en-us https://www.intensedebate.com/users/4217716 Comments by lemonade12 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2012/04/20/voices-from-the-classroom-156/#IDComment343769525 LGBT and interracial relationship are among the controversial topics in the society. My parents are very liberal in my opinion, and I would think that in either case they will respect my choice. But to be honest, I think they will try to be more open with these kinds of issues if it was directly related to them - which means, if I was LGBT then they will try to be become more open-minded and at least learn more about those issues and be more active in order to defend their children from those who are against. I cannot say I would know how it feels to be someone who is LGBT or in interracial relationship because I am not, but it must be hard for those whose parents do not approve or reluctant to approve. I remember talking with my mother on the phone one day and I jokingly said to her that I might bring a boyfriend someday who is not someone of my race. She told me that she would be happy for me, but right after that she also said that she would be happier if he was from my race, or more specifically, if we were from the same country (I wasn’t born in states). I was a little bit surprised to hear her response since I’ve always thought she did not care about those issues. However, it seems that the way she grew up she was taught to avoid those kinds of issues. I do not think I will have the same mindset as my mother, but I nevertheless will listen to her and try to understand her thoughts as she would do the same to me. Also the reason why I chose LGBT is because if someone is in interracial marriage, then there’s a chance that parents could always be racist (or prejudiced based on race) against the spouse of their child. They might pretend to be nice but talk behind their back. This could happen quite often even if the couple is not interracial because parents always care more about their child. But if their child is LGBT then I think that might push the parents more to accept the fact because they care and it would hurt each others’ feelings if they talk behind their own child(hopefully this never happens). Depends on each individual I agree that it varies from each person, but that is my main opinion. I wish more parents care more about their children’s safety and level of happiness rather than such things that are not related to their health or environment. Because being safe and have a happy life is a bigger issue in my opinion, and a harder one to reach. Fri, 20 Apr 2012 23:29:11 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2012/04/20/voices-from-the-classroom-156/#IDComment343769525 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2012/04/10/voices-from-the-classroom-146/#IDComment337062095 I think one of the reasons why modern day people are so afraid of child abduction is due to the shrinking size of the family. Most families usually have two or fewer kids, and that increases the parents’ sense of protection toward their children or fear and it gets passed on to next generations. Also even though the crime rate has decrease in the past few years, the media coverage on the crime has been exaggerated. I think that even if I had children, I would still be reluctant to let them walk to the school by themselves. One of the leading death causes in America is drunk driving, and that makes me worry more about car accident in general. The fear of their children abducted by nonfamily members or killed by a stranger. I was a little bit surprised that the number wasn’t as high as I expected it to be – I imagined it being 1,100 – even though I think around 100 is still a large number. Would it mean that people nowadays do not trust each other? I believe it could be one of the reasons of increasing fear, but also the fact that more people focus on child care than before, too. In reality, we cannot live in a completely crime-free society, and therefore need some assurance of outside protection. In these cases, it may vary from each person but for myself I wouldn’t let my children to walk to school alone until they reach certain age – middle school I would say – and are able to make decisions. But I wouldn’t worry too much about it than the other issues such as bullying, learning disability and etc. I think the more important issue is to educate parents and do not make them start snooping on their kids. The best method is protection, so what I think they should do is to teach safety measures which will both prevent and give them better chances of their children being recovered if the abduction occurs. In each and every conversation I stressed on education because I believe it’s the most effective prevention for most of the problems in the world. Aside from the topic, I can also see the bigger issue that this discussion aims for. The world is not as dangerous as we think they are. That’s exactly what my parents said to me all the time, too. They believe that every bad person you meet in the world, there’s always at least two good people you’ll meet. I’ve been focusing more about the fear that people have toward child abduction in this paragraph, but truly I hope that the society will be a much better place by the time our children live. Wed, 11 Apr 2012 22:43:07 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2012/04/10/voices-from-the-classroom-146/#IDComment337062095 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2012/04/03/voices-from-the-classroom-141/#IDComment333332212 The class discussion about different religions and their customs intrigued me to respond to this particular blog question. In my opinion, the utmost thing that we can do to disrespect ourselves is to do things that