en-us https://www.intensedebate.com/users/2414301 Comments by letsdebate08 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/06/30/week-8-%e2%80%93-lesson-14-affirmative-action/#IDComment170505412 I have had similar experiences when it comes to nepotism. I can’t see anyone turning down a helping hand in order to make it fairer for someone else. People enjoy helping their own friends and family members. This form of social networking could definitely leave people who are the most qualified out in the cold. This is not a fair way of obtaining of a job or an opportunity. I was surprised to see how people rated themselves compared to other people. This backs up the idea that people think they have a privilege over other people, especially if they are getting help from social networks behind the scenes. This is the reason why people accept the benefits of nepotism even though they might have an idea that there are people who are more qualified than them that are being overlooked. Thu, 7 Jul 2011 02:50:56 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/06/30/week-8-%e2%80%93-lesson-14-affirmative-action/#IDComment170505412 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/06/30/week-8-%e2%80%93-lesson-14-affirmative-action/#IDComment170504298 I was really shocked to hear that affirmative action was most helpful to white women and that it doesn’t affect as many people as I previously thought. I’ve heard many conversations on this subject where almost everyone disagrees with affirmative action. The main argument against this policy is that the most qualified people might be overlooked so that companies can follow affirmative action correctly. However, thinking about this situation from a different perspective, I believe that most of us have experienced something similar. I can recall at least a five time in my life where I was chosen as an employee over someone else just because I knew someone who knew someone. For example, my parents have helped me get summer jobs since I was fifteen. My first job was at a daycare, and my mom happened to be great friends with the director. At the time that I was hired, I had barely any previous experiences working with children and babies. After I started working there, I noticed that many of the employees had either been mothers, nannies, babysitters, and finished high school or college. It made me feel pretty good that I was able to get the job that other people had to try harder to get. I could definitely relate to what Sam was saying in the lecture. That was my first job, and I was already experiencing the benefits of nepotism. My experience of getting a job that I was clearly not qualified enough for was a positive one for me but a negative one for society. However, like Sam said in the lecture, I’m definitely not going to turn down a job offer or some sort of privilege because it wouldn’t be best for the community. I don’t think anyone would. In addition, I know my parents wouldn’t pass up the chance to hook me up with a job if they had the option. I know I will do the same for my children as well. This idea of nepotism goes along with the power of social networking. If my parents hadn’t made so many social connections with other people, they wouldn’t have been able to help their child in the workforce. I think that its important for people to work with this idea because it isn’t going away anytime soon. I’m not sure how to change this occurrence. Perhaps if there were strict hiring guidelines, it would be more difficult for employers to have a preference between possible employees. Its hard to say. Like Sam said, affirmative action would only be helpful to people who are in a specific group and assumes that everyone in that group needs the same assistance. Even if two people are in the same culture, they are still individuals and cannot be served the same way. Also, people outside the focus group who might have the same needs are being excluded. Thu, 7 Jul 2011 02:45:58 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/06/30/week-8-%e2%80%93-lesson-14-affirmative-action/#IDComment170504298 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/06/26/week-7-%e2%80%93-lesson-13-immigration/#IDComment169372956 I agree with your post. I can understand where people are getting these ideas that immigrants don’t deserve to be here because the media and politicians portray them as monsters. Many people forget that we came to America in order to make a better life for ourselves. It is ridiculous of us to forget where we came from, that we were once in similar positions. I think people need to begin looking at the issue for what it is instead of blaming political parties for the current state of these policies. I can’t believe how much business owners suffered from the immigration restrictions. This issue affects business owners and consumers. Policy makers need to understand how everyone is being affected by new restrictions. Sun, 3 Jul 2011 18:52:44 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/06/26/week-7-%e2%80%93-lesson-13-immigration/#IDComment169372956 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/06/26/week-7-%e2%80%93-lesson-13-immigration/#IDComment169370821 The lecture on immigration really got me to think about how our current immigration policies have affected business owners in America as well as consumers I’ve never seen anyone in the media say anything good about immigration and illegal immigrants. Although I was aware that they are used for cheap labor and work, I didn’t realize how many business owners depended on them for their work. After listening to Sam’s story about that woman’s pear going to waste because she couldn’t find the laborers she needed, I was surprised that politicians did not foresee this negative outcome. Every time I watch the news and they are discussing illegal immigration, the issue of “stealing American jobs” always seems to come up and causes many people to become upset. In