en-us https://www.intensedebate.com/users/2430252 Comments by philly23 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/04/19/why-does-society-dislike-immigrants-and-why-are-they-portrayed-badly-119-blog/#IDComment145247346 I believe that immigrants are disliked because they slow up the pace of life and they do not reflect the societal “norm”. They may speak with a very heavy accent and it is hard to communicate with them sometimes. People who have been born and raised in the United States have grown up knowing the values and tradition of America. People who have just gotten here have not been as immersed into our culture as those who have grown up here. I would have to say that illegal aliens are more “hated” on then regular immigrants. Regular immigrants portray what America is all about. Coming to America legally and trying to become a success. Illegal immigrants come here and exploit our countries tax money. Sam mentioned that illegals pay taxes to the government which only a fraction of them really do. Many of the illegals who work in America work under the table, not with a fake Social Security Card. People do not want to see that their tax money is being used to school foreigners. They do not want to see their tax money being used to care for some illegal immigrant who shouldn’t have been here in the first place. This is why many people dislike immigrants. In today’s day and age there is a huge dispute over illegal immigration in America. Stories on the news about illegal immigrants killing United States citizens scare the general public. Being a newcomer to a nation which is weary of foreigners isn’t the easiest transition someone could make. I could not imagine being an immigrant in another country. It would be very hard for me to start a whole new life somewhere else. I respect all those who have legally come to America. With the war on drugs going on in America it makes the public even more uneasy when it comes to immigrants, especially those Latinos. These drug cartels are recruiting Americans now to help them bring drugs into America. These “mules” traffic mass amount of drugs over the border. The illegal aliens who recruit American citizens are criminalizing our citizens and the situation needs to be properly dealt with. Border security is not as much an issue with our neighbors to the north, Canada, because there is a less amount of drugs crossing into the United States. Not to mention the fact that Canada is a wealthier nation than Mexico. Illegal immigration is wrong but as Sam says, I understand why people do it. The American dream is still alive and it isn’t a bad thing to have a country in which you need to keep people from coming in. It is an oasis to the world, a dream. We were lucky enough to be born into it. Fri, 22 Apr 2011 23:56:05 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/04/19/why-does-society-dislike-immigrants-and-why-are-they-portrayed-badly-119-blog/#IDComment145247346 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/04/14/what-does-it-say-about-our-society-if-schools-are-more-segregated-now-than-in-the-1970s-119-blog/#IDComment143200551 This is a tough question. I believe the reason this “segregation” is occurring is due to condensed poverty in many major cities across the country. Many of these impoverished neighborhoods are the homes of immigrants and minorities. Many of these people are economically “tied behind their backs” (if you will) and cannot afford to send their children to private schools so they send them to the public school which is filled with other children from the neighborhood. Another possible reason for this increase in “segregation” is due to the fact that the 1970’s directly followed the civil rights movements across the country. Many white schools were forced to integrate with the black schools allowing a more diverse school. After 40 years in a free nation people seem to live how they want to live. In the public school system it is all about where you live. If you live in a condensed poverty section of the city you will more likely go to school with many minorities. If you live in the countryside you will probably go to school with many white people. The most diverse schools in my opinion are the ones that are in the suburbs directly outside of a city. For instance, one of the public high schools near my house is very diverse. This suburb is the one right next to West Philadelphia. In these areas you get all sorts of people who migrated from the city or who is on the other side of town further into the suburbs. One day in class Sam showed us a demonstration on how the whites came and stayed in power. The “king of the hill” approach could be used to show how minorities struggle to get out of impoverished neighborhoods. They have a lack of resources and have a disadvantage at moving up in the socio-economic scale. There isn’t much more our society can do except try to facilitate the disadvantaged by offering them more programs and resources which could help them. Public schools are free and open to all citizens. You just have to go to the same school in the district in which you live. It is all a question of where you live. This leads to another question, How much money do you have? The more money you have the better house you have. The better house you have the better the school will probably be. In order for our schools to be completely segregated the nation would have to become Communist which would be hell. The only thing that could integrate our schools more is if the minorities climbed the ladder of economic status and leveled the playing field for all people, not dependent on the color of their skin. Fri, 15 Apr 2011 19:42:21 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/04/14/what-does-it-say-about-our-society-if-schools-are-more-segregated-now-than-in-the-1970s-119-blog/#IDComment143200551 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/04/07/do-you-agree-with-foreign-aids-use-of-pictures-of-children-119-blog/#IDComment141128691 It is something you might see on a monthly, maybe even weekly basis. A child in a third world country is walking around in a filth littered