en-us https://www.intensedebate.com/users/2404060 Comments by rls5430 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/04/21/would-you-help-out-or-turn-away-immigrants-in-the-poor-situations-we-saw-them-in-and-why-119-blog/#IDComment145229410 If I were in the same position as the man giving food in the video I would try and do the same. I guess we can never really know what we would do until we are in the situation. I would love to say that I would definitely be as charitable as the man but I don’t know what the circumstances would be. The man was poor and he still gave back to these people because he knew what they were going through. Living the lifestyle that I live in now I could not begin to imagine being worse off and still being able to help everybody else. I think that not many people today help enough other people out. The world would be such a better place if everyone was nice to one another and helped give back. I couldn’t imagine having to cross the border. That seems like such a scary experience and then after all of that having to live on the streets and be starving since jobs are so difficult to find in our times today. I was really impressed with the fact that Mr. Munos had not a lot and yet still was able to give to people in need. It really gives me hope that people are not that bad after all and gives me have compassion for illegal immigrants. I know that there are limited amounts of jobs but it’s sad that they come all the way here and have to live on the streets. It amazed me to see how his sister and mother both helped contribute to the men on the streets. They did this for nothing and only was repaid by their smiles. I want to be able to do something to help out my community as well because it makes me happy to see other people happy. What he did for these people was truly amazing. It made them really happy. It was nice of him to give his time and effort into making food for these people. It was also really nice of him because he already had a job as a bus driver extra work is extremely time consuming. If every person could just help out one other person the world would be a lot better off. We could all benefit from helping others and in return people will help us. After watching this video, I wan to help other people in need. It made me more motivated to want to try and help others out. Because I am fortunate enough to have food every night then I should be able to give some to others. It makes me realize how fortunate I am to live in a house where I am loved and have clothes and food. Fri, 22 Apr 2011 22:18:17 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/04/21/would-you-help-out-or-turn-away-immigrants-in-the-poor-situations-we-saw-them-in-and-why-119-blog/#IDComment145229410 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/04/12/what-are-your-thoughts-on-everything-we-saw-and-heard-in-lecture-about-native-americans-119-blog/#IDComment143288795 I think it is extremely unfair the way Native American’s are treated in our society today. We don’t realize how this group of people are living. It never really occurred to me that they were as bad off as they actually are. When we think back to the Holocaust we know about the genocides and horrors that when on back then. We don’t realize that the Native Americans faced the same thing on their own land. It really frightens me that we walk around all day not grasping the fact that this is somebody else’s land that we are walking on. Our houses and office building and schools are all on top of what used to be Native American reservations. We all think that we are allowed to do whatever we want and treat people that way when in fact it is extremely wrong. We try and justify it but something like that can never be justified. The song that we heard in class really frightened me. It brought this horrible event in history into my head. The lyrics were extremely straight forward and were very telling of the type of people we are. When watching the video on how the Native Americans live today, I was really hit with hard reality. I never expected that people actually live that horribly. When the man in the video said that America can help all these people in other countries but not their own people, it really made me aware of how are government is. It’s scary to think that we can’t even help out our own citizens. What’s even worse about this is the fact that they were here before we were. This was there land and our government doesn’t even have the decency to help them out. We literally killed mass amounts of them and destroyed everything they had. Now they are left with nothing and we are all to blame. All people think about when they hear Native Americans is Thanksgiving and casinos. People aren’t educated on how they really live. I think that schools should start to teach children in school of the horrors that these people experience everyday. We should raise money for these people just like people donate to Haiti and other countries in need of support. These are our people too. They live on our land and we don’t even realize. The song and videos really brought that to my attention and we need to take action. We need to understand that these people are dying and sick and their not getting the proper education. They are living in poverty and people that are fortunate enough in this country during this time should help the Native Americans out. Sat, 16 Apr 2011 03:17:00 +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/#IDComment143288795 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/04/12/what-are-your-thoughts-on-everything-we-saw-and-heard-in-lecture-about-native-americans-119-blog/#IDComment143288039 I think it is extremely unfair the way Native American’s are treated in our society today. We don’t realize how this group of people are living. It never really occurred to me that they were as bad off as they actually are. When we think back to the Holocaust we know about the genocides and horrors that when on back then. We don’t realize that the Native Americans faced the same thing on their own land. It really frightens me that we walk around all day not