gdp's Comments

Race Relations Project : Isn't migration conflict inevitable?

Sat, 24 Apr 2010 01:08:27 +0000

He's right- it is not the same situation. As Sam has told us, the European invasion into the Americas has resulted in the longest lasting, most devastation genocide in human history. Those "dirty Mexicans" that are crossing the border and "taking our jobs" and "ruining our economy" are most DEFINITELY not wantonly killing innocent Americans in order to find their freedom. I was going to begin my post exclaiming that those who believe it is right to block out the illegal immigrants are selfish, greedy, heartless, ignorant jerks. But the truth is, we are all selfish, greedy, heartless, ignorant jerks. It is human nature to want what is best for oneself, even if it means someone else gets hurt. If some of you are reading this post (though I highly doubt it!), you may be saying, "Hey! I'm not a completely selfish, greedy, heartless, ignorant jerk! I care about people! I do!" Yeah. Ok. Most of us here at Penn State are not on scholarship. Most of us are paying around $100,000 in tuition and room and board in order to attend Penn State. Why? Because we are greedy and determined to get what we want. We COULD go to a community college and still get a degree and donate thousands upon thousands of dollars to people who need it more than we do. Children in Africa who are dying of starvation are WAYYYYY more important than the couple cases of beer one buys for a weekend of partying. Do you really NEED those Uggs when babies in third world countries are dying because their communities lack healthcare? I could go on an on and maybe come up with more depressing and intelligent comparisons but at the moment I want to see the fireworks. So. Okay, back to what Sam said about us benefitting from the most devastating and long lasting genocide in human history. Most of the people in the class reacted like, "ohh it wasn't my fault!" or "ohh what do we do? There's nothing we can do about it!" Well you know what? If you actually put your heart into helping others, you will eventually find some way to help. Maybe not THE solution, but a way to make their lives better and make right the wrongs we're benefitting from. We are all selfish, greedy, heartless, and ignorant to some degree. OK so back to what we're supposed to be writing about. Yes, the stronger country with the bigger guns wins. Yes, for most of the conflicts in human history, the winner takes all and the loser has to just suck it up. Who gives a shit about their babies or their dying peoples or whatever. The winner wins and survives. The loser is shit. To those who believe that it is ok to block out the illegal immigrants because this is "our" land and "our" resources- Is that the way you want to live your life? Stepping on the smaller people just because you can? Taking what you want simply because you want it? Taking wayyy more than you need because no one has the power to stop you?

Race Relations Project : The White Minorities

Fri, 2 Apr 2010 22:03:53 +0000

"It doesn’t really matter, mind you, and I’m sure that most people reading this are wondering why it’s being reported on at all." It doesn't matter?? How does this not matter?? Of course it matters!! Have we not been talking about majorities and minorities and the powerful and the not-so-powerful in class this entire time? There is power in numbers. In our democratic society, who wins in the polls- the minority or the majority? The MAJORITY, people! For white people who think that this isn't a concern at all- it's because you've been living in the majority all are life that you don't feel it. Yes, I know that most of you don't think to yourself every day that, "oh I have so much power. Oh man, being white is so great." However, when things tangibly change, you'll feel it. You'll know how scary it is be outnumbered by people who aren't white, because I am sure the majority of the students at Penn State grew up in predominantly small white towns. For example. Or, first of all, let it be known that I am a small Asian girl who grew up in a pretty diverse suburb right outside of Philly. So. The other day, I went to the Daughtry concert. I strolled into the Bryce Jordan Center expecting a flood of college students. To my surprise, there were older people there. There were high schoolers. There were small children. (Oh and seriously, why are high school girls such sluts? Really? Really now??) Someone even brought a baby in a stroller! Looking around, I only saw a few college students (in relation to people who weren't college students). When the BJC was filling up, I looked around. All I saw were white faces. White white white. Old and young. Seeing as we are in the middle of nowhere, most of these people were either from State College or the surrounding predominantly white towns. You would think that I would be used to seeing white people all the time because I live in America and it's predominantly white and blah blah blah. But no. Penn State is pretty diverse. I have never been COMPLETELY surrounded by white people before. When you realize you're grossly outnumbered, something inside you freezes. I knew nothing bad was going to happen to me. Of course nothing bad would happen just because I wasn't white. It didn't help that the good friend that I went with was white haha. But being the only not-white person (that I was aware of) gave me chills. Imagine being in my shoes and sitting in the BJC surrounded by Asian people or black people. If you think, "oh I won't feel any different", you truly are an ignorant white person. The article struck on a reason as to why the diminishing white majority is important- "Will America’s older, largely white population — through the ballot box and collective self-interest — support young people who are now much different culturally from themselves and their own children?" Like previously stated, the MAJORITY vote wins. The growing minority is a very young generation. And young generations generally do not vote. Who votes? The old white people. Will they support the minorities? Maybe, maybe not. But seeing how things are going presently- how shitty many predominantly minority schools are- I highly doubt that they will. Soon however, the old white people will die and the minorities will rise up and PREVAIL!! MUAHAHAHA! Not. But things WILL change and the shift of power will occur. Prepare for this- Unpreparedness will mean ALL of our downfall.