reality, I don’t think any American citizen would do the work that an illegal immigrant would do for the pay that they receive. We have laws on how much citizens get paid for their work on an hourly basis depending on what the work is. I’m not saying that we should allow anyone to come into the country at any time, but if it American businesses are dependent on this kind of work and there are immigrants who are willing to work for them, we should loosen up the restrictions on the boarder. I’ve heard countless conversations between people on this issue. In every single conversation, there was never an argument or perspective that touched upon how illegal immigrants might be helpful for our country. People look at immigrants as if they are lesser people, less intelligent, and strange because they are not willing to leave behind their own cultures to become part of American culture. I never thought of how we were illegal immigrants when we invaded the land of the Native Americans. Maybe our fear of illegal immigrants comes from how we took over the Native American’s land. Perhaps we are scared that an outside group is going to be like we were and that leads us to feelings of extreme paranoia. I think its wrong of us to expect people to adapt to our culture the second they enter our country whether they are illegal immigrants or not. Like Sam said, we certainly did not do that when we came to this new land. It was very painful to hear Sam read the letter of our former president, how he bragged about killing so many people and using their body parts for different purposes. That is so sick and I can’t believe it was “accepted” in a way because the Native Americans were seen as savage dogs. I think that’s how some people look at illegal immigrants that they are not as sophisticated or smart as Americans. We need to change our perspective on illegal immigrants because many people are only seeing the issue from one view point, as I was before. Sun, 3 Jul 2011 18:45:18 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/06/26/week-7-%e2%80%93-lesson-13-immigration/#IDComment169370821 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/06/26/week-7-%e2%80%93-lesson-12-multiculturalism-lgbt/#IDComment168145982 I agree with you that the LGBT community should definitely have equal rights. Its crazy to think that religious individuals can use the bible as their form of “backup” to support their belief that they should not be able to get married or be treated equally. The population’s perspective on this issue is ever-changing and I think we will see much change in legislation in regards to LGBT rights. I also agree that children will be able to grow up in a loving environment whether it be a homosexual couple or a straight couple. As long as the family has the same strong support system, it shouldn’t matter the sexual orientation of the parents. Thu, 30 Jun 2011 01:14:03 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/06/26/week-7-%e2%80%93-lesson-12-multiculturalism-lgbt/#IDComment168145982 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/06/26/week-7-%e2%80%93-lesson-12-multiculturalism-lgbt/#IDComment167939145 PART THREE: I was shocked to see how low the number of people who were accepting of LGBT marriage was. The relationship between the discrimination of LGBT and different cultures is unmistakable. I know a couple of homophobic people and I cannot wait to tell them about that arousal statistic! That is very ironic! I don’t understand how someone’s sexual orientation makes them more or less of a person who is eligible for human rights. When I have kids of my own, I bet I’m going to tell them about the statistics of LGBT rights supporters and they are not going to believe it. Similar to how I feel when my mom tells me stories of discrimination against black people. I can’t imagine such a world because we have come such a long way. I’m excited to see where this changing time takes us. Wed, 29 Jun 2011 13:37:42 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/06/26/week-7-%e2%80%93-lesson-12-multiculturalism-lgbt/#IDComment167939145 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/06/26/week-7-%e2%80%93-lesson-12-multiculturalism-lgbt/#IDComment167939083 PART TWO: . I’ve never really understood how powerful that connection is. People aren’t going to rid themselves of the culture that is accepting to them. I definitely agree with Sam that it is smarter to embrace other cultures than to reject them. Someone who isn’t accepting and willing to learn about other cultures will end up secluding himself or herself because our country is going through a big change where there is more than one dominant culture. I was blown away at how similar the rap genre sounds in different languages. Globalization is a powerful thing! They even have the same rhythm and beats as US rap music. In American rap, English is hard to understand in our songs sometimes. You could switch out an American rap song with a Chinese rap song and I wouldn’t even know the difference… they are so similar! Wed, 29 Jun 2011 13:37:27 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/06/26/week-7-%e2%80%93-lesson-12-multiculturalism-lgbt/#IDComment167939083 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/06/26/week-7-%e2%80%93-lesson-12-multiculturalism-lgbt/#IDComment167938946 PART ONE: I really enjoyed watching these lectures. I couldn’t believe how much democrats’ and republicans’ views differed from one another when asked about living among other cultures. The thing that surprised me the most was the fact that church-goers said they would rather not live around people of different cultures! You would think religious people might be more accepting to other cultures. But at the same time, I can think of a couple religious families in my community that are always complaining about the growing number of Mexican immigrants in the US. Its interesting to see these statistics. Like Sam said, it makes