en-us https://www.intensedebate.com/users/2397701 Comments by lmj5115 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/04/21/would-you-help-out-or-turn-away-immigrants-in-the-poor-situations-we-saw-them-in-and-why-119-blog/#IDComment145273489 Of course, the moral thing to do would be to help an immigrant who is trying to live and survive in hopes of a better life in the United States. However, the more realistic thing that I can do at this point of my life is not help the immigrant. I am financial not capable of providing for an immigrant or do I have enough time to take care of an immigrant. I know this may seem rude, but this is not something that really hits home to me. If it did, then I would probably make the time to help as I already do by canning for Thon and donated money to other countries so young children can have something to eat. I think that immigrants are wayyyyyyy better off than children who have some type of sickness and/ or family does not have enough money to provide food for them. What can I say? I have a weakness for children, and I believe NO child should suffer since they are our future. So I think even if I was capable of helping an immigrant I would because there are already sooooo many American citizens who need help themselves. How can I help a person of another country before I help the people of my own country. The person from the video was soooo dedicated to feeding the immigrants because to him those people reminded him of himself and he wanted to help them out. He said that their smiles was his rewards but honestly that would not cut it for me unless it was a kid smile, like I said before I love kids and I believe that they should always be giving the world. To further my helping ways, I did not even buy the sixty dollars book for this class, I thought it was a waste of money. Even though Sam said that three dollars went to Haiti I, still was not willing to buy the book since where is all the other money going to? I would have rather giving the Haiti people thirty dollars if Sam just guaranteed that he would provide us with all the information needed for the exam. The whole book thing in my opinion was complete bullshit. Anyway, to get back on topic I probably would not help a homeless person in the streets of New York like that man did. I honestly have no clue what they would do with the money I gave then nor do I have enough time like that man to cook dinner for them every night in my college hectic life. It actually makes me sad knowing that he works so hard to provide them with food and he gets nothing in return but smiles. I honestly believe that the world should do something to allow extra leftover food to be giving to people who are starving instead of just throwing it out. Finally yet importantly, not to be disrespectful to immigrants I believe our country should help the other poor people who are actually citizens first before we even consider helping immigrants. Remember the saying “United States, united we stand.” Sat, 23 Apr 2011 02:29:05 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/04/21/would-you-help-out-or-turn-away-immigrants-in-the-poor-situations-we-saw-them-in-and-why-119-blog/#IDComment145273489 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/04/12/what-are-your-thoughts-on-everything-we-saw-and-heard-in-lecture-about-native-americans-119-blog/#IDComment142621457 In my opinion, the lecture today about Native Americans was very sad but on the other hand very informational. I never actually knew about the hardships that Native Americans had to face and the hardships that they still face today. In history classes, we learn about genocides but I have never heard about the genocide that happen in America, the only one that I really remember is about the genocide in Rwanda. It was very surprising to hear that one of the largest genocides that had ever occurred had happen on United States ground against the Native Americans in order to take over their land. To me, that was a very harsh fact about reality to face. In addition, the statistics about Native Americans had a huge effect on me. Some of the statistics were Native Americans has high rates of Domestic violence, sexual assault, death related to alcoholism, unemployment rate, and high school dropout rate. They live in their own reservation without any resources from the U.S. I always thought that Native Americans had money because they did not have to pay property taxes. BOY was I wrong and it just builds on the fact that do I really know the TRUE history about the United States. From the lecture, that answer was clearly a NO. In reality, I actually feel bad for the Native Americans. No one ever fights for them for equal rights meanwhile Blacks, Mexicans, and Asians are constantly being acknowledged in order to get equal rights. I do not know what could be done to give Native Americans a better life, but I wish something could be done pronto because it is not fair how Native Americans are being treated in additional to the names and mockery people play towards them. The song “don’t drink the blood” showed how little many United States care about the Native Americans. In the song there were so many offensive lines directed towards Native Americans, and in my opinion that should be illegal. Some of the offensive lines were I live with no mercy, I have no time to justify for you and most importantly “don’t