I am a Christian, but a very liberal one at that. I was raised catholic but I do not identify with them anymore and would prefer to just call myself just Christian. But I have learned about Islam and Judaism and I know that all three religions (including Christianity) believe in the same one God. Yes they all call him different names and claim that he is their own, but if you step outside of your own religion for a minute and take the time to learn about the others, you can see just how similar these three are. They do have different ways of worship and different prophets, but they really believe in the same God. So I think it is completely ridiculous when someone says that their ‘Christian God’ would support the war against Muslims and Allah.
Secondly, I find it hard to believe that any god would support the killing and forging of war in the pursuit of a valuable resource like oil. I have not read the Bible, but I did go to CCD for seven years as well as go to church. And not once did I ever hear or read anything that promoted violence. If there were people that did not believe in God, we were always told that they would suffer after they died, not by the hands of people. The only thing I ever learned was that you should try to help people discover God and do the right thing. Everything was about helping people and letting them take their own path towards evil if they so wished, not bombing an entire nation because of the heinous horrific acts of a few. If you are going to do that you might as well bomb the whole world because every nation and every religion has radicals, but those that are Christian do not get the coverage that Muslims do because they are the majority. I know that Catholics are against abortion and say it is a sin, but never does God or Jesus guide people to bomb abortion clinics. But some radical Christians do, and that is not widely covered by the media. Catholicism was one of the most destructive religions when it was at the height of its power, but that is not talked about anymore. Nor are the many pedophiles that are priests and covered up by the Catholic Church, but you do not see anyone rioting, picketing or bringing any destruction to any parishes. These entities are the majority or hold so much power that they are not attacked and blamed like Muslims are. They are stigmatized and used to invoke fear. If people would maybe actually learn about Islam and come to see the similarities, maybe they would realize it is not the religion but the radicals that just use the religion as a motive and to control their followers. I think accurate education would help people to see the truth behind these problems rather than the horrible media coverage that is used for war propaganda.

The scandal at Penn State is appalling. I can’t even fathom the evil that Jerry Sandusky committed, but what kills me more is how so many people covered it up, including Joe Paterno. There are crazy people out there and unfortunately they will exist in our society and they need to be punished, but usually it is a mental fantasy/illness that overwhelms them. By no means am I excusing what he did because I think he deserves torture, but what sickens me more, and makes me lose even more faith in humanity is how so many people knew about what he was doing and allowed him to continue to do so. Each person that knew had a moral obligation and a duty to protect other future victims. I can’t believe the ignorant people saying JoePa should not have been fired. He ran the football administration; do you really think he did not know what was going on? He even admitted he wishes he had done more. The whole situation is despicable.
Personally I could never cover anything like that up. I could not live with myself knowing what I was enabling but not going to the police. It makes me upset that so many upstanding men threw everything away to try to preserve something so heinous. It was not worth it, and I am sure any one of them would admit that. Had they turned him in initially it would have been much less of a scandal and look less bad on the university.
I have learned how it feels to be stigmatized. Penn State students (and anyone associated with the school) are being stigmatized just for their association with the school. Most people do not understand what happened and do not pass extreme judgment. But there are those that have written us all off as pedophiles and horrible people and that hurts. I have taken a greater sense of pride and defense in our school. The rest of us are innocent and trying to cope and move forward and right whatever wrongs are in our power to do.
I have also learned the importance of speaking up, be it as a witness, victim or whatever, you must speak up to protect yourself and others.
I have also learned how even when something so horrible happens, there is a resolve and hope in people that will withstand the strongest of storms. The candle light vigil, the moment of silence and Blue Out at the Nebraska game; are just some examples of how the students and school try to give what we can to the victims. That is respect and acknowledgement. There is not much we can do for them personally unfortunately. But we can do that for them and keep them in our prayers. This has been a trying time for everyone but all we can hope for is that justice is served and we all learn and do better in the future.