grasping the fact that this is somebody else’s land that we are walking on. Our houses and office building and schools are all on top of what used to be Native American reservations. We all think that we are allowed to do whatever we want and treat people that way when in fact it is extremely wrong. We try and justify it but something like that can never be justified. The song that we heard in class really frightened me. It brought this horrible event in history into my head. The lyrics were extremely straight forward and were very telling of the type of people we are. When watching the video on how the Native Americans live today, I was really hit with hard reality. I never expected that people actually live that horribly. When the man in the video said that America can help all these people in other countries but not their own people, it really made me aware of how are government is. It’s scary to think that we can’t even help out our own citizens. What’s even worse about this is the fact that they were here before we were. This was there land and our government doesn’t even have the decency to help them out. We literally killed mass amounts of them and destroyed everything they had. Now they are left with nothing and we are all to blame. All people think about when they hear Native Americans is Thanksgiving and casinos. People aren’t educated on how they really live. I think that schools should start to teach children in school of the horrors that these people experience everyday. We should raise money for these people just like people donate to Haiti and other countries in need of support. These are our people too. They live on our land and we don’t even realize. The song and videos really brought that to my attention and we need to take action. We need to understand that these people are dying and sick and their not getting the proper education. They are living in poverty and people that are fortunate enough in this country during this time should help the Native Americans out. Sat, 16 Apr 2011 03:11:50 +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/#IDComment143288039 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/04/12/what-are-your-thoughts-on-everything-we-saw-and-heard-in-lecture-about-native-americans-119-blog/#IDComment143287780 I think it is extremely unfair the way Native American’s are treated in our society today. We don’t realize how this group of people are living. It never really occurred to me that they were as bad off as they actually are. When we think back to the Holocaust we know about the genocides and horrors that when on back then. We don’t realize that the Native Americans faced the same thing on their own land. It really frightens me that we walk around all day not grasping the fact that this is somebody else’s land that we are walking on. Our houses and office building and schools are all on top of what used to be Native American reservations. We all think that we are allowed to do whatever we want and treat people that way when in fact it is extremely wrong. We try and justify it but something like that can never be justified. The song that we heard in class really frightened me. It brought this horrible event in history into my head. The lyrics were extremely straight forward and were very telling of the type of people we are. When watching the video on how the Native Americans live today, I was really hit with hard reality. I never expected that people actually live that horribly. When the man in the video said that America can help all these people in other countries but not their own people, it really made me aware of how are government is. It’s scary to think that we can’t even help out our own citizens. What’s even worse about this is the fact that they were here before we were. This was there land and our government doesn’t even have the decency to help them out. We literally killed mass amounts of them and destroyed everything they had. Now they are left with nothing and we are all to blame. All people think about when they hear Native Americans is Thanksgiving and casinos. People aren’t educated on how they really live. I think that schools should start to teach children in school of the horrors that these people experience everyday. We should raise money for these people just like people donate to Haiti and other countries in need of support. These are our people too. They live on our land and we don’t even realize. The song and videos really brought that to my attention and we need to take action. We need to understand that these people are dying and sick and their not getting the proper education. They are living in poverty and people that are fortunate enough in this country during this time should help the Native Americans out. Sat, 16 Apr 2011 03:10:12 +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/#IDComment143287780 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/04/12/what-are-your-thoughts-on-everything-we-saw-and-heard-in-lecture-about-native-americans-119-blog/#IDComment143287617 I think it is extremely unfair the way Native American’s are treated in our society today. We don’t realize how this group of people are living. It never really occurred to me that they were as bad off as they actually are. When we think back to the Holocaust we know about the genocides and horrors that when on back then. We don’t realize that the Native Americans faced the same thing on their own land. It really frightens me that we walk around all day not grasping the fact that this is somebody else’s land that we are walking on. Our houses and office building and schools are all on top of what used to be Native American reservations. We all think that we are allowed to do whatever we want and treat people that way when in fact it is extremely wrong. We try and justify it but something like that can never be justified. The song that we heard in class really frightened me. It brought this horrible event in history into my head. The lyrics were extremely straight forward and were very telling of the type of people we are. When watching the video on how the Native Americans live today, I was really