Race Relations Project : What are all of you thinking about Asians?

Fri, 26 Mar 2010 21:46:03 +0000

oh and just a bit more... Legit Chinese food and Korean food are AMAZING. I practically live at my Korean friend's house and raid her fridge whenever I'm at home haha!

Race Relations Project : What are all of you thinking about Asians?

Fri, 26 Mar 2010 21:29:41 +0000

As and Asian-American I use those clues to see if someone is Asian or Asian American. One more thing you can look out for to tell the difference is to look at their shoes. International students (mostly Korean) usually seem to wear really awesome shoes haha!

Race Relations Project : What are all of you thinking about Asians?

Fri, 26 Mar 2010 21:21:31 +0000

Is it strange that I hate being called brown? It reminds me of poop. ugh. Anyways. I'm glad that I'm not the only one who has noticed that we have been left out! Sam is always talking about blacks and whites and the tension between the two, and sometimes he does talk about Native Americans and such. He also rarely talks about Mexicans and Arabs and many other races. This was brought up in our discussion groups once, and what was said helped me understand. The problems between the blacks and whites of this country are so big and so hard to hurdle over. If we are to solve any race issues, these problems must be faced first. Yes, everyone is important. However, like one person in my group said, it is better to get one thing done well rather than doing several things poorly. I really do wish we could discuss Asians and Asian Americans though. I used to talk in my small group a lot, but seeing as few of the things we talk about pertain to me, I have recently not been giving my input on things. So, I'm Filipino-American. I grew up in the suburbs of Philly in a very diverse school. If you were white there was a good chance that you knew, were friends with, or talked at least once with an Asian-American. However, coming to Penn State, I have been flabbergasted at the amount of people who have never seen an Asian-American person! It just blows my mind! Though it shouldn't. I'm not bitter or angry, just saddened that so many people stereotype us so incorrectly. We are not all smart. We do not all have small eyes. Yes, many Asians eat with chopsticks. Filipinos however love to eat with their hands. We do not all know each other. Like Sam said in class, there are a lot of Asians who do not think of themselves as Asian. Though I never thought of myself as "white", I never thought of myself as Asian. I am just me. When I was younger my friends were a hodgepodge group of people. I never stuck to other Asian-Americans and had friends of all colors. I do not know how to speak any of the three Philippine national languages, so that never united me to my native heritage. I do not dress "Asian" or even think the same way as other native Filipinos. In fact, growing up I generally disliked my race. But upon coming to PSU and learning about myself, I have realized that I love being Filipino-American and wouldn't give up my heritage for the world. I feel bad for people who do not know Asians or Asian Americans because there are so many things about them that are so awesome! Seriously, if you do not know one now, get to know one soon. You will get to eat lots of delicious food that you never thought possible. You will get addicted to songs that you will love even though you don't understand a thing. You will learn so many interesting things about Asian-American culture. And just to put it out there- Filipino-Americans are very chill and are not cliquey and love people of all colors! So get to know one, please? :P

Race Relations Project : Does this rudeness thing cut both ways?

