Today’s class on illegal immigration really affected me because I could relate. Personally I am not a an illegal immigrant but many of my distant relatives have connections to coming to America illegally. However I am a first generation immigrant. I was born in the Philippines; my parents had moved from Vietnam to the Philippines because my father was offered American citizenship because his father was an American soldier in the Vietnam war. My mother also taught english classes in the Philippines for people who were about to immigrate to America. We immigrated to Chicago about 9 months after I was born because my mom got pregnant with my little sister, who ended up being born in Chicago. Yes, I have a green card also known as a permanent resident card. I would have become a citizen if one of my parents had been granted citizenship after taking the exam. My father passed with a hundred percent but he declined citizenship. I never really knew why he did this... I think he wanted to prove that he could be a citizen if he wanted to be... he is currently the president of the Philadelphia chapter of the Vietnamese Amerasian Society, which works on getting citizen ship for other mixed Vietnamese adults and children who are the children of American soldiers and Vietnamese parents. These mixed individuals are viewed as scum in many Vietnamese people’s eyes, especially in North Vietnam which was more “communist” than South Vietnam (which is where both of my parents are from). As a result of all of this, I am very sympathetic of other immigrants. Since I moved here at such a young age, I assimilated really well into American culture. Although I could not speak English when I entered kindergarten, I was enrolled into an intensive ESL program almost immediately. And now, my english is perfect with no Vietnamese twang whatsoever. That was how I was “helped” as an immigrant. It’s helped me get to where I am now, since I did earn the right to attend Penn State on my own merit. Therefore I would definitely extend a helping hand to immigrants who need help, afterall that is what my father does for a living. I actually cried, like bawled by eyes out, during the video of the guy who made meals for illegal immigrants who lived on the streets. The part that really upset me was the part with his mother. When she started tearing up talking about people going hungry, my heart went out to these people. I know that helping people can sometimes be counterproductive. They usually become dependent on your aide... but how can we just let them live like that? We can’t. Therefore I think that we should help them.

The telephone is a great example of how in our society, especcially in the adolecent age, information can drastically change as it passes from person to person. Our society is very "well my friend said" driven. A story about two people dancing together gets passed through a dozen people and suddenly people are swearing that they had sex. A simple wrong word heard can drastically change a story. And then there are people who change the stories on purpose, because they think its funny and like creating awkward situations. Also, it should teach people that once you say something, you cant take it back....even if you said it wrong. Once you say it, its out there and its hard to take it back.

Radical Muslims are a rarity. But somehow, we think that ALL Muslims that live in Iraq are strapping bombs to their chest… and blowing up innocent citizens and United States soldiers. We need to change how they are portrayed. This lecture really opened up my eyes to how Middle Easterners feel… when you think about it, we are just as much in the wrong as they are. And it’s not even the whole entire country that is at fault. It’s a group of rogue rebels, the Taliban. And although they do have a huge impact on the government… that does not mean that we have the right to bomb them. It makes me think that the world is so horribly corrupted. How are we ever going to fix it?

part four

I also found it interesting how Sam Richards attempted to put us in the shoes of every day human beings, just like us, living in the middle east, specifically Iraqis. That actually sounds sarcastic now that I read it… I actually sympathized more with terrorists then I ever have… That sounds horrible… I sympathize with the daily struggles that the Iraqi people have to go through. They walk around in streets littered with debris caused by rogue soldiers. They have to deal with people disrespecting their religion, just because people are ignorant. And then it makes me think… Americans were, and are, still conditioned to believe that Muslims are the enemy. Our minds are wired to group things into schemas, even from a young age. And as we get older, we fit things into our schemas. We have been conditioned to think MUSLIM when someone says terrorist. And that’s horrible.

part three

We saw Christopher Columbus do this when he was sent by Spain to find “India” and what he found was the new world instead… the Americas were exploited for their immense abundance of amazing resources like silver, potatoes, peppers, etc. And now, the United States is repeating history… colonization might be a practice of the past… but declaring war over “terrorism” is not. And they are actually quite similar. We colonized to gain resources. And in this day and age, we are basically doing the same thing. The more I think about it… the more I think that 9/11 was just a catalyst for a war that George W. Bush wanted to start to begin with. And the plane crashes to the twin towers gave him the opportunity to do just that.

