en-us https://www.intensedebate.com/users/2438026 Comments by pandeys92 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/04/19/were-you-surprised-to-find-that-business-is-the-factor-that-shapes-immigration-policies-119-blog/#IDComment145150612 I was really surprised to hear that business was the main factor behind the amount of illegal immigrants we have in the US. I find it interesting that they use these immigrants to deflate the wages of actual working US citizens. I am not sure if that is really fair or not. I don’t think that illegal immigrants are bad for this society, but I can only wonder why it is that businesses are allowed to do stuff like that to our own US citizens. I can understand that they want to save money and all, and that those people need jobs, but how can one take money away from actual citizens and give it to illegal ones. I also thought it was interesting that we are importing a lot of our doctors, nurses, scientists and engineers from other countries. I would know, both of my parents are scientists and moved to the US from India about 30 years ago. I think that the fact that businesses are looking for more people like that is a good thing, because it increases diversity and cultural awareness and also helps people from other countries start new lives in the US and allows them to be able to support themselves. I have met people who have come to the US, I don’t know if they are legal or not, but regardless, I notice how hard their parents work to make a living here. They work long and ridiculous hours and don’t get paid very much, yet they do the work with a smile on their face and I really find it amazing. The fact that people are hiring immigrants like this is refreshing, because you see how people in the US today are becoming so used to the easy life and having people do things for us or just having a machine do everything for us, yet these people get down and dirty and just do the work. No matter how dirty a job is, these people are just happy to be able to do something and get a pay check from it, no matter how small it is. I think it’s a good thing for businesses to hire people like this because not only does it create jobs for new people here, but it also creates some awareness of the hardships of life. I noticed a lot of people in class saying that they were surprised at how they couldn’t keep up with these immigrant people, just because they work so hard and fast and we Americans aren’t used to that. Although I can’t really say I agree with using immigrants to deflate the wages of the American citizens, I do like the fact that people can come here and get jobs, not because I feel they deserve them more, but because I enjoy seeing people get the help they need and making a life for themselves, because my parents had to make a life for themselves and my sister and I when they came to the US in search of a better life. And the fact that business is the reason for this is really interesting. Fri, 22 Apr 2011 16:05:09 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/04/19/were-you-surprised-to-find-that-business-is-the-factor-that-shapes-immigration-policies-119-blog/#IDComment145150612 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/04/12/do-you-think-you-would-actively-try-to-not-benefit-from-nepotism-if-the-situation-presented-itself-119-blog/#IDComment143297321 I personally would try not to benefit from nepotism because I feel that it is wrong. I have benefitted from it before when I got my summer internship back in high school, although I felt great getting a job at the age of 16, I know that without the help of my teachers recommendations, I never would have gotten that job. I have seen how so many people benefit from nepotism and get great jobs, but most of the time they are not as qualified to have that job or position. There are so many people that are just as qualified or more qualified to have the position or job but are struggling to get anywhere because they have no connections, or someone knows the potential employer more. The lecture that we had on nepotism was very interesting and made me feel very guilty for what I have attained in some parts of my life. My job for instance was only made possible because of my teachers recommending me for it. I noticed how easy it was for me to get in while my friends, who were applying to get into the same place, never got an email or so much as a phone call to say that their application was received. If the situation presented itself, I know for a fact that I would probably want to accept whatever I was getting thanks to nepotism, but I would then think (thanks to Sam’s class) about how there are probably a ton more people who are applying for the same things and have worked longer, harder and better than I have to get it who deserve it ten times more. The only way I could think of avoiding benefitting from nepotism is just going through the same processes that everyone else goes through to get a job or promotion or whatever. I would never go and ask for help from anyone or get that leg up on anyone based on who I knew. I would prefer to just get accepted or recognition for something that I have actually earned based on my merit. I know its an easy thing for people to say, that they just wont accept help from anyone, but when you are in a tough situation and need a job, or a raise or promotion, it takes a lot of will power and strength not to fall for the trap of nepotism, which is why I say that I will try not to fall into it but it will be hard since it is so prevalent in todays society. Sat, 16 Apr 2011 04:00:33 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/04/12/do-you-think-you-would-actively-try-to-not-benefit-from-nepotism-if-the-situation-presented-itself-119-blog/#IDComment143297321 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/04/05/after-this-class-do-you-still-blame-terrorism-119-blog/#IDComment141157634 After the class where Sam discussed terrorism from both sides of the spectrum, I wouldn’t say that my opinion has changed, because I always thought of terrorists as extreme people who are using their religion as an excuse or reason to hurt people, I never thought we should kill them or anything, I just felt that they should be stopped. Instead of having my mind changed, I was more enlightened; I never really looked at the issue from the eyes of the people from the other side. Personally I am glad that this question came up in class, because I notice that a lot of people don’t understand why people act the way they do, like terrorists and extremists, myself being one of them. Although I never thought of them in any violent way, it did anger me that they were so willing to hurt people over things like religion and land and territory. Since Sam put us in their shoes, it really opened my eyes, that this whole thing could be avoided if we just stopped taking oil from other people. It made sense to me, like Sam asked us, I understood why it is that these people