en-us https://www.intensedebate.com/users/2402051 Comments by rag5231 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/04/19/why-does-society-dislike-immigrants-and-why-are-they-portrayed-badly-119-blog/#IDComment144843516 Ever since immigrants came to this country, they have been portrayed negatively. Today’s media does not shed immigrants in a positive light. For example, more often than not, immigrants are portrayed badly in TV shows and movies and even the news. Borat is a prime example of insensitivity in film. It is insensitive to other cultures and portrays immigrants as silly and unintelligent. It’s even hard to watch—does this sort of film teach people how to act towards people that are different… in this case, immigrants? Far and Away is one example of a movie that portrays immigrants as the underdog. I love this movie for other reasons as well. Anyway, it is a great example of people trying to live their American dream without much luck. It seems that circumstance, bias, and the system keep them down. In the beginning, Nichole Kidman’s character brings silver spoons over from Ireland to sell to build a life. A man cons her on the ship over and steals them, leaving her without much option than to befriend Tom Cruise’s character. They then team up to earn money, get lodging, and purchase land, again without much luck. The system always seems to be against them. TV portrayals of immigrants don’t help either. Modern Family is a great show, don’t get me wrong. I love it. However, Gloria is portrayed as conniving and over-sexed. Even the news is responsible for bias against immigrants. In general, the news is always quick to point out bad news. Good news is hardly ever broadcasted. It’s the same way with immigrants. We are always quick to point out the race or ethnicity of a criminal. We broadcast constantly about The Wall. Finally, personal experiences shape our bias against immigrants. For example, my grandpa used to be a bus driver. One day, a Puerto Rican student pick-pocketed him as he was working the wheelchair lift for a student with disabilities. He could not take disciplinary actions against the student since everyone on the bus refused to give testimony. Now, I realize that any student, no matter what ethnicity, could have pick-pocketed my grandpa. However, he didn’t see it like that. That one experience shaped his view of a whole people. Our views are shaped by what we are constantly shown. If that is negative, then our views are negative. It is our job to be active. We must question what we see and not mindlessly devour it and subconsciously allow it to control how we think. I think it’s interesting that we need to remember that once we were immigrants as well. What makes us American? Is it the amount of time our families have spent here? To me, that does not mean anything. To be American is to embody the values that we hold true. Thu, 21 Apr 2011 16:02:41 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/04/19/why-does-society-dislike-immigrants-and-why-are-they-portrayed-badly-119-blog/#IDComment144843516 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/04/12/what-are-your-thoughts-on-everything-we-saw-and-heard-in-lecture-about-native-americans-119-blog/#IDComment142544454 I did not see the lecture on Native Americans coming. I honestly didn’t expect us to talk about Native Americans. I don’t know why I didn’t think of it, especially because of all the inequality they face. It’s a perfect topic for the class. Prior to the lecture, I knew little about Native Americans. However, I believe that I knew more statistics and such than my classmates since we spoke briefly about reservations in SOC 001 with Dr. Scheuble. I did not, however, realize how intense life on a reservation could be. The statistics surprised me the most. 1 in three women would be sexually assaulted in her lifetime? Unacceptable. That statistic is absolutely unacceptable in the United States of America. Frankly, it makes me angry. No one should have to live in such a high-risk situation. The fact that the assailants are white men are rarely prosecuted infuriates me. Isn’t this pretty obviously racist? I wonder how many students could sympathize with the situation of the Native Americans? I am really into social issues, so I’m sure it had much more of an effect on me. Let’s face it—the students at Penn State are privileged, middle to upper class kids, the majority of whom have had a really great life. I know I’m one of those kids. The problem is, we are so far removed from many of the tough issues that Sam talks about that it makes it very hard to believe these problems are real. I think the lecture would make more of an impact if it were done in the style of the Christian Invaders lecture. Sam had us students take the perspective of college-age Middle Easterners to put the American invasion in context. Honestly, at first it didn’t work, but as the lecture progressed, I found myself feeling “some kind of way” about what Sam was saying. If the Native American lecture was done the same way, I’m sure many students would have found it easier to identify with Native Americans. I also think it is interesting how American history