I think that Sam was pretty accurate in saying that our generation is fucked. I do not know that I completely agree with his reasoning for it though. I do not think that being money crazed is a particularly unique characteristic of our generation. Although, maybe I could see that we are less grateful than previous generations because we did not live through the Great Depression and are a generation removed. Whereas in our parents case, they were often reminded of the hardships by their parents. But I think that it is a larger general attitude of our generation that scares me the most. To use the riots that have occurred here on campus as an example, I do not think that our generation takes matters as seriously as they should be taken. While it is ok to feel strongly about something, rioting usually is not what solves the issue. I do not think our generation understands how to approach problems because we have never been faced with something so individually impactful like the Great Depression as some of our previous generations have. By no means am I neglecting 9/11 in that statement, that was something awful our generation will never forget and has left a scar on our nation, but I do not think it had the same impact on people that the Great Depression had, for example. This may actually be what Sam was talking about when he mentioned our egos. He did not explicitly say it, but I think he meant (and I agree with) that our generation has an arrogance and ignorance that will greatly hold us back.
Our generation is guilty of blaming others as well and I think we lack the ability to accept the consequences of our actions. While we are inheriting a lot of problems from previous generations and no, it is not fair that we are, there is no way around that. Every generation has had to do that since the beginning of this nation. We cannot just sit here and complain about what is going on and riot and hope someone makes it all better. There is no one listening, just laughing at those doing that. What we need to do is actually do something. Not complain, but act to make things better. Yes, change does not occur overnight but movements like the occupy movement and riots are to gain awareness. While they do accomplish that, they really do not change anything. Do you think the people on Wall Street are just going to say “yeah you are right, I will give you the money I have made.” No. I am not saying there is an easy solution for that and I really don’t know anything about that. But I do know that those kind of movements rarely solve the problems. Most of the time the actual problem isn’t even explicit. Stop complaining and start opening your eyes and do something to help yourself, because all of us have seen that no one is going to help you. And if we all worked to improve ourselves, well wouldn’t we be improving a lot of the nation then? You can’t change everyone, so start small so we aren’t all fucked.

New immigrants have always come into our country socially and economically at the bottom of the totem pole. No one comes to this country, or any country for that matter, and just starts at the top. Every ethnicity is looked down upon when they first come here, and they have to start from scratch and make a name for themselves. Creating this path is not easy or glamorous for those first people and it may take a while before many of them move up in the socioeconomic ladder. For example, when the Italians or Irish came here, they were made fun of and took the lowest paying, grunt work jobs that no one else wanted. My great grandfather came here from Italy to make money for his family to join him, by working in a coal mine. That is not a glamorous job and is comparable to farm work or other types of hard labor done today by Mexicans and other latino immigrants. No one already here wants to do these jobs because they feel that because they were born here, they are entitled to a better like and better jobs. Their ancestors already went through that and they probably have a bit better life already set out here for them, because they are not immigrants themselves.
Like Sam said in class, immigrants are very hungry for a better life than what they had back home. Even if it does not seem good by any means to most Americans, it is probably still better than what they had experienced at home, otherwise they would not come here. These immigrants worked hard to get here and do not want to waste that by being lazy. They want to take full advantage of what American has to offer to them. Even if that means these hard labor jobs because they do not have the skills to do other jobs, than that is still something they are grateful for. Mexicans and other latinos are our era’s popular immigrants and it is really no different than the many waves of different people that have come to the United States in the past. People did just as bad, if not worse jobs, like new immigrants do now then as well. But now, we do not like to consider these menial jobs that are completely necessary for our society and economy to function, but just do not get talked about. Some examples would be a trash man, or a produce picker, or anything of that sort. While they are not ideal careers, they still need someone to do them and new immigrants tend to fill that need. Most new immigrants from poor countries are not picky about what job they do, they just want a job and to make a better life for themselves and their families. This trend with latinos is nothing new, people just forget about what has been going on in our nation for a long time, because the last big waves of immigrants most of us were not around for.

If immigration suddenly came to a halt the United States would be in big trouble. To effectively replace your population and sustain your society, a nation’s growth rate must be 2.1%. This is the ideal and currently the United States is right around there but only because of immigration. Our birth rate is not enough to sustain this ideal growth rate, and it is too low. But because we have enough immigrants coming to the United States every year, we are able to keep this up and not grow much, but keep our population right about where it is at now. So if immigration stopped, our population would start decreasing which would cause a lot of problems. When a nation does not replace its population, it eventually has more elderly people and not enough working age people to support them and the young. This lack of workers increases competition and causes wages to increase, which in turn drives up prices and severely affects the economy. This is the problem China will soon be facing. This kind of population growth puts a lot of strain on the working age citizens and may not be enough to meet the demands of the market. I guess the United States could combat this with increasing the birth rate, but it would still take some 18 years for those babies to be of use in the economy. Not to mention that there would really be no social security or Medicaid left because with so many elderly taking out of the system, and so few working people putting into it, those wells would dry up quickly. While immigration is a very controversial topic, it is more the illegal versus legal argument that should be had rather than immigration versus no immigration because our country could not function as it does now without immigration. I think that it is also wrong for any United States citizen to support stopping immigration because unless you are 100% Native American, you either immigrated here or are a descendant of someone who immigrated here. Our country was founded by immigrants and for immigrants (as we saw the statue of liberty poem today in class welcoming immigrants) and we cannot just decide to stop that without suffering the consequences. Plus, it is very hypocritical. I think that all immigrants should be legal, but that we need immigrants nonetheless. While illegal immigrants keep some prices of certain products really low, there are a lot of problems that they cause from national security having so many people unaccounted for, to taking away from our health care and education systems without putting into them by paying for taxes like any other legal citizens. In conclusion, the US was founded on immigration and would be in a very bad situation without it.