feel such aggressive feelings towards Americans, because they see our leaders as thieves, taking the goods and precious resources that they own and benefiting off of it, while they live in shambles. I don’t blame people for being angry, but under no circumstance would I be ok with terrorists trying to take lives, there is no religion that says that taking another person’s life is ok. I also don’t condone the United States actions as well; we have the resources to support ourselves financially and resource wise for our energy. So why not invest in that instead of taking a resource that other people desperately need for their own survival. I do not agree with a lot of the stereotypes that people place on Muslim people, just because a few people are radicalized and crazy doesn’t mean the rest of the population is. I have had friends who have said that those people aren’t true Muslims; they are just crazy people trying to get on good terms with god. Just like the KKK are crazy people doing things in the name of god or whatever, personally, I don’t see a difference between either group of people, they both terrorize people unnecessarily. I believe that we should get rid of our oil addiction, because it has caused us nothing but problems, both with other countries, but with the health of our environment and our planet. We have had numerous oil spills and wars over oil, amongst other things in relation, so why do we still use it. People hate our country because of the success we have achieved by taking resources from other countries. I believe that we could possibly end terrorism forever if we just left other countries alone and stopped taking their resources and then we wouldn’t have any issue over who to blame, because there wouldn’t be anyone to blame. Sat, 9 Apr 2011 03:37:09 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/04/05/after-this-class-do-you-still-blame-terrorism-119-blog/#IDComment141157634 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/04/05/after-this-class-do-you-still-blame-terrorism-119-blog/#IDComment141157567 After the class where Sam discussed terrorism from both sides of the spectrum, I wouldn’t say that my opinion has changed, because I always thought of terrorists as extreme people who are using their religion as an excuse or reason to hurt people, I never thought we should kill them or anything, I just felt that they should be stopped. Instead of having my mind changed, I was more enlightened; I never really looked at the issue from the eyes of the people from the other side. Personally I am glad that this question came up in class, because I notice that a lot of people don’t understand why people act the way they do, like terrorists and extremists, myself being one of them. Although I never thought of them in any violent way, it did anger me that they were so willing to hurt people over things like religion and land and territory. Since Sam put us in their shoes, it really opened my eyes, that this whole thing could be avoided if we just stopped taking oil from other people. It made sense to me, like Sam asked us, I understood why it is that these people feel such aggressive feelings towards Americans, because they see our leaders as thieves, taking the goods and precious resources that they own and benefiting off of it, while they live in shambles. I don’t blame people for being angry, but under no circumstance would I be ok with terrorists trying to take lives, there is no religion that says that taking another person’s life is ok. I also don’t condone the United States actions as well; we have the resources to support ourselves financially and resource wise for our energy. So why not invest in that instead of taking a resource that other people desperately need for their own survival. I do not agree with a lot of the stereotypes that people place on Muslim people, just because a few people are radicalized and crazy doesn’t mean the rest of the population is. I have had friends who have said that those people aren’t true Muslims; they are just crazy people trying to get on good terms with god. Just like the KKK are crazy people doing things in the name of god or whatever, personally, I don’t see a difference between either group of people, they both terrorize people unnecessarily. I believe that we should get rid of our oil addiction, because it has caused us nothing but problems, both with other countries, but with the health of our environment and our planet. We have had numerous oil spills and wars over oil, amongst other things in relation, so why do we still use it. People hate our country because of the success we have achieved by taking resources from other countries. I believe that we could possibly end terrorism forever if we just left other countries alone and stopped taking their resources and then we wouldn’t have any issue over who to blame, because there wouldn’t be anyone to blame. Sat, 9 Apr 2011 03:36:50 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/04/05/after-this-class-do-you-still-blame-terrorism-119-blog/#IDComment141157567 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/03/29/what-reasons-make-multiculturalism-positive-for-the-us-119-blog/#IDComment139287284 Multiculturalism is a great thing for the US for many reasons, partly because it creates a lot of awareness to other cultures, it enriches our population with new languages, food and activities. There are so many benefits from having a multicultural society. People gain so much from learning new languages for example, like learning Chinese is making people a lot more marketable now because Chinese is becoming one of the largest and most widely spoken business languages. People automatically become more lucrative to businesses and employers if they know more than one language, just because that expands the amount of people they can connect to. A lot of the foods that we eat these days, taco bell, panda express and all the actual restaurants that we eat at these days would not be here if we weren’t such a multicultural group of people. People would not be able to enjoy all the different styles of food there are around the world and as a result, the food we eat today would be a lot different. Especially because we wouldn’t have anything to infuse our food with, we would not be able to experiment and make new recipes if we didn’t have the new ingredients and cooking styles that other cultures bring to the US. People can gain a lot from the knowledge that other cultures bring to the US, especially children because they can learn to interact with other cultures and can also help formulate their own identity and beliefs. A lot of the advances that the U.S have been made by a multicultural group of people working towards some project. Educated people from all over the world are migrating to the US and bringing their knowledge here and allowing for the US to make some rapid advancement in medicine and technology. Many doctors, scientists and business men are