make us uncomfortable. Whether it is wearing a hijab or a bikini, you need to be comfortable in your clothes. I’ve talked to some of my friends who are Muslim and majority of them answered me that it makes them feel closer to their religion. If we think about it, it might not vastly different from Christians wearing a cross necklace or Jews wearing a hat. As long as it doesn’t get extreme, wearing a headscarf could just be a form of religious expression or a custom. It shouldn’t be the center of attention when we think about Islamic religion; the whole debate about the religions should be the main focus. Sadly, most of the times people focus too much on the outer appearance and use that as a tool to judge others’ religion and their beliefs. Back to the question about what is respecting and disrespecting ourselves, I think it all depends on each individual. But mostly the standard will be how far you can be comfortable in your own clothes, religion and the way you express it. If you are not comfortable covering all your bodies then you shouldn’t be forced to do so, but the same concept applies if you do not want to expose much skin, like wearing a bikini at the beach. For me, I’m very neutral about clothing and believe that people should dress according to the weather/outside temperature. I feel like many Americans (or just people in general) freak out when they see a culture different than theirs and hence might think that wearing a hijab is degrading women’s rights and so on. But by hearing from my friends I now believe that it is their free will and tradition and nothing so bizarre. Even if we say that it’s not their choice to cover up their bodies but the outside pressure, it’s the same in America, too. I’ve seen girls wearing high heels and miniskirts in winter on their way to the party, and it’s the same thing. It is all about the peer pressure and how the society views us that some way or another forces us to dress and behave in certain ways. Maybe I’m generalizing too much, but that’s how I think about when people try to argue that dressing up in certain ways is more “liberal” than the others. In addition to the outside appearance, I think the mannerism and how much you respect others also reflect on how much you respect yourself. If you treat others with respect, it will show that you are a confident and respectable person and you don’t have any self-esteem issues as to criticize other people. Fri, 6 Apr 2012 21:16:08 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2012/04/03/voices-from-the-classroom-141/#IDComment333332212 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2012/03/27/voices-from-the-classroom-135/#IDComment328227437 My first impression of the video was that from the beginning when the interviewer started asking question I knew he was going to poke fun at Asian student’s’ accents. But to be very honest, I found this video humorous; not because they were making fun of specifically at Asian students but because I thought about of how we all make fun of each other all the time, and it wouldn't have been a big deal if a white person was making fun of white person, or same for any other race. People naturally want to make fun of other people so they themselves would feel superior. Maybe I’m not that sensitive whenever people make racial jokes – the mild ones – because I don’t take them seriously either. However, Oppose to what many people might think, I don’t believe the reaction would’ve been the same if they were interviewing international students. The video has criticized very harshly simply because it was making fun of certain racial group. For an example, if the video featured international students from Britain and made fun of their accents (although this might be a bad example), I don’t it would have been such a big deal. So we get the idea. It all ties into race and whenever we see someone trying to categorize certain groups of people with similar race and culture then we fear that it resembles racism and react more sensitive towards them. For me, I think it’s more of an issue if you are racist in general than deciding whether whoever made the video was racist. There are a lot of comedians in America and any other countries that imitate distinct accents of foreigners (even in Asia of course) or make certain jokes about race, but it doesn’t mean that they are racist too unless they did it constantly or intentionally and “crossed the line.” It may depend on each person, but for me I don’t put too much thought into those jokes and don’t have much respect in entertainment industry so I didn’t get too offended when I watched this video. But now I can see how other people might take this more seriously. That being said, I believe that it is a good intention to point out racisms in the comedy show or these kinds of videos that are purposely designed to make fun of people in certain race, although I don’t know if it will diminish completely in the future. I still don’t know how to draw the line between seeing a comedy show or jokes and decide whether it is rooted in racism (and not laugh, because that will make me a racist) or just simply consider it as a stupid joke/an extreme form of comedy, like death jokes. Those are not obviously funny if you think about what they actually mean, but you laugh anyways because they poke fun at the most sensitive issues and relieve tension. I think we should rather laugh at each other and just let it be a causal joke, but do not make it as a standard to judge others and discriminate. Sat, 31 Mar 2012 03:13:42 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2012/03/27/voices-from-the-classroom-135/#IDComment328227437 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2012/03/22/voices-frorm-the-classroom/#IDComment323514854 