I know for a fact that my parents would be comfortable with me if i were gay or if i were in a interracial relationship. I can say this with confidence because of our experiences as a family, including my extended family. To preface this, my extended family is extremely close and we stay in constant communication all the time. When i'm home from school i see them almost as much as my actual family.
I'll start with if i was gay or bisexual or transgendered. I know they would be willing to accept me because my dad has a gay sister. She is a lesbian and has been in a lesbian relationships before. He also has a gay uncle who is in a relationship as well. They are both out of the closet (clearly) and my parents are used to it. My mom may be a little uncomfortable with it at first because she is more religious than my dad, but she hasn't seemed to have minded with my aunt and grand uncle. I'm not sure how she would react because i am her child and it is different.
I know theyre fine with an interracial relationship because i've had them before. I've actually never dated a girl of the same race as me now that i think about it. Chinese, Peruvian, white, or filipino. They haven't cared at all who the girl is. I also know because i have many cousins and family members who are half filipino. I have a black uncle, 2 white sisters in law (kind of, its my cousins wife but like i said were really close), and half white half filipino nephews. My cousin, who is more of a sister, is going out with a white guy too right now. We get barbs from our family for them not being filipino, but they are all in good fun. My family cares more about who the person is rather than what race they are.
And if they disapproved of me, either being gay or in an interracial relationship, it would rock my world, and i would lose a lot of faith in them. I would still love them but it would be different. I don't think it would be fair of them to be able to tolerate all this other gay or interracial relationships happening around them, and not allow me to. My dad’s side of the family is more exposed to this kind of stuff because his entire family is in the states. My mom’s side still lives in the Philippines mostly, and is majority Filipino, so she isn’t as used to it, but I’m sure she would understand. I can’t see them ever being sad about who I am because I know I have their undying support. I love my parents.

Honestly, when deciding between my mother, my significant other, and my child, the answer came to me pretty quickly. I would choose my child. There wasn't much second thought or much questioning of the decision at all. I think it came mostly out of instinct. Whether it was my Instinct to protect the most helpless, the youngest, or my child im just 100% sure that i would want to save my child. This is not to say i don't love my mother. I love her a lot, and i'm sure id love or at least care for my significant other because, well because they are my significant other. There were a lot of comments about finding a new partner or whatever, but fact is, i would still miss them sincerely because that's kinda who i am. But trying to post rationalize why i would save my child, i would have to say that it having a part of me inside it would be a big reason. half of my DNA is in that child, and i am a part of it. I helped give it birth. I don't know why i don't feel the same way as my mother, because i literally came out of her. I guess me giving a part of myself to the child means more to me than being born from my mother. I would also think that saving my mother over my child or my significant other would be devastating to her. She would not forgive me for allowing my wife and child to die, and rescue her in place of her. I also believe that she, being the oldest out of the 3, would have less of a life in front of her. I also think that if i allowed my wife to survive instead of my child, that she would not forgive me either. Because it is our child, i don't know if she could ever stay with me or i with her if we choose to let our child die. Choosing the child may seem like the illogical choice because they may be the weakest of the group and even though they have the most time ahead of them, you don't know what theyll do with it. But in I Robot, will smith hates robots because one robot chose to save him over a child. The robot made the "logical" choice, the logical choice to any adult or parent would be to save the child. Its like a fireman risking his life to go in and save a child from a burning building. It is in peoples natures to value childrens lives moreso than their own. Maybe its ingrained by our culture to favor children or instinct in our dna, but whatever the case, it is true.