you wonder if people who identify as a democrat or a conservative are just “living up to their name,” in a sense because both groups express very different views when it comes to immigration and etc. I think both groups are very hypocritical. I’ve never thought about how we totally shut immigrants out of our communities and yet we expect them to embrace American culture the second they step foot in our country. Wed, 29 Jun 2011 13:36:53 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/06/26/week-7-%e2%80%93-lesson-12-multiculturalism-lgbt/#IDComment167938946 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/06/22/week-6-%e2%80%93-lesson-10-stages-of-racial-identity-%e2%80%93-people-of-color-stages-1-4/#IDComment166007991 It was very interesting to see Sam talk about the different stages of race from the perspectives of black and white people. I am white and I suppose I never actually felt my race until I came to college. I grew up in a very white community with hardly any other people of different races and ethnicities. Because of my upbringing in such a community, I always knew I was apart of the majority in my community. Once I came to Penn State, I was still apart of that majority. I didn’t realize how many white people went to Penn State and also how big the percentage was of white people in Pennsylvania. I’ve never had an early childhood experience of discovering my race. It made me feel sad that the black children said that the white doll was good and the black doll was bad. It’s crazy that children that young can pick up on how different races are viewed by society. Growing up, I can’t remember ever having a doll of another race other than white. If I hadn’t seen the video, I would have assumed that the black children would have picked the black doll to play with over the white doll. Its upsetting to think that black children might have the feeling that they are “bad” just because they are black, similar to what they felt about the dolls. I’ve never had an experience like that where I felt less of myself because of my race. Hearing Sam talk about his friend’s daughter’s experience of discovering her race made me wonder how different children react to other races. When her friend said that her skin was “dirty,” I’m sure that she just associated it with the dark color. However, as children begin to realize difference between races and how their culture responds to this, I wonder how this affects their development. As a kid, I wasn’t exposed to any discoveries or like hers. When I came to college, I was confronted with more diversity than I’ve ever been exposed to in my life. The first time I ever felt white was my freshman year at Penn State at a Jay Z concert when I felt like the minority for once in my life. The crowd was mostly black students and I honestly felt like such a “white girl” because I couldn’t dance as well as the other black people could. At that moment, I felt uncomfortable because of my race. Looking back, I can kind of relate to how a minority might feel when discovering their race. I felt insecure and unable to relate to the “mainstream” that made up the concert crowd. I can’t imagine how I would feel if someone at the concert would have said something to me about my race. Fri, 24 Jun 2011 02:24:49 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/06/22/week-6-%e2%80%93-lesson-10-stages-of-racial-identity-%e2%80%93-people-of-color-stages-1-4/#IDComment166007991 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/06/07/week-5-%e2%80%93-lesson-9-stages-of-racial-identity-%e2%80%93-white-people-stages-3-4/#IDComment164373875 I also enjoyed this lecture. People from ever race or culture probably have a hard time viewing people of other cultures or races as an individual. I am a white person and its funny to see things like “white girl problems” online because these pages are portraying white people as a group of people who all have similar problems, lifestyles, etc. When I see things about other cultures and races, I am learning to recognize the fact that not everyone from that group is the same. My friends that are also white are all very different from one another. In order to learn more about the people around us, we need to understand how different people are whether or not they are in the same race. Sun, 19 Jun 2011 20:55:32 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/06/07/week-5-%e2%80%93-lesson-9-stages-of-racial-identity-%e2%80%93-white-people-stages-3-4/#IDComment164373875 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/06/07/week-5-%e2%80%93-lesson-9-stages-of-racial-identity-%e2%80%93-white-people-stages-3-4/#IDComment164372644 I can personally relate the part of Sam’s lecture where he talks about the way white people are supposed to behave around people of other races. When I first learned that there were people of different colors, I was very young, just entering my first stage of racial development. I was in the store with my mom and we were being checked out by a black cashier and I said to her very loudly, “Mommy, why is his skin so dark?” She responded by telling me to be quiet and she would tell me when we left the store. When we got to the car, she told me that talking about the color of someone’s skin is rude and it might hurt someone’s feelings. Since then, I’ve been very careful in the way that I act around different cultures and races. In other words, I had developed a tendency to avoid racial issues and risks. This behavior had perhaps held me back from developing a better understanding of racial relations. I would like to go on to seek a deeper dialogue. However, I’m still learning when it is appropriate to do so. I’m still terrified of hurting someone’s feelings or coming off as a racist. When Sam talked about using “the black one” to identify one of his TA’s, I could relate. I’ve hesitated in similar situations when it would be so much easier to just say “the black one,” but I resisted and didn’t