In Puerto Rico it is very hard for someone to come out. Everybody is raised to be straight and thinking about being gay is out of the question. If you were to go to high school in Puerto Rico you would know what I was talking about. I went to an all boys’ high school and every time we saw a kid who had girly mannerisms or gave the slightest clue of being gay we would automatically make fun of him and even exclude him from our group of friends. I cant imagine how hard it must have been for someone who was struggling with his sexuality knowing how difficult his life would be if he came out. In high school I had very different views about homosexuality than the one’s I have now. I was a firm believer that people were born to be straight, that a male and a female were meant to be together and all other forms of sexuality were erroneous. I believed this because biology clearly indicates that reproduction is done with a man and a woman and therefore loving relationships were to be between men and women. All of this has changed for me. I guess my ignorant views were due to a lack of knowledge about what homosexuals go thru in their lives. One of my best friends recently came out last summer. This person is my best friend and I couldn’t just keep him out of the group because he is gay. So, I talked to him about how he came to the conclusion. What he told me was that he always thought that it was a possibility but he didn’t want his friends to make fun of him. Basically I found out that he was the same person he has always been the only thing that changed is that he likes guys. Honestly that is not a problem. But now he is undergoing therapy because his mother thinks it is her fault that he is gay, that she did something wrong in raising him. It is here that you can clearly see how the Puerto Rican culture is not accepting of homosexuals. I think it is because how our parents were raised and then how they raised us. The values that were instilled in children 60 years ago are the same ones that are being instilled in us. The thing is that people have to go through a big change in order to accept this and it is not easy especially if you are ignorant. So, I think that people who are struggling with this should be able to feel comfortable telling their families and informing them of what’s going on it is the only way to change the current views on homosexuality in Puerto Rico.

The media today highly controls the fear that is brought into the population. Everyday you see headlines of murders, robberies, abductions etc. Journalists seem to think that stories in which bad things happen sell more than stories where good things happen. Although this may be true it creates a sense of false fear in people.
In Puerto Rico, the place where I live, there have been many murders and people are scared to go anywhere. These murders have happened in broad daylight in public places such as shopping malls and the highways. What the news media doesn’t tell you is that the government recently took down one of the major players in the drug scene and all other drug lords are fighting for power. This is why the murders are happening. They are not just random killings; these people are actually targeting the families of other drug lords. They are not killing anyone that is not involved in the drug scene. Of course, the media has blown this out of proportion. When I went home for winter break my parents where explaining to me how things in Puerto Rico weren’t that good, that I had to be careful and that there were some place I couldn’t hang out at. I obviously wasn’t agreeing with them. If something were to happen to me, it would happen at home or wherever I am because its going to happen no matter what. Its all about to what extent you are going to go to keep you and your family safe. I understand there are some things you an protect yourself from and there are other things that you just have to leave to fate. If you really try to do everything you can to be safe from everything bad that could happen to you, you wouldn’t be able to enjoy life. You would live in a little bubble and be miserable.
I think that the takeaway here is that for the most part the world is safe and there aren’t as many crimes as people thin there are. If you look at the data you’ll find that this is true. I mean there are only 100 children abducted each year. I bet people thought that this number was in the thousands. People should put everything they hear in the news into perspective and think about how often it happens. You’ll find that it is not that often and the media often keeps talking about the same case for a good amount of time which is why people think that these terrible things happen all the time. The trick here is to not let all of this bad news hinder your ability to live life to the fullest.

I think it is very interesting how people go about religion. Most people go about it in their own way seeming as how you can interpret a religion’s text in whichever way you can that makes sense. It doesn’t matter if you are Christian, Muslim or Jewish you’d find ways of connecting with your God in a way that is most comfortable for you to establish a connection. In my opinion you don’t need a priest or go to church to find or communicate with God.
Since you are allowed to interpret sacred text in any way that makes sense, then there are no preset rules as to how to go about any religion. I believe this is how religions have evolved into what they are today. If you go back 100 or 150 years ago you would find that Christianity, Judaism and Islam where practice in very different ways than how it is practiced today. Every generation interprets the sacred texts in new ways that really adapt to how society evolves. In other words religion evolves with society. It is just like what Sam was saying in class and how he took excerpts from the Qur’an that were translated in different ways at certain points in time. I think the need of a priest is nowadays not that important and it is all part of how religion has evolved.
If one wishes to have a connection with god they should have the opportunity to do it in their own terms. Being a Christian I never understood the need of going to mass every Sunday and confessing with a priest. I thought it was really pointless. I think you can have a relationship with God in which you can connect with him through other means such as prayer without the need to attend mass or talk to a priest.
All in all I think religion is just a way of life in which you are taught how to deal with the world and other people. After all, if you believe religion you believe that when you die you will be judged and be sent either to heaven or to hell. In this judgment you wont be judged on how many times you went to church or if you went and confessed your sins, you will be judged on a basis of how you treated other people, on things you did to make the world better. I say this because I know to many people who say that they are perfect Christians because they go to church every Sunday and all that sort of stuff, but when the opportunity comes to help others they look the other way. So are priest necessary to connect with God? No. All you need is to act in a way in which you do good for society and there is your connection to God.