Sat, 20 Mar 2010 00:22:43 +0000

What I've noticed about the whole texting thing is that it has mostly turned into a place where people can vent. And though most of us won't admit to it, we do acknowledge it and when people vent in class via text, it's usually ok. Unless of course, it's a white person who is venting. Because really, what do white people have to vent about? Can they vent about years of oppression? Can they vent about years of discrimination and violence against them? Can they vent about how they are treated negatively and unequally in the workplace? Probably not. All they can vent about is how they are afraid of being politically incorrect and offending someone. They can vent about how they did not get into their number 1 college because someone of color was chosen instead. They can vent about many little things, but compared to what colored people can vent about, they are not as vent-worthy. Whatever a white person has to complain about is probably not at all as big in importance as something a colored person wants to complain about. Colored people, most notably black people, have been suffering terribly for years and years. They have the right to be angry. They have the right to be able to say what they are feeling because they were oppressed for so long and are still being discriminated against. Though of course, I believe that they DO NOT have the right to be rude. Rudeness is completely unnecessary. However, because most of the white people in Soc 119 are not completely white supremacist racists, they understand that colored people are angry and let will it slide even if they are offended. Colored people on the other hand have a difficult time understanding how a white person can be rude when they have little reason to be angry. So, naturally, any rude comment by a white person will be met with retaliation. Another reason why rude comments by colored people are not always called out and why rude comments by white people are usually reprimanded is that colored people will say something about it. When it comes to race issues, white people are generally more passive and will hold back their feelings. Colored people on the other hand are more assertive and protective of themselves and each other when facing race issues. Especially in Soc 119, colored people are more free to say what they want to say. If a fight were to break on in the middle of class, things would quickly turn sour. In a class as big as ours, a fight would be extremely detrimental to our ability to keep our minds open for future classes.

Race Relations Project : When Do We Do or Say Something?

Fri, 26 Feb 2010 22:23:03 +0000

I agree! Honestly, I would probably be one of those 22 people who do not say anything and just walk out of the store. Not because I think it's "not my place" or because i agree with what he's doing, but because I'm a very passive person. Also, I am 4'9" and have no self-defense skills so if it turned out the worker was crazy and started going nuts and pulled out a shotgun or something I wouldn't be able to protect myself. So many of us are mad at those 22 people, but how do we know there wasn't something else going on? What if some of those people were having a shitty day and didn't want to make it worse by having a screaming match with the idiotic worker? What if some of them had to be somewhere, like pick their sick child up from school and were more worried about him/her than about someone they didn't know? I bet half of those people were bursting with something to say but just weren't able to. Though I am trying to justify their neutrality, I am not saying that I agree with what they did. I do believe in justice and equality. No matter what, everyone should stand up for what is right. It is always your place to speak up. But the reality is, that just doesn't always happen. The world is so messed up today because people don't say what needs to be said. People are ignorant because they aren't taught the truth. As college students, especially students at University Park, we are more knowledgeable than many Americans. Now that we've seen situations like this we just can't sit idly by while the world keeps getting more hateful. Even if we are afraid and even if we are having a bad day, we know better than to just walk away. And all of those people who are angry at those 22- you are such hypocrites. Do you own a cell phone? One way or another, it was made by slaves. But have you done anything about it? Probably not. You probably didn't even think about it the moment you stepped out of class. You realized that there was a serious and inhuman wrong going on, but it is too inconvenient to stop using your cell phone. Most people only help out when it's convenient for them. Instead of getting expensive ugg boots or expensive north face jackets, people could have donated their money to people in Haiti or kids with cancer or kids in Africa or the millions of people in the world who need it more. But no, in our minds we are more important. I am a hypocrite. Even though I plan to join Free the Slaves, the Peace Corps, and whatever else I can to help others, I still use my cell phone. And I'm not going to do anything while I'm in college because adding more to my plate would be overwhelming and inconvenient.

Race Relations Project : Why Is the Conversation Always About Black and White People?