is changed to sound much better than it was. It is just a lesson in the importance of the connotation of a word. For example “colonization” or “settling” sounds much better than “genocide,” which was really what happened. Americans should know more about Native Americans. People should know about these injustices. I think it is safe to say that the majority of Americans live in ignorance of the issues that Native Americans struggle with daily. I do not know how the government can turn a blind eye to this situation. These are people, not just faceless statistics. Living, breathing, working families deal with a high rate of issues like sexual abuse every day and who is helping to alleviate this problem? Wed, 13 Apr 2011 17:52:37 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/04/12/what-are-your-thoughts-on-everything-we-saw-and-heard-in-lecture-about-native-americans-119-blog/#IDComment142544454 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/04/05/which-video-in-class-today-had-the-biggest-impact-on-you-and-why-119-blog/#IDComment140532178 Tuesday’s class blew me away. I was completely engrossed in the topic. I really had never considered the point of view of someone who was my age and from Iraq. That had a huge impact on the class for me, but the videos had the most impact. There were two that really caught my attention. The first was the video of the soldiers running a tank over an Iraqi man’s car. They were “punishing” him for stealing wood. In turn, they ran over his livelihood—he was a taxi driver and now could probably no longer support his family. This seemed a big extreme to me, honestly. This scenario was like a teacher failing a student for coming to class late—trivial in the whole scheme of things. Besides, why was it an American soldier’s place to punish this man? As far as I am concerned, those soldiers were supposed to be looking for Weapons of Mass Destruction rather than policing civilians. It made me sad and angry. How many other acts like this had been committed against Iraqis? The second video that caught my eye was the one of the evangelical Christian Bible school. This “boot camp” for children was simply amazing to me—and not in a good way, either. These children were throwing their hands in the air, crying, speaking in tongues, and “praising” God. The entire Bible school had a military-themed curriculum. Children were Army-crawling on the floor, wearing camouflage face paint, and singing songs that applied to the theme. I have gone to church all my life. I have also attended and taught Bible school. I was shocked to see that children at such a young age felt that they had that sort of connection… or that they were socialized to believe that those actions meant church. I’m Lutheran, and we are almost as polar-opposites as Evangelicals and Catholics are. We don’t recruit for our church; we let people come to us when they are ready. We don’t preach politics from the pulpit; politics are personal, and we make decisions on personal interpretation. We don’t pray just for America; we pray for the whole world. I was also disturbed that they were teaching children to be in the “Lord’s Army.” Sure, I’ve sung the song “I’m in the Lord’s Army,” but my Bible school was not centered around an Army theme. I wonder how many of those children will join the army and believe that they are doing it for God. I don’t believe that was is justified… ever. If we are going by my ideology, I believe that I worship a loving God. If we’re going by the Bible, it’s right in the commandments—“Thou shalt not murder.” Even if they don’t join the military, how many of those children now think killing in war is okay? These kids will one day vote for our leaders, which scares me. I may never march in the infantry Ride in the cavalry Shoot the artillery I may zoom over the enemy but I'm in the Lord's army Wed, 6 Apr 2011 18:09:34 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/04/05/which-video-in-class-today-had-the-biggest-impact-on-you-and-why-119-blog/#IDComment140532178 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/03/29/would-you-be-willing-to-learn-a-new-language-for-a-job-119-blog/#IDComment138765618 My initial reaction was “Yes! I would love to learn another language.” However, it really does depend on a few factors. If I were right out of college and single, I would definitely take up the opportunity. It could lead to better earning power, better traveling opportunities, other jobs, or advancement in the workplace. I would definitely have the free time as well, and it would be awesome if the extra education was paid completely by my employer. Even if I was recently married, I would still take the time to learn the language for the above benefits. If I had a family, the situation would get much stickier. I think it would be very difficult to balance a job with kids, a husband, running a household, and education. I know it is definitely not impossible or easy, and that it would benefit my family as well. I am just not sure how I could handle the situation. I think learning languages is essential to growth. It is essential to academic growth—children who learn a language at a young age just do better