drink the water, there is blood in the water” which refers to the killing of Native Americans throughout the United States. In my opinion, this is a VERY harsh song, which makes me feel bad about what was done to the Native Americans and very little people have remorse. In order for me to feel better, I think that something should be done for them in order to have remorse for all the terrible things that were done to them. In additional I think that something about the United States government should be done for the Native Americans to give them a better living and change the statistics that were mentioned above. The Native Americans in my opinion should be more appreciated and the United States should stop killing the few Native Americans actually alive, since they never deserved the unfair treatment given to them in the first place. Wed, 13 Apr 2011 23:55:37 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/04/12/what-are-your-thoughts-on-everything-we-saw-and-heard-in-lecture-about-native-americans-119-blog/#IDComment142621457 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/03/31/women-what-are-your-thoughts-on-dressing-up-while-men-dress-down-and-did-they-change-after-this-lecture-119-blog/#IDComment139916184 Honestly, I believe women dress so slutty while going out because it is the “trend” of today’s going out society at college. Since freshman year, I have seen girls going out with hoochie mama outfits which consist of high heels and short dresses no matter what the weather is. I can say I was foolish enough to do this my freshman year, but luckily I have wised up and started to bring sweats and a jacket to all parties so I won’t freeze outside while walking to a party. However when I go home and hang out with my friends from home the dressing “up” atmosphere is completely different. When I am at home versus when I am at school I can see an extreme difference in the way my friends from home dress up versus the way my friends at college dress up. My friends at college are constantly wearing hoochie mama outfits no matter how cold it is outside while my friends from home consider a nice pair of jeans and a dressy shirt “dressing up.” I can honestly say when I am at home I put wayyyyyyy less effort in dressing up then I do at college. In addition, I never wear heels at home when going out versus me ALWAYS wearing heels while going out in college. I feel like when I am at home I have wayyyyy less people to impress since all the people I see when going out are mostly people I went to high school with. However, while at college I dress up “hoochie mama style” at night because it makes me feel better about myself especially when I get compliments from guys/ and or girls saying how pretty I am. It puts a smile on my face when I get compliments since during the school day I never get compliments since I am always in sweats and never dress up to go to classes, since during the day I am focused more on my studies and I am around other nursing girls ALL DAY! Even when I get compliments from girls, I think I like that more because I believe that girls are more sincere towards giving compliments than guys mainly for the fact that guys just want to get in many girls pants when they go out on the town. So when Laurie brought up this idea on why girls dress up so nicely while guys are usually bummed out while going out is because in my opinion girls try to outcompete other girls for guy’s attention. I really don’t believe that guys are fishing for compliments; instead they are fishing for beers and trying to find the hottest girl to take home after the party. Guy’s mentality versus girl’s mentality while going out is completely different and in my opinion guys can care less about compliments versus girls hence the fact that they rarely dress up while going out at night time. Mon, 4 Apr 2011 16:41:53 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/03/31/women-what-are-your-thoughts-on-dressing-up-while-men-dress-down-and-did-they-change-after-this-lecture-119-blog/#IDComment139916184 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/03/24/would-you-date-someone-like-me-119-blog/#IDComment138044473 Although I am not a white male, I decided to comment on this blog. In all honestly, I do not understand why white males are so hesitant to talk to black females. Do they REALLY believe the stereotype on black and brown females which is they are bitchy, mean, sassy, dirty, and/or obnoxious. With me being a black female myself, I can say that I may come off that way as being mean, but I am really sweet, funny, and innocent once you get to know me. Sometimes my friends call me “sour patch” first sour then sweet. Honestly, I can understand why people think this, but isn’t this a good way to classify everyone you do not know. For example when I am at parties, in particular frats, guys come up to me and talk to me. Things they usually say is “have not seen you around and you are definitely not a frat girl or something like why don’t you come around more often, you seem like a chill girl” then there are the drunken guys who randomly come up to me and ask “do you want to make out.” Of course, I say no and give them my biggest attitude, so their belief towards black girls will be FOREVER bad, but what girl in their right mind would be like “sure I want to make out”?!?! NOT THIS ONE RIGHT HERE!! Anyways, to get back to topic, because