Native Americans are placed in pitiable reservations that provide less the mediocre living conditions for them. The footage show in class of the reservation and the living conditions was horrid. The homeless shelters are better kept than the reservations. The people in this country should direct their attention towards helping the people at home (Native Americans, homeless, etc.) before helping the people in other countries. We have to help ourselves before we help others.
The demonstration made me think about what white supremacy now stood for in present day. I came to the conclusion that the views that fell under white supremacy were no longer the predominant views they used to be. The class is composed of a large number of white people as well, but being white did not incline them to choose for the Native American girl to give up her seat for the white girl, thus the views of white supremacy were not as present and important. I questioned why the views of white supremacy were no longer strong as before; are people more inclined to choose what is fair over what if it fair for a white person not to have his or her way? I was very content with the outcome of this exercise because the majority of people chose what was fair. I think it is safe to say first come first serve. The Native Americans were the original inhabitants of what is now known as America; therefore they should be upheld with utmost respect and value (Sorry to people who think otherwise.) It is funny how the Native Americans are in fact not valued or respected for that matter. In this country the Native Americans are treated like immigrants are being treated; they are not being treated at all.
Thinking back at the discussion we had in the beginning of the semester about Native Americans and their place in this country I still stand by what I thought before, that Native Americans are the rightful people of the United States and that as a result of this they should not be giving anything up for the white people. The demonstration we had in class with the three Native Americans girls and the three white girls and the giving up or maintaining the seat was an eye opener with the clicker question. The clicker question asked if we believed that the Native American girl should give up their seats for the white girl. I presumed that most people would answer with the Native American girl giving up her seat for the white girl; however I was wrong seeing that a majority of people believed that the Native American girl should keep her seat. I do not know why I thought that people would choose that the Native American girl should give up her seat, I assume it is because I thought that people were still under the impression that white supremacy stands above everything else.
Back in the day, like the time of our grandparents gays and lesbians were a taboo. Gays and lesbians were looked down maybe because there were not many who were open about their sexual preference. When gays and lesbians started speaking out and the gay and lesbian movements became more frequent there were those who saw the light and became more accepting of homosexuality. They realized that not everyone was heterosexual and that homosexuality was emerging and was gradually going to become an important aspect in society.
I believe that we should try to show empathy, especially with the soldiers who are risking their lives for us. Homosexuality might not be what God had originally intended, but people shouldn’t be critical of the lives other live.
We have to put ourselves in the soldier’s shoes. It must have been a struggle letting go of loved ones and getting deployed. Getting deployed is probably one of the most difficult things to do; not knowing if you will come back alive or dead in a coffin. The soldiers are not guaranteed returning to the arms of their loved ones. The soldiers’ are risking their lives for us and at the same time are setting aside their own lives. The least we can do is respect their wishes to love whoever it is he or she wants to love.
Times are changing and we have to change accordingly. I am not saying we should change our morals and values but we should change the intensity by which we stick to our morals and values. We should not be as uptight.
The person one chooses to love should not be subject to criticism. People should be entitled to choose who they want to spend the rest of their life with whether they decide to cross the social norm boundary and fall in love and date someone of the same sex. Whereas most people are not for same sex couples they should at least be understanding and not as critical about it. In regards to the video of the soldier kissing his boyfriend, I feel as if it is appropriate and acceptable. I support same sex anything. They are people too and have the right to do what they want with whoever it is they want. Those who serve our country should sure as hell be able to fall in love and do what they want. I am pretty sure that if this was a heterosexual couple displaying this form of affection it would not be as controversial probably because heterosexual couples are the norm, but in this day and age we are living in a time era that is far from normal. The soldier is just displaying his affection to his loved one as anybody would when seeing his or her beloved after a long period of time.
I feel like this is more of a problem for women than men. Women tend to get their hair done all the time or they are always thinking about getting their hair done. Women worry more about looking good because women are always at competition with each other. Hair salons not being able to tend to the hair of minorities is a setback for us because we have to wait until we go home or ask one of friends who knows how to handle the type of hair we have. I do not get my hair done here; I wait until I go home. I am very happy with my stylist back home and will forever remain a loyal costumer.
I do not blame the barber shops or salons at State College at all, like I previously mentioned, they are not exposed to minorities on a daily basis so they do not know what to do with their hair. And I highly doubt people in State College would want to open food joints that serve ethnic food because they would not know what to serve or how to prepare the food. The Minorities that attend Penn State knew that this was PWS and that they would not be accommodated as the wished.
In regards to Mexican food, Chipotle is the only Mexican food joint I know and possibly the only restaurant with typical Hispanic foods like beans, rice, and tortillas. Chipotle is not a true Mexican restaurant; it is much Americanized. Mexican food is not like the food they serve at Chipotle although it is similar. For many Hispanics like myself, it is one the places I go to when I want to get a taste of home.
State College does not cater to the needs of the hair of minorities. The salons and barber shops are very accustomed to dealing with white people hair because it is a predominately white city. I do not blame them for not being able to properly cut and style minorities’ hair because they are not usually exposed to them as much as they are to white people. It is unfortunate that they are unable to properly take care of minorities’ hair because they end up losing business, but then again they cannot do much about it unless they take classes that teach them how to deal with different hair types.
From my perspective, State College does not cater to the needs of the minorities as much as it should. State College is a predominately white city particularly because it is in the state of Pennsylvania, one of the whitest states in the country. State College does not accommodate the minorities in regards to restaurants or even fast food shops that can prepare a dish that resembles that of the dishes prepared back home. However, State College does have some restaurants or food joints that are ethnic per say. I know there are places to eat that serve Indian, Chinese, Vietnamese, or Mexican food. However, these places are not very propagandized seeing that the people that live here would not really know much about eating ethnic food… I would assume that white people do not always go eat out to these places possibly once or twice a year, and due to this reason the food joints are not getting as recognized thus, people do not know about them they go downtown and walk around or search it up on Google.
For example, when a white person goes to a different country the inhabitants of that country react in a different manner with a white person than with an Asian. If the white person goes to a restaurant the service changes in the sense that the waiters make sure to cater to the white person before everyone else. Even in a different country a white person stands above everyone else, and those of Asian descent have higher SAT scores and better jobs but they do not sew that, all they look at is the “whiteness” of a person.
I feel like no matter where, when, or with who white people will always be at an advantage. They are regarded to be high and that will not change not now or ever. I guess us black and brown people will just have to deal and work harder, think faster,and overall moves faster.
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Experiment