The game telephone isn’t productive. People, no matter race, ethnicity, or gender will interpret things to match their morals and ethics. They will repeat what they wanted to hear and not what they actually heard. Telephone shows what the “real world” is like when it comes to communication, because most people will go with what they think they heard instead of asking questions for clarification. One of the biggest problems that ruin relationships, friendships, and family is miscommunication, and telephone shows how miscommunication can happen so easily.
Miscommunication is a huge problem among the human race. There are many aspects to miscommunication including cultural barriers, gender barriers, language barriers, emotional barriers, perceptual barriers and physical barriers.How often do we give instructions to someone, only to have those instructions misinterpreted? The ability to communicate is one of our most commonly used skills. As such, we sometimes take it for granted so that the words we use to communicate don't always clearly state the picture in our minds. When this occurs, errors often result that lead to frustration. Depending on a multitude of factors such as stress, the error sometimes results in conflict if neither person is willing to accept responsibility for it.
How does miscommunication happen? It happens when one side doesn't communicate enough information to us, or we misinterpret the real meaning of their words. In either case, we get a different meaning of their words than they intended. With the technology advancements of e-mail, IM chat and especially texting, this is a becoming a common problem now-a-days because type-based communication is the main source of communication, meaning that people do not communicate in real time it’s essentially a telegram. Type-based communication does not allow for immediate feedback response, so our minds have to interpret what the other person is saying based upon their typed words alone. Although most common in typed-based communication, miscommunication can also occur in any type of communication setting.
There is miscommunication in every aspect of life. No relation exists without conflict. There are bound to be the minor instances of arguments and situations where opinions don't match. People find it easier to try and persuade others to think the way they do instead of agreeing to disagree. One of the major reasons that leads to conflict is miscommunication. This is especially true of the workplace. When a group of individuals work together there is bound to be miscommunication in the workplace. And that cannot be helped. When there is miscommunication in the workplace it will have a negative effect on the work culture. It will sour relationships, affecting productivity and poor performances. The direct result of which will be felt on the productivity and finally the outcome.

I think that the reason that people of the same ethnicity and race hang out together is because that is what they’re most comfortable with. Everyone has felt the feeling of being out of place, but when you are with people you know and are similar to you, you feel at ease. Also because they can relate to them more, some of them even having the same life experiences. I believe it is also how you were bought up and in what kind of environment that it was as well. For instance I think that the reason people tend to associate with people who are similar to themselves is because that is the kind of behavior we have all been engaging in for our entire lives. If a white child is born into an all-white family, on his or her first day of school, he or she is going to flock to the other white children. Why? Because the child has grown up receiving love and care from a group of white people, so he or she unconsciously expects to receive those same things from other white people. Everyone has felt the feeling of being out of place, but when you are with people you know and are similar to you, you feel at ease. As for me I tend to hang out with my race more. Even though, I was raised in State College which I think that the reason people tend to associate with people who are similar to themselves is because that is the kind of behavior we have all been engaging in for our entire lives. If a white child is born into an all-white family, on his or her first day of school, he or she is going to flock to the other white children. is predominantly white. I mean don’t get me wrong I have a lot of white friends as well, matter of fact my best friend since the seventh grade is white. It really just is a matter of who you are more yourself with. I think that also people are afraid to branch out and learn new things about people. I mean just take a look around campus it is not uncommon for a group of black people to be walking together or even to see a group of Asians sitting in the same row of the classroom. Even if people branch out and break the barrier they don’t embrace the whole group it its more on a one-on-one thing. As much as people would like to think we have moved past it race is still a very touchy subject for most people. As such we will always be drawn to the people who share a common skin color, ethnic background, socioeconomic status, and pedigree.

I completely agree with what Zach was saying and with the video that was shown in class. I feel as if same sex marriages should be allowed in all the states. I mean they have all the key components that make a family. They love their kids the same way that heterosexual couples do and live a normal life like same sex couples as well. As we discussed family in class earlier this week, the functions of a family were laid out on the table
If I remember correctly, the same sex couples depicted in what we watched in class were able to provide everything a normal couple would. They had food, shelter, love and supported growth. With modern science this is no longer become a vital issue as we seen in both the video in class and this video clip. So what is the core difference? Well I don’t mean to quote myself but I wrote it purposefully the way others would say it, “everything a normal couple would.” They are in some way not normal. Is there something wrong with them? No, yet we say it in this way. As the young man said in this clip, same sex couples are being treated as second-class citizens. All of this just because they are different in the way they love. The person they love looks like them and has the same body parts, but as the old saying goes “home is where the heart is”, if that’s where the heart is they who is society to judge them? We have seen so many times straight couples having children when they are not ready for the obligation or lack the parenting skills to do so but they get that baby because they are straight and able to make one. Maybe there should be some laws giving background checks to expecting straight couples. But these kids who have no family foundation through their straight parents are the ones adopted into gay families.
If I were gay and in that situation (or simply unable to have children myself) I would rather adopt than go round about ways to create my own biological child. It's not about their right or lack thereof to have children. I just think that, with all the children in the world who need a home, if you can't have children of your own anyways, it's better to adopt than bringing another into the world. People treat gay couples like a disease and think that if they raise a child it will be gay as well, which most of the time not the case. We need more people like the young man in this video to step up and show the world that a change needs to be made and that their assumptions are wrong.