Sat, 13 Feb 2010 04:58:35 +0000

I Agree with Laurie Mulvey- the discussion always turns to black vs. white not only because of slavery, but because the struggle between blacks and whites is what Americans are most familiar with. The Civil Rights Movement, though in the past, was in the recent past. It is still fresh in the minds of many adults in the United States. Younger generations, though not as intimately affected by the movement, are still hit emotionally when taught about the struggles that African Americans went through in the movement. Many United States citizens are confused as to how to feel and react after learning about the Civil Rights Movement. Those who consider themselves white feel as if they must tiptoe around the issue and not step on anyone's toes, while those who consider themselves black must live knowing what their past generations had to go through at the hands of white people. Those who are not black or white do not fit into this struggle, or at least not on the surface. The Native Americans, who are victims of the most horrific genocide in history, have been pushed aside silently. We murdered them, stole their land, and have forced them to live pretty crappy existences. What America has done to them is just as bad, if not worse than what we did to the African slaves. But why do we not talk about their genocide and our ignorance? We talk about their teepees and their rain dances, but all the negative things are kept mostly hush hush. We rarely ever bring them up in race relations because they have never truly stirred up things politically. As far as I know, there have been no demonstrations, no groups fighting for Native American rights. I am sure there have been, but they have not been strong enough to make much of a difference. There have been no men like Martin Luther King Junior to stand up for the Native Americans. Why would we ever talk about the Native Americans if they don't stir up problems? As an Asian American, I know that I am different. But rarely in my life have I ever been truly discriminated negatively against. Never also have I talked to someone who discriminated against me or talked to me about Whites vs. Asians. Maybe it's because I grew up in the suburbs of Philly. I was surrounded by rich white people, middle class white people, and a smattering of other Asians and Black people. Maybe I was just oblivious, but no one ever really looked at me funny or thought differently of me because I had more melanin in my skin. The attention was rarely put on me. Maybe it is because Asians are thought to be passive and less aggressive than Black people. I don't know.

Race Relations Project : Avatar and the White Man's Burden

Sat, 6 Feb 2010 03:40:09 +0000

Yay Avatar! I loved this movie! Why? Because the natives were blue! Because there were fun exciting scenes! Because the graphics were pretty! Face it. Entertainment in our society these days has little substance to it. For most Americans, entertainment is not synonymous with deep thinking. We want to relax and just let our minds go numb for a bit. Take football for example, a billion dollar industry. We watch a group of big burly men trample each other down a field, trying to get a tiny pointy ball to the other side of the field. Sure there is strategy involved, but are our brains really being challenged? With each fumble, are we thinking outside the box? I obviously, don't know football jargon, but you get my point. Football rocks! I agree. But it's not popular because it exercises our brains. I read an article the other day that said Avatar beat Titanic in the box office (this isn't the exact article I read, just the first thing that popped up on yahoo search: http://personalmoneystore.com/moneyblog/2010/01/2... Of course this has to do with ticket sales and marketing and such, but the comparison was made nevertheless. Come on people. Do people really believe that Avatar beats Titanic on the Awesome scale? Maybe for some people, yes. But for most people, no. Why? Again, because it lacks substance. But for me, there was a reason that Avatar lacked substance. For me, James Cameron wasn't trying to create another Titanic. He wanted a money maker. And what makes money? Pretty people, action scenes, and silly romance. He didn't want his gorgeous graphics to be overshadowed by a good plot. No. He had to use a trite, predictable plot in order for all the light to shine on the film's main focus: computer animation. There are many great overused plots to choose from. Like David Brooks says, James Cameron decided that the "White Messiah" formula would best suit his goals. Hmm. I just read David Brooks's article again and it seems I may just be rehashing what he said. So I'll move on. David Brooks believes that the "White Messiah" complex is offensive. Sure it is. EVERYTHING is going to offend somebody SOMEHOW. For example, I love the old 2D Disney movies. But at the same time, I am seriously offended by some of them. Cinderella? The prince only loved her because she was hot. She only loved him because he was rich and hot (and nice. But hey, first impressions are usually wrong!). Little Mermaid? She was only 16! She has no idea what love is. What kind of messages was Disney trying to send us young impressionable little girls?? I agree with RAWR MY POST GOT DELETED AND THIS IS ALL I COULD SALVAGE. I TRIED TO EDIT IT AND SOMEHOW IT JUST DELETED ITSELF. I'M DONE. fajosif

