I would have to say that after today’s lecture that my opinion on illegal immigration has definitely changed. I never really took the time to think about all of the struggles that they all went through just to come to America. The one thing that was a real eye opener in today’s class was Eric’s on personal story. Just from hearing someone’s own story on how they came to America and what they went through just to get here was pretty remarkable. Just having the thought that there were guns being fired at you just because you wanted to cross the border was sometime that really struck me. I never really thought of a scenario like what Eric went through. Having being woken up in the middle of the night and then basically running for your life is something that never really crossed my minded when it came to illegal immigration. Another point that Sam brought up that I found to be powerful and true was that “we are all immigrations”. We basically did just steal the land from the Native Americans like the cartoons that Sam showed today were very true. I never really thought of it that was that we are all immigration. I’m sure I thought of it at some point, but never in the context that Sam wants us to think. Just from all the pictures that Sam showed us were very powerful. Another eye opener was the video that had a over voice of people talking about the conditions that the immigrants went through coming over here. I really couldn’t even imagine being all bunched together on a boat crossing the ocean for over a week or even as long as a month. Not to mention, Sam said that were standing the whole time. That alone takes a lot to go through that and not even know if you will be allowed into the country.
After I had a little more time to think about today’s lecture, I remember that I have actually worked with illegal immigrants. At the golf course I worked at there was Mexicans that were working on the ground crew, or landscaping, the first year I started working there. The next year, when I started back up for the summer, about ten of them were not working there. When I asked one of my co-workers why, they said they got sent back to Mexico. I didn’t really think much of it at the time but now that I heard a lot about immigration today, I kind of left bad for them. Another thing that Sam said that is very true is, all of those illegal immigrants do work very hard and for a lot less money. I would have to say now that a lot of my views on illegal immigration have changed. Seeing what so many people went through just to come to find a better life, there is no way to have any negative thoughts towards them in any way.

I honestly really don’t think I would ever say no if a good situation presented itself to me. I feel like you have to take whatever comes your way. Sure, in some ways its wrong in some ways to accept stuff like that, like say it was a job in your family business or something else along those lines. I don’t think anyone in their right mind would turn that down. During these times, it’s really all about who you know. A lot of people these days benefit greatly from nepotism. I know that I have benefited from nepotism. I was looking for a summer job when I was a junior in high school, and one day a lady bumped into my mom at the store and they got to talking about their kids and looking for a job. Well, this lady was a member at a very prestigious golf course around our area and for me to get a job there I would have to put a member’s name down on my application for a reference. This lady was so nice, that she let me put her name down on my application so I would be able to get a summer job at that golf course. I got so lucky that this lady was so willing to do something for someone she never really met before. I finally, got to meet this lady when I started working and she was one of the nicest ladies I have ever met. I held this job for 4 years now, and I still remain close to the nice lady who was able to get me my summer job. That was one of the biggest benefits I have ever encountered through nepotism. I would have never said, oh no that’s ok, I’m going to try and find a job on my own. Back when I was in high school, I was looking for anyway into a job and I feel that was the same case for a lot of people when they were younger. A lot of people still today get jobs that way. From the golf course that I work at there are a lot of people with connections and they always ask us what are majors are and what are plans are after we graduate. For my major, criminal justice, there are a lot of state troopers who are members at this golf course and that is along the lines of what I would like to do after I graduate. They always tell me to let them know when I graduate, so they can put me in line with the right people. There would be no way I would ever say no to something like that. In some cases, like getting a job after you graduate if those opportunities presented themselves for you to excel then I don’t see how anyone would ever say no if someone was trying to help you better yourself.

When I hear the word ‘Terrorism” the first word that comes into my mind is Terrorist. We have lived through one of the darkest times in United States history with the World Trade Center attacks. This was all because of terrorism. After seeing all of the videos from Sam and seeing it through a different perspective has changed some of my thoughts. I wouldn’t say that it totally changed my thoughts, but it made me think differently about certain situations. I would still have to blame terrorism for everything that has been going on in the world today. There has been a lot of terrorist attacks, not just in the United States, but all over the world. Another one, in my opinion that really stands out was the attacks in London. It all has to do with the Jihad and radicals. A lot of stuff that is happening in the world today has to with terrorism. There were terrorist attacks even before 9/11, but not to this extent. Since the attacks in the New York City, terrorism has been taken to a whole different level. Since Sam has showed us all of those videos from how people are being treated in the Middle East, I can really see/understand why they all highly dislike us. I would dislike us to if I were living in the Middle East. I have learned a lot more about terrorism from this one History class I took last semester. People all over the world see the United States has some sort of a “peacekeeper”. We, the United States, are always going into other countries and trying to maintain order and bring democracy to different countries and nations. For the most part, a lot of the countries over time that we went to help did not like us. In the past to name a few of those countries were Vietnam and Libya. From what I am talking about has nothing to do with Libya today. The United States embassies all over the world have been getting attacked from the U.S. trying to step in and make peace. Another example was back in 1998 in Kenya and Tanzania, which were orchestrated by Osama bin Laden. From learning a lot on the past on how the United States tried to take control over a lot of situations, I can understand why a lot of foreign countries dislike us. This war is called War on Terrorism for a reason, and that it to try to eliminate all of the terrorist activities that have been sweeping the world. From attacks on U.S. embassies from the past I would still say I do blame terrorism for a lot that has been going on in the world today. The world would be a completely different place if 9/11 different happened, in my opinion. There wouldn’t be so much hate toward other nations and a lot less terrorist attacks.

