I have to admit that I sometimes do feel uncomfortable around people speaking a different language. In fact, the other day at the ATM there was a group of 3 guys who were speaking Spanish. It was kind of awkward because you don’t know what they are saying or if they are talking about you. In hindsight, it was none of anyone's business what they were talking about...but, I believe the imagined is always worse than the reality.
When people are conversing in English you know they aren't talking about you; if you are in a group and two people launch into a different language, you can't be blamed for feeling talked about behind your back… only to your face… Fears may be unfounded or true, but I do feel it is never polite to exclude someone in your group from a conversation by speaking a different language, when it is known that there is a common language that everyone can understand… However, to expect all people everywhere (workplace, "public places", shopping malls) to speak only your language is completely unreasonable. If Americans took the time to acknowledge other cultures and learn their languages, this wouldn't be such an issue.
I’ve decided to look at it like this… you have to understand the point of view of the people speaking the other language. It is very likely that they are not doing it just to exclude others or so that others won't know what they are saying...how do they know you aren't fluent in their language, which is very possible now that a second language is required for most students? If I were living in a foreign country, and happened to work with a fellow American, would I speak English with that person? Of course I would. It is my native language and I would miss speaking it with people. Plus, English slang, American football, lots of things people like to talk about just aren't easily translated to another language unless you are very, very fluent. So I guess, grit your teeth, and reassure yourself that there are many conversation topics that do not involve you or the other English speakers around you.
I have always been friends with people from other countries (as I have said I went to Behrend my freshman year, and the international business school is there which attracts diversity). Sometimes they would talk to each other in their native language and I feel that the situations could play out like this… if they were ALREADY talking in a different language, I didn’t feel too awkward, unless it continued for awhile. It never happened with my friends, but I feel I would be uncomfortable if they randomly would say things to each other in a different language with the rest of us in the room. I guess it comes down to your perception of the situation, and maybe even your trust in the person speaking… Either way, who are we to judge? I wouldn’t want to upset people if I were in another country by speaking English, but to be honest, I haven’t passed a Spanish class since 10th grade, so what would I do?

I believe that Penn State really does have a great sense of diversity. My freshman year I went to Penn State Behrend. Although they are the international business school, I do feel that for the small amount of students that were there, we were a very diverse group. Coming here I didn’t think that there would be many people from different ethnicities, however, I was wrong. I have friends from Bosnia, Romania, Japan, Hong Kong, Korea, and India. Multiple friends from each place actually.
Coming to Penn State now, and hearing my friends parents talk about their time spent here, I feel that the gap between races is getting smaller, and our generation is helping close that gap. There are many organizations here related to diversity, and having attended three PSU campuses, I can say that diversity is important throughout the university. Beaver, Behrend, and here have all been open, accepting, diverse, and have always promoting clubs, meetings, and seminars based on diversity.
I think, though, that the diversity acceptance that was present in my high school does make a difference in my view of the school. Someone who is not accustomed to accepting diversity may feel that the efforts here are too much and be upset by them, other who have been tormented by racism may feel that the efforts here aren’t enough. There are many perspectives, but at this point in time, PSU as a university is doing a very good job keeping up with diversity relationships between students. There is always more that can be done, however. And these things can really only be done if they are done by the students.
After taking Sam’s class I have realized that the diversity acceptance that is present here is not based on simply the faculty and the staff making it available, it is because the students want to have it. That is the difference we as students are making. Acceptance cannot be forced, but PSU students accept on their own, and encourage each other as well.
The most obvious way to express this is to put it into a real life perspective… Ten years from now, when you are at a game or in a bar, or some public place, and you hear someone yell “WE ARE!” are you going to answer with a “PENN STATE!” if they aren’t your race? I would sure hope so! I don’t believe that many students here wouldn’t respond. This school creates a bond between people. I cannot say that race is not an issue, because that simply isn’t true. I can say that as Penn State students I believe we are all making a difference in the way the world views race. Making a difference for the better of course!

I feel that people are more racist towards Muslims now than they are towards Blacks, with the exception of the older people in the population. I feel that this largely has to do with 9-11 and all the events surrounding that, but I also feel that for some reason people who have hate in them feel better about hating a culture who has “done something” to them. I honestly feel that people think that as long as they are not racist towards Blacks, they are not racist. As a kid, I honestly thought that racism strictly pertained to white people hating black people, simple because of how racism was taught. I know I am not the only one who thought this because I distinctively remember while learning about the Holocaust a boy asked if Hitler was racist… When the teacher open the question to the class most of us said no!

The reason I mentioned the older population, however, is because of the experience I had growing up around my great-grandmother. She was raised in segregation and didn’t understand why I would be offened when she would use a racist term (things worse than the ‘n’ word that I had to ask my mother what they meant… from a little old lady!) It astounded me how much hatred this feeble loving old woman had in her! She was robbed once, and although no one ever caught who did it, she is convinced it was “The Blacks.”