from around the world, India, China, Japan and many other countries and without these people, a lot of the businesses today would not be around or as successful as they are now. I believe that people from around the world, like China for example bring their style of living to the US and really create a great life for themselves. For example, the Chinese have a very strong work ethic, they are always working hard to accomplish their goals, and no matter what get it done, I feel that they have brought this extreme work ethic to the US and have really created much advancement in science, medicine and many other fields, as well as a lot of other cultures. The fact that we are such a culturally diverse place can also be beneficial to the US because it can help us communicate and form good relations with other countries, we can practice better business and trade easier. We can bridge cultural and language gap between our country and other countries and possibly become closer with the world. We could solve a lot of the problems we have with other countries if we could just show that we understand and practice other countries and cultures practices, people wouldn’t see us as a threat, instead they would see the US as just like them Sat, 2 Apr 2011 03:57:14 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/03/29/what-reasons-make-multiculturalism-positive-for-the-us-119-blog/#IDComment139287284 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/03/22/would-you-point-out-the-people-of-your-own-race-who-make-racial-slurs-or-prejudice-comments-119-blog/#IDComment137629879 I absolutely hate it when people use racial slurs and negatively speak about people based on their race. I especially hate it when people of my own race talk about other races in such derogatory ways, I find it ignorant and offensive. The fact that people from my culture and background think that it is ok to racially discriminate, hate, segregate, differentiate or just reference in derogatory terms disgusts me. People of the Indian race have been discriminated against, we have gone through colonization where we were oppressed and looked at as just things that people could buy and use. We know what it was like to be treated that low and looked at as worthless, just like any other group of people that has gone through slavery or colonization, so why is it that we feel inclined to point out every difference we see in people in the most offensive of ways. Why should we treat each other so differently based on race, color or gender? I went to a very diverse high school in Gaithersburg, MD and we never had a problem with racism, everyone was always comfortable with each other and could pretty much talk to any race for the most part. My high school was not in a very good part of town, so we had a lot of lower class people there, which meant there were a lot of diversity, yet my Indian friends who went to a brand new rich high school 10 miles away had a somewhat similar amount of diversity, but for some reason they still hated on the people of lower class than them. I knew people who would talk badly about Spanish and Black people in ways that used to set me off, because I have so many Black and Spanish friends and I love them to death. I would always call my friends out when they did things like that, for example my friends would talk to me about how they would get scared of being robbed if they walked through a group of Black or Spanish people, and I just said, dude not all people are like that. I’ll be honest and say that I have said things about certain races that some may think are racist, but I never meant it in a derogatory way. I have never discriminated against people; I am and always have been open to all races and ethnicities. Just like Sam had talked about in class about how people sue racial identifiers when they don’t need to, I catch my family using them all the time. My parents will sometimes be like, “there was this Spanish guy that did…,” or, “this black person said this…,” and it throws me off guard. I was pretty annoyed at the fact that they do that, because both my parents and I have black and Spanish friends and we have had no issues with them, no reason to discriminate or anything. I guess it’s just that people let their negative experiences with other people form that race define the rest of the race, which is totally wrong, so I call my parents friends and family out every time and just tell them that the way they are thinking isn’t true. There are times though when people say things that I am not able to say anything about. I have had friends say things about certain races, yet every time I say something they shoot me down instantly and tell me that what they think is right, and personally I just give up on them. I don’t try any longer to change those people; I just hope that they learn and stop eventually. As bad as it makes me feel for not saying things to stop these people at times, I know that my saying things won’t help, at least not with those people. Especially in one instance, I went to a neighboring temple, one I don’t normally go to, and the preachers in that temple were teaching these people, the ones I call compatriots , that they are supreme and better than everyone else. I had to hear little kids around 7-12 years old speak so negatively and badly about Spanish, black and white people, and it disgusted me so much. I told my parents and we got ready to leave, right in the middle of the festivities. I had never been so utterly shocked to see things like this being taught in a temple, especially while children are there. I had never been back to that place. I wish I could have said something, but I was an outsider in that place and out of respect to those who were worshiping, did not disturb them by creating a scene. Sat, 26 Mar 2011 03:57:35 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/03/22/would-you-point-out-the-people-of-your-own-race-who-make-racial-slurs-or-prejudice-comments-119-blog/#IDComment137629879 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/03/18/what-do-you-think-of-the-diversity-at-penn-state-119-blog/#IDComment135972811 Penn State is a great school to go to, not only because of their high academic standards, but also because of their efforts to make this university more diverse. Although I don’t believe Penn State is as diverse as they make it seem, I do see potential for the numbers of multicultural students to grow. When I first looked into going to Penn State, I had already known that it was a primarily white school, as well as the numerous testimonials I received from all the PSU Alum my dad works with. When I came to visit, there were a lot more white people than any other races; I didn’t really find that intimidating, but it was a shock at how sheltered most people were. Back home in Gaithersburg, MD my friends and I could talk about any race no matter what. We were all friends; Black, Spanish, White, Asian, all races. We all got along and could