I was rambling I feel like guys being afraid to talk to black girls is a reason, but not the only one. I feel like the main reason white males are not seen often in relationships with black women often is because being able to bond with people outside of your particular group of friends and/or race is really hard. As mentioned previously, the guy said “I don’t ever see you around.” So if a person never sees another person how would it be possible for that person to form a deeper connection?! The answer is, it can’t happen the people have to see one another in order to ever form a bond. When people say it is because they are “afraid” of how the society will look upon them, I think that is complete BS. If every person worried and/or actually cared what people thought, most people would be living in a very boring world. I know that if I ever brought a white boy home he would have hell to deal with from my brothers, but what brothers wouldn’t its is call protecting your little sister. Especially if the person is white, he would have even more hell from my brothers because they want to MAKE SURE this boy won’t toy with my emotions in attempts to “experiment with a black chick” easiest way to put it. So, those are my reason for why white males are so hesitant to talk to black females. I know for sure that there are other reasons and there will never be an absolute “clear” reason, but the reason I mentioned above are what I consider the main reason for white guys hesitation. Mon, 28 Mar 2011 06:32:44 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/03/24/would-you-date-someone-like-me-119-blog/#IDComment138044473 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/03/22/what-do-you-think-about-interracial-relationships-119-blog/#IDComment137581048 Since my family is very diverse and has several cultures within it ranging from African American, Italian, Jamaican, Puerto Rican, Dominican, and Native American I do not think that interracial dating is a problem. However many people are not as diverse as my family and may have an issue with interracial dating. I believe the people who have the most issues with interracial dating are older people. Actually when I brought this up, I thought of my Jamaican father. I love him, but he did get REALLY mad when my sister decided to marry a white man. He was so against it that he didn’t talk to for about three years. So when we watch the comedian show about black men holding the most grudge to white men I kind of believe it. Luckily, my dad got over his hissy fit and decided to overcome that my sister was dating a white man in order to still keep relations with her and be a part of his grandchildren lives. On the other hand, my mother who is an African and Native American decided to marry my step-dad who is a full blown Italian (was even born there and speaks the language fully). So for the majority of my life I have always been around interracial dating. In addition, I feel with today’s society many people do not really feel negative about interracial dating. In today’s society it seems way more acceptable then it was back in the days, especially since there are more interracial couples seen all around the world. So if a person is not comfortable with interracial dating I think it is because it was not what they grew up around and base their thoughts about a particular race on stereotypes heard. I believe that a person’s background plays a major part on if a person feels comfortable about interracial dating. For me it makes no difference what a person’s race is since I been around interracial dating my entire life. So I could definitely see myself dating outside my race it all depend if they are my type and if I am attractive to them physically and mentally. My “type” is just really tall (taking about over 5’8 even though I am only 5’2), muscular, funny, smart, and not a pushover. I cannot stand pushovers they take the fun out of relationships because they will never put me in my place, which I need to be put in every once in a while. Hey, I consider myself a very intimidating black woman at times especially when a person first meets me but I calm down once a person knows me. Overall I see interracial dating as a very positive thing. One positing thing is that they produce some of the most beautiful children I have even seen in my entire life. In addition it shows that the world is truly becoming less segregated and racist slowly but surely. Fri, 25 Mar 2011 22:12:09 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/03/22/what-do-you-think-about-interracial-relationships-119-blog/#IDComment137581048 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/03/15/is-this-an-action-of-white-supremacy-119-blog/#IDComment135256930 Since I never saw this before nor did I write this on the wall near garner I have no clue if this was “just a joke” but I sure hope it was because I would like to think that many people who attend Penn State are very educated people who would not want to give Penn State students another bad reputation. Stupid, foolish things like this should not be publicize and if a person feels that way then fine, they do not need to go vandalizing Penn State property in order to make their point. On the other hand, if the person was not joking, then I would be fine with that. There will always be people in the world who believe in “white supremacy” that will never