en-us https://www.intensedebate.com/users/4273047 Comments by phillygirl13 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2012/04/17/voices-from-the-classroom-152/#IDComment343691009 First of all, I just want to say that I am not an extremely religious person, but I do consider myself to be religious and I believe that I do have a strong spiritual background. In my opinion, I have always thought that it was not a choice and then it was something that you were born with. I feel that even very young children demonstrate gay qualities and tendencies and they are too young to understand choosing to act in that way. I also think that there can be great scrutiny and prejudice against gay people and I honestly don't think anyone would subject themselves to that if they weren't actually gay. I have a gay uncle who told me before that he had girlfriends in his teenage years but he knew from the time he was little that he was not attracted to females. He said he would date teenage girls because he felt it was the right thing to do and that maybe he would begin to develop feelings for them but ultimately he still felt the same way about men. I also have a really good friend that is gay and he has also dated girls but has said that he has known since he was in high school. He struggled to tell his friends and his family but ultimately they were very accepting of it. I don't think he would have ever chosen to go through that if he weren't actually gay. I'm not sure if it is something biological or what but I think it is definitely something that you feel from the time you are born. I thought it was very interesting when Sam was talking about how some people feel that it is just sex and when Sam said that if his wife passed away he could see himself ending up with a man. I thought this was very interesting because Sam said that he is attracted to women but that he enjoys being around men and would be happy having a male companion for the rest of his life. I also thought it was cool to hear from the gay students in class just to hear what they thought about everything pertaining to this issue. These past two weeks of class have been very interesting and fun and I hope they continue for the last week of class. I also thought it was cool when that girl in class talked about her father who is gay and how she has been surrounded by the gay community since she was very young. Overall, even though I consider myself to be a religious person and very spiritual, I have no problem with homosexuality at all and I feel that I am a very open-minded person when it comes to accepting people with all different lifestyles. Fri, 20 Apr 2012 21:04:36 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2012/04/17/voices-from-the-classroom-152/#IDComment343691009 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2012/04/12/voices-from-the-classroom-147/#IDComment338414433 I have heard questions like this before and I always have to think carefully about the answer but this one for me is very obvious. I would definitely save my child because as a mother it is your duty and responsibility to care for your child and do whatever it takes to make sure they are safe and healthy. I also know for a fact that my mom would never let me save her because she would always be selfless enough to want my child to be saved. Also, I think that my spouse would want our child to be saved as well. I also think the child is so young and has their entire life before them and it is only fair to give them that opportunity to live it. Also, I can't imagine someone actually being able to leave their child stranded. To me, I just feel like unconditional love kicks in. In my opinion, your own mother should be willing to give up her life for you and your child and it should be impossible for someone to not choose to save the child. Also, as terrible as it may sound, your spouse can be replaced. I feel that you can always fall in love with someone else and have another life with them. It obviously wouldn't be an easy decision but I think eventually you would move on and find someone else to fall in love with and start a new life with. Honestly though, I think the decision would be much harder than it seems if you were actually put in that position and it was real. I do think it's interesting however to hear what other people's opinions are on this question and who they would save. For example, a few students gave their opinions in class and I thought it was so interesting to hear why they chose the person that they did. I really enjoyed Thursday's class and the lecturer was really fun and entertaining. I was a bit confused however about what the significance of the first exercise was in terms of the rest of the lecture. I would like to hear him speak again. I also felt that this was the first class in a few weeks that I've really enjoyed because I was honestly starting to get bored with the same topic of racial stages. I also hope that Sam brings up more fun and interesting topics as the end of the semester nears because I think that people really began to lose interest when the topics got boring and when the weather got nice. Hopefully, the next couple weeks will be fun, entertaining, and will consist of good lectures and lecturers. Fri, 13 Apr 2012 21:15:46 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2012/04/12/voices-from-the-classroom-147/#IDComment338414433 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2012/04/03/voices-from-the-classroom-140/#IDComment333536705 I am a Roman Catholic