joke about each other’s races no matter what and nobody ever took it personally. But when I got up here I was taken aback by how hard it was to talk to anyone here about any race. This is why I agree with Sam when he says that there are certain places where he knows he can’t say certain things, but at times he forgets and gets called out for it, which I have been numerous times here at State College. I do believe that will change for the better in the near future with the increase in diversity at Penn State. A huge factor of my decision to come here was that I knew there was going to be a pretty good variety of people, although the obvious majority is the white students. I had never really had many friends of my own race throughout high school, so I thought that if I went to a school that was primarily one race, that I would be able to form bonds with students of my own ethnicity and religious background. Although that did not work the way I thought it would, I have met many people of my own race and have become closer with my culture and religion. Penn State is a great person to preach diversity at, they allow for so many different cultures to showcase and advertise their culture. The Penn State Hindu Student Council showcases Hindu religion and their practices and allows for students outside of the Hindu religion to get a look deep into one of the oldest religions out there. The pasquerilla center is free and open to everyone to take part in and view different religious and cultural practices and events. Penn State even has things like Global food days where we get to experience foods from around the world for free. Although the numbers of students from other countries may not be as high, I see that international student’s populations are growing rapidly. This results in a huge influx in global cultures in the campus and allows for everyone to get used to being in a more diverse setting. I personally love this, although the international students tend to keep to themselves, I am sure that once they get through their barrier of shy-ness or nervousness or whatever it is that is creating this gap between the international students and the local students, I believe Penn State will greatly benefit from the mixing of cultures and increasing awareness of global diversity. Sat, 19 Mar 2011 03:50:54 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/03/18/what-do-you-think-of-the-diversity-at-penn-state-119-blog/#IDComment135972811 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/03/02/how-can-we-save-our-scarce-resources-119-blog/#IDComment133944872 This is a tough thing to try and solve; personally, I feel that there are many things we can try. We just need to get lucky and hope that we can conserve our resources for future generations. I believe that people just need to be educated on the small things we can do, that theoretically could make a huge impact. A lot of the problems we have today are caused by our insatiable appetite for food and resources. We consume food at a ridiculous rate, just take a look at all the bags of chips and bottles of soda that liter the floors in our classrooms like 100 Thomas and the Forum Building. It’s sad to say at the least, that people have such easy access to food when others don’t. I feel bad when I see how much food gets wasted by kids these days. If we can reduce the amount of food that gets wasted by people, and even reduce our portions, we won’t have to import at much food to satisfy our needs. All people should be taught to grow some of their own produce, and eat more locally grown produce with less meat in their diet. At least this way, we won’t have to import so much food or grow food on such a large scale. If we didn’t have to use part of our crops for other purposes, like corn for ethanol we could also use more of those crops to feed the growing population. Almost all the things we use these days can be recycled, like glass, aluminum, and plastic, so why is it that we still need to mine more? People throw away so much trash that could be recycled, and nobody does anything about it. There need to be more strict regulations on recycling, so that people don’t throw away stuff that we can reuse again. Not only would this preserve those resources, but it would also preserve our fossil fuel resources since we use a lot of fuel to transport and mine new materials from the earth. Speaking of preserving fossil fuels, people could stop driving so much, especially when they could easily walk, or at least use public transport more often. If people would have more of those locally grown produce markets, like farmers markets, people in the local area could just walk there and buy their produce and walk back to their homes without ever having to step on that gas pedal. We can reduce the size of our homes and reduce the amount of things we buy that might come from other countries, the less we import, the less materials we need to mine and the less fossil fuels we burn. We can grow our own food, walk more and use fewer cars. There are so many things we can do to save our resources for future generations, we just need 100% support from everyone to make it happen. There really is no time to wait around; we need to make changed to our lives now if we want to be able to have a similar or better future. Thu, 10 Mar 2011 22:00:57 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/03/02/how-can-we-save-our-scarce-resources-119-blog/#IDComment133944872 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/02/24/why-are-black-and-brown-people-more-expressive-of-their-problems-than-white-people-119-blog/#IDComment130752358 I think this is a really interesting question; I have never put any thought to the subject actually. I guess that this is the case because a lot of times when the minority races tried to speak up in times of hardship or injustice, they either weren’t taken seriously, were hidden from the public/media, or just pushed aside. For example, black people back in the times of slavery in the United States, were prevented from having any say in the government or from complaining about their plight. I guess they feel as if they are entitled to be able to speak their mind and voice their opinions (which they are) but feel more strongly about it because their ancestors were not able to. I feel as if they view this as voicing the ideals of their ancestors who were stopped from speaking their mind. Most of us have never heard of white people being oppressed by any race or group of people as a whole like Africans, Indians and people of other countries were. So a lot of times when people hear white people complain about their problems, people take offence to it. This is probably because people don’t really see white poverty as much as they should, because according to Sam, there are a lot of poor white people in the US. So because of that, people who hear white people complain about their lives just assume that they are well off like “every other