I believe that ethnocentrism and being able to see through other cultures perspectives is essential if we want to have a society that can get along together and be the "melting pot" that America wants to be and that certain parts are proud to be. I'm thinking specifically of New York City and how diverse it is. While New York is extremely diverse, i don't think i could call it a melting pot. Sure there are thousands of different cultures and races in New York City, but they aren't melted together. Its more like a jar of jelly beans than a melting pot. All the races and cultures of the world are there, but they don't seem to get along, or they only hang around people of similar backgrounds and ethnicicties. There are thousands upon thousands of people who either don't see race, are racist, or just don't understand other cultures. There are probably very few people in NYC that are in stage 5 or 6 of either white or colored stages of racism. The Universities in New York City are probably the biggest melting pot areas, where people from all over new york and even america come together to study, and are exposed directly to other cultures and peoples. New York can't truly be a melting pot until every one gets along and understands people's perspectives. There can't be separate neighborhoods that are deemed korean, chinese, black, puerto rican, dominican, white, hispanic, jewish, etc. The ideal situation would be to have them all living in mixed up neighborhoods to get them exposed to how other people live. To break the stereotypes that are made based on the color of their skin. In large, differences in culture are also ignored by those outside of that culture. I'm sure plenty of women in hijabs are never asked about why they wear them and for what purpose. im sure many orthodox jews aren't questioned for how they wear their hair or their outfits. And im also sure that they are judged for wearing those outfits, even though no one really knows why and for what purpose they wear them. It doesn't make much to find out why, and there are always people that are willing to explain. But all in all, I think that new york is miles ahead of other cities and states in America. Maybe except for the Los Angeles area, even though it is predominately a Hispanic minority. The statistics that Sam showed the other day in class, showed that New york had a pretty even spilt among all of its population. Pennsylvania as a state is around 70% white. That means most people in Pennsylvania aren’t exposed like those in New York City, which is really unfortunate.

Honestly, i'm not surprised that the family and most people didn't stop the white boy when he was trying to steal the bike. Most people first questioned both boys, but you could tell by the questions that the people were more accusatory towards the black boy. When the white boy was asked questions, they were very round about and most people didn't end up doing anything to the white boy. One person even wished him good luck. I think that its definitely an effect of racism. It isn't direct racism that the people didn't report the white boy, but more underlying. It was more evident when the black boy was stealing the bike. People clearly didn't hesitate when they saw him trying to steal the bike because it is engrained in people's minds to be more afraid of black people than of white people and more distrusting as well. Some one said that it may have been a generational thing which i could see it being also, but older people stopped by the white boy as well. If anything, i would think that being older would increase the likelihood of reporting the black boy to the police. Older people of any race seem to be more racist in general, which i think is a good thing. It shows improvement in our society, but it still isn't completely fixed, as is evident in the video. And of course everyone denies the fact that it is based on race, and most likely, there thought process doesn't implement race as a factor, but subconsciously it is there. One person said that everything bad is black, which a lot of people laughed at, but i think to a certain extent it is true. She mentioned black market black dogs and black holes. Another person mentioned people avoiding black men at night. It is just spoon fed to us that the dark side is evil. Rarely is the light side ever spoken of harshly. And that has to do, i feel, with white supremacy. History is taught through the eyes of the victor, and the white people are still the victors (or still hold the majority of the power) in America, so that is what we will see until everyone is equally represented and power is balanced. Unfortunately i don't see that happening any time soon. Because even though the minority population is increasing rapidly in America, the representation of America and those in power are still mostly white, or from a better background. That is just a generalization, but there are few people from impoverished background in government due to economic reasons. Its not that they lack the ability or knowledge or skill, but rather the opportunity to capitalize on these talents, and utilitze them to help people like they used to be.