and I have gone through 12 years of schooling and made all the required sacraments and personally I still do not feel that you need to go through a priest or pastor in order to have a relationship with God. In third grade I made the sacrament of reconciliation and honestly I think that the entire idea of that sacrament is somewhat absurd. I personally do not feel that I need to tell my sins to a priest in order to seek forgiveness from God. However, I think that people feel a sense of comfort from being a part of a group and seeking advice from someone that they feel will give them the support that they need. In my own opinion, I don't think it's necessary to be a part of a church or to follow the rules strictly; I think it is more important to have your own personal relationship with God and to form your own rules for yourself. In some religions, the followers have to make sacrifices such as not eating certain foods, etc. and I think that we should make our own sacrifices for what we believe in instead of blindly following rules because we think that is the right thing to do or because we don't know any better. I feel that the most important thing is having your own unique and personal relationship with God and not one that is already written out or outlined for us. I also think that in a more humorous way, God doesn't really care about most of the silly things that super religious people do. I think it's better to be a good person and follow the Golden Rule than it is to follow the rules of your religion. I do however believe that there are many things that I have learned as a catholic that I still strive to follow. For example, helping the poor, respecting friends AND enemies, and loving everyone even those who did us wrong. Even though it may seem hard at times to follow these simple rules, these are still good attributes to live by. Overall, I just think people mostly like to be a part of a community and they like to share similar thoughts and feelings with others who feel the same way. This is off topic but I feel that the last 2 weeks of classes have not been very exciting. I personally am starting to get a little bored with all of the guest lectures especially when I can't understand the guests due to their strong accents. Also, it seems like the Haiti project is really confusing in terms of who is receiving the funds and how they are receiving it. I'm not naive but I'm not a very skeptic person either and it kind of seemed like Sam was calling us skeptics when in reality I think people are just unsure and curious about how the Haiti project actually works. Next week, I hope Sam can explain it further and I also hope that we get back to more interesting topics. Sat, 7 Apr 2012 02:37:14 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2012/04/03/voices-from-the-classroom-140/#IDComment333536705 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2012/03/27/voices-from-the-classroom-136/#IDComment328006124 In all honestly, I did find the video to be somewhat humorous. Like Sam said in class, it's funny when people mispronounce things. He shared his experience about when he first started learning Spanish, and he finds it funny now to look back and hear the way he mispronounced words. Maybe it's a bit juvenile to think this kind of stuff is funny but it just is to most people. Even, some of the Asian students in the class found it funny. Personally if I traveled to another country and mispronounced words in their language, I wouldn't be offended but I guess everyone feels differently. I also felt bad for the white kid who raised his hand and said he thought it was funny because he was just being honest and upfront and in my opinion, I believe he has the right to his own opiniion and I think Sam encourages people to share their opinions, beliefs, and oither differences. I honestly don't think it was fair for him to be called out in front of the whole class just for expressing himself, especially when even some of the Asian students admitted that the video was funny. However, I agree that the makers of the video were being extremely rude because they were obviously and blatantly trying to make fun of the Asians and there culture. With that, I also thought it was interesting that more people were offended by the fact that the video was making fun of the way the Asians were speaking instead of the fact that the video also made fun of their lack of knowledge about sports and American culture. If I was an Asian foreigner, I think I would be more offended by that than the mispronunciation aspect. In response to the blog question, I was wondering why no one replied to the Asian students who found it funny because it seemed like they were so quick to lash out at the white kid. It's interesting to see that they were so hesitant about it and I also thought it was interesting to see that a lot of black students seemed very offended by this video. I wonder whether it is because they can empathize with other minorities or whether it was for a different reason. I hope that Sam discusses this topic further in next week's classes. I also hope he allows for more discussion time in order to get other people's opinions about the subject. I also would like to hear from Asian students about how their culture defines humor and if it is similar to what our society finds funny. Fri, 30 Mar 2012 19:23:01 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2012/03/27/voices-from-the-classroom-136/#IDComment328006124 