The simple fact of the matter is that society dislikes immigrants because they take jobs away from the people already in the country. In the case of America, we currently have an extremely high unemployment rate and this makes a lot of people sensitive about who we are letting into the country as well as how many we are letting in. I don’t think that immigrants in themselves are portrayed as badly as this question makes it seem as they are. I think instead that it is illegal immigrants that are treated badly and perhaps rightly so. Although it is extremely difficult to enter the country legally these days, it isn’t right and hasn’t been right for a long time to enter a country illegally. Those that do it, in the case of the US, are typically from places in Mexico that are seeking to benefit from higher wages in the US while sending the money out of the country to their families back in Mexico. So not only are they taking jobs that otherwise legal immigrants or Americans would have, they are moving money out of the country, which is not beneficial to the American economy. This is the major reason these people are treated badly. Another reason is the fact that many immigrants enter the country without a good grasp of the English language. Most illegal immigrants don’t know the language at all, yet they are the recipients of many government programs that assist people without English at the expense of taxpayers. I myself have had encounters with people who clearly don’t much English at all and it has really frustrated me. I don’t really mind if you are seeking to come into America as long as you make an effort to learn English and learn it well. I cant stand trying to interact with a fast food employee who cant properly communicate with me. I cant decide who agitates me more in the situation, the employee or the employer. Both should be slapped upside the head for their lack of intelligence. If immigration trends continue the Hispanic population in the US will surpass the white population as the majority. With that trend in mind I think its important to start enforcing mandatory Spanish lessons in school as I feel that the trend will inevitably lead to a shift from English to Spanish as the national language of this country.

Nepotism is the biggest pile of bullshit in the world. With that being said, I am the clear recipient of nepotism and would not be a student at penn state without it. It’s a catch 22 for me to deem whether nepotism is a good thing or a bad thing because I have gained from it and will most likely gain from it again. Nepotism is a clear block to the advancement of human society because it installs people in jobs based on their relationships and social status over merit. My point being that the best people for a job can miss out on the opportunity when a person who is less qualified gets the job because their father knows the employer. Without nepotism the most qualified person would always get the job and I believe this would make the value of work better from all industries. I also think that if merit was the only mode of acquiring a job people would be forced to better themselves and gain the skills necessary to be qualified for the position they are seeking to attain. This will cause everyone to rely more on themselves than others, which I think, is a good thing. I think nepotism is unfair and it is depressing ot me that society functions so completely through it. I am forced to accept all its benefits because its so incorporated into life even though I don’t want it to be that way. That’s really all I have to say about nepotism, its life, there isn’t much more to say about it. It’s a bad thing, but its there so I will deal with it. Now at this point I am at 270 words and have nothing more to say, but I am required to write 450 words. What should I do? I will ramble about nothing in protest. I am currently watching Eliot Chang on Comedy Central Presents. He is an Asian man who is pretty funny. His jokes about Asian people are quite offensive which is what makes them funny to me. He thinks that Asian people are bad at driving and I feel that I can laugh at it because he is Asian and that somehow makes it ok. 354. A commercial for the movie Thor just came on and it made me want to see the movie. I cant help but feel though that the commercial showed all the good parts in the movie and if I were to see it there would be nothing new or exciting in it. 425 im calling it a day, I hope you have enjoyed my silly little blog.

I did not feel that the class about the needy penis made me all that uncomfortable. I enjoyed it a lot as it was a nice change from the normal topics we cover in class, but im not sure that the discussion will actually make as much impact as Sam and his wife made it seem like there would be. I think most people were already aware of the fact that in a male dominated society with popular terminology like glass ceilings most people realize that sexuality is centered on men. I don’t think anything about that is groundbreaking. I actually believe that women are just as guilty as men in continuing this cycle of male sexuality forced on society. What would happen if women chose to simply cut men off from sexual encounters? What would happen if they stopped dressing up to be visually pleasing to men? I have encountered so many girls who believe that their role in cultivating a relationship is to dress up in a fashion that shows off their “goods” and lie in wait for a man to come and initiate the relationship. As a man I cant tell you how much this disgusts me. I am tired of the way society views sexuality and the expectations that are forced on me as an individual.
What made me uncomfortable in the lecture was the way Sam and Laurie spoke as though this lecture was going to have some profound effect on the class. If it indeed woke people up and brought them out of ignorance, then I believe that’s all it did and what real good is that? Nothing will change any time soon in regards to how sexuality is viewed in the world so all that was done was reveal a problem to people that they have absolutely no control over, and that was “uncomfortable” to me.

When the Arab woman was shown wearing heals in her hijab, or headdress or whatever you want to call it I saw a women that is owned in every manner of life. I realize some women rationalize wearing these concealing garments as a cultural thing that hides a women’s beauty to highlight her personality but I find this to be a ridiculous rationalization and lie to oneself. The women who wear thongs or heels while concealing the rest of their bodies are going through uncomfortable experiences for men and only men. Who would wear something uncomfortable other than its what they think they are supposed to do?