white person out there” and get upset. I believe that this hinders white people from expressing their point of view a lot. Also like Sam had stated in his lecture the other day, a lot of white people experience a feeling of shame and embarrassment for their status and refrain from telling people about it. Whereas black and brown people feel that instead of themselves, their oppression is caused by someone other than themselves. They blame others for being in the situation that they were in, for example, I hear a lot of people talking about how they are still oppressed by the white man. I can understand how they may feel as if they are not on the same level as white people, which is also something Sam referenced in class. However, I personally feel that it’s nobody’s fault but their own, most people have the opportunity to get out of a tough situation, and they just need to know how to do it. I know people still feel like white people are at the top of the chain in many ways, but things are starting to change. People are becoming more open minded and working on how they treat each other. Classes like this that teach race relations and how everyone is fairly similar are making a huge difference on the way things are these days. People are slowly becoming more accustom to other cultures of the world and less scared to delve into them. So hopefully the disproportion of white to colored people that complain about their situation will change for the better. Hopefully soon, people will be able to understand the plight of other races and be more willing to help each other out of tough situations. Sat, 26 Feb 2011 03:09:50 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/02/24/why-are-black-and-brown-people-more-expressive-of-their-problems-than-white-people-119-blog/#IDComment130752358 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/02/17/how-can-we-bring-the-experiences-others-are-going-through-elsewhere-closer-to-us-here-119-blog/#IDComment129036295 There are many ways in which we can bring the issues of the world closer to us. First of all, like Sam had shown us in class, the videos. I feel like these are a great idea, because you can accurately display the emotions of the people that have to suffer through the situation. Although, many people can’t understand that really feels like, they can see that the feeling is not a great one. It’s hard for people to really see what the whole situation is, because how much can you really show in a video? To really get the full experience, we would have to actually experience it. For the soul fact that we can’t possibly get the full effect from a video, I feel like we should be immersed into the actual situation. People in the U.S. have become too accustomed to the ammentaties and benefits we get from living here. We are basically oblivious to the issues of the world, and when we hear about it in the news, it’s either watered down or hyped up. The best way, I feel, to get people to understand the real issue is to send them right into the middle of the issue. I have seen numerous TV shows on the Discovery channel about how kids were sent to places like India and China to experience the life of rice farmers, cotton pickers, factory workers, slaughter houses and many other things. You could tell that when those kids first got off the planes to go to that country, they were basically air heads and oblivious to the situation. We really have no idea how hard life can get in other places, yea sure the United States has its issues, but I really don’t feel that its nearly as bad. These kids were exposed to the hard lives of these workers, and after struggling and even quitting, they really “learned their lesson,” you could really see the difference in these kids. They had experienced life at one of its hardest points, and nothing will ever affect them as much as that, there is no way they can take their lives for granted after seeing something like that. People today should be forced to experience things like this. Who knows, it might even increase the amount of empathy we show towards each other and maybe we would be more willing to help each other through tough situations, even people in other countries. Another thing I think would help people really understand the problem of the world, is if we were taught these things at a younger age. My parents taught me to respect everything I had because my parents and grandparents really had nothing growing up as kids, and they had to work so hard for whatever they had. I understand this isn’t as bad as the plight of the modern day slave, but it’s similar in the concept that life is hard and you really don’t know how hard it can be until you experience it. Sat, 19 Feb 2011 04:25:42 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/02/17/how-can-we-bring-the-experiences-others-are-going-through-elsewhere-closer-to-us-here-119-blog/#IDComment129036295 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/02/10/renting-disparities-due-to-race-119-blog/#IDComment127474242 I feel like the topic of renting disparities due to racial differences is a huge problem, and not just with renting, but other situations as well. I have personally seen myself and others being treated differently by the way that they look their accent, their color and even the way they dress. I find this to be a very horrible problem and am completely disgusted that people can treat others differently like that just on the basis of small characteristics like looks and culture. Like many of us, I have seen video clips of Muslim women walking into stores and being told that they couldn’t buy things or that they needed to leave, or they were just treated like absolute trash, or black people being perceived as mean or thug like even before people get a chance to know them. I find this to be horrible, because you can’t judge a person until you really know them. It was disturbing to me that people would look at someone, for example a black man, and let’s say by the way he dressed, assume is he from the “hood” or a thug, and get treated like one, and yet this person could have a 4.0 GPA and live in a very rich neighborhood. Why is it that people group everyone that fits small characteristics into one large group? It makes no sense to me. I have personally experienced this, where I walked into a store and was trying on clothes and masks for Halloween, and the attendant at the store was following me around like I was going to steal something. Every time I looked back at this person they would just keep staring, like they wanted me to know they were watching, I felt upset that before I can even speak to the clerk at the register, I am being judged as a shoplifter. They don’t even know me. Then this person tells me I am not allowed to try on the Halloween costumes, for health reasons, I was reasonable and agreed and stopped trying on masks, but then five minutes later a white man walks into the store and tries on masks and the clerk just helps