As the year is wrapping up, Soc 119 has covered numerous different topics. In the past few lectures, we have finally passed through talking about the “Penn State Scandal”, and we are back on track with the course’s objectives. In one of the most intriguing classes of the year, Sam discussed the perspective of the “Christian Invaders”. He put us into the mind of a non-radical Middle Eastern person and got us thinking about what the world would be like from their point of view. Without a doubt, this was one of the most mentally stimulating lectures of the year.
The video I will be responding to asks if Sam changed my mind about the war. As I watched all of the videos, this stood out to me the most. Part of this attraction is for my utmost support to my friends and family serving in the military, and all of the troops overseas as a whole. After all, these soldiers are the ones viewed as the “Christian Invaders”.
What Sam changed for me was thinking about the war from the other perspective. I understand why we entered the war initially as an effort to eliminate terrorism, and I understand why we are still at war other than for the oil. We went in thinking that we could implement our “flawless” governmental structure, but now it would be unequivocally arrogant to leave the Iraq and Afghanistan in such turmoil. Despite the fact that the rest of the world is already not supporting our “War on Terror” in the Middle East, leaving the countries in such disarray would only make things worse. While oil is arguably our main focus currently, we still have to attempt to finish what we set out to do in order to save face.
Nonetheless, as a typical arrogant American citizen, I never thought what it was like for the natives. If I were living in the middle east, looking at a United States military man or woman invading my hometown and destroying the town like it meant nothing to him or her, I would most certainly be disgusted. As Americans, we see the Taliban and even typical, everyday Muslims as radicals. What we see on the news are stories of Middle Eastern people we know absolutely nothing about bombing American trucks, tanks, and roads. Obviously this is something that does, and should, infuriate us, but Sam helped understand why this is happening.
When push comes to shove, I will always wholeheartedly support America and all that we stand and fight for. Even after sitting through the Christian Invaders lecture, I still have the utmost respect for soldiers, their families, and the security knowing that at the end of the day, the government will do what they feel is best for the American people.

The last couple of weeks have been a very trying time for the University. While media and critics have jumped on the chance to ridicule the coaches, administration, and students here at Penn State for what they both have and haven’t done, we all are trying to deal with the circumstances we are left with. The reality of the “scandal” on campus is that the lives of several children (and who knows how many more will come out and speak, or even never make it known) have been damaged significantly. But getting past the horrid actions of one individual, we are still Penn State.
Whether it is friends, family, or businesses themselves, many have wondered the consequences to come. As an out of state student paying for my tuition primarily on loans, my bill will run somewhere close to the $160,000 mark when I graduate. Now that the near-perfect reputation of Penn State has been heavily tarnished, that is quite the debt to struggle with overcoming if I’m not able to get a job. Many adults and business owners have questioned if companies will be reluctant to hire Penn State grads in the aftermath of what transpired, but I am confident it will be business as usual.
While the charges against Jerry Sandusky are horrid and unfathomable for most people to attempt to comprehend, the fact of the matter is that he is not the University. During his time dedicated to the football program, he undoubtedly helped Joe Paterno and the University build an outstanding reputation and win national championships. However, we are over 95,000 students across numerous campuses, and over 40,000 employees and faculty, not to mention the countless thousands of alumni.
Going home over Thanksgiving break, I am interested to see just how my friends and family will ridicule me, and drill me on finding the facts of what happened. However, I know that people are smart enough to know that out of 135,000 people representing Penn State each year, there is bound to be at least one “bad egg”. At the end of the day, people will understand that the education and proper ethics are still being taught, and maybe at an even higher level than before. So when people are quick to judge, I can still be Penn State Proud no matter where I am, or whom I am around.
So when the question of one of my classmates was posed about how this scandal has affected the way people in society view me because of the events that transpired, I took time to think. Granted the initial “riots” following JoePa’s termination as the head football coach of the University cause quite a bit of well-deserved public criticizing, the world saw the real side of Penn State during the candlelight vigil and the touching game against Nebraska. As a proud community, we have gathered together as a united force, determined to get some answers, and truly show that We Are… Penn State!