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2012/03/22/voices-from-the-classroom-128/#IDComment322973473 After hearing the guest speaker talk about the murder in Florida of the young black boy, it really made me believe that his comment was true about how if the races were reversed, the shooter would be in jail. I completely agree with this statement. Being raised in Philadelphia, I have been exposed to a great deal of crime and I know for a fact that if the shooter was a black man who killed a white boy, the crime would've been looked at more critically and judged more harshly. However, it is still shocking to me that the white shooter in Florida has yet to be arrested because I do think that he normally would be, but for some odd reason the police aren't being as critical as they need to be. It is really sad to say that if the roles and races were reversed it would be different, but I just think that our society would definitely judge the case and the shooter differently, whether it be intentionally or unintentionally. For some reason, I think the death of a white boy by a black man would emotionally affect more people and it is really hard to understand the reasoning behind this thought process, which is why I have such an interest in the topic. I hope that one day our society will be able to look at people with a complete open mind and I also hope that people will be judged more personally and not grouped together with a stereotype. I really do believe that our society as a whole has made great strides over the years to be more open-minded and non-judgmental but I believe there is still more that needs to be done. Speaking more specifically, I hope that justice is served in the Florida case and that the young boy's family and friends can find comfort and peace after this crazy situation is over. I also hope that the man who shot him will be properly punished for the crime that he committed and more so that he realizes the mistake he made and can learn from it in some way. In general, I hope that all people across the U.S. can learn something from this case. Overall, I really enjoyed having the guest lecture on Thursday because not only was the speaker interesting, but the topic overall was very eye-opening and really made me think about how our society operates on a social level as well as a personal level. It would have been interesting to hear more about the guest lecturer’s experience globally and how our society compares to other cultures. Hopefully, he will be able to attend another class and answer some questions that students may have for him. Fri, 23 Mar 2012 22:40:32 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2012/03/22/voices-from-the-classroom-128/#IDComment322973473 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2012/03/15/voices-from-the-classroom-123/#IDComment318025844 After discussing war in the past few classes, I have a greater general knowledge and understanding of it. I really enjoyed the discussion we had with the three war veterans. It was interesting to hear their experiences about the war and it was amazing to hear about their pride and unconditional love for our country even after all they had been through. It was really interesting to hear their first-hand experiences especially the one man's near brush with death. He shared his stories with us about his physical and mental injuries resulting from the war which made it easier to understand what the soldiers are really going through during wartime. I also thought it was really cool to be able to talk with the man Bassim I think his name was. It was interesting to learn about the war from a foreign perspective. After hearing and learning about different experiences about war, I am much more appreciative about what the troops are doing for us and our country and what they have to sacrifice in the process. I'm really glad we were able to have a whole class dedicated to this topic because I think that sometimes people take for granted the benefits of being an American and also take for granted what the troops are volunteering themselves for. I also feel that I want to know much more about the reasons we are at war and the war's current standing. I would also like to learn more about oil being one of the reasons we are at war and it would have been interesting to hear what the veterans thought about our involvement in the war. Overall, I definitely learned a great deal about the war and about the troops fighting in the war just through these last two classes. It was cool to be able to hear their stories especially because I don't personally know anyone that is enlisted in the war. I honestly wish we could have had more time to talk with both the soldiers and Bassim. I also really enjoy the class discussions we have when people get to ask questions and respond to things because it's cool to hear other people's opinions about the war and other issues. In general, I really enjoyed this topic and this week's classes. Sat, 17 Mar 2012 03:00:43 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2012/03/15/voices-from-the-classroom-123/#IDComment318025844 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2012/02/23/voices-from-the-classroom-114/#IDComment300782714 I think it is really scary to think about how society is so focused on attractiveness and material items. I think putting so much emphasis on our outward appearance and setting standards for how people should look is extremely detrimental and damaging to people's self-esteem and personal body image. I think it more important to focus on people's