en-us https://www.intensedebate.com/users/2410130 Comments by srs345 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/04/19/why-does-society-dislike-immigrants-and-why-are-they-portrayed-badly-119-blog/#IDComment145230347 I do not think society dislikes immigrants. I believe depending on where we come from we just have different impressions of them. I come from Weston, Fl a very Hispanic dominated area. I am Venezuelan and I can tell you I do not dislike immigrants but some I do not have respect for. This goes for all cultures. I cannot tell you how many restaurants and local company’s have hundreds of illegal immigrants working in the back. Most of the Illegal Immigrants work for the company’s that sell landscaping plants and stuff, and for the up keeping of your lawns, and doing the dirty work as construction workers. I used to always laugh with my friends in middle school when we would be running around outside and Mexicans will be riding around a dozen at a time in the trunks of trucks or laying on the bushes they collected in their trailer. I used to hate when they whistled at me and my friends and say stupid stuff to us in Spanish. They would always be taking long lunch breaks but they also worked their butts off mowing hundred of lawns every day. I personal don’t have a problem with immigration since I have so many friends negatively affected by immigration rules, they wait so long to obtain visas, and some members of their families are sent back home. It is hard to differentiate and apply immigration laws since like the cartoon Sam showed us in class, suggesting our ironic action since we kicked Indians out of their land and now we are kicking people out of our land. I feel people just hate immigrants because they are coming into our country in large numbers and causing our monetary value to be kept low, since labor is cheaper when done by immigrants. If we were to kick out immigrants a lot of big company’s would crash. At the same time people dislike loosing jobs since the immigrants are more willing to work at cheaper wages. My friends dislike and get frustrated when immigrants do not speak English and are not knowledge on the job. My friend suggest that immigrants are changing our culture and make life for Americans more difficult when they are in school, work and neighborhoods and sticking with their ways of life, instead of conforming. I disagree with this statement since it should not be expected from immigrants conform to American life, since individualism is the key to the future. But, I do understand both perspectives. I wish the who world could live freely, but life as an immigrant can be very difficult and I wish I would not have to see my friends and some family go through the struggles of obtaining citizenship and work visas. Fri, 22 Apr 2011 22:22:50 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/04/19/why-does-society-dislike-immigrants-and-why-are-they-portrayed-badly-119-blog/#IDComment145230347 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/04/07/we-need-help-with-the-logo-119-blog/#IDComment141123304 I do agree with Ernso about no taking pictures of the poor Haitian children because the moral of the story is not to just dump money on these kids because that will not teach them a lesson and create a stable income for them for the rest of their lives, Haiti like Ernso says need jobs. Not people thinking everyone there are pure skin and bones and pitying for the Haitian people. If the American population were more informed on the materials and help they can offer to some Haitians to create work will lead to a successful working environment. My favorite quote that relates to this is you can give a man a fish or you can teach a man to fish. Teaching them will allow them to live and create forever, just giving them money or food doesn’t offer a realistic solution. Although any donation is kind and better then nothing there is so much more American’s can do if the commercial focused on informing us to offer our knowledge to Haitian people. It takes one tiny act or one small bit of advice that is a simple idea to us to change their lives forever. If we only see the Haitian children as starved sick people, what will ever change for them? I do believe foreign aide is good but the approach of taking a photo of sick children is not ethical. It is good for some Americans to see how fortunate we are, and for the more wealthy to see how most of the world lives, and that most of the world goes to bed hungry every night while we waste our food like crazy. If we taught one person in Haiti to manage their resources, to use nature for electricity, to even build a simple object, we can recreate Haiti! But our commercialized business centered America is to misinformed by commercials and the media and focus on the wrong parts of Haiti. How would you like it if people came into your home and took photos on the worst things in your house and showed it publically or submitted a photo of you at your worst moment to the whole world, you most likely would not appreciate it so why is it ok for us to go to Haiti and take photos of humans at their worst because they were never taught anything better. It gets me so angry when America is offered free schooling and most children do not take advantage of it, while in Haiti 70 percent of the people do not get an education. We can go there