en-us https://www.intensedebate.com/users/3075902 Comments by seffie371 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/06/30/week-8-%e2%80%93-lesson-14-affirmative-action/#IDComment170481477 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. Thu, 7 Jul 2011 01:07:59 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/06/30/week-8-%e2%80%93-lesson-14-affirmative-action/#IDComment170481477 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/06/30/week-8-%e2%80%93-lesson-14-affirmative-action/#IDComment170481099 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. Thu, 7 Jul 2011 01:06:18 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/06/30/week-8-%e2%80%93-lesson-14-affirmative-action/#IDComment170481099 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/06/26/week-7-%e2%80%93-lesson-12-multiculturalism-lgbt/#IDComment167723781 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. Tue, 28 Jun 2011 22:58:03 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/06/26/week-7-%e2%80%93-lesson-12-multiculturalism-lgbt/#IDComment167723781 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/06/07/week-5-%e2%80%93-lesson-9-stages-of-racial-identity-%e2%80%93-white-people-stages-3-4/#IDComment164461921 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? Mon, 20 Jun 2011 03:27:34 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/06/07/week-5-%e2%80%93-lesson-9-stages-of-racial-identity-%e2%80%93-white-people-stages-3-4/#IDComment164461921 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/06/07/week-5-%e2%80%93-lesson-8-stages-of-racial-identity-%e2%80%93-white-people-stages-1-2/#IDComment163056716 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. Thu, 16 Jun 2011 03:32:16 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/06/07/week-5-%e2%80%93-lesson-8-stages-of-racial-identity-%e2%80%93-white-people-stages-1-2/#IDComment163056716 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/06/07/week-5-%e2%80%93-lesson-8-stages-of-racial-identity-%e2%80%93-white-people-stages-1-2/#IDComment163056283 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? Thu, 16 Jun 2011 03:29:55 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/06/07/week-5-%e2%80%93-lesson-8-stages-of-racial-identity-%e2%80%93-white-people-stages-1-2/#IDComment163056283 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/06/02/week-4-lesson-6-race-and-ethnic-inequality/#IDComment160714829 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. Wed, 8 Jun 2011 19:01:59 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/06/02/week-4-lesson-6-race-and-ethnic-inequality/#IDComment160714829 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/06/02/week-4-lesson-6-race-and-ethnic-inequality/#IDComment160713707 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. Wed, 8 Jun 2011 18:57:30 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/06/02/week-4-lesson-6-race-and-ethnic-inequality/#IDComment160713707 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/05/25/week-3-lesson-4-ethnocentrism/#IDComment159727572 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. Sun, 5 Jun 2011 22:22:39 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/05/25/week-3-lesson-4-ethnocentrism/#IDComment159727572 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/05/25/week-3-lesson-4-ethnocentrism/#IDComment159725820 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. Sun, 5 Jun 2011 22:16:53 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/05/25/week-3-lesson-4-ethnocentrism/#IDComment159725820 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/05/25/week-3-lesson-4-ethnocentrism/#IDComment158350075 Sam’s discussion on the oil issue really changed the way I thought about it. I had never been in favor of taking oil from the Middle East, but I was also never emotionally connected to the issue, so it didn’t resonate with me as much as it should have. Once Sam put it into perspective I began to feel resentment that people in the Middle East might feel towards Americans for taking their resources. It definitely made me look deeper into the issue and begin to sympathize. It was also interesting to look at the videos that must be circulating in the Middle East and think about how they make every American look. It paints a discouraging picture of Americans, and made me realize even more how the same thing happens in our country. Wed, 1 Jun 2011 23:45:26 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/05/25/week-3-lesson-4-ethnocentrism/#IDComment158350075 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/05/25/week-3-lesson-4-ethnocentrism/#IDComment158348885 I think this lecture is so important and I wish that everyone in the world were required to watch it. This topic is so controversial at the moment that I feel like you can barely delve into it without getting into a heated debate. It makes this issue so much more volatile, because I feel like people have a hard time even discussing it and many people refuse to look at the issues from a different perspective. I guess I thought I could do that before watching the lecture, but after really listening to Sam and deeply thinking about it from the perspective of Muslims in Iraq, it became a lot clearer for me and I was able to look at things in a different light. I feel like there have been a few different times that I have been around people who didn’t fully understand what they were talking about, and I am sure there have been times when that person was me. Truly being able to look at things from a different perspective helped me understand what could influence people to resort to certain actions. I really related to the idea that even if you don’t condone an action, you can still try and understand what caused it. I have witnessed a good deal of racism and bigotry just based of the appearance of people and it is important to be able to look at both sides and find the source of the hate. I think that’s the only hope we have in trying to reduce and eliminate it. I’m Armenian, and Armenia is sort of right on the line of where the Middle East and Europe meet. For anyone who doesn’t know it is a tiny country next to Turkey and above Iran. People have different opinions on what to classify Armenians, and there is a wide range of what someone form Armenia can look like. I was recently talking to my friend’s mom who is also Armenian and she was telling me stories of how her son was bullied in high school. People would call him Arab and Muslim, simply based on the way he looked. They knew nothing about him. He was neither of those things, but just happened to look like what the bullies thought an Arab or Muslim should look like. This definitely didn’t surprise me. These words are sort of flung about everyday, and most people don’t even fully understand them. I know that what I thought prior to this lecture was not exactly correct, and to hear some of the statements people make on these topics (when they aren’t educated on them) makes me just feel sorry for people who are Muslim or Arab who have to put up with it. Or for people like my friend who look a certain way and are bullied because of it. Wed, 1 Jun 2011 23:40:44 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/05/25/week-3-lesson-4-ethnocentrism/#IDComment158348885 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/05/22/week-two-lesson-2-intro-to-race/#IDComment155780526 I completely relate to your questioning what the world would be like had Carolus Linneaus not created the idea of race. It is hard to imagine. Would our world have turned out much differently at all? Would another racial group beat the Europeans to it and change the course of history? I think it is interesting, and insightful even, and know that had another group created the “concept” of race, the world would have turned out so differently. It just goes to show that these terms, terms that are so loaded, really have no meaning. For me, thinking about this makes race issues seem so petty and ridiculous. Not sure if I agree with your last statement, about minorities accepting Caucasians for their looks and “practices”. I’m not sure there is even a set of “practices” for Caucasians, seeing as that term is so broad. That statement seems to go against what we have been learning in the past two weeks. I think it would be amazing if all groups could accept one another for who they are, but to say one or another accepts more than other groups seems to just bring us back to the reason we are learning about this subject in the first place. In my opinion, it is better to simply look at individuals, because how can anyone say that a huge grouping of people is more or less accepting than another? I wonder if that comment would have struck me the same way before these two lectures. Tue, 24 May 2011 22:41:18 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/05/22/week-two-lesson-2-intro-to-race/#IDComment155780526 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/05/22/week-two-lesson-2-intro-to-race/#IDComment155778032 I think like most of my peers, the hardest thing to wrap my head around this week was simply the creation of the idea of race and how it has influenced our society and mind frame today. I was always aware that race was created as a means of gaining power and control, but really learning and discussing the origin made me think long and hard about the effects this has had on our world. I can’t help but wonder what would have happened if Carolus Linneaus had never created the notion of race. I am sure someone else would have, but what if it had been from another racial group? I can’t imagine how different our society would be today. I think what struck me the most was our discussion about actual skin color. The part of the lecture (and the reading) that stood out to me the most was the part about the lining up a group of individuals from dark to light and trying to group them in that way. I never thought about how difficult this would be, and it truly says something about how messed up most of our perceptions of race and ethnicity really are. Going off of this idea, discussing all of the physical traits also really opened my eyes to the biases I had innately acquired over time. Specifically, the video with the slideshow of Asian men was so interesting. It wasn’t the message of the video that got to me, I have been around plenty of people of Asian decent to know that they do not all look exactly the same. It was the fact that there are so many people around the world who, before watching the video, may not have realized how different many groups are from each other. The two pictures in the slideshow, one of European children and one of African children, really caught my attention. I found myself flipping through both of these pictures multiple times to see it from two different points of view. This is the point in the lecture that really showed me my own biases. Being primarily around white people for most of my life, I had acquired the belief that the white race was the race that looked most different from one another, based solely on the fact that there were different hair colors and other features that could be different (something that Sam talked about in the lectures as well). Seeing the group of white children, I realized there is no difference. In the group I could really see that they all did look alike, just as much (if not more) than the African children. This was something I had not been able to see before. Tue, 24 May 2011 22:30:15 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/05/22/week-two-lesson-2-intro-to-race/#IDComment155778032 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/05/14/week-1-lesson-1-whadya-know/#IDComment153563316 Your comments on taking vacations really resonated with me as well. I remember, years ago, my family took a trip to a resort hotel in the Bahamas. I couldn’t express how excited I was, and was constantly on the website looking around at all of the amazing activities the resort had to offer. I pictured stepping off the plane and walking onto the scenic white-sanded beaches that were displayed all over the website. Upon getting off the plane I was greeted with a very different image. My young mind didn’t realize that this “world” the resort had created was simply that; a man-made creation. Taking a taxi to the resort, through the real Bahamas, and seeing a very different place really made me think. The poverty I saw was unlike anything I had seen before, and I knew even then that it was nothing compared to other parts of the world. I remember looking up at the resort in the distance and feeling that guilt that was talked about in the lecture. I literally had to push it out of my mind in order to enjoy the vacation, but I don’t think I ever truly could. It was bizarre spending a week in paradise knowing that just a few miles away there was poverty and a very different type of lifestyle. Granted the resort created many jobs for the individuals living in the Bahamas, but it was an experience that really stuck with me and began to make me think about the way I lived my life and how truly lucky I was. Wed, 18 May 2011 19:19:17 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/05/14/week-1-lesson-1-whadya-know/#IDComment153563316 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/05/14/week-1-lesson-1-whadya-know/#IDComment153559573 For me, the piece of information from the “Whatd’ya Know” Quiz that intrigued me the most was the number of Native American tribes in the United States today. Like the majority of my peers, I picked a much lower number during the quiz and was actually embarrassed to realize exactly how “off the mark” I was with my initial answer. It boggles my mind, and also brings me shame, to think that I was so unaware of a certain population in our country. Of course, I knew that there were reservations across the country, and I also knew that many were in destitute situations, however the sheer number of tribes in this country really surprised me. I consider myself to be pretty aware of my surroundings and the different problems going on in our country and throughout the world, so how could I be unaware of so many people living in squalor in our country (I use the word “our” loosely). It makes me think back to my education prior to Penn State, and what I was taught regarding this subject. Of course, growing up I was taught about the first encounter the pilgrims had with Native Americans, and throughout various history classes I was taught about the never-ending conflict the Native Americans had with the first settlers in the United States. It seems that, conveniently, my education of Native Americans ended there. Almost sugar-coated like the end of a fairy tale, my education of this large group of humans was never continued through present day. I never got to discuss, or even think about this enormous problem in our country. I attended a very good school system, and took many classes that tackled a myriad of controversial topics, so why was this particular topic brushed under the rug? I was aware that President Obama, as well as numerous past presidents, had made an effort to patch the relationship with Native American tribes but I can’t help but wonder if this “promise” has made any progress. I was shocked to learn in our first lecture about the trailers from Katrina that were sent to various reservations. These people live in a tier below the poor in our country, and because it is easier to simply turn our heads, they do not get the media attention that others receive. It almost seems that the situation is irreversible. So much time has gone by and virtually nothing has been done, so where would one even begin to start mending this horrible situation? This topic really does put the controversy of immigration into perspective. While watching the lecture and listening to the portion on immigration I couldn’t help but visualize kids in a sandbox, throwing sand in other kid’s faces and kicking others out in order to gain full control of something that was never theirs to begin with. Wed, 18 May 2011 19:05:34 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/05/14/week-1-lesson-1-whadya-know/#IDComment153559573 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/05/14/intense-debate-registration-id/#IDComment152738030 Hello Mon, 16 May 2011 20:36:02 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/05/14/intense-debate-registration-id/#IDComment152738030