I thought it was very nice the words he had to say for American and the concerns he had for the victims of this shooting. As far as being surprising, I was not surprised at all. To think that all people in the Middle East hate America is crazy. He is clearly a normal person and when he heard of the events, was concerned with the innocent people that were hurt in these attacks. This is the same for me, when I am made aware of attacks in other countries around the world I am incredibly concerned with the innocent families and people that are negatively impacted by these attacks and sometimes killed. It is just human nature to be concerned with the wellbeing of others human beings. It’s hard to believe that some people in this country automatically think that because the most of the people in that part of the world are Muslim, that all of them support these terrorist organizations and are happy when terrorist acts occur.
The comparison that the one kid in class made was an incredibly good one that rings true and close to home. The people in terrorist groups who do these things are Muslim, but that does not mean all Muslims are this way. In the same respect, the people of Westboro Baptist Church who have radical and in my opinion awful views on things, do not represent the views of all Christians. This comparison is spot on and something that made so much sense to me when he said it, but it was not something that I ever put together in my own head. The fact of the matter is, with any large group of people there are people that go off the deep end. Radicals exist in almost every group of people, politicians, animal lovers, pretty much any group. This is something that I have come to realize and something that usually you can take with the grain of salt.
The only issue with this way of thinking is that this particular group of radical people is sometimes looking to hurt people. The Westboro Baptist people rally around controversial things but do not actually try to hurt people. I will admit it is scary to me the events that happened this past week in Boston but at the same time it depends what you chose to focus on. It was scary Friday when they shut down the entire city to look for this kid, but at the same time there were hundreds and hundreds of good people doing their best to keep the American people safe. If you focus on the people being racist towards Muslims, or if you focus on the people who are trying to hurt innocent people, you will never be able to be happy. Those people will always be there, but there will always be way more good people.

This is an interesting question because it is something in today’s society that I take for granted. The fact that sex and sexuality in pop culture and society in general is male based. I understood that the majority of sex appeal in America is images of women, but I’m not sure that I’ve ever really thought about why that is. I suppose it has a lot to do with what Sam was talking about in class; sex is almost strictly based on the man. The man gets going very quickly and sex is over when the man is finished. This is something that is very prevalent in movies and other forms of media these days; however, I do think that this is something that affects society and not me personally so much. I am able to separate the media and real life. In the media everything happens so quickly and fast but that’s not how things work in real life, at least for me. It takes time and effort and being a good guy in order for all that other stuff to happen.
Anyway, thinking about if things were flipped around and sexuality in our culture was based on men things would be very different. I think it would be extremely uncomfortable for me to see that all over the place. There are a few advertisements out there and obviously parts of movies and TV shows these days that are catering to women but if the majority of them were it would not be fun for me. One thing that I believe is true of the human body in general, however, is the fact that the female body is considered a thing of beauty. At least from my point of view the female body is just very well proportioned and nice, while the male body is kind of gross and ugly. The few art museums that I have been to have had several old paintings of naked women all over the place. I am not sure if this is evidence of a deep rooted sexualizing of women and it is what our society is based on today, or if it is what I mentioned, that women’s bodies are truly seen as beautiful.
Either way I think it is interesting that men are the ones that are focused on and their needs are the ones that are met in modern day society. I’m not sure how this can be fixed or changed but it is something that needs to be made clear. Over sexualizing women can lead to bad things on both ends. Men can fail to separate pop culture from reality and end up doing scary things, and at the same time women see those images and believe that they have to act or look in a certain way. It is a difficult message that is being given.