and teach them what we know and change their community forever! So I agree with Ernso let us not go there and pity the poor and publicize the worst of Haiti let us share its beauty and opportunities Haiti will get because people will want to share their knowledge with them. Let foreign aide not be money based let it be knowledge based ! Sat, 9 Apr 2011 00:18:31 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/04/07/we-need-help-with-the-logo-119-blog/#IDComment141123304 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/03/31/what-was-more-enlightening-the-information-on-your-own-sex-or-the-opposite-sex-and-why-119-blog/#IDComment139206322 It was more enlightening to learn information on my own sex (Female) and to actually understand situations I could not get accurate information on from my friends. I finally can sleep well at night knowing what I thought was the social norm is put that way because that is how the men want us to act and be. I always hated having to wear heals and to wear a tight black dress but whenever I would go out in normal clothes, I stood out in a bad way, men clearly didn’t show as much as an attraction to me, and women showed less respect for me when I dressed more revealing. It was never a winning situation when it came to clothing. But why could I not just be me. I really have a lot of respect for Sam and Laurie to create the Needy Penis Lecture because to be honest, like they said, this was what every person needs to hear. It was nice to look around and not be the only women nodding my head to the statements said and knowing I was not alone, in this world of man run sexual activity. I was so concerned if there was something wrong with me, or if all guys really treated sex as just an act for their own self pleasure. Overall, I learned so much not only about my body and its wants but how to achieve mutual communication and understand his “penis wants”. I was so shocked to discover how influenced our society is and especially in a college atmosphere to consider our bodies as less beautiful then they are, to conform to a new standard of being expected to perform to what the men want. I am glad I learned not to prompt a man with a needy penis if I do not plan on going home with him, since I was really surprised how difficult it is for some men to understand what no means. I also enjoyed the outlook on sex from a women’s perspective and found it ironic how for most women we think as sex with having some emotion for the guy and sharing your body to become a unit. While men just want a vagina attached to some good looking chick and not even have to contact her after he has finished. I mean not all men are like this but I feel like for the majority of time or especially in college guys just want a booty call. I also did find it interesting how it does take women in order to want sex more time to prepare for it then men who just have one simple thought and bam! They are ready. Over all, I am glad to be an emotional and needy women and not have a needy penis. Fri, 1 Apr 2011 21:54:34 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/03/31/what-was-more-enlightening-the-information-on-your-own-sex-or-the-opposite-sex-and-why-119-blog/#IDComment139206322 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/03/22/what-do-you-think-about-interracial-relationships-119-blog/#IDComment136906420 I believe interracial relationships are a beautiful thing that should not be frowned upon. I was raised in a very conservative house hold where bringing home someone that is not Hispanic, Jewish, or white, or all of the above is not really ok unless I am really in love with this boy. I was always very open minded about everyone being human and not being discriminated on their appearance so saying I would never date someone that is not the same background or similar to me is untrue. I honestly never dated someone I outside of what “I am”. But that does not mean I plan on never dating someone that is appeared to be different. I have went on dates and kissed men that are African American, and for those who know me, know that most my best friends at Penn State are African American. So I do get attracted to men of different cultures but I do notice based on my surroundings that I am more inclined to date white boys. I caught myself like most people can compare a similar story to about accidently giving a dirty look when you see interracial relationships because it is still a less common thing to run into on a daily basis. I do have Three close friends that are dating “outside” of their color and/or race and I can honestly say I have heard “how cute”. But it is surprising to me how many people are still not accepting my friends dating someone “ different”. I do not know if there are any statistics on people who are in interracial relationships lasting shorter or longer then people of the same race. But I can predict that people more alike work better together in the long run. So society would probably take a while to fully accept interracial relationships into our daily lives but eventually we can all be open minded by the fact that it makes no difference in the end, as long as the people are happy. I do not personally think I would marry someone out of my circle since I have always had this image of my perfect Jewish husband. But, I honestly can not predict who I will love, so I know it is