After taking Soc 119, my views on other races and ethnicities have changed the way I view the world. When I walk down the street, I am not as prone to look at someone and label them. I don’t think “They’re black,” because I don’t know if they identify themselves with that or not. They could be from Southeast Asia and have darker skin and consider themselves Asian. For me, their skin color is only a biological factor that I see, but they can linked to a totally different ethnicity or culture. To be honest, I don’t really see skin color anymore…I mean, I see it but I don’t see it as a barrier between myself and them. Underneath we are all the same, and that’s how each person should be viewed. In another sense, I always fed into stereotypes. I associate blonde girls with being dumb and Asians as being good at math and science, but I’ve grown to realize that those ideas are simply socially constructed and stereotypes that our society has fed off of for years. In addition, I learned a lot from the lectures with self expression. For instance, when I go out, do I dress in skirts and tight shirts for myself or for guys? That was a reality check for me because I realized after that lecture that I always knew that’s why most girls dressed that way when they went out and I always told myself I wouldn’t do that and I ended up coming here and doing exactly what I said I wouldn’t. Therefore, I’ve been a lot more mindful of that since. I also love the idea of culture. THON is a culture within Penn State, and Penn State has its own culture within Pennsylvania, and Pennsylvania has its own culture within The United States, and I love seeing it that way. It makes me think of how I can go back home and be living with my own flesh and blood but they have their own cultures as well. It’s just so fascinating to me. I also find it interesting how we call ourselves “Americans.” Because like Sam said, really, what is that supposed to mean? What makes us think that our America is the only America? The whole purpose of our America is to be a melting pot, so why identify ourselves as Americans? For instance, if I went to Germany, why can’t I say that I’m German? I mean, I am. I’m 50% and proud of it, but to them I’m “an American.” Anymore, I want to be careful how I use that because if we’re going to say we’re “Americans,” we really should specify and say “North Americans,” because truthfully, we are and we have to remember South America and respect that they are a part of the Americas as well. To wrap up my whole spiel, I just have to say that regardless of what grade I receive, the knowledge I have taken from this class is way more meaningful than what goes down on the books. Thank you Sam Richards.

First and foremost, it is nauseating for me to know how many are sexually abused. People that do these acts have serious psychological problems that need to be addressed, just like any other disease. However, molestation in particular is leaving a scar on all victims for the rest of their lives. Unless they talk to someone who has gone through the same thing, one can only sympathize, and that kills me. For me to know that I cannot relate to those individuals who were and still are sexually abused without having someone I love do the same to me triggers mixed emotions. You want to be able to empathize, but at the same time you cannot fathom nor want to think about someone you love doing something like that to you. And there lies the problem. We CANNOT put ourselves in the victim’s shoes unless we are victimized ourselves. As a result, I have been walking around with an open mind even more than I was before. Just like race, sexuality, class, etcetera we do not know who was victimized and who was not. I no longer walk around blindly because now I know how many suffer from sexual abuse. I am also in the process of not being ignorant to the world. I realize how many were and still are silenced. And silenced because they know many do not understand. We that are free of sexual abuse do not understand that dark area, an alley if you want to draw a metaphor, that we do not want to go down, but we hope in some way that there can be a light that will shine down it without us stepping inside. But if we want to fully understand them, we have to go down that path and that’s something no one wants to have to face. Knowing how many have experienced sexual abuse, I feel guilt as well as appreciation for the childhood I had. I have always been a big kid, and I think partly why all of this has made a personal impact on my life is because I was slapped in the face. I have had to wake up from my ‘kid’ world, the ideal, and face reality…that the world, no matter where you go, is not a safe little bubble. Not even Happy Valley. The individuals that were victimized goes to show that sometimes the only person you can trust is yourself, because your family and friends or friends of the family can take advantage of your innocence. For me, that is a hard fact to face because of my beautiful and carefree childhood, but in many supposed cases, it is a fact. Do I think this will spiral out of control? No. Maybe that’s me being naïve still, but people are already speaking out. Someone in my discussion group said there have been numbers admitting they have been sexually abused, and I feel this is only the beginning. If we keep providing support and raising awareness, I think we can fight this evil that is all around us. Evil from one man that has changed the face of Penn State, and unfortunately, it may never be the same.