him. He didn’t say a word, except for, “Let me know if you need any help.” Why wasn’t I treated like that; because I am not white? I can understand how people may have perceptions about certain groups of people, everyone does. But that does not mean that every single person of that race or color or background is just like them. As for the topic that Sam brought up with the rent, I am not surprised to hear that this still happens. I hear people say things all the time these days that just leads me to believe that they are ignorant and don’t know how to respect people of other races, they just perceive them to be what the media or whatever has portrayed that persons fellow people as. It is unfortunate that some people get treated better or worse, based on their race or color. I don’t believe that there should be any difference. People should be treated the same and people like the guy renting the houses should get to know his clients before he judges them. The huge problem here is that racial prejudices and perceptions will never end. We can only hope that one day the perception of other races will lead to better things, like acceptance. Sat, 12 Feb 2011 04:39:21 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/02/10/renting-disparities-due-to-race-119-blog/#IDComment127474242 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/02/01/do-you-describe-yourself-differently-in-other-countries/#IDComment126063658 I do agree with the statement, when I am in the United States, I tend to say that I am Indian, although I was born here. I guess it’s because I feel as if the United States is so diverse that I should just state where my origins are from so that I don’t get mixed in with another culture. I will also say that I am Indian as a sense of pride for my culture. There are times when I also say that I am from Los Angeles; I believe I also say this as a sense of pride. Honestly, in the U.S, I don’t know what to say to people when they ask me where I am from. In India, I tell people that I am from the United States, although of times I have no choice but to say that I am from India. This is because a lot of times people look at me and think that I live an easy life because I live in the U.S. The people we visit expect us to bring tons of gifts and presents because they feel like we can afford it. Also when people realize that I am from the United States, they start to think that I won’t understand what is going on and that I will just be completely oblivious. They immediately think that since I am from the U.S, I must be stupid, because they believe Americans aren’t that smart, so they charge me more for things that the people from India would pay less for. They can even tell from my accent that I am from the U.S, so sometimes I don’t even get a chance to tell them where I am from. I don’t feel like I should have to tell people where I am from, why does it matter? I find the assumptions people in other countries make about Americans very interesting. They first assume that we are arrogant and always in a combative state of mind. Some tend to think we are kind and good people. I have had reactions where people would wonder why I was acting a certain way and then they would say he’s probably from American. “This is how they act in America.” I have heard that all to many times. This is why I personally don’t like to tell people, when I am in another country, that I am American. There are so many negative connotations with countries all over the world with the word American that people just look down on you. Like my family in India, they believe that we have life so easy over here and just expect us to be nice to them and take care of them by getting them gifts and sending them money. I honestly believe that there are certain situations in the history of the United Sates, that have really ruined our reputation and cause people to look down on us or have a skewed view on our lifestyle. For this reason I believe that we should not have to describe where we are from and why there is such a huge difference between saying where u are from in the US and outside the US. Sat, 5 Feb 2011 03:34:39 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/02/01/do-you-describe-yourself-differently-in-other-countries/#IDComment126063658 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/01/26/why-do-we-associate-with-people-of-the-same-race-and-ethnicity-as-ourselves-119-blog/#IDComment124473506 I feel like people only hang out with people of their own races because they just feel that sense of security that they won’t be judged or looked at as being different or weird. I personally thought that when I would come to Penn state that I would make a lot of Indian friends, that actually turned out to be quite the opposite, most of my friends here are either white or black. I actually enjoy the diversity but at first thought that since I was starting over with the whole friends scene that hanging out with people of my own culture and race was a great way to start off making friends. Although in high school I was friends with people from many races and backgrounds and accepted them as friends not because I liked their race but because I liked them as human beings. Personally, I think that the people who hang out with people just from their culture are missing out on a lot, the world has soo much to share with us, how can we just ignore all the amazing cultural activities, religions and especially FOOD that the world has to share with us? I do see the international students hanging out with each other and speaking their respective languages with each other. I see why they do it, because of the whole comfort factor and them being so far from home, but eventually they do begin to branch out a bit, I have some international students as friends and they are perfectly normal, yea they hang out with people of their race and culture, but they diversify by hanging out with me as well. I also feel like I understand why the international students hang out with themselves, a lot of times I will see a group of Asian students hanging out in a public place only speaking their language, and people just walk by laughing and making fun of them. I feel like a lot of people don’t feel welcomed here at Penn State with their culture. I personally had an experience where I had a cultural event and wore traditional Indian clothing and was laughed at by people on my floor as I walked by and overheard them asking why I was dressed so weird, so it’s also a factor that people aren’t very accepting of other cultures and people of other cultures just don’t feel understood. Also, with other cultures, like white people, I know they are normally put out as the unaccepting racist people, but most, if not all the white people I have met here have been completely accepting of me and my cultural background, in fact some were intrigued by my culture and wanted to learn more. Having said that, I must unfortunately state that there are a