hit with hard reality. I never expected that people actually live that horribly. When the man in the video said that America can help all these people in other countries but not their own people, it really made me aware of how are government is. It’s scary to think that we can’t even help out our own citizens. What’s even worse about this is the fact that they were here before we were. This was there land and our government doesn’t even have the decency to help them out. We literally killed mass amounts of them and destroyed everything they had. Now they are left with nothing and we are all to blame. All people think about when they hear Native Americans is Thanksgiving and casinos. People aren’t educated on how they really live. I think that schools should start to teach children in school of the horrors that these people experience everyday. We should raise money for these people just like people donate to Haiti and other countries in need of support. These are our people too. They live on our land and we don’t even realize. The song and videos really brought that to my attention and we need to take action. We need to understand that these people are dying and sick and their not getting the proper education. They are living in poverty and people that are fortunate enough in this country during this time should help the Native Americans out. Sat, 16 Apr 2011 03:08:58 +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/#IDComment143287617 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/04/07/do-you-agree-with-foreign-aids-use-of-pictures-of-children-119-blog/#IDComment141116629 I agree with that statement because it gives Americans the wrong ideas about a certain country. In some respect it is a good thing to educate Americans on how other people in different countries live but on the other hand, it could give us the wrong impression. Instead of taking pictures of the good things going on in Haiti, people that go there only take pictures and display the bad. I believe that during the course of everybody’s life, given they have the opportunity, they should visit as many countries as they can and speak with people of all different cultures. That way we can know the truth about the way these people live instead of only receiving all our information on pictures. It would be extremely beneficial and maybe people would be quicker not to judge others on outward appearances and instead get to know them better and learn about their culture. I think Ernso is doing a great thing for the people in Haiti. It was interesting to hear him speak about how they live and what it’s like living there. I enjoyed learning about all the different people that are trying to sell the items they are making. They all seem very determined and intelligent. I would love to be able to visit one day in order to see it first hand and learn a little bit more about their culture. Because I’ve seen pictures of poor and sick children, it gives me one impression about what it’s like in Haiti. Unfortunately it can be the incorrect impression, but I wouldn’t know the difference because all I’m seeing are pictures and videos trying to invoke emotions. I think that there is poverty in every country and we should all help each other out in order to make this world a better place all together. Pictures are a bad representation sometimes of how things actually are, but we never stop to think that not everybody in Haiti is like that. I thought it was really great to here Ernso speak. I have never seen anybody from Haiti, at least to my knowledge and so it was very educational and interesting to hear about what it’s really like over there and what steps he’s taking in order to help the Haitian people and country get back on its feet again. I hope that everything he’s trying to do works out for the best and I’m also hoping that our Soc119 class can come up with something creative during these group projects so that we can also help out over there and make a difference in these peoples lives as well. I hope that all the people trying to make it in the market will succeed at doing so. They all seem extremely hard working and driven. If we all put our heads together, I am sure we will be able to find something that will make a difference. Fri, 8 Apr 2011 23:38:12 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/04/07/do-you-agree-with-foreign-aids-use-of-pictures-of-children-119-blog/#IDComment141116629 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/03/31/has-the-class-on-the-needy-penis-made-you-uncomfortable-and-why-119-blog/#IDComment139194686 No, I do not believe that this class has made me feel uncomfortable. I think that it was extremely educating and I definitely learned a lot. Actually, the facts that were stated and the information that was spoken about were things that I think many of us sort of knew previously but didn’t want to admit or think about when in came to sex and the opposite gender. For example, I knew that girls dressing up in high heels and short skirts when its freezing cold out is not something we voluntarily do, but we do because we think that it makes us look more attractive to guys. I think this topic was something that needed to be said and spoken about, because even though some of it we may already subconsciously know, it is important to hear it first hand so that we don’t think that the feelings that we do have are weird and are the only person feeling them. I think sex should be a topic that we can openly discuss especially among the people that we are having it with. If we can’t communicate with at least the person that we are having sex with, I don’t think that we should be having it. I know that’s never going to change and it’s just a thought, but since sex is such a complicated thing for two people together, communication is extremely important. As Sam was saying in class, for guys it’s easy to have sex right then and there, but for girls it’s a little different. It won’t work unless people are able to speak. I still wonder, after this lecture whether men have changed their views at all and will begin care whether or not girls enjoy sex at