Over the course of the past few classes, Soc119 and Sam have been discussing things such as the issues regarding “slave chocolate” and immigration. However, the event MUCH bigger than Soc119 is what is happening with the Penn State community. This past week has been one of the worst, and certainly the most tarnishing events this school has ever had to cope with. What started in 2002 as a direct result of terrible decision making by one individual, Jerry Sandusky, and then a complete mishandling of the situation by administrative and police has become what the media has defined Penn State. Pertaining to the issue, one student asked whether the riots that ensued in Happy Valley would have ever happened without the use of social media such as Facebook and Twitter.
With a situation this dire and life changing, especially for the victims of the heinous crimes alleged, word can spread very quickly, and in this case it did just that. There is absolutely no denying that Facebook and Twitter helped to spread the word and get the student body rallying together, there is not a single doubt in my mind that these riots would have taken place even without the social media.
In one of those stereotypical moments that you will never forget a detail, I was sitting in my friend’s room with another friend of mine on Tuesday night. We were talking and playing Xbox when all of a sudden, one of the frat brothers burst into the room shouting, “They just fired JoePa!” We all could not believe our ears, and we quickly turned the TV to ESPN. Sure enough, the news was accurate, and instantly we noticed the mass exodus of people flocking to the streets.
JoePa had just announced his retirement the day before, in order to take the pressure off of the Board of “Trustees”, realizing that he may have been able to do more. However, since there is no criminal interest surrounding JoePa, and all that he has done to build this school with such a prestigious reputation, nobody saw this coming. While many critics of both the riot, and those content with Joe Paterno being fired feel that the students are crazy and losing site of the pain and suffering of the victims, what they don’t realize is the main cause.
I come from Boston where there are numerous colleges known worldwide for their academic excellence and great atmospheres. However, I chose to come to Penn State because of the business school, but also in large part because of JoePa and the football program. While the victims must not be forgotten or ignored in any sense, firing the man responsible for the legacy of Penn State over the phone is total disrespect. For that, I am 100% sure that the students would have united and acted the same.

For the past few classes in Soc119, the topics have ranged from the stages of racial identification, to discussing Haiti and what we can do as groups, and now has come to the issue of what to do about the indigenous Native Americans. The short, 3-minute video in class showed how drastic the situation has turned. Before all of the “Americans” we know today immigrated from Europe, Asia, Africa, and countless countries across the world, the real Americans were the Native Americans. They set up their own tribes, had their own territories, and lived very well off for themselves. Then the settlers came in and virtually drove the native peoples into virtual distinction. Throughout history classes growing up, we often hear about how badly people have been treated in the world whether it is slavery, the Holocaust, or POW’s. However, we rarely ever hear about what America has done wrongly.
While it is very obvious that the Americans in the United States today destroyed the Native American tribes and their prominent history, it would be excessive to simply give back everything that was once theirs. Just as obvious that the white people today do not “owe” black people for slavery, the American people do not “owe” the natives for actions their ancestors are responsible for. However, seeing that video is a harsh reality of how impoverished the living Native Americans are, and how little is done to help them.
The question I’m addressing asks if we should simply give back what was theirs, or if should we help them reestablish themselves. Just as giving Haitians countless pounds of rice does not solve their problems, giving back what we’ve taken will not solve the problems for the indigenous Indians.
First and foremost, society has the responsibility to educate the native peoples and convince them of the “American way”. The fact the life expectancy of Native Americans in the region of South Dakota is just 50 years is frightening. Then you add the facts that a large portion of the deaths in the reservation resulted directly from alcohol, as well as the suicide rate for teenagers was amongst the highest in the entire country. Yet somehow, the American people’s arrogance is even more shocking than this. Of all the natives who identified as being a victim of a violent crime, the vast majority were victims of white people, not of other Native Americans.
Before America can truly feel remorse, they need to collectively look at themselves in the mirror and stop talking about the mistreatment of natives in the past tense. What the early settlers did to the natives was terrible, but we are now a much more civilized and established nation. Yet, we have not learned from our mistakes. So giving back what we took will not solve the problem. To solve to problem indefinitely, we need to become aware, and do all that we can to support the native peoples, and reengage them into society.