I believe that not passing judgment is a great start to what we can do about people in bad situations. It is absolutely a start and I agree that that is how you should treat people. You should always treat people with respect and how you want to be treated. Sam saying that this is all you can do seems like it could be wrong to me. There has to be more we can do for people like Tammy and others in similar situations. There are tons of people in bad situations in America, if it is people in the inner city or if it is people in trailers like Tammy in the video we watched. It is difficult to see these people in situations like this and not feel some sort of compassion for them. Looking at these people and treating them like we would treat anyone else is the key. I feel that a lot of people in society look down upon these people and are just glad that they are not there. What Sam is trying to say is that we should just see these people the same way we see everyone else, not any differently.
Perhaps once we talk to these people we will find something that we do not expect to find. For example, when watching the situation with Tammy, I really expected her and her children to say one thing, but that was not the case. I expected them all to be more like the oldest kid. He was trying to act differently, and did not like the situation he was in. He wanted to go to a college of some sort and then become a lawyer or a doctor of some sort. I was happy to see this because if he is driven enough I am sure he can find a way to do that. However his mother Tammy was a different story. She seemed very happy with her life and what she has, even though she walked ten miles a day to work at burger king. This was incredibly surprising to me, because I would think that she would want to move up in the world and make more money, but for her she was successful. If I asked pretty much everyone in my life I am almost positive that they would not determine working at burger king as successful, however Tammy believed that because she was making her own money and was not on welfare. This really made me thing about the American dream and what success is. I believe that you can define your own success and in America you can make it what you want to be. If you are content with how you are living that in my mind, is success.

For me there is a very large difference between what Jasiri X and Sam said in class this week. First of all when Sam presents issues he shows us statistics from studies and facts that scientists and researchers have been looking into for years. Jasiri was more on the side of “things need to change” and “we need to rise up” but really did not have any plan beyond that or even any way of showing how that would help the American people.
I had some issues with what Jasiri said and how he presented himself in his songs and in class, and I believe some of my classmates did as well. My first issue with him had nothing to do with race issues at all, it was just the fact that pretty much the only reason I could see for him being there first and foremost was to sell an album. That is how he started class, and he continued to bring it up throughout the class by saying this is the world premiere and all that. I was not a fan of him trying to sell something to me along with his message. Another issue is the fact that he called himself Jasiri X, a direct comparison to Malcolm X. This bothers me because Malcolm X was a revolutionary known by many people around the world for believing in the separation of black and white people in America. Calling yourself Jasiri X not only says that you agree with him but is also calling yourself a revolutionary. These things got me off on the wrong foot with Jasiri, and when he showed his videos in class, they came off as very anti-white to me.
Again Sam makes a good point, there are several times during class when Sam brings up points that could be considered anti-white but for some reason Jasiri did not come across the same way. I do believe this had a lot to do with the years of reading studies and research from Sam. When he showed his Travon Martin video I thought it could be something that I could agree with. The Travon Martin shooting was one of the worst stories in recent years and a display of blatant racism in my mind. That being said I still had a problem with that. I am sure there are several people in the class who were not familiar with that incident, and if you just watched Jasiri’s video you could get a twisted version. I did not like that it was presented without any real context.
The way Jasiri came across and the way Sam comes across are very different and perhaps it just comes from experience. Sam is used to talking to large groups about these issues and Jasiri just usually raps and doesn’t speak like that. Also I think a good point was made in class, no matter who you are talking about you should never refer to another racial group as “they” or “you” the way Jasiri did, it just came across as rude.

