I agree with you, I too was shocked to find out that white women benefit the most from AA. It is interesting to hear that you have had first hand experience with AA. I have worked three jobs now and have never personally dealt with cases revolving around AA, but I do believe that there are subliminal reasons behind actions companies do to benefit them (the tax break example for instance.) It is interesting to hear you discuss how it has been hard for you to get hired in PA due to the amount of nepotism you have experienced. I actually had similar thoughts running through my head when hearing Sam discuss the ideas behind nepotism.

In our final lecture Sam discussed Affirmative Action and the interpretations that each of us has on it. Affirmative Action itself can be more complex than what we see at the surface. Many people have a generalization that Affirmative Action is just as simple as “that black associate is paid more than me” or “that black person got the job I should have gotten.” From the legal classes I have had at Penn State, it seems that the greatest misconception people develop with AA is that they begin to blur the lines with issues of Discrimination and Prejudice. While they all develop from the same overall idea, AA seems to delve into more of a complex source of issues. For instance, AA directly addresses people who believe they were a sole minority being discriminated against. As Sam stated in lecture though, only a small percentage actually apply to this regulation.

To me, I found it most interesting that white women and people of the middle class gain the most from AA over any other class. Consider this a misconception, but I always believed that people of the lower class would apply more for AA because typical jobs held by lower class people are often riddled with legal nightmares (discrimination, unsafe work habits, etc.) It made me begin to wonder if AA is something that people of a lower class either do not face as greatly as middle class workers, or if they simply are unaware (or uneducated) on AA and the benefits and protection it offers workers facing such situations.

Personally if I had not attended Penn State I would most likely never have heard of AA again and would not have even considered it a regulation available for protecting workers from discriminatory practices. I think it is interesting to add a section around the legal protections of cultures into this course as most of what we have covered over the past few weeks revolve around the ideas and structures of cultures and their identities, yet we have not divulged greatly into what has developed because of discrimination and injustices to protect them.

The final point of this lecture that struck me was how Sam asked the class how they planned to search for a more equal society when getting out into the workforce. I think it is important to note that, as we as a culture become more diverse and open to other ethnic cultures, we will slowly and perhaps subconsciously begin to move into a workplace and social setting that finds programs like AA less and less needed in our organizations. For now that seems like a long stretch, but with the rapid transformations our society has been taking in regards to social ethnic development, it could be an idea that is not too far from attainable.

It was definitely interesting when comparing the immigration of our people hundreds of years ago to America versus today's immigration. We seem to be facing a new wave of immigration that we are not quite yet aware of how to deal with. An interesting thought to me is that we, once immigrants ourselves, quickly became "King of the Hill"... who's to say that new immigrants won't soon begin to take over and redefine the complete demographics of our societies. It is no doubt we are already seeing a shift in cultural happenings.
I did like your point when stating you had never heard of a positive reaction to illegal immigration. When I thought back upon the debate topic, I haven't truthfully heard one either. Typically it is a negative and often hate filled message when political figures and citizens discuss the topic. One could beg to differ if there is any good coming from this migration of people, or if we altogether are seeing a redefining of what it means to be "American" in a multicultural nation.

The topic for lesson 13 is so wide in range that it’s hard to define what exactly we are looking for in the first place. There is no doubt that immigration is by far one of the most polarizing topics of our time, particularly when it comes to jobs and homeland security. As pointed out in the lecture, illegal immigration continues to affect our society and our labor force as statistics show dramatic increases in employers investing resources and money into illegal immigrants.

In my senior year of high school my government class did a research project on illegal immigration and whether it was helping or hurting American society. Back then I researched information across the internet, read varying arguments for and against illegal immigration, and even researching the typical life of an illegal immigrant in American society. Then, my decision on immigration was very clear. I believed that harboring citizens in our country with no record of their existence was a direct security threat to our society and our people. The subject of job security has been brought up many times, mainly because people see illegal immigrants as the sole cause for American job loss and unemployment. As stereotypical as it is to follow this generalization, it seems that data is proving this to be the case.