I complete agree. A great amount of people gets offended by things that do not apply to them. I was shocked to hear some of he reactions of some students in class to the video of the Asians in USC. Many American students were talking about how they were offended by the video. In my mind I was thinking that there was no way they could get offended because they were not Asian. Even some of the Asian students in class were mentioning how they found it funny. Maybe these American students were not feeling offended but disgusted or mad. There is no way they could be offended because it was not their place to be offended.
I feel that there is a fine line between what is funny and what is offensive. Most of the times what defines this line are the intentions of the person who is telling the joke. For example, I’m Puerto Rican and many Americans think it is funny to assume that I arrived here in a boat. I just think they are being ignorant a-holes because they don’t even know me well enough to say something like that. On the other hand if somebody made a joke about how lazy Puerto Ricans are then I would think its funny. You see, there are stereotypical things about all the different races that are funny because they’re true not because they are meant make fun of or degrade said race.
Now, when I saw the video I thought it was somewhat funny. It was making a joke about the Asians’ lack of sports knowledge. But I have to say that the person making the video didn’t have the best intensions in mind. You see, at some point during the video it appeared to me that the guy was not only making a joke about the Asians’ lack of sports knowledge he was also making a mockery of the way they spoke making them repeat things they didn’t understand and that was wrong. That is what I mean about crossing the line.
Although the guy in the video crossed the line between funny and disrespect some of the Asian students in class seemed to think that the video was funny. I really wonder why. If it where a video making a mockery of the Puerto Rican culture I would have been very mad because I don’t think it’s ok to disrespect other cultures. Maybe this is the reason why American students in class felt offended because the identified with this feeling. Although this may be true I feel it is not in their place to feel offended. However they do have the right to be disgusted and to defend the culture of others.

A few weeks ago we were talking about the Kony 2012 video in our recitation groups. I remember thinking how there are many ignorant people that just now have become aware of a problem that has been going on for decades. I think it’s a phenomenon much like a fad, it becomes popular for a while but then it fades away and it seems like it never happened. This happens because at heart people don’t really care about the Ugandans and what’s going on there. People just watch this video and appear touched and moved because everybody else is watching the video and they are talking about it. It becomes a mere conversation piece and not something that needs to be taken care of or done something about.
In my opinion, Mr. Cole touches some key points in his tweets about the white people carry their philanthropist efforts. He talks about the white savior industrial complex and how it is kind of a cover up for what really happens. He says “The white savior supports brutal policies in the morning, founds charities in the afternoon, and receives awards in the evening.” I think this is something that is very true. Many of these organizations are a financial ploy that appeal to the sentimental side of consumerism. Don’t get me wrong many of these organizations do great things and help a lot of people, animals or whatever the case is.
But, the issue here is not the orgs is the people. If people really feel that the problems that these orgs expose matter then change could happen. As long as the problems remain a conversation piece for you to talk about with your friends then change is just a mere dream. Cole also talks about how Americans should worry about the situation in Iraq. A problem that Americans created but it doesn’t get much attention. It doesn’t get attention because Americans need to preserve the nation’s perception of being the one that does the most good. Giving attention to the problem in Iraq only negates this perception.
So, if people would pay attention to the problems that pertain to themselves then maybe there would be less problems to worry about. You see, when people actually care about the problems they are trying to fix then they actually put on an effort in fixing them. On the contrary, if you meddle in other people’s problem you might sometimes actually make them worse.
Going back to Mr. Cole’s white savior industrial complex, while I think it tries to do good it I rooted in people trying to cover up the brutal policies they support and the bad things they have done. And while it appears to have good intentions at heart they only appeal to the sentimental side of a consumerist society. In other words they are a ploy to make money.