not impossible. I am just being honest to myself in saying I don’t plan on it. I have nothing wrong with people marrying or dating various cultures and I think its crucial for people to actually date different types of people in order to understand where everyone comes from and by learning different cultures we can learn a lot about what type of person we are and want in our lives. I think couples in a interracial relationship face many more challenges then a couple that look like they are the same race, so I am sure closed minded people will have rude comments to say to them, and they can probably expect to face a difficult time with everyone accepting their relationship. I do wish and hope that every interracial relationship can work out and hopefully in the future it will not even be thought of as a negative thing. Wed, 23 Mar 2011 03:02:31 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/03/22/what-do-you-think-about-interracial-relationships-119-blog/#IDComment136906420 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/03/02/how-can-we-save-our-scarce-resources-119-blog/#IDComment134344212 I believe there is a lot to be taken into account when it comes to saving our scarce resources. Regarding his direct question about having children at a certain age or only one, I believe people should limit the amount of children they have if they can but people should be allowed their human rights to choosing the amount of children they have and decide the age they want to have them. Regarding saving our natural food resources there are studies on a new way to grow produce, called vertical farming. Where they grow crops on what looks like small vertical parking garages. This process recycles natural resources and the water used to grow the crops. When is comes to scarce resources the government or professionals should inform on how to manage and save our products. The amount of Americans does not even come close to the amount of people living in China! The world alone has so many people and I cannot even imagine the amount of people doubling on this planet. I think we as “ guests “ on this planet need to take care of our resources by become informed on how to keep our scarce and abundant resources in control. It is going to be a difficult challenge for especially American to change their splurging habits when it comes to wasting our products. I believe most Americans are used to just being handed large portions and not being cautious about recycling and using less when capable. I really think people need to be more informed about other cultures and how most people around the world. Americans live so much better then most areas, if you have a shelter over your head you are better off then most people. I think in time a staple crop will be invented that will be produced cheaply and provided for poor and the world in order to provide enough food for everyone. I do not know what it is going to take for us to make an initiative to actually save our scare resources in order for future generations to have them. Going back to the birth rates these days, it is extremely important for people to notice that as technology increases medicines and other procedures are increasing the average humans life span. This is going to have a huge affect on everything since there will be a lot of older people not being capable to work and living in retirement homes, as well as more people to feed, and more people destroying earth at once. I am not suggesting that medicine should not be distributed to increase health and life span but we need to discover where we can find enough land and resources for everyone to live on this earth. Since we only have one earth! Sat, 12 Mar 2011 02:39:21 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/03/02/how-can-we-save-our-scarce-resources-119-blog/#IDComment134344212 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/02/21/stranger-kidnapping/#IDComment130453873 After watching this video, I am just confused what this guy was thinking! How serious is he to try and grab this little boy in broad daylight! I love how this new cast tries to be politically correct but then again why the heck is this African American snatching a what seemed to be white child from a women. I wonder if this nanny got a raise or fired after this event as well. I can only hope this man is found so other innocent children do not get snatched, because he clearly is not going to do anything good for the child. I find it surprising the article discussing talking to strangers because this little boy was not even talking to this man from what we can see form the video, he was simply walking with his nanny. But, on the note of talking to strangers I was always raised be nice to strangers but do not talk or take anything they offer you. I think the best advice should not be talk to strangers but be cautious of the type of person you are speaking with. Clearly a man like the one in the video will be someone I do not engage in a conversation with. But a businessman on a bus or walking is someone I am more likely to stop and shake hands with. I do not believe there is anything wrong with just ignoring people you do not know. I know everyone is arguing that this never really happens, but then again it would suck to be the one it does happen to. Then again shark attacks barely ever happen but that does not mean you