say that because I was scared to offend someone. But at the same time, I can understand how using that to identify someone’s race when it doesn’t enhance the story could be offensive. The video that Sam showed us on the white nationalist twins was pretty crazy. Its one thing for someone to be proud of their heritage, race, and culture. But, its another thing to express negative opinions about other groups. That view is very limited. For example, when the reporter asked them about Hitler’s execution of the Jewish population, they were unable to see Hitler’s behavior from another perspective other than their own. They responded by saying he was trying to preserve his race. If they had been more willing to explore other races and cultures, perhaps they would have been able to recognize the situation from a Jewish person’s stance. Since these girls are homeschooled, maybe going out into the real world and interacting with people of different races will help them to seek a deeper understanding of the world outside of their own perspectives and beliefs. I’m beginning to recognize inequality between the different races of the world. I’ve always known about the differences but never this in-depth. I’m not sure how I feel about this yet. I’m still learning to identify my feelings on the subject and learning how to engage in the topic. Sun, 19 Jun 2011 20:49:38 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/06/07/week-5-%e2%80%93-lesson-9-stages-of-racial-identity-%e2%80%93-white-people-stages-3-4/#IDComment164372644 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/06/07/week-5-%e2%80%93-lesson-8-stages-of-racial-identity-%e2%80%93-white-people-stages-1-2/#IDComment163039467 I agree with you, I felt like there was a barrier between me and my discovery of other races and cultures. I felt like the idea of being politically correct was so deeply embedded that it even prevented me from thinking too much about other groups of peoples. Now that I can set political correctness aside, I think it will be easier for me to see the world from different perceptions and cultures that exist in my world. I was never able to really look at whiteness before the lecture because no one ever talks about it, especially white people. Im hoping to keep an open mind so that I can further my racial development. Thu, 16 Jun 2011 02:21:14 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/06/07/week-5-%e2%80%93-lesson-8-stages-of-racial-identity-%e2%80%93-white-people-stages-1-2/#IDComment163039467 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/06/07/week-5-%e2%80%93-lesson-8-stages-of-racial-identity-%e2%80%93-white-people-stages-1-2/#IDComment163001335 I’m always interested to hear what white people think about them as a group and what other races think about white people. Like Sam said, I feel like no one ever talks about what its like to be white and how that affects the way people who are white live in this world. I am a white girl and I would like to make it past the second stage of racial development. I’m eager to learn more about other races and about my own race as well. I’ve always taken it for granted that I’m white until I started taking sociology classes in college. I grew up in a community with barely any diversity so I was sheltered races and cultures other than my own. I always thought that people of color’s belief that racism is still around in today’s world were silly and that it had died a long time ago. However, after being taught the statistics and major differences between the two races, I began to realize how being white has shaped me as a person. A couple of months ago, my roommate (also white) introduced me to a twitter page called “white girl problems,” which we thought was hilarious. I didn’t take the page for much else other than a laugh. The twitter page has numerous postings of what is to be known as “white girl problems,” which are all basically the pettiest, dumbest problems that anyone could have. For example, one of the most retweeted white girl problems is, “I used to want to be Mary Kate but now I want to be Ashley,” and “Where the fuck is my phone???????!!!!!!! Just kidding it's in my purse.” To a white girl, this is some pretty funny stuff. But, if you look deeper at the message that the page is putting out there, it makes white girls look like they have no problems other than things that don’t matter to anyone but themselves. After watching Sam’s lecture and looking at the “things white people like” website, I couldn’t help but rethink my appreciation of white girl problems. For other races who don’t know what its like to be white, this could give them the wrong message, although it might not be the wrong message for some groups of white people. I think that being able to look at these sort of things through the lens of someone who might not be white allows me to get to the second stage of racial development. It seems to others and to some white people that we have it a little too great, so we find pointless things to bitch about. I’m still trying to figure out what group I belong to. Wed, 15 Jun 2011 23:28:39 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/06/07/week-5-%e2%80%93-lesson-8-stages-of-racial-identity-%e2%80%93-white-people-stages-1-2/#IDComment163001335 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/05/25/week-3-lesson-5-social-inequality/#IDComment159729408 I think that there are many reasons for inequality that can all be justified to a certain point. I have actually heard people try to argue that whites are smarter than blacks. They use the statistics of income, employment, and lifestyle to support their claim. However, I believe that we should look at the numbers first and then try to come up with a cause for inequality instead of using the numbers to prove a viewpoint. The circumstances that low-income families face, regardless of race, can make it difficult for an individual to get a job or finish school. I think that