The videos shown in class today were certainly very sad to watch. I was disgusted by the videos. I get that you are in war and as a soldier you have to obey your orders but that in the videos was abuse of power. It seemed as if these soldiers were having fun and that is not right.
As an Iraqi I would be furious, raging mad. These foreigners go into their Iraq to take Iraqi oil and on top of that they are making a mockery of the people that live there. If it was me I would be out there trying to get the Americans out. And it is not like there is no oil in the United State. The south central United States area has one of the biggest sources of oil in the world. So the U.S. is so greedy they just want more and they don’t care if thousands of Iraqis get killed in the process. It is as if your neighbors invade your house because they need more sugar and they are in there taking your sugar and in doing so they start making fun of you. Trust me, you’ll find a way to beat them up and get them out of your house. It is a natural response. it is common sense. So, when you see Iraqi people resisting to U.S. forces it is not because they are bad people and they are terrorists it is because they are defending their country. The Americans took something that was theirs it seems kind of obvious that they would retaliate.
Something that bothers me the most is that most people in the U.S. are so ignorant that they believe that The U.S. invaded Iraq because of 9/11 to fight terrorism. This was just a mere excuse, a cover story, for what was really happening. The United States just wanted to take control over Iraqi oil. It is funny how the government twists the truth into something that it is not to make people believe that the U.S is the good guy. The U.S. is not as good as they say they are.
Another thing that struck me was that Bosum was in some ways glad that the U.S. came into Iraq. He was only mad because they left Iraq and it was and still is a mess. He said that the vast majority of Iraqis believed the invasion was good because the U.S. got rid of Osama Bin Laden. But, the fact of the matter is that the United States was planning to go into Iraq before 9/11 happened because of oil. 9/11 was just a convenient event that provided a cover story an excuse for them to go in. If it weren’t for 9/11 the United States would have gone into Iraq taken control of its oil and left without even thinking of killing Bin Laden.

I thought it was really funny how white people in today’s class sort of victimized themselves and portrayed themselves as victims of affirmative action. People where making silly and simply stupid comments. A person asked why after not getting a job do blacks blame their race for not getting the job and whites never say “oh, I didn’t get the job because I’m white”? Another person was explaining why he thought he was hindered in the college application process. There were many other comments that I thought were bizarre but I’m just going to focus on those two.
Why do black people use the fact that they’re black as an excuse for not getting a job? It is because they can and it’s probably true. This is the problem with white people: they think racism doesn’t exist. They say so as and excuse to say that they are good people and that they treat people equally. This statement is not true it is merely a lie white people are feeding to themselves. And white people don’t use the fact that they are as an excuse for not getting a job because they are not the group that is being discriminated against. It is as simple as that. So white people, don’t go around saying blacks only use their race as an excuse for many things because the fact of the matter is that they are probably right and they probably didn’t get the job because of their race.
So funny to see how white people portrayed themselves as victims of affirmative action today. It was hilarious. I wonder way people of other races didn’t get at least a little bit mad because of this. I mean white people have it the easy way; they have many benefits because their skin is white. Blacks not so much and just when they get a little help to try and level off the playing field the white people go and destroy that too. Let me say this to the people who thought they had a hard time getting into their Ivy League schools, if you didn’t get in it is because you weren’t qualified to. Probably the school you were applying to had to fill some requirements in terms of race to promote diversity in said university but trust me that wasn’t the deciding factor on why you didn’t get accepted. I mean yeah they are accepting people from other races but they are not stupid, they are probably the best their respective race has to offer and they probably are equally or better qualified than you (white person) were. So if you have to assign blame, assign it to the thousand other white people that were better qualified than you.

Racial inequality is an issue that has reigned over societies ever since one human being identified another as inferior. It was a way in which a dominant race could establish order in their societies and subordinate the inferior race into doing work. Nowadays the dominating race is whites. Many think that racial discrimination is nonexistent but the reality of the matter is that it does exist.
This is the biggest problem the fact that most people think that black, brown, Asian and white people live in the same playing field. It is this false belief that further propels the race inequality issue because all races don’t play in a level playing field. Although we think the problem is solved we have to understand that white supremacy governs our decisions in a subconscious level which is why we don’t notice it. We do it without knowing which is why we don’t acknowledge the fact that we discriminate on a basis of race. So, the first step in solving this problem is recognizing that we do discriminate based on race and stop making up excuses as to why we make race related decisions.
There is a great amount of data that supports the fact that racial discrimination takes place. Data that has been found in studies that control for social class and other variables so, we have to acknowledge it. But acknowledging the fact that there is racial discrimination is not enough to solve the problem. In my opinion we have to change the way in which racial discrimination is taught at schools. I say this because of my previous statement that said that racial discrimination happens at a subconscious level. So, we have to figure out a way to take the fact that different colors mean different people out of our minds because we are in essence the same. This can not be done with people that have already formulated there thoughts about racial inequality. But if you get young minds in the process of being molded and instill in them values and facts that eliminate racial inequality then this problem can be solved.
Another thing that has to be done is to stop believing in white supremacy. This is only a myth created by white people to be able to subordinate other races. It is a myth that fuels racial inequality.
So in my opinion the problem of racial inequality can be solved. People must acknowledge that there is a problem so that solutions can be proposed. I proposed two solutions that work together. One involves a change in teaching at a very young so that thinking at the subconscious level can be changed. The other involves discarding the myth of white supremacy. Although this could take many years it can be done.

