Going into this class, I had no idea what to expect besides that it is one of the greatest classes that Penn State offers. I have to say that it has opened my eyes to things that I never knew existed before.

First and foremost, the concept of race is one that I realize I have never understood before this class. I never really considered myself to be racist before, but I think otherwise now. Also, I thought I understood the different races and their origins, but I was wrong about that, too. I have learned more about race that I even thought possible. For example, how and why people’s skin are different colors or why Asians have eyes that look the way they do. It amazes me that I lived my whole life not fully understanding our differences. Furthermore, it has opened my eyes. I have had countless conversations since the beginning of the semester about how race affects our society today.

Truthfully, one of the biggest concepts that I have learned this semester is that racism is still prevalent in our society. After seeing countless facts and figures, I have learned that I live in a country I did not fully understand before. Not only does this make me sad but it surprises me. How have I been able to live 21 years without hearing a majority of the things I heard in this class? It is obvious to me that our country obviously does a good job of hiding the truth from us. We are not the “land of equal opportunity” that everyone believes. In fact, race is still a determining factor in all walks of life whether we realize it or not. People are kept out of jobs that they rightfully deserve because of their skin color. People miss out on opportunities to better themselves because it is nearly impossible to move up in a society that is run on money. Without money, you have no power in the United States.

We don’t realize it, but everything in our country traces back to money. You cannot be elected President without billions of dollars to run your campaign. You cannot be apart of lawmaking, that which affects everyday citizens, without having enough money to run for office. Lastly, you cannot head the ranks of a successful corporation without some money to make it successful. We live in any extremely superficial society where money is truly everything. As someone who cherishes the little things in life, this saddens me. This class has taught me how shallow our country is and how much changing we really need to do. We were once the greatest country in the world, but I am sad to say that that label no longer applies to the United States of America.

I think a lot of things factor into this question. First and foremost, we still live in racist society. Despite what anyone thinks or believes, this is true. That is why it is so difficult for interracial couples in our society. People stare and judge them just because two people with a different skin color have romantic feelings for each other. Honestly, it does not make sense to me, but at the same time, I understand it. For decades, people of color were labeled as property and worth the equivalent, if not less. This label has stigmatized the entire race, and that is truly sad. While this image is diminishing, it still exists. Until that day where it is no longer relevant, people will always judge couples of two different races. This judgment can be more damaging and hurtful to some couples over others. For that reason, some people may chose to stick to relationships in their own race because they cannot handle this stigmatization.

Another factor that may affect a person’s decision to date outside their race is attraction. Some people may not be attracted to the features that most people of color tend to have, and the same goes for black peoples attraction for white people. Most people of color tend to have larger features, such as big lips and a big nose, with kinky hair. Since these features are not typical of a white person, some white people may not be attracted to this specific look. Also, skin and eye color is obviously a major difference. Typically, people of color have brown skin and brown eyes. For a white person that is extremely pale with blue eyes, they may not feel comfortable with someone completely opposite of them.

Overall, I think a person’s decision to have an interracial relationship depends on their confidence and perception of oneself. If someone is comfortable with the person they are and find someone of a different race that they love, then there is no reason why this person would not pursue this relationship. Someone like this would probably be able to ignore all of the stigmatization that he or she would receive from society. On the other hand, a very introverted person with low self-esteem may not be able to handle all of the baggage that comes along with an interracial relationship. As sad as it is, this is imminent in our society today. Until the foundation and beliefs of our country changes, this will never change. Until that day, people who are with someone of a different race must deal with all of the hardships that come along with their relationship. While I do not agree this is right, it is just the way it is.

The Christian Invader video that was shown on Thursday really took me by surprise. At the beginning of class, I was a little skeptical to what the video was going to be about. However, it turned out to be quite interesting.

The beginning really caught my attention because it was about the War in Iraq, and to be honest, I cannot say that I know much about it. All I have ever heard is that “they have oil that we need.” It was funny because that was addressed right off the bat. Most people think the same thing that I do about the war. We went over there after 9/11 because of Al-Qaeda (obviously) but also for oil. All over the media they say that is our reason for being there, which makes a lot of sense why most people think that. Most of our society gets all of their information from the news or other media tools. We believe whatever they feed us.

After addressing that, the video went in a much different direction. They started talking about how the Christians wanted to get rid of the Muslims over there. All of them think that Islam is the cause for terrorism and all of the bad things that go on over there, although there was video footage that showed otherwise. Our own military was killing civilians and messing with them just because they felt like it. Our military is also mostly Christians. Another thing that was shown was Christians pretending to be Islamic, and then trying to pass out propaganda material convincing them to become Christian. They go over to Iraq because they believe that this is the root of all of our problems.