Race Relations Project : Avatar and the White Man's Burden

Fri, 5 Feb 2010 06:00:41 +0000

Yay Avatar! I loved this movie! Why? Because the natives were blue! Because there were fun exciting scenes! Because the graphics were pretty! Face it. Entertainment in our society these days has little substance to it. For most Americans, entertainment is not synonymous with deep thinking. We want to relax and just let our minds go numb for a bit. Take football for example, a billion dollar industry. We watch a group of big burly men trample each other down a field, trying to get a tiny pointy ball to the other side of the field. Sure there is strategy involved, but are our brains really being challenged? With each fumble, are we thinking outside the box? I obviously, don't know football jargon, but you get my point. Football rocks! I agree. But it's not popular because it exercises our brains. I read an article the other day that said Avatar beat Titanic in the box office (this isn't the exact article I read, just the first thing that popped up on yahoo search: http://personalmoneystore.com/moneyblog/2010/01/2... Of course this has to do with ticket sales and marketing and such, but the comparison was made nevertheless. Come on people. Do people really believe that Avatar beats Titanic on the Awesome scale? Maybe for some people, yes. But for most people, no. Why? Again, because it lacks substance. But for me, there was a reason that Avatar lacked substance. For me, James Cameron wasn't trying to create another Titanic. He wanted a money maker. And what makes money? Pretty people, action scenes, and silly romance. He didn't want his gorgeous graphics to be overshadowed by a good plot. No. He had to use a trite, predictable plot in order for all the light to shine on the film's main focus: computer animation. There are many great overused plots to choose from. Like David Brooks says, James Cameron decided that the "White Messiah" formula would best suit his goals. Hmm. I just read David Brooks's article again and it seems I may just be rehashing what he said. So I'll move on. David Brooks believes that the "White Messiah" complex is offensive. Sure it is. EVERYTHING is going to offend somebody SOMEHOW. For example, I love the old 2D Disney movies. But at the same time, I am seriously offended by some of them. Cinderella? The prince only loved her because she was hot. She only loved him because he was rich and hot (and nice. But hey, first impressions are usually wrong!). Little Mermaid? She was only 16! She has no idea what love is. What kind of messages was Disney trying to send us young impressionable little girls?? That we should fawn over the first hot guy we see and give everything up for our "Prince Charming"? I agree with David Brook's accusation that the "White Messiah" complex was definitely used in this film and that it uses the whole, ignorant white guy falls in love with the awesome native and leads her people to a better future. It is quite annoying and also offensive to native peoples because they don't need an ignorant white guy to save them. But it's a harmless movie. Plot means little the the audience these days, so people shouldn't get so worked up about it. It's not like it openly supports white supremacy or something. (Does anyone else think that the way he became the leader was stupid? ANYONE could have done what he did. It wasn't a huge feat at all.)