the same time they do or if it will continue to me this male centered world. I know that it can’t possibly change over night, but I would hope that in the future this does evolve and change so that it can be easier for women to communicate and men to understand. It’s so weird that we’ve been living this way for so long, and yet nobody has said anything. No girl has stepped up and questioned it. Instead we pretty much all conform to this standard of living. If it works for guys that it works for us. Although it is becoming more equal amongst the genders in the workforce and so on, sex is something that isn’t really brought up a whole lot and I think this lecture was a first step towards that. I think it was also really interesting to hear about males and their interpretation of sex because it can never be one sided. I don’t believe that it should be just a women centered universe but I do think that it needs to be somewhat equal and we need to work with each other to find out what works for each gender. Fri, 1 Apr 2011 20:48:57 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/03/31/has-the-class-on-the-needy-penis-made-you-uncomfortable-and-why-119-blog/#IDComment139194686 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/03/24/how-have-you-acted-when-involved-in-racist-or-discriminating-events-119-blog/#IDComment137601222 For the most part, when I do hear a racist remark being made, I try my best to let the person know that they are wrong in saying whatever has been said and owe an apology. I think that racist comments even in jest are wrong and inconsiderate considering that it may hurt somebody’s feelings even though it may not seem like a big deal to you. When I mean racist comments, I am not referring to people saying the “N” word during a rap song or quoting one of Chris Rock’s many racist comedy jokes. What I am talking about are people who intentionally say something offensive toward a person of another race. Even when I hear my mother talk about how she wants me to marry somebody who’s white and Jewish, I take that offensively. I do not believe that anybody should be beholden to marry somebody that is of the same religion and race. Why do we all have the mentality that this is the best way to do things? For the most part we go through life thinking that people who look like us and are similar to us are what we should surround ourselves with when in reality surrounding ourselves with people who are different are the beneficial way to go because that will enable us to learn. If enough people marry outside of their race than we can start to become more open and a united nation. Another thing that really bothers me about racial issues are how some policemen are extremely racist. I’ve been in situations where my friends that are Hispanic get in trouble even more harshly than a white person would if they had done the same thing. I wish this could be changed because it is so unbelievably unfair. I think that we all need to stand up for people of other races besides white because the more people that fight for this cause the better our world will be and the more easily we’ll be able to get along. Very many times I hear people making racist remarks and nobody says anything. I hate how some people think they are above others when in fact they are just the same. They think that they are justified in speaking down to people of color because they have differences but we have to get over physical differences because there is no point. We are all the same on the inside and we need to see and believe that. The more the people that stand up for what they believe in the faster this problem will begin to go away. It definitely has gotten better but we still have a long way to go. We must all fight for what we believe in because in the end that’s all that really matters. Sat, 26 Mar 2011 00:24:14 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/03/24/how-have-you-acted-when-involved-in-racist-or-discriminating-events-119-blog/#IDComment137601222 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/03/18/what-do-you-think-of-the-diversity-at-penn-state-119-blog/#IDComment135936585 I believe that there is much diversity at Penn State, although I do think that there should be even more. When I first came here while walking around campus, I could see people of all types of racial backgrounds and ethnicities walking around. I really liked this factor of Penn State and it allowed me to become friendlier with people that I wouldn’t normally get to know. After seeing the statistics of different racial groups that go to Penn State in class, the numbers seem much lower than what it appears to be. I think that ideally every school should have an even amount of every race although I do not believe that it is acceptable to let in somebody into this school if they do not have the appropriate grades to come. Sometimes because a person is any other race except for white, it is easier to get into that school while a white person with the same grades and extracurricular activities have more of a hard time. Not to say that this is always the case, but it seems as if this is correct at least some of the time. I grew up on Long Island in a town that I would consider extremely diverse. I really loved growing up here because it surrounded with people that were not all like myself and allowed me to befriend people unlike me. I was able to learn from so many people with different backgrounds and religions. That’s why coming to Penn State was a nice transformation because the diversity at my high school is similar to what it is here. There are so many different people in the world and if everyone got a chance to learn even one thing about somebody else the world can start to move in the right direction. I believe that most of us learn certain things about a group of people from our parents or grandparents, which is the only information that we know. Some of us even grow up with people that are only like ourselves, which blocks us from learning anything else. Unfortunately it sometimes gives us a bad impression of those people when in fact we could be completely wrong. I