The issue of Affirmative Action is a fascinating one for me. I am generally against anyone getting handouts or anything that they do not deserve, and to me affirmative action is that to some extent. Sam brought up the point in class of someone getting a job with a family member or friend that helps them get a job that they were not ready for. This is a different situation entirely to me. In class Sam made it seem like getting a job through affirmative action programs and getting a job through a friend or family member are the exact same things. I will admit I can see the similarities, but there is one huge difference that Sam failed to acknowledge, and that is that affirmative action programs are funded and mandated by the government, and family and friends are just about networking.
As a senior in the business college I am well aware of what it takes to get a job in today’s job market, and the most important thing that the business school has taught me is that networking is the key to success. So if I meet someone at a career fair or at a bar or wherever I may meet them, and I use that connection that I made with them to get a foot in the door for an interview and possibly a job, how is that any different than getting a job from a family friend that I have known for years? I am just using my resources to get ahead in today’s job environment.
I do not have a problem with the government forcing companies to look at all the candidates for a position. For example I have no issue with the government forcing companies to make sure that when they are hiring people that they do not overlook people because of gender, race, or nationality. To me that makes the most sense, however if the government steps in and makes employers hire a certain number of a minority, that is when I begin having an issue with the programs. It is a difficult topic when it comes to college acceptance as well. Colleges want to diversify their student body because that will make them more attractive to prospective students, however sometimes in order to diversify they must lower their standards for certain groups of people. This is a difficult topic because wanting to diversify is important to schools, however they also have an academic reputation to uphold, and if some groups are not as qualified as others, is lowering their standards for that group the right thing to do? I honestly do not know where I stand on this issue. I really think I just talked myself out of being against affirmative action in the time it took me to write this post. As long as the government doesn’t tell you who to hire and just makes sure you do not overlook anyone, I believe that is good.

The issue of aid is one that is very complicated with lots of outcomes to consider. There are a lot of factors that need to be thought about. The first thing that comes to my mind is the phrase “give a man a fish, feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish, feed him for life.” This saying is something that I believe in. If you learn how to do things on your own you will have much more success in life than if you are handed everything. Applying this to the foreign aid situation is tricky because it is real people that are suffering and struggling to survive. I think it is good that we give countries like Haiti help when they are in need. They were hit very hard with a natural disaster and in order to get them back on their feet it is very important to help them. This is something that Sam discussed in class that I agree with.
The larger issue that I believe Sam was trying to discuss was helping countries when they are not in need, or how long after a disaster should we be helping people. If you give people things to help and they end up becoming dependent on your source of income. It is a slippery slope of dependence that should be closely monitored. Giving someone enough of a jump to get back on their feet is what I believe should be done and then leaving them to figure the rest out on their own.
Another topic Sam mentioned is the concept of affirmative action. The idea of someone getting somewhere in life when someone just as capable, or more capable is not getting the same opportunity. When Sam spoke about the painting story when he was younger, and how he would get jobs when a black man he worked with would not, he opened my eyes to a new way of thinking about things. I do not feel as if I have been handed anything or given any extra opportunities because of my skin color, but I cannot honestly say that I have thought about it in every situation. In most jobs, I believe that the most qualified person for the job should be given the position every time, regardless of race or gender. For example, I watched a movie in class where it spoke about females getting positions in the fire department over men who were more capable. This is a situation where people’s lives are directly at stake and the best people for the job should get the job because of the possible implication of lives at risk. I think this should be the same for every job and every school as well.

This is a very interesting question that I have thought about many times. What I have concluded from thinking about it for so long is that whatever happens when I die, happens and there is really nothing I can do on this earth to change it. No one really knows what happens; there is no real proof about what will happen. And because there is no real explanation about where I will go or what happens, I am not worried about it. That is the way I go about my life for the most part. You can only do so much planning for something, at some point you have to stop worrying about it and just cross that bridge when you get to it. That is how I am going to deal with my death.
The thing that does worry me about death is how I will leave this world, specifically how I will leave my friends and family. Most people say that they want to leave this world a better place or leave a legacy. That is not something that I am worried about, what concerns me is just how people will remember me. I hope that my friends and family will look back on my life fondly and be happy that I was a part of theirs. I want people to think about me occasionally and miss me but also be glad that I was there. This is how I think about losing my friends and family, you can’t change the fact that they are gone, but you can remember them and think about all of the ways they made your life better.
The way I look at it, the only thing we know as humans is living on this planet, so why worry about what happens after? A lot of wars have been fought on this planet over religious beliefs, which essentially comes down to who is right about what happens when they die, but no one really knows. Even what Sam said is not really what happens when you die. There are so many holes and issues with that study he showed us to believe it and take it as real. In movies and pop culture people always say they go towards the light and that their whole life flashes before their eyes. As far as I’m concerned when your brain is not working you cannot make any memories therefore would not be able to recall anything. That is my view of what Sam showed us in class, people say what the researcher wanted to hear. As far as my personal beliefs of what happens when I die whatever happens to my mind body and soul is going to happen. So until then, I’m just going to let it be.