In Sam’s lectures he proposed that not much has changed in the form of information on immigrants overtime. I do believe that many Americans are uninformed as to what the nature of immigration si really like now, and most people feed into news programs on CNN and Fox where they are constantly bad talking immigrants, instilling fear and resentment into the American society. At any given time you can turn a channel on TV and watch a series about border police units hunting down illegal immigrants and even killing them for trying cross the border into America. It’s actually an unfortunate event to think that people are risking their lives fleeing from their homeland all just to try and survive and potentially make a living for themselves and their families.

A final point I’d like to make on the immigration debate is that I do believe there is a very dark side to this story. It’s no question that border disputes have, adversely, opened up a very strong drug trade route between America and Mexico, and many illicit and illegal drugs flow into the US from Mexico on a daily basis. This is definitely one of the more serious consequences of having illegal immigrants entering the US. I do believe that it is in all Americans best interest to take a more active role in listening and searching into the details of illegal immigration because it seems to be the “silent” problem that is quickly multiplying throughout our country.

I like the fact that you pointed out how Sam clarified gay parents are almost guaranteed to foster loving environments. I believe one of the greatest debates right now is the rights of gay marriage and, although some states have begun accepting gay marriage license, there is still a long way to go before equal rights are common among all states. I think we can relate the lessons from last week to this week by stating that many people opposing homosexual views are stuck in a stage where their own identity and beliefs, to them, trump all others.

A last point that I would like to make which I also made was that kids raised by gay parents can live just as equal, if not better, a life than kids raised by straight parents. I think because it is such an "odd" circumstance people don't want to accept that a different way of doing things in society could be equally beneficial, if not more to children's lives.

In this week’s lecture we discussed the concepts of multiculturalism and LGBT rights in today’s society. I was impressed that we discussed LGBT rights because it wasn’t an initial topic I expected to cover during the session. One point I thought was interesting that Sam pointed out was the comparison between straight parents and gay parents and the type of living environment both parents can offer their children to raise in. When thinking about this, I believe that there is opportunity for any child to be raised in an unsure environment, and there is always potential to be raised through a rough childhood. One problem I could see with a child being raised by a gay couple is that they will feel somewhat confused at the fact that they do not have both parents there to provide what a mother and father can each provide normally to a child. On the other hand though, being raised by a gay couple also means that the child was saved from a foster home and was taken into adoption to be raised by two loving people, regardless of gender(s). I think one of the happiest joys in life for a foster child is to be taken into a loving family and given the opportunity to finally experience a more “normal” childhood.

I must say that this truly is the only class I have had in all four years at Penn State that openly talked about LGBT relations. Many of the other classes I have taken at Penn State regarding demographics in society nearly always skipped over LGBT relations. For some reason it seems to be the “hush hush” topic when it comes to the varying cultures of society. I think a strong point to be made here is that not only do the statistics for the number of people considering themselves “gay” keep rising, but as well that there is a greater societal push for equal rights for gay and bisexual people (marriage). Fifty years ago, considering yourself “gay” would have been highly looked down upon by members of society. While it still strikes a negative tone, the idea is much more common and becoming more accepted as a widespread movement in culture.

A final note that I would like to touch upon is the laws against homosexuals currently enacted in some places of the country. I thought it was completely mind blowing to think that some places consider being homosexual illegal and other places commit people to jail time or committing sexual acts. In a society where we seem to be moving toward a more progressive and equal understanding of each other and the differences that make us unique, I find this to be extremely reclusive and hindering the potential for societal expansions into better relationships.

I too thought that it was interesting to hear how Penn State divided up the living situations on campus, kind of shocking and appalling to me. It is very true that being moved from your community into one that is so racially diverse (like Penn State) is a hard transition to make. The most sensible option for Penn State would be to divide up the races that live together, not segregate them, so that everyone can learn from the start how to adapt and socialize themselves into a diverse racial setting.

I like that you also mentioned that many Asians identify themselves as White. It makes me wonder if truly they judge the basis of that decision on the fact that they perceive white people to receive more adequate treatment and better opportunities in life. It is true that our norms are shaping people from a young age to develop preconceived notions about race, and it seems to be heading us down a pretty uncertain path.

