I wouldn't really say that I was surprised by too much that he said. I was disappointed though, to hear that all the money that came from oil sales revenue has basically just gone missing. Now when I say that, it hasn't actually disappeared, it just hasn't gone to the uses that it should such as bridges, dams, roads, or other public utilities that are in desperate need in post-war Iraq. It is most likely that this money has instead gone to wages for government officials. Almost everything else Basum said I thought was really very on point. I was amazed at how objective and level-headed he was on topics that have clearly hit "close to home" with him. At times I felt like he might have more to say on certain topics but just might not have been comfortable enough to say them to a room of 700 American students that he could neither hear nor see. I thought that he definitely had more to say about that 29 to 1 ratio question, but there was a combination of restraint as well as skepticism as I would bet he did not want to comment on something that he was asked to accept as fact from someone he did not know nor could he even see. I also really liked his response to the question about what kids do on weekends. I think we can all remember the times (some might still be going through) when we would go out as teenagers and leave our parents worrying all night until we came home, Basum's level of worrying until his son returns is unimaginable in comparison. I definitely wasn't surprised by his appearance. He looked like the "typical" Iraqi that I had pictured. I guess there are a lot of Americans out there that still picture a guy in a robe with a towel on his head, but I think you almost have to try to have such a naive global view.

Like most Americans, after 9/11 all I wanted was revenge. When we entered the Iraqi war, I didn't think too much of the images I saw on TV. To me it was just another war, just like all the others we learned about and saw images of throughout our childhood. When we see entire towns leveled in a single bombing, we shrug our shoulders and say "must have been some bad people in there". For most of us, the human cost never even crosses our minds. That village was made up of people's homes. To think of a modern-day battle being fought on the street in front of my home or on Broad Street in Philly, is unfathomable. We can't imagine being afraid to walk down the street for fear of encountering a firefight. Not to even mention the cost of war in casualties. We talked in class about how it takes 29 casualties of war for every target to be killed. With a number that high every one of us would have someone close to us be killed in such a strike. The problem is that we have entered an era of war in which we no longer use finesse in our tactics, when we have a single target we wish to eliminate, we just blow up a 5 mile radius of where we know they are. Thereby killing everything in the immediate area. But even after the conclusion of a war and troops are finally removed from an area it is the civilians of that area that are left to deal with the devastation. Thats a side that we, as Americans, don't get to see. The fact is that we even have the luxury of going through our everyday lives with absolutely no idea that there is even a war going on.

I prefer the question of "what would make this guy MORE white?" The answer is not much.

The first thing I noticed was his avid discomfort with ANY controversial material. I swear to god if he warned me one more time that he had gym shorts on I was about to move on to the next blog option. I kept going though because I was really most intrigued with the "smart carry holster"'s position. I have handled a few firearms in my time and seen what they can do. Needless to say I want then NOWHERE near that area of my body.

We have all seen the music videos and movies that portray the "black stereotype" of rappers carrying their guns in their waistband in a positive manner. I think that Plaxico Burress's plight has shown us all that this really is not the most wise of places to carry such items.

The fact remains that this man is clearly the "quintessential southern white guy" I think that there can be no argument made against that. Where dispute may arise is to the cause of this mindset. This man, true is basing his product off of what he has seen in the popular media; but who's fault is it for that image being spread so wide? I don't claim to be close to too many famous rappers (although I wish I could), but I do know a great many African Americans, NONE of which have EVER represented themselves in (so poor a manor) as this white man attempts to imitate (whether he realizes he is doing so or not).

The fact is that we all see a great many stereotypes in popular media every day about any side of race; yet we have our own experiences in real life. It is our duty to decipher what is real and what is... quite frankly crap... to be waded through on a mission for true equality: and not the lie that most of us accept as truth today.

There are thousands of issues relating to differences between groups of people out there today. I think due to the push to become so "politically correct" many of us try to act like we don't realize they exist because we know deep down that they SHOULDN'T exist. I admit that that is a good start. Acknowledging that there really is a problem out there whether it is subconsciously or not is a huge measure that has to be taken. Now we have to take it a step further and realize that being ignorant like that all the while knowing there are some huge issues that need to be tackled is not enough. Racism of all kinds is still very alive and well. Until we acknowledge that fact and the recognize the prejudices that we ALL clearly hold on some level, we will never have progress. The issues are real, WE need to be real along with them.

While I am registered as a republican and come from a fairly conservative background, I never really classified myself as a strict conservative. I think that the issues that effect our world are far to complex to take one side across the board on them. When confronted with an issue that you need to pass judgement on, the only way to approach it is to gather all the information you can on it and THEN make an educated judgement that you have thought out. To consider yourself 100% conservative or 100% liberal on ANY issue is not only ignorant, it is also irresponsible. I am open to either side of any issue and will make my decision as to where I stand only after I have gathered enough information to support my selected side.

I find it funny when staunch conservatives and staunch liberals get into heated debates. They both clearly have so many holes in their theories and beliefs that, many times, could actually be filled by actually LISTENING to the other side. If we would just realize that we all have different opinions and no one person's is completely right, then we could work together to find the truly most appropriate solutions.

All of that said, I by no means claim to be absolutely open-minded on all issues. We all have our own opinions and even I can be found to hold on to some for a little bit too long even with compelling evidence presented against them. But I am still young and I am working on that.