do not go swimming in the ocean, you just have to be careful and watch out for yourself. I know I would not my children speaking with people they do no know on a constant basis when they are young, but in there teens and older they should know more or less who is going to just talk to them and who is going to kidnap them. Overall, there is no way to prevent these situations so keep an eye on your family but this has nothing to really do with what parents teach there children its other peoples state of minds they have to worry about. Like my father always tells me, hes not worried about me driving he is worried about how the other people drive when I am driving too. So the news really should not make this seem like an on going problem, just announce they are looking for a man and ways to prevent or spot out people going to hurt their families. Fri, 25 Feb 2011 00:04:40 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/02/21/stranger-kidnapping/#IDComment130453873 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/02/17/how-does-the-statement-in-the-video-from-class-make-you-feel-119-blog/#IDComment128978987 As soon as we received two pieces of chocolate I knew a video to show us how the chocolate was made was going to be shown. The video broke my heart because we never really think how any of our material items are made. I have always enjoyed chocolate but like Sam discussed the chocolate never tastes the same after we know how it is made. The video made me want to find a solution to this madness, but when I asked Sam what the solution is he said the solution is buy more fair-trade chocolate but don’t stop buying normal chocolate as well. In the video what touched me the most was how all these people were lied to for so long. These people are shipped to another country to work and make money for their families and they don’t receive a penny. I was so shocked how much power they said their master has, and how they cannot speak to the camera until the master is at the market. I was so hurt by the fact that the boy has so many scars and how the bugs infect the scars because he would try to escape. I could not imagine working those ridiculous hours for no pay and if you rebel you get whipped till practically death. Imagine one day you never see another slave because they get sent away since they rebelled. I wish I could do something to help them, but the government and huge corporations are so corrupt there is not much people can say. The rich get richer the poor get poorer. This world is so corrupt and I was shocked how long it took for anyone to document the amount of slavery there is in this world. I was also surprised when Sam said most slaves are not black however all we learn in school is about black slavery. Sam made some really good points about if we should spend more money on something not made with slavery or do we look out for only ourselves and spend less at stores like Wal-Mart. In the future I hope we can offer fair opportunities for everyone and no one has to work in conditions like the people in the video at no wage. This video is very significant to inform people around the world in order to put an end to slavery. This video made me cringe and feel disgusted with how we enjoy something people die for. I hope people in my class will inform many more people and will start changing their habits as I know I will try to do. I would want to be informed about what more I can do to prevent buying slave made products. Sat, 19 Feb 2011 01:20:01 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/02/17/how-does-the-statement-in-the-video-from-class-make-you-feel-119-blog/#IDComment128978987 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/02/08/how-have-the-choices-youve-made-and-determinism-affected-your-life-119-blog/#IDComment127163227 Growing up in a very structured home. I was always expected to be someone. In middle school I was never really focused in school, I was more into dancing, acting, and baton twirling. My brother Michael was the one bring home straight A’s and the school awards. He was always the nerd. He was known to go to college. Me? I really don’t know what my parents expected from me back then. But one day I woke up! I mean the people I surrounded myself around and my high school love changed me. People knew I was capable of more. I proved everyone right, I was capable of everything I could not imagine. I made a choice to study and take Advance placement courses. My school told me I would not do well in them, but again I just kept proving everyone wrong. I decided to apply to Penn State by luck. I knew I was going to go study mechanical engineering somewhere but I didn’t know where. I believe the choices I made in high school allowed me to get accepted. My parents having the money and being my number one supports helped me get here too. I mean I couldn’t afford to come here without them. I believe my life is successful because of the balance of determinism and my free will. I decided I was going to be somebody and my influences and opportunities that where provided to me allowed me to keep moving. So I say I am where I am and who I am today because I know I am capable of accomplishing anything I set my mind to and because I was raised a certain way. The main reason I cam to penn state was because first I got in, Second I could afford to come to this awesome