My perspective on war was neutral before the class, but now i think i'm leaning towards pro-war. Even though Sam showed us the videos of the americas basically being assholes to the iraqis, i think the majority of the soldiers just follow orders and mind their own business. And the stories told by Aaron were extremely touching. That may be biased but everything that was said in class makes sense. I even understand the 29/1 kill ratio. I understand that the soldiers aren't going around killing 29 people to save one american life, and i understand that the operations are determined on the statistical analysis of the moves. i.e. when to bomb and when to send in a task force or squadron. It was initially a huge shock to me that anyone would even consider the life of one american soldier to be equal to 29 others, but i can see why there is a number. It is to prevent the slaughter of our men, and give them the best chance to come home to their families. I don't think anyone persons life should be worth more than anothers, but in reality, an american soldier does matter more to me than an anonymous iraqi caught in a bomb explosion or killed by misfire. it shouldnt be that way, but it is because the american soldiers volunteered to go fight for us. Whether it is for oil or to fight terrorism, i will support them because they are fighting to make our lives better. But i can also understand the iraqi point of view. The beginning of sam's talk was very convincing. we would react the same way if some other strong country came in and started taking over, kiliing our leader (even if we didn't like him) and then taking our supplies and making billions of dollars off of it. That would be extremely world shattering to all of us, and it would create extreme anger and probably cause us to rebel just the same. We probably wouldn't even be as tolerant as the iraqis are right now. The talker (i forget his name) didn't seem too upset at America, but he did sound upset that we left iraqi in a mess. Which is wrong, but the soldiers needed to come home. It was, and still is a very precarious situation, that i'm not entirely convinced is solved. I think we need to send over government officials or embassadors that know how to fix the government, and not soldiers that only know how to obey orders. If we are going to invade a country and change the government, we should at least give them a chance to be successful. We should help them more, and not screw them over.

What surprised me the most about this class was the amount of ignorance in the classroom, not just in the white people, but also in the black and colored people in the room. I expected there to be some ignorance, but the amount is really just surprising. I grew up in a very diverse neighborhood, in the suburbs of New Jersey, and that is definitely why i'm more used to seeing multiple people of color, race, and ethnicity. I can understand where people from rural pennsylvania are coming from when they can't understand what its like to approach a black person. They don't even know how to address what race they are. Do they call them, black, african, or african american. And can they use the n word? I'm used to calling people them black, just as much as i call white people white, and just as much as i expect to be called brown or yellow. Its just an expression of our skin color and shouldn't bear any meaning towards anything else. The problem has, and will probably always be stereotyping off of skin color, or race, or whatever. And i thought it was interesting how Sam, and the rest of the class thought it could be solved. Sam said if everyone lived in very diverse and very similar situations then we can all get used to people of other races and discrimination would slowly die. Well, perhaps not die out, but definitely be reduced significantly. The only problem is how to accomplish that realistically, if it is realistic at all. If everyone could grow up in the same neighborhood as me, with similar situations as i had (loving parents, economically stable, accepting parents/family) then progress would be made much faster. unfortunately, thats not how the world is. There's also that ignorance about just physical characteristics that stuck out and made me confused, and kind of offended. Like one white guy asked yesterday in the open discussion, "why do black people smell different after they come out of the rain?" to which a black guy asked, "why do white people smell like wet dog when they come out of the rain?" And the girl that asked, "don't you think all white people are evil?" Those kinds of questions seem so ridiculous to me, but i guess they don't come from the same situation as me or whatever. That kind of ignorance is disturbing honestly, but i'm glad that they are taking this class to get rid of these misconceptions that people have. I know ive lost a few myself, and isn't that why we go to college? to become more knowledgeable about, hopefully, how life works, how we want to live, and how it all fits together? I think we need to push out everyone's ignorance and make sure that, even just through this small percentage of the population, changes peoples views about racial and ethnic boundaries.