I do not think that my race has shaped how I see the world. I think it more so has shaped how I have experienced the world. My race, being white, has sheltered me from the direct racism and bad feelings experienced by others. I always knew that racism and inequality existed, but I did not know how bad it was or where all it was apparent, probably because I was never the target of the racism. I think that my community shaped how I viewed the races in the world more than my race. Growing up in a suburban town, everyone was in about the same situation and we never came across any serious racism. While of course racist comments may have been said, there was no extreme discrimination that I saw.
I do not think that being white makes me feel any different than any other race, in the US. I do not come from an extreme amount of white privilege and my family was not rich, so I did not see the “supremacy” of my race or family and friends. I think that all races are racist and in the wrong at some point, but they also have a lot of not-racist people. I do not see as many differences between our races as some people do. I will admit that I would probably have a more negative view of the world if I had been a target of racism and discrimination, but not necessarily from being a different race. I could have experienced racism from other races as a white person, and would have a more negative view of other races around the world. Racism can come from any person. None of it is really justified, but people can have bad experiences with anyone, regardless of race, but race, or religion or gender are the characteristics that tend to be blamed. Probably because we do not want to bother actually evaluating the situations, but rather go with the easy cope out. I try to stay open-minded and look beyond those easy characteristics to blame and see what really the root of the discrimination or offense is. My sociology classes have helped me to realize this and attempt to think about all the factors and forces that are affecting people. Since taking Sam’s SOC 001 class last semester, and SOC 110 and 119 this semester, I can honestly say I have taken the ‘invisible strings’ idea and applied it to many interactions and people I have had. I think there are many forces beyond race that are better at shaping our views of the world.

Today’s lecture on being white was really interesting today. I really liked the concept of the different levels of race acceptance and ideology. Personally, I think I am somewhere between 3 and 4, maybe like 3.5. I do not necessarily feel the white guilt that goes along with stage 3, because I have never really done anything that put me at an advantage over another race, solely based on race. I do get angry with the white people that are very racist, but not necessarily all white people. I probably do try to act like the “cool white person” sometimes and try to relate and get along with other races. And I feel the anger towards minorities that comes along with stage 4. I think that white racism is always the racism everyone thinks about when racism is mentioned. This is fair because in the history of our country white racism against blacks and minorities has been the most obvious one with slavery, all the issues that followed, and the issue with the Japanese during World War II, for a couple examples. But what tends to be forgotten, or ignored, is the racism towards white people from other races. No there has not been any legislation or significant events for this like the racism from white people, but it does not mean that is any less present. Or the guilt that other races try to put on white people, innocent white people that were not a part of the atrocities in the past, nor have they exhibited any glaring reason to show they are racist. So yes, I do feel anger sometimes, but it goes to white people and other races. I am angry at people that are racist or think they owe anyone or are owed anything from other people. The best we can do is to acknowledge that race is something that shapes us. But we need to be able to look past it in our interactions with other people and take them as individuals. I think race should be more of a characteristic like hair color, than a stereotype. Yes there are inequalities, but they exist for everyone. The reason I do not really put myself into 5 yet is because I do not necessarily agree with the blaming of institutions for racial inequality. Yes there are some examples I’m sure that are true, and obviously those in the past. But I think the institutionalized inequality is more socioeconomically based than racially based. The institutions may sometimes use race as a cover, but really they are trying to keep down the poor and middle class rather than one specific race. I think everyone is to blame for how race is viewed and treated in our society, and that everyone should feel guilty and angry about it, not just one race. We all know what is right and wrong when it comes to prejudices, why don't we actually exhibit it then?