After thinking about this question more in depth, I found myself still torn between whether the granddaughter of a white girl in example should give up her chair or not. I think, just like many other people, she should be somewhat responsible to share her chair with other people. I think this particular question also applies to the modern day conflicts, such as Israeli-Palestine Conflict. In my world culture class back in high school, my class spent a great deal of time on learning and discussing about this topic. Even at the end of the year we still couldn’t figure out the solution (of course if we did, then we would sure to get a Nobel Prize). I think it all depends on the mutual agreement and how much both sides are willing to yield, forgive or apologize. I hope that this also warns people that when history is forgotten, it repeats itself. That’s why we need more education. We need to teach people about the past and the mistakes that we made so we won’t repeat them again. Although the granddaughter may have not done anything wrong, she is partially responsible for the wrongdoings of her ancestors or at least sympathetic about others lives. If she doesn’t take any actions then her future generation will also think the same way, and it will be passed on like that forever and we will be trapped in a vicious cycle of discrimination and ignorance. We don’t want that. Some people might argue that it is hard to do so, such as giving up a land to American Indians. But I believe that if everyone thinks the same then the world would be a same place as it was before. To be honest, I never knew that American Indians were living in reservations even now on. Unless they believe they should have a sovereign nation or choose to not blend into mainstream American lifestyle, I think they should have the right to live somewhere else or maybe provided with assistance to adjust to the outside world. About the land I think it is a more complicated issue, but with more education hopefully people will be more aware of the discrimination against American Indians and at least empathize. Not everything is harmonized and logical in real life. Sometimes we have to turn around and see how far we have walked and what have we done so far. We can only move on if we think that the paths we took before was the right path, and if not we need to follow the traces we left behind to find the origin of the problem. I think one way to do is to put on another person’s shoe and think about in their perspective – would you still agree with the answer you had before? Sat, 24 Mar 2012 16:25:10 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2012/03/22/voices-frorm-the-classroom/#IDComment323514854 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2012/03/12/voices-from-the-classroom-118/#IDComment314821719 Most of you will remember when we talked about how in Africa and many other countries, people call those who came from America “white” regardless of their skin color. It does not just associate with race but with the culture, and how they view the people in developed or “rich” countries. The global inequality has become intertwined with racism and the class structure. Nowadays, there are a lot of disparities among global economy than ever. We have discussed in details about the issues in Haiti and other developing countries, and the major problem lies on politics as well as economics. Most times the rich countries use their power to control the natural resources such as land, water and oil. I’ve read some funny comments that satirize the U.S. international politics about the oil, which basically says that if you find the oil reservoir, the U.S. army is coming to save you – which is criticizing about The Kony 2012 being a propaganda tool for the United States. For a quick recap, the guy named Joseph Kony is responsible for creating over 30,000 child soldiers and child sex slaves in Uganda. The Kony 2012 'save the invisible children' campaign aims at getting people informed and try to stop him from taking over. Critics say that it all happened over 6 years ago and now the Americans created this project right after the major oil discovery in Uganda the year 2011 – that is worth two billion barrel. Although I kind of agree with them, I cannot judge if the Kony 2012 is just a scam or a beneficial cause to raise more awareness and bring an end to the child soldiers and sex slaves in Uganda. What I do want to point out is that the richer nations become, they set the rules and even tries to manipulate people’s minds to profit their economy. There are many cases like this and even though I am not a business major, it makes me lose faith in the politicians even more. All around the world, you will encounter more favor toward people with fair skins, riches, and those who live in richer nations because that’s the standard of most developed nations. I think we should make these global inequalities and try to educate more people. It may be a slow process but with over time I think people will realize how stupid it is to judge others based on those facts. And with more public awareness, more people will anticipate in the politics and monitor to reduce the corruption in the government and business world. International racism is based on the power structure, and to break it down we need to keep globalization and educate people to close the culture gap and extend our knowledge and embrace the differences (whether it is racism, culture differences or class struggles, etc). We only discriminate or stereotype people whom we don’t know very well. Once you get to know someone you won’t think they are that different than you are. It’s all about that. Tue, 13 Mar 2012 02:46:32 