Whenever I walk around campus or go to New York City, I always hear two people talking different languages. At some points when I hear them I do feel a little weird or awkward, but I don’t think it really bothers me too much. There are certain times when I leave like maybe they are talking about or something else that would make fun of me. Mainly, around campus, it’s different. A lot of languages are being spoken all around campus and I don’t feel awkward around them here. I feel that way around campus is because of how diverse and friendly people are around campus. I wouldn’t feel like someone talking in a different language is talking bad about me or someone else. There are other times though, not even around campus, but when I take trips to New York City I also hear many different languages. That is when I start to feel a little awkward. They could be being anything about you or the people you are with. Whenever, people will be looking at you and talk in a different language and laugh, that is when I feel like they would be saying something about me. My friends leave the same way. A lot of my friends feel a lot of awkward around people talking different languages then myself. They leave like they have to get away from they as quickly as possible because they just feel uncomfortable. My friends say that they don’t like to hear conversations around them like that because it is out of their norms. They really don’t like change.
I can see why some people do feel comfortable around stuff like that. It may come from their household, where their grandparents may be speaking their home language. That is one case of where people may feel less awkward around stuff like that because they are been around it since they were little. I have never came across a situation like that in my household. Although, since I have moved into my apartment with one of my friend’s former roommates, I quickly found out that he is from Russia. I often hear him talking to his friends and family over the phone in Russian. I find that to be really cool and I do not feel awkward around him when he is talking in Russian. Whenever my friends would come over to my place we would always ask my roommate to say something in Russian or teach us something. Most of the times it like what Sam was talking about when asking how to say a curse word in their language. I have been getting a lot more comfortable around people speaking two different languages. I have to say that I credit this to my new Russian roommate. Once you have been exposed to it a little bit more, it’s easy to become a custom to it.

There are a lot of reasons why Sam tends to show comedians when talking about race, one is simple, it places that topic into a better mood in the mind of the person. It puts in a lighter side on that certain subject that we are talking about. Sam showed such comedians such as Chris Rock, Dave Chappelle and other very funny comedians talking about race. It seemed to me that every time Sam played those comics talking about race, every person in the class was laughing. Those comics made all of those issues that might be pretty intense at times, into a way that everyone can laugh about. A lot of those issues that they talked about especially Chris Rock ad Dave Chappelle talk about race at least 90% of their acts. We watched the skit about Chris Rock talking about gay marriages and that how only the President would talk about that issue. But, again everyone in the class was laughing. It’s hard not to because they put comedy in the right way that makes light of a social issue. I believe that whenever Sam shows us videos from comedians he wants to show that not everyone talks to issue of race very seriously. Some people want to make people enjoy life as it is and forgot about all of the Stereotypes that people are thinking about. When it comes to comedy, this is something that all people from different backgrounds and race can come together and have a good laugh. That is all that the comedians are trying to do, make people laugh even if it’s on the topic of race. The other comedian that we watched in the beginning of the semester was making fun of his own people I think they were Iranians. The entire crowd there was mostly people of that race. And from what I saw in that video everyone was laughing hysterically from the comedians take on race. For a moment everyone forgot about all of the Stereotypes and everything like that and just all sat together and forgot about that stuff. A lot of people feel better about talking about race through comedy, because it takes a lot of the tension away. It is a lot better to, in my opinion, to watch a video from comedians before we talk about race and other issues. It makes us all think in a completely different way about that subject. Then when people do start talking about race they have a different mindset of how they want to start the conversation. They could start it from talking about how the comedians made light of a social issue or they can start from how we need to stop taking these issues too seriously. I believe that the best way to talk about race is through a comic standpoint. It makes everyone come together and just have a good laugh.

