en-us https://www.intensedebate.com/users/3076544 Comments by miliani13 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/06/30/week-8-%e2%80%93-lesson-14-affirmative-action/#IDComment170050617 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. Tue, 5 Jul 2011 19:59:19 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/06/30/week-8-%e2%80%93-lesson-14-affirmative-action/#IDComment170050617 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/06/30/week-8-%e2%80%93-lesson-14-affirmative-action/#IDComment170047658 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. Tue, 5 Jul 2011 19:47:30 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/06/30/week-8-%e2%80%93-lesson-14-affirmative-action/#IDComment170047658 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/06/26/week-7-%e2%80%93-lesson-13-immigration/#IDComment168730204 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). Fri, 1 Jul 2011 16:35:20 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/06/26/week-7-%e2%80%93-lesson-13-immigration/#IDComment168730204 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/06/26/week-7-%e2%80%93-lesson-13-immigration/#IDComment168719395 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. Fri, 1 Jul 2011 15:57:10 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/06/26/week-7-%e2%80%93-lesson-13-immigration/#IDComment168719395 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/06/26/week-7-%e2%80%93-lesson-12-multiculturalism-lgbt/#IDComment168161666 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. Thu, 30 Jun 2011 02:38:04 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/06/26/week-7-%e2%80%93-lesson-12-multiculturalism-lgbt/#IDComment168161666 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/06/26/week-7-%e2%80%93-lesson-12-multiculturalism-lgbt/#IDComment168155992 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. Thu, 30 Jun 2011 02:07:19 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/06/26/week-7-%e2%80%93-lesson-12-multiculturalism-lgbt/#IDComment168155992 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/06/22/week-6-%e2%80%93-lesson-10-stages-of-racial-identity-%e2%80%93-people-of-color-stages-1-4/#IDComment166002098 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. Fri, 24 Jun 2011 01:55:46 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/06/22/week-6-%e2%80%93-lesson-10-stages-of-racial-identity-%e2%80%93-people-of-color-stages-1-4/#IDComment166002098 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/06/22/week-6-%e2%80%93-lesson-10-stages-of-racial-identity-%e2%80%93-people-of-color-stages-1-4/#IDComment165998165 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. Fri, 24 Jun 2011 01:38:56 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/06/22/week-6-%e2%80%93-lesson-10-stages-of-racial-identity-%e2%80%93-people-of-color-stages-1-4/#IDComment165998165 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/06/07/week-5-%e2%80%93-lesson-9-stages-of-racial-identity-%e2%80%93-white-people-stages-3-4/#IDComment164461964 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. Mon, 20 Jun 2011 03:27:50 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/06/07/week-5-%e2%80%93-lesson-9-stages-of-racial-identity-%e2%80%93-white-people-stages-3-4/#IDComment164461964 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/06/07/week-5-%e2%80%93-lesson-9-stages-of-racial-identity-%e2%80%93-white-people-stages-3-4/#IDComment164460642 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. Mon, 20 Jun 2011 03:22:31 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/06/07/week-5-%e2%80%93-lesson-9-stages-of-racial-identity-%e2%80%93-white-people-stages-3-4/#IDComment164460642 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/06/07/week-5-%e2%80%93-lesson-8-stages-of-racial-identity-%e2%80%93-white-people-stages-1-2/#IDComment163010917 Again, a very through-provoking lecture. Things that we never give a second thought to: a normal height, being right-handed, being straight. And yet, we constantly point out when people are abnormally short or tall, left-handed, or gay. Why is that? Is it simply because the majority are a certain way? The majority questions the minority and makes the minority question themselves, and yet over time our majority opinions tend to shift quite frequently. Perhaps, eventually, the inequality between races will also shift. I had never really considered my whiteness to have come to me in “stages.” However, while watching this lecture I could pinpoint almost exactly when I had reached each of the stages that Sam discussed. I had also never thought about the fact that people can regress or repeat these stages and that a step forward does not necessarily mean a permanent step forward. For example, right after emancipation, people of color gained a lot of ground in obtaining equal rights, but this did not last. Until I was 8, I lived in a neighborhood where I was a member of one of the few white families. I feel like I was exposed to the “awakening” stage at a very early age because of this. However, when I moved to Italy I think I moved backwards because race was almost negligible, and definitely took second place to my feeling of being an outsider as an American. I was always looking at my own cultural differences, and was not giving much thought to my racial differences. In addition, I lived in an almost homogenous small town, so my experience with people of other races was greatly diminished. When I moved back to the United States I was again exposed to racial differences and the fact that race is a much more prominently discussed topic. At first, I did not want to have the race conversation at all. I didn’t really understand why the conversation needed to happen, or really what the big deal was. As I got older, I started to see the differences that existed