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2012/03/12/voices-from-the-classroom-118/#IDComment314821719 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2012/02/29/what-more-do-you-want-to-think-about/#IDComment312587589 There is one more thing I want to get from this class. I’ve always thought to myself that the fact that I am a woman makes me feel more prejudiced against men. It might not be related to the race discussion but I just wanted to know if it’s prevalent in the society as well. Just as likely if a man will discriminate against women in a work place, I might as well discriminate men unconsciously. I want to break this stereotype that is deeply rooted in my mind and be more laid back when it comes to interacting with men. I also want to mention that this is not related to feminism at all and there are more people out there who feel the same way as I do regardless of their gender. Would this possibly due to the media and how they portray what women and men should be? There are so many questions unanswered in the society that we just ignore them each day and do not pay attention because we are simply lazy or fear to fail. I want to discuss all of these issues in this class, only if we have enough time. Sat, 10 Mar 2012 01:24:39 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2012/02/29/what-more-do-you-want-to-think-about/#IDComment312587589 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2012/02/29/what-more-do-you-want-to-think-about/#IDComment312587226 In addition to the class discussion last week, I would like to see what we can do to help the poor countries without necessarily “feeding them.” As an aspiring future donor I would like to know if all the donations will actually be used to benefit the people or entrepreneurs in need and not to some corrupt government officials. There have been some shady things going on in many philanthropy organizations – the most notable case would be UN which is known to be powerless, and thus affecting UNICEF as well - and I think part of the reason is because many of those charities are linked to the U.S. foreign policy in some form or another. I wonder what actions we should take about this and how to make the governments in developing nations more accepting toward foreign aids. Sat, 10 Mar 2012 01:23:53 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2012/02/29/what-more-do-you-want-to-think-about/#IDComment312587226 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2012/02/29/what-more-do-you-want-to-think-about/#IDComment312586967 As many people have expressed, I would like to learn more about how we can deal with racism or situations dealing with race and culture that might turn out to be uncomfortable. Many instances in this class I have realized that certain words or references shouldn’t be made to people from certain ethnic groups, such as the “n word” which won’t be considered polite to say to someone you just met but may be completely fine between friends or among dark skinned people. Along with it I also want to know what people think about when they face certain situations; do majority try to just give in or educate people? This was mentioned in one of the articles I’ve read in the book for this class and I thought it’d be interesting to see how many are actually willing to point out the problems and try to teach those who are not aware of their mistakes or misjudgments. Sat, 10 Mar 2012 01:23:19 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2012/02/29/what-more-do-you-want-to-think-about/#IDComment312586967 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2012/02/23/voices-from-the-classroom-112/#IDComment300658113 It could be very discouraging for some who have gone through same experience as I did, and even for those who do well, too. I think the reason why we're in college is to heighten our interests on certain subjects and apply them in real life situations, not just to take exams and get all A's as most people would think. I personally do want to perform well also, but I believe your interest and enthusiasm in a particular subject should overpower the need for a better grade and greediness for 4.0 GPA like me. I know it’s an irony I said since that’s the ideal grade and will more likely to get you a better internship and job positions in the future. So sadly, I think that's the core obstacle for most college students in their way to build up their knowledge and heighten their curiosity. But I hope to see more people not just give in to such stereotypes and truly enjoy learning for what it is. Fri, 24 Feb 2012 16:49:32 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2012/02/23/voices-from-the-classroom-112/#IDComment300658113 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2012/02/23/voices-from-the-classroom-112/#IDComment300657964 The important thing is that racism doesn't always associate with negative aspects. Sometimes phrases such as the "model minority" could grant people in certain race some kind of privileges or pride, but it could also hurt the individuals as well and put them in pressure of performing above their optimum intellect and skills. As a result, those individuals work so hard to keep up with the expectations and fit in to the stereotype that the society has assigned to them. Fri, 24 Feb 2012 16:49:18 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2012/02/23/voices-from-the-classroom-112/#IDComment300657964 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2012/02/23/voices-from-the-classroom-112/#IDComment300657810 Being an Asian myself I am often satisfied and content to feel that we are seen as intellect and quick-minded. On the other hand, I also feel constant pressure to perform well on my exams and excel above others. In a long run it could motivate me to keep up the good work and