it all click for me what they were saying. While we were watching the video my mouth dropped. I didn't understand what these peoples' issues were with us. I felt like they were being crazy coming at us like that. Then when Sam told us to think as if we were them, but opinion completely changed. It made me to look at America like we are crazy. When he was showing us the video of southern baptist churches coming over to help out, and then giving the bible to people I could see how they would think this is what christians are trying to do. Also when Sam showed us how much land America owned in the world it also made me see how they would think we are trying to take over. I like how Sam explained to us how the President always prays for the troops before we go to war. He explained how if we were truly thinking like a middle easterner we would think hey wait, he is praying for our people and our nation to die. That hit hard with me, because I never thought about it in their perspective. That whole classes discussion threw me off with how I feel about the war. How we see Jihad is how they see us. I really cannot be mad at them for that because its all they know. Every nation has something wrong with it, and when thats all you see or know, of course you are going to dislike them. They do not know how great our country can be, or how we are all not out to take over the world with religion. They cannot help that fact. It makes me want to do more research into their culture and religion so I can make a more educated opinion.

I have many different thoughts on this subject. What I think it comes down to is the occasion and the weather when it comes to dressing up. It is a female thing to want to look all pretty and dolled up when you go out. Its fun to look at what other girls are wearing or how they did their hair, or even their makeup. Its what we woman like to talk about, and we enjoy putting on music and getting ready together. Kind of a way of bonding. Guys on the other hand many times just throw on what is comfortable and hit the door, unless they are in to GTL (just joking). But anyway my opinion after the lecture did not change. I actually agreed with a lot of the things the both of them were saying. In the winter time, girls so not cover themselves up enough. It is quite unhealthy when all you depend on for the weekend if your beer jacket and hope for the best. I mean people have died from freezing to death. Many young ladies in our generation dress like prostitutes and it is very sad. I believe men are more attracted to a woman who looks stunning and put together than a girl wearing nothing and stumbling because she is so drunk. The one thing I loved that she said was that heals are horrible! They truly are and I hate wearing them unless it is for a very special occasion. Yes they make you stand tall but they are so uncomfortable. I would be lying if I said that I do not own heals, I own a lot of cute pairs, and the next day after wearing them I always regret it. Men do not have to worry about this situation because they do not even have the option of wearing them. Guys have it easy when it comes to dressing up. They get to be relaxed and have eye candy all night. All I can say is not fair.

When I first read this I was so shocked I had to go through and read it again. This story is a perfect example of how a situation can bring out who you truly are. This person experienced a life that most people in the world do not even know exists, and was very strong. I couldn't get over the part that his parents said he wouldn't live to be 18. This shocks me that a parent could ever say that to their child. My parents always say that a child should never die before their parent. I feel so bad for this man. He went through a lifetime of hell, and now will spend his life in jail. That to me is horrible. His parents were very cruel and mean and ruined this poor man's life. The fact that his brothers and sister didn't try to help him and went along with the parents makes me extremely angry. I could not imagine not having my sister on my side. Whenever my parents and I get into a fight my sister is usually on my side trying to help be the mediator. In general I am confused on how the parents only treated him bad and not the other children. They beat and tortured one child, and then brainwashed the others. This to me is the worst thing that could ever happen. I can see why he came back and killed his parents. This to me is a tragic story in general. I really like that the title of this is fear. Fear truly is the worst feeling, and he lived his whole life through fear. I feel so bad he could not have just had a normal childhood, and enjoy the little things that everyone misses once they grow up. You live life once, and his one experience is very tragic. I am not really sure how to react to his situation because it is one I could never experience living through. Everyday I learn something new, and appreciate the way I was raised so much. I can't get over how naive I was, thinking that I had it so hard. I came to college and realized I had my life pretty damn good compared to other stories that have been shared with me. I feel so bad for this man who will spend the rest of his life in jail and honestly I cannot even blame him for his actions. If you put yourself in his shoes, you can see why he acted out in rage and killed his parents. No human being should ever have to experience or live through what this man did. I mean his dad raped him, that to me is disgusting. And then to go to his teachers and tell them that you are liar. I mean he never got away from the constant torment. For many kids, they like going to school because it is a way to get away from what is going on at home. He would go to school and teachers would be on his ass about things and weren't very friendly because of his sick parents. I can't believe his parents wouldn't even take him school shopping or get him new clothes. They truly fucked him over. I respect this man so much for going through everything he did, and writing this to share his story. I am so happy he was able to fully explain his situation.