wish that it was easy to just wipe out the knowledge that we currently hear and believe and start new with no preconceptions of people or stereotypical beliefs. It would make the world a whole lot easier and would make schools a better place to learn at. With that said I do think that Penn State is a step in that direction but can still be more diverse as with many other schools in the United States. Hopefully as time goes on this problem will rapidly fix itself so people of all backgrounds can get along and be friends. Fri, 18 Mar 2011 23:46:50 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/03/18/what-do-you-think-of-the-diversity-at-penn-state-119-blog/#IDComment135936585 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/02/24/how-conscious-are-you-of-your-seat-in-class-before-and-after-todays-lecture-119-blog/#IDComment134012739 Before this semester begun, I would naturally select a seat closer to people who looked similar to me. It was not a decision I consciously made, it was something that I had just always done my entire life. I believe that most people do the same thing as well. We as humans naturally gravitate towards people who are like us. People that we have things in common with tend to make us feel more comfortable. One can see this dynamic in the dining halls when tables are separated accordingly by race. I don’t think that anybody intentionally does this, but if I were to walk over to a table of people of a different race it would most likely be awkward when it shouldn’t be. It is so wrong that for the most part we are unable to be friends with people who are unlike us. I don’t understand how we expect to learn anything if we only surround ourselves with people who have the same ideas as us. After beginning this class, I’ve learned much about race and ethnicity that I didn’t know before, such as why we look the way we do and that we really aren’t that genetically different from one another. Now when I choose a seat in class I am more conscious about where I decide to sit and I try now to become friendly with people who aren’t like myself and who might have something to teach me instead instantly agree with me. We grow up with false information from what the media teaches us as well as what our parent’s and grandparent’s teach us and it sticks in our minds for the rest of our lives. It is important to ask questions and inquire about things that we’ve heard that aren’t necessarily true. What bother’s me the most about all of this, is that there is even an issue amongst races. We are all people and it is truly unfortunate that it had to come to this. We should have all started out as equals and we should all end as equals. It is horrible that we even have to contemplate where we sit in class, as if it’s such a big decision in the scheme of our lives. What’s most important and what’s most beneficial for us, is to sit next to people and surround ourselves with people that are going to give us more knowledge, inevitably making us smarter individuals and yet we do the exact opposite. We sit next to people who are going to tell us things that we already know the answer to. This class is very different than any other course I have taken in my entire life. It really opens my eyes to all the hatred and conflicts going on in the world today, that I wasn’t aware of previously. I only hope that this battle among races ends quickly so that we can all get along and learn from each other instead of hating each other. Fri, 11 Mar 2011 02:01:06 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/02/24/how-conscious-are-you-of-your-seat-in-class-before-and-after-todays-lecture-119-blog/#IDComment134012739 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/02/17/how-can-we-make-people-more-aware-of-the-slavery-that-is-still-going-on-119-blog/#IDComment128886037 I believe that people aren’t aware that there is slavery in the world today because in general humans are naïve. Speaking for myself at least, I know that I had no idea that this was happening in the world today and it horrifies me that individuals can actually still treat other people in this manner. I never really thought about it occurring in today’s times, even though now that I do know, it doesn’t really surprise me. I think some people just don’t go out of there way to find out the truth and act as if it does not exist because if they did know, then people start to feel guilty and it interferes with their own lives. I think most individuals have extremely selfish tendencies which is some respects isn’t a horrible thing, but in other respects it prevents people that are in danger or are in worse off situations from receiving the help that they need. We don’t even realize how selfish many of us actually are because we surround ourselves with people that have similar ideas. Ideally, now knowing that there are still slaves working in the world today, I would never want to eat chocolate or buy cotton ever again, but that is extremely unrealistic. I could by free trade chocolate but it’s harder than just going into a supermarket and buying the Nestles brand. See there are things that we have, that we could give up in order to spend a little extra time and money to help these slaves and yet we convince ourselves that “we need it”, rather than “we want it”. I’m not saying it’s not good to look out for yourself first, because after all, you do need to be happy, but if we really think about it, it couldn’t hurt to help somebody else be happy as well. If you put yourself in the life of a slave working many hours of the day with no pay, you would want somebody to save you too. It’s hard to think about it like that because all of us do have the opportunity to go to Penn State and get a good education and we couldn’t really imagine ourselves working on a coco field in poor health conditions. But they deserve a chance too, and unfortunately are most likely never going to have it. If we get sick, we run over to the health center and then go pick up an antibiotic at CVS. For slaves, if they’re sick, they will either get better or they won’t. I think one way we can make the world more aware