After reading the article, “Stand Your Ground Marissa Alexander,” with the Trayvon Martin case in mind, my opinions are significantly challenged. Regarding the Trayvon Martin case, I originally thought, without putting very much research into the situation, that this was a racial issue and that Zimmerman attacked Trayvon Martin for racial issues. I thought this because of word of mouth and because of what everyone else was saying. After doing a small amount of my own research though, I view the case slightly differently. I believe that it is impossible to know what went on the night that Trayvon Martin was killed. There is a lot of uncertain evidence that could be twisted into many different directions in the case. Without having any concrete evidence, it is going to be impossible that Zimmerman killed Taryvon Martin out of racial spite, meaning that this case will probably never stop being debated. Comparatively, in the article, “Stand Your Ground Marissa Alexander,” I feel that there is no doubt the accused woman should be charged with any crime. Her weapon was registered, and according to her story she clearly was being threatened and abused by her husband at the time of the incident. As someone who has been exposed to domestic violence before, I know that it can be extremely terrifying and threatening; in a violent situation someone you once loved and trusted can appear as a completely different and horrifying human being. Additionally, the accused woman did not actually harm anyone with her weapon, she shot it to scare her husband off from attacking her further. The fact that this case has not been dismissed is extremely upsetting and surprising to me, I almost feel like the woman’s husband has no case against her. I think it’s kind of difficult to relate this case to the Trayvon Martin case, but there are both about self-defense. There must be racial inequality in the criminal justice system as we have learned in class, and I think the Marissa Alexander case is a valid example of that. Regarding Trayvon Martin’s death though, I am unsure that we will ever be able to fully conclude the same. Each case is very different and therefore they cannot be compared to each other. I cannot be sure of what would have happened if the scenario of the Trayvon case was a black man using “self-defense” against a white/Hispanic man, but I definitely would not be surprised if the case were handled in the opposite way. With all the national attention that this case is receiving, I think that Trayvon will eventually get justice for his death if he was murdered and not killed out of self-defense. Although I am not very educated, by best guess is that George Zimmerman did not have to shoot Trayvon out of self-dense, especially if he knew police were on their way as backup for him.

In response to the “What Would You Do?” video where the bakery cashier refuses to serve the Middle Eastern woman, I think there are many reasons for why the spectators in the bakery do not say anything. The first reason why the people observing the cashier discriminate the woman say nothing is because they do not disagree with the cashier’s actions. I think some of the people who said nothing are silently supporting the cashier by not saying anything or standing up to the cashier. As is discussed in high school and middle school about bullying, those who do not do anything are contributors to the bullying. Therefore, I think that the people who stand by and watch the woman be ripped apart and discriminated against are equally as offensive as the man stating the racial slurs. Next, I think that the people don’t say anything or stand up to the cashier because they are scared. As we have already discussed a bit in class, many people are scared to talk about race. Standing up to the cashier would force and entail the people to confront the topic of race and discuss it in a controversial and hostile setting and situation, which many people would be extremely afraid of. Besides being afraid of discussing race with others, I think many people are also afraid of standing up to others. Many people are extremely uncomfortable in confrontational situations, and therefore are very uncomfortable confronting others especially in hostile situations like the one in the video. In addition, I think that some of the people in the video do not stand up to the cashier man who is harassing the middle-eastern woman because they do not think it is wrong that the man is refusing to serve her. Some of these people may not be ignoring the issue, but may not even pick up on the issue at all or even notice it. These people most likely live in a “bubble” and are unable to recognize whether or not the things going on around them are right or wrong. Overall, I believe that the people in the video who do nothing about the man yelling at the Middle Eastern woman are wrong. People should not let their insecurities or their fears about confronting people get in the way of making sure others are being treated fairly and equally to others. Additionally, people shouldn’t recognize that something is happening like this and agree with it. It is terrible to say the things that the cashier said to the Middle Eastern woman, and anyone who supports those statements is seriously messed up and needs to understand race and step into the shoes of others in different cultures than their own.