Interracial relationships do not bother me. I am a black female who has a half Caucasian grand-daughter. My family is integrated with interracial relationships. My younger older brothers both have children by white females, and are in relationships with them. My daughter is engaged to a white man as well as my older cousin.
So you can see why interracial relationships don’t bother me. I feel they are just as much of a couple as any same race couple. They develop the same feelings for each other that a couple of the same race would, in addition to wanting the same things for their future. What could possibly be the issues that people find wrong with interracial couples? Is it because of the children that will result out of this union. It is becoming more socially acceptable to see more and more mixed children. Personally speaking my grand-daughter is accepted by everyone in my family but that’s only because in my family it’s like second nature to see a mixed child.
I feel as if you can’t help who you fall in love with and if you’re happy then why should anyone else have a problem with it .Many people believe that if you find the one person you can imagine spending the rest of your life with, it does not matter the color of their skin. However, these relationships may also be capable of causing more race issues because some individuals may not understand why interracial couples want to be together if they are “so” different from one another.

In my opinion, having friends of other races than my own is a good thing because it keeps me open-minded to listen to what others have to say. I do not choose friends or boyfriends based upon the color of their skin but rather common traits or qualities to my own, for instance, those who share the same interests as me. When it comes to dating, although a physical attraction is necessary, I think I am mostly attracted to a guy’s personality rather than their skin tone. If we share certain interests as well as are able to carry a conversation, I believe skin color does not matter.

I give interracial couples credit for being proud and open with their relationships when knowing that there is great deal of individuals in our society who do not approve of them. It is not for anyone else to judge a relationship between two people. If they are happy with how their relationship is going and each other, then they should be able to live without prejudices and judgments. If other relationships are not criticized, then why is it fair for people to disapprove of those with different skin tones dating?

Barak Obama’s presidency is truly history, not only to African Americans but for the United States of America in general. After being repressed and discriminated against for decades it gives the black community a sign of faith that we have overcome and made it. African Americans are now running the very country that they were once slaved over.

National opinion polls report that “about 40 percent of people think Barak Obama's presidency has improved race relations, with blacks more likely to see the positive change.”
At a recent discussion in Madison on the topic a year after the inauguration of the nation's first black president, people offer a variety of views. It was said that “things cannot possibly change that quickly.” “Race relations have grown even thornier, “say others. But the issue, it seems, can't be separated from the revolutionary symbol of Obama’s presidency; the perception of how healthy race relations are and will enable rises or falls with his political fortunes.

African Americans have always been seen as beggars for their inability to use their resources. With Obama, a black person at the very top, a new partnership will be developed between Africa Americans and the world as his election means African Americans are as resourceful as anyone else.

How else will Obama’s election change the perception of the black race around the world? It will show that all humans are all the same and that it is only the color of our skin that differentiates us. We are all equally intelligent, qualified and able to do the same jobs as a white man. Besides recognition and confidence, his also opens up the black world and culture. Showing that he listens to mainstream music and he has daughters and dog just like this American people.

I believe there are people, both black and white, that's do not like the fact that there is an African American running the United States of America. There will always be the people that are unhappy with who is in office. Someone has to lose and someone has to win in everything, but many people fail to see the triumph and glory that others see as the witness history. We're just starting to see the effects of President Obama on the perception of Americans towards race. Not surprisingly, the first effects were hope and pride, on the one side, and reject and prejudice on the other.
Barak Obama has changed people's perception of black males; he is an example of a successful black man that does something besides playing sports or rapping. With 3 simple words "Yes We Can" he has changed the face of our nation. He is no statistic but he knows a few and I feel that’s why he was the people’s choice. Racism will never be extinct but having a black president in office definitely shows improvements and forward progress.