continue to seek my studies, but sometimes it also hurts my self esteem when I do not perform well as I expected and seen as lazy or stupid by other people just because I happened to be an Asian. In another view, it could also mean that Asians are not good at other things - such as sports, public speaking - and are only into studying science and math related subjects. I believe that it’s another way saying that we won’t be good enough if we weren’t smart and also not good at those things. It makes me feel like I need to put more effort in order to be better off than the average American. Fri, 24 Feb 2012 16:49:03 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2012/02/23/voices-from-the-classroom-112/#IDComment300657810 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2012/02/23/voices-from-the-classroom-112/#IDComment300657673 I think generalizing all Asians being smart, good at math and science and intellectually superior is a combination of both stereotype and racism. It also depends on how you define racism, but in general it is defined as a belief that inherent different traits in human racial groups justify discrimination, and I think the Asian stereotypes could be used to racially discriminate Asians. Fri, 24 Feb 2012 16:48:50 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2012/02/23/voices-from-the-classroom-112/#IDComment300657673 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2012/02/16/interracial-marriage-on-the-rise/#IDComment295225229 Even in Penn State, I am surrounded by people of different race and culture and it’s still hard to find my significant other. So why would I limit myself into only dating inside one racial group? If I am going to date someone, then chances are that I am attracted to his personality and his look altogether, regardless of race (or culture). Nowadays, I truly think that the society is embracing more racial and cultural differences. We are the generation that is on the verge of breaking out and transform into the society where difference in race won’t matter at all. I personally would be very flattered if someone likes or dislikes me not because of the way I look, the way I talk or the culture that I’m grown up, but because of my personality or other traits. It’s sometimes hard to separate them but practice makes perfect. So train your mind to the point where you don’t think about the race of the person you’re talking to, just like you do when you write these blog questions. Fri, 17 Feb 2012 23:47:17 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2012/02/16/interracial-marriage-on-the-rise/#IDComment295225229 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2012/02/16/interracial-marriage-on-the-rise/#IDComment295225157 It’s not very related but I believe that often times when we learn about the American history in class, they tend to group all people into black and white and focus a lot about the racial discrimination in past - apartheid, Jim Crow Law, etc - and how white people screwed up black people’s lives. Somehow people think that dating or marrying someone outside of their race is betraying their ancestors or culture. I would think that many black parents have that kind of feelings associated with and try to influence their children to feel the same way. It could also depend on the outside factors because what their friends or relatives would view their relationship can matter. My parents are very lenient about it and don't care much if I date someone outside my race or not, but I've seen couple of my friends influenced by their parents into thinking that it is socially unacceptable. This is also due to the fact that - as we all know -we’re all racist inside. And although I can somehow see their point, this could really narrow down your scope of dating and hinders the opportunity to meet different types of people where one of them could be your future partner. Fri, 17 Feb 2012 23:47:12 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2012/02/16/interracial-marriage-on-the-rise/#IDComment295225157 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2012/02/16/interracial-marriage-on-the-rise/#IDComment295224639 The topic of interracial dating in my opinion is the most interesting blog questions this week hence I’m writing about it. Although the number of interracial dating in America is growing, some people still make negative comments about it. I think it's due to the fact that some of them are still prejudiced or narrow-minded, but it could also be that majority of people (family of those who are in interracial dating) are trying to protect their children from living in an environment where their relationship will be looked down upon. Fri, 17 Feb 2012 23:46:29 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2012/02/16/interracial-marriage-on-the-rise/#IDComment295224639 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2012/02/08/voices-from-the-classroom-100/#IDComment289376980 I believe that the concept of beauty in the modern day society is centered on the "white supremacy" as we discussed in class. Everywhere around the world, you see a handsome actor or a beautiful actress and most of the time you will notice that they have Caucasian features; lighter skin tone, thin noses, big eyes etc. Although we do not recognize this and say that our culture is diverse, but the standard of beauty is affecting all of us, sometimes hindering teenagers into thinking that they don't look good enough. The worst thing is that those who are "fit in" to the standards try to preserve it so that they will always stay on top of the hierarchy in the modern society. I believe us - the new generation - should strive to fix this problem. How? One small step I would recommend is to learn to love and embrace yourself