I have never really felt any guilt about my race. This was something that was out of my control and I could not control it. I have thought that I should be a different race or wanted to change because that thought never really crossed my mind until the last class. I am very happy with my race, its not just because I’m a white male, but I feel like that I don’t need to change because this is what was intended for me. I think that no one should really be worried about their race. There is no reason to feel guilty about whatever race you are. However, there are any stereotypes that do make people question their race, but that’s not a reason to feel guilty and want to be a different race. For myself, being white there are some advantages in being white, for example like Sam was talking about the other day in class about white privilege. In many ways that is true, but people these days have to stop looking at a person’s race and start worrying about their qualities and personalities. But just because of white privilege that doesn’t give people the reason to feel guilty about their race. You have all the same opportunities to make something of yourself and not have to worry about your race. Some people might disagree with that, and I can see why based on where people for from might give people some disadvantages to make something of themselves.
In other aspects I do feel kind of guilty in a way for the white privileges. From my last statement I said that anyone can make something of themselves regardless of race and I feel like that is somewhat true. But, there is a part in my mind where the white privilege gives white people some reason to feel some sort of guilt for being white. I remember the statistic that Sam put up about a white with a criminal record got called back for a job interview over a black man without a criminal record. In that aspect, I would have to say that has something to do with white privilege. When I think about it in that way there is some part of white people that should feel guilt for having an advantage like that. Not only that, but if someone else came in that was not white, I believe that the person giving the interview would start of leaning towards the white applicant then the non-white applicant. Also, in regarding the white privilege I bet white people don’t take into consideration the place that they are living would fall into the category of white privilege. Some people that grow up in poverty struck areas would not have the same opportunities or privileges as white people growing up in a rural area. In conclusion, there are areas where white people should feel guilty about their race, but people have to know that there is nothing we could do to control who we are. We are all the same in many aspects.

I really don’t know if it’s guilt, but I certainly do think about and feel bad. I do sometimes feel guilt with certain actions and situations that come my way. However, I do feel guilt when my parents would go out of the way to get me something special or take my on a expensive vacation or a sporting event. There are many things that we do take advantage off here. We don’t often think about the slaves when we are texting on our iPhone or surfing the web. There are many things we take for granted and technology is certainly one of them. I can only imagine how those freed slaves would feel if they received an iPhone. They would be ecstatic. From the video we saw from the Ivory Coast, about the cocoa, that really brought things into perspective for myself. I could not believe that those kids did not really receive any food or money for their services. When I say that video brought things into perspective for me, I mean that it really made be think about all of the things that I have and be very grateful for them. I do often think about how those kids would feel if they could live our lives for one day. They would love to see everything that we have and would cherish everything that we have. For the most parts, we tend to forget everything that we have and again, take them for granted. Anymore, I feel like we should keep in mind of those freed slaves that don’t have as much as we do and would do anything for even some food let alone new expensive clothing or shoes. We have to start to take into concentration all of the little things that we have and be thankful for them. I’m not talking materialistic things, I’m talking about food, shelter, clothing and family. It’s hard to think about how some people don’t feel guilty at all. Some people have to realize that we will have so much more than those kids will ever have. They have to feel a least a little emotion for those kids. From seeing what the kids in the Ivory Coast went through. They had no food or break and got beat. If anyone didn’t even feel some sort of emotion for those kids then something is wrong. Those kids will never be the same again for that experience. This would work with the Haiti project that we are talking about. It wouldn’t only work for Haiti, but if someway there was a way to help those kids from the Ivory Coast too. Give them some of the things that we take for granted, I by that little act of kindness those kids we feel like a person. I feel that people shouldn’t feel guilty, but they should feel a little sorry for those kids and just be very thankful for everything that we have.