uniqueness and differences because that is what makes the world interesting. Personally, if I was asked to submit a picture of myself with my resume I most likely would choose not to apply for the job. I don't think it is fair to judge someone by their looks and I think that it wouldn't represent the type of worker you are anyway. It is amazing that in some societies people can still get away with that type of behavior. I also think choosing one applicant over another due to their looks is strange especially when you don't even consider their personality, work ethics, etc. I also think this topic is really sad because it's scary to see how our society has evolved and become so focused on things that don't really matter in the long run. The old saying "you should never judge a book by its cover" is clearly not imposed on our society these days. It's a shame to say that people do judge people by their looks and I think that it can play a huge role in our lives, especially when applying for jobs. I honesty think that companies look for young, attractive, well-put-together individuals to represent their company positively. And while it may not be fair to others, it's just what our society emphasizes these days. I can definitely see this through my personal experiences as well. As an advertising major, we learn how to work with clients and represent clients positively and I can imagine that advertising agencies probably are more inclined to hire more attractive people because they want to send presentable and attractive men and women to work with clients. I'm sure this is the case for many other professions as well. In the future, I don't see this societal focus getting any better in terms of people focusing less on their outer appearance. If anything, I think it may only get worse especially because the entertainment industry and the media have such a strong effect and influence on people. In terms of race however, I think in the future people will be more accepting and open-minded about different races and cultures because even over the past 50 years or so our society has grown so much and become much less ignorant. It may be unrealistic but I hope that as a society we can learn to focus on people's actions and personalities more so than their physical features because it is important to set a good example for future generations. Fri, 24 Feb 2012 20:18:14 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2012/02/23/voices-from-the-classroom-114/#IDComment300782714 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2012/02/16/voices-from-the-classroom-108/#IDComment295408312 During class this past week, we talked about how certain races dominate certain sports. For example, the NBA is made up of primarily black males, the MBL is made up of primarily white males, and the NHL is made up of primarily white players. The only sport that still seems to be racially mixed is football. In my opinion, I think there are certain races that are naturally better at certain sports. I think that black people have a more naturally slender and tall build which makes them better at basketball. I also think a lot of this racial segregation of sports is due to cultural factors. I think that black males grow up playing basketball and white males grow up playing other sports such as baseball and hockey. I also think that much of this is due to where people's ancestors are from. There are countries where certain sports are extremely popular such as soccer in many European countries. Therefore, I think much of this is cultural and not necessarily determined by how good someone is at actually playing a sport. I'm from a Irish Catholic family but my aunt is married to a black man and just from getting to know him and his family it is obvious how important sports are in their lives, especially basketball. At every family function, they always strike up a conversation about sports and always play a game of basketball. It is just something that they are used to and familiar with and now it has become more of a family social event. I don't necessarily think that they are any better than the white males in the family, but they just enjoy the sport better because of their relationship with the game. I think it would be interesting to talk about this further in class to see what others think about the topic. It would be interesting to hear from the other racial groups in the class such as the Blacks and Asians. I also wonder whether Asian people have a certain preference of a sport because you don't see many Asians playing on American sports teams. This may be another example of how certain sport preferences are determined by one's culture. This also makes me wonder whether this is just another aspect of our lives affected by racial grouping. I'm not saying that this is a bad thing but it just makes me realize how many things in our lives are still separated by race and culture. Sat, 18 Feb 2012 04:52:38 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2012/02/16/voices-from-the-classroom-108/#IDComment295408312 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2012/02/10/voices-from-the-classroom-103/#IDComment289241715 I think that the majority of Americans are probably not bothered by being categorized in racial groups such as Asians, Hispanics, Blacks, or Whites. However, I think there are some people who would just prefer to be categorized into their respectful groups. I also think that there are certain stereotypes that come in to play with the different racial groups. For