I really enjoyed this class and skyping with Basum. It was definitely interesting to hear information from the other side. Everyday we get updated on information regarding the war and our troops, but we rarely hear what’s going on in Iraq. It’s nice to hear from someone experiencing what is going on in Iraq to help us understand what it’s like being in the shoes of an Iraqi citizen. I was very interested and learned a lot from what Basum had to say. The first question that really opened my eyes was about the purpose of the war. It came as no surprise to me to find that the Iraqi people think the war is about oil. I know it’s sometimes hard to understand the motives of the people on the other side in war, but I can understand why the Iraqi people are scared and angry. I remember in a past lecture imagining that we were Iraqi citizens for all of class, and being asked questions about the war. One thing that really stood out was the idea that this oil is in their backyards. This is a resource belonging to them and we are coming in forcefully and taking it. I’m not taking sides but I’m just saying you have to see the situation from both viewpoints. It was very sad to hear the question asked about the justification of killing Iraqi civilians to get to a target. The answer really went straight to heart when hearing him say that Americans most likely feel these deaths are justified for eliminating an enemy. These are innocent people with families just like us, and they die most of the time just because they are unknowingly near a target. One question I really liked was about what young adults and teens in Iraq do for fun. I was happy to hear that even though all of this is going on in their country, they are still going out and hanging with friends. However, it was sad to hear that Basum’s son is fearful when going out or walking home by himself. Finally, the last statement I found extremely disturbing was that so much money is coming in from the oil industry in Iraq and none of it is being used to help the people. Like Basum said, not one hospital has been raised from this money, and no one knows what has happened to it. He just simply stated that there are many corrupt problems within the country. It bothers me that all of that money could have been used to improve the quality of life for all the citizens of the country, and instead has probably been used toward a few greedy individuals. Overall, I found the question and answer session with Basum extremely insightful, and I am glad to finally hear things from the viewpoint of an Iraqi citizen.

I felt that this discussion was very interesting and eye opening. It’s hard to believe that we have taken the land from these people and we don’t even realize it. These are the people that are native to this land, and we came over and destroyed their people and culture. These are some of the most spiritual people and to some tribes the land was very religious. We have driven them away from their homes and forced many tribes to relocate west. On top of this many live on reservations managed by our government. These people experience some of the worst living conditions due to poverty. You would think that these people might be treated a little better considering we have nearly eliminated them. It saddens me to know how much violence we still show towards these people. The media is constantly portraying Native Americans as violent and primitive. This is extremely misleading, as most Native Americans are just as up to date with modernization as we are. True, some tribes may stick to traditions of the past, but we are wrong to form stereotypes about them. Almost anyone has some tradition they follow, so why have so many people contrived a negative image toward Native Americans. I’m sure some people come up with the excuse that they dislike, or even hate white people. I mean we do see this in music through the lyrics written by Native Americans. Put yourself in their shoes though, I mean can you really blame them? We have killed an unforgivable amount of their people, taken their land, and continue to show violence towards them. Yet we expect them to just forgive us and forget that it happened. Of course, some of them are going to hold a grudge, wouldn’t you if that happened to your family? I mean it really bothers me that we don’t pay any attention to these people, and the situations that they face everyday. Native Americans are almost non-existent in films and the media. Everyday we just live our lives completely unaware that these people are struggling to stay alive. They are dying due to poor living conditions and we are paying no attention to it at all. We live in the same country, which was once theirs, I feel like it is time we started to help them out. I hope that through discussions like this and through the media that awareness can be raised about these people. Until this class, I had no clue how horrible the statistics of violence and poverty these people experience. I hope that the media will begin to offer Native Americans more jobs, because I feel this will raise awareness and eliminate stereotypes about them. Overall, I am very disappointed about how little we know about these people, and I hope everyone in the future can open their eyes to this.

I felt that this discussion was very interesting and eye opening. It’s hard to believe that we have taken the land from these people and we don’t even realize it. These are the people that are native to this land, and we came over and destroyed their people and culture. These are some of the most spiritual people and to some tribes the land was very religious. We have driven them away from their homes and forced many tribes to relocate west. On top of this many live on reservations managed by our government. These people experience some of the worst living conditions due to poverty. You would think that these people might be treated a little better considering we have nearly eliminated them. It saddens me to know how much violence we still show towards these people. The media is constantly portraying Native Americans as violent and primitive. This is extremely misleading, as most Native Americans are just as up to date with modernization as we are. True, some tribes may stick to traditions of the past, but we are wrong to form stereotypes about them. Almost anyone has some tradition they follow, so why have so many people contrived a negative image toward Native Americans. I’m sure some people come up with the excuse that they dislike, or even hate white people. I mean we do see this in music through the lyrics written by Native Americans. Put yourself in their shoes though, I mean can you really blame them? We have killed an unforgivable amount of their people, taken their land, and continue to show violence towards them. Yet we expect them to just forgive us and forget that it happened. Of course, some of them are going to hold a grudge, wouldn’t you if that happened to your family? I mean it really bothers me that we don’t pay any attention to these people, and the situations that they face everyday. Native Americans are almost non-existent in films and the media. Everyday we just live our lives completely unaware that these people are struggling to stay alive. They are dying due to poor living conditions and we are paying no attention to it at all. We live in the same country, which was once theirs, I feel like it is time we started to help them out. I hope that through discussions like this and through the media that awareness can be raised about these people. Until this class, I had no clue how horrible the statistics of violence and poverty these people experience. I hope that the media will begin to offer Native Americans more jobs, because I feel this will raise awareness and eliminate stereotypes about them. Overall, I am very disappointed about how little we know about these people, and I hope everyone in the future can open their eyes to this.