change. The part that really bothers me is that the person vandalized Penn State property, which I mentioned before and I believe that is a BIG NO NO! Ever since Obama took office, I have been seeing many people standing up for white power or as the person mention above black power. Clearly, racism still exists, so if a person believes that their race is more superior, in my opinion, it is just their naïve way of thinking. Many older still believe in white power, since that is the culture they grew up in. In today society, many people know that there is no superior race. Look at our president… even though he is classified as Black he is still also part White. These mixed races exist for many people throughout the world and there is no way to determine a person’s race based on just their outside opinion. Therefore, the people who are naive to believe in “white supremacy” can actually have some black in them and would just seem like a total fool, but hey, it is what they believe. Even when a person says that their race is more superior to another race, I know that what they are saying is foolish and it has no affect on me. Often I hear many blacks yell “black power” when Obama comes on the television. If a black person says something like this, I know that a white person really would not really comfort that person, but if a white person said “white power” and a black heard this, the black person would most definitely comfort that person. This was brought up in the Sam’s lecture today. Why whites are consider racist when they are not politically correct? He answered saying because of the history and how that white are still the majority of the population in today’s world.I am not white and am actually part of a minority group but I have realized that I get away with saying or doing things without many people “in particular white people” comforting me. I realized this especially in class when Sam asked Blacks if they get away with doing wrong things without people comforting them and many people shake their heads yes. Sam said it is because the person does not want to seem racist and this is understandable but everyone in some way can come off as racist. In conclusion, it does not matter if the person who wrote that were joking or not. I am just more concercerned with why they were ignorant enough to post this publically. As mentioned previously, I think everyone is entitled to believe and voice his or her opinions to others it is just the way the go about doing it. I feel that everyone who believes that a race is more superior to another should be more considerate to others when voices their opinions because everyone is not a lenient as me and can become very offended from a racial slur like this one. Wed, 16 Mar 2011 07:01:55 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/03/15/is-this-an-action-of-white-supremacy-119-blog/#IDComment135256930 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/02/24/how-conscious-are-you-of-your-seat-in-class-before-and-after-todays-lecture-119-blog/#IDComment133951285 From the lecture, I think it had no affect for me for this type of classroom. Since day one, I have been sitting next to the same four people. I never really look around and see who is sitting in the seats around me because I sit around the same seat or spot every day. The people who tend to constantly sit around me also sit in the same spot with the same people every day. I never walk around in this particular class, to determine where I will sit because it is always by the same people. However, after the lecture, I realize that minority groups do tend to sit in clusters. I do not believe they do this because they are racist towards other groups but because most minority groups tend to stick together because they are already friends. The diverse group I sit by is because we are all friends and when we sit by each other, we can talk about anything and catch up on what is going on in each other’s life. I also can rely on them to save me a seat or to ask them a question if I do not understand something in class. In addition, I sit by the same people so they can help me solve the Sudoku puzzle, which I do every day in class. I feel comfortable sitting in the same spot with the same people because they are my friends. From Sam’s previous lecture, I have learned most of our actions tend to happen based on what each person is comfortable with, hence the fact I sit by the same people every day. In other classrooms that I may not have friends with I tend to also sit in the same spot each class because I think it helps me learn. I does not have anything to do with a person skin color or who I tend to sit by I just pick a seat ,usually in the front, and sit in that same seat no matter if another White, Asian, or Black person decides to sit by me. A person ethnicity to me has nothing to do with who I decide to sit by it is more the person persona and if they seem friendly and not crazy is if I will sit by them. Race in my opinion, has no effect even though it might have some unconscious effect, but how will I ever realize that effect it is “subconscious.” No matter what I do to not be somewhat distant from other people, it will still happen so all I can do is just live with it and go on with my life because judging everything in life makes a person aware of every aspect which can have some affect good or bad on your life. Thu, 10 