of this slavery is if it goes on the media that we watch everyday. If we see it on the news it will start to become real. Also, when it is easier to help slaves people will be more inclined to do it, so if free trade chocolate was more accessible and people understood why it is better to buy it, I think individuals would start to purchase that instead. Fri, 18 Feb 2011 19:11:47 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/02/17/how-can-we-make-people-more-aware-of-the-slavery-that-is-still-going-on-119-blog/#IDComment128886037 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/02/08/how-have-the-choices-youve-made-and-determinism-affected-your-life-119-blog/#IDComment127242586 To be completely honest, I have had an extremely fortunate life. I was lucky enough to have had the opportunity to go to a decent public school on Long Island and I never really lacked for anything growing up. Whenever I needed help with my homework I had my parent’s to ask for help, and the same goes with when I wanted to buy any material items. I was fortunate enough to have been able to afford an SAT tutor and because of that I was able to do better on the test than I normally would have. All of these factors have affected where I have ended up today. After hearing many different stories it makes me feel even more thankful for what I have because I know that most people do not have it. I have a father who works extremely hard everyday to give my family and I the best lives we could possibly have. I aspire to be like him one day because I think it important to work hard in life no matter how much money one has. I think the resources that were available to me growing up definitely affected my life and is part of the reason why I now go to Penn State. The choices that I’ve made throughout my life were partly because of how I was raised and partly because I have a good head on my shoulders. If I had not been so lucky, I don’t think it’s in my personality to have gotten to where I am today. Don’t get me wrong, I do work hard in my classes and aspire to get good grades, but I am positively not as driven as some other people that I have met. Sam spoke about that boy in Haiti who is the most determined boy he’s ever met and I found that to be truly inspirational because I have the resources this boy would die for and yet I don’t use them to full potential. I think we are either born with determination or we’re not. It has nothing to do with money. People that want something bad enough will go and get it no matter what it takes. I think about what would happen if I didn’t grow up the way I did and whether my determination to do well would increase or just decrease. I believe it is just in my nature to not care about certain things that don’t matter to me, unlike some people who need to get that “A” for example, even if they have absolutely no interest in that class. Determination paired with availability to the right resources is the ideal situation for a person but unfortunately not everybody is able to obtain this. Sometimes you have determination but have to work harder to get it, and other times you have all the things in the world to reach your potential except for the drive to get there. All in all, I believe determination is more important because money or no money, usually when somebody wants something, they’re going to get it no matter where they come from. Fri, 11 Feb 2011 02:15:33 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/02/08/how-have-the-choices-youve-made-and-determinism-affected-your-life-119-blog/#IDComment127242586 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/02/01/do-you-describe-yourself-differently-in-other-countries/#IDComment126075284 I also would say that I am American if asked what I was in another country. However, if someone asked me the same question in the United States, I would still say I’m American. It wouldn’t even occur to me to say that I am Jewish or that I am White. It would almost annoy me that someone was asking the question if the first place. I guess it my annoyance would depend on how or why the question was asked in the first place. If I was having an intimate discussion with someone and the question was pertinent to a conversation we were having then maybe I would give someone the details of my heritage. But if asked on the street by a stranger, I would never feel like discussing the details of my religion or heritage. The beauty of living in America is that it is such a melting pot and pretty much anything goes in terms of race and religion. Therefore, we should all think of ourselves as Americans and not Jewish, Italian, Polish, etc. I recognize that there are vast difference between the different races and religions but why can’t we all just think of ourselves as Americans first. Being a Jewish individual, I am proud of my heritage and am certainly not looking to hide it from anyone but it should certainly not be how I am defined in this country by others. I think if people started thinking of themselves as Americans first then maybe we’d become more tolerant of every other American. It’s much easier to get asked that question abroad. Someone asking what you are from another country is usually looking to find out what country you’re from since you most probably have an accent or can’t speak the language. When you respond that you’re an American they will easily glump you in with every other American and it’s doubtful they are even interested in knowing your heritage. People from other countries have no problem thinking of all of us as Americans so why can’t we do the same thing. They bombard you with American type questions about life in the United States and it most probably wouldn’t dawn on them to ask a more personal question that’s specific to my life. I think it would be kind of cool for one day if everyone in America could just walk around with bags over their heads and spend the day interacting with people without seeing them. Then we could have meaningful conversations with people without any preconceived ideas about who they are based on what they look like. Everyone would all look the same