We pass judgement so quickly even though we preach innocent until proven guilty because of a number of reasons: first and foremost, no one wants to face the truth of a situation. Ignorance is bliss, and settling with a situation is a lot easier than getting to the root of a problem. Another reason is that it is easier to blame others than to put yourself in their shoes and think about how you could have been just as guilty. To touch on my first point, I’m going to reference the events that have occurred throughout this week, seeing as I am assuming these occurrences are what sparked this question in the first place. I am sick of talking about and thinking about it just as much as we all are, but I feel as though I need to address this in my own words and to people other than who agree with me. No one wants to face the truth of a situation. It is a lot easier for people to point figures at an iconic figure who is known throughout this nation and possibly in other countries than it is to acknowledge someone who was in his shadow. Furthermore, no one wants to remember something as tragic and emotionally scarring (at least for those who have never experienced it) as molestation. It is something that is disgraceful and shameful and no one wants to imagine something so inhumane and brutal. Instead, they pick apart someone who has always been known for good because not only is it shocking for people, but it’s also a lot easier to find faults and forget about good. No one can accept that someone can be purely good and genuine, so we latch onto negativity when it comes our way. Another reason is that it is easier to blame others than to put yourself in their shoes and think about how you could have been just as guilty is the situation presented itself. Let us think about this: my TA the other day brought up a very valid point that I did not want to admit (with does tie into the ‘ignorance is bliss’ aspect). She said that if I had been in Joe Paterno’s position, whether he did or did not do enough, is it not hard to turn someone in that you have been working with for years. If your best friend or really close family member was on trial for a serious crime, wouldn’t it be hard to oppose them in the court room? I know I said yes. I said yes because I know people can be wrong. But I knew them for all of my life, and I knew the good inside of them, and I know people make mistakes. Maybe that’s how Joe Paterno felt. I know we will never know except if we were one of the several men that were directly involved in the situation. I want to believe he did all that he could, but at the same time, it was his friend, his colleague, and he could have very well not have been thinking about the families and could have defended this man. I love Joe Paterno. I am a fan. And this is a difficult time for all of my fellow Joe Paterno lovers. I want to end with a quote from East of Eden: "The quick pain of truth can pass away, but the slow, eating agony of a lie is never lost. That's a running sore."

We pass judgement so quickly even though we preach innocent until proven guilty because of a number of reasons: first and foremost, no one wants to face the truth of a situation. Ignorance is bliss, and settling with a situation is a lot easier than getting to the root of a problem. Another reason is that it is easier to blame others than to put yourself in their shoes and think about how you could have been just as guilty. To touch on my first point, I’m going to reference the events that have occurred throughout this week, seeing as I am assuming these occurrences are what sparked this question in the first place. I am sick of talking about and thinking about it just as much as we all are, but I feel as though I need to address this in my own words and to people other than who agree with me. No one wants to face the truth of a situation. It is a lot easier for people to point figures at an iconic figure who is known throughout this nation and possibly in other countries than it is to acknowledge someone who was in his shadow. Furthermore, no one wants to remember something as tragic and emotionally scarring (at least for those who have never experienced it) as molestation. It is something that is disgraceful and shameful and no one wants to imagine something so inhumane and brutal. Instead, they pick apart someone who has always been known for good because not only is it shocking for people, but it’s also a lot easier to find faults and forget about good. No one can accept that someone can be purely good and genuine, so we latch onto negativity when it comes our way. Another reason is that it is easier to blame others than to put yourself in their shoes and think about how you could have been just as guilty is the situation presented itself. Let us think about this: my TA the other day brought up a very valid point that I did not want to admit (with does tie into the ‘ignorance is bliss’ aspect). She said that if I had been in Joe Paterno’s position, whether he did or did not do enough, is it not hard to turn someone in that you have been working with for years. If your best friend or really close family member was on trial for a serious crime, wouldn’t it be hard to oppose them in the court room? I know I said yes. I said yes because I know people can be wrong. But I knew them for all of my life, and I knew the good inside of them, and I know people make mistakes. Maybe that’s how Joe Paterno felt. I know we will never know except if we were one of the several men that were directly involved in the situation. I want to believe he did all that he could, but at the same time, it was his friend, his colleague, and he could have very well not have been thinking about the families and could have defended this man. I love Joe Paterno. I am a fan. And this is a difficult time for all of my fellow Joe Paterno lovers. I want to end with a quote from East of Eden: "The quick pain of truth can pass away, but the slow, eating agony of a lie is never lost. That's a running sore."