and the inequality that was so prominent, yet almost completely ignored. When I started middle school, I started to question what was happening around me and wanted to confront it. However, choosing to question this controversial topic was not an easy path. I was met with a great deal of resistance; often people asked me why I even cared, considering that I was in the privileged portion of the population. I tried using only the “PC” terms to avoid conflict, but as Sam mentioned, what may be politically correct in the eyes of one person is not necessarily politically correct for another. I think one of the most interesting things that was pointed out in this lecture as that even if people want to discuss race and race relations, it is never simple or clear-cut, and people tend to back away very quickly. Unfortunately, being closed-off will never lead to true progress. Thu, 16 Jun 2011 00:13:38 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/06/07/week-5-%e2%80%93-lesson-8-stages-of-racial-identity-%e2%80%93-white-people-stages-1-2/#IDComment163010917 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/06/02/week-4-lesson-6-race-and-ethnic-inequality/#IDComment160829559 I was also unaware of the racism in the criminal justice system, so I think that was a really interesting part of his lecture. You make a really interesting point about urban areas and how there might be a connection there, I wonder if there are more arrests of black or brown people in suburban areas as well, even though the population might not be as high. But I think the example Sam used of when two people commit exactly the same crime and have the same record, yet the black person is 6 times more likely to be incarcerated really drives his point home. Thu, 9 Jun 2011 03:28:49 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/06/02/week-4-lesson-6-race-and-ethnic-inequality/#IDComment160829559 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/06/02/week-4-lesson-6-race-and-ethnic-inequality/#IDComment160827702 I really liked Sam’s metaphor with being a puppet. Often times it fells like we really are just puppets on a million invisible strings. We may try to make choices that work against those strings or resist when they’re tugged, but there are really too many for us to win. Our ancestors, our childhood, the color of our skin…we try to turn our lives into something that we control, but all of these factors can very easily take all of the control out of our hands and give it to the person with the power – the “king of the mountain.” These lectures were both very interesting and incredibly disheartening – on one end of the discussion, Sam talked about how the position that we’re in is mostly luck, and how personal work and determination play very little in how successful a person is. On the other hand, I think most of us feel like we have worked very hard to be where we are. I know I worked my butt off to get through those Advanced Placement courses so that I could bring those college credits to Penn State. Or how many hours I spent practicing to sit first chair in my orchestra. And yes, those are personal gains that I have made. But then I thought about those opportunities in the context of inheritance. I could have never afforded the high quality musical instrument that I have if my parents didn’t have the money to buy it for me. I probably would not even be attending Penn State, maybe I wouldn’t go to college at all if my parents hadn’t. They prioritized my education over other options that they had so that I would have these opportunities. It’s almost frustrating to look back at my life’s course and understand that a large portion seems like it was almost not my life at all. A huge part of the lecture that really opened my eyes to why there is still so much inequality today is when Sam discussed what happened (or didn’t happen, as the case is) after WWII. The sheer amount of money that just did not go to people of color is overwhelming. I wish I could go back in time and explain to Veteran’s Affairs – or whatever the office may have been called – that the decisions they were making were going to impact the entire Nation for at least the next 70 years, and probably well beyond that. Sam showing this example of how race and ethnic inequality began really drove the point home to me that there could, there SHOULD be a much, much larger middle class composed of colored people. Instead, we are left with guilt, shame, anger, and a boatload of lingering racism, which some people can somehow believe is justifiable. I wish those people could have watched this lecture to understand how the absence of something like proper benefits for soldiers created this domino effect that still resonates today. Thu, 9 Jun 2011 03:19:15 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/06/02/week-4-lesson-6-race-and-ethnic-inequality/#IDComment160827702 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/05/25/week-3-lesson-5-social-inequality/#IDComment159250694 I agree with your stance on the difference between the two explanations, and I also think the psycho-cognitive explanation is less applicable most of the time. A lot of what we do is a reaction to our environment, or it is the way that we have been taught to act or make decisions. That example that Sam used also really struck me - sometimes when a friend or classmate seems to be falling apart it's because of a factor that everyone else cannot see, but it doesn't mean that it is that person's choice to not be doing well in school...it's somehow confusing yet so simple. Sat, 4 Jun 2011 21:21:26 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/05/25/week-3-lesson-5-social-inequality/#IDComment159250694 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/05/25/week-3-lesson-5-social-inequality/#IDComment159248050 I have to say