area with a sad face but big beautiful eyes of innocence. They show these young children to show how much they need help. Many of these children’s parents are dead or trying to find work to help the family. Ernesto said that he does not like the commercials showing poor Haitian children, and asking for money because he believes this will only help in the short-term. I believe that Ernesto is right that donations only help in the short term, yet I find it crucial for these children to be able to eat and get educated. Many charities set up sponsorships where you can sponsor an individual child for about a dollar a day and keep them fed and going to school. I believe that showing the reality of what is going on in Haiti is vital to getting people off their butt’s so they can get to action. I felt the pride of Haiti through Ernesto and if Haiti were my country I would have the same feelings about “using” the poor children to help collect donations. Ernesto believes that the Haitian people, “need to learn how to fish instead of being given a fish.” I most definitely agree with him on that point. If you can teach someone how to earn a living instead of temporarily helping them with a couple bucks, you will help them to succeed and stabilize their lives significantly. I believe the children are used because of their innocence. Most children are innocent and vulnerable to the world around them. It is God’s decision on where someone is born and what type of world they were born into. I was born into a much more privileged world than most children born in Haiti. I personally believe that it is human nature to want to help others. Since we are young we always want to grow up and “help”. For instance when I was a young child I remember I used to follow my dad around the house on Sundays wondering if he needed help fixing things. I was probably a pain in the neck but I was always looking to help. I believe it is our duty to help people who are struggling. God forbid if anything happened in America as devastating as the Haiti earthquake I would hope there would be others out there looking to help. Bottom line, I believe Ernesto is right in that there needs to be a long term solution for the Haitians. From an American standpoint I do not disagree with the visuals of poor children because I believe it shows the real struggle going on in Haiti and influences people to donate. Sat, 9 Apr 2011 00:52:32 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/04/07/do-you-agree-with-foreign-aids-use-of-pictures-of-children-119-blog/#IDComment141128691 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/03/29/do-you-ever-feel-uncomfortable-around-two-or-more-people-speaking-another-language-119-blog/#IDComment139216571 Yes, I have most certainly felt uncomfortable around people speaking a different language. When someone speaks in another language you have no idea what they are speaking about so you naturally become paranoid. This has happened up at Penn State more than anywhere else I have lived in my life. I will be riding in an elevator or walking down the street and the people near me will be speaking a different language. Usually on the street it is not as much a big deal. While in close quarters however you begin to think, “Are they talking about me?” I usually stand there and fake it as if I knew their language but I don’t. The worst thing the foreign speaker can do while in close quarters with someone who does not understand their language is laugh. Once they laugh I immediately think that they are talking about me sarcastically or making jokes. It is just an instinctive thing for me to think like that though the probability of it being true is slight. I have never left the USA so I couldn’t tell you how I would feel in a foreign speaking country. From what I presume I believe I would feel comfortable in a foreign speaking country as long as I was with others who spoke English as well. If I was completely alone with no education on the language whatsoever I would feel VERY uncomfortable. I remember one specific event which I felt very uncomfortable because of a language barrier. When I was 11 years old my family and I went on a vacation to Disney World in Florida. One day while we were there it was raining so my parents gave me some money and I headed over to the arcade they had in the resort. While I was playing games a boy around my age came up to me speaking Spanish. I could not understand him but he grabbed my arm, brought me to the air hockey table, and took some of my quarters to play me in air hockey. I didn’t mind the first time we played but after the game was done he took some more of my money and we played again. After that game I left the arcade immediately because I did not want the kid to take any more of my money to play games I did not want to play. It was a very awkward situation at the time and I remember it specifically because my mom taught me how to say, “No hablo Espanol.” This was the first bit of Spanish I ever learned. I have learned a bit more since then and I am confident in my skills to be able to communicate on a basic level with someone who speaks that language. Fri, 1 Apr 2011 22:52:42 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/03/29/do-you-ever-feel-uncomfortable-around-two-or-more-people-speaking-another-language-119-blog/#IDComment139216571 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/03/15/have-you-ever-felt-guilt-from-being-of-a-certain-race-119-blog/#IDComment135948246 I feel that race is one of, if not THE most touchy subject to converse about. People have learned from their families and friends about their own race and the race of others. To generalize the decisions and lives of some people and then associate those decisions with others based on the color of their skin makes someone racist. So, to answer the question, no I have never felt guilty over being white, the color of my skin. I have felt sadness and sorrow for other races because of some of the hardships they have been through. It is hard to understand why some white people feel guilty for the actions of other people. I feel that the only person that can