In my opinion, judging how people are viewed by others based on their clothing all depends on the perspective of the person deciding. Clearly, a Middle-Eastern woman will believe that a woman showing a lot of skin is showing very little to no respect for herself. Comparatively, a Western woman would most likely believe that the opposite is true. If you break it down to Western women wearing showy and revealing clothing, there are definitely ways from each perspective that represent how these women are and are not showing respect for themselves or their bodies. Primarily, I think that when a Western woman shows a lot of skin there are a lot of positive and respectful qualities to her displaying her body. This shows that this woman is filled with strong amounts of self-confidence, pride, self-appreciation and beauty. I think this shows strong amount of self-confidence in a woman to dress in a more revealing manner because many women are very uncomfortable and embarrassed of their bodies, so it is empowering for a woman to be comfortable in her own skin and display what she believes to be her own physical beauty. I think this ties in with the concepts on pride and self-appreciation that are displayed by this type of woman because it takes both of them to dress like this. You have to be proud of your appearance to want to show it off and you have to appreciate your own body as well. I believe that if people choose to dress this way no one should really discuss it or voice their opinion on it. We all have the right to do this and dress ourselves however we want, so we should praise those who do so proudly and prominently. In opposition though, there are many reasons why some might believe dressing in a revealing manner is a sign of personal disrespect. Many people believe that some women dress this way because they are seeking attention and approval from others. These people likely believe that these women dress this way to attract sexual attention, most often from males who see them dressed like this. Many people believe that the women who dress this way are seen negatively and disrespectfully because the men who see them immediately think of them as a piece of meat, instead of being attracted to them for reasons other than their bodies. What I believe to be most important here is the fact that most people are against women dressing in a revealing manner because of how men react to them. We should not condemn the women who dress this way, we should criticize the men who react so negatively and inappropriately to these women.

In reference to the video that we watched in class from Fox Sports, I think the video was wrong because of the intentions behind the producers of the video not because of the reactions of the people being interviewed. Basically everyone knows that Asians may speak differently than whites because they are international and do not speak English as their first language. Similarly, we are all aware that Asians physically appear differently from us, because of their genetic features and attributes. Therefore, I think it is perfectly safe to conclude that the video is offensive and incorrect because of the intentions behind those representatives from Fox News who chose to produce the video. It is clear that the newscaster interviewing subjects on the street is intentionally looking for Asian people to interview; he never says that he is only looking to interview Asian students on campus, but confirms this because he does not interview anyone that is not Asian. It is clear that the newscaster from Fox News is targeting Asians to highlight how they are different from stereotypical Americans. This newscaster is intentionally trying to emphasize the stereotypes that Asians do not speak English well, that they are nerdy, that they are not educated on popular American culture and sports; basically, the newscaster from Fox Sports wants to get across the message that Asians do not fit into American culture or American society. It is easy to laugh at this video and think it is funny until you stop and think about the motives of those who created the video. If you picture a team of newscasters from Fox Sports News gathered around a table decided to make this video on University of Southern California’s campus, the brainstorming conversation they probably had is a very scary thought. These Fox News representatives had to collectively decide that it was necessary for them to produce this video and highlight how the Asians on campus (which they did not even represent appropriately, since they clearly only focused on international students) were uneducated with American culture. If the newscasters wanted to show that students as a whole on University of Southern California’s campus were uneducated on the sports news, there are plenty of other subjects they could have interviewed. I myself know very little about sports and I am sure there are large amounts of people within each racial and demographic group on campus that would not be able to answer the questions they were asking only Asians in particular. Overall, I think if you look at the video and immediately react you can see how it can appear funny. But what is most important is stopping and evaluating the entire message of the video and the ideals behind those who produced it.

