en-us https://www.intensedebate.com/users/2405231 Comments by mbizaro http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/04/19/why-does-society-dislike-immigrants-and-why-are-they-portrayed-badly-119-blog/#IDComment144370471 Part 3/3 Another major problem with the image of the immigrants is the fact that immigrants turn their backs on other immigrants that they are not related to. Once they are legal they try to keep out others. When the general public sees immigrants keeping out other immigrants it is a scary thought. Why would they keep out their own kind? Immigrants must work together in order to show the United States they are people just like the US citizens. If they help each other out they will possible be able to make gains in the views and treatment of immigrants. They shouldn’t support laws that undermine immigrant rights and increase the stop of immigration. Many citizens view these people as a threat because they are stealing jobs, changing culture, and not advocating for themselves. If these were all to change then possibly the public would be able to slowly change the stereotype of an immigrant. Wed, 20 Apr 2011 01:39:51 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/04/19/why-does-society-dislike-immigrants-and-why-are-they-portrayed-badly-119-blog/#IDComment144370471 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/04/19/why-does-society-dislike-immigrants-and-why-are-they-portrayed-badly-119-blog/#IDComment144370407 Part 2/3 Another problem U.S. citizens have with immigrants is the spread of their culture and language. Many Americans believe they need to assimilate but what they don’t realize is that the current American culture is a mix of hundreds of cultures as people immigrated to this country for the last several hundred years. Businesses that put up signs limiting customers to use only English in their stores are just ignorant of the American heritage. If we all begin to speak English or Chinese, will there be signs saying those are the only appropriate languages? Many people fear this change and don’t want the immigrants to start anything new in the United States. This changing society is the main reason for fear and if people were to realize that change will occur and will always occur they might be more accepting of the immigrants. Wed, 20 Apr 2011 01:39:36 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/04/19/why-does-society-dislike-immigrants-and-why-are-they-portrayed-badly-119-blog/#IDComment144370407 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/04/19/why-does-society-dislike-immigrants-and-why-are-they-portrayed-badly-119-blog/#IDComment144370357 Part 1/3 I believe that society dislikes immigrants because there is this fear that the immigrants will steal our jobs and take over our country. As Sam pointed out in class the jobs that immigrants are taking are low paying jobs which many Americans would never take. We shouldn’t care that they are taking those jobs when in fact we need them because they are helping our economy. In California the lack of immigrants was the main reason that people with farms failed at picking their crops in time. Hundreds of crops went unpicked and unsold and this entire problem could have been avoided with the right amount of immigrant labor. Prices would also be a lot higher if it were not for immigrant labor. With unions and the attitude of Americans toward blue collar work it would be hard to find anyone to work in factories or in fields for low wages. Immigrants are the perfect solution to this problem. Wed, 20 Apr 2011 01:39:24 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/04/19/why-does-society-dislike-immigrants-and-why-are-they-portrayed-badly-119-blog/#IDComment144370357 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/04/12/do-you-think-you-would-actively-try-to-not-benefit-from-nepotism-if-the-situation-presented-itself-119-blog/#IDComment142862420 Part 3/3 As far as the race issues play in nepotism I can see how it is unfair. They don’t have the same connections as I will when I get out of school. The only way I can see this changing is by them networking while they are in school and taking full advantage of this opportunity. When they graduate and have children they will also have the same connections that the parents possessed and they will be able to go further than the previous generation. They can allow the networking and nepotism to continue to grow with in their families and eventually the will have the same advantages of everyone else. At my high school there was a black girl who had so many more connections than I. Her family was friends with many businessmen and politicians. She will go much further in life than I will with her connections and she will pass them down to her children as well. I believe that nepotism is a good thing. Thu, 14 Apr 2011 17:31:42 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/04/12/do-you-think-you-would-actively-try-to-not-benefit-from-nepotism-if-the-situation-presented-itself-119-blog/#IDComment142862420 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/04/12/do-you-think-you-would-actively-try-to-not-benefit-from-nepotism-if-the-situation-presented-itself-119-blog/#IDComment142862373 Part 2/3 My dad’s company has merged with another and by next December he will be out of a job. He still stays in contact with all of his friends from his previous jobs. Even when he first started out at his new company he would email and go to lunch with previous coworkers. These connections are now paying off because they are all looking out for job openings in their companies for him. He can greatly benefit from this because him friends will give him a good recommendation at human resources and he will have an advantage over other applicants. In a time when my father is going to be out of a job and have three kids in college nepotism is necessary. Thu, 14 Apr 2011 17:31:30 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/04/12/do-you-think-you-would-actively-try-to-not-benefit-from-nepotism-if-the-situation-presented-itself-119-blog/#IDComment142862373 