that, no matter the race or background of the people in the lectures, I was always surprised by how low the graduation rates and scores of people were. That aside, the difference between people with different background was incredible. Also, I always assumed that suburbia had more money than the inner city. From what I have experienced, suburban homes are large, with huge plots, and garages that can fit at least three cars. However, when Sam mentioned that this is not true I looked up some information and found out that my perception was totally wrong. I really liked how Sam pointed out the fact that, despite group averages and statistics, you can’t judge a person individually based on what the average is. It’s so easy to look at charts and then put every person who is white, black, brown etc. right in to the middle of that chart and see them as basically one person. I had to stop and think about the generalizations that I make. I didn’t realize how I was doing the same generalizing, despite my personal experience with people outside of the average. I have met both white people who are extremely poor and Latinos with a lot of money, and yet I still couldn’t push away my natural instinct to group people by skin color into the categories that Sam showed. This is something that I need to work on; the first inequality lecture made me realize that. The second lecture and the comparison of the socio-psycho cognitive approach and socio-structural approach was really interesting to me. I consider myself a liberal, and I was definitely agreeing with the socio-structural approach more than the socio-psycho cognitive approach, but I do see both sides. I remember in SOC 001 we talked a lot about these concepts, and how a lot of things are out of our control, but our decisions are still a big factor in how our lives turn out. The Oprah video that was showed was one of my favorite parts of the class. People don’t understand how different schools can be – even within the same state, school system, or neighborhood. Before my school was renovated, it was literally falling apart. The TVs would regularly fall off the walls and it wasn’t rare for a brick to be missing or a window to be covered in cardboard. On the other hand, the elementary school that I attended, which was in a neighborhood with significantly more money, was state-of-the-art. There was nothing that was ever needed; as soon as a chip of paint came off a wall the entire room was repainted by the next morning. Disparities like these are saddening, but they are reality…like Sam said, nobody is going to take away money from their own kid, even if others really do need it more. Sat, 4 Jun 2011 21:07:10 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/05/25/week-3-lesson-5-social-inequality/#IDComment159248050 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/05/25/week-3-lesson-4-ethnocentrism/#IDComment158403552 I agree completely, we really have managed to royally mess things up. It's saddening to see a country that promotes pure Democracy and living life to the fullest without harming those around you involved in so much conflict and violence. We have managed to drag a number of other countries into these situations as well, because they depend on us for economic and military support. America is completely the face of the world, economically, socially, culturally...as Sam mentioned in the last lecture, people in other countries want to be whiter, or more Western. America represents that "ideal" Western lifestyle, but as far as I'm concerned we've set a pretty bad example. Thu, 2 Jun 2011 03:31:36 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/05/25/week-3-lesson-4-ethnocentrism/#IDComment158403552 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/05/25/week-3-lesson-4-ethnocentrism/#IDComment158402590 I remember reading “The Lottery” – a short, fictional story about stoning – and being so shocked at the fact that one group of people could kill another group of people in that fashion. The point that the first lecture really drove home for me was that it’s not important to accept facets of other cultures, but rather to understand them within the context. One of the points that was the most interesting to me in the first part of the lecture was when Sam talked about naming kids after a holy prophet. I had noticed before watching the lecture that the American culture seems to be the only one that does not name their kids “God” or “Jesus” and had always wondered why. Even though there is no clear answer to this, it is still very interesting to point out the cultural difference. Just think about how it would be if a friend were named God. Many would be confused by this, and I’m sure a good number of people would be offended…just something interesting that is still unexplainable to some degree. These lectures, especially the “Christian Invaders” one, really opened my eyes to the value of looking at something from another’s perspective. I had never given that much consideration to the war from the perspective of kids our age living in the Middle East. I had thought about it from the perspective of the Iraqi soldiers, but never from that of the citizens who are very similar to us, just college students that are beginning to form opinions about the world. Is the opinion they have of us one of violent missionaries? I really hope not, but it is completely understandable if that is the case. The lecture definitely made me want to learn more about the Arab Muslim culture. The oil. It has always disgusted me that people will kill for this natural resource. Imagine how much less violence there would be in this world if nobody was dependent on oil. So many conflicts have been fought over oil, and I know that the world’s economy would collapse without it, but it just seems so…dumb, for lack of a better word. I don’t think there is anything worth killing innocent human beings over, much less something that is then used to power vehicles and machinery that contribute to climate change and other environmental problems. To me, the most striking statistic that Sam mentioned is that of the number of civilians that are allowed to be killed in order to kill just one “bad guy”. 