The statement about "who you know" does ring true in so many aspects of American life. I agree with you that education is a huge factor in moving forward in life, and nepotism is very much tied to what school you go to and who you know through that school. I think Sam's use of people to show the inequality was a very good visual representation and really drove home the point that everyone starts a totally different point and affirmative action is an attempt to close that gap. Hopefully, eventually, those inequalities will even out and there will no longer be such huge stairs of difference.

I have to admit that I did not really know that much about Affirmative Action or what it truly meant. I just thought it was the sort of classic “if there are two candidates that are equal and one is a minority, the minority will be hired”. I’m really glad that we had this lecture so that I had the opportunity to learn what it truly is and how it has been so twisted to mean something else.

One of the things that Sam mentioned that really caught my eye was how we always think we are doing better than our neighbors. We think we are more intelligent, better looking, less prejudiced, and more honest than others, but that really makes no sense. If we truly were all “better” people than the racial inequalities that we discuss in this class would be somewhat of a moot point. It’s always so surprising to me how we can be completely unaware of our own bias and discriminatory habits. Perhaps our way of thinking and acting has become so ingrained in our minds that we don’t even realize that there is something wrong. And I think that is really one of the main points of this class – just to try to get us to think outside of the box we have been brought up in and consider the other side of the things, the one that we are not exposed to every day.

I never really thought about how much nepotism is a part of our everyday lives, but yet we never talk about it. I think this ties back to the idea of person effort vs. outside forces in determining where we are in life. Who wants to think that their life is not under their control? But then again, like Sam said, who is going to pass up a great opportunity just because it has come about because of connections. And like the kid in class said, it is part of the world, part of business, that connections can get you opportunities.

I do think that affirmative action in some form needs to exist, because otherwise institutional racism and sexism will just continue to exist unquestioned. The current system is obviously not working in the way that it should, but that does mean that it should be obliterated. Instead, we could find ways to make affirmative action more accurately reflect its goals. As a first step, I think we need to TALK about why it is needed and how nepotism is basically the same thing under another name. One of the most helpful things could just be raising awareness and helping people to become more informed about the issues and what affirmative action really is, as opposed to the mistaken idea that a lot of us (myself included) may have as to what AA means.

It is sad, but true, that we really need immigrants to do the things that Americans are unwilling to do. People complain about immigration but don’t understand that they probably would not enjoy a lot of the conveniences if immigrants were not doing jobs that they would turn down.

Your comment about that man who made the video ranting about illegal immigration. We want everybody to be accommodating to us in other parts of the world, yet many agree with his views (also irritating is that those people would probably never say anything in real life, but they can hide behind the anonymity of their YouTube comments).

With the exception of Native Americans, we are ALL illegal immigrants. It is really ridiculous that we try to impose laws on other people that we didn’t have to follow ourselves. I do think this country would have some problems if people were allowed to come and go whenever, without documentation, but at the same time it is completely unrealistic to expect that borders drawn on a map will keep people from moving over there. I feel like sometimes people think that political boundaries drawn are somehow really drawn on the earth. I remember last year when Google Maps drew the border of Nicaragua incorrectly and there was actually dispute over the correct border because of it.

Anyway, point being that immigration, like Sam said, is inevitable. As long as there is a way to move from place to place, people will do it. So basically, as long as we can walk, we will immigrate. Yet everyone wants to be the last group to enter a new territory. Like that woman who put the “Hispanics keep out” sign on her door, trying to shut the door behind you is impossible and ignorant.

I think one of the most interesting things about this lecture is how the statistics about immigration have not really changed over time, and how it has been a debate for decades. People talk about the current influx of immigrants like it is a new phenomenon and has only become an issue recently. Those cartoons that Sam showed were almost creepily reflective of the way that a lot of people think about immigrants coming into the United States today.

A good number of kids in my high school were immigrants or children of immigrants and it is really interesting to see the way that they have managed to learn the language very well, while their parents speak very little. One of my friends lives in a predominantly Hispanic neighborhood and her mother owns a hair salon. Her mother very rarely leaves their community and has no need to learn Spanish because most of the local businesses are owned by others who also speak Spanish. I do not see anything wrong with this; she does just fine in her neighborhood and is more than happy to spend her time among others who speak Spanish. She runs a very good business (I get my hair cut there all the time!) and contributes positively to her community.