I was very intrigued by the class that talked about evolution and religion. Sam pointed out many things that I had not thought about before and a lot of things that I have thought about before. I was brought up as a Christian and still identify as one today. I will not ignore the fact that there is a large amount of research and science that goes into evolution and what has come of that, however for me it is more complicated than that. As Sam said in class, there is a large amount of research and writing about both creationism and evolution and I have even began to read any of it yet I do still have an opinion on the subject.

I believe there is a lot of negativity towards Muslims mainly because of September 11th 2001. The September 11th attack on the world trade center and the pentagon attacks were by radical Muslim terrorists has caused America to be very aware and concerned with Muslims. The issue that I personally have with this is that this terrorist group is a radical one and a very small portion of Muslim people. Also as far as I know the terrorist group is mainly located in the Middle East and only a small number of Muslims worldwide live in the Middle East. This is what is so concerning to me about the hatred towards them in America. You cannot lump all the Middle Eastern Muslims into this category with the radicals the same way I would not like to be lumped in with the people of Westboro Baptist Church simply because I am a Christian. The way some Americans look at people from the Middle East and treat them with disrespect because they assume they are affiliated with terrorists is not correct.
This brings up the question of airport security and profiling when it comes to extra screening. We spoke about air ports in our discussion group this past week and I found it very fascinating to hear what people had to say. Many people thought it was fine to profile people based on how they look because it minimizes risk. They found no issue in extra screening people simply because of how they looked. I disagree with this statement as an American. These people have the same freedom as every other American and by profiling them based on race they are taking away certain liberties that they have. Some people are currently locked up in jail right now for being suspected as terrorists and they have nothing to do with any type of terrorist activity. One person in our discussion brought up the fact that some people have been taken in simply for living next to suspected terrorists. I believe this is not right and takes away many of the rights that Americans are given. Airports should take the same amount of caution no matter who the person is or what they look like. Also they should not be able to lock up people without substantial evidence.
Imagining that happening to me is awful to think about and I do not believe anyone should be treated that way. Muslim people have been the target of hate wrongfully because of a small radical group that did a few very bad things. Taking caution is one thing but accusing people of things simply because of their religion or how they look is a completely different animal.

I agree with the girl in the video in that this is a huge double standard. A guy calling another guy hot is a little bit uncomfortable in society where as it is common place for girls. I think that this has a lot to do with men and their view of masculinity in society and the media. Men often times are less comfortable with their sexuality in the way that they feel like they have to prove that they are masculine more than girls have to prove they are feminine.
For example when we had a discussion this week, we were talking about gay men and how comfortable we were with it and when every guy in my group spoke about the topic they made a point to say that they personally were not gay. I did not assume anyone was gay or think when anyone started talking was gay but they still felt the need to say it. This was very interesting to me because only some of the girls said they were not gay when they spoke even though none of them were gay, that I know of. The media and many American families have taught us that men must be manly. They must be strong and powerful, and run the family. I know as far as my upbringing goes that is how I was raised. My father set the example for me by taking care of my family and teaching me that that was the way it should be. My family is very conventional when it comes to the typical family, Dad works hard and makes money, Mom is a school teacher and takes care of everything at home, and I have one brother and one sister.
Society tells us that this is right and this is how a family has to be. This is changing in recent years. The show modern family talks about this simply in the title of the show. I think the media and popular culture are changing in that direction slightly. Women are getting more powerful jobs in society and more men are staying at home, although if I had to guess I would say it is still more often than not the man that works and the woman that does not.
The thought of the man being strong and having to prove that they are strong is deeply rooted in the way I was raised and the past generations of American society. That is why I think that it is a tad strange for a man to call another man hot because it shows weakness that some might perceive as feminine or gay and this is the last thing that the typical male would like to be thought of as.