Mar 2011 22:25:01 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/02/24/how-conscious-are-you-of-your-seat-in-class-before-and-after-todays-lecture-119-blog/#IDComment133951285 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/02/24/is-it-selfish-for-people-in-poverty-to-have-more-kids-because-of-their-lower-income-119-blog/#IDComment130665399 In the question it asks if a person is being selfish but many people brought up the reason that many people in low poverty are being irresponsible. I think the whole issue depends on the person’s situation. I have no reason to judge anyone unless I know all the facts. For example if a person brought a child into this world that they knew they couldn’t support at all that is being selfish. However there are certain people in the world who are living comfortably in the world, and something with the economics in the world cause them to not be able to support their children. In Tammy’s case I thought it was very irresponsible and selfish to bring twenty two children in the world having no mean to support them. However Tammy said that her father worked really hard in order to provide for their children. I doubt that her father had twenty two children with the same person. So since I do not know her father’s whole situation I have no reason to judge like I said before. It was not the fathers responsible to make the right decision for their child but it is also the mother’s responsibility to decide if she can help to make a life for her children. In Tammy case she was dealt a bad set of cards and was born in a very poor economic class, there was nothing she could do about it. Even when she talked to her children she said/ barely classified herself as “white trash” but she had no hope coming from a family with twenty one other children. Even though she works so hard to pursue her dreams, her background a drastic effect on her future, I’m not saying that this is the life that her parents wanted for her, because every parent want better for their children. However with the life she was given her lifestyle now was the best she could do for herself. For many poor people there are many unplanned pregnancies in the world. It can be due to the fact that they don’t have money for birth control or condoms. No one really knows anyone’s situation unless they are walking in their shoes. People living in that low of poverty probably also cannot afford an abortion. Hence the reason for having so many kids, still this is not an excuse Overall I believe that no one in the world should be allowed to have twenty two children especially if they cannot afford to support all the children. Having the “right to have children” is a right and the right should not be excessively used like Tammy’s parents. If a person has a certain number of children, I believe they should be able to provide the bare necessities to all their children. If a person cannot bare all the bare necessities in order for their child to survive, I believe that having that many numbers of children is very irresponsible and selfish. Fri, 25 Feb 2011 19:43:46 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/02/24/is-it-selfish-for-people-in-poverty-to-have-more-kids-because-of-their-lower-income-119-blog/#IDComment130665399 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/02/10/what-did-you-get-out-of-king-of-the-mountain-119-blog/#IDComment127447975 I loved how Sam showed the king of the mountain game in class. It was not a surprise to me on how no one could overpower the king of the mountain. In my opinion, the king of the mountain game is just like today’s society. To me, the game physically showed how it is good to be “ON TOP.” The game in class was a great way to show how it is all luck on how a person gets on top of the world, and once they are on top they can say anything in order to maintain their power. The most important part of the game, in my opinion, is how a person gets “on top.” For example, in today’s society we have entrepreneurs who may create a product which becomes very popular than he or she can create companies in order to sell their product. To me, the entrepreneur is the king of the mountain while the people who work in the companies are his slaves. The company workers are not literally slaves but figuratively speaking, they are because they will always “technically” work for the entrepreneur. The entrepreneur can create any rule and choose any person they truth to be their sideman to help watch over the workers and keep them in control. I related this to today’s society because someone is always in power. I am not sure who is, but “SOMEONE” is. In one of Sam’s previous class, he said, “we have more slaves than ever.” I believe this statement mainly because everyone who is not in power is a slave. My brother says, “Anyone who works a nine to five job or is in a union is practically a slave.” The job keeps practically anyone from excelling because they have to put most of their time into their job. Their rules are, they cannot just take days off to go on vacation or just to take care of their children if they are sick. Instead, they have to request time off in order to live and enjoy life. Before my brother told me this, I never thought of the world in this way. Once he told me this, I realized it is true. Powerful people put Nine to five jobs into place in order to keep an eye out on other people. It is