hen I saw this question I immediately jumped on it because this happens to me all the time. I definitely think that it depends on where you are and what’s happening. I live with roommates who speak other languages besides English, and it doesn’t really bother me at all because they only speak the other language when they have to. Most of the time they speak their native language with their parents on the phone, or just to joke around with one another. The cool part about living here though is that all three of us are from different backgrounds, so we are constantly trying to learn things from one another. Since both are from Asian backgrounds I feel that they pick up on learning each other’s languages more quickly than I do. I still am always trying to take the opportunity to get into the conversation to learn though. I kind of feel uncomfortable at first when they talk to their friends in another language, but they always fill me in on what’s going on. I think the main reason someone might get uncomfortable is because they think the people are speaking another language so that the person doesn’t understand them talking about them. Some of my closest family friends are from Puerto Rico, and after talking to them I have found that this usually is not the case. They told me that it is fun sometimes just to make a joke, but they realize that person probably feels out of the loop so they start to talk to them. One time I kind of felt uncomfortable is when I went to their uncle’s house and some of the family was getting together. Everyone was speaking in Spanish at first, so I did my best to speak the Spanish I knew to stay in the conversation. Eventually everyone just started to speak in English as the night progressed, so my sister and I would understand them. I’ve realized that the best way to make a situation comfortable is to just approach the people speaking another language and try and learn a phrase or two. This usually earns a lot of respect because they understand that you are trying to learn about their cultures. Another way to look at this issue is from the other side. Many people from other cultures experience being uncomfortable in many ways as well. Chances are they have been in a similar situation where they didn’t understand what two people were saying, or they were left out of a group. Overall, the best thing to do is take a chance in life and immerse yourself in different cultures. Learning their language will most likely help in the business world, and will lead to learning more about their culture. It’s interesting to learn about the different cultures and languages of the world.

I personally being a white male am not hesitant to dating a black girl or girl of any race for that matter. I feel that if you find a girl attractive and are into her, you should date her. It shouldn’t matter where she is from or what she looks like. I can understand how fear is definitely a factor in dating a girl from another race especially when you aren’t used to being around them. I am used to hanging out with a variety of friends from different backgrounds, and going to many parties where I socialize with different races. From these experiences I am very comfortable around other races. I have a friend who is also white who has always been very attracted to black girls. In one of our classes there was a girl who he would constantly talk about and was interested in asking on a date. However, he was fearful about what his friends would think about him dating a girl from another race. He was also fearful about what his family’s reaction would be to this. I think fear is the common reason many white guys are scared to date black girls. Someone growing up around family and friends who constantly show racial biases may start to become socialized to their beliefs. It may also be hard to become comfortable with being in multicultural situations if someone is not used to being around them. For example, someone who has gone to a predominantly white school might be somewhat timid about dating a girl from another race or culture. I feel that this is slowly becoming less of an issue in today’s society as past generations become older and phase out. Most of the racial comments I hear come often from people’s grandparents. I know my grandparents would personally be a little uncomfortable with me dating a black girl at first, but would eventually be alright with it. This might not be the case for someone who has grown up with grandparents that have told them not to date other cultures. I think that people need to think for themselves and stop worrying about what people around them think. By constantly ignoring your feelings, you will always remain uncomfortable with the situation. One might find that they become more comfortable by just approaching the girl and talking to her. On the other hand I know a lot of white guys who are scared of being turned down by a black girl, because they think she isn’t interested. In the end, my advice to both the girl and the guy is take a chance. You’ll never know he or she is into you unless you approach them.

If more people would carpool or take public transportation problems like scarcity of oil and even traffic congestion can be decreased. Even food can be approached with different end uses. Letting countries grow fruits and vegetables native to their country is much more effective than forcing them to grow common agricultural goods relative to the United States. Growing food in much more variety and natural to the country builds its strength against diseases native to the area. Planting foreign and bio engineered foods renders them much more susceptible to disease in these locations. Overall, I do believe the increasing population of the world is causing resources to become scarce, but I think this problem can be solved without modifying or creating rules for the amount of people born in the world. By assessing and choosing more effective end uses we can balance these resources moving in a positive direction toward eliminating scarcity.