I actually brought this topic up in my discussion group the other day. For the most part, everyone agreed that we don’t care whether or not people speak their own language. I know for me and a few people however, do find it either a little uncomfortable or frustrating. The one girl in my class said that it makes her feel uncomfortable when she is getting her nails done at a nail salon owned by Asian individuals because she feels as though they are talking about her. She gave an example of one of her friends that said she felt similarly. Supposedly, her friend said something and right afterward the women started speaking very fluently. If you think about it from your native language, their conversation could have been about anything, but I could see how that can make someone paranoid. I know I have been in instances where I said something and then someone would start speaking Spanish or whatever their native language was and would laugh. I feel like if anyone does this after you have said something you might jump to conclusions and make assumptions, but odds are they do not care enough about what you said to make it their topic of interest. Unless of course, they are like some people and make fun of other people because they do not have a life. Therefore, a lot of it just depends on the person. Another feeling of mine that I experience very often is feelings of frustration. Communication is a key aspect in human interaction, and it bothers me when I cannot have that connection with someone. I feel as though it is a barrier that I cannot overcome. Even though all it takes is studying and immersing myself in that specific culture, whatever that might be, that would be a ton of languages for me to learn, and I don’t think my brain is capable of managing all of that. Therefore, it is aggravating for me to want to talk to someone and have to point to things in order to get my message across. Now obviously, Sign Language is an exception, because their communication depends almost entirely on hand signals (eye contact is also a key factor), but for other languages I do not feel as though I should have to do that. Now, that does not mean I don’t support other languages besides English in America. On the contrary, I’m all for that, but like I said, it is really hard for me to not understand what someone is saying and to have to use approaches other than words. If I think about it in terms of people that do not speak English in America, however, think of how frustrating it must be for THEM. No wonder why they say ‘birds of a feather, flock together’ because it’s comforting to have communication be effortless. Therefore, I find people conversing in other languages to be uncomfortable and frustrating, but I understand they have as much of a right to find comfort in using their native language as I do.

I think it has to do with their intentions of why they want to hang out with a group that is not of their race. Sometimes I feel as though people do it for attention or to prove a point. For instance, some people who are white might purposely dress like the stereotypical black ghetto person and do it to get attention, or to particularly mock them. I could be wrong, but I feel as though that is something I have witnessed. Or, they might hang out with a group not of their race to prove that because times have changed that it is more acceptable and to do it just because they can , not because they actually want to. On the contrary, I feel as though a lot of people do hang out with other races for good intentions because they genuinely want to be friends with them. I know personally, I’m very fascinated by other races, ethnicities, cultures, however you want to put it, and I find it intriguing to talk to them and see their opinions about society and how they have been affected by it. For other people, I feel as though, on the most part, I examine the same thing. Majority of people want to be friends with people that will treat them well, so if people of races other than their own do that, than why would they be considered posers? I do not see why a lot of people have misconceptions like this. Like we talked about in class, there are several stages that people experience. This goes out to specifically white people, because for some reason I feel as though we are seen more as the posers if we choose to hang out with minority groups, but why is it so hard for people to come to the realization that there are people in stage 4 and on? There are people that defend minorities and understand their position in society and want to help…that does not make them posers in my opinion. It makes them open-minded and thoughtful human beings. Another idea that I thought of was that we have to take into account the people that grow up in different cultures. As we have discussed, there are cultures within cultures, and specific areas have specific cultures that shape the way people live. For instance, I remember the one day early in the semester, we were talking about the differences between race, cultures, and ethnicity. Sam then asked the class, who feels as though they are more black than they are white? A white guy raised his hand and explained, “I do because of where I grew up: I went to a predominately black school, I have mostly black friends, and that’s who I identify with.” It doesn’t matter that he’s not black, it matters where he feels he belongs. Therefore, just because we hang out with different races doesn’t make us posers. It depends on our intentions and who we feel we identify with the best.