This is a really hard question and I’m not entirely sure I can really choose one way or the other right now. I completely support choice and freedom to be whatever gender you want. But on the other hand, that is a lot of pressure for a child to deal with and would call for some serious growing up when they are young. But you could also make it extremely hard for the child if you pick wrong and they have to overcome their gender and change again. As a parent I know I would feel horrible if they were unhappy with either one.
Personally though, I think I would choose one gender. You have a 50% chance of getting it right and not having to put the burden of choosing a gender on your child. Which in this case are pretty good odds compared to the 100% chance that they will struggle a lot with deciding what gender they would like to be, as well as the torment from other people and children that accompany gender confusion. Hopefully there would be one sex that was biologically and hormonally more dominant than the other and I would go with that one because there would be a greater chance of being the sex they will feel they are. If not, I would go with whatever required less surgical correction. I would feel awful if I chose wrong, but I think if I had the chance to save my child from the difficulties and lack of acceptance that would come from their peers, I would definitely take the risk that they may want to change gender again someday.
I would of course give them the freedom to choose their gender further down the road when they are older if that is what they wish. But I would give my completely female or completely male children this option as well, and not just limit it to hermaphrodites because many people without biological sex ambiguity have gender ambiguity. I would just want my kids to be happy, and honestly, I know it sounds horrible to say, but I really hope I do not have to deal with these kinds of issues with my children. It is not by any means because I think this is wrong, but I think it would just be a lot easier if their biological sex matched the gender they felt they are. I agree with what Sam said in class, about how his gay friends say they hope their children aren’t gay. It is purely out of love. They know there is a lot of struggle to be accepted and with many other things, and do not want to wish those difficulties on their children if they can avoid it. Life is hard enough without gender identity problems, and I just would not want to make their lives any harder if I could help it.

After the lecture about international socioeconomic situations, especially with Haiti and the Haiti project we’re working on, I think that the best aid for the United States to give is something that really benefits the nation in multiple ways, not just a handout of money. I think one form of aid that would really help people is ideas and plans for them to utilize in their industries. I think the Chinese proverb “Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime,” is true and applies to this. If we give people money that do not know how to use it, it will not help them once the money is gone. But if we gave them better ideas to work with the resources they have so that they can make more money themselves, they will benefit much more in the long run. This also guarantees that the aid will be used for its intended purpose and by the intended recipient. Sometimes in developing nations, especially in Africa, the money does not get to the people that need it most, but taken by the corrupt governments. Or people may abuse the handouts and waste it. This forces the people to take their own fate in their hands and work to make their lives better. If there was a way to create connections and network for people in developing nations to companies in the United States that might help them spread their businesses that would also be a great way to help them. Connections are very valuable and may really make a difference for the small business owner who needs cheaper supplies or a larger market of people to sell their products to.
Another beneficial form of aid would be micro-financing. This would be a way to give money to people that really need it for their businesses and allow them to develop their own ideas but force them to work hard so that they can pay back the loan. It would not be simply a handout and would make the recipient a better worker, entrepreneur, etc because of it. It develops sound financial management techniques that are required to efficiently running a business. This is also another way to ensure that funds get to their intended recipients and that they are not intercepted by some corrupt middleman.
Yet another way to help would be to send supplies to people. Anything would be good: from water and food to clothes, computers, and raw materials for different industries. These would be great for people who are in serious poverty that really need the help. I don’t think this should be used for everyone though because I don’t think handouts are all that beneficial.
In my opinion, anything that helps people to help themselves rather than rely on others, would be a good form of aid.

I am really happy that Sam has put this project into our curriculum. It is great to be in a class that we will not just learn but actually use our resources to help people. Students are a great resource to utilize in getting stuff done, especially with a class that has so many students. I really enjoyed reading about the different entrepreneurs and watching their videos. They are all very talented and really have great ideas. I am excited to be able to help with the connections and supplies they need to allow them to continue to build and expand their companies with success. I am still unsure what exactly we will do, but this is really getting me thinking about how to help them. I am pretty interested in the bag, clothing and shoe designers. Their products are gorgeous but they need to find a way to get cheaper supplies. I hope that we can find some wholesale companies here that will partner up with them to accomplish this. It is really inspiring to see these people trying to follow a dream and really working hard at making it a reality. They have already gone 90% of the way with the effort and it is our job to step in and give them a little help. I am trying to think what would be more beneficial for them. Would micro-financing for machines and supplies be best? Or would trying to find a company in the US that sells cheap paint or material help out more in the long run? Possibly could we try to find used equipment that people could donate here in the US and ship it down? There seem to be endless possibilities for this project, it is so hard choosing who to help and what to do to help them. I would like to work with either Clorene, Anaes or Yvrose, but I am really open to anyone because they all need our help. I think we could really have an impact on their businesses and I look forward to working with my group and hearing their ideas and plans to help someone. I’m curious though as to see how the class splits up. Are we assigned to one person or is there some distribution requirement so there aren’t too many sections working with one person, and none with another? I would like to know what these people think of us. I know they will welcome the help. I think it would be cool to post a video of our class or our groups to show them who we are and how happy we are to help them follow their dreams of building their own businesses.