judge me, regardless of skin color, is God. I have done nothing wrong to people of other races. I didn’t go out and enslave anyone or come up with laws which put others at a disadvantage. I am white and proud to be white. There is nothing wrong with being proud of whom you are. People should be recognized by the choices they make and how they live their life. The definition of the term guilt according to dictionary.com is “the fact or state of having committed an offense, crime, violation, or wrong, especially against moral or penal law; culpability.” I have committed no offense so it is not possible for me to even feel guilt. I feel sorry for other races because they do not have this “white privilege”, yet I do not feel guilty that I do. As for other races, I do not feel like anyone should feel guilty about the color of their skin. I cannot think of one good reason as to why someone would feel guilt because of their skin color. Most people find it hard to talk about race because they do not want to offend anyone. The difficulty of talking about skin color may be misunderstood by a person which could lead them that they think they feel guilt. I will finish this blog post with a quote from Dr. Martin Luther King Junior, “I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.” Martin Luther King Junior believes in the same concept as I do. We both believe that a person should be judged by the person he is on the inside not by the color he is on the outside. Instead of living in the past we should strive to look towards the future. Never forget your past but try to change the future for the better. Sat, 19 Mar 2011 01:03:31 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/03/15/have-you-ever-felt-guilt-from-being-of-a-certain-race-119-blog/#IDComment135948246 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/02/16/do-arrests-of-different-races-occur-more-due-to-racism-or-more-police-in-urban-areas-119-blog/#IDComment128977712 Neither. I believe that the arrest rate of minorities in urban areas is due to the high rate of crime in those areas. It is scientifically proven that the number of patrol vehicles looking to combat crime does not affect the arrest rate of that particular police force. In fact, patrol vehicles have little if no luck at actually catching a crime in progress. A police car driving around looking for a crime is about as logical as a fire truck driving around looking for a fire. This means that the number of police does not directly correlate with the arrest rate. Racism is a factor in some cases but I honestly wouldn’t generalize the entire police force on the subject of who they arrest. They arrest criminals. Today, in Philadelphia, the police officers are very mixed in races. Blacks, whites, Asians, Hispanics etc. all make up the force. Usually there are multiple officers at the scene of an arrest and they all agree on whether or not to take the person in. An officer of the force would have filed a formal complaint by now had they thought officers were making arrests on pure racism. This means that race does not directly correlate with the arrest rate. What does correlate to the arrest rate is the crime rate. In many urban areas, especially in Philadelphia, there are countless poverty stricken areas. People in these areas turn to crime because they lack a good education or simply out of desperation. Many of the people who live in these poor areas are minorities or immigrants. Former rules set in place by a racist government post civil rights era are the reason many minorities have not been able to pull themselves from the restraints of poverty. The only way I could see a police force being racist is in a suburban or country area. Where I grew up, in a suburb of Philadelphia, I saw some police racism happen in front of my eyes. I walked up to the shopping center near my house when I was around 14 or 15. I met up with a few of my friends after they had finished smoking a joint in this alley behind some of the stores in the shopping center. Almost immediately as I got there 3 or 4 cop cars pulled up on us and made the 4 of us put our hands on the hood of the one cop car. They searched us all as I prayed that my friends didn’t have any more weed on them. On my black friend, Chris, they found Visine and some rolling papers. They said since Chris was underage and had drug paraphernalia on him, and because he smelled like weed, that they had to take him home to his mom. They let me and my two other friends (who were white) go. We left and all three of us agreed that it was bullshit that they told Chris’s mom about it but let us go. Racism may be more prevalent in suburban areas rather than urban areas. Bottom line is that the crime rate in urban areas is higher which will always mean that the arrest rate is higher. Sat, 19 Feb 2011 01:15:25 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/02/16/do-arrests-of-different-races-occur-more-due-to-racism-or-more-police-in-urban-areas-119-blog/#IDComment128977712 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/02/08/how-have-the-choices-youve-made-and-determinism-affected-your-life-119-blog/#IDComment127442436 I feel as if both free will and determinism have helped me get to where I am today, in Penn State especially. I was born to great, hard-working parents. Both of my parents are white which, in our society would probably give them an edge to success. Neither of my parents attended college, yet our family lives in a nice and mostly quiet neighborhood outside of Philadelphia. My father became a mail man at the age of 19 and my mother started working at age 17, right out of high school doing clerical work. In his early 20’s, my father invested the money he had earned at the post office into two separate pieces of real estate in a lower-middle class suburb of Philadelphia. He fixed up the properties and rented them out making money off of the tenants’ rent. When my parents got married my mother and father stopped renting out one of the houses and started a family. When I was three we moved to a much nicer suburb due to the deteriorating neighborhood in which we lived. My dad sold both his