I have actually been thinking a lot lately about interracial relationships and whether or not I could see myself in one. I think the reason for this has been that white women have been pissing me off lately and I am looking for something different. With that being said there is still something inside of me that wishes to please my family by bringing home a white Jewish girl. That would be the ideal women to bring home to my family, but I’ve been thinking lately on how my family would respond to me bringing home a women that is a different race, but still Jewish. Would they be receptive? I am not sure, my guess and hope would be that as long as the lady made me happy they would be fine with it.
I could easily see myself with an Asian or a Hispanic/Latina, but I am unsure of whether I could date a black woman. I have tried to think of why I feel this way and what I have rationalized it down to is that I cant see myself with black women for two reasons. The first reason is that I am the type of person that likes to fly under the radar. What I mean is that I don’t like drawing attention to myself in public and I feel that a white guy with a black woman draws extra attention in our society. I think that there are those that would still look at that kind of an interracial relationship as strange and would be extremely judgmental which I do quite frankly not want to experience. It would also probably draw a lot of criticism from the older generations of my family and I don’t really feel like having to deal with an agitated family. The other reason I find myself unlikely to enter a relationship with a black woman is that I don’t really like black hip hop culture. I can’t say that I enjoy the music, the clothing styles or the manner of speaking, the last reason of which I think is the most problematic of the reasons. I remember once having a conversation with a black friend of mine on why black people speak with bad grammar and slang to one another and he stated that it was just a cultural norm that exists for black people. I am not sure whether many black people would agree on this, but if they do, then I don’t like it. At the end of the day, I would classify these against a relationship with a black girl as misgivings that make it so I wont actively seek a relationship with a black girl. That being said, I am not naïve enough to say that it is impossible for me to fall for a black girl.

White privilege is a term that I can get pretty testy with. I live in northern Virginia, the suburbs of Washington D.C. and this area is very diverse. There is a large Asian, Hispanic, and black community in my home town and I have to say, that I don’t really see how white privilege fits in to my area that much. Everywhere I go I see people of different races fitting in with whites and there doesn’t seem to be much as far as problems are concerned with the integration of these races. I think that in this day and age, most people are pretty aware of what white privilege is and im not sure how relevant it is to my hometown. I believe that most employers in my area wont discriminate based on color or race as long as the person of color is qualified for the position they are attempting to acquire. Some people will then say, “Well what if they are both just as qualified and the white person gets the job?” Well maybe that is white privilege and my hometown is rampant with it. But I will say that if that is the case, then white privilege or some form of it will always exist. People are always going to choose the things that are familiar to them and in this case the thing that is similar to them, the deciding factor, is race. There are always going to be those few, who are racist, that make white privilege an issue for everyone, but I don’t believe it is as big of an issue today as some people make it out to be.

To say that Penn State University is a diverse university is a laughable idea. My friends and I often joke when we are at a football game in beaver stadium that we can see Penn State’s one black guy in the crowd sticking out like a sore thumb. The joke is not that the black person is funny, but that Penn State claims to be a diverse university when in fact it is predominantly white. I am from the suburbs of Washington D.C. and as a result I have much to compare with State College in regards to ethnic and racial diversity. My area has a large Hispanic and Asian population and D.C. itself has a large predominantly black community. As such, in high school I was accustomed to having multiple races and ethnicities represented in each of my classes and it would not be unusual for me being a white person to be a minority in class. When I came to Penn State I was shocked at the limited amount of representation in my classes for different races and ethnicities. Soc. 119 has included the most people of color I have ever seen in one place in my four years here at State College.
Having explored some of the area surrounding state college Pennsylvania I have come to believe that the racial and ethnic diversity of Penn State University Park campus is actually representative of the demographics of the middle part of the state of Pennsylvania. There simply aren’t many people of color in the middle of this state. They tend to be closer to the cities of Philadelphia and Pittsburgh. Why that is, I am not sure, but I believe that this fact plays a major role in the racial and ethnic composition and lack of diversity at Penn State University.
When I chose to attend Penn State University I actually didn’t even take into account racial and ethnic diversity at this institution. I assumed and quite frankly expected that college would be a diverse Hodge podge of different types of people from different areas of the world. To be frank, I am a little disappointed at how white this school is because I was hoping to learn more about people who are different from myself. I find that this institution is producing a large volume of white young adults tailored with similar skill sets to flood the job markets in the business world. I feel that the minorities that attend Penn State University probably stand a better chance of standing out in an appealing fashion when it comes time to get a job following graduation than I would with all the other whites here at school.

I think that in the smaller class I was in today we hit on some good points about political correctness. Its important for politicians to be politically correct as they have to appeal to wide bodies of people and by being politically correct they have the best chance of not offending anyone. The media has evolved into a 24hour sensationalized system where every word a politician says is dissected for hidden meaning. Political correctness therefore has become necessary for politicians and those who screw up the media will ruin. I would say that they should definitely abide by political correctness as A) they would lose their job without it and B) they represent a wide variety of people and if they are to do their jobs correctly must do their best not to offend anyone who has elected them.
As for everyday people, I don't really see the point of political correctness. I think its overblown and causes more harm than good. You cant just assume that someone is going to know exactly how you want to be referred to. There are billions of people in the world each with different preferences as to how they would like to be referred to. Getting insulted when someone refers to you as black instead of African American or as a Heb. instead of a Jew is silly.
There are certain words that are inappropriate in any context in which we learn as children are derogatory and not to be used. If not using them constitutes political correctness then I would say that is a good practice to follow. But I dont go out of my way to pick and choose words that are fine for some and not for others. There are too many people in the world with too many preferences for me to be able to be right all the time. I simply try to put myself in the shoes of the person I am talking to and imagine myself being on the receiving end of what I am saying.