Last semester I remember watching a whole special on how winning the lottery can ruin someone's life. It went on for hours and I was just amazed about all these people's different stories. None of them had a happy ending. Winning the lottery can wreck a person's life. Going from poor to rich within one day is very drastic. I see it as if someone was raised not having a lot of money, then money does not control their life. They know how to live off their income and how to make it work for their family. When winning millions of dollars, they probably do not know what to do with it. Automatically, they want to start buying the things that they have always wanted, and shopping can turn into an addiction. From the show, I was watching many winners get involved in drugs, or just keep spending and spending money and never know when to stop. Money can be evil. The one situation that shocked me the most was a man who won the lottery and he handled it well. He opened up his dream restaurant, and managed all of the money very well. His sister in law was struggling with drugs and had no money and a boyfriend who was a bad influence. They ended up killing the man for his money after he had helped them both so much. He had paid for her to have an apartment while she looked for a job. She constantly begged and begged for more money, and took complete advantage of him. She was the one who didn't even win the lottery, and all she was doing was asking for money. You never really hear about happy endings from winning the lottery. I live day to day and yes I am concerned about money, but it does not control my life. If I were to win the lottery, I would start to think about money all the time. How much do I need to save? Where do I want to travel? Where do I want to go shopping? It would drive me crazy. I can see how winning the lottery though could have a good outcome. It all depends on the person who wins. If they know how to manage money, and were raised with good morals, then hopefully all that money would not overwhelm the person. Personally, I wish the lottery never existed. I am a bank teller so I see everyday during the summer how people are crazy about their money. It is crazy how green paper can have such a huge influence on the way people act on a daily basis.

It is hard to decipher if a person is selfish for having more kids on a lower income. It all depends on that person’s situation. It could be that the woman having 5 or more kids is being irresponsible and not realizing that with a lower income, having more kids they might not have an equal opportunity as others. Having a child is very expensive and for such a low income to be supporting multiple people can be very difficult. But then you have to see if it is really this woman’s fault for having so many children. With a low income, these families might be living areas where they are not as informed about protection, and ways of preventing pregnancy such as birth control. With a low income a woman might not have the money to pay for birth control every month. So I do not see it as being selfish if this woman cannot help the circumstances that are brought upon her. There are also situations where woman have multiple children to receive more welfare. This to me is selfish. I cannot really speak heavily on this subject because I honestly do not know all the details with how welfare, and how many children you have works, but I know that it is out there. Another issue with having many children with a low income is how much attention you can give them growing up. People with low incomes can work multiple jobs or have many hours a week. With more than 3 or 4 children, there is only so much personal time you can give to each child. But then again how can you look at this as being selfish. Most likely parents are working all these jobs to support their children and their family so that is not selfish. But if they have this many children on purpose, then in a way it is selfish because the children are missing out. Watching the video in class yesterday, I saw a low income family, and the son kept saying how his mother didn’t take pride in her appearance and didn’t do anything around the house. I could tell from everything he was saying that he did mainly all the cleaning, and he cared deeply about his impression to others. When first seeing this I thought, wow that mother is being selfish. She is at home doing nothing, and making her children do everything. But the minute I thought that the video went into how she works at burger king and have to walk 10 miles a day to her job. It showed her walking in the pouring rain. I immediately wanted to take back that thought of her being selfish. Any selfish person would not do that to support his or her family. When discussing number of children with being selfish you have to take in all the outside factors that can affect a person’s life, and then go into reasoning on if they are selfish or not. There are so many different factors that can counter act a person’s opinion on a situation. Therefore when first hearing a family’s situation or living conditions you cannot jump to a conclusion of selfishness or pity without knowing the full circumstances of the entire situation.