discrimination and other factors can also contribute to this cycle of poverty among racial groups. Sun, 5 Jun 2011 22:28:37 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/05/25/week-3-lesson-5-social-inequality/#IDComment159729408 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/05/25/week-3-lesson-5-social-inequality/#IDComment159726945 It blows my mind to look at current statistics in our country that really prove how unequal things are between different groups and races. Exploring the issue of the causation of inequality can be looked at many different ways. I think that the socio-structural position is the most accurate. I have been able to recognize how my own decisions and lifestyle is affected by my circumstances and outside environment. For example, both of my parents have complete graduate school and have been to make enough money to offer me some financial support to complete my master’s degree as well. Mainly parents who have gone to college and completed graduate school populate the community that I grew up in. Most of my peers who I went to school with are currently in college and plan to go on to graduate school upon completion of their undergrad. If you look at the town twenty minutes away from my town, you will see a major difference in the number of college-bound kids. The town is mainly made up of people who don’t have a high income and who don’t have a college degree. This population can’t offer the financial support for their children to go to college so perhaps this aspect makes it less likely for them to go. In addition, I think social control has a strong hold on the inequality of different groups of people. For example, my college roommate is from what she describes as a “bad, low-income area,” and she was excluded from her group of friends she grew up with because she went to college to get her degree, accusing her of being stuck-up or too good. In my hometown, I find that people have the opposite view with those who go to college. If you go to off to college, you are the “norm” and if you stay home to work or take a year off, you are accused of being a “low-life.” It is interesting to see how a pattern of inequality can repeat itself. From my experiences, this theory seems to make the most sense. Sun, 5 Jun 2011 22:20:39 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/05/25/week-3-lesson-5-social-inequality/#IDComment159726945 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/05/25/week-3-lesson-4-ethnocentrism/#IDComment158398244 It is difficult to decide what our own views are because everything that we see from the war and from other countries is being filtered down to us through the American perspective. And it’s the same for people living in other countries, especially countries like China where they have a very limited access to credible resources outside of the government-chosen ones. I wish I could say that I don’t believe anything I watch on the news but that would be impossible for me to honestly say. I use the news and take it as a credible source no matter what the subject matter may be. Of course, I try to ignore opinions and stick to facts. However, sometimes straight facts can be slanted in a certain direction. Thu, 2 Jun 2011 03:06:39 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/05/25/week-3-lesson-4-ethnocentrism/#IDComment158398244 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/05/25/week-3-lesson-4-ethnocentrism/#IDComment158397254 The Christian Invader lecture encouraged me to think about my own country from a different perspective. Taking a step out of my own body and viewing these two worlds from a semi-neutral perspective is helpful to understand the opposing viewpoint. I didn’t realize how easy it was to give off such a strong impression to a group of people. For example, if I had see Muslim/Arab people publicly discussing a holy war and a war over OUR resources, I would be terrified and outraged. It almost seems too easy to see how people think of us from other countries. If China had come into the US and took our resources away from us, I would feel a sense of despair and envy. I honestly never realized how much our western God we have in our lives. The fact that the military has Bibles on hand and crosses on their uniforms may set off many alarms in the Middle East. I would like to know what the world looks like without a perception from a certain side. I wonder if the Middle Eastern people are just like us and don’t realize how terrifying they can come off. Their people could very well be preparing for some sort of holy war from what they might be seeing of us. If I were an Iraqi, I would be terrified if I heard the leader of the US declare a crusade, a holy war. I cannot believe that Christian bible school. The one spokeswoman even compares her group of children to the Muslim extremist children around the world, wanting her group of children to be as good as the others. The children in the interview seem ready to lay down their lives for God, which I have seen in footage of Iraq protests and etc. It seems like we are getting similar messages from each side of the war, which may or may not be true. We think that they are training their children to become warriors against Americans and they think that we are training our children to become warriors against Muslims around the world. From what I know, the church in the video hasn’t influenced other churches around America to train their children as well. But at the same time, it is understandable if Muslims were to see that video and assume that all of America is doing the same thing. I know nothing about the country of Iraq or other countries in the Middle East for that matter. If I saw a disturbing video that was made in Iraq, I would probably assume that the entire country has used the same techniques. I completely understand their way of thinking in regards to our intentions. Now I wonder where to find the truth. Thu, 2 Jun 2011 