lot of people here at Penn State who have grown up in a racially protected bubble, where everyone around them was either the same color, race, or religion, or any combo of the three and are a lot less open to the change in cultural beliefs of other people, which is why I believe they hang with people of their kind as well. I am not saying I agree with why they do it, but I do understand why. I really feel like if everyone took Soc119, we probably wouldn’t have this problem anymore, just because Sam has shown us numerous times how alike we really are, and that there shouldn’t be any boundaries between races and people, we are all humans and that’s all that matters. Sat, 29 Jan 2011 04:24:44 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/01/26/why-do-we-associate-with-people-of-the-same-race-and-ethnicity-as-ourselves-119-blog/#IDComment124473506 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/01/18/what-characteristics-would-you-give-your-race-blog-2/#IDComment124466107 Part 1 I would say that I classify myself as a “brown” American born Indian. The Indian race, that I associate myself with, is very religious and traditional. Honestly speaking, my parents are very traditional, as are most of my Indian friend’s parents. They believe that I should focus on my school work and less on partying and things of that sort. I would describe many Indian like me to be vegetarians because the majority of Indians are Hindu and don’t eat beef. As far as physical characteristics go, I would describe the Indian race as brown, not very physically built and have black hair, also considered hairy. (As painfully stereotypical as this is) I believe that Indians are very stingy with their money and try to get the most out of their money when they do spend it. We are also very academically inclined as our parents do push us to achieve excellence in our studies. There are certain characteristics that I associate with being Indian that I normally don’t see with western cultures, such as touching your elders feet as a sign of respect, or taking your shoes off as you enter your own or someone else’s home. Also, I believe Indians also believe in the idea that since our parents took care of us for so long that once we are able to support ourselves, we “return the favor” and take care of our parents as they get older. The sense of family is very strong in the Indian race and allows us to be stronger. Sat, 29 Jan 2011 03:33:11 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/01/18/what-characteristics-would-you-give-your-race-blog-2/#IDComment124466107 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/01/18/what-characteristics-would-you-give-your-race-blog-2/#IDComment124463563 Part 1 I would say that I classify myself as a “brown” American born Indian. The Indian race, that I associate myself with, is very religious and traditional. Honestly speaking, my parents are very traditional, as are most of my Indian friend’s parents. They believe that I should focus on my school work and less on partying and things of that sort. I would describe many Indian like me to be vegetarians because the majority of Indians are Hindu and don’t eat beef. As far as physical characteristics go, I would describe the Indian race as brown, not very physically built and have black hair, also considered hairy. (As painfully stereotypical as this is) I believe that Indians are very stingy with their money and try to get the most out of their money when they do spend it. We are also very academically inclined as our parents do push us to achieve excellence in our studies. There are certain characteristics that I associate with being Indian that I normally don’t see with western cultures, such as touching your elders feet as a sign of respect, or taking your shoes off as you enter your own or someone else’s home. Also, I believe Indians also believe in the idea that since our parents took care of us for so long that once we are able to support ourselves, we “return the favor” and take care of our parents as they get older. The sense of family is very strong in the Indian race and allows us to be stronger. Sat, 29 Jan 2011 03:13:48 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/01/18/what-characteristics-would-you-give-your-race-blog-2/#IDComment124463563 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/01/18/what-characteristics-would-you-give-your-race-blog-2/#IDComment124462317 Part 1 I would say that I classify myself as a “brown” American born Indian. The Indian race, that I associate myself with, is very religious and traditional. Honestly speaking, my parents are very traditional, as are most of my Indian friend’s parents. They believe that I should focus on my school work and less on partying and things of that sort. I would describe many Indian like me to be vegetarians because the majority of Indians are Hindu and don’t eat beef. As far as physical characteristics go, I would describe the Indian race as brown, not very physically built and have black hair, also considered hairy. (As painfully stereotypical as this is) I believe that Indians are very stingy with their money and try to get the most out of their money when they do spend it. We are also very academically inclined as our parents do push us to achieve excellence in our studies. There are certain characteristics that I associate with being Indian that I normally don’t see with western cultures, such as touching your elders feet as a sign of respect, or taking your shoes off as you enter your own or someone else’s home. Also, I believe Indians also believe in the idea that since our parents took care of us for so long that once we are able to support ourselves, we “return the favor” and take care of our parents as they get older. The sense of family is very strong in the Indian race and allows us to be stronger. Sat, 29 Jan 2011 03:04:18 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/01/18/what-characteristics-would-you-give-your-race-blog-2/#IDComment124462317 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/01/18/what-characteristics-would-you-give-your-race-blog-2/#IDComment124462075 Part 2 Modern culture is starting to change the stereotype that most people identify Indians with these days, such as the idea that Indians can dance like they do in Bollywood, or that we all get straight A’s (which isn’t true) or even that we all sound like Apu from The Simpsons. Also, now people are moving away from the traditional marriage scene and starting to marry people of other cultures, races and ethnicities, instead of marrying another Indian. Also, the traditional Indian woman, considered to be a stay at home mom who takes care of the kids, home, cooking and cleaning is changing, there are a lot of Indian women in the work force these days, although they still do all that. To add to this list of characteristics, Indians are very close with one another in their community, for example I have grown up calling my parents friends aunty