I feel that there should be no problem having a balanced amount of resources throughout the world, so that everyone can maintain a higher standard of living. In order to achieve this we must instill a sense of agency in each individual throughout the country. What I mean by this is we often approach a problem such as poverty in the world as a whole. This creates a state of mind within individuals that the problem is too big for them to handle and they rely on agencies and businesses to solve the situation. If we break down the larger problem into smaller segments and create solutions that each individual can contribute to easily, then the problem of poverty and scarcity can be approached much more effectively. Another possible solution to poverty is creating more end uses than relying on just one.

I feel that both of these questions are often overlooked by our society and the United States in particular. I feel that your first question about people realizing that the resources of the world are scarce definitely depends more on location, but I think everyone has an idea that this is happening. Countries experiencing extreme elements of poverty are definitely realizing this as they struggle to maintain a healthy lifestyle. Countries like the United States may not take this as seriously because I feel that we don’t realize how lucky we are to have what we have. The sad part is that usually money is our way of becoming aware of resources becoming scarce. It shouldn’t take an increase in gas prices or another product for us to step back and realize that common resources are disappearing from the world. I feel that awareness is however being increased as many charities and benefits are being formed to attack this problem throughout the world.

The lecture in class really didn’t have an effect on where I sit during class. I have friends that I sit with everyday so we mainly try and sit around the same area. If I’m in a hurry or late for class I might not get to sit with them, but I don’t really pay attention to who I sit next to. I’m not bothered by race or culture of those around me when it comes to seating, but more to the behavior of those around me. One thing in particular is if I sit next to someone who is distracting. I think it is interesting to pay attention to which people choose to sit next to in different scenarios though. I definitely agree that we often make decisions based off of our comfort levels. I know that I choose to sit with my friends in most classes because I’m used to being around them. However, I usually look forward to the first few weeks of classes, because I often meet many new people during this time. I have to admit that I feel kind of odd when sitting amongst a group of people who are friends or of a different race when I’m by myself. This is an example of when I’m out of my comfort zone. It’s not that I don’t want to sit next to these people, but I just feel out of place. I don’t really pay attention to this to often, but the lecture definitely helped me realize that this does happen. I believe that people look to sit next to people that they have something in common with. I feel that race and nationality tend to be a starting point in this decision because we instantly feel a connection. I don’t think this should be looked at negatively because I think it often just depends on the person. It may not bother me to sit next to someone I don’t know from another culture because I’m used to hanging out with diverse groups of people. However, someone who hasn’t had many experiences with other cultures may feel uncomfortable because they simply aren’t used to being around them. Our past experiences in life tend to have a lot of influence on the decisions we make in life and our personality. It may be hard for a person who grew up hearing stereotypes and negative things about groups of people to achieve a positive comfort level around them. I do feel that with diversity is becoming more common with younger generations, which is eliminating many cultural stereotypes from the past. Overall, I believe that everything is moving in a positive direction with diversity, and overtime many issues involved with race and culture will be solved.

I think this is a great question because I don’t think we really pay that much attention to how other people live in the world. Many people watch local or national news to see what’s going on in the United States, but internationally it seems we focus on other countries whenever there is war, natural disasters, or other negative problems. Even when it comes to poverty we usually think about cities or people in our own country, and very seldom pay attention to the poor quality of living of those in other countries. I mean don’t get me wrong I care about what happens in our own country, but what is presently happening on a global level is just as important. It is sad to see a large family living in a small house with barely enough food to live on, but what about the people in other countries suffering from serious hunger and malnutrition? What about families living in huts not suitable for sufficient shelter and children dying from starvation? We may struggle with the resources that we often have at our feet, but we can still make choices of what to do with them. As mentioned in class, there are so many people suffering from poverty in other countries that have the drive and ambition to accomplish so much in life, but don’t have the resources to succeed. It’s sad that many of the clothes we wear and foods we consume are products of slavery and people fighting for their families to survive. We have so many choices we can make in life to help those suffering from poverty both in other countries, and our own. I feel that we take so much for granted in the United States. We complain about having a beaten up car when someone else can’t even get one. In fact, many of the harsh climates and problems people face in countries like Africa are the byproducts of our pollution. I think it’s fair that we at least realize and appreciate these people at the least. We all have the power to help people suffering from poverty; we just have to make the right choices. If we can help these people achieve a better quality of living, then they will gain both dignity and a healthier lifestyle. Overall, I feel that Americans are very lucky for the many things we have. If we continue to move in a positive direction and open our eyes to what’s happening around us, we can slowly help turn the world in a better direction for all its people. In the end, I feel we are all equal and should all have the chance to live life to its full potential.