I completely relate to not fully understanding everything that Affirmative Action entails. I believe in the past I have stated that I had problems with AA when I really didn't realize everything that AA does and everyone who benefits from it. Had I known this information before I definitely feel as if I would have felt much differently and can safely say I do now.

I have always felt that I knew what Affirmative action actually meant. I thought it was really interesting to see how Sam brought up Nepotism and really paralleled the two. I think for a lot of people, including myself, this really brought a new clarity to what Affirmative action was and how it was not an uncommon practice throughout the world. Although I do not think the two are exactly alike, I do believe they share many of the same principles. However, I think it is interesting that Affirmative Action is thought of in an extremely negative light, and nepotism (in most cases) is seen as a normal and fair practice. It is true that there are many people who would be against nepotism, however it does not seem to have the same connotations as Affirmative Action. I guess I have spoken out against Affirmative Action without really knowing everything that the action entails. After learning all the different type of people that benefit from it, I really feel differently. I definitely agree that it gets a really bad rap, and it makes me question the people who are so against it. There seems to be such a hateful tone towards it from some people, and I wonder if that is deeply connected to strong racial issues in our country. It is sad that some people cannot look past the good that Affirmative actions does, and instead can only see what they are not directly receiving.

I really thought this lecture was very intellectually stimulating. I thought all of the statistics that Sam showed us were really interesting and thought provoking. The statistic that was most surprising to me was the one where it asked “How familiar are you with a language (besides English) that is native to one or some of your ancestors?” and 13.5 percent are fluent. This could have been one of the most shocking things I found out in this lecture. Of course, the different laws regarding homosexuals was seriously disturbing, but since I had known the information before, I wasn’t as shocked. The fact that homosexuals are put in prison for doing sexual acts, and in some places it is just illegal altogether to be homosexual is sickening. It is not an issue of whether or not you believe in gay marriage or gay people adopting children, it is a question of humanity and it is disgusting that things like this still happen in our world. When Dr. Richards gave the statistics of the soc 119 class of fall 2009’s answers on opinions on gay marriage, I was surprised that 59 percent supported marital rights for gays and lesbians. I think that the society is becoming more open to same-sex marriage. I think something really helping the cause is the switch in the way gay people are being depicted in the media. Characters who are gay are no longer a joke or a pity party, they are now becoming more frequently just normal characters with normal relationships. I think the more the barrier is torn down between same-sex and opposite-sex couples, the easier it will be for the public to understand that sexuality is not something that defines every human being.

This may seem weird to some people but I find a hard time identifying with a certain race or ethnic group. This may be because I think my ethnicity is sort of in a grey area or it could just be the fact that I have always sort of been resistant of labeling myself. I agree that I also have racial stereotypes of what it means to be white, and what I think it means to be various ethnicities. I am aware enough to know that these stereotypes are not fact, however they seem to be so imprinted in my mind that they won’t go away. Since I was young I never really wanted to be identified with a certain race or ethnicity. I can pass as many different ethnicities and people have guessed a long list of guesses as to what my background was. I don’t know what triggers it, but I get really frustrated when people try to label me based on my race. I think I am fortunate enough to sort of slide under the radar when it comes to my appearance. I think since my race is sort of indistinguishable I have the privilege of not being stereotyped as much as people of different races might. I honestly can’t imagine how infuriating it must be to have someone make a judgment on you solely based on the way you look. If you were stereotyped to your face based on the way you looked do you think you would respond with anger and frustration or would you be able to keep your composure and explain the person’s fault? Which do you think would solve the problem more effectively?

I definitely agree that I never seemed to think about majority and minority in such simple terms as even being left or right handed. When it is sort of boiled down to that, it makes everything a lot more clear. It was interesting to look at the issues through this lens and I thought it was really smart and clever on Sam's part to use an example that was not heated or a hot-button issue. I think it really gave everyone the chance to look at things the same way and discover the mentality of the minority.

This lecture really made me think about the “pre awakened” state Sam spoke about in class. I think the first time I was really taken of the “pre awakened” stage was when I was very little and my family took a trip to a nearby amusement park. I remember having so much fun that day and I even got to separate from my parents for a little while with my sister who was older. I must have been ten or eleven. I remember standing in line for one of the rides and seeing so many different types of kids. I think if you really want to just be immersed in diversity you should go to an amusement park because it was incredible how many different ethnicities and races were crammed into this one tiny spot. It was really the first time I had been around such different types of people and I remember being so fascinated by it. This pleasant moment was quickly tarnished with what I saw next. I remember seeing a little Caucasian boy trying to talk to a small Asian girl. For some reason this just happened to catch my eye and I continued watching because I have always been a very curious person. Every time the boy would try to talk to the little girl, the boys mother would pull him away and sort of scold him. Eventually as this persisted she took him out of line and started yelling at him telling him that “he wasn’t allowed to speak to Orientals”. I remember being so naïve at that age, and not even knowing what oriental meant, but I somehow knew how twisted it was. I think it was the first moment that I actually thought about race and which race I fell into. It was the first moment where I saw race being an issue in society, and it is unfortunate that it had to happen this way. However, I think that it was a good thing for me to see at such a young and impressionable age because the moment really stuck with me. I always reflected on it growing up and knew that something that hateful would never have a place in my life. I knew at a very young age that this was wrong, and sort of used it as a template on how not to act. It definitely made me try to do more to include people outside of my race and to be friends with people who looked nothing like me. Do you think race related issues at a young age make a big impression on children? How do you think this can negatively or positively effect the children who is happens to?

I definitely agree with you that the King of the Mountain exercise was really interesting and helpful in looking at how white people took a rise to power over other ethnic groups. I never fully understood this, and the example Sam gave helped me visualize why this occurred. Also his explanation of Affirmative action also cemented this further into my mind. The concept makes a lot more sense to me now, and I see why it is so necessary. Just because we can't see the affirmative action that white people received, doesn't mean it didn't happen. I thought it was so interesting to learn about the simple rights minorities were stripped of after the civil war, and how this occurrence shaped race relations today.

Watching this lecture really made me think about not only trying to change the invisible strings ties to all of us, but more importantly changing the way we think and how evolving one’s views is so important in our society. I grew up in a predominately Republican family, and form a young age was really interested in political issues. I watched the news with my family and would often have discussions after about what we just watched. My parents never forced their beliefs on me, but I adapted most of them and for a while really agreed with most of what they had to say. I remember being in seventh grade and disagreeing with almost everything my social studies teacher had to say. I was never ashamed or afraid to speak my mind and I felt very validated from a young age that my beliefs were worth sharing and discussing. However, today as I have grown up a lot of my views have changed and evolved. There wasn’t one particular moment that prompted this change, and I didn’t even fully realize it until a lot later in my life. I actually disagree with my parents a lot more now in discussions and debates, which definitely lends itself to more interesting discussions. It’s really not a “youth in revolt” type of thing, I just found that as I grew up and started to change, my views did the same thing. I think for some it may be hard to change, but in my case I know it was a very natural thing. People change their views and outlooks all the time. I know I have had so many instances where I have been talking and discussing different issues with friends or peers and I have gotten them to see things from a different light. I know that the reverse has happened and there have been people that have gotten me to see things differently. This is definitely not an easy thing to do. As we learned in the lecture there are so many invisible strings that are tied to each and every one of us, and these strings not only help determine our future, but I believe they also strongly impact our views. Most of us have such strong opinions that could be a result of the way we were raised or the situations in which we were brought up, however I think the gateway to evolving one’s views, or something so seemingly simple as becoming empathetic to a culture or race really just lies in listening. Opposed to just waiting for your next turn to speak in a debate or discussion, I think a lot of people would be surprised at how common it is to evolve one’s opinions if we try to look at things a different way. I think this ties back into the exercise Sam had us all try with seeing things from the perspective of a citizen of Iraq. I know that certainly made me look at things a little differently, simply because I had not had the tools to do so before.

I agree with you that the media has a lot to do with our one sided view on things. It is so easy to watch any news channel and sort of be sucked into the belief of the "enemy" and that everything our people do is for the better. I mean, I am pretty sure that is the way most Americans want things to be. It seems to be, and definitely was the case for me, that most of us never even imagined the war from another perspective. It was something that was so foreign to me. Of course I had thought about what being in Iraq must be going through, but to actually pretend I was someone from Iraq and think about it that way was really eye opening. It gave me an emotional connection that I definitely didn't have before.

This lecture really made me think about how I perceive other cultures, and the empathy people show towards each other. I definitely feel that it is extremely hard to try to relate or have a rational discussion with someone when they in turn aren’t willing to hear you. I think it is one of my biggest pet peeves when you are having a discussion with someone and they appear to be listening but are really just waiting for their next turn to speak. For me, having debates or discussions like this really close me off and instead of trying to see the other person’s point of view, I start to become frustrated and the whole point of the discussion goes flying out the window. A time when I was confronted with someone not being empathetic to me when I was displaying empathy on my end happen sort of early in my high school career. I had a good amount of diversity among my central group of friends and so I hung out with people of many different races. I remember one day I was sitting in a group with black kids, and latino kids, and I just happened to be the only one who wasn’t of those two racial groups. I believe we were having a discussion on race and racism and after I finished saying something, one of the girls who happened to be black turned to me and said “well what do you know, you’re white”. Now this girl was one of the heads of an “anti-racism” group on campus so I was sort of shocked at the bluntness of her comment. I didn’t feel that I was being racially attacked, but I did feel attacked just as another human being attempting to take part in conversation. This girl had no clue what my racial background was, and made a snap judgment based on what she thought I might be. This moment has stuck with me for awhile now, and I believe it made me really think about empathizing and attempting to relate to different groups. It taught me that not everyone is going to be empathetic and understanding to your culture or background. Even if they sort of pretend that they are making an effort, this might not always be the case. It taught me to really think deeply about other’s specific issues, and not just call myself empathetic for the sake of it. It made me re-evaluate the way I look at different cultures. Before this moment I thought I was more understanding, but really didn’t understand what it meant to be of a different culture or race. After this interaction I began to become more interested, and made sure I knew what I was being empathetic about.