a rule to help their company succeed and make sure another person does not excel or beat out the powerful person. Even though people think, it is a job and it is how they survive. Nevertheless, in my opinion, “survive” is the key word. The powerful person is letting you survive by paying you a decent salary so you can live paycheck to paycheck under his orders. However, he will never let you excel past him. Working under a company you will always be under the king who can take any day off to see his family and have fun while you are forced to follow the rules and be a slave for your work in order to keep your job. Sat, 12 Feb 2011 01:22:29 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/02/10/what-did-you-get-out-of-king-of-the-mountain-119-blog/#IDComment127447975 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/01/27/what-the-most-beautiful-race-means-to-you-119-blog/#IDComment126043345 In my opinion, the most beautiful race does not exist, but people do have their preference! Race according to dictionary.com is a group of people of common ancestry, distinguished from others by physical characteristics. The principal races are Caucasoid, Mongoloid, and Negroid. However, there are many races classified outside of these principal races that people do not even know about. When Sam gave the I-Clicker question in class about how many races exist in the world, the answer was unknown. Due to people, having mixed babies there is really no way to actually determine and classify a person’s true race. In addition, many people cannot talk about their heritage and culture about their race for more than two minutes not trace their ancestry back five generations in order to figure out their true race. In class, Sam said “many people do not even know there actual race. People can have some black in them from their ancestors and they would never know.” Without being able to trace your ancestry how do you actually determine you race? This question, I believe will never be able to be solve. To get back to the point about what is the most beautiful race, each person portrays beauty differently. This is why every person is attractive to a certain type. Qualities such as skin color, eyes, face, hair, body type, and smile are taking into consideration when defining beauty. Others believe beauty is from within; it just depends on the person you are talking to. For example, in class Sam said, “I think Ethiopians are the most beautiful race.” I totally disagree with this comment, and believe that mixed people such black and white are very beautiful. However, are white and black people even classified as a particular race? I do not think so. Not all of the races that are classified take into consideration the mix babies. Psychologists have actually concluded that many people think that a morph person with many different races is more beautiful than just a regular person with one race. In addition, even though a person can classify a race as beautiful, there can always be a person in that race that is not as beautiful. Everyone is different in their own unique way due to many qualities past out from their ancestors. Therefore, to sum this up, I believe that there will never be a most beautiful race. Instead, I believe that people will continue to mix races up by continuing to have mix racial babies. Then one day in the way way wayyyyy future, race will not even exist because everyone will be so mixed up. In addition I believe the three principle races won’t even exist because everyone is going to have a near same skin color around brownish or tannish in the future and being able to identify a race by color will be nearly impossible. Sat, 5 Feb 2011 01:11:21 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/01/27/what-the-most-beautiful-race-means-to-you-119-blog/#IDComment126043345 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/01/26/why-do-we-associate-with-people-of-the-same-race-and-ethnicity-as-ourselves-119-blog/#IDComment124401406 I agree with many of the previous comments, which are many people tend to associate themselves with people in the same race and ethnicity because it is what they are comfortable with. In addition, I think people say in groups in order to maintain their culture such as language and obey their culture. In my opinion, there can be many reasons why a person tends to associate himself or herself with their same race, and after many studies, the main reason has to do with psychology. Studies have shown that people feel most comfortable around things that they are familiar with, which also includes people. People are comfortable with their own race because it is what they grew up with since a child. It is what they are used to, and would continue to be used to in their future life unless they decide to venture out. The “distinct groups” seen all over campus probably gives many people a feeling of being home, which many people need in this unfamiliar and stressful setting called college. Even though distinct groups are always seen around campus, there are always people who are the exception. From our lectures, I have realized that even through a group of people may look the same, they may be a completely different race. Therefore, even though we see groups of people walking together, one of the girl could be half black and half white but looks completely black and hangs out with other black people. With