29. Not only was I unaware of the fact that such a number exists, but my guess when Sam asked what the class thought the number might be was something around 3, maybe 5. 29 people. That is over a third of my graduating high school class. I have less than 29 people that I would probably really want at my wedding or funeral. Yes, we all have hundreds of acquaintances, but really close friends? That number is low; way below 29. Thu, 2 Jun 2011 03:27:24 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/05/25/week-3-lesson-4-ethnocentrism/#IDComment158402590 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/05/22/week-two-lesson-2-intro-to-race/#IDComment156449125 Isn’t it crazy how we use the term race, but don’t even know exactly where it came from or what it means? I had the same realization as you did while watching these lectures. Also, the issue of what black or white people “should” do: so true. People always remark on how a white person is “acting black” or something like that...isn’t this racist to both groups? If the white person is “acting black,” is that an insult? Is it wrong? How are they supposed to act, white or black? I think that people that say these types of things are, by and large, unaware of what they even mean. It’s frustrating to hear, but awesome that this class makes us think about it! Thu, 26 May 2011 19:13:26 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/05/22/week-two-lesson-2-intro-to-race/#IDComment156449125 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/05/22/week-two-lesson-2-intro-to-race/#IDComment156447697 Oh man, tanning beds. Or skin cancer beds as I like to call them. I think it’s insane that we’ve invented a way of making a fake sun to change skin color, and it’s even crazier that people pay to use this fake sun to insult their ancestors’ ability to survive. The topic of trying to change skin color is probably what stuck out most to me, just because I do not understand it. I have been told from magazines and shows like America’s Next Top Model that I will never be fully happy with the way I am, but yet I do not find fault with my skin color and I see no reason to. Admittedly, I am self-conscious about other physical characteristics that I have been told are unattractive or wrong, but skin color is just not one of them. A few other things from the lectures really stuck out to me was the discussion about how slavery has always existed in the world. I know there was always conflict and people were capturing other people and using them, but I didn’t know that they were often assimilated into the culture that had captured them so as to ensure a culture’s survival. In a way, this was also the way that slavery started in North America, as Europeans were unfamiliar with the land and how to properly use it, so they enslaved Native Americans to grow them food so that they would survive. The difference in this situation is that Native Americans were not, after some time, accepted into the European culture, but rather were continuously treated as sub-human, and in many cases still are today. The issue of skin color because of a lack of hair was also a topic of which I was not fully aware. Apparently if we had thick hair all over our bodies, we would be much more protected from the sun and yet we are told, especially women, that to be hairless is to be beautiful. So we do outlandish things to ourselves like laser hair removal, which is extremely expensive and can be damaging to the skin. Removing the hair reveals a skin color that we are not happy with, so we pay more money for products or services that change that...the interesting thing to me is that if we found a way for everybody to have identical skin tones, we still wouldn’t be happy. Everybody would find some physical characteristic that is “wrong” or “ugly” and Seventeen magazine would start coming up with solutions that convince easily swayed teenagers that they need to spend more money at the local drugstore to make themselves happy. Like the video said, we’re all just monkeys trying to convince ourselves that we’re something else. Thu, 26 May 2011 19:08:00 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/05/22/week-two-lesson-2-intro-to-race/#IDComment156447697 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/05/14/week-1-lesson-1-whadya-know/#IDComment154106913 This example, while valid, is not really what I was aiming for. Those prices are charged to us, so if we want to go out to dinner or a movie, that is what we have to pay. I don't think wanting to have a good time with friends or family is equal to being "spoiled". The poorest people in the world still go to see movies, in fact those that I have spent time with find this one of their favorite activities. What troubles me is people paying for things in this country like bottled water, when our tap water is perfectly fine (although with natural gas drilling that is becoming less so in some areas). Bottled water does not face nearly the same regulations as tap water, yet people for some reason think it's better, purer, healthier, basically whatever advertisers have told them. If money like that, money spent stupidly, for lack of a better word, was instead given to organizations that are trying to help remote villages get the infrastructure they need for clean water, what a difference that would make. Thu, 19 May 2011 20:43:15 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/05/14/week-1-lesson-1-whadya-know/#IDComment154106913