To that person I would say that he or she is very ignorant. To know the truth about something you need to know all sides of the story. One can not formulate an opinion based on one side of the story because you don’t have all the facts and if you do so, then you are simply ignorant. For, example I cant believe in Christianity if I haven’t previously researched or explored other religions such as: Judaism, Muslim or Hindu. Who is to say that Christianity is true if there is no factual evidence and there are other religions that could turn out to be true?
This is the case with creationism. This is the belief that God or a higher being created everything as it is seen today without any kind of evolution. I think that people who believe in creationism need to explore other theories. They need to talk to people who believe in other things, they need to read about other theories etc. After they’ve done this they can really stop and think to make an informed decision as to what they believe in.
Another issue here is, believing in something that has no factual evidence. Creationism is a theory that has to be believed by faith. There are no facts that support that this theory is true. So, my question is how can you believe in a theory by means of faith when there are other theories that refute creationism and have evidence to support them?
Lets look at evolution. When looking at this theory you can see how the monkey evolved into the human being. You can clearly see the different stages in the human evolution, starting with the monkey, then the homo erectus and finally the homo sapiens or human. Now, this theory is backed by actual scientific facts. Archaeologists have found different fossils where you can actually see how the monkey evolved into the human being that support the theory of evolution.
When looking at these two theories: creationism and evolution one must take into account that one has been scientifically proven and the other one hasn’t. Creationism is believed only by faith because there are no facts to back it up. One can argue for it explaining how the bible and some religions support it but the bible is a book that in itself its not certain. The original books from which the bible was compiled have not been found and it is believed that the bible wasn’t even written from copies of copies of copies. So, the bible is not a believable source. If you look at evolution on the other hand, and all of the data that has been found you can find that it is a true theory. In the end you can believe one or the other but to do so you have to look at all sides of the story.

Knowledge is a tricky concept. Just because you go to class everyday doesn’t necessarily mean that you gain knowledge. To do so you have to apply yourself during class, pay attention and review your notes to really learn. You see, learning and gaining knowledge requires a process and there are different kinds of processes to do this. The conventional way of learning for us is to sit in a classroom and listen to some guy speak but knowledge is all around us. You can learn from conversations you have with your peers or from watching nature or from your dreams so, who is to say that you cant learn from hallucinogen drugs?
Shaman are said to be intermediaries between the human and the spirit world. They often use hallucinogen drugs like “shrooms” to bridge the gap between the human and the spirit world. During their visits to the spirit world they gain knowledge about plants and such that help them in the human world to heal. I have to say that gain real knowledge, its no bullshit. They can actually heal people with what they learn from the spirits. I just think this is so awesome because it is something we are not used to but it really opens your mind to other possibilities. If you think about for a while you can come to the conclusion that nothing is set in stone. There are always other possibilities and other ways to do things that are not the conventional ways of doing things. I personally like discovering new ways to do things because I don’t like to do what everybody else is doing, I like to be different.
Going back to the shaman thing, I believe that they gain legitimate knowledge and it can be proven because they actually heal people with the knowledge they learn about plants and nature. I think they are very respectable people and they carry a very important role in their societies.
In my opinion, I learn more from experiences that I’ve had during my life than from what I learn in the classroom. This knowledge that is gained form experiences is what shamans gain in their trances and trips to the spiritual world. Sam told us about an experience he had with a shaman in Ecuador and I think that it was really cool to get a hands on experience with a shaman. Some people might think that Sam was bullshitting us but I think that what Sam said really happened. I just want to finish saying that one must think outside the box and challenged what has already been established. Just because we don’t learn or gain knowledge by visiting the spirit world it doesn’t mean it cant be done.