I would say that I am in between stages 2 and 3. I definitely recognize other races. However, like the kid with the funky hat in class, I know I get uncomfortable talking about certain topics with minorities. I also know that I probably would have felt awkward picking out the kid with the darkest skin in the class. Even so, I know I feel white guilt and I know I have privileges that minorities don’t have. Obviously, that bothers me and I’m not proud of it. Therefore, I’m all for equality and I wish society was not set up by “white privilege.” Part of me even believes that I can be a part of stage 4 because I can hang out with people of different races and not even have it cross my mind that they look different than me. I only notice when touchy subjects arise and like I said, feel uncomfortable. I definitely can say that I’m in different stages than friends and family. I come from a very small town, and a lot of people from my area are very closed-minded. I was raised better than to think that way, but growing up, I would even have my moments. For the most part, I was very knowledgeable of how certain remarks affected minorities and was very defensive towards them. For example, I have two best friends that are black. Growing up, they would always get picked on about the color of their skin. Did I always say something? No, but I would glower at the person that was insulting them, and BELIEVE me, they got the hint. Because I was exposed to my black best friends, I was way more sensitive to people of their race. However, there were other races that I did not necessarily defend as much. For instance, I would do the whole ‘Borat’ impersonation and even still do other silly voices and accents. Yet, I in no way intended to offend anyone of those races. When it comes to family, my grandma is especially bad. I understand she came from a different generation, but she assumes majority, if not all black people are culprits of crime, and that’s simply not the case. In addition, my dad will even make jokes about different races, and it really hurts sometimes, because I don’t think he realizes how much they can seriously offend others. As for my siblings, they are always looking out for me, and I appreciate that, but sometimes it’s completely unnecessary. For example, my sister will ask me who I’m talking to and be like “What, is it another black guy?”, as if that’s a bad thing. So basically, a lot of people from my area still can’t pop the small town bubble that they’re living in.

Sooooooooooo, when it comes down to labeling people on a daily basis, because of all the societal influences that manipulate us, we automatically think to use racial labels, mainly because it makes the situation more ‘humorous.’ Now, I can’t always talk, obviously, because where I came from and how society has shaped me and obviously, I am human and have faults. But as you can see, I had heard or witnessed a lot of stereotypes about Asians and I feed into them a lot too. For instance, I always see Asians running. I don’t know why they are running, but I literally probably see one running every day. Things like that make me start to believe that all of them randomly start running because I see it happen so much, but that’s not true. So yes, even I have to work on not being stereotypical, and Sam’s lecture made me see how many ideologies of mine that have developed over the years have to be changed.

Now, I assume all three of these individuals had the choice of putting those videos up there, but we as intellectual beings should not assume that all blacks are like that. Another race that gets ridiculed a lot are Asians, especially on the Penn State campus. Now, a lot of them do set themselves up for it, yes, but not all of them sit in the computer lab until 5 in the morning or walk really fast and come straight at you and almost run into you, or can’t speak English, or are good at math and science, but most of them here are . But are all of them? NO.

There are not a lot of minorities, but when there are, they are typically poverty-stricken. As we know, a lot of this is a result of determinism, but naturally the people of my area would not know that because they do not take the time of day to care so they feed off of the stereotypes that ‘all minorities are bums,’ or ‘uneducated’ (which naturally infuriates me.) For instance, pertaining to black people, we see the youtube videos of the woman ‘sitting on the toilet’, ‘my push-up bra’, ‘Antoine Dodgson’ as humorous. BUT NOT ALL BLACK PEOPLE ARE LIKE THIS.