I grew up in an area that is actually famous in the Philadelphia area for being predominantly white. The township where I grew up, “The Main Line,” is not only known for being predominantly white, but for containing some of the wealthiest families in the Philadelphia area. Although my family doesn’t necessarily fit this mold, I grew up with some kids who were wealthier than I could ever imagine. In many cases the wealth from these people came with ignorance; there was a high amount of children that I grew up with that didn’t interact with people of other races unless they were in a service position (their nanny, housekeeper, gardener, etc). Because of this, the ignorance I saw from many of these wealthy people led me to want to disassociate with parts of the society I grew up in. From a young age I felt that I didn’t fit into the community in which I lived, my family was not as wealthy of many of the others, and I was just not concerned with a lot of the material desires of these people. With that in mind, in high school I was friends with many of the few minorities that were in my high school. To be a part of my friends group required no racial or socioeconomic standards; I can honestly say that my high school friends are all people I have friendships with because they are down-to-earth, hilarious and relaxed. My “group” in high school was filled with some very wealthy kids, some of the poorest kids in our area, a European boy, white kids, a few Hispanics, and a good amount of blacks. I can definitely say my friends group was one of the most diverse in the school, and its because we chose each other for our personalities, not based on social class. I think my ability at a young age to chose people to be close with solely based on personality helped me to be at the 3rd stage of interacting with other races. I have not had very much exposure to other races because of the demographics of my home, but I have made a point to respect those that I have interacted with. Even as young as elementary school, I was very close friends with a girl who had down syndrome, and in this age of my life I was in the first stage. I had no idea that there was anything different between the two of us, I would go to her house and play and she would come to my house as well. It wasn’t until I developed further into elementary and middle school that I understand that there were differences between the two of us. Basically, I think through my upbringing that I have learned from a young age to accept people and know them for their true personalities, not for their race.

After watching the videos in class today of American soldiers abusing the rights of Iraqi’s I was not surprised. I was not surprised by these videos because I know things like this, and without a doubt much worse things, go on overseas through the actions of our troops. From the point of view of an Iraqi, I think I would feel disrespected, neglected, taken advantage of and completely discouraged to say the least. There are many background stories between the Americans and Iraqis that each other are not aware of, and that is why I think incidents like these occur. Americans are unaware of why the Iraqis are stealing wood for instance, and the Iraqis are unaware of the threats that the Americans think they propose. The Iraqis are probably confused as to why these acts are even happening to them. It is there home and they should have the right to do what they want in it. From an Iraqi point of view I would be infuriated that people came into my home and town and told me what to do there, especially considering they are not familiar with or fully educated on these people’s beliefs, culture and ideals. With the hostility between the two groups not understanding each other, each other’s purpose for being there, or each other’s goals, there will inevitably be tension. I think that this tension could be removed by helping to educate both groups on their take on the stance. American soldiers should be educated in the life of the average Iraqi-not the insurgents or radicals, but the people who are simply trying to live and raise a family, just like almost all Americans. If soldiers were to be better educated on the actual profiles of most Iraqis, the typical Iraqi, they would most likely be less hostile toward the population of Iraqis as a whole since they would learn that they are not all a threat to them or trying to defy their actions. Additionally, Americans should explain to these Iraqis what their purpose in Iraq exactly is. Most likely, these Iraqis would be cooperative with the Americans if they even had a slight understanding of what they were trying to achieve. Obviously there is more action that needs to be taken, such as encouraging others to step into the shoes of others as we did in class today, but I do think simply educating each other on the lives of the others would be a good start. You cannot step into the shoes of another unless you understand how they think, live, and act. Education would help people on both sides be more open minded towards each other since they would be able to see where the other person is coming from. Regardless of what is done there are going to be serious conflicts and power trips from Americans acting out toward others, and similarly other groups against Americans. Little steps can be taken though to change these actions and help each person walk in the shoes of the other. I know this is true because after hearing the personal testimonies from the Iraq veterans today, I learned how their opinions toward others changed after being educated through real life experience.