in school and have a wider worldview. It is essential to growth as a person—being able to understand another culture is something few people achieve. It’s essential to our education—languages just make people smarter, that’s all there is to it. And thus, it’s essential to our country—smarter people means bigger ideas and advancements in other areas as well. I have often thought about raising my proverbial children bilingual. I am currently not studying a language, so right now, the probability of me becoming advanced enough in another language enough to teach my children is rather low (but could change in the future!). I will absolutely consider a school that starts children languages earlier than middle or high school, however. I would love to continue studying a language in college. I really enjoyed Spanish in high school, but have not continued it so far. I love learning about other languages, people, and cultures. I love to travel more than anything, so learning a language is almost essential to keep doing what I love. One of my biggest pet peeves is when people insist that one must speak English in the United States. Yes, it is frustrating to encounter a person that you desperately need to talk with who can’t speak English. However, this is a flaw in the system, not the person. If I were a lawmaker, I would never want to make a situation where a person cannot get the information they need because of a language barrier. Programs should be in place to educate native English speakers on other languages and cultures as well as English as a Second Language courses available for those who need them. Education is a wonderful thing, and EVERYONE could do with a little more of it. Thu, 31 Mar 2011 04:31:07 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/03/29/would-you-be-willing-to-learn-a-new-language-for-a-job-119-blog/#IDComment138765618 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/03/22/for-the-white-females-would-you-ever-date-a-black-guy-119-blog/#IDComment137063692 Yes, I would date a black guy. But I would also date an Asian guy, Native American guy, or practically any other race. Let me put this into perspective: I’m a 19-year-old white, Lutheran woman. I was brought up in a conservative town by liberal parents. I truly believe that I am attracted to the person, not the race. So far, I’ve only dated white guys. Maybe that’s my problem, huh? But on a serious note, I do not think it would be a big issue for me to date outside of my race. I also do not think that my family would be opposed to it, of which I strongly value their opinions. My previous boyfriends and I have broken up for reasons far from race. I broke up with one guy because he wanted to get married… at 17? I don’t think so. Another one was a bit of an alcoholic, so that didn’t end well either. Another was an atheist, and that may not have been a huge deal if he hadn’t continually questioned my own beliefs to the point of annoyance. Another wrote me a nasty email and was much more emotional than I am. And yet another one is transferring to California after this semester. Cool. Wow, after looking at this list, I sure know how to pick ‘em. If I were to date a black guy, I do not believe I would face opposition from my family. I know that my sisters would be accepting. I’m fairly certain that my parents would be accepting as well. When other people from my area may worry about their conservative grandparents’ disapproval, I also do not think this is a problem. My grandfather is rather progressive for an 80-year-old and my grandmama is a little crazy. As long as he’ll listen to her long, boisterous rants, she will love him. I do not understand how some people can insist that they will not date outside of their race. If they are truly in love with someone, I feel that skin color is very trivial. When I love someone, I love him, not his skin color. Yes, there will be cultural, religious, or some other type of difference that you may have to deal with, but that comes with anyone, not just people of a different race. I understand that maybe some people do not want to deal with backlash from close-minded family. However, nothing is really easy. I would never want to say that I missed the love of my life because I was afraid of speaking to my family about it. What are you afraid of? Throughout writing this response, I have realized a few things about guys have dated. 1) They are all republicans. 