school, the engineering program is out of this world, I got a summer scholarship for being Hispanic, and because I feel in love with the atmosphere here. Half of the reasons where handed to me at birth the others I worked my butt off to achieve. So life is full of mystery, but ultimately you control your own fate, but the journey of life is funny the way it plays out. I think people who are given nothing either accept that and don’t fix anything, or become the most successful people for not wanting to live that way. Its easier to push and know how to live a certain way when your mentors live a nice life style, but when you are surrounded with garbage you tend to stay garbage because that is all you know about life. I think its crucial for everyone to be given greater opportunities and equal opportunities. Like Sam showed in class with the video with the low high school graduation rate, everyone in my school is expected to graduate, while across the street the other school half the students don’t graduate. It’s the factors and influences in our life that determined the graduation rates, and it’s the people around me influencing me that I can and need to go to Penn State. Thu, 10 Feb 2011 18:30:17 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/02/08/how-have-the-choices-youve-made-and-determinism-affected-your-life-119-blog/#IDComment127163227 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/02/03/do-you-think-race-can-stop-being-an-issue-in-the-future-119-blog/#IDComment126170024 I do not believe race will ever stop being an issue. Throughout history there has never been a documented time where every race got along. There will always at least be a small group of people who have a problem with a certain type or look of a person. It is an ideal thought for everyone to get a long and see past color and cultures, however a complete stop to racial judgments is unlikely. Now in the twenty first century we have gotten a lot better when it comes to racial discrimination, but humans are really judgmental people and there is no easy way to change everyone’s mind. I believe in the next century or two we will move to a less discriminated life style. People will always find reasons to argue and go against the status quo. It is difficult for race to stop being an issue since we all have such different life styles, and ways we were raised, so our opinions and judgments very. In my opinion we are more open minded about accepting different races, since we have evolved as a nation accepting different types of ethnicities into politics, television, news, and entertainment. I think race cannot stop being an issue till we all accept that every race is equal and alike, like Sam said we are 99.99 percent genetically the same. Why do we have to hate on one another, I really guess we have nothing better to do these days. It is really sad how bad we discriminate. I could only imagine a society where everyone ignored race and saw each other as one type. I feel that if we were capable to look past race we will find something else to judge each other by. I wonder how life would be if we were all children again when we don’t see race or differences between one another, or all raised without any prejudgments. I think people need to be informed and cultured to accept and understand the reality of race. Being born a specific race should not affect our lives, being an ignorant society, I believe, is the largest issue behind all our race issues. There has been research to show that typically race is much less of a problem in more affluent areas, supporting that education and being knowledgeable about race decreases our opinion on it. There is has to be less of a divide and the only way to do that is by increasing education and decreasing natural ignorance that has been passed down generation to generation. I do hope my children and future generations become more aware about racial topics, because it is important for us to move past racial issues. So although the path to becoming a future without race being a problem is difficult, I do believe it is not impossible. Sat, 5 Feb 2011 19:00:59 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/02/03/do-you-think-race-can-stop-being-an-issue-in-the-future-119-blog/#IDComment126170024 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/01/26/how-do-you-classify-yourself-119-blog/#IDComment124428582 The way I classify myself is through my surroundings. I have influences I was born with and ones I have brought into my life. I classify myself simply as an 18 year old sophisticated and intelligent woman. However, in detail I can be classified as much more. Classification organizes society by putting us in categories we can be judged by. I Shanna Silverman was born with the classifications first am classifications of my gender (female), then by my age (eighteen), and appearance. For appearance there are many classifications. I have a height of 5 feet 4 inches, a light white skin color, with a fairly athletic body shape. My race is a mix of Hispanic and Caucasian; depending on the situation I can classify myself as either. However, I look more Caucasian then Hispanic at a glance. I sometimes feel being classified as a Venezuelan Hispanic girl is more appropriate in situations where being the minority is beneficial, but when being classified in large groups I like to be classified with