After watching the videos in class today of American soldiers abusing the rights of Iraqi’s I was not surprised. I was not surprised by these videos because I know things like this, and without a doubt much worse things, go on overseas through the actions of our troops. From the point of view of an Iraqi, I think I would feel disrespected, neglected, taken advantage of and completely discouraged to say the least. There are many background stories between the Americans and Iraqis that each other are not aware of, and that is why I think incidents like these occur. Americans are unaware of why the Iraqis are stealing wood for instance, and the Iraqis are unaware of the threats that the Americans think they propose. The Iraqis are probably confused as to why these acts are even happening to them. It is there home and they should have the right to do what they want in it. From an Iraqi point of view I would be infuriated that people came into my home and town and told me what to do there, especially considering they are not familiar with or fully educated on these people’s beliefs, culture and ideals. With the hostility between the two groups not understanding each other, each other’s purpose for being there, or each other’s goals, there will inevitably be tension. I think that this tension could be removed by helping to educate both groups on their take on the stance. American soldiers should be educated in the life of the average Iraqi-not the insurgents or radicals, but the people who are simply trying to live and raise a family, just like almost all Americans. If soldiers were to be better educated on the actual profiles of most Iraqis, the typical Iraqi, they would most likely be less hostile toward the population of Iraqis as a whole since they would learn that they are not all a threat to them or trying to defy their actions. Additionally, Americans should explain to these Iraqis what their purpose in Iraq exactly is. Most likely, these Iraqis would be cooperative with the Americans if they even had a slight understanding of what they were trying to achieve. Obviously there is more action that needs to be taken, such as encouraging others to step into the shoes of others as we did in class today, but I do think simply educating each other on the lives of the others would be a good start. You cannot step into the shoes of another unless you understand how they think, live, and act. Education would help people on both sides be more open minded towards each other since they would be able to see where the other person is coming from. Regardless of what is done there are going to be serious conflicts and power trips from Americans acting out toward others, and similarly other groups against Americans. Little steps can be taken though to change these actions and help each person walk in the shoes of the other. I know this is true because after hearing the personal testimonies from the Iraq veterans today, I learned how their opinions toward others changed after being educated through real life experience.

In my opinion, having physical attraction attached to job applications would be completely unfair. By this, I mean having to send in a picture of yourself along with your resume would be unfair. Despite this unfairness, I think that physical attractiveness is unfortunately already a part of the job application process. Maybe you can get a call back from an employer by just sending in your resume that represents your qualifications for the job position, but eventually you will have to be interviewed in person, and can absolutely be discriminated against for your appearance. Regardless, I strongly disagree with rejecting an applicant based on their appearance. I believe that job applicants should be hired for specific positions based on their education, experience and overall qualifications and appropriateness for the job position, not because of their appearance. For example, many people with tattoos, piercings and other physical features and accessories know that they most likely would not be hired for a position in the business world, since business usually is seen as “professional and serious,” unlike these types of physical expressions. Additionally, someone with long hair, a long beard, or other features may not be hired for similar positions because they are not seen as professional. The problem with this is that these people could be extremely qualified for the positions they are interviewing for, and could easily be the best candidates for the job. A person’s physical appearance has no affect on how they perform in the workforce, and therefore it is unfair to discriminate against others based on appearance. Along with these individual expressions through personal appearance, race could definitely be a physical appearance factor that prevents someone from being hired into a job position. Similarly, I strongly agree that race should not ever be a reason that someone does not get hired for a specific job position. Race is not something that can make any one person less or more qualified for a specific job position. All people are individuals, and each individual is capable of achieving whatever they want to achieve and educating themselves to whatever degree they want to be educated to. Therefore, race is not something that should prevent anyone from being qualified for a job. Yes, there are sociological factors connected to race that can make it more difficult for some races to be ass well off as others, but determinism and personal drive can be used to overcome these factors. Everyone has the ability to achieve the same things, some just have to work harder for those things. Because of this, in some cases it would make more sense hire those of races who have to work harder, because clearly they are persevering against the odds through hard work and dedication to get ahead, instead of following an easy process.