The second phase of our lectures on racial identity, I felt, was more provoking and strived to unearth the real roots behind the phases of pre-awakening, awakening, etc. I think one of the most solid points from the lecture came in terms of people of color and the certain discriminatory practices that come into play when trying to obtain housing. I have lived in two apartments now and have never had issues when dealing with housing discrimination, so it’s hard for me to understand how people can choose to discriminate against other races when providing housing.

I also thought, as always, that the videos presented in this lecture were thought provoking and really turned an idea that I had into something else. For example, in the video where the colored girls were comparing themselves to white girls, especially when talking about hairstyles, I felt was a pivotal moment in defining the types of social construction perceptions that each of us may have. I recall watching a documentary on TV a few years back about a black girl living in an all white rural town. She was often stared at and talked about when she would make simple grocery runs or would go out to eat. She had an envy of the white girls in the town because they always had the attention of men and she even went to the extent of trying to change how she spoke and enhanced her skin with skin dye to try and look more ‘normal’ in the town.

After comparing this example to the points brought up in lecture, a scary thought came to me. Just how much pressure from society does it take for one person to try and conform their identity to a completely different set of norms? For as many black people who I have met who have wished they could be white and have the same opportunities as white people, I have also met white people who wish they could be black. I can’t tell you how many times I have heard a white / black person say “If only I were white / black”, things would be different. I have heard this in school, on the job front, and even in casual public conversations with other people.

I mentioned this point many times, but I feel our society gets to a point where we become confused with what we want, who we are, and who we think we should be to fit into societies norms. I feel because of this we tend to bounce back and forth between the stages of racial identity presented in class. I put this question forward in our voice thread but I think it warrants discussion from anyone willing to answer: Can we / how do we break down the barriers blocking us from moving up the stages into an all accepting, racially equal person?

I also thought it was extremely important to introduce Guilt into the lecture as it is a resounding effect that many people often feel from pursuing racism. For everyone that experiences these stages however, I do believe there are people in this world that are so unadapted to society that they skip the entire Guilt process and only focus on having a racially abrasive mindset. It's these particular individuals who propel the racism process and harbor a dangerous and relentless pursuit of cultural racism that fail to develop and move society forward into a coherent and accepting culture. If we can move on from anger and fear into acceptance and understanding, I believe that we would discover a more progressive and innovative society.

This week we continued with the final stages of Lesson 5 in which we saw how white people transition and make decisions about judgments on other races based on certain ideology. To begin the lecture, professor Richards states that white people try their best to comprehend and perceive people of other races as being equal in race. More directly put, white people try to see everyone alike. This can create a lot of confusion and misdirection in terms how interaction between people.

It is my personal belief that MOST people do try to set aside their feelings of prejudice and judgment and try to analyze and develop relationships with other humans on a level deeper than just skin color. I, myself, try each time I interact with a person of a different race to see them as just another human being, no matter the color of the skin, their accent, or the clothes they wear. I believe that, today, much of the white attitude is slowly progressing to a more optimistic and accepting profile. The fact that we, as Americans, now have a president of black decent is a personal strife that most would have not been seen a few decades back.
I believe that not only do white people go through stages like this, but most all people go through stages where they are constantly putting themselves up against another race and trying to compare and divide differences to come to better terms of understanding. One of the greatest examples I can use to exemplify my point is the feeling that most people of Muslim decent receive when seeing a person of American decent, particularly after the recent Iraq war. As we learned, in their country they see the sides of Americans teaching children to be warriors of God, to defend religion and to carry out extreme measures to spread his word. When faced with an American, it is most likely that they go through the same stages in their mind to breakdown and dematerialize any stereotypes that may arise.

The final point I’d like to make about this lecture, which I believe Professor Richards stated, is that not everyone goes through these stages. A few people I know are very open minded to other races and cultures and never feel threatened or “out-of-place” when around them. I believe much of the fear and racism that we are developed with comes from the socialization we have at a young age not only from our parents but as well surrounding forces such as environment and community. The more close-minded a society is, the greater the chance that a white person (or any person for that matter) will find themselves hung up in the stages of the race cycle.