Thinking that asians are intellectually superior purely because of their race is definitely a form racism. It isn't fair to assume that all asians are smart, just like it isn't fair for people to assume that all black people are stronger, faster, and jump higher. It is definitely detrimental to asian americans too, especially when they aren't smart. Everyone and their mothers assumes that all asians are smart, and when one isn't, it hurts them. Even if they don't show it to the world. I've met so many asians that call themselves "dumb asians", but never any that are average asians or smart asians. And most of the time, not all the time, they are smarter than the white and other colored people i know. That added pressure of having to be smart, makes a lot of asians feel dumb. Its even worse when the person is smart and is trying his or her hardest, and doesn't do to well. They are definitely smart, and still get a better grade than most, but feel dumb because of this added pressure. I personally haven't dealt with this, but i know plenty of people that have, and its really unfortunate that they feel this way.
And then theres the added bias that comes along with asians being smart. Take jeremy lin. Everyone thinks that the reason he is so good is because he went to harvard and is smarter than other basketball players. Not because he is a good basketball player. But the fact is, he is good, and probably tougher than half the nba players out there. If you've ever watched a game, hes driving into the paint a lot, taking contact, and finishing at the rim. I haven't seen a Knicks point guard do that consistently or well for a while. Assuming all asians are smart is just as bad as saying they have small penises and breasts or that theyre all cheap. In job markets, i would assume employers would prefer an asian over a person of another color because they should be smarter. There definitely is a bias in the job market, in society, and probably even in asia. Society especially is a bitch to asians. I overheard one girl speaking to another saying "im 1/4 chinese, but i don't have an asian qualities. I can't paint my nails well, and i'm terrible at math." That is just so ignorant that it makes me sad. People need to understand that just because saying a certain race is good at one thing or another doesn't make it not racist. So in conclusion, it really ticks me off when people say that all asians are smart or the same for that matter. That bugs me a lot. But i really have met a lot of stupid people, and they are all different races. Its all about how they were raised. And just because the facts point to asians being smarter, everyone forgets that a lot of that is first or second generation asians that are still immigrants and are still trying harder like all immigrants. Every race has dumb people, and very smart people. Asians are just improperly cast as the smarter race.

I think that certain sports being dominated by certain races is part biological, part social economic situation. It takes a certain amount of physical attributes to succeed professionally in sports such as basketball, football, and pretty much every sport. Typically, people of african descent have better physical attributes that can help them succeed in basketball and long distance running (Usain Bolt). But if people of other races have those biological aspects, they can do just as well as any black people in the NBA. I'm thinking of Nowitzki, the Gasols, Ricky Rubio, Yao Ming, and Jeremy Lin. They usually do cause a phenomenon because they aren't the typical mold, but if you watch the play, they aren't that much different physically. They may play differently, but thats due to half of them learning to play outside the country in Europe or Asia. For some reason or another, they were blessed with the physical attributes that allow them to be good at basketball.
The socioeconomic portion is that anyone can learn the game of baskteball. Its not even a requirement to own a ball. You can just know people that have a ball, go to a park and play ball. Its not hard, and with the YMCA, and town programs, its easy to get involved and learn. Not everyone with the physical attributes will do well in basketball if they lack interest or practice. That's the beauty of basketball. Everyone can play at different levels, but those that are lucky enough to have the physical attributes are the ones that exceed. But hard work can lead to just as much successs. Nate Robinson and Mugsy Bogues are both very short atheletes who did well in the NBA.
But something i'm kind of interested in is football, and how different races dominate different positions. Blacks are typically the quicker players, wide receiver, running back, and defensive players. They are large, quick, and there are definitely more than a few great players. Practically most of the Hall of fame worthy skill players are of black descent. When VIctor cruz started to produce for the giants, everyone learned his name because he wasn't the mold. He is of hispanic descent, not black or white.
While most of the quarterbacks and middle linebackrs and offensive lineman are white. Those are the "smarter positions", especially quarterback. Its a phenomenon when a black quarterback like MIke Vick, or Cam Newton excel. Pertaining to Newton specifically, there were so many doubters when he was coming out of Auburn that many called the Panthers idiots for drafting him over other quarterbacks. They doubted his intelligence and how much he actually understood about football. Was it because he's black? i think so. Because all you ever hear about quarterbacks is their football smarts and how far they can throw. And being white, even if not consciously, means your smarter. Now we're hearing about Andrew Luck and how he is going to be the next Peyton Manning, and how RG3 can be better than Newton. Why not compare Luck to Newton or RG3 to Manning? The comparisions drawn between players is almost always to players of similar race.