for that one day and for one day only we can truly all be Americans and nothing more. Sat, 5 Feb 2011 04:42:05 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/02/01/do-you-describe-yourself-differently-in-other-countries/#IDComment126075284 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/01/27/what-the-most-beautiful-race-means-to-you-119-blog/#IDComment124399639 I don't think there is one specific race that I would consider to be more beautiful than another. I think we all have different types of looks that to us individually are more beautiful than others but it is definitely, in my opinion, a personal preference. With that said, I believe that people tend to hang out and date individuals of a similar race because it is what we are used to. From the time we are born, we are surrounded with ideas and certain looks that become familiar to us and it is only natural that we feel most comfortable hanging out with those people versus somebody who looks different than what we are used to. Personally, I do have a few friends of all types of races and I like it that way. I like being able to learn from all types of people and surround myself with others who have different opinions than me. The majority of my friends are with out a doubt white, just as I am, and I'm realizing now as I write this that inevitably we are drawn to people who have the same beliefs as us. I do try and make an effort to become friends with people that do not share the same views as me. As far as dating and relationships go, I hope that one day we can get over obsessing about marrying or dating somebody of the same race or religion. Some of us grow up with our parents telling us we have to marry somebody whose Jewish, or in some cases Catholic, or Italian, but in the end we are all just people living our day to day lives. I want people to be able to get over these differences and be able to acknowledge the importance of actually learning from somebody who does not necessarily believe the same things we do. Going back to the beginning with my statement about personal opinions on beauty, people tend to have one idea about what they want there families to look like one day and who they want to associate themselves with. It makes zero sense to me because in my eyes, a person is just a person. Who cares what skin color they have, or what religion they practice. That’s only a small part of who that person actually is. There is so such thing as one particular beautiful race and we need to be able to see that. The media and our parents and everybody else giving their opinions need to get over this idea that we need to be friends with only people that look and believe like we do. In the end, none of it really matters as long as the people that you surround yourself with will make you a better person. Fri, 28 Jan 2011 20:07:14 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/01/27/what-the-most-beautiful-race-means-to-you-119-blog/#IDComment124399639 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/01/14/why-do-we-still-have-stereotypes-blog-1/#IDComment122835170 Although stereotypes are annoying and unnecessary, they are one of those things that I feel will never completely go away. Like many people have said above, it has been engrained in our minds since the time we were born. Our parents, and our parent's parents have certain perceptions of the way things are, that are inevitably thrown upon us and continue to get passed down from generation to generation. The media also plays a big role in stereotyping certain types of people. In my opinion, I think the best way to get rid of these stereotypes, is to somehow make a joke of it. I know that sounds a little ridiculous, but I feel that by making jokes about these stereotypes and also knowing they’re untrue, people will start to realize how moronic they actually are. By making light of these certain preconceptions of people, I think that individuals of different races and religions have a better chance at getting along and connecting because we’re not thinking anything that isn’t being said. Somebody above talked about comedians making racial jokes that can sometimes be offensive and whether or not it is wrong to do that. I don’t believe that it is wrong for comedians to make jokes about different types of religions and races because they only say what everybody’s thinking anyway. I think that sometimes people only say what they believe they're supposed to say because it’s politically correct. We don't ever express how we really feel, which disables us from learning the truth. We all need to realize that these stereotypes do exist but are sometimes completely untrue. It is OK to make light of these issues because in the end we're all people and all have some type of preconceived opinion of us no matter what race or religion we may be. I think it would be naïve to say that these stereotypes will just magically disappear and we’ll all be peaceful with one another. I wish that was the way things were and that all these certain ideas and feelings about people just because of what they looked like would go away, but because that is highly unlikely especially in the near future it is important for everybody that is educated and knowledgeable in this area to begin accepting everybody for who they are because they are the one’s who can begin teaching everyone else. It’s a task that is going to take much time to finally achieve but I feel that one day we will be able to do it. It’s not just something we can make go away over night, but we’ve seen from the past how much it has gotten better to today’s time. Hopefully that pattern will continue and keep progressing in the right direction. Fri, 21 Jan 2011 19:57:06 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/01/14/why-do-we-still-have-stereotypes-blog-1/#IDComment122835170 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/01/10/last-name-%e2%80%9cs%e2%80%9d-%e2%80%93-intense-debate/#IDComment121400309 soc119 Sat, 15 Jan 2011 00:32:49 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/01/10/last-name-%e2%80%9cs%e2%80%9d-%e2%80%93-intense-debate/#IDComment121400309