The best way to make people more aware of slavery in this day an age is to educate. The only way people will hear about these issues is through the news and schools. I was shocked when I learned all of this information about slavery today. I did not know half of it existed and it is because no one had ever informed me on it. I think the main reason many people do not know about slavery is because it is not a subject people want to talk about. In class, most people did not want to eat their second piece of chocolate after watching the video. I could tell that all the kids sitting around me were disgusted by the video and how poorly those young men were treated. Especially when the young man made the comment that when you are eating that chocolate you are eating his flush. That was the one statement of the video that hit me very hard. If Soc 119 had never talked on the subject of slavery in class, then I would have probably never known that what happens to those kids in the video exist. I do not understand how this video has been out for years, but has never been on the news. People need to be informed on what is happening. The more people who are informed about slavery, the better chance we have of ending it.

The Fence

Thinking in a single frame of mind reminds me of a stagnated pool of water in a parking lot. I can't remember a time when I have thought of a single issue on a macro level. By that logic I can hardly choose whether or not I am a liberal or conservative. I believe in the right of individual freedom, so am I pro-choice or pro-life? I believe of freedom of speech, so Howard Stern has it right but Pretty Little Liars should never be on a channel named "ABC Family." I frankly find it hard to choose. I will leave it up to every other response on this blog to choose what ever the majority may wish the outcome of this expirement.
Good Living

I have many different thoughts on topics with the Confederate Flag. I was born and raised in Richmond, Virginia, so I have seen it all when it comes to rednecks, and others expressing the Confederate Flag. There are two different ways a person is able to express the Confederate Flag. First there is the Confederate battle flag. Most rednecks, and other southerners who wear this flag on t- shirts, or on their car are sometimes racist. Many might not think that they are racist, but by wearing the battle flag with racist comments hurts many African Americans. Growing up in a southern environment you have to understand that in school, teachers and the class material focuses heavily on the civil war. This is our heritage, and we live right where many battles have happened. Richmond was the Capitol of the Confederacy and we even have a Civil War Museum, that I promise you almost every richmonder growing up has gone too. When you wear the confederate flag or express it, you are able to express your heritage. The South is a completely different place than the North and I have learned that by coming to Penn State. It is two completely different atmospheres. Many of our high schools are named after people who were high up in the Confederacy. An example is Lee Davis high school whose mascot is the Confederates. Many African Americans attend this school along with whites. Many are probably offended by their mascot, but the fact of the matter is that it is history. When people say the south will rise again they are not referring to slavery. No one wants to have slaves in this day and age. Like I said the south and north are different atmospheres. Style is different, and peoples’ personalities are very different. Southern culture wasn’t about cities such as New York City and Philadelphia; it was more about the land you lived on, and getting together with your neighbors. Yes slavery did occur which is extremely wrong. But that is not what all southern culture is. I have many African American friends at home, and right now they would laugh reading this because I am using the term African American. To us growing up color was no issue. I have grown up with kids from all different countries and we are very comfortable with each other. I never once have hesitated to be friends with someone because of the color of their skin. I was raised to never judge a book by its cover. I personally do not own a confederate flag, I was raised by Pennsylvanians who moved to Richmond when they got married for my fathers job. At home during the summer we will sometimes have themed parties such as White Trash Wednesday, and everyone wears confederate flags, cowboy boots, and wife beaters. Even my black friends do but all of us it is a joke and they do not take it as personally. I guess it’s the fact that we all crack jokes on with each other all the time. It is the fact that we are all so comfortable around each other, but that’s because that’s how we were raised. My high school had many rednecks, and its just a way of life. Just as it is a way of life to be preppy. Many rednecks at my high school probably were racists and that was one of the reasons they represented the flag. Many of them I know were not racist and just wore it because it was part of their style. Or they might have even been proud of our Southern Heritage. There is no place like the south, and many southerners love to express this. He asks how do northerners sit and identify with the southern culture when they have not experienced it. This I cannot answer because I personally do not understand it. But in today’s world it is hard to explain how human beings act, and as my mother would say, “to each their own.”