My opinion about illegal immigration before this class was pretty simple. I understood the fact that these people are trying desperately to make a good life for their families and for themselves. They (immigrants) are risking literally everything to come to the United States and try to find work so that they can send the money back home, wherever that is. I think for all intents and purposes in this discussion, we seem to be talking about illegal immigrants from Mexico. In my experiences, undocumented workers go through so many hardships. My mom works at a horse farm and works with men from Mexico who are illegal and undocumented. I have gotten to know some of them and they are some of the nicest people that I have met. Obviously there is a tough language barrier, but it works both ways and we try our best to get past it. My mom will tell me that these guys work harder than so many people that she knows, and they are paid so poorly because they are immigrants. So with the class that we had about illegal immigration, my views have not been altered too much from what I believed already. I am not the type of person that says “We should deport every Mexican” and things like that, although there are those people in the United States. One of the biggest things that Sam stressed was that these illegal immigrants are people. No matter which way you look at it, they are and they should be treated like people. One of the most interesting things that I look back on regarding this topic is something that happened to me over winter break. I was driving down a very snowy road and noticed that a truck had slid off and the driver was trying all by himself to get it back on the road. No one else was helping him. Not the police, not anyone. I stopped and got out because I had a shovel in my car and thought I’d give him a hand. The man was of some sort of Hispanic descent and could not speak English. Although I could not communicate very well, we were able to get his truck back on the road. I always think to myself, if I was discriminatory towards immigrants such as this man appeared to be, I probably would not have helped him, and that made me feel pretty good about myself. So when people ask me what I think about illegal immigration, I am never quite sure of the answer. I think the biggest thing that I can stress is that they are people, and need to be treated like that by so many more people.

One of the biggest problems that I see from this situation is the fact that Americans do not acknowledge what Native Americans went through and what they had to give up so that we can have what we have today. What this obviously brings up is the discussion about mascots in sports that revolve around Native American names. Sports teams such as the “Redskins” are actually offensive to those who trace their ancestry to those who died because they only wanted to stay on their land instead of giving it up to the white man who only wanted the land so that they could expand in the attempt to gain fortune and gold. When I always used to think about mascots in sports and Native American nicknames

I cannot imagine someone coming to my house and saying that if I do not give up our land, that I will be killed. However, back in the day that was allowed and somehow we seem to forget that today. Today we hear about the problems felt by the African American, Mexican, and all the other communities. It is funny to me that we do not hear the complaints of Native Americans, who have honestly given up more than anyone else in history. It is also weird that I do not, on a daily basis, hear the complaints of people who have had everything taken away from them. Hearing this argument today actually opened my eyes big time because I never seriously thought that Native Americans were facing such hardships and troubles.

I never thought that the names given to the teams would be actually offensive to people who would watch them play. For example, if there was a team known as the Philadelphia, and do not judge me here, “Niggers,” obviously this would not pass and it would not be allowed to be a mascot name. However, a derogatory name such as the Redskins is allowed because the plight of the Native American population has not been blown up to the extent that the racism of every other race has been. This lecture really opened my eyes to this.

One, I am a big fan of Dave Matthews so hearing “Don’t Drink the Water” was a big plus for me. However, I had never thought about what the lyrics of the song really meant. Now, I am not sure that they completely were referring to the way that white men removed Native Americans from their homes and their reservations, but they were definitely aimed in that direction. The lyrics actually spoke to me, as dumb as that sounds. The way that Native Americans were removed from their land and forced to give up everything that they had established in the, what is now, United States of America was so wrong and morally objectionable.