I really don’t know if it’s guilt, but I certainly do think about and feel bad. I do sometimes feel guilt with certain actions and situations that come my way. However, I do feel guilt when my parents would go out of the way to get me something special or take my on a expensive vacation or a sporting event. There are many things that we do take advantage off here. We don’t often think about the slaves when we are texting on our iPhone or surfing the web. There are many things we take for granted and technology is certainly one of them. I can only imagine how those freed slaves would feel if they received an iPhone. They would be ecstatic. From the video we saw from the Ivory Coast, about the cocoa, that really brought things into perspective for myself. I could not believe that those kids did not really receive any food or money for their services. When I say that video brought things into perspective for me, I mean that it really made be think about all of the things that I have and be very grateful for them. I do often think about how those kids would feel if they could live our lives for one day. They would love to see everything that we have and would cherish everything that we have. For the most parts, we tend to forget everything that we have and again, take them for granted. Anymore, I feel like we should keep in mind of those freed slaves that don’t have as much as we do and would do anything for even some food let alone new expensive clothing or shoes. We have to start to take into concentration all of the little things that we have and be thankful for them. I’m not talking materialistic things, I’m talking about food, shelter, clothing and family. It’s hard to think about how some people don’t feel guilty at all. Some people have to realize that we will have so much more than those kids will ever have. They have to feel a least a little emotion for those kids. From seeing what the kids in the Ivory Coast went through. They had no food or break and got beat. If anyone didn’t even feel some sort of emotion for those kids then something is wrong. Those kids will never be the same again for that experience. This would work with the Haiti project that we are talking about. It wouldn’t only work for Haiti, but if someway there was a way to help those kids from the Ivory Coast too. Give them some of the things that we take for granted, I by that little act of kindness those kids we feel like a person. I feel that people shouldn’t feel guilty, but they should feel a little sorry for those kids and just be very thankful for everything that we have.

When we think about people from different countries, we simply think that they are not one of us. I don’t want to be taken in a negative way, but that’s just how I think people from America think about them. They see people from different parts of the world and put a label on them. I was just reading one of the articles in the book and it pointed out that people who are Muslim believe that people from America label all Muslims to be associated with some sort of terrorist acts. That is not what they are, just like in class the other day they are people just like you and me. They watch all the same shows and like a lot of similar things you just need to take the time to get to know that person and not have this label on them from the beginning. I, personally, really don’t label people. I like to get to know the person or group a like before I make my judgment but I don’t just label someone without knowing anything about that person. On the other hand, a lot of Americans like to label people from other countries because they are not the same as everyone here in America. They feel like in a lot of ways they are different. They might believe in a different religion or like certain things, but that does not give us the right to just come out and discriminate against them. Some people label people, for example Muslims, by the clothing that they wear. It is a choice to wear that certain type of clothing and it is also their religion. We see them as being a little different, but if we were to go over to the Middle East with the clothes that we wear here, then we would be looked at as being different. They would see us and wonder the same things that we think about when we see things that are little out of the ordinary for our culture. In reality, we are all the same. We all may have different views on certain aspects of life and different views on religion, but that’s what makes us all humans. We all have the right to make our own choices on what to believe in. But if people are from countries of the world then they might speak a different language but they are the same as us. We, as Americans, need to stop looking down on other people from different countries. Here at Penn State, it’s not like that. Everyone here is very friendly and really don’t discriminate against people of a different color or different country. If anything people should look at Penn State and see how we deal with people from different countries. We talk to them just the same as if we talked to our friends of five years. Like the students from the Middle East said in class, everyone here is very friendly and they are treated like everyone else and just have a good time being in a big college town. I think Penn State is a very good example of how we should treat people from other countries.

Ever since I was very young my parents have always told me that I had to hard work at everything. This has stuck with me for my whole life. I really do believe that you need to hard work to get wherever you want to get in life. Whether it is in school work, sports or your job, you will need to work hard and apply yourself. A lot of people believe, anymore, that it’s all about the people you know to get where you want to be in life. In some cases that is true. And in other cases it all depends on the hard work that you put in to be successful. For people who do believe that it all depends on people you know, that means, in my opinion that you can get an interview or even the job that you wanted from the people that your parents know or other various connections. But, it also depends on what you do once you get to that job. You will have to show that you can work hard to perform various tasks and that hard work starts when your little. You need to really work hard in everything that you do. You have to take it like sports. If you want to become the best or be a professional athlete what will you need? Hard work. People don’t just become professional athletes because of the people that they know. They have to show that they have the worked hard and have that determination to continue forward. Even when you do become a professional athlete or get the job that you really wanted, you will need to continue that hard work to maintain that position and excel even more. You won’t be able to just slide right through the job because you know the boss or something. You will need to work for everything. That’s what my father has always told me, “that you will need to work for everything in life”. I have adapted that to my life and have been working at everything that has been put in front of me. I have realized that nothing comes easy in life, maybe to some people who have been more fortunate, but nothing comes easy. I really don’t see how some people can say that it’s not about hard work and about the people you know. Again in some ways, yes I see it. But, otherwise you need hard work to maintain what you get in life. I feel that everyone should take on the perspective that nothing comes easy and hard work will get you to where it is you want to be in life. People who are less fortunate then ourselves will need hard work to get to Penn State because no one is just going to let them come here, they will have to apply themselves and show that they are capable of working hard to achieve their goals.