and others. It won’t be easy, as I was not satisfied with my look for long periods of time until I finally accepted it and then saw how silly it was to worry about such negligible matters. There are more important things to do in our lives that in the end, looks count only a small portion. Trust me, I’ve been there and I know a lot of people felt at some point in their life hate or very self conscious about how they look. But I found pretty and handsome people from all the races and now no longer believe in the fake standard of beauty portrayed by the media. In terms of religion, I do not consider myself as a devoted Christian. Although I’ve been brought up in Christian community, go to church every Sunday (or try to) and read The Bible, I haven’t had that moment which I feel an utmost urge to worship God or follow his wills in my life. Therefore I didn’t get offended when Sam said that if we are not content with ourselves then we’re basically cursing at our holy God. Apart from the religious perspective, I do believe that the diversity and different race make people look more unique and special. Coming from the community where 99 percent of the population is Caucasian – mostly German – I discovered that the more diverse communities have more vibe and brings various perspectives of life that I find really interesting. Even if some people argue that they can find such variety in a homogeneous community, there’s much more you could learn in a community where multiple cultures intertwined, new faces meet and different ideas shared. Also in that way you will find that there exist more than one standard of beauty that may be overlooked if you weren’t exposed in that environment. As a non-white person, I cannot say that I fully understand what is to be "white" or other races than my own, but I do know that the race is a sensitive issue in our society and people tend to shy away from it because of fear. I hope to see those people open up during the class or group discussions and be respectful, but do not be afraid to share their thoughts, and see the world becoming more colorful and beautiful. Sat, 11 Feb 2012 04:47:24 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2012/02/08/voices-from-the-classroom-100/#IDComment289376980 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2012/02/02/voices-from-the-classroom-98/#IDComment283181722 In general, people are greedy and want something that they do not possess. I've not known the issue that girls with curly hair want to straighten their hair or that curly hair is made fun of in America. I still don't understand why people make fun of other people's hair and almost every single white or black girl I’ve met spend so much time on their hair every day, which makes them nonetheless looks exactly the same with different shades. My hair is naturally straight but I always wanted to curl my hair - I mean, really curly - but after I've noticed that people make weird comments about "afro" hair, I'm reluctant to do so because I fear people might say something weird. After I moved here, I've also lived in a white suburban neighborhood with 99% Caucasians, and I tried to "fit in" to the community as much as I can. Only after graduation I realized how unimportant it was to do so. Many of the great friends I've made in school didn't care about my race or how my hair looks like and all the others who cared so much - I don't care anymore. There are so much more to care about in the society than your hair, and yet as someone mentioned we are all somewhat brainwashed by the media and think that white people are the pinnacle of beauty or something. Most famous actresses all around the world are either half white or they try to make themselves look like white. Even when I watched one of the episodes Tyra Bank's show about issue of hair among African American women, I couldn't stop the urge to ask her, "What about you?" It was funny how she seemed to be "offended" or feel "sympathetic" by all the other guests when they say that their hair is "not good" because Tyra herself has dyed her hair multiple times, and I've never seen her that much with her natural hair, and after all, she's in an entertainment industry which is the cause of all the problems. I’m not hating one her. In fact, I think it's great that she and many of the hosts of other shows are bringing up these kinds of issues to the surface, but at the same time she’s also a victim of the white supremacy. I went to one of the meetings of Caribbean Student Associations where we talked about the skin whitening cream as we discussed in class. One of the girls there spoke out and said that people often fail to see the true beauty and judge others, and how she doesn't understand when someone calls "pretty for a(an) ______ girl," or something like that, and I completely agree with her statement. For girls and guys, if someone judges you based on only how you look like or your hair then they're probably not worth your time. To summarize my point, we should always love ourselves for who we are and “thank our ancestors for giving us our skin color.” Period. Fri, 3 Feb 2012 23:19:42 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2012/02/02/voices-from-the-classroom-98/#IDComment283181722 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2012/01/26/voices-from-the-classroom-92/#IDComment276403538 The recent scandal has taught me some of the most valuable lessons I can take for being a freshman at Penn State. One of the most powerful things I've learned was that life is short, and we should make the best out of it. It sounds very vague and cliché, but by hearing and learning the situations from the accusation to the trial I realized how quickly life can pass by. Just a few months ago he was the role model