part two

I think that Sam Richard’s lecture this past Tuesday about “Christian Invaders” was truly the BEST lecture that we have had so far. The Iraq war has always been a heavily debated topic among me and my friends. And I have to say that I completely agree with Sam. The Iraq war is essentially a war centered around our economy and our lack of resources, aka OIL. As most of us know (common knowledge from years of history classes) historically… many countries, like Great Britain aka England, sent explorers or conquistadors to invade other lands to exploit their exotic resources.

part one

I actually laughed out loud in class when Sam and his wife started to talk about those girls on weekends who wear skin tight skirts that show off their wonderful vag's and tops that don't cover any tummy but reveal our favorite assets, the girls. Because to be honest, I am totally one of those girls. And I will admit this, I do not dress like a freaking whore to impress guys because I could honestly do that in jeans and a white tee shirt (and maybe some water hahah). But I dress like a complete bimbo because I want to impress other girls. It is all a mind game. Girls dress like barbie clones on weekends because they want to impress the other bitches that are out walking frat row. i would be more offended if a girl said something horrible about my outfit then a guy. And I dress the way I do to show the other girls, who are dressed exactly like me, that I know my shit. I know what to wear and damn it, I can probably wear it better than most of these girls. It is all a status thing. Because when it comes down to it, no matter how vain it sounds... I want to believe, if not know, that I am better than these other girls. Because when you think about it, girls seek to be at the top of the pyramid. And to be absolutely frank, I am dressed in the tightest shortest skirt I own AND I'm wearing four in heeled knee high leather boots. Yes, I sound like I am dressed like a slut or a "sorostitute" as some people on campus call them... but I like it when I look good. And I'd hope to think that other people like it when I look good. And this may sound conceited but I hate looking grungy in sweats and a hoodie because it makes me FEEL grungy. When I'm wearing a cute skirt and fucking awesome shoes, I feel like I can take on the world. And I'm sure that a lot of girls would say the same thing. When I look my best, I act my best. However I will agree with Sam about the cold thing, it sucks to go outside in the shortest skirt ever when it's blizzarding outside. I have done it this whole entire winter. And to be honest, I have also suffered the repercussions of braving the cold. I've gotten bronchitis twice this year... not to mention I fell down a flight of icy stairs one night... completely sober might I add. It really is a mind game... if you believe that it's warm out then it's warm out.

What your peers think of you can seriously have a huge impact on who you choose to date because they will end up spending time with your significant other. If my best friends said that they didn’t like so and so, regardless of color, I would probably not date him. After all, my friends know me better than I know myself at times. But throw in the color factor, and they might feel even more inclined to not like him… which in turn makes me more inclined to not date him… Interracial couples face some of the biggest problems because they push the racial envelope and make people think about race in a way that they do not when they see two individuals of the same race dating… In our new generation, we will definitely see more interracial couples and marriages. So it’s time to accept these couples as who they are, rather than what color their skin is.

part three

My first boyfriend was white, which my mom enjoyed. But my second boyfriend was Indian… which my mom felt uneasy about but in the end, she accepted him because she wanted me to be happy. There are also other factors that influence relationships… like the social pressures that are put on a couple by peer groups. Your peers are with you wherever you go, especially if you are in school… particularly college. When people see black guy and a white girl, they might be thinking, “hey that is really cool”… but a majority of people might be thinking, “that is really fucking weird, why the hell are they dating?”. Or even worse, a black girl with a white guy. That might be the rarest of all interracial relationships, now that I think about it. And then you have Asians with whites, Asians with blacks, Asians with mexicans etc etc. The list goes on and on, with endless combinations and possibilities.

part two

I honestly do not think that the problems that arise through interracial relationships stem from factors in the couple’s races. I mean, race can be an issue for two people in a relationship… don’t get me wrong, but it primarily has to do more with outside factors. For instance, one’s family has a major role in relationships. I, myself, am interracial (Vietnamese, French, and Irish) so my family is pretty open about who I date. However, my mom (who is full Vietnamese) has made a few comments about not bringing home anyone who is darker than I am, which is actually not saying much since I’m pretty tan. But this means that she doesn’t want me to date anyone who is, for example, Mexican, black, or Indian. But even though family can have an impact on who you choose to date, they can only affect so much.

part one