It is very hard for me to bite my tongue when she makes statements like this, but she is over 90 years old, and pretty set in her ways. Our focus should be on eliminating racism. Other than adults, I have never seen or experienced a friend being a victim of racism. I think that people are age are much more accepting, or I am naïve to what is really going on. I do believe that our country, in our age group, we have overcome a lot of racism. However, in other parts of the world there is still severe hatred. South Africa, for example, has a very terrible racism problem, don’t let ‘Invictus’ fool you, there are many places where racism needs to be address in much more of a full force than here in the U.S

As has been stated through many of the responses, I agree that video’s are a great way to learn about what is happening in the rest of “our world.” Because (piggyback of other blog) it is completely our responsibility to not only know the happenings of our society, but that of the rest of the world as well.
It is ironic that this topic came up because I have recently experienced something that really opened my eyes to other places in the world.
My best friend (Katie) from home recently left for the Middle East. She is spending 3 months divided between Jordan, Isreal, Jerusalem, and the West Bank. She recently posted on her facebook (she has very limited access so I get to see her updates about once a week) pictures and a story.
I am hoping to show these things in class next week during the commercial break, but here is a description of what she saw.

She was at the “home” of a Palestinian woman. But she could not get past the wired and locked fence that surrounded the womans home and land. This fence was put up by the Israelis. The woman apologized profusely to my friend and her group for not being able to invite them in for tea. <- this is about where I had to stop reading her story. This woman is a prisoner in her own home, and apologizing to a group of American “Peace Majors” because she could not offer them tea… I was immediately compelled to cry, but at the same time it was amazing to me how this woman could be so hospitable in such a terrible life situation.
Reading this post from my friend who is experiencing this kind of injustice first hand, opened my eyes more than any video, documentary, or lecture about social injustice and inequality. I feel that this is mainly because I know for a fact that this is the real deal. This is the dirty sh*t they won’t show you on the history channel or in a textbook.

It blows my mind that there are people who can’t leave their property, can’t buy their own food even if they had the means, because they are not allowed out of their area.

Katie is a Peace Studies and Conflict Resolution major. You can laugh if you want, because it does kind of sound like a joke. But the things this girl is doing are things that no one else has the guts to do. She is risking her life merely to understand how other people live. And she is going to take that experience to open our eyes to what we need to do. World Peace blah blah blah, it’ll never happen, but the only reason people think that is because they WILL NEVER TRY!
I just asked Katie for permission to show her photos and post and I am hoping I will be able to share it with the class.

I feel that the reason the energy of an audience changes when a “white” comedian is speaking about race and racism is because of society. We as a society feel that it is okay for colored people to call each other the ‘n’ word and appalling for white people to use the term. Why? I don’t know, maybe because that is how it has evolved. Colored people took a name that was used to suppress them as their own. I feel that the main problem however comes with society’s definition of racism. If you were to ask anyone to explain it their answer would be along the lines of “white people hating black people.” We do not see racism for what it really is, blindness to difference. People feel that colored people or asian people can’t be racist, that only white people have that quality and racism is only when it is inflicted by a white person. I do not know the reason for this, nor does anyone else or we would have succeeded in defeating it. But I know that the first step is to see racism for what it really is, ignorance amoung all races.

I can’t preach, either, that I have not held some of these viewpoints at one time or another. I was extreme in being anti-racist. I thought that only white people were racist and that they were the only one ignorant and rude enough to think of people in such a negative way. I also, and still do feel that the use of terms that are accepted in some ways but not in others is wrong.
It will be hard for our society to overcome these ideas and sterotypes. We are definitely getting closer though.
As for comedians, again, it all depends one when we will decide that comedy is meant to be slightly offensive, and isn’t always going to appeal to everyone. But maybe eventually we will be more accepting to things we’re not accepting to yet.

On the first day of a class this semester, the professor told us a story. She said that her father worked for what is now NASA. Some former colleagues were talking with him about Apollo 13 and said that when the spacecraft went to the backside of the moon, mission control lost touch with the craft for over an hour. When they regained connection and mission control asked if everyone was okay they all said "Yes, but we just saw God."
Upon returning to Earth, all the astronauts were questioned separately and asked "What does God look like?" This is where she ended the story. The following class, after discussing our responses she said, well the astronauts said, "We're sure it was God. And by the way, she is black."
This was not a true story, as this was a mythology class, but it got us all thinking. Surprisingly, Sam brought up the same question in class later on.
I have never really been a religious person. I finished my first communion in a Catholic church, but never continued to go to mass. During high school I was extremely interested in religion. Why it caused so much argument, why it was based on so much love for God, but caused so much hate between the world? I studied them as much as I could, asking as many different people as I could there opinions. Some people were very nice and eager to help me... A few others told me I was going to Hell, and the best response I got to telling someone I was an Atheist is "You don't believe in Jesus?" (I had to explain to a life-long Christian that Jesus was in fact a real person, a bit distressing)
But after all that I still consider myself Atheist. However, I have now learned to accept all religions because I understand the basis of them. I myself do not believe in one, but believe that they are important, when practiced correctly.
In response to this question, Sam's comment about God being a woman put a huge smile on my face. To me, it is no more absurd than saying God is a man. No one knows, so why can we assume? I keep my mind open. If I were to stand face-to-face with God, there would be no way to not believe. And if He happened to be a She, I would be no more surprised than before.

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