example, many people assume that all Asians are good at math or that the majority of Black people are on welfare and are involved in the drug world. These are just two of the many stereotypes that are prevalent in our society. Therefore, I feel that this is one of the reasons why people may not want to be categorized into these larger groups; they would prefer to be labeled more specifically. Also, I think that many Americans are unaware that not all Black people are African American. There are many people living in the U.S. that are Black but their ancestors are from other parts of the world. I think this problem also occurs with white people also. For example, I am categorized as White but more specifically I am Irish, German, and Italian. Therefore, the same goes for other people in racial groups. One might be categorized as Asian, but they might be Vietnamese more specifically. In general, I feel that in a way it is a little unfair to categorize people so broadly because it allows for stereotypes to develop and it prevents people from being able to explain themselves and who they truly are. In general though, I'm not sure how many people are actually bothered by this but I can assume that almost everyone has felt at some point in their life that it has affected them in some way. In my opinion, I think the people who are most unfairly grouped are Blacks and Whites because there are so many places that both groups can originally be from. With the Asian group, they are categorized by the region which they are from which is Asia. But for Blacks to be categorized as African Americans even if they're not from Africa, just seems strange. With white people, they are rarely even questioned about their heritage, people just assume all White people were originally from Europe. With this in mind however, I do not see this changing at any time in the near future because I think it is just easier for people to group others rather than to dig deeper into people's specific heritage. Even statistically with the yearly census in the U.S. it is just much easier to measure people when they are categorized into groups. Therefore, it's clear that even our country and government relies on these groupings making it very unlikely that this will change in the near future. Sat, 11 Feb 2012 01:03:22 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2012/02/10/voices-from-the-classroom-103/#IDComment289241715 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2012/02/02/voices-from-the-classroom-96/#IDComment283247088 In my opinion, if I was unable to have kids of my own, I would definitely adopt a child. In terms of the child's race, it would not matter to me what the child's racial background was. The most important thing that I would look for would be a healthy and happy child. When talking about the sperm bank, I think I would prefer to have a child that shared the same background as my husband and I because I would want the child to have some similar physical qualities to my husband as well as me. If there was no option of receiving sperm of my racial background (Caucasian), I would definitely be fine with having a baby of another race as long as my husband agreed. I feel that in general, I am a very open-minded person and my family is the same way. My aunt is married to a black man and they have two children that are mixed races, my cousin is dating a black man, and my other cousin is married to a Jewish man. Therefore, adopting a child of another race in my family would definitely not be an issue at all. I am grateful to have such a worldly and open-minded family because I know that race would never be an issue or a problem for them. In terms of people not wanting to adopt a child of another background, I think that is not always a racist or prejudice thing. I think that some people may feel that it is just an easier lifestyle and environment for the child to grow up in if they are with a family of their own race. I know that my aunt always worried that her children that are mixed race would battle prejudices throughout their lives because they live in a primarily white neighborhood. Therefore, I think there are many things that go into this topic other than people just being racist. I hope in the future, people will be more willing to accept other people for who they are and not by the color of their skin. It seems so old fashioned that we are still judging and grouping people together into racial groups. In my opinion, we shouldn't be defining people by their racial stereotypes because it portrays ignorance. I do believe however that in the future we will see a more openness and acceptance among people about other races. If you look at our country's history and past, we have already come so far with this issue, even within the past 60-70 years. I think it is just a matter of time before people realize that having racist and stereotypical attitudes about people is a thing of the past. Sat, 4 Feb 2012 00:58:21 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2012/02/02/voices-from-the-classroom-96/#IDComment283247088 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2012/01/26/voices-from-the-classroom-92/#IDComment276246797 Since the beginning of this school year, I have learned so much about our school, our reputation, and life in general. As a senior at Penn State, I never before realized the impact that our school (especially our football team and coach) has on not only its students, faculty, and alumni, but also the entire country. As a Penn Stater, I