the norm or as a Caucasian. I can also classify myself with Jewish Heritage. I am a full Spanish Jew as my friends would call me. I was born with Jewish culture and still practice my religion and plan to continue being Jewish. I can also be classified by my style of clothing. I tend to wear more of a preppy look or a sophisticated look. I am also classified by my life style. I was born in raised in a city called Weston, located in Ft. Lauderdale Florida. I live a nice lifestyle around upper middle class, however compared to most my friends I am classified as being a wealthy Princess. I have also noticed how moving from Florida to Pennsylvania classifications change. For example the way I dressed back home classified me as more of a beach prep, where at school this style is not very common and even looked down upon depending on the season. Classification also takes part in my academics, where I go to school, what clubs I take part of, and who I surround myself with. My role models also represent me and what I classify. They have taught me life lessons and who I am. If I would have been raised in a bad area, I could be classified as a ghetto, or a bad person by who I surrounded myself with. Being close to my family and the experiences I have had in life also give me categories to be placed under. I am a generous helper, this was a classification my parents influenced me to have. What I classify myself with really doesn’t matter in the end, so for now I will just classify myself as just me, Shanna Silverman. Fri, 28 Jan 2011 23:04:35 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/01/26/how-do-you-classify-yourself-119-blog/#IDComment124428582 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/01/18/what-do-you-think-blog-2/#IDComment122529790 I just could not believe my eyes. Are we not all human? Does it even matter what backgrounds we come from? I believe the exercise in class proved that just because we look one way does not mean we are. As I was sitting back in my chair thinking about who looks like people from back home. So I can compare them to people I have known my whole life, and what cultures they were raised in, I realized what characteristics were familiar to me I was able to distinguish them first. As I looked closer and closer to the couple of students I couldn’t verify myself, I realized, does it even matter? I honestly wish I could have been picked myself to stand amongst the class and have been categorized. I can honestly say I would have been placed into the white category, when I identify myself as a Hispanic. Having my entire mothers side of the family born and raised in Venezuela and my fathers family coming from Canada, Panama, and Romania. I consider myself a “Canadian, Venezuelan Jew”. Unless you actually see me side by side to my family you would never in a million years think I was a fluent Spanish speaker, or Hispanic in the that case. So why is there all this judgment? Is it because birds of a feather flock together? Or is it because we are to scared to step out of our comfort zones? I never remembered as a child discriminating against anyone in my class, till about middle school where all that mattered is what you wore and looked like. I could categorize my friends and schoolmates without a problem since middle school. The biggest lesson I learned is that everything I made a judgment on was completely wrong! I was making my judgments off of what the people around thought, and not making coming to my own conclusions. It was not until this summer that I realized African Americans are no different then me. I was awarded a scholarship to come and take engineering classes through a multicultural program (seeing that I am Spanish). I felt left out and hated just because I was the only white women in the program of 27 people. My whole life I was told stay with my own, and until I went into that program I never thought the majority of my best friends would be black, before college I only had two black friends. I was shaped by society to judge that all Asians are smart, blacks are dirty, and all Cubans are loud. Like the video Sam Showed us with the “ All Asians look the same” It was the same story, not all Asians are smart for example, my close friend Carolina, she’s Asian, and did pretty bad in school, and I learned blacks are by no means dirty, and my best friend Amanda is Cuban and trust me she is not loud, I have never met any one more shy then her in my life. So as the Students were being lined up for what they looked like, we all have our own judgments, and the exercise we did in class made me realize more then ever that the people I say are one type are really a completely different race. So I wanted to thank the brave souls who participated and for this class to open my eyes and make me realize not only does it not matter where we are from, we live once, and the majority of the judgments I made based on certain characteristics were wrong. Thu, 20 Jan 2011 15:45:17 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/01/18/what-do-you-think-blog-2/#IDComment122529790 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/01/10/last-name-%e2%80%9cs%e2%80%9d-%e2%80%93-intense-debate/#IDComment121190248 soc119 Fri, 14 Jan 2011 00:53:06 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/01/10/last-name-%e2%80%9cs%e2%80%9d-%e2%80%93-intense-debate/#IDComment121190248