All of this information was shocking to me because I am a Catholic. I never expected people who practice the same religion as me to have anything to do with the War in Iraq. To me, this movement seems extremely radical. Trying to convince a whole country to convert their religion is extremely unlikely. Also, something that bothered me about this movement is that the Christians know that what they are doing can get innocent civilians killed. If an Islamic person publicly converts their religion, they will be killed. However, there was a video of a Christian saying he knew that and didn’t really care. That is horrible to me how one person can be so selfish. I understand that these people might actually believe this could be the cause of the problems, but who are we to harm innocent people like that. Personally, I think Sam was a little over the top in his presentation and may have dramatized some of it. On the other hand, there is enough information supporting this idea for it to be completely made up.

I think that the whole concept of being gay as a choice or not is an interesting topic because we have no real evidence which supports either position. Personally, I think it is obvious that being gay is not a choice, but rather something that is predetermined. In this day and age, I have no idea why someone would WANT to be gay. Obviously, someone could want to attract attention, but what about all the people that are embarrassed to admit he or she is gay? Our society has made great steps to becoming more accepting of gay people, but we still have a long way to go. There is no doubt that much discrimination still exists against LGBT people.

This brings me to Sam’s question of why certain people believe that being gay is a choice. First, I think that these people are ignorant to the differences of this group of people. They do not want to take the time to talk to them and figure out why they are gay. When did they become gay? How did they know? I would imagine that most of these conversations would go very similarly. People that are truly gay just feel that they are different that most people. A lot of times they try to inhibit it because of society, but for most people, it is eventually going to surface. If it does not, I can’t imagine that this feeling goes away. Second, I think that these groups want to believe it is a choice because they want to have an excuse to make fun of them. Anyone I have ever talked to that is accepting of LGBT believes that it is a predetermined factor. However, those that believe it is a choice are not so open to the idea. This gives them the ability to call these people “weird” and “fags” without feeling guilty.

Overall, I cannot relate to this position in any way. An example of this is children we see and immediately think, “He is gay.” How could a young child that does not even understand the most complicated concepts of life, especially love and sex, “act” this way? I have no idea what a person who favors the choice position would say because I can’t see any explanation that would make sense. A child doesn’t have the ability to grasp the differences at such a young age, yet all the signs point to gay. Today, I don’t see how anyone would favor such a position, although I know there are definitely people out there. To these people, I say go have a conversation with a LGBT person. Ask them about their life and sexual orientation. I have a feeling nine times out of ten they may start to think differently.

As a woman, this is a topic of conversation that hits home for me. I consider myself to be pro-life, but at the same time, I am not deeply rooted in the issue. I have thought about, what if I got pregnant? What would I do? Yeah, it is easy to say sitting here, all healthy and not pregnant, that I would keep the baby. However, I know that it would not be that easy if I were actually thrown into the situation. Obviously, I’m not saying that I would definitely get an abortion if they opportunity presented itself, but I feel like it is one of those things you really don’t know unless you are in the situation. I like to think that I would be noble and keep the baby, but then I think about my future. Would I really want a baby ruining everything I have planned? But, at the same time, if I am mature enough to put myself in that situation, then I am mature enough to take care of a baby. I go back and forth on the issue, because the truth is I really do not know what I would do. I do know that it would be one of the biggest decisions in my life, whichever way I decided.

As far as considering rape involving my mother or sister (if I had one), it makes the situation that much harder. For people that say that woman should ALWAYS definitely keep the baby, it makes for a more difficult decision. If someone that close to me was completely violated and raped, I can’t say I would want them to keep the baby. Although it would be up to them, I can’t imagine that they would want to keep the baby either. How could someone want a child that was produced under such grueling and harsh circumstances? In situations like these, I can’t help but think of myself as pro-choice. For that reason, I don’t really stand strong on the issue because the truth is I don’t have a strong opinion. In some circumstances, I think pro-life applies. In others, I think pro-choice applies. Unfortunately, there is no such thing as pro-lifeandchoice.

In the end, I feel like it is easier for people to pass judgment without being involved in a certain situation. Every situation in life is different and is going to call for many different, difficult choices. For that reason, I don’t feel like it’s justified to judge someone without being in his or her situation. Even then, some people have different beliefs and circumstances that affect their decisions. This assignment reminds me how everyone is different. Not any two people are going to lead the same life with the same factors affecting their life decisions. The saying “Never judge a book by its cover” really holds true for this situation.