Over the course of the past few lectures, the topics in Soc 119 have been about being black, being white, and the six different stages of race identity. Throughout the past few weeks, I have gotten a better understanding of why some people act in certain ways regarding race. Sometimes people ignore race completely, sometimes people act out against other races, or sometimes people simply do not let race effect their decisions in life, despite the fact that they are completely aware of its existence. So for this week’s blog, I will respond to the question; when a person hangs out with a group of people whose race is primarily not their own, does that make them a poser?
This is a very tough question to tackle, and I think it completely depends on the person. In an ideal world, the real answer would be “no, absolutely not.” However I think there are some people that hang with mixed crowds as a way to look better; some people will go to races other than their own so that other people will notice them doing it and think more of them for their acceptance.
The easiest way to tell if someone is a genuine friend of the group of the different race is to observe them with that “different” group as well as with their group of like race. Simply, if the individual acts the same with both groups, then they’re in the clear. If they change their clothing style, behavior, or especially the way they talk, then we’ve got a poser. This is something that irks me beyond belief, and I have seen it so many times, but especially when white people put themselves in a group of “friends” of people of color.
Most recently, I saw this when I saw a kid from my floor last year, who is openly and “proudly” 100% Chinese, was talking with a group of four black kids about going to see a scary movie. All of a sudden, this Chinese kid turned into an inner city black kid from the heart of Philly. His voice was completely different as he incorporated a “ghetto” accent and used slang, saying things like “Ay yo, ain’t not way I’mma go see dat scary ass movie yo”, all while simultaneously covering his mouth with a fist and throwing his other hand wildly around in the air with his index finger extended. Plain and simple, that was DEFINITELY not the kid I had known all year. This kid was always outgoing and friendly, but never once had he acted like this. Now maybe I got the wrong impression of him, but he was either putting up a front to me, or to the four black kids, because I had never heard him talk like that in my life.
However with society starting to make big changes and racial acceptance improving, I feel that most people are sincere with their friendships and act themselves. So in conclusion, if you want to be genuine, just be you.

After the first exam for Soc119, the topic of conversation Sam discussed in class was about being white and the 6 different stages. For me personally, it was an interesting topic because just like Sam, I am a white male in the United States, and that is exactly how I view the world. Personally, I find it difficult to narrow myself down to one particular stage, but if I had to choose one, I would probably say that I am in stage 1.
Putting myself into stage 1 is difficult, however, because I do not ignore the fact that racial issues and prejudices are prevalent in the world, and it angers me knowing that is the case. Nonetheless, I think I am in stage 1 because to me it doesn’t matter whether you’re white, black, brown, yellow, or anything else. The people I grew up around shaped me to become the person I am today, and I am very comfortable with the person I am. Having said that, I choose to spend time with people that are similar to me, or at least have common interests. Despite the fact that I come from a predominantly white town (to put into perspective I only had three true friends that were black before I came to Penn State), three of my closest friends at school are a Mexican, a Syrian, and a Nigerian. We hang out several times a week, and periodically joke about being a walking advertisement for diversity, but rarely do we ever have serious talks about race. We are not being arrogant to the fact, but we frankly couldn’t care less.
While color of skin is something that stands out when taking a first glance at a person, I by no means use it to judge another person. I can say with 100% honesty that I avoid making assumptions about people until I have gotten to know them. With that said, I could easily see how I could be included in stages 3 and 5 because it upsets me beyond belief the amount of racism and skepticism of other races that is still customary in our society.
My parents raised me without ever discussing race or why people looked the way they did. As a result, I never looked at somebody else with skin darker than mine or eyes smaller than mine as different any more than I looked at my brother and saw him as different from myself. Since a very young age, my idol was Ken Griffey, Jr. I watched baseball religiously and was fortunate enough to see him play during his prime. He was a baseball player, nothing more.
Then, as I got older and began to comprehend bigger ideas, my heroes were Jackie Robinson and Martin Luther King, Jr. I cannot count how many times I did my school projects about one or the other. I was simply fascinated in the fact that people used to not be allowed to do every day things, simply because they were darker than others. The reason I admired their lives, was that they made the world see things the way I saw them; everyone deserves an equal opportunity in life.
To me, people are people, and that is why if I had to choose I would be in stage 1.