2) The majority of them have played trumpet. I feel that these are far bigger problems for me than race. Wed, 23 Mar 2011 19:01:07 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/03/22/for-the-white-females-would-you-ever-date-a-black-guy-119-blog/#IDComment137063692 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/03/18/what-do-you-think-of-the-diversity-at-penn-state-119-blog/#IDComment135925435 Penn State is very diverse in my opinion. My high school was not at all diverse. The majority of the population was white. The next populous group was Latinos/Hispanics, then African Americans, and very few Asians. With the low level of diversity came a high level of racism. I was raised to accept people of all colors, but the rest of my county clearly was not. Penn State is a nice change from Lebanon, PA. Diversity was not the only reason that I chose Penn State, but it did make the school more attractive to me. With such a big school comes all kinds of people, ideas, values, opinions. Especially in our SOC discussion groups, it is wonderful to hear different perspectives that I’ve never been exposed to before. I love talking to people and it is great to be exposed to people of different experiences that I really have never had the opportunity to explore before. I also enjoy the diversity of classes and professors here. In my first semester, I took all classes that I did not have the opportunity to take in high school. Again, because my school was conservative and small, there was less diversity even in the subject matter of what teachers elected to teach or were allowed to teach. Penn State’s diversity of classes and professors has already opened my mind. In the fall semester, I took a Media Studies class that taught me to critically assess mass media and question what I see, which I never even thought about before taking the seminar. I also took Sociology, which I absolutely love. As a student that is undecided on a major, Penn State’s diversity of classes and professors is expanding my interests which may lead to a potential major. In this way, the diversity of this school is impacting and shaping my future directly. The diversity of clubs at Penn State is incredible. I actually wish that I could be a part of all of them. I love having 500+ opportunities to learn something new or meet new people. At THON, I was completely blown away by the club performances. Fusion was absolutely amazing—they made me want to take up Bollywood-style dance. Each a capella group was flawless. The pep rally with all the sports teams was so much fun. It was great to see all the student athletes in one spot having fun. These clubs not only offer a lot of options for membership, but they provide many diverse events around campus. I love going to the concerts, shows, protests, festivals, benefits, and other events that are all results of the hard work that these students put in. I don’t understand why some people think Penn State is too big. I love the diverse options that are available to me, whether it is through other students, my professors, clubs, or events on campus. I believe that because Penn State is so diverse, it is educating each student, even if they are not taking a Race Relations Sociology course. Fri, 18 Mar 2011 22:40:43 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/03/18/what-do-you-think-of-the-diversity-at-penn-state-119-blog/#IDComment135925435 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/02/22/do-you-think-in-today%e2%80%99s-society-people-are-more-racist-toward-muslims-or-blacks-119-blog/#IDComment130130775 At this very point in time, I think people are more racist towards Muslims. I do not pretend to be well educated on racism towards Muslims, but I do not believe there was another point in time where people were so discriminatory towards Muslims. I believe this is due to the September 11th Terrorist Attacks on the World Trade Centers. After these attacks, there was an upsurge of hatred towards these people that stemmed from a lack of education. Just like the panel discussed in class, it was a group of extremists that committed the terrible acts, not the entire people. They should not be punished any more for the actions of the extremists any more than Americans should be punished for the actions of our extremists. Even though this event occurred years ago, the United States is still stationed overseas fighting a “War on Terrorism.” I’m sure many people are “pro-war” and are racist towards Muslims because they are personally attached to the war—maybe a family member was killed in Iraq or Afghanistan. However, this is not an excuse for racism, or even a valid argument, really. I have a close friend currently stationed in Japan with the Marines. He will be leaving for Iraq in a few months and has already expressed the reality of his dying overseas. Because I know him well, does this give me an excuse to be racist against the people of the extremists that he will be fighting? No, not at all. If anything, I pray that these people will cease so he can come home safely. I haven’t personally experienced such a level of racism. My high school and town was about 95% white and Christian. There were no Muslims in my school, and only a few African American students. There was an incident, though, in the spring of my senior year that I witnessed firsthand. A white student was asking a black student if he’d “like some grape soda and friend chicken.” Another black student was very offended, so she reprimanded the senior, who justified his comments by saying “he’s my friend and he knows I’m kidding.” This, in my opinion, was unacceptable. The subject of the comments did not make a joke back, which, in retrospect makes me think that he did not find his “joke” funny. How did the senior know that the other student knew he was just joking around? Why would he think that a comment like that would be funny in the first place? If the second student had not spoken