A final point that Sam made that stuck out to me was when he was discussing the financial side of immigration and how it probably balances out. Like the kid who asked, I did not know that illegal immigrants could pay taxes by basically borrowing a social security number. This changes the whole situation, because they will never benefit from those tax dollars but they are constantly contributing. I think there almost has to be an economic gain, even factoring in border patrol and health and social services.

I agree that I didn't expect us to tackle LGBT issues, and I'm really glad we did! I don't agree with your point about gay parents not fulfilling all the roles needed - I think the "mom" and "dad" roles are societally created and we really only need love, no matter what gender that love is coming from.

I agree about how this topic is kept so quiet, and I don't really understand why. I'm really glad that we do get to discuss it in this class though!

I completely agree with your point about the legal status of homosexuality. I had no idea the difference in punishments and just how severe they could get.

I am really glad that Sam tackled the LGBT issues, because it is so easy to gloss over it, especially since this is a class focused on race. I feel like the struggles that occur in race relations mirror very closely those faced by the LGBT community. I identify as a straight female, but have long been an avid supporter of the LGBT community. There is a huge queer community in my hometown of Washington, DC and my high school had an equally large population of gay, bi, and transgender students.

I hate when I can’t understand another person’s viewpoint on a topic, but the issue of equal rights for those who identify as LGBT is one where I do find it difficult to waver. It is so ethnocentric to think that someone’s sexual identity makes them a worse person. Ok, yes, men and women have to mate to continue the human population, but like Sam said, the percentage of the population that is gay is so small that this argument is negligible.

One of the things that I really appreciate that Sam talked about is how people pick and choose which sins they want to call people out on and which ones are okay. I would love to find all of the homophobic college students at Penn State and poll them to find out how many have ever had a drink, wanted something that someone else has, or ever bribed somebody. It really is ridiculous to only count some things; shit or get off the pot, you know?

I have never thought that being gay was a choice but I had also never thought about why I didn’t think it was a choice. The reasons that Sam talked about just reinforced my belief that a person is biologically gay. But I had never thought why I believe that being gay is biological. I think that if I have a certain view, I need to be able to back it up. Although I think that those who believe being gay is a choice are wrong, I know that they have evidence that they believe makes them correct. One of the things I have learned through this class is that no statement can be made without something to back it up. Given, the arguments that I have heard seem paper thin to me, but the person believe in them, and I have respect for that.

Finally, when Sam was talking about how we never consider if we are straight or choosing to be straight it really made me think about my own sexual identity. I have never stopped to consider it from the other side. I didn’t struggle with “coming out straight” and it almost seems ridiculous that that would be possible, yet we ask people in the queer community to face this difficulty. It just doesn’t make sense.

I really liked the comparison of the fish to white people understanding their own race. The fish is the last to understand water because it is something that has just always been there, unquestioned and completely accepted. I had never really thought about my race in this way, but as we got through these lectures on the stages of racial identity for white people, I am understanding more and more how not acknowledging or trying to delve into what it means to be white can be a pretty big barrier to race relations from my end of the race table.

I think I am lucky in that I grew up in a diverse neighborhood and was therefore thrust into the awakening stage very early in life. Because of this, I feel like I selected my friends very carefully, even at a young age. I knew what racism was before I even started school, and although I didn’t understand it, and still don’t completely, and probably never will, it was something that always seemed strange. In some contexts the people I knew never made it past the pre-awakening stage, and they will probably never have to. My swim team really sticks out in my mind…it was extremely expensive to be on the team (when I found out just how ridiculously expensive it was, I could no longer justify making my parents support my lethargic attitude toward the sport) and was therefore limited to those with the money, meaning that it was almost all children who were privileged and…white. There were a few black kids on the team, but as Sam mentioned earlier when we were talking about hockey, they were standouts; there were no minority swimmers who were only average. The kids on this team attended private schools, hung out with their private school friends, rarely used the extensive public transportation system, and never, ever went to the “bad parts” of the city. Some of them have gone on to much more diverse colleges, and I have had conversations with a few who have only recently become truly aware of race, but then again some have gone to more expensive, private colleges with no more diversity than their high school and aspire to work in professions that historically have been, and will probably continue to be throughout my lifetime, predominantly white.