am obviously particularly proud of our school, teams, and our overall accomplishments. However, after seeing the Joe Paterno Memorial Service, I am even more aware and impressed by how our school has affected so many people including non-Penn Staters. Having Phil Knight, the Nike chairman and co-founder, speak at the memorial definitely says something about the great and profound effects that not only Joe Paterno had on many Americans, but also the other great things that our school in general has done. In a strange way I am happy that I am a senior here at this time because I feel the events that have unraveled over the past few months have sparked my interest in learning and understanding. I have learned a great deal about the media and their ways of divulging information to the public. Because the circumstances that have occurred over the past few months are so personal and important to all of us Penn Staters, I have realized now more than ever before how the media can divulge this information in a good or bad way. I feel these events that have occurred have truly made me think about what it is to be a responsible adult and I and many of the other students here have grown from this experience. I have also learned that it is really important to listen to all the different sides of a story or investigation before making judgments. I have noticed on Facebook that the same people criticizing and making Joe Paterno out to be the villain are now contradicting themselves by praising him and acknowledging his good deeds after his death. I have tried from the very beginning to hold back my criticisms and judgments until all the information was unveiled even though it has been difficult to do so. I try to be open-minded about the entire situation. I believe that Joe Paterno was a great coach and an all around great guy who made an honest mistake. I can also understand how people feel differently especially if they have had some personal experience with an issue such as this. However, I think it’s important to remember who the real criminal is in the case. From this experience, I am interested in seeing how Penn State will recover from this and how we will continue the legacy that Joe Paterno has built up for all of us. Fri, 27 Jan 2012 21:26:54 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2012/01/26/voices-from-the-classroom-92/#IDComment276246797 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2012/01/16/voices-from-the-classroom-33/#IDComment269902944 I personally think people feel the need to self-identify because it makes them feel as if they are part of a group. It seems as if it is more of a comfort zone influence when people identify themselves with others. I think much of our world is based on conformity and those that do not comform are often viewed as weird or abnormal; therefore, people try to avoid negative judgment. Also, in my HDFS (Human Development and Family Studies) classes, I have learned about the Need to Belong theory which basically contends that beginning at preadolescents and continuing through adulthood, people have the need to fit in with their peers and become part of a group. This theory explains why cliques are formed and why individuals tend to identify themselves with people who look similar to them, come from similar backgrounds, and even from the same social classes. I also think other than being more comfortable with people who are similar to you, people also have more in common with people of their race, religion, or culture. I'm from Philadelphia and in high school I always noticed that the Hispanic students always ate lunch together, played the same sports, participated in the same extracurricular activities and the same with the black students, asian students, and white students. Each group seemed to have their own activities that they were interested in. Even now, as a senior at Penn State, I notice this even more because there are far more students and many other ethnic groups. Overall, I think people want to involve themselves with people of their own race. In this way, they are able to share similar religious experiences, cultural experiences, and even similar history. I also do not think that this need to self-identify is necessarily a bad thing. I think that as long as people are willing to introduce themselves to other cultures and people of other races, it is okay to maintain your identity to whatever group you choose. In a way I think that is what makes America so unique is that every culture seems to continue with their own rituals, beliefs, and traditions that they have brought from their homeland. I think the real problem comes into play when people are turned off by other races or nationalities and develop prejudices and stereotypes. This could also cause people to self-identify with their own race or culture because they feel that they have to or that it wouldn't be accepted to identify themselves to another group. An example of people being forced to self-identify is declaring your political party. This is just one example of how people categorize themselves because they feel they have to, even if they don't necessarily agree with all the standpoints of that particular party. In my opinion, I think people should be able to self-identity with whoever or however they would like as long as they are open-minded and respectful of other cultures and religions. Fri, 20 Jan 2012 21:25:23 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2012/01/16/voices-from-the-classroom-33/#IDComment269902944