the world continuously turning into a blend of races, it is hard to distinguish who is what. We may be able to make judgments about others, but there is no way to know someone’s complete ethnic background without asking them and doing medical testing. In addition, the groups seen around campus could also be due to culture. For the Asians, there are many subcultures such as Korean, Chinese. In the Korean culture, it is a bad thing to socialize with Chinese because they are considered loud and obnoxious. I was able to learn that from my discussion group on Monday. There could be an infinite amount of reasons why groups flock together while sitting in classroom. In my opinion it just depends on the person you are. I know I am the outcast because I hang out with whomever I have a greater connection with when I am sitting in classrooms. Someone that I know who will help me succeeds in my study and will be there for me in my time of need. Even if they are Black, White, or Asian, it does not matter to me as long as I have a connection with them. In conclusion, people who tend flock together due it unconsciously. It is something that we have no control over, and something that mentally does not fade away at any time in our life. It something that will just happen since we have no control over, so we have to venture out in order to slightly decrease this separation seen in college and throughout life. Fri, 28 Jan 2011 20:17:45 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/01/26/why-do-we-associate-with-people-of-the-same-race-and-ethnicity-as-ourselves-119-blog/#IDComment124401406 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/01/14/why-do-we-still-have-stereotypes-blog-1/#IDComment122448288 I agree with many of the other responses that have already been posted. Stereotypes will always be around because people are constantly perpetuating them. Since a very young age, we have been exposed to the stereotypes of Blacks, Whites, Spanish, Asians, Muslims, Jews etc. from the media, our families, homes, friends, and community. Many people are unaware at the fact that they stereotypes many people into the categories listed above because stereotyping occurs naturally especially while forming first impressions about others. In my opinion, stereotyping people is just like classifying unknown territory as the “ghetto” or “suburbs.” It helps us figure things out in order to define the world around us. The fear of not knowing the unknown makes people respond differently. Some may be serious, some may be standoffish, while others may be a jokester. It helps us forget our feeling of discomfort to things that we may not be used to. Especially if a person has never been, expose to a different race on a one-to-one basis. The media shows/elaborates things in order to help us stereotypes others until we are told otherwise. Even when we are told otherwise, we continue to stereotype because the categorizes are constantly being drilled into our heads even when we are unaware of them. Like something subtle like most KFC commercial, have black people in them. Since many people know this stereotype, this is not subtle when shown on television. However when kids watch a commercial portraying this stereotype, it helps them build their stereotype of blacks without them even noticing. In my opinion, we also stereotype because it is a part of today’s society. In today’s society, we are more laid back and jokesters. I know when they say “blacks like fried chicken” it is not true because many whites eat fried chicken. In addition, the Puerto Rican stereotype, “me dunno papi, I live on the 3 rd floor. I saw nothing.” It funny, I know for a fact that not only Puerto Ricans will not know nothing because I would say the same thing I do not want to be shot from opening my mouth. Then everyone knows about the most popular stereotype about Italians from New Jersey because of the show “Jersey Shore.” I know that not all Italians are JUICEHEAD who GTL all day long then go clubbing. However, I continue to watch the show and drill this image into my head because it is funny. Stereotype now a days are more about fun and games, especially to me. For people who take it serious FINE you do not have to like it, but the majority of us do! Therefore, the jokes from many comedians and stupid stereotype television shows will keep on coming and I am fine with that. It is all a part of today’s world. In conclusions, stereotyping people helps me classify people in order to form a first impression. Most of my stereotypes about people are from the media, so I know it is not true but it is the first thing that comes to my mind most of the time. My stereotypes about others are what have been constantly drilled into my head since I was a child and it will always be with me! Stereotypes were always a part of society and it will always be a part of society. I do not think anyone can change it, because stereotypes just kind of happened. Thu, 20 Jan 2011 06:26:43 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/01/14/why-do-we-still-have-stereotypes-blog-1/#IDComment122448288 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/01/10/last-name-%e2%80%9cj%e2%80%9d-%e2%80%93-intense-debate/#IDComment120827447 SOC 119 Wed, 12 Jan 2011 05:06:25 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/01/10/last-name-%e2%80%9cj%e2%80%9d-%e2%80%93-intense-debate/#IDComment120827447