and uncle, it’s a sign of respect and also shows how close we are that we are practically like family. The more traditional the family, the more they follow the caste system, if they see anyone who is a lower social or economic status than them, they consider them to not be as educated or as hard working, (it’s unfortunate I know). To kind of call out a lot of Indians from India, such as my cousins, they believe that Indians that live in the United States have it really easy, but what they don’t realize is that life here is a lot harder than in India. In India the people have servants for everything, from driving their cars to cooking, cleaning and even washing their clothes. In the United States, Indians like my mom go to work and take care of all the house chores (I do help her out a lot though) and after living in India for a while and having everything you can possibly think of taken care of for you and then coming here and having to do it all on your own, you can really see who has the easier life. They always expect that we will bring tons of gifts and things but they never get us anything. I don’t like the way that Indians from America get treated in India, everything suddenly becomes more expensive because they think we won’t notice that the prices are more expensive than normal. Sat, 29 Jan 2011 03:02:29 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/01/18/what-characteristics-would-you-give-your-race-blog-2/#IDComment124462075 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/01/18/what-characteristics-would-you-give-your-race-blog-2/#IDComment124462017 Part 1 I would say that I classify myself as a “brown” American born Indian. The Indian race, that I associate myself with, is very religious and traditional. Honestly speaking, my parents are very traditional, as are most of my Indian friend’s parents. They believe that I should focus on my school work and less on partying and things of that sort. I would describe many Indian like me to be vegetarians because the majority of Indians are Hindu and don’t eat beef. As far as physical characteristics go, I would describe the Indian race as brown, not very physically built and have black hair, also considered hairy. (As painfully stereotypical as this is) I believe that Indians are very stingy with their money and try to get the most out of their money when they do spend it. We are also very academically inclined as our parents do push us to achieve excellence in our studies. There are certain characteristics that I associate with being Indian that I normally don’t see with western cultures, such as touching your elders feet as a sign of respect, or taking your shoes off as you enter your own or someone else’s home. Also, I believe Indians also believe in the idea that since our parents took care of us for so long that once we are able to support ourselves, we “return the favor” and take care of our parents as they get older. The sense of family is very strong in the Indian race and allows us to be stronger. Sat, 29 Jan 2011 03:02:05 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/01/18/what-characteristics-would-you-give-your-race-blog-2/#IDComment124462017 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/01/18/what-characteristics-would-you-give-your-race-blog-2/#IDComment122992264 There are certain characteristics that I associate with being Indian that I normally dont see with western cultures, such as touching your elders feet as a sign of respect, or taking your shoes off as you enter your own or someone elses home. Also, I believe Indians also believe in the idea that since our parents took care of us for so long that once we are able to support ourselves, we return the favor and take care of our parents as they get older. The sense of family is very strong in the Indian race and allows us to be stronger. Sat, 22 Jan 2011 15:50:37 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/01/18/what-characteristics-would-you-give-your-race-blog-2/#IDComment122992264 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/01/18/what-characteristics-would-you-give-your-race-blog-2/#IDComment122990917 There are certain characteristics that I associate with being Indian that I normally don’t see with western cultures, such as touching your elders feet as a sign of respect, or taking your shoes off as you enter your own or someone else’s home. Also, I believe Indians also believe in the idea that since our parents took care of us for so long that once we are able to support ourselves, we “return the favor” and take care of our parents as they get older. The sense of family is very strong in the Indian race and allows us to be stronger. Modern culture is starting to change the stereotype that most people identify Indians with these days, such as the idea that Indians can dance like they do in Bollywood, or that we all get straight A’s (which isn’t true) or even that we all sound like Apu from The Simpsons. Also, now people are moving away from the traditional marriage scene and starting to marry people of other cultures, races and ethnicities, instead of marrying another Indian. Also, the traditional Indian woman, considered to be a stay at home mom who takes care of the kids, home, cooking and cleaning is changing, there are a lot of Indian women in the work force these days, although they still do all that. To add to this list of characteristics, Indians are very close with one another in their community, for example I have grown up calling my parents friends aunty and uncle, it’s a sign of respect and also shows how close we are that we are practically like family. The more traditional the family, the more they follow the caste system, if they see anyone who is a lower social or economic status than them, they consider them to not be as educated or as hard working, (it’s unfortunate I know). To kind of call out a lot of Indians from India, such as my cousins, they believe that Indians that live in the United States have it really easy, but what they don’t realize is that life here is a lot harder than in India. In India the people have servants for everything, from driving their cars to cooking, cleaning and even washing their clothes. In the United States, Indians like my mom go to work and take care of all the house chores (I do help her out a lot though) and after living in India for a while and having everything you can possibly think of taken care of for you and then coming here and having to do it all on your own, you can really see who has the easier life. They always expect that we will bring tons of gifts and things but they never get us anything. I don’t like the way that Indians from America get treated in India, everything suddenly becomes more expensive because they think we won’t notice that the prices are more expensive than normal. Sat, 22 Jan 2011 15:45:13 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/01/18/what-characteristics-would-you-give-your-race-blog-2/#IDComment122990917