What do I think about terrorism and terrorists after the lecture? I honestly can say that I feel exactly the same way as I did before. I believe that everything that terrorists stand for (and by terrorists I am assuming we are talking about the ones from the Middle East, such as those who committed the attacks on September 11) is completely wrong. I know that they may say that they are doing it because their god wishes them to. This is unbelievable to me. A god, whichever you believe in and instill your faith in, is there to help shape one’s moral values. There is nothing moral about taking the lives of another person. I don’t care which god you believe in, there just simply isn’t. The one thing that I can sort of understand from the point of citizens in the Middle East, not on the basis of terrorism, but rather their interpretation of the United States. I can understand how we might look like the enemy when we are unleashing war and destroying countries. Where I think the lecture took this point too far is where Sam said that you can understand why citizens would support the terrorists. I just know that this is not the case. Yes, some people may support terrorism, but it is a very small number. Believe it or not, there are a lot of level minded people in the world who do not make generalizations and stereotypes of different groups of people. Just like how I, an American citizen, know that the whole Middle East is not full of terrorists, many Middle Eastern citizens know that most Americans are not on a crusade to convert people to Christianity. We get so wrapped up by actions by one individual or a small group that we think that everyone like them must be the same way. This is prejudice at its finest. During a World in Conversation discussion that I was involved in during the fall semester, we talked about US-Middle East relations. One of the best points that I heard brought up is how there are Christian radicals just as there are radical Muslims. However, these are not discussed because they are not seen as the “enemy.” I can totally see where this is validated. I am sure that there are plenty of folks in the Middle East who view America as the enemy. But I am also confident that there are plenty of people who do not feel that way at all, and see us simply as people. There will probably always be tensions between the United States and the Middle East. What we need to do is reach a point where we can go without seeing the other as the enemy.

This is a difficult question to answer, which is kind of sad I guess. I am a white guy and of course it both offends me and makes me feel uncomfortable when I see people making racist comments or even making racial slurs towards another person. Now, this is where it gets difficult. On one hand, I completely disagree with what they say. On the other, I am not a very outspoken person so I might just not say anything at all. In no way is this agreeing with the person or me being a “bad person” for not stopping the actions from being taken. I have plenty of friends who unfortunately think it is ok to throw around racist and sexist slurs without thinking about it. I know that deep down they don’t actually feel that way towards different types of people, but that doesn’t make it ok. I don’t actually feel that way and I am able to compose myself and not say stupid things to impress people or make them laugh. Essentially, what it all comes down to is that I know that I am not racist and that I don’t make those sorts of comments. That is good enough for me. In this world, there is only so much that you can control. I find that it is a lot easier to just worry about myself than trying to convince people that doing certain things are wrong. Some people are dead set in their ways and there is no changing that. One of the brothers in my fraternity is what many people would deem a redneck. He loves hunting, fishing, and country music. Another thing that he loves to do is throw around the n word. It has gotten to the point with me that when he says it I don’t even think about it. No matter what I do, his ideology is set. However, I think he does it much more for attention and so that people will be like “oh, he must be from the South.” I only think this because I’ve seen him actually be very civil around black people and around people of other races. The biggest problem is that racial slurs such as nigger have been thrown around so much that they are losing their touch. Obviously, if a white guy calls a black guy by this term then there will be an uproar. But, then why is ok for black people to use it and throw it around all the time. The more that terms such as this (and even slut, whore, etc.) are thrown around casually, the less meaning they will have. This is why I don’t get involved when people use racial slurs. It simply isn’t worth my time.

The diversity here at Penn State actually reflects my high school pretty closely. Last I heard, the percentage of white students at Penn State is around 83 percent. This is very close to my high school, except we were actually higher in that category. My home town is actually around 92 percent white. That reflects my high school pretty well. We didn’t have many black students at all. If anything, most of our “diversity” came from Asian students. When I was looking at schools, which isn’t really fair because I only wanted to go to Penn State, diversity never played a factor in where I looked. For example, I wouldn’t have picked another school over Penn State because they are more diverse. I don’t think that there is anything wrong with a very diverse school, but it is nice going to a school where the area is very close to where I grew up which helps me feel more comfortable going here. I don’t’ feel like the diversity here at Penn State is an issue. I feel like Penn State gives a lot more kids a shot at an education than a lot of other schools and try to accommodate people with things such as the satellite schools. They are able to reach out to many different types of students and have more diversity than a lot of schools that I know of. I also believe that this is one of the things that has made Penn State such a premier university. They provide job opportunities and networking to students that if they went to a smaller school, may not have any of those opportunities or advantages. Also, Penn State as a whole shares something that I didn’t come across at any other school. The “Penn State Pride” that is hyped up on every tour and campus visit is so true. Never once have I seen someone say anything derogatory towards another person if they are a student here or are wearing a Penn State shirt. It’s a brotherhood/sisterhood that goes much deeper than skin color. When we are at a football game, I don’t think there’s anyone who says, “I’m not sitting next to that black guy” or something along those lines. We are one unit pulling for/representing our school. The story of how the We Are Penn State saying came to be is one of my favorites and represents this very well. When the football team was set to play SMU in the Cotton Bowl in 1948, SMU asked that Penn State play without Wally Triplett, Penn State’s first African American starter. Steve Suhey responded “We are Penn State,” implying you either get all of us or none of us. While I won’t say we live in a perfect place where there is absolutely no racism, the diversity here is definitely something to be proud of.