This is a really interesting question and video. For one, I don’t think it was an accident that the people of color in the video looked mad and “hard.” Also, a few of them had on a sideways, flat-brimmed hat, which is a typical stereotype of people of color. As far as the white people, they were pretty typical as far as stereotypes, too. They had light hair, light eyes, and really light skin. With them standing next to four extremely dark people of color makes it really easy for someone to pass a stereotypical judgment on them.

Before taking this class, I would probably be really intimidated by the darker people. Something about their hard appearance can be pretty intimidating for a little white girl. I would probably be somewhat hesitant in my approach to them, and I would probably be careful as to what I’d say to them, making sure that I don’t seem scared or feel threatened. On the other hand, I would not feel this way at all when approaching the white people. They seem happier and easier to talk to because they are smiling and look more relaxed. Also, I feel more comfortable around white people because throughout my whole life, I haven’t had many contacts with black people. Those that I did have contact with could be considered “whiter” black people because they act more like whites than blacks.

Thinking about this topic after being in this class has really opened to my eyes to the way I react when I see black people. There is no need for me to be intimidated by any of those men in the video. They could well be much nicer and open to conversation than all three white people. Also, why do we associate black people as more hard and intimidating? It could be because I have less contact with them and feed into the stereotypes that our society provides us. Another idea I had was that their larger features could make them look madder, which is different than what I’m used to being around white people. Either way, there is no reason why I should feel differently approaching a white versus a black person. It’s just the stereotypes that society makes us believe that shaped how I feel and what I think. Although, after taking this class I think differently every time I approach a black person. I realize I have no excuse to feel the way I do. I just have had preconceived notions due to social media and the way whites have interacted with blacks over the past century. Our relationships have definitely improved over the years, but there is still that negative belief towards blacks. I think everyone needs to take this class and realize skin color has nothing to do with peoples’ characteristics, but rather how the rest of society treats them does.

I really enjoyed this class for a variety of reasons. Sam really opened my eyes to the quality of life that Native Americans have today. When we answered those clicker questions about giving people back their land when it is stolen, I immediately responded YES. Also, I agreed that especially when children are involved, one should be given back their land, as was illustrated in the exercise Sam did. Isn’t it completely obvious that land should never be taken from someone when it is not his or hers? I know in today’s society this land theft would not be legally or socially acceptable. However, this is exactly what we did to those innocent Native Americans decades ago. As a result, most of their lives have been negatively impacted every single day since then.

I was completely surprised to find out that those clicker questions pertained the Native Americans in the United States today. I have never heard of such hardships going on right on our own soil. I’m not sure if this is because I have never looked for the information, but I feel like it is not ever talked about either. When we hear about suicide rates and poverty rates, it appears that Native Americans are completely left out of the categories altogether. I wonder why this is the case. It’s possible that maybe this is our country’s way of “covering up” all the bad that we have done to them. Although it is interesting that we have been unable to cover up other hardships our country has done, such as slavery. Maybe it is nearly impossible to cover slavery because it was such a big part of history and is still talked about today. Also, it may have been easier to cover up Native American history because most of them do not venture beyond the reservations. At least this is my perception because I cannot think of many times I have encountered Native Americans in my life. Since they stick to their reservations and we do not hear about what goes on there, it makes sense why we don’t hear much about these issues.

This whole situation is extremely shocking for me. Not only do I feel ignorant because I have never heard of such issues, but I also feel embarrassed for the people that caused these problems. That is, the people who originally stole the land from these innocent people. What’s even worse is that, today, we still don’t do anything to correct the issue. This could be because of lack of information, or it could be because of lack of caring. Either way, this is a serious issue within the walls of the United States. I think it’s important we start focusing on correcting the serious problems here and focus less on correcting other problems abroad.

To date, I think that I can recognize coming to Penn State two years ago as the biggest decision I have ever made. Where I am from, most of the people I graduated high school with attend college and obtain a degree. I’m from the suburbs right outside of Philadelphia. I am only 20 minutes from the city, but you would never know it. As you move closer to the city through my county, you can visibly see it. Some parts of Philadelphia are not exactly nice. As a result, the surrounding suburbs are starting to see that as more and more people move out of the city and into these neighborhoods. My neighborhood has been vastly untouched, but just 10 minutes away is a completely different story.

My town is predominantly white and Republican. My parents believe that you need to obtain a college degree to make it in this society. For the most part, I believe them. However, I guess I never considered that my parents could have been a big part as to why I went to college, “an invisible strength.” Having the encouragement from my parents is definitely part of why I went to college. Although, I never needed them to motivate me through high school, I guess I have never known anything different. I come from a great family, great neighborhood, and great school. Everywhere I turn one is expected to graduate high school and go to college. I’m sure that this had influenced my decision to attend higher education without me even realizing it.