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/04/12/do-you-think-you-would-actively-try-to-not-benefit-from-nepotism-if-the-situation-presented-itself-119-blog/#IDComment142862322 Part 1/3 As a business major I have learned that “networking” is the most important thing you can do. I’m in an honors co-curricular organization, Sapphire, and one of the main objectives of the organization is to allow young leaders to network. They hope that when we go out into the business world our connections will help us succeed. Business is not about how good you are or getting the most sales because you have to know someone to move up. The CEO’s son is going to move above any smarter employee in the same position. It’s just the way that business works. Personally, I will seek out nepotism because it’s what I have been taught to do. I think that it isn’t fair but nothing is really fair. As I learned in management there is a locus of control. If you have an internal locus of control you believe that you control your own life. People with internal locus of control make better managers. External locus of control is when you believe that other factors control your life. When you have internal locus of control you will take advantage of nepotism because you control your own destiny. These people will be more successful. Thu, 14 Apr 2011 17:31:18 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/04/12/do-you-think-you-would-actively-try-to-not-benefit-from-nepotism-if-the-situation-presented-itself-119-blog/#IDComment142862322 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/04/05/after-this-class-do-you-still-blame-terrorism-119-blog/#IDComment140839426 Part 3/3 After this lesson I have a different perspective on terrorists and the Middle East. Although I don’t think it is ever okay to kill thousands of innocent people in plane crashes or car bombs, the U.S. does partake in similar activities. The United State will kill 29 civilians for every bad guy and it is a lot less than a building of people but how many bad guys are there? The toll of civilians will certainly add up and the United States will be left with some blame. The Muslims look at the United States with the same fear we look at Muslims. The Muslims aren’t all just crazies out to kill the United States because we don’t believe in the same religion as them but because they think we are attacking them. Neither party is justified. Thu, 7 Apr 2011 22:11:03 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/04/05/after-this-class-do-you-still-blame-terrorism-119-blog/#IDComment140839426 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/04/05/after-this-class-do-you-still-blame-terrorism-119-blog/#IDComment140839391 Part 2/3 When I look at a video of a radical Christian I laugh because I know that 99% of U.S. Christians aren’t like that. Sometimes I’ll even stereotype them by passing it off as an evangelical Southern Christian because we all know those are the worst (sarcasm). It never occurred to me that the people in the Middle East are looking at those same videos and thinking that everyone in America is just like that. While Americans are looking at children in Iraq holding guns, Muslims are watching American children becoming Christian crusaders and fighting for their religion. Their whole perception of the United States is the same as our perception of the Middle East. We know that in the U.S. there is only a few crazies and mostly people laugh at them. There are also people who are radical for other causes than just Christianity but the Muslims don’t see that because they only see what their government and media wants them to see, the same as in America. Thu, 7 Apr 2011 22:10:52 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/04/05/after-this-class-do-you-still-blame-terrorism-119-blog/#IDComment140839391 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/04/05/after-this-class-do-you-still-blame-terrorism-119-blog/#IDComment140839343 Part 1/3 I found the Christian Crusaders lecture very interesting because I had never truly thought about terrorism that way. I knew that ever since 9/11 there has been this negative attitude toward Muslims and the extremist who killed thousands of people. After the attacks I remember how the US used color levels to signal the chance of an attack. It was most likely a scare tactic to get people on board with the war. The news would always be flashing the latest thwarted attack. The attackers were of course Middle Eastern looking. This fear in the United States was built on videos of crazy Muslims that planned to kill all Americans. The fear grew and people supported the war. America came together to take down the “horrible” people. I knew at the time that a lot of it was hype but I never imagined that the same hype in the United States was used in the Middle East. Thu, 7 Apr 2011 22:10:36 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/04/05/after-this-class-do-you-still-blame-terrorism-119-blog/#IDComment140839343 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/03/29/do-you-ever-feel-uncomfortable-around-two-or-more-people-speaking-another-language-119-blog/#IDComment138886369 Part 3/3 I recently watched the move Click with Adam Sandler and there was a scene where he was trying to make a deal with Japanese business men. He was completely screwing up the deal because of his lack of knowledge about the culture and the language. The Japanese businessmen decided to talk about the project away from the American men. In Japanese they said everything wrong with the project. Luckily Adam Sandler used the remote to change their language and hear want they waned in order to save the deal. In real life we don’t have remotes to change languages so real life can be difficult when communicating with people who speak different languages. These difference can make everyone feel uncomfortable. Thu, 31 Mar 2011 17:13:27 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/03/29/do-you-ever-feel-uncomfortable-around-two-or-more-people-speaking-another-language-119-blog/#IDComment138886369 