Over the course of the week, the topics in Sam Richard’s Sociology 119 class ranged mainly from the “Needy Penis”, to “LGBTA” (also known as Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Allies), and all the way to a focus on a “Women’s Centered World”. Of all of the students’ videos posted on the website, the one that stood out the most to me was the question along the lines of; What is your opinion about why women wear short skirts and high heels while men can go around wearing whatever they want without worrying about looking good? Since I am a man and truly do not take time out of my day to worry about what I look like or what I am wearing, I will attempt to the best of my ability to limit my bias when answering this question.
First of all, the main reason why women go around every night (especially here at Penn State with girls on the way to parties, even in the snow) is because of how society has become. Everywhere you look, whether it is on television, in magazines, or on the red carpet, the beauty of women is accentuated to the masses. The hard part is looking for the reason to why there is such a desire to look like the celebrities and models whose full time job is to look or act perfectly. In a non-insulting way, the rest of the “average” population of women, and men, see that in their lives and want nothing more than to be like that. And why would you not want that? Everyone around the world knows these celebrities due to their beauty mostly, and most people are into the idea of having their own shot or taste of fame. For many people, emulating the style, beauty and charisma is the closest they will ever get to that luxurious lifestyle.
In addition to that reasoning, another argument I thought of comes from my Marketing 301 class with Dr. Carter. In a recent lecture, he stated and provided supporting evidence and facts that well over sixty percent of the population identifies with the top ten percent of purchasers when it comes to new trends. These numbers simply do not match up. However, when asked, people prefer identifying themselves with the upper societal class. With more and more people wanting to be like the famous, wealthy, and beautiful people of the world, more people, and women in particular will want to dress the way they do.
In terms of why men choose to dress the way they do, it has to do once again with society, but also because of an inner feeling of laziness and more importantly, a more of a “whatever” attitude. Most men are more into being comfortable than trendy. Honestly, from my own opinion and experience, women wearing their short skirts and revealing shirts and dresses is just another wonder that men will never fully grasp, but never complain about.

Over the course of the week, the topics in Sam Richard’s Sociology 119 class ranged mainly from the “Needy Penis”, to “LGBTA” (also known as Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Allies), and all the way to a focus on a “Women’s Centered World”. Of all of the students’ videos posted on the website, the one that stood out the most to me was the question along the lines of; What is your opinion about why women wear short skirts and high heels while men can go around wearing whatever they want without worrying about looking good? Since I am a man and truly do not take time out of my day to worry about what I look like or what I am wearing, I will attempt to the best of my ability to limit my bias when answering this question.
First of all, the main reason why women go around every night (especially here at Penn State with girls on the way to parties, even in the snow) is because of how society has become. Everywhere you look, whether it is on television, in magazines, or on the red carpet, the beauty of women is accentuated to the masses. The hard part is looking for the reason to why there is such a desire to look like the celebrities and models whose full time job is to look or act perfectly. In a non-insulting way, the rest of the “average” population of women, and men, see that in their lives and want nothing more than to be like that. And why would you not want that? Everyone around the world knows these celebrities due to their beauty mostly, and most people are into the idea of having their own shot or taste of fame. For many people, emulating the style, beauty and charisma is the closest they will ever get to that luxurious lifestyle.
In addition to that reasoning, another argument I thought of comes from my Marketing 301 class with Dr. Carter. In a recent lecture, he stated and provided supporting evidence and facts that well over sixty percent of the population identifies with the top ten percent of purchasers when it comes to new trends. These numbers simply do not match up. However, when asked, people prefer identifying themselves with the upper societal class. With more and more people wanting to be like the famous, wealthy, and beautiful people of the world, more people, and women in particular will want to dress the way they do.
In terms of why men choose to dress the way they do, it has to do once again with society, but also because of an inner feeling of laziness and more importantly, a more of a “whatever” attitude. Most men are more into being comfortable than trendy. Honestly, from my own opinion and experience, women wearing their short skirts and revealing shirts and dresses is just another wonder that men will never fully grasp, but never complain about.

