I had never really even heard of the term nepotism prior to this lecture, so you're even better off than I was. Ha. I agree that outside forces and our environment truly helps to shape us, and that when "opportunities" arise due to nepotism, it's not always necessarily a "bad" thing, but has become so because it occurs so much, even when it shouldn't. You're right in the thought of needing to properly educate people, and like the one kid interviewed at the end of the video said, you have to educate those higher up and make sure "the source(s)" isn't "bullshit".

Part 3
Wow did things really sink with the stairs example with the “different races” and how advantaged you are for being white, simply because of a terrible history. Not to try and protect myself, but I’ve truly never cared about affirmative action. I’ve cracked jokes about several races, but never really touched on affirmative action, simply because I think I knew deep down that I’m white, but I didn’t know all the information about how truly advantaged I am because of it.
What the student said about the “pot” of tax money and paying the schools was a great idea, but when he brought up private schools, how would taxes for those people be handled? Would they still have to pay for the public school “pot” of tax money?

Part2
I have received so many things in my life thanks to nepotism; jobs, tickets to events, etc. I have never heard this term, but apparently I have been unconsciously, well-aware of it. You know, this inspired me to really avoid getting “hand-outs”, etc. in order to avoid nepotism, because it seems like when I think about it, I realize how many things I hae had handed to me. I definitely see how it can often be bad for society as a whole, to have too many hand-outs. I received my intern thanks to nepotism (knowing the boss from a church I attended years ago and also based on my mother’s merit). Needless to say I hated it and just scraped by there while doing my internship hours. I often find myself seeking things of this nature…the “easy way out” and have never considered what’s really occurring there. Damn, this makes me feel pretty guilty  Either way, I really contributed nothing there, and hell, they most likely could have found someone more qualified. Either way, this example just helps me see how Sam talked about affirmative action and nepotism going hand-in-hand.

Part 1
It’s amazing to me how often females are overlooked when discussing affirmative action. I myself, do it, and looking back, have seen it many times. Even further, I have never connected that because so many white females benefit from affirmative action, that now even more white males can benefit from it through marriage.
It is always interesting watching Oprah when she does great stuff like this. It is ridiculous how many chances these children miss out on because of their location, something they cannot control. This video did seem a little old, so I am curious to see if anything has improved or worsened thanks to this “great” economy. My “ideal” solution to this would be to cut funds from the one school, add them to the rich school, and bus the all the kids to that school. Maybe they could add-on to the better school, upon mixing the two schools together?

Yeah...poor farmers. I didn't realize pears were in such a high demand. I feel that I have noticed that connection between business and undocumented, cheaper workers. It's funny how they kind-of over-look outsourcing, which is probably just as bad. Think about it, someone over in India is getting paid probably way less than anyone hear…that’s gotta be similar. I also think that drugs are a big portion of some "pocket money" somewhere along the line in the border patrol, allowing the drug flow. Those are issues I think are things that should be focused on, and loosen up on the restraings of people getting in legally. Oh and..."legalize it duuude"...

The art from the early U.Su. history and how immigration was still a huge topic then was something I had never learned in school prior to this. The chinamen being portrayed as the Statue of Liberty was pretty intense, as well as the one showing Uncle Same kicking out all the different races out of bed (115 years ago). I enjoy how Sam has gone backwards to show where these topics are coming from and how far back they go. This lecture also made me realize how little I know about the KKK.
I like that Sam is sort-of “arming us” for future conversations, and it’s not just another random boring school lecture you may never use again; now that I’ve taken this course, I’ve really noticed how often these topics do come up, where I probably wouldn’t have realized it before. I don’t get much exposure to immigration; it’s just not in my area, yet. I’m curious to see what it’s like once I move.

I believe the controversy of the illegal immigrant getting bit by the dog, Congo, was only because he was undocumented. Had it been a white guy, it would be a completely different story. For example, my father, a white male, was unhooking a woman’s cable (escorted by a police officer) because she had not paid her bill, so she sicked her dog on him; the police officer shot the dog on site and killed it. There was never a story about it or anything, that was the end of it. Had he been an undocumented immigrant, it may have been different?
When Sam was talking about assimilating into another culture, although most people wouldn’t make a conscious decision to “learn the language” or “customer”, they may unconsciously learn these things from shear survival instincts, and as what was discussed later, their offspring learning English, etc.

It seems that because workers and minimum wage are so expe3nsieve that it would be a no-brainer to hire and outsource cheap labor and hiring immigrants is often “smarter” and “better for the business”.; which ties back to Sam’s lecture that business drives immigrations lawns and rates. Also, I would want a rich person as a roommate, as I’ve experience living with someone you would consider a “poor person”; it sucks. It was n interesting comparison to relate immigration to a real-world example. It didn’tsurprise me to see many immigrants obtained college degrees. When I think immigrants, I often think of smarter people who go to school and become doctors and people of power in the business world. The example about the pear pickers losing out on all their harvest because they could not hire the cheaper labor due to strict immigration laws got me thinking, not only did they lose $10 million, but I wonder how much was spent on the other side of that, i.e, the cost of clamping down on the borders.

I agree. Being gay is as much as a choice as being straight...it just is not a choice. I talked about my interest in this subject in my comment, as well. I always find it interesting to see how women feel about lesbians and bisexual activities, and if they consider themselves "gay" after being with a woman. It always amazed me at how males are so accepting of females being gay or bisexual, and often a turn-on, but it's often much more unaccepted for men to be gay. People need to understand the world needs to continue to grow into this more accepting and open type of world, and focus less on pointless things that don't affect them...like that their neighbor or friend is gay.

At the beginning of the second half of this lesson (part 2 lecture), you could really see Sam’s excitement about discussing LGBT and how interested he was in this topic. It’s nice to see a teacher really accepting and discussing this issue. I have been, again, noticing a lot of what Sam discussed in this lecture, as far as movement and the “way of the future” for race and LGBT-related issues. I have noticed a more accepting, or least the façade of a “more accepting” society when it comes to issues of this nature. I have no problems with gay marriage, partly because I’m not very “religious”, and mostly because it does not affect me in anyway what gay people do with their life; therefore, gay marriage is something I support, but do not go “out of my way” to support issues related to LGBT and gay marriages. I know, personally, my parents and most of my relatives believed heavily in the strict Christian values of homosexuality and gay marriage being wrong, constantly quoting those famous anti-gay lines from the Bible. But to me, the Bible and Christian values seem so contradicting, as they say God accepts everyone and forgives them etc. Then you have extremists who seem to push their extreme views in angrier, more hateful ways. For example, the “God Hates Fags” famous Baptist church that preaches/focuses heavily on anti-gay issues.