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/03/29/do-you-ever-feel-uncomfortable-around-two-or-more-people-speaking-another-language-119-blog/#IDComment138886337 Part 2/3 I rarely get my nails done but when I do I like to go to the same place every time. The people there are Vietnamese and they are very professional and efficient. They ask what you want and get it done in a short amount of time. It is also a family business with 10 workers. They talk to each other in Vietnamese but I never have felt uncomfortable with not knowing what they are saying. The prices are always the same as advertised. For prom I decided to go to the new nail place which opened close to my house. It was run by two Asian women but I didn’t know what ethnicity they were. When they asked what I wanted done they didn’t really understand I just wanted to get my nails and toes painted. The communication was very hard and the paint they ended up using was some special gel paint. I only wanted a normal polish and in the end I paid $60 just to have my nails painted. The difficulty of communication caused a large loss of money and a feeling of discomfort. It is situations like these I wish to avoid. Thu, 31 Mar 2011 17:13:11 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/03/29/do-you-ever-feel-uncomfortable-around-two-or-more-people-speaking-another-language-119-blog/#IDComment138886337 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/03/29/do-you-ever-feel-uncomfortable-around-two-or-more-people-speaking-another-language-119-blog/#IDComment138886285 Part 1/3 Honestly, I have felt uncomfortable around people speaking a different language because I don’t fully know what is going on. I don’t believe that everyone in the United Sates should speak English though. Cultural barriers make everyone a little uneasy not just myself. I imagine many non-English speaking immigrants run into this situation on a daily basis. It must be hard for them to survive in a society where the language spoken in generally English. This feeling of discomfort comes from the fear of the unknown. You don’t know how to act around them because you may in some way offend them. When interacting with people of different cultures and languages it is hard to determine what is the appropriate way of communicating. As the poll question in class said many people would not talk to a person at a cash register who spoke another language. They would rather get their tasks accomplished and move along. Thu, 31 Mar 2011 17:12:55 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/03/29/do-you-ever-feel-uncomfortable-around-two-or-more-people-speaking-another-language-119-blog/#IDComment138886285 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/03/22/what-factors-in-your-race-make-it-difficult-to-date-outside-your-race-119-blog/#IDComment137163379 Part 3/3 My dad’s side of the family is much different when it comes to the issue of race. My dad grew up in an iconic 50’s family. I’m sure many people can imagine it. My grandfather worked and my grandmother stayed home and took care of the kids. They lived in a predominantly white society where everyone knew everyone in the town. Although they never came out and said racial slurs (because that would not be proper) there was tension. My cousin dated an Asian girl for a long time. My sister and brother and I loved her but my grandfather wasn’t too keen on the idea. The thought now of bringing home another race scares me because I wouldn’t know how they would react. I’d be especially afraid to introduce them to a black boy. Families like this can discourage interracial dating and make people fear it because they are not allowed. My one childhood friend’s parents even went as far as to tell her to just never bring home a black boy. This blatant prejudice keeps our society constantly in the world of racism. Thu, 24 Mar 2011 04:23:46 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/03/22/what-factors-in-your-race-make-it-difficult-to-date-outside-your-race-119-blog/#IDComment137163379 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/03/22/what-factors-in-your-race-make-it-difficult-to-date-outside-your-race-119-blog/#IDComment137163339 Part 2/3 Personally I know my mom’s side of the family would never mind if I dated outside of my race. They’d probably even encourage it because they are very accepting. I could imagine my grandmom saying something a little racially offensive but she wouldn’t mean it in an offensive way. She is accepting but she still gets flustered when it comes to talking about different races because she doesn’t know what is correct now and what is not correct that she grew up saying. For people with families like this it would be comfortable to engage in an interracial relationship because you know your family is supporting you. Families like this will advance the United States allow dating outside one’s own race to be acceptable. America is moving toward this kind of society. Thu, 24 Mar 2011 04:23:29 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/03/22/what-factors-in-your-race-make-it-difficult-to-date-outside-your-race-119-blog/#IDComment137163339 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/03/22/what-factors-in-your-race-make-it-difficult-to-date-outside-your-race-119-blog/#IDComment137163305 Part 1/3 As a white person I believe dating outside your race has a lot to do with family expectations and the level of acceptance that you grew up with. As Sam says in class America is actually improving its racial relations but this has been relatively recent in the whole history of the United States. Many people still have relatives who grew up in a completely different time period. We learn about it in social studies all through elementary and secondary education but we never truly understood. For the people who actually lived in this time period they have a whole different perspective on race relations. It’s common to just excuse the elderly’s blatant