When I reflect on this, I realize how lucky I truly am. I come from a great place in society and have realized that not many people are as fortunate as me. This brings me to reflect on what we have been discussing in class – race. Do the children of color, from inner city North Philadelphia, have the same opportunity and chances that I did and do? I’m going to say probably not. They are stuck in terrible schooling systems and, most of the time, in broken families. Not saying every family is perfect in my neighborhood, but a strong support system definitely helps guide important life decisions. Those children are stuck in a place that is extremely hard to get out of. Most of the time they have nowhere to turn, and as a result, turn to gangs and other illegal activity. Again I am not saying ALL youth in this area are like that, but I would assume a large majority is. Is this because they are bad kids? Absolutely not, but this is just a result of the American society, where people of color are on the bottom and whites on the top. Instead of trying to attack the problem as a whole, we try and attack the problem in small parts. Maybe they put a metal detector here and extra school security there, but does this really help the problem? We need to address WHY they are on the bottom and help change that as a whole society, otherwise there is always going to be this wealth and education gap between races.

I feel like my opinion could go either way with this question. It is extremely unfortunate for the people that are born into the lower class. With our society, as was illustrated in class, moving from the lower to upper class is unlikely in most situations. However, I cannot say that I agree that we have a “responsibility” per se to help them move up in the world.

The wealth gap between the lower and the upper class is only increasing. It seems that we are unaware of a way to reduce this increase, too. On the other hand, it could be that the upper class knows how to stop this separation, but does not want to. It is understandable that the people who work extremely hard to be successful don’t want to give up all their money up to the lower class. Could this be because they are selfish? Or could it be because they feel like the lower class doesn’t work hard, which is why they are unsuccessful? There are obviously going to be different people with different views on the situation, but I would like to know the majority reason why extremely filthy rich people chose not to help out the people in our country that are extremely poor.

It’s hard for me to say because my family is apart of the middle class. We aren’t super rich but we are definitely comfortable in the money department. Truthfully, I do not know where I stand on this issue. I want to say that people should work hard and then they will acquire enough money to live comfortably, but I know that in this day and age, that is not true. So, I think that instead of putting the responsibility on someone else to make poor people rich, we all need to work together and solve the problem. Just handing money to people, through programs like welfare, gives them no motivation to go out and better themselves and their lives. We need to attack the root of the issue. WHY is this gap so large? WHY is it increasing? Once we can answer those questions, we need to figure out a way to stop it. The ugly truth it, though, that this requires the rich to be a little less selfish. I don’t agree that the rich should paying poor people’s way through school, but I do think that they could be helping out more. If everyone worked together in this country and attacked the heart of the problem, then we have more of a chance of everyone becoming more equal in this “land of opportunity.” This means that ALL the poor people need to work a little bit harder and ALL the rich people need to give a little. When this happens, we won’t see such a small group of people holding such a large percentage of the wealth in the United States.

It is truthfully embarrassing to me that I have to live in the same country with such ignorant and close-minded people as those who commented on the NYDN posting of this picture. We get it that her facial hair is not normal as per “American beauty standards,” but to put down someone so much and say such hurtful things is just plain wrong. For the most part, I feel like many of the people were just mocking both her and the idea behind her story. One comment that really struck me was one that said “I'd demand the TSA confirm for me and my fellow passengers that those two bumps on her chest are actual parts of female anatomy and not globs of plastic explosives.” I would LOVE to know where people actually come up with this stuff and furthermore, I would love to know where they come from. If you have enough time to be posting such hurtful things about someone that you don’t even know, then shame on you. That is one thing about today’s society that I absolutely cannot stand. People are such cowards that they hide behind the anonymity of the Internet to say what they “really” think. All of those people should be ashamed of themselves. She embraced a picture that someone took to embarrass her and explained why she loves who she is. I can honestly say I think that this is one of the boldest things I have seen and heard in our society in a long time. Also, I was actually AMAZED at how many people posted in the NYDN article and said, “she is just doing this for attention.” That is just one more problem with our society. No one can step out of the norm in anyway without being called an attention seeker. Did it ever occur to all these judgmental people that maybe there are people that believe and want to do different things than the American mold we all fit into? Not all of the people that live in this country believe that women need to have a big chest, small waist, and tan skin to be beautiful. Those people that don’t feed into that belief are the one’s I try to align myself with. That group of people is just ignorant and need to realize that there is so much more beauty in the world than we think. Every culture sees something different as beautiful, and I think that is one of the most amazing things about our world. If everyone thought the same and looked the same, what fun is that? In the end, I commend her for standing up for what she believes in and not letting anyone bring her down. The people that try to bring her down are the ones that aren’t comfortable in their skin, and it is obvious that she is beyond comfortable in hers.