Agreeing with the guy who left the video prompt for this blog, a lot of the information discussed in class on differences in test scores based on race seemed to be more correlated with upbringing, family wealth and income and other socioeconomic factors. Despite my complete understanding of these issues, I do understand that there are certain circumstances where race does cause some not to do as well as others, and I do know that there has to be ways that we as society can approach these issues and prevent this correlation from continuing and further affecting others. In my opinion, one of the most important things about race that causes these correlations between race and test performance is that race is not just the color of your skin; race is a culture. Not every member of each race can be place in this culture and associated with it, but there definitely are large populations of each race that share common cultures. For example, blacks, who Sam showed do not always do well on tests often have cultural components to their race (as I’ve said, this doesn’t necessarily apply to all members of the race). You can argue that the culture of blacks does not encourage or stress the importance of schooling and studying, and therefore blacks do not feel as much pressure to succeed and put as much effort into school as other races/cultures such as whites or Asians. If this is the case, the easiest and most effective way to control these performance measures according to race would be to try and influence the large groups that share the mass culture of each race. Implementing programs focused on education in black areas and cultures could successfully help change the culture to focus more on and emphasize the importance of education. I definitely do not think blacks are intellectually inferior, but in some cases, I do think blacks are meant to feel like they have to be intellectually inferior. In other words, blacks are not encouraged to try as hard and do as well as other races because they are told they are incapable of it, or are not taught how important it is to do well in school. Many argue that Asians excel in schooling because their families and cultures stress how important it is for them to do so, so if blacks were encouraged in similar ways, we could slowly overcome the differences between the two races. Additionally, it is common for most of the blacks or Hispanics who do not do well in school to come from poorer, more urban areas, since these areas have little funding for educational programs. The people who come from these areas do not have the same resources as people from other areas and do not have the same environment. Perhaps these people think that there is no point in succeeding intellectually, since they would have to work so much harder to get the same place as a white person or person of another race who tends to do better. A way to get over this belief and overcome these differences would be to again increase program development in educational programs and give these students more opportunities and scholarships to succeed and further their education.

In my opinion, the majority of black people do not believe in evolution for many reasons. Primarily, I think blacks do not believe in evolution because African-Americans are typically a very religious group of people. Studies discussed in various classes that I have taken share that blacks are very religious, typically attend church, and typically display very religious beliefs as a result. Evolution is not a topic that is usually supported by those who are extremely religious, and therefore, many religious blacks do not support evolution. Because these people rely so greatly on their faith, they are going to believe in principles of creation learned through their religious texts and practices before those explained by evolution. Additionally, I there are other reasons as to why blacks do not typically support the theory of evolution; these reasons are ones I find to be upsetting though. Frankly, I think many blacks do not support evolution because the concept offends them. Evolution explains how humans have evolved from ape-like animals into the humans we see today. Now first off, I do not view blacks in this way at all and never have, but there are many who associate black people with apes and cavemen. These people believe blacks are similar to apes and cavemen because they have been taught that, and conditioned to believe that blacks are inferior to them. Now these beliefs of many are not exactly a secret, blacks know that there are people in the world who view them this way. The knowledge of these beliefs of others are what I believe encourages many blacks to reject the concept of evolution. Why would blacks want to believe that humans have evolved from, and bettered themselves, from the life form that many believe them to take? In other words, why would blacks support evolution when there are many people in this world who believe blacks are still stuck at the first stage of all human beings? As I’ve said, I do not support viewing blacks as apes or cavemen, but there are people who do, and it may seem ridiculous, but I think blacks are justified in rejecting evolution because of the implications it has toward their own people. Overall, I’m sure there are countless reasons as to why blacks don’t support evolution, it is wrong to group all blacks together as having the same views on the issue. What I do think, though, is that the issues of religion and racism come in as huge factors here. Many blacks simply disagree with evolution because it violates their religious beliefs, and many others find the topic to be racist and offensive toward their culture and people. Finally, I do think there are people who promote the theory of evolution who do so because they feel they are superior; these people have darwinistic beliefs and feel that they have been lucky enough to evolve past blacks in this world.