Something like affirmative action is created with good intentions, obviously. The thing is, it feels like in todays day and age that it might be going too far. As a white person, I feel like I actually have so much less going for me when I want to get a job because corporations are shoving diversity down the throats of employers, who may not end up looking at who is more qualified for the position. In turn, they may end up giving someone a job solely because they are not white, which contradicts the idea of equal and fair employment opportunities. I feel that as a white male, I have even less going for me because now women are viewed as those who should get the job over a male. This has impacted me the most when it comes to college selection and getting accepted to schools. While I do not think that I have directly felt the effects of not getting into a school because I am white, I think that definitely plays a role in today’s admissions process. I don’t think that race or ethnicity should even be included on an admissions application. Admission to a school should be based entirely on whether you are more qualified than another person and whether you meet the criteria for the school or not. Nowadays, schools will try to meet quotas that are set forth by God only knows who. They will go into admissions with a mindset that they want, say, 10% of their acceptances to be black. Maybe they have to turn down that many white, or Asian, or Hispanic students who are better qualified in order to meet this quota. This is a hypothetical situation, but it does happen and it is wrong. It is just like getting a job. The only criteria that they should judge a potential candidate on are their credentials and whether those credentials meet the standards of the institution. The NFL put into effect the Rooney Rule, where NFL teams are required to interview minority candidates when looking for a new head coach. There is much opposition to this within the league because many teams feel that they already have their ideal coach selected when they decide to fire their current one. This leads to them holding sham interviews with a minority candidate, who has no hope of gaining the job because they already know who they want. I don’t believe that is the way to gain equality. I honestly think that is pretty demeaning to have to interview someone who has no shot at a job. This is where affirmative action has gone too far. Equality in education and employment should be based off of merit, not your race.

I don’t think that it is necessarily selfish for poor people to have children because having kids is an act of bringing another life into the world and some people give up a lot in order to do that. So in that case, it is not selfish whatsoever. Giving life to another individual is the definition of the most selfless act that a person can commit. The only thing that I can think that it could possibly be interpreted as is irresponsible. I think that it is irresponsible to bring a kid into the world who is going to struggle because you don’t have the financial means to support them. Whenever you make the decision to have a child, you not only have to think about what is best for your current situation, but you must also think about how the child is going to grow up and how they as individuals are going to be shaped by what they are given. This goes back to our discussion about determinism. If a child is born into very bad poverty, they are far less likely to succeed than someone who is born into a family that can provide many more opportunities. If we look at the video that we saw in class, the son of Tammy is clearly frustrated with the situation that he is in, but it seems like he is doing his best to make the most out of his life and the best to perfect himself as a person. He tries to dress well, present himself well, and do well academically; all of these aspects can help lead to a promising future. I think the only thing that he needs is to recognize how much his mother is trying to provide for the family by walking to work every day for 10.5 miles each way. I’m not going to lie, I don’t think I could possibly do that. It is also tough to hear how hard he tries in school, only to hear him say that he is not “Harvard material.” He will never be that because he simply does not have the money to say that. Unfortunately, in today’s world the rich are those who are able to succeed. It is a vicious cycle. Those who are stuck in poor areas and families who are doing their best to get out have a ton of trouble doing so because the current system of higher education is swayed towards the upper and middle classes. So, those who are trying to escape the lower class lifestyle have all the chips stacked against them. In conclusion, it isn’t selfish in the least to have children if you are poor. If anything, it is somewhat irresponsible unless you instill the sense in them that they can succeed and get out of the current surroundings.