properties and moved us to a nicer house. After a few years of living in my new house my parents invested in a condo down in Avalon, New Jersey and started collecting off of the rent from that property. By the time my older sister and brother got to college they cold the condo. They paid off their mortgage on their house and are using the extra money to help pay for all of our college education. The three of us all attend Penn State. I believe that determinism helped my family because we are white. I think both of my parents were born hard-wired to be driven people. They’re traits have been passed down to their children because I consider my brother and sister hard workers. I consider myself generally average driven, but when I get my mind set on something in particular I won’t stop until I complete it. I would say that my free will has more of an impact on how I came to be at Penn State. If you truly want something and you set your mind to it and have absolute concentration on completing that goal, I honestly do not see how someone can not complete it (in America). It may take a lifetime (literally) but I believe that people are not completely constrained by pre-determined conditions. I believe I was accepted to Penn State because of my grades and my participation in extracurricular activities. Colleges like any other business should accept students because of hard work and excellence not only in the classroom but in the real world. The color of my skin helped my parents succeed which eventually helped me to succeed. Though this is true, I personally lean more towards free will helping me get to where I am today rather than determinism. Sat, 12 Feb 2011 00:53:12 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/02/08/how-have-the-choices-youve-made-and-determinism-affected-your-life-119-blog/#IDComment127442436 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/02/03/do-you-think-race-can-stop-being-an-issue-in-the-future-119-blog/#IDComment126026560 This is a hard question to answer. I want to say yes in a very, very long time but it is instinctive to say no. I believe that racism is too indoctrinated into our society today. The only way to sort through this huge issue is through education and discussion. I believe that America, let alone the entire world, is too big to educate every person in similar fashion on the subject. Let’s face it, college isn’t for everyone. No matter what your color is there are going to be students who do not want to finish high school let alone go to college. As of now, to my knowledge, there aren’t any high schools in America which over classes based on racial issues. These classes would most likely be offered at colleges or universities. Education is definitely the most important tool to curb the racism in the world. There are a few situations that come to mind when thinking of the topic of global unity. If aliens started attacking earth and we unified globally to fight off the extraterrestrial threat we would gain more of a respect for our fellow man whether he be black, white, yellow, red, brown, blue, violet or orange. Over time though, it seems that history repeats itself. As for the topic of jobs (I presume you mean in America) I seriously believe that in most businesses today it doesn’t matter what race you are. As long as you are the one which will make the company the most money you will be the one hired. Corporations are not bias on race or gender. They want to increase their profit margin any way they can. In smaller or more local businesses it may be an issue. People are flat out wrong for not hiring individuals based on race. If someone is qualified for the job and is the best at what they do than why wouldn’t you hire him/her? It makes absolutely no sense to hurt your business by not hiring someone because of their skin color. On the topic of homeownership, I believe many white people buy into the perception that allowing minorities into their neighborhood will depreciate the value of the homes in the surrounding area. I believe this will eventually be overcome. Many more minorities, blacks especially, are on the rise from lower to middle-upper class. Eventually this stereotype will be diminished. On the topic of sports it is hard to see a change in the near future. Biologically, in America I believe that blacks have the upper hand. Slave owners would breed the slaves to form “super slaves”. They would take the strongest women and the strongest man and force them to reproduce. I believe that many of the African American sports players in American sports were ancestors of these “super slaves”. Sat, 5 Feb 2011 00:06:43 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/02/03/do-you-think-race-can-stop-being-an-issue-in-the-future-119-blog/#IDComment126026560 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/01/26/how-do-you-classify-yourself-119-blog/#IDComment124460222 When I classify myself the first thing I classify with is my gender. I am a man. I think of this because in my opinion the differences between men and women vary much greater than differences between races. Men of many cultures or races consider themselves the leaders of their social environment. Scientifically men are physically more dominant than women which gives men them the upper hand in a primal sense of control. This power has been passed on many generations and in many forms still continues in the modern world. Though this authority of “manhood” has been happening for so long I believe tides are starting to turn in today’s contemporary world. The next genre I would classify myself with would be my age. I am 20 years old and I categorize myself in the late teens early 20’s group. The reason this is the second classification is due to the similar interests I share with people of this same age group. I listen to the same music, eat the same foods, play the same games etc. of many people of this crowd. I feel as if I am more familiar with this age group than any other age group out there. The next classification would be based upon skin color. I am white. There really isn’t an explanation as to why this come next in the list, it just does. I