for thousands of students in Penn State and all over the nation. He still will be, but the mistake that he made - however small or big that will be - has taught us the lesson and brought the issue of child sexual abuse into the surface. It’s sad that the media was covering more stories about Joe Pa and exaggerated his role in the scandal. I admit that it made other universities, companies and people are skeptical toward us. However, by “sacrificing” the reputation of our school it also set a precedent for other undergoing crimes in universities (which I don’t think our reputation has been damaged that much by this, but nonetheless some will choose to be stupid and think Penn State = scandal). Often times it is natural to get emotional and take sides of the issue. I’ve seen a lot of rage, frustration and blinded support toward either sides. This showed me how quickly people can be judgmental and criticize without knowing the real story or thinking about their actions. Many will know the famous quote by Martin Luther King, who said “Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.” I think it applies well to this situation: you cannot turn back time, but you can learn from the past and do not make the same mistake in the future. Going back to my point at first, only one person could be enough to cause the breakout of the scandal and affect the whole Penn State community, or the entire nation. Thus when we live our lives, we should take responsibilities for our actions and even during the bad times, focus on the most positive aspects of it and don’t be judgmental but try to be in the other person's shoe as Sam said in the lecture. I cannot imagine the feelings of the people who honored Joe Pa and also the victims of the child sexual abuse. However, I do think it has promoted the revelation of crimes and issues that the society has shielded for a long time. As for Penn State students or people all over the world, we should take that lesson and move on to contribute something to the society. We shouldn’t focus on who was right or wrong, but put more efforts to prevent such crimes from happening again and study harder, take responsibilities for our actions to be proud Penn State students. I do want to mention this though: for most people who had personal relationships with him, Joe Paterno will be remembered as a man who contributed a lot to the community, an idol, a dear friend, a father or a grandfather, and I think that's pretty important. Sat, 28 Jan 2012 01:21:36 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2012/01/26/voices-from-the-classroom-92/#IDComment276403538 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2012/01/16/voices-from-the-classroom-33/#IDComment270040946 After reading other blog responses here, I found that most people have same thoughts as I did. =) Self identity can be broadened, but to fit into the context of this question I will focus on the race and ethnic groups. In my humble opinion, people need to identify themselves so they can "fit in" to the society. I am an immigrant, and before I moved to America I've never given a second thought about my race because I was identified by my nationality first. It was only after that I met people with different racial and ethnic backgrounds that I felt the need to identify my race so I know how people generally perceive me (even if they do not intend to) and find my place in the society. I don't try to block myself though because I do believe that everyone has different personalities and talents that distinguish themselves from others. However, I've seen a lot of times the people from similar racial and ethnic backgrounds tend to stick together, and to simply put it: it's because it is comfortable. I find myself more comfortable around people who have knowledge of my background or do not care much about my race. (I’m also more accepting of girls than guys when it comes to making friends, but that’s another issue). For a lot of times though, people do care and that is why it’s hard to make friends with different race and ethnic backgrounds. I think most people are simply uncomfortable and don't know what to do when they have to be around someone who is different, so that makes it difficult to open them up. I find myself trying to befriend with people who have similar interests and those who are more tolerant about different races and religions. I know I need to do the opposite and trying to get to know people who have different opinions than I, but haven’t because I feared that I my feelings will get hurt. In addition, I generally consider myself an introvert so sometimes I get confused on whether I'm just shy or not open to meeting people of different skin colors, but I want to educate myself so that I won’t judge someone by their first impression or looks only. To summarize my point, people need to self identify themselves so they know what to expect from the society and can fit into that. This means that most people are aware of the stereotypes and racisms prevalent in our society but succumbs to it, whether by direct or indirect means. Many people strive to break the stereotypes, but most people tend to stick with it because it is easier and more comfortable than to hit the invisible wall. This could also mean that by identifying themselves people can identify others too and think about these issues. Then they could either try to be more accepting or stuck around in their comfort zone forever. I hope that by taking this class, more people including myself will open up and think about these kinds of issues. - Sorry English majors if you find any grammar mistakes! Sat, 21 Jan 2012 00:55:19 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2012/01/16/voices-from-the-classroom-33/#IDComment270040946