I think that an urban area with more police forces does play a role in the arrest of different race. And since I grew up in a violent neighborhood I saw first-hand to arrest due to racism. Since most of the people in my neighborhood are African American, all of arrest that went down were all of that race. On a regular my neighborhood has a total number of 3 to 4 police forces that park and stake. And I think that part of the reason why my neighborhood had so many police forces around was because my majority of my neighborhood was African American Innately, I do believe the way individuals are penalized in the legal system does involve racism. I think that when people think of crime and “urban life” they automatically, and subconsciously, associate these words with specific ethnic groups and this is because, typically, urban life is much more diverse than suburban life. Also, in cities, there tends to be a lot more crime. Therefore, in our minds, we associate crimes to these different ethnic groups. As for our legal system being racist, I think this is true in my own opinion. I think the crime in urban areas is linked to the low income, low educated individuals and families that typically inhabit these areas. Urban areas, because the crime level is elevated, need more police forces. Therefore, more African Americans, Hispanics, and other racial categories are being arrested. In my opinion, the reason more ethnic groups are being arrested versus white people has morev to do with racism, and with the crime rate in the areas where they reside. At the same time, the stereotype that African Americans and Hispanics are “dangerous” is an example of racism, and I do believe a lot of people do believe in that stereotype. This is a deeply rooted stereotype. I believe that the legal system tries to set an example out of African Americans and other ethnic groups to essentially teach a lesson to the remainder of society. At the same time, white privilege has a lot to do with it as well. Being white, to me, almost seems like a “get-out-of-jail-free” card. White people are stereotyped as being “good” or even “safe”, while black people are essentially viewed as being the opposite. This, to me, exemplifies that racism is still very real in our society. Yes, we may have come a long way, but the statistics Sam showed us in class revealed that maybe “white privilege” is more prevalent and alive than we all think. Statistics will tell you that African Americans and even Hispanics reside mostly in urban areas. And of course, statistics will also tell you that the police force is urban areas is much more immense than the police force in rural areas. It makes sense for the police force to run this way; being that crime and drug related issues are believed to have more of a presence is cities filled with more people. That is not to say that people in the suburbs aren’t doing drugs. They are just getting away with it.

Is it selfish for people in poverty to have more kids because of their lower income?
Poverty isn’t something most people choose. For most Americans, the word "poverty" suggests destitution or an inability to provide a family with nutritious food, clothing, and reasonable shelter. But if poverty means lacking nutritious food, adequate warm housing, and clothing for a family, relatively few of the 35 million people identified as being "in poverty" by the Census Bureau could be characterized as poor.
I don’t think that “poor” people and having children on purpose. I feel that with the lack of recourses and opportunities in less privileged neighborhood play a very big part in having numerous amounts of children. The education systems are not very well, thus people weren’t always educated about pregnancy prevention and consequences.
When a child is born to a poor teenage mother, the child is much more likely to grow up in poverty herself and continue the cycle as an adult. According to the National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy, “a child born to an unmarried teen mother has a 27 percent chance of growing up in poverty. If the mother has not earned a high school diploma or equivalency degree, the child will grow up in poverty 64 percent of the time.”
A lot of people love to argue about how to prevent teen pregnancy, but sometimes we fail to see the basic problem. Teen pregnancy is a major contributor to poverty, single parenthood, and limited futures for adolescents and their children. I believe that young girls who become pregnant are more likely to drop out of school, which in the long run leads to lower-paying jobs. And often young mothers are less likely to marry, which means their children are raised in a home with only one parents and one income. All those factors mean teenage mothers and their infants are not finding a way out from what is often a low-income community to begin with.
So unless ignorance is selfish I’m not sure that I believe people are being selfish when having children in poverty. I think they come from a lifestyle where they have seen it work and they believe it can. When people are in poverty they don’t think anyone else is on their side because everyone is living “The American Dream” but them.
The poverty lifestyle is extremely different from middle class society. I know I have been there. There are sex, drugs, life, death and overall fear in the citizen’s everyday lives. Children sometimes are the only way one experiences true unconditional love. Age is not everything when it comes to raising children. A child showered with love and support from a teenage-poor mother, is likely to enjoy a happier life than a neglected or abused child of an older-rich parent.