racism because we say “they just grew up in a different time.” Although many of us now grow up where race relations are being improved we still think about the opinions and approval of our family. I wouldn’t want to date someone my family didn’t approve of. Thu, 24 Mar 2011 04:23:05 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/03/22/what-factors-in-your-race-make-it-difficult-to-date-outside-your-race-119-blog/#IDComment137163305 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/03/18/what-do-you-think-of-the-diversity-at-penn-state-119-blog/#IDComment135919569 Part 3/3 When I applied to college I only applied to four schools and all four of them were majority white schools. I saw the diversity figures and for me they just seemed normal because I had been raised that way. I was planning on going to Villanova and they had even less diversity then Penn State but for me it wasn’t a problem because I was the majority. If I had been the minority I would’ve been scared to go to a school where everyone was white. I never thought of any of this before Race Relations. If I had to apply again I don’t think I would change the schools I applied to because many schools are like this. I don’t think it’s a matter of how many there are but HOW can there be more minorities in school. Fri, 18 Mar 2011 22:03:57 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/03/18/what-do-you-think-of-the-diversity-at-penn-state-119-blog/#IDComment135919569 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/03/18/what-do-you-think-of-the-diversity-at-penn-state-119-blog/#IDComment135919499 Part 2/3 The reason I think I didn’t see the lack of diversity at Penn State was because I was raised in an almost all white society. There were 2 black kids in my 560 person graduating class. Although we were taught everyone was equal we never thought about the lack of color in our area. Coming to Penn State with the lack of diversity just seemed natural because I didn’t know any better. This is most likely why there is so much racial tension in this world because people are raised in societies where it is acceptable for there to only be white people or only be black people. Exposure is the most important thing in combating racism in the modern world. Maybe if I had been raised in a society where there was a good ratio of minorities I would have noticed that Penn State is lacking. Fri, 18 Mar 2011 22:03:32 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/03/18/what-do-you-think-of-the-diversity-at-penn-state-119-blog/#IDComment135919499 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/03/18/what-do-you-think-of-the-diversity-at-penn-state-119-blog/#IDComment135919470 Part 1/3 I live in Pollock and many of the athletes that are on the football and men’s basketball team are in my commons. Although this is a stereotype it happens that many of the athletes tend to be black. I noticed that when I first got there, but I could also have noticed them because they tend to be over six foot and I’m short. When it came down to my classes I never even thought about diversity but what got me thinking about it was when a black guy said he was one of the few black kids in his 700 person gen ed class. I had never realized this because as the majority (white) it didn’t seem to be a big deal. I think about it now and I can’t even imagine being a minority in a class with 700 people. I would most likely be scared. This actually made me think about how white power must exist when there is so many of us. Fri, 18 Mar 2011 22:03:18 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/03/18/what-do-you-think-of-the-diversity-at-penn-state-119-blog/#IDComment135919470 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/03/02/is-it-possible-for-affirmative-action-to-take-things-too-far-119-blog/#IDComment132300346 Part 3/3 Although I believe this I do recognize the fact that many racial groups do not have the opportunities that white people have. As far as college applications go their high school may not have offered as many AP classes or afterschool clubs. Their sports program could be under funded or nonexistent. The lack of opportunities can definitely set them apart from the white person who attended a wealthy high school. Another aspect in affirmative action is white power because whites have connections and the minorities may not have the same connections. For example when they are living in impoverished areas they may not know people who could help them get a job. I know if I was out of work my family would reach out to their connections and help me find one. Maybe a solution to affirmative action would be to not focus the programs on color of the skin but on family income. We watched the video of Tammy and she was just as poor as many other people of color if not poorer. Fri, 4 Mar 2011 05:35:42 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/03/02/is-it-possible-for-affirmative-action-to-take-things-too-far-119-blog/#IDComment132300346 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/03/02/is-it-possible-for-affirmative-action-to-take-things-too-far-119-blog/#IDComment132300255 Part 2/3 Personally, I believe that race or ethnicity shouldn’t be put on an application for colleges or job applications because it something that is different about human beings. No matter how many times people say we are all people they are still going to look at the race section. If we are all people then why is there a race section anyways? Affirmative action shouldn’t hold back the best candidate from getting the job no matter the color of their skin. Maybe interviews should be conducted behind curtains in order to avoid stereotyping or as Sam mentions creating a bond with someone who is similar to you. I think affirmative action has gone too far and people should be judged based on their skills and their resume not their skin color. Fri, 4 Mar 2011 05:35:15 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/03/02/is-it-possible-for-affirmative-action-to-take-things-too-far-119-blog/#IDComment132300255