I have to admit that I think very little about my experience as a white person. My overwhelming white guilt seems to overshadow any other thoughts that I have about my own race, and it is something that I strongly dislike but find incredibly difficult to shake off. I am in between and in both stages 3 and 4. Will I ever be able to move forward and be truly comfortable with my own race as well as that of others? I really, really hope so but I’m not even sure how realistic that is at this point. I am glad that these lectures have allowed me to admit that I am not as comfortable with my own race as I previously thought, so maybe that is a step in better understanding myself and others.

An interesting perspective on your friend's position in life - I think that also goes back to the debate between the how much of your life can be attributed to outside forces versus how much is because of one's own choices. Always very sensitive, because who doesn't want to think that they have managed to get themselves to where they are? But yet everything that has happened to us has somehow shaped who we are, so it's pretty much impossible to say that our life is of completely our own choosing. I think the "what if" questions can be extremely helpful to question our understanding of race relations and try to understand it from another's perspective.

I am definitely guilty of the "I have a black friend" syndrome. It's stupid to try to prove to somebody that you're not racist in that way, but it's also stupid to even have to justify that you're not racist. Like Sam said, once somebody has said that to you there's no convincing them otherwise; I think saying that you have a close friend that is a minority is a last attempt at trying to prove to someone that you're not racist who has made a snap judgement and decided you are. It's dumb, it's grabbing at straws, and as soon as I say it I instantly want to retract it.

I agree completely with your statement about those poor twins. Kids are completely mirrors of their parents - especially at that age - and it's sad to see so much hate still around in the world.

This lecture really hit home with me because I have been in and witnessed so many people go through these stages, almost word-for-word in the way that Sam was describing them.

The revisioning stage especially pointed out some interesting things. As white people become more aware of the inequality present, I feel like we make an attempt to somehow explain that we are different and that the actions of our ancestors should not rest on our shoulders. However this causes almost a paradox, because by talking about those actions and saying that we should not have to feel responsible, we are almost saying that someone should be responsible, and who else but white people would that responsibility fall to? Acknowledging that the discrimination that has and still does exist needs to be dealt with almost makes it necessary to put the blame for that discrimination on somebody – white people.

One of the biggest barriers that I see that Sam mentioned is that of the dismissal of white concern and white guilt. Just because the guilt is unnecessary or unhelpful does not mean that it does not exist, and it definitely makes race relations very difficult. Continuing to bring up the past when it only gets a rise out of people and does not help the conversation move forward is useless.

But how is it possible to change the way the racial relationships have developed? If we were to simply drop all “politically correct” terms and say that everybody could call each other whatever they wanted, there would be a huge amount of resistance. Some words have come to be incredibly offensive, and for some reason we are unable to reverse their meaning. And the worst part is that, as Sam mentioned, since we all have different interpretations of phrases/words and their meanings, it is almost impossible not to, at some point, be considered racist because of a statement that you make in a discussion about race.

Reversal – in my opinion, one of the worst and most depressing stages of one’s racial identity. I have been through this a million times, and even as I feel it happening it’s impossible to stop. Through the previous stages of racial identity there are positive steps forward. People are beginning to talk about how they really feel; some may even come out from behind the door of political correctness. However, after being rejected time and time again after making an effort, it is really difficult to keep trying to push through the painful conversation. Like Sam said, why would you engage in a race conversation just to get called out? In some ways, this stage makes sense because white people are starting to understand that all racial problems cannot be fixed simply through conversation, but one of the things that white people say at this stage, “minorities are just as racist as white people,” just brings us back to square one. I have seen cases of so-called “reverse racism” and in the end, both people walk away angry, probably with more racist thoughts than when the interaction started. This is not a stage that is helpful in any way, and it’s also one that is not acknowledged that much because people don’t want to believe that racism can become more prominent even after people have engaged in discussions about race relations.