categorize myself as white because my skin color is “white”. Would I say that others gave me this classification? Maybe. Someone had to have come up with the word white. If the person who came up with the word white called it estosh then I would classify myself as estosh. So you can thank the guy who came up with the word for the color white for helping to classify me as white. The next thing that popped into my head was my religion. I am a Catholic. I believe Jesus Christ is the son of God and I am not ashamed to say so. Do I believe that if you do not believe in Jesus you will go to hell? No, I do not. I believe that people should take Jesus’ most valued teaching and apply it in everyday life. Love. Love your neighbor as you would want to be loved. Basically treat others the way you would want to be treated (Exceptions for psychopaths who want others to kill them or hurt them). I was born into a Catholic family but chose to continue in the faith at my confirmation. I chose this classification for myself. People may say if my parents hadn’t brought me up in the faith I would not have been a Catholic. Maybe so, but I continue on my own will and am very happy I was given the opportunity to practice this faith. The final classification I would give myself would be a college student at PSU. Many people my age are college students. Not all of them go to PSU (The best school in the country I don’t care what Sam says!). Sat, 29 Jan 2011 02:49:36 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/01/26/how-do-you-classify-yourself-119-blog/#IDComment124460222 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/01/14/why-do-we-still-have-stereotypes-blog-1/#IDComment122900294 I believe that stereotypes are still around because people of the same race stick together. When you put a diverse group of people into a certain place what usually seems to occur is that blacks will socialize with other blacks, whites will socialize with other whites, Asians will socialize with other Asians etc. This is because people feel more comfortable with people of similar backgrounds. It is much easier to trust and interact with someone who is similar to yourself as opposed to someone who is completely different. For example if you want to be in the American mafia you must be able to trace your blood back to Sicily or southern Italy. This is a rule to ensure trust. When groups start to form, jealousy and other factors start rumors. When these rumors are repeated over and over in the same group of people about another group that is when a stereotype starts. People begin to hear these stereotypes at a very young age. Most of these stereotypes are heard as a child from a parent. Who does one trust more than their parents? Your parents are the people who raised you and helped you get to where you are now in life. If you see any stereotype occur in normal everyday life it just verifies the false belief so much more. For example if you witness a car accident ahead on the road you may assume it was a woman who caused it because a common stereotype (that men talk about) is that women are not good drivers. When you approach the scene of the crash and see the person who caused the accident the stereotype will be verified if it is a female. If not that stereotype the driver may be a young kid or an elderly person. There are many stereotypes on bad drivers. Stereotypes will always be around because it is not possible for everyone in the world to understand how everyone else thinks. Stereotypes are inevitable in the world. I wonder what the first stereotype was and who came up with it? I think stereotypes are a lead cause of conflict between race. Stereotypes dissolve the opportunity to form a complete trust and bond with someone of another race. It would be cool if stereotypes were thrown away. I am a twenty year old white male in college. I would like to know what stereotype I would fall under according to other races. Stereotypes deal with the “isms”. Racism, Sexism, Ageism etc. These are all factors on which stereotypes are based. I wonder what older white people have to say about men my age and color. Thanks for the thought provoking question. Stereotypes are a very interesting topic. Sat, 22 Jan 2011 02:24:46 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/01/14/why-do-we-still-have-stereotypes-blog-1/#IDComment122900294 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2010/04/23/what-about-health-care/#IDComment122888446 How are you SURE that these illegal immigrants would pay their taxes if they came hear legally. They are criminals off the bat just by coming into America illegally. Criminals don't pay taxes. You never see inmates filling out W-4's while they are in prison. The reason people are put into prisons is because they can't be trusted by society to follow the laws that the people have passed. Unless you have blind faith in everyone, criminal or not, I think you may have to rethink that statement. Why would we allot these criminals the same rights as a legal US citizen? How do you know that the illegal immigrant isn't fleeing his/her country in order to escape criminal prosecution for murder or rape. You want to keep them in our country? "Since the tax payers are footing the bill, if illegal immigrants can afford to purchase health insurance, it’s nonsensical to not give them that right. Plain and simple." .. Plain and Simple, Nonsensical? I hope you aren't serious. You want to give ILLEGAL immigrants a right? They shouldn't be given any rights. They shouldn't be here in the first place! I say deport them all and use the tax money I was originally paying to pick up their "uncompensated care" tab and put it toward heightening border security. Sat, 22 Jan 2011 01:00:29 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2010/04/23/what-about-health-care/#IDComment122888446 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/01/10/last-name-%e2%80%9cc%e2%80%9d-%e2%80%93-intense-debate/#IDComment122881012 SOC 119 Sat, 22 Jan 2011 00:18:27 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/01/10/last-name-%e2%80%9cc%e2%80%9d-%e2%80%93-intense-debate/#IDComment122881012