03:01:03 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/05/25/week-3-lesson-4-ethnocentrism/#IDComment158397254 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/05/14/week-1-lesson-1-whadya-know/#IDComment155102387 Sometimes I find myself having similar feelings towards people who don’t speak English. First, I get annoyed that we cannot understand each other. Secondly, I wonder why they didn’t try to learn the language before they moved here or visited here. Although I’ve never been to another country, I think I would at least attempt to learn their language before going there. After hearing Sam’s interpretation of immigrants’ reluctance to abandon their native culture, I felt less annoyed and more able to understand the culture from their perspective. Even though I might try to learn some things about a new culture if I were to go to another country, I would definitely not abandon my own culture and/or language. Mon, 23 May 2011 01:38:01 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/05/14/week-1-lesson-1-whadya-know/#IDComment155102387 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/05/14/week-1-lesson-1-whadya-know/#IDComment155100747 I really enjoyed the introduction to the course in the lecture video. It was interesting to see the real statistics compared to what students in the class thought was the correct answer. I only got five answers correct on the quiz. I actually took a couple of minutes per question to give it some serious thought as to what the correct answer would be. I was shocked at how incorrect I was! I took Sam’s soc001 class and I tried using that knowledge to think outside the box a little bit, but apparently it didn’t help me! The statistics that surprised me the most were the amount of poor people in the world, and how many slaves were in the world. My view is obviously shaped by my environment and upbringing as an American. During the video, Sam compared the cost of a slave in the 1800’s to the cost of a slave in current times. The difference was astounding to me. However, it makes sense that slave owners today would treat their slave property worse than they would have in the past because they don’t have as much money invested in them. Also, the fact that Sam’s friend bought two slaves for fifteen dollars proves this major shift in slave cost. I knew that slaves existed throughout the world but I didn’t realize how many. I thought about how rich I really am compared to the world and it did make me feel good, in a way, but it also made me feel extremely guilty. I wish there was something that I could do to help this large population living on less than two dollars a day. I cannot imagine such a life. I can’t even imagine living in poverty in my own country, where I’d be better off than 2/3rds of the world’s population. Sometimes it is hard to even imagine such problems as world hunger and world poverty when most of us in this country have no concept of such pain. I find myself complaining about being too full or overeating 70% of the time…. That is one of my biggest complaints! On the other side of things, I can’t see someone who is living on less then two dollars a day being able to imagine such a problem. I couldn’t believe how many people go to bed hungry on a daily basis. When I go to bed hungry, it is by choice when I’m’ trying to lose access weight that I put on from overeating most of the time. Going to bed hungry on a nightly basis is very hard for me to think about and makes me feel even guiltier for living the life that I live as one of the richest people in the world. Mon, 23 May 2011 01:27:50 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/05/14/week-1-lesson-1-whadya-know/#IDComment155100747 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2010/10/30/what-would-you-do-how-muslims-are-treated-in-us/#IDComment141026415 I wasn’t too surprised by the results of this experiment. According to the video, most people didn’t say anything about the discriminatory behavior of the clerk. Perhaps those people have witnessed that sort of behavior before and found that they had no control over others’ opinions. It’s hard to put myself in that place of deciding how I would react to this rude and disturbing behavior. I would either not say anything or stand up for the Muslim girl. However, I can’t help but wonder what others in my social circle would do. I come from a place of barely any diversity. Most of the people from my area would have sided with the clerk. I’ve heard friends of my parents discuss their hatred for Muslims numerous times since 2001. It’s disturbing to believe that they would have put down the Muslim woman and congratulated the clerk. However, I think people from my area closer to my age would have stuck up for her or said something negative to the clerk. I was pretty shocked to see the one man call the ABC news anchor a non-American. I wonder if he said that to him because of his appearance or because he felt embarrassed for being caught discriminating against the Muslim woman. It was nice to hear that a good handful of people were offended by the clerk’s behavior. I thought there would have been a little more people siding with the clerk, but perhaps that belief is being shaped by where I grew up. I think that some people have a hard time viewing people outside of the group they belong to. For instance, people think that Muslims are a bad group so they associate every Muslim-looking person to be bad. Others might view old people as grumpy so they assume that every old person they see is going to be grumpy. Discriminating against Muslims in the US can be justifiable for some who use the war and the September 11th attacks in their defense. Others refuse to view all Muslims the same way and view them as people who should be treated with respect. Fri, 8 Apr 2011 15:48:16 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2010/10/30/what-would-you-do-how-muslims-are-treated-in-us/#IDComment141026415