Honestly my views of race and ethnicity haven’t changed too much since taking Soc 119. You shouldn’t need to take a course in college to realize that there are still race issues out there, no matter how much the government has begun to require us to be “politically correct.” In my opinion it’s pretty apparent, and one doesn’t need to be a member of a minority race to see it. We stereotype different races as part of our national culture. Movies, books and shows all make stereotypical racial references and suggestions about the characters and figures within. Yes, things are much better than they probably were 50 years ago, but I believe that the issues have been swept under the rug rather than actually dealt with effectively. The whole push to be politically correct only pertains to being in public and in the workplace. Nothing has been done to actually change people’s thinking and misconceptions, instead there is only punishment, slaps on the wrist for using words and terms that have racist implications. Coming from a predominantly white area, and going to a school that had maybe 9-10 students that were not white per grade. Racism was rampant, and the level of ignorance was amazing. I would sit at the lunch table with friends and teammates, and the conversation almost always took a turn for the worse. Kids found it hilarious to make as many negative and racist remarks as possible. It was part of the area and the school, privileged white kids using other races as the butt of their jokes. Taking this soc class hasn’t exactly taught me anything, most of it is common sense. I also think that the main purpose of the class is to bring things to light that most people would normally not think about. I think that deep down, even some of the most racist of people actually understand that we are all equal in every way. Unfortunately, their ignorance and probably their upbringing has caused them to ignore their logic and capabilities of reasoning. Children look to their parents as role models and adapt similar thinking because of this. By the time race is an issue in schools and life, parents with prejudiced views have imparted this way of thinking to their kids as they have grown up. For some people, it probably really does take a class like this to actually open their eyes as to what is going on around us when it comes to the latent racism in the United States. As long as we continue to stress political correctness as a nation and not the true elimination of racism (behind closed doors), we will not get any farther in our struggle to end this problem once and for all.

While it's true that girls may want attention more, they have been brought up in a society that has provided every possible example of how to dress and act to gain the attention of men. Gain the attention of, yes, but not the trust or actual attraction that goes beyond physical. There is a difference between physical attraction and personal attraction, yet the trend in society is to play entirely on the physical side. We say that this is how to dress and this is how to act to gain attention, because we know you love attention. Guys, when provided with girls who fit their every physical desire, love to give their attention to said girl at said moment in time to achieve the unsaid goal.
The plight of the college girls around State is pretty apparent to me. Who honestly enjoys wearing heels… probably few of you. Who enjoys wearing heels when the temperature is in the teens and there’s ice everywhere? Probably even fewer. I’ve seen many girls slip and fall; and yes, it is amusing, but after a little stroke of empathy it really does make one wonder why they do it. Is it solely to impress us? Is it to impress the other girls into thinking that we like them more? I know girls enjoy competing just as much as guys do, just in their own fashion. But the game that they are competing in is created by us guys, following rules that we wrote: this is how we would like you to look, this is what we want you to say, this is how we want you to act. Whoever does it best will get our attention, but keep in mind, only our physical attention.
Its not only the sorority girls who fall into this game. Most girls I see on campus have all conformed to that dress code that I love, the smallest skirt you’ve ever seen with the highest heels, or those infamous black tights that are highly popular right now. Now I’m almost certain they all didn’t dress like that in high school (maybe some). But the minute they hit campus, things change. Going out every night is an option, there are dudes aplenty, and you can wear the skimpiest thing you can imagine. Why? Because its simply what’s done and it will get the guys attention.
Girls shouldn’t expect serious and honest relationships and respect from the dudes when they dress the way they do. Learn to attract a guy without flashing whichever goodie you’ve enhanced the most in his face. Have a conversation that proves there is a sense of intellect to go with those good looks that we all appreciate. Do it for yourselves.

I believe that the drug use associated with certain cultures is both largely due to the economic situation of those classes and the stereotypes that have been developed. I grew up in a somewhat affluent mostly white neighborhood, and never used to hear of drug use or anything going on in the area. When we learned about drugs, we were all taught to imagine some inner city hoodlum, or some notorious gangsters. Never in a million years would we think that people we know, friends, even family and adults, would be doing “drugs.” That was something that just didn’t happen around here. However, with age I realized that drug use is much more pervasive throughout all areas and levels of income. In my almost entirely white high school, you discovered kids who started smoking. Then they probably started drinking. Then some started finding their parents’ painkillers, some became interested in coke. A more select few started to prefer the psychedelics. Rich primarily white people might not be thought of as “drug dealers” or “druggies” but in reality this could be totally wrong. People with money usually use prescription drugs and abuse them because they think it is not as bad as doing something, say like heroin. They think that abusing oxycotin or aderall isn’t bad. Another example of drugs in high society would be the show Weeds. This shows centers around a suburban woman who sells weed to make her living. The point is- its the types of drugs that change, not the level of drug use. People in lower income societies, most often different minorities who have been born into lesser means, are exposed to drug use earlier in their lives, as many rely on the trade to supplement their incomes and help to support their families. When faced with the decision to pay the rent or feed your family, a hard choice must be made. More often than not, the man of the house will do whatever it takes to provide, even if it does mean pushing some drugs. These are usually the drugs associated with the lower class, such as heroin, crack, and weed. Regardless of the type of drug, one thing is universal regardless: everybody from everywhere does drugs. Stigmas may have been placed on minorities for bringing drugs out of the cities and into the suburbs and surrounding areas, as the wealthy are happy to place the blame on those beneath them. High society prescription drug abuse is easily ignored as the law is focused on preventing the use of lower-class “imported” drugs from over our borders that are highly associated with minorities. This unfortunately has led to many arrests in minor drug cases associated with the latter class rