The obvious answer to this question is yes; it would be much harder for someone to come out to their strict, straight parents about being gay than coming out. I mean, obviously this is because gay parents are a lot more receptive to the cause and have shared the same experience the child might be having, and they are much more willing to accept the fact. On the other hand, straight parents might make it harder. In my parents case, if I were gay, I would feel completely fine telling my parents I was gay because they would never scorn me for it. But the problem is a universal one; people are afraid of what is different from them, making it innately more difficult to come out as gay to your straight parents. But I think that it is getting easier and easier to come out as gay because I simply think it is a dying issue. Its no longer socially acceptable to be against gay marriage, and rightfully so, and because of this fact, the children of families who have been historically against gay marriage are becoming less wary of the gay population. In time, I think that the issues brought against gay marriage will just die out. But I think the main opponent to gays and gay marriage is, surprise, surprise, the church. Once again, acting as the substitute for thought, religion brain washes millions of people (not all of course) into believing that gay marriage is the antichrist. And another thing, what the hell is sam going on about up there acting like he is the pinnacle of humanitarianism, acting like people sticking to their religion is great on the one hand, then scorning people against gay marriage and gays on the other hand. What this joker needs to do, is stick to his guns, instead of pretending like backing people who have convictions is the same as having a conviction. Sam, call it what it is, it is a cop out. People like him are just as hurtful to the gay community as the bigots and hate filled crowd who rally against it. Passivism is just as much a crime against these gays as doing something to physically stop them. . But I think that it is getting easier and easier to come out as gay because I simply think it is a dying issue. Its no longer socially acceptable to be against gay marriage, and rightfully so, and because of this fact, the children of families who have been historically against gay marriage are becoming less wary of the gay population. Luckily for us, people are actually beginning to have some sensible thoughts on the matter of gay marriage, and the people who fancy themselves “allies” when in actuality all they do is hurt the cause are also few in number.

I chose to save my spouse from the life raft. I did this for a few reasons. Some reasons were valid, others were not so valid. First off, ill explain why I didn’t choose to save the child. The primary reason was because it wasn’t my child so I didn’t really give a fuck about that kid. As far as I care, I don’t need another brat around, especially if it isn’t my own kid. I understand the argument about children being our future, but the truth is that I don’t put much stock in this argument. Id much rather save someone established and worth something, and truthfully, I just don’t have the compassion to give a damn about a kid. I chose not to save my mother for more understandable reasons. My mom has already passed away (don’t worry, this isn’t a haha, I see a loophole! Kind of argument) and I’ve realized something…and it might sound heartless, but hear me out. I realized that even though my mom has passed away, life goes on. That’s right, ive weathered the worst, and im still here. See, my mom is just my mother. She’s raised me and given me the tools to become someone and to live a long healthy life. Losing my mom, I realize, is a painful experience, but it isn’t as earth shattering as losing a spouse, and here is why. A spouse is someone you share your life with. You share your young adulthood, and hopefully, your old age with them. It’s almost like another learning phase of life…doing things you’ve never done before, learning how to be a member of society with your mate. Losing this person, in my opinion, is more devastating than losing your mother, who has already given you the tools to survive. Id like to give a shout out to all my bitches on the west side. Big Dz Pauly von slamming cock hammer, ok bye. The opinion might seem harsh, but its just what ive experienced and observed in my own life. And how dank was that dude who gave us all the activities last class? I really felt like I learned a lot of valuable lessons and I laughed a few times too, which was a serious plus. Anyway, That is who I chose to save from the raft, and those are my reasons for choosing the way I did. Again My mom has already passed away (don’t worry, this isn’t a haha, I see a loophole! Kind of argument) and I’ve realized something…and it might sound heartless, but hear me out. I realized that even though my mom has passed away, life goes on; so I have at least some idea about what im talking about here.

Though I don’t necessarily agree with it or use it, I do believe that religion plays a crucial role in the lives of a lot of people. I think it is because of the human condition. Being completely aware of the fact that our lives are finite, it is natural for people to fear death, especially for those of us who haven’t had many run ins with death. I believe it gives people something to look forward to, almost like something to live for. It is easy for someone like me, who doesn’t believe in religious figures, to call it a crutch, but upon further thought on the matter, I think I can come to the conclusion that it gives people direction. I think, more than just a way to justify and come to terms with dying, I think it also gives people moral direction. I might even goes as far as to say it is the basis for moral code….the difference between right and wrong. That all being said, I also believe religion is a primitive creation and therefore, a baseless one. I think it has caused more harm than good, and for what it is worth, I think that the buddhists are right because their goals are actually achievable, and they have empirical evidence to support their claims. Plus, Buddhism is more of a philosophy than a religion based on “god” so bahboom.

This video is a perfect representation of the innate racism that is allowed to exist behind the scenes in today's society. The fact that these people were just walking past that white kid trying to steal that bike is inexcusable. Now, perhaps it was luck of the draw between the white and black kid, sure, but i am inclined to think this is not the case. To me, i get the feeling that when they see the white kid, people just think to themselves "god, what a hooligan, someone raised him wrong" but as soon as they see a minority doing it, they want to stick it to them as hard as they can like "oh, look at that, another nigger acting like the delinquent he is. well not this time, im not letting him get away this time." i think the way our society has had races presented to them has a huge impact on the way they act. It is a common thought, for one reason or another, that black people always have a malicious intent and thus any person would think "if they are malicious, they deserve punishment" while when it comes to a white kid they are just prone to think they are being "stupid". i guess the point im trying to make is that when a white kid does something they are BEING stupid or MAKING a mistake, while a black kid is viewed as having those kinds of tendencies, or being ill-natured. Had it been me, i probably wouldnt have called the police on either of them because, well, im a sheep and i dont want to involve myself with things like that. I cant say i am surprised by what happened in this video tho. It goes to show that racism is still very prevalent, but we just do a better job of hiding it because it has become less socially acceptable to be openly hateful. The truth is that PC is just the new racism, so instead of coming out blatantly through our words, our racism is shown by our innate reactions. This all being said, i dont think racism is all that bad a thing. Do i think we would be better off if this sort of discrimination didnt exist? yes. i also think that harmless racism that we have also displays a certain degree of comfort amongst once another. Perhaps the word "racism" is a bad choice...but i think being cognizant of each other's differences, and that poking fun at one another for it is healthy. I think that people in general are becoming more aware of the hateful racism that exists, and that they are working to stop it. In this way, it is my belief that eventually the tie between right and wrong and race will be severed.

my view of war has not been changed, but it has been reinforced. i can understand the reasons why nations go to war, i really can. That doesnt mean i always agree, and that doesnt always mean i disagree either. At the same time, i can accept that atrocities on both sides happen. and thats the one thing i think we often overlook; the fact that other nations commit these same atrocities towards the us. we often hear about and focus on how the rest of the world views us as a world police force, and hell, i agree with a lot of the points that are made against the us, but i also think people need to realize we have suffered at the hands of other nations aswell. soldiers are decapitated in public, or tortured on a daily bases by other nations, but those stories never gain as much momentum as a story about the us committing an inhumane act against others. that being said, i think our occupation of iraq was for revenge and for oil. i think the move from afghanistan to iraq was not valid. hell, i guess this isnt even a valid argument since war was never actually declared in this instance. i dont think it is ever valid for people to kill one another, but i do realize the need for it in our civilization. it was developed in a time when diplomacy was not even possible because we were too primitive to communicate, and so war has become a fundamental method for conflict resolution. now, i dont have any relatives or friends fighting the war, nor do i follow politics, so i am not incredibly well versed on the subject. these are just my opinions that ive picked up from friends, television or the internet. ultimately, i think war is an unfortunate necessity, and we are at the mercy of a few men making decisions about life and death. this, of course, can go horribly wrong when someone realizes these few men are only human, and are corruptible. and that flag analogy was complete bullshit. i had no idea what point he was trying to make with that. i would be completely unmoved to see it.

I believe in evolution. THAT BEING SAID, check this out. So like, i believe that the underlying life energy is like a collection of billions of consciouses. now, this isnt going to be some sort of explanation of how stuff came to be, but it is a presentation of my theory on the human condition. So, this collection of consciouses is where i think our spirits reside. Every time a person is born, one of these consciouses is given to the material form, and every time someone dies, their conscious returns to the collection, waiting to be reunited with a new material form. So like, when someone is born with a conscious, who is to say that conscious isnt YOURS from a past life time? I also think it is possible to access the collective conscious through lucid dreaming. This is the sort of stuff i think the shamans dabble with a little bit, and they were able to see that double helix after all! anyway, thats just my humble theory on the matter of humans and an underlying life force. As for further than that, like how we all got here, i believe that there is a greater force....not necessarily a sentient being, but a force; something we dont understand. That is what i think is responsible for the creation of the universe.

I have always been excited about how shamans work. Myself, if i didnt have to live in a society, i would throw on my leather shawl, grab me a dank ass lookin' walking stick, have a little makeshift bag of powder on me, and roam the world with my dog learning about nature. However, since that isnt going to happen until civilization is destroyed after 2012, i suppose ill just address this question. I found the healing thing to be pretty cool. I mean, i hear everyone disputing it like "oh that prolly wasnt even a bad sprain" but like, im sure Sam is giving us legitimate stuff to mull around our brains. But what really took me by surprise was that double helix thing the shamans saw. Now that is some sweet shit. Im a bio major, so hearing about the colliding of these shamanistic rituals and current medicine was really fascinating. It gives me some hope that maybe we have all the stuff necessary to cure disease, but we just dont trust nature and always turn to technology. idk, it might be a crack pot theory, but i find those practices have merit in their own right.

I think learning spanish would be a fantastic idea for americans. we have a huge spanish speaking population, legal or illegal, and i think it would behoove us to learn the language at an early age. Do i think this is anti american? no. not at all. america is based on immigration, and i think that most immigrants want to learn english in the first place, but lack either the money or access. Many countries have two or more languages that they use, and i think it would be a great trend for americans to follow in order to become more worldly. On the other hand, i think that if we learn spanish, the spanish speakers may feel more inclined to learn english as well. Over all, i think it would just help alleviate a lot of the tension between the two cultures that exists today, and i think it would just lead to a nation of smarter people. After all, learning a language at a young age is linked with higher learning ability.

From the recent events, I've developed a better perspective. Everyone has heard from people who support joe pa, or who support the victims, but i havent taken either side. This is because i can't fathom the events. The single most important thing ive learned is that, despite people trying to sway my opinion or scorn me for thinking one way or the other, i cant take a side in the argument. Seeing as ive never been diddled before, i can't be expected to understand feel what those victims feel. Can i sympathize with them? yes. can i say to myself "hey, that sort of stuff is wrong"? yes. But should i be expected to change how i act about it? no. If anything, when i hear people throwing their support behind these victims, i cant help but think they are just extremely superficial people because most of them cannot, and ultimately do not understand what it means to be molested. These people, in my cold, unfeeling, opinion, are just sheep who want to follow the crowd. They rally against this child abuse not for the sake of the child victims, but for the sake of having something to rally against at all. I find it more fitting to just say "wow, yea that sort of stuff is terrible, i feel for the victims, but im ultimately just happy that it hasnt happened to me". Perhaps my opinion is influenced by my own trials, but when i see these people talking about how bad child abuse is, i fail to see them ever do anything meaningful against it, i just see a bunch of sheep trying to fit in. Just like when i tell my friends not to drink creatine powder when they go to the gym. I've had kidney failure (not because of creatine powder) , i know the dangers of creatine, and because i know what it can do, i try very hard to stop my friends from doing something harmful. But the thing is, they dont stop taking it. Why? Because they havent experienced any harm to their kidneys first hand. But i understand that; its hard to believe anything can happen to you until it actually does happen to you. The same thing goes for all the people acting like they know the pain victims of sexual abuse feel. They can sympathize, sure, but when it comes time to nut up and actually fathom the consequences, they are incapable. Now, im not saying they should be faulted for their inability to fathom the consequences, rather they should be faulted for turning the issue into a self-righteous vehicle for making themselves seem in tune with whats happening to the victims of child abuse. I've also learned a lesson about the flip side; people who havent experienced sexual abuse first hand should not be expected to scorn Joe Paterno. The truth of the matter is, as stated before, they can't fathom the damage caused by sexual abuse, so they cant be expected to turn their backs on someone who they have been taught to really look up to as a sort of hero. It is at this point that i think most people should fall. They shouldnt be categorized as people who support joe or people who support the victims. They should be categorized as people who are shaped by their experiences. Since most pennstate students have learned to worship joe pa, they cant be expected to turn scorn him, and since the even greater majority havent been abused, they shouldnt act as if, now that child abuse is at the forefront of the news, that it is an issue that effects them as incredibly deeply as they say it does. i apologize for my scattered thoughts. i sometimes have a hard time iterating my thoughts into words.

I've thought pretty deeply about immigration and illegal immigration. My stance on both issues is to let it continue, or at least to provide an avenue for illegal immigrants' children to become legal (a law like this was recently proposed, but shot down). I dont have any problem hearing different races speak their respective languages, in fact i enjoy picking up some of the words and using them, even though it ultimately sounds rudimentary. Ive never thought back as far as the first Europeans immigrating to take land from the Native Americans, but i do often bring up the fact that, during the beginning of the 20th century, many italian, irish, and other European groups were immigrating to the united states. On the issue of illegal immigration, ive worked with illegal immigrants before. In fact, i call them just to chat sometimes because they have become friends of mine (despite the fact that they are 25-30 year old hondurans and im a 19 year old white kid). From my observations, they are some of the hardest working, most admirable people ive ever met. 12 hours a day, 6 days a week, those guys are in front of hot stoves. And i mean freakin' hot....like the first time i went back there with them, i could barely stand the heat for 3 minutes AND i had some of my arm hair singed. Still, these guys do this day in and day out for dirt cheap, (my boss always tells me about how psyched he is that he doesnt have to pay taxes on them etc) and at the end of the week when they get paid, they end up sending half the money back home to support their families. I mean, these people are really respectable folks, and i support them, cuz god knows there arent any white folks taking these jobs!