Part Three: I know Basum did not say this and I don't want to suggest that he was implying it either, but this shed a light on Americans as more cold and calculating than we like to see ourselves. If I could ask him more questions it would be if now, because of this ratio, he would view us in the same light as I have come to see us. I would express to him that I am an American and I don't view my life as any more valuable than his, or his son's, or anyone in his family. I think that there is a lack of understanding of other cultures and other peoples within Americans. I would ask him if Iraqis have the same problem.
Part Three: I know Basum did not say this and I don't want to suggest that he was implying it either, but this shed a light on Americans as more cold and calculating than we like to see ourselves. If I could ask him more questions it would be if now, because of this ratio, he would view us in the same light as I have come to see us. I would express to him that I am an American and I don't view my life as any more valuable than his, or his son's, or anyone in his family. I would share with him my belief that because of our age and our culture (and possibly other factors) we are unable to put ourselves easily in other shoes. I would ask him if Iraqis have the same problem.
Part Two: Another response of his that shocked me was when he acted so casually toward the ratio. To me, I would be shocked, outraged even, that 29 innocent civilian lives were justifiable to kill one person. I could have possibly misunderstood him, but when he said 'I guess American lives are worth more,' it made my heart break. For me, whether someone is Asian, European, South American, rich, poor, young, old: it does not matter. They are still alive and they are still innocent. I am sure many people may disagree with me but to me setting such a limit and a price on other human beings lives makes us just as in the wrong as the person we are trying to stop. If looked at it the other way, we would not see it as so justifiable. If some terrorist organization took out one man who they saw as radical, and assuming that we saw the same man as extreme as well, yet they killed 29 others around him, we would still have a hard time calling it a 'victory.'
Part One: I enjoyed the video chat with Basum today. I was surprised by some of his responses. Although they seemed brief and filtered through an 'engineer' mind, they gave us more than enough insight into the Iraqi culture as well as providing more credibility to what Sam had been saying during the Christian Invaders lecture. I have to admit, although I felt more empathy and understanding toward Middle Easterners, specifically Iraqis, when Sam said the war was about oil I still walked out of that lecture thinking, 'No-couldn't be. Our government wouldn't do that; there had to have been a more legitimate reason.' For some reason, having Basum affirm that idea made it more real, especially when he talked about how the Iraqi people had not seen one road built even after their country received billions of dollars for their oil.
Part Three: The struggle that I see is due to the fact that affirmative action is a more institutionalized action where nepotism is a more de facto practice. It is my belief that because one seems to be more enforced by powers outside of peoples’ own desires, more are inclined to disagree, complain, and continue to perpetuate and make an example of these stereotypes while a system that seems less ridged and more in accordance with a natural desire to help a friend or relative makes it seem more benevolent and ‘okay.’
Part Two: As I reflect on it, I had a similar negative/positive reaction with my own personal experiences. I always knew as a woman I would have a better chance of getting into college, but hearing that was due to affirmative action? I felt differently when it was connected that way because I didn’t want to hear that I was being helped by a program that can be systematically enforced and meant to aid people of a much lower economic and social status than my own. However, when Sam presented nepotism, I was almost proud, not necessarily because of the opportunities I have received but the ones I have been able to give. Out of the 6 jobs and internships I have had in my working life, only one was given to me due to who I knew. But what about the four or five people I had gotten jobs for? Were all of them qualified? Sure, they all worked hard. But was there another candidate just as qualified who may have needed the opportunity more? In four out of the five cases I would probably have to say yes.
Part One: Even after hearing Sam speak and having discussions on other classes, I still feel like I don’t know much about affirmative action as it truly is. The stereotypes surrounding the issue have always been quite clear: black and brown males are who the program is targeted towards, native American males and females are guaranteed an automatic ‘in’ wherever they go, and white males are negatively impacted and have their ‘spots’ taken in the job and education sectors. I’ve heard it described as a quota system while in the same breath emphasizing that such things are illegal. Any way you look at it, there is a common factor in all of these stereotypes: negativity.
Nepotism, in my experience, has not only been justified more easily but almost encouraged. Sam had the great example of Spanier, and as a junior looking for a career in the next year, I have heard even my father emphasizes making connections and keeping in touch with the people I know in and outside of Penn State. Politicians and their habit of including their family members seem to be the only negative example I have heard of, and even this seems to be few and far between.
Part 3: It was hard to hear the theoretical example Sam gave about China and not get upset; if that were to ever occur of course I would want something done! But actually doing something about it myself? I still disagreed with civilians taking forceful action against them. War is necessary in some cases, true. As cliché as it may sound war is also paid in human lives and that is the consequence I cannot look past.
Let me say this: I am not extremely informed when it comes to politics or history and this is solely my opinion. I still think the War Against Terror in Afghanistan was justified because a large number of innocent people were killed. But going after the people in Iraq since we were in the area and that area happened to be sitting on large oil reserves? Not so justifiable in my eyes. All things aside, no one, whether they be Muslim, Christian, Buddhist, Atheist, or anything else for that matter, has a right to kill other people for the sake of an idea. The one thing that I think most people, including some Christians I know and love, look past is that behind all of these differing ideas are actual people with actual lives.
Part 2: We all have memories about this topic that were at the forefront of our minds before Sam started the lecture. I have a cousin in the Air Force who strongly supports the war yet she was almost killed protecting the base during one of her deployments. My roommate as well as my boyfriend have both been to the Middle East and have made friends and learned their views, which they in turned talked about with me. I have heard that the start of the War in Iraq was not about oil; I’ve heard it was. Before the lecture, with all of this going on in my head, I knew two things: one, that the Iraqi people had hopes and dreams just like us Americans and two, that the Muslim religion was not to blame or the source of evil for what happened to anyone.
Part 1: To be honest, I was shocked at the responses to the question before class. I know that although we were younger most of us still remember September 11th and can see the aftermath of not only that event but on the decisions our government made after the fact. But the serious hatred that was behind some of those comments? Maybe this is because I am not a violent person but I don’t think, if faced with any of the people responsible for any of the attacks leading up to and after that date, I could kill anyone. Someone once asked me if I met Hitler when he was a baby and knew all the awful things he was going to do to the human race if I could kill him right then and there; I couldn’t give an honest answer to that either.
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