I feel that white people don’t want to admit that they are racist because it has been declared wrong or is frowned upon. The fact that people of the Caucasian race were and probably will always is considered the superior race they have to be seen as perfect; or can do no harm. I think image is important to humans in general and no one wants to ruin the image of self, culture, or the nation they represent.
Then I asked myself did white people face segregation, racism, and prejudice? Do they know how their actions actually make people feel towards them? And the answer I came up with is no, they created it. They had the most power in the sculpting of the United States; so they took every opportunity in order to enforce it in the likes of themselves. In the majority of the different races that make up America in each group the citizens act as if it is the other race that is being racist and not their race. That’s where the sayings like” I hate them because they hate us" come from.
Slavery is shrugged off now is pushed off to their ancestors. Really, it is not white people alone who do not what to talk about slavery in general, it is our government. They do not want it to be known that they are the greatest oppressor in all of history. Slavery is a wrong our government does not intend to try to correct. Our government is not willing to share power with what they consider powerless people, therefore desire to sweep slavery and all it had to do with it under the rug.
When people decide to escape from the reality of life I feel it is usually because the reality is causing them some type of degree or discomfort. Since it is a natural human reaction to avoid these things, it is often far easier to ignore or deny them and not live consciously. I believe in the back of everyone’s mind they know everyone was created equal and who they are is based on their achieved status and not their ascribed status.
Virtually every race or ethnic group has some prejudices against another group to some extent. The same applies to religion, politics, and wealth. Perhaps it is "human" to want to feel superior. However, those we choose to accept and those we choose to put down are not inborn traits, they are learned.
It is difficult for most people to admit that we become this way and the hatred and distrust can be "unlearned". "That" is what people don't want to admit. They want to believe that their beliefs are real and true and the way nature intended. Saying "this is just the way humans are designed" is an excuse for their behavior and justifies not trying to change.

How do you feel about the way people live in America compared to other places around the world?

I feel Americans definitely live better than most, but certainly not better then all. In America, the citizens are like one big family that only gets together for really tragic events or really exciting events. For September 11, 2001 American citizens came together as one in order to show the patriotism we have for our country. So it’s not how we live its how other nations and cultures think we live.
Behind all the glam and riches that everyone thinks Americans have lays a nation full of many different people from many different social classes. Not everyone is living “the American Dream”. In terms of social class, the average American may be described as either being middle or working class. As social classes lack distinct boundaries the average American may have a status in the area where the lower middle and working class overlap. According to Wikipedia “Overall the average American, age 25 or older, made roughly $32,000 per year, does not have a college degree, has been, is, or will be married as well as divorced at least once during his or her lifetime, lives in his or her own home in a suburban setting, and holds a white-collar office job. The US population seems almost equally divided between those who have and those have not attended college. While only a minority of Americans, 27%, have graduated from college with a Bachelor's degree or more, a slight majority, 53%, of Americans had "some college" education. As only 30 – 35% had an Associate’s degree or more, with only roughly 9% having a graduate degree. On the other end of the strata, about 15% of U.S. citizens did not graduate from high school”.
As Americans, we have endless possibilities to succeed but that doesn’t mean American citizens have a picture perfect lifestyle. My heart goes out to citizens from third world countries. We cherish everything material while they are stressing about where the next meal will come from. I understand there is no place like home but when home feels more like hell it’s time to make a change and I feel Americans did that. With things like the Civil Rights Movement all the way down to an employment strike. Americans have learned not to depend on other people to make a change for them and I feel like that is why the country is a success as a whole.
There are people who live in the United State of America who live just as bad as people in the less wealthy parts of the world. I don’t think it’s the country that one lives in; it’s the character that lives in the person that makes the final call for success or failure.

The question of the day is do you think that race will ever stop being a issue? I really don’t see that happening anytime soon based on the following reasons. First there is the issue of political correctness. I feel as if political correctness creates more barriers than it helps. If people weren’t afraid to say certain things to certain races, then we could stop looking at race altogether. I personally never make a huge attempt to be politically correct, but I think that everyone is relatively aware of what they are saying and who they say it to. I mean when you really think about it, the way one talks to a teacher, or a friend or a boss, are all different from one another. It’s just like that with race as well we don’t want to offend that person so we try to be politically correct when addressing that person. There is a fine line between not being politically correct and using terminology that is unacceptable. In theory, political correctness is a great idea because then people who are ridiculously offensive and make insensitive racial statements, might be more prone to use the terms that are more accepted by society. As time goes on though, there is more mixing of different races and the lines society has drawn don't fit the all people in the world today, and the labels we use are not relevant anymore. I think political correctness these days is getting more people into trouble than helping us. Another reason that race will always be an issue is because people in the world have a problem with race and refuse to believe that they are wrong in the way they think. People that have a problem with race will raise their children to believe the same things, continuing the problem of race for years to come. Another reason is the amount of stereotypes that we still have today. Without learning about the stereotypes and effects of race on life, race cannot become a thing of the past. A lot of these stereotypes come from parents and grandparents because they are the ones that pass down their thoughts and ideas to their children. There will always be people in the world that have a problem with race and refuse to believe that they are wrong in the way they think. People that have a problem with race will raise their children to believe the same things, continuing the problem of race for years to come. We are still biased when it comes to different races, and we believe in the stereotypes that society has made. We believe in the standards that society has made. We judge people based on what people have said or told us in other words stereotypes.