up, would anyone else have said anything about his racist remarks? Americans developed an over exaggerated sense of patriotism after the 9/11 attacks. Does patriotism reinforce ethnocentrism? I think it does. Ethnocentrism is literally the idea that my culture is better than your culture. Patriotism is the pride in one’s country—my country is better than your country. Don’t they seem similar? Wed, 23 Feb 2011 18:16:20 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/02/22/do-you-think-in-today%e2%80%99s-society-people-are-more-racist-toward-muslims-or-blacks-119-blog/#IDComment130130775 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/02/16/why-with-more-education-do-people-believe-that-success-is-mostly-a-result-of-hard-work-119-blog/#IDComment128569512 As a freshman, I’m still pretty naïve. I still like to believe that I have experienced success in my life because I have worked for it, not due to who I know. For example, I auditioned for Regional Chorus in eleventh and twelfth grade. Some people could make the argument that because my dad is a music teacher and directs choirs in our community that I would be guaranteed a spot in Regional Chorus. If that was the case, I should have made the chorus in tenth grade despite my terrible audition. The next year, I worked much harder on the audition and earned my spot in Regional Chorus. It also does not help the opposing argument that the auditions are blind—the judges face the opposite direction of the singers to remain unbiased. I have dealt with people who believe that success is just a result of who you know. For example, I had a lead in the musicals at my high school every year from freshman to senior year. Since it’s difficult to get a dancing lead as a freshman, many upperclassmen insisted that I only got it because my parents were teachers. The next year, when I got another lead, again, it was said to be because my mother was a teacher in my school district. The year after, it was the same explanation, as well as the year after that. It becomes frustrating, not being recognized for your hard work. It’s even more frustrating to be told that you didn’t work at all. I am sure it is different in a more corporate setting, though. We have heard of people “moving up the corporate ladder” because it’s about “who you know, not what you know.” It has to be true simply because these expressions exist. There are even entire organizations that perpetuate this cycle. The original mission of fraternities and sororities was to make contacts within the group (or even across the country) because somebody-who-knows-somebody can help get a person a job. From my naïve freshman perspective, it seems only right to me that success comes with more education. It’s hard to graduate high school, and it’s even harder to graduate from college. College courses present a different way of thinking. There is more reading, more writing, more work in general. It takes a goal-oriented, dedicated person to not only attend class, but to get good grades as well. In short, college teaches a person to work hard, and in turn, they will be more successful. Most importantly, college teaches you the facts. I do not want a doctor to say to me one day “I can’t transplant that liver for you. I only got this job because the hospital director is a friend of my dad.” Honestly, it only seems fair to me that those who work hard should do well. It doesn’t make sense that who a person knows determines how well you do in the real world. Who you know does not show your work ethic, dedication, or knowledge. Thu, 17 Feb 2011 14:34:56 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/02/16/why-with-more-education-do-people-believe-that-success-is-mostly-a-result-of-hard-work-119-blog/#IDComment128569512 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/02/08/how-have-the-choices-youve-made-and-determinism-affected-your-life-119-blog/#IDComment126954991 By definition, determinism is the idea that the events in your life have diverted your path, rather than your biological makeup or your choice. When I first chose this question to answer, I initially thought that indeed, I was in charge of my own destiny. Hadn’t I gotten here because of the choices I’ve made? I studied hard and did well in school. I participated in numerous extracurricular activities in order to appeal to my prospective school choices. I stayed away from the “wrong crowd” and surrounded myself with determined, like-minded people. I’m at an acclaimed Big Ten school because I got myself here… right? Wrong. I’ve come to grips with the reality that I’m here because people before me, namely my parents, set me on this path. My parents are wonderful people, and the decisions that they have made governed where I am today. They each know the importance of education (the most important thing in my life right now)—my father completed his bachelor’s degree and my mother completed her master’s degree before starting a family. Both of them graduated from Penn State. This decision alone already set my life on track. Because my parents waited until their educations were completed before getting married and starting a family, I am likely to do the same thing, and