I believe that someone's race is mostly determined, in order of importance, by their parents, the culture they grow up in, and then physical traits. All three of these are important to determining someone's race and none can be ignored. I myself am Filipino American, and I would consider my parents as Filipino. The difference being the culture that I grew up in was American. My parents grew up in the Philippines, so for the longest time they only knew Filipino culture. They then moved to America, met and created a family. Because they were both Filipino, they brought the culture of the Philippines with them and raise me and my siblings as filipinos. They made sure we were proud of our culture, by having us participate in cultural events ever since we were kids, and I'm glad they did. Filipinos in general are a confusing bunch, because I believe we are the one of the most diverse looking races, especially in Asia. That is mostly due to our culture being very mixed with Spanish, Chinese, and American cultures. But because most filipinos are raised similarly and with the same culture, eating the same foods, hearing the same phrases, that makes them filipino, regardless of how tall or short or how dark or light the skin is. I've even met people who are half filipino, which i consider to be just as Filipino as a full blooded filipino because they were raised the same way I was, and they were exposed to the same things as well.
Another example i have is my roommate from last year. For privacy sake I'll call him J. But J had been raised as vietnamese for 21 years of his life. He knew himself as vietnamese, even though people never thought he was vietnamese. He would be mistaken for chinese and filipino before someone guessed vietnamese, and his last name was very vietnamese either. Last year, he found out that he wasn't vietnamese by blood, but rather chinese. His grandparents had moved to vietnam from china, raised both his parents there, and then his parents moved to america. His parents were chinese, raised in vietnam and called themselves veitnamese. The vietnamese culture was the one they were exposed to and raised in, and they passed it down to my roommate J. He lived 21 years without knowing that he was chinese, but he'll continue to call himself vietnamese because that is how he and his parents were raised. And i think that is a completely legitimate lifestyle.
But if a white man lived in africa for a long time, was raised there and knew the culture completely, i don't know if i could consider him african. i know theoretically it is the same situation as my roommate J, but maybe because the cultures weren't too different, or maybe the racial features weren't too different that it makes J's case more acceptable than the white man in africa. Maybe thats a result of white supremacy.

The comment made in class is definitely something I remember hearing a lot in high school. Everyone would talk about how if people were equally qualified, there race would become either a supporting factor or a detrimental one. I found it interesting how a lot of people would put native american as part of there race, even though they were most likely not, or an extremely small portion. Lots of people thought equally qualified blacks had an advantage over whites due to affirmative action, but that hasn't been the case. If schools do have a quota, it is still a very small percentage. i've also heard that being asian was a detrimental factor on applying to schools, mostly from other asians. Being filipino, i know i checked of asian and pacific islander because i didn't want to be associated with being chinese or more likely to stand out more from other asians. Not to be conceited, but i knew i was very well qualified coming out of high school so i wasn't too worried about getting into a good school. I even hear things in college like, "the only reason i got in was because i'm colored" or "i only got in cuz i filled out native american or hsipanic on my application." That stuff, even if said jokingly, gets under my skin. I believe in people's merit, and that if you get accepted into a university, it is based on your credentials, and not the university's need to meet a colored quota. And even though the population of colored people in universities is usually smaller, especially here at Penn State, I don't think we can contribute it all to white supremacy. Unless we consider white supremacy to be the reason for colored people growing up in harder situations than whites, which is a very reasonable connection. But i've met people and heard stories of people that have overcome harsh educational environments and gotten to good universities through hard work. I've been lucky to have grown up in a good educational system that prepared me for college pretty well. Coming from the suburbs, i was educated just as well as any of the white people, and i was probably pushed harder by my parents as well as my guidance counselor and teachers and made more of my education than they did. I took advantage of my beneficial situation and got into the university i really wanted to go to. I turned down a lot of other universities i got accepted too as well. And i believe that was on my merit as a student, not any bullshit colored people have an advantage, but that also doesn't mean it didn't play a role, at least mentally, and hopefully not in actuality.