Race Relations Project : The Enlightened "West" Knows Best

Fri, 29 Jan 2010 03:57:05 +0000

Ever since childhood, I heard my mother tell me stories about "those Muslims" with a scrunched up face and bitter voice. She grew up in the Philippines, where apparently the Christians and the Muslims were always conflicting. I heard many interesting stories about the Abu Sayyaf, an extremist Islamic terrorist group that had members in her small village. She told me that "if you hear bullets, don't run. Duck. Then go about your business." On the television, I saw only negative news reports depicting Islam. September 11th happened. Then I saw a special about a girl who was taken away from her mother by her father and taken to an Islamic country. She turned from a happy, bouncing, American little girl, to what seemed like an oppressed Muslim teenager forced to wear a hijab. For many years I believed Muslims to be shady, creepy people who killed innocent people and hated women. Whenever I saw a woman in a hijab, I imagined her bruised and tortured. However, despite my previous extremely negative conceptions about Islam and Muslim people, I no longer feel that way at all. Since entering high school, I realized that most of what I learned was incorrect. Muslims are not insane murderous rampagers. Only the extremists are the scary ones. Most Muslims do not agree with them at all. My mom the other day told me that she agreed with me and that Muslims aren't anything like she used to say they were. In the documentary about the kidnapped daughter, I thought that she was being forced to say that she liked wearing her hijab. Now however, I know that for many other Muslim women, the hijab is not a symbol of oppression. These days, I believe that if anything, makeup, tight uncomfortable clothes, and high ankle-breaking heels are more symbolic of our male dominated society. Okay it's time for my makeup rant. I know I know, makeup only "enhances" your features. But really, come on! Like Sam said, the most beautiful person in the world is yourself :] The only time I ever really wear makeup is during dance performances. Other than that, I don't. Every time I take my makeup off I feel so crappy and ugly. I don't understand how girls can take off their makeup every day and still feel good about themselves. And it's not like I'm "pretty" and can get away without wearing makeup. I have small eyes and short eyelashes. The skin on my face has blemishes that don't heal well. My face isn't long and thin; it is square and flat. Also, I'm 4' 10" with muscly, not very thin legs. When I look into the mirror, I admit that I rarely see someone who is beautiful because I wish I was taller, had bigger eyes, and a slimmer face. But no matter how ugly I think I am, only once or twice did I put eyeliner on to make my eyes look bigger and mascara on to make my eyelashes longer. Makeup is just a socially accepted form of lying. I don't understand why our society teaches girls that it's more important to get men to "love" them than to love themselves. Okay, back to the original topic. I think that France is going too far by banning hijabs. Maybe they should put more energy into stopping child abuse and modern slavery.

Race Relations Project : Last Name begins with A (e.g., Brian Anderson)

Tue, 26 Jan 2010 03:26:26 +0000

Move it, Football-head!!! :]

Race Relations Project : Haiti's Calamity

Fri, 22 Jan 2010 16:03:47 +0000

I also spent most of my life wondering why God made Jesus die on the cross to save humanity. In fact, I spent most of my life questioning my Catholic background. Once one begins to ask questions and truly think for oneself, Christianity begins to fall apart. Christians are taught to believe that Jesus's sacrifice, the act itself, is what saved them from eternal damnation. However, after years of trying to figure out the reasonable answer, I have come up with something. I agree with you. Seeing others go through suffering, pain, and hardship allows people to put less important things like greed, jealousy, and selfishness aside. More important things, like helping others in need and understanding others who are different than you are, are put first. Also, in a way, Jesus had to die in order to get our attention. Everything he tried to teach, everything he stood for, it is some pretty serious stuff. By dying he grabbed the hearts of millions. These millions who believe(d) in him hopefully follow his teachings. I do no believe that original sin is Eve's act of eating the apple (because I think the Adam and Eve story is the most ridiculous and anti-feminine explanation of life ever). I believe that original sin is ignorance: the ignorance of not knowing good from bad, right from wrong. I put little of my faith in the Bible, but what I do believe in is peace, love, and understanding. Those who truly follow Jesus's word are people who care about other people, who put others before themselves, and who realize the value of life. My whole life, I have also wondered why God would allow such terrible things like natural disasters, starvation in less developed countries, and mass murder to occur. I do not believe that God ever uses such "evil" things as punishments. Rather, I believe he uses them to teach us something. Afterall, good cannot exist without bad. I cannot speak for the Haitians, but for others who know what is going on, this is definitely an eye opening experience. I personally have realized much of what I have taken for granted. With meal plan 4, I can go to Simmons, West, or Pollock for as much food as I can stuff myself with every single day. While I occasionally complain that the food is not up to par, most of the Haitians do not have water, and as for food, if they can get any at all, all they can really get are biscuits. I complain that my dorm is too small, too hot, too cold, too whatever, while the most Haitians are living (and dying) on the streets. I know that every day people are living like this in countries like Africa and the Philippines, but it's so easy to forget when you live each day so easily. It takes tragedies like the earthquake in Haiti to remind people to get their priorities straight.