Over the course of the week, the topics in Sam Richard’s Sociology 119 class ranged mainly from the “Needy Penis”, to “LGBTA” (also known as Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Allies), and all the way to a focus on a “Women’s Centered World”. Of all of the students’ videos posted on the website, the one that stood out the most to me was the question along the lines of; What is your opinion about why women wear short skirts and high heels while men can go around wearing whatever they want without worrying about looking good? Since I am a man and truly do not take time out of my day to worry about what I look like or what I am wearing, I will attempt to the best of my ability to limit my bias when answering this question.
First of all, the main reason why women go around every night (especially here at Penn State with girls on the way to parties, even in the snow) is because of how society has become. Everywhere you look, whether it is on television, in magazines, or on the red carpet, the beauty of women is accentuated to the masses. The hard part is looking for the reason to why there is such a desire to look like the celebrities and models whose full time job is to look or act perfectly. In a non-insulting way, the rest of the “average” population of women, and men, see that in their lives and want nothing more than to be like that. And why would you not want that? Everyone around the world knows these celebrities due to their beauty mostly, and most people are into the idea of having their own shot or taste of fame. For many people, emulating the style, beauty and charisma is the closest they will ever get to that luxurious lifestyle.
In addition to that reasoning, another argument I thought of comes from my Marketing 301 class with Dr. Carter. In a recent lecture, he stated and provided supporting evidence and facts that well over sixty percent of the population identifies with the top ten percent of purchasers when it comes to new trends. These numbers simply do not match up. However, when asked, people prefer identifying themselves with the upper societal class. With more and more people wanting to be like the famous, wealthy, and beautiful people of the world, more people, and women in particular will want to dress the way they do.
In terms of why men choose to dress the way they do, it has to do once again with society, but also because of an inner feeling of laziness and more importantly, a more of a “whatever” attitude. Most men are more into being comfortable than trendy. Honestly, from my own opinion and experience, women wearing their short skirts and revealing shirts and dresses is just another wonder that men will never fully grasp, but never complain about.

In my personal opinion, the use of drugs does not coincide with what particular race you happen to be. As I have come to learn from Sam so far in the semester, where you come from has as much to do with who you are as the decisions that you make. The specific race you happen to be is not mentioned anywhere in that preceding statement.
Luckily for me, I come from a small town just south of Boston that generally speaking is a safe place. High school kids all spend their weekdays in classes, their evenings on the practice or game fields, and then head home for dinner, homework, movies, and time to spend with friends. The weekends consist of going to watch the high school football team and plenty of partying where both underage drinking and casual smoking of marijuana are part of the ordinary scene. Luckily, amongst the general population, things such as crime and heavy drug use are a rarity. While a majority of the population of 20,000 people of all ages is white, there are many minorities, but predominantly represented by black families. Yet, each and every family has their standards set, and raises their kids the way the see fit. Due in large part to the location, the prestige of both the town and the school system, and the closeness of the town, major drugs have been a non-factor for an overwhelming majority of the town.
However, there are people everywhere of every different race that make bad decisions, or are forced to by the society they have grown to view as the norm. Whether you are black, white, brown, yellow, or any other color or race, you associate with the people and culture that surrounds you. For many things, the cast of people in your life acts like a big group of people peer pressuring you. For the most part, if your entire group of acquaintances enjoys spending your nights in a small group, drinking casually on a weekend and discussing current events and has been doing that for a long time, you aren’t going to all of a sudden bring in some cocaine to get the night off to a bang. That’s not what you or your friends are comfortable with, so you aren’t going to randomly start doing that.
The underlying belief I have been attacking is that it’s not about what race you are at all that makes you do the things you do. What makes you really you is how and where you are raised, and who you are surrounded by in your life. If you come from a terrible neighborhood where dealing drugs is not considered a big deal, then more than likely you won’t even think twice about doing illicit drugs, or at least about others doing them. On the contrary, if you come from a place where nobody drinks until they are 21 or have never seen weed before, then you most likely aren’t going to either.
While there are always exceptions to every rule, society shapes many of us more than we realize.