in turn, improving the lives of my own children and me. Most importantly, my parents paid off their educations and mortgage as soon as possible. This allowed them to then put money aside for my sisters’ and my educations. Because I won’t have student loans when I graduate from college, I will have the financial freedom that other people my age won’t, and it will allow me to do whatever I need to do with money (buy a car, house, travel, move to a city, etc.). Back to Penn State. I am here because my family went here. Some would say that’s pathetic that I can’t make my own decisions, but it’s deeper than that. I made the decision to come here, but my decision was definitely influenced because I’ve been so exposed to the Penn State Culture. Since my parents met in the Blue Band, I pretty much am alive because of Penn State. I’ve been coming to football games since I could sit still long enough. I knew the words to the Alma Mater before I knew the ones to my own high school’s song. I knew that I’ve wanted to go to Penn State and play the trumpet in the Blue Band since I can remember having conscious thoughts. In the future, I’m not sure how much I will adhere to my parents’ influence. I doubt I’ll return to Lebanon County to raise a family. However, I do know that their decision making skills, parenting skills, and life experiences will probably influence my own life decisions in some capacity. Wed, 9 Feb 2011 18:23:05 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/02/08/how-have-the-choices-youve-made-and-determinism-affected-your-life-119-blog/#IDComment126954991 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/02/01/do-you-describe-yourself-differently-in-other-countries/#IDComment125454046 My family is of German descent, however, I don’t usually describe myself as German. Perhaps it is because my family has been in the United States for so long that we are no longer very German. Sure, we eat pork and sauerkraut on New Year’s Day, but we don’t necessarily do that because our family is German, so much as it is simply tradition. However, when people ask me what I am in the United States, I do say German and Hungarian. I can’t say, though, that I’ve ever really been in a situation when I’ve classified myself as American. Whenever I travel, people can instantly tell where I am from anyway, so they don’t usually ask. I traveled to Costa Rica last spring with a school group. The locals rarely asked where we were from (since they could already tell by our accents), and when they did, we replied “Pennsylvania” rather than “Los Estados Unidos.” The locals would then reply “Penn-seel-ban-ee-ya?” It was amusing every time and never got old. I have also traveled to Canada a few times, and the same thing happened there as well. The locals already knew my family was from the United States, so they asked us specifically which state we were from. Does this mean that we have more loyalty to our state than our country? I’m sure this situation is different for people who can do great accents or speak the language well when traveling outside of the country. However, my American/Spanglish accent always gives it away. Also, when traveling to Canada, Pennsylvania license plates are a tell-all of where you’re from. My family always seems to wear matching Penn State sweatshirts (by accident, of course!) when we’re on vacation too, so that is another give-away. I wish that my family was closer to its roots that I could confidently reply, “I am German” when asked what I am. I’ve never been to Germany. I’m not in contact with any of my relatives that still live there. However, I don’t feel that extremely close to America to proudly call myself an American, too. Perhaps this is my parents’ fault. When other kids’ parents’ cars were decorated with flags and “God Bless America” stickers, my parents were taking me to war protests. It’s not that my parents are anti-American, they were just anti-Bush. This question also makes me wonder why we want to know what people are. In my opinion, people are people and it doesn’t matter where they came from. Sure, it’s a nice conversation starter to ask where someone is from, but does it really matter? Do we start to judge a person more harshly when we find out where they’re from if we know their ethnic background? Wed, 2 Feb 2011 16:05:28 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/02/01/do-you-describe-yourself-differently-in-other-countries/#IDComment125454046 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/01/26/how-do-you-classify-yourself-119-blog/#IDComment123957371 I don’t like labels. In my opinion, people are people. Everyone has differences and everyone has similarities. As Shrek says, we’re like onions and we have layers. Why would anyone want to define himself or herself by just one of those layers? Labels have started wars, torn families apart, and caused heartache. I like to think that I’m made up of many things, and that just one thing doesn’t define me. However, for the sake of the prompt, these are what define me: I am a single white female. I am German and Hungarian. I am a sister, daughter, niece, granddaughter, great niece, and cousin. In the summer, I’m a child-care provider. The rest of the year, I’m a poor college kid. I’m a musician: I play trumpet, piano, and ukulele. I am a ballet, tap, and swing dancer. I’m a singer, an alto to be specific. I am a connoisseur of Lindor truffles, peach pie, Doritos, and raspberry smoothies. I am a lover of oldies’ music, high-heels, and vintage clothes. I’m an avid celebrity-rag reader. I’m a Jack Benny Program listener. I’m a collector of Smokey Bear paraphernalia, post-cards, Broadway show pins, and Snapple caps. I am a member of the Pennsylvania State Marching Blue band and the a Capella group, Blue in the FACE. I am a world explorer. I am imperfect. I’m a crybaby. I am a complainer. I am a devil’s advocate. I’m a prep. I am indecisive. I’m a “goody-two-shoes.” I’m a band geek. I’m a Harry Potter junkie. I am enthusiastic and loud when it’s not socially acceptable. I’m a lover of horribly written Meg Cabot novels like The Princess Diaries series. I’m a nervous giggler in inappropriate situations. I’m a too-cautious driver (and it caused me to have my first accident not too long ago)! I’m a grudge-holder when someone hurts my sisters. I am both an introvert and an extrovert given the right setting. I am a procrastinator and an over-achiever. I am a winter-lover and summer-baby. I love old people and toddlers. I love kids, but I don’t want kids. I both love and hate Wal*mart, but mostly hate. I’m am both an individualist and conformist. I am a left-wing bleeding-heart liberal. I’m a citizen of the world. I’m an advocate for the ONE Campaign, the campaign to make poverty history. I am pro-choice and anti-guns. I am a believer in the good in people. I am a Lutheran who believes in karma. I’m a registered democrat who has not missed an election yet. I am a strong-willed democrat. I am a fan of the Golden Rule. I’m a dreamer, pacifist, optimist. I’m a lover, not a fighter. I am nothing less than all of this. I am me. Wed, 26 Jan 2011 19:54:31 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/01/26/how-do-you-classify-yourself-119-blog/#IDComment123957371 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/01/14/why-do-we-still-have-stereotypes-blog-1/#IDComment122175357 I often ask myself the question, “why do stereotypes still exist?” The United States is incredibly advanced (compared to other countries). Technology has developed to the point where one can’t survive without a laptop or cell phone. Our science has morphed to the point where parents can literally design a child. Since we have progressed to such an advanced society, shouldn’t our thinking progress as well? I personally try to be open-minded and stereotype-free, but I have a few theories addressing why they still exist today. Our families are responsible for our upbringing. Our parents instill their own values and behaviors in us as we grow. For example, I play trumpet because my parents are both trumpet players. While I love to play and wouldn’t want to play anything else, they are still the reason I first picked up a trumpet. In the same way, many people share similar views with their parents, simply because that is what their parents believe. For example, a child who is a democrat while his father is a republican is definitely the minority. I think that stereotypes exist today because they are passed down parent to child. Children want to mimic their parents in order to learn from them. Perhaps a child hears her mother make a rude comment. That child will accept that action as truth and believe the thought to be right. Secondly, our experiences shape our beliefs. My grandfather is a perfect example. A few years ago, he was a bus driver. While standing up to help a child in a wheelchair onto the lift, he was pick-pocketed by a Puerto Rican teenager. He immediately realized it, but could not retrieve his wallet. Normally, he is a loving and accepting person. However, this negative experience changed his entire view of Latinos, rather than of teenagers or boys. As much as we may not want to, it’s easy to stereotype. This is the cycle: one has a negative encounter with a member of a group and the negatively labels the entire group, even though it is often false. It’s easier to conclude that a group of people behaves a certain way rather than to get to know each individual personally. Each of us is guilty of stereotyping. Maybe we see a girl on the street in Northface, Uggs, and leggings and decide that she’s a sorostitute. Maybe we see a guy wearing a tight shirt with spiked hair and assume he’s a Jersey Shore fan. We see someone in a marching band uniform and label them a geek. Usually these assumptions are unconscious, which is the root of the problem. We need to become conscious of these thoughts before they become actions. Wed, 19 Jan 2011 00:52:09 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/01/14/why-do-we-still-have-stereotypes-blog-1/#IDComment122175357 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/01/10/last-name-%e2%80%9cg%e2%80%9d-%e2%80%93-intense-debate/#IDComment120927831 SOC 119 Wed, 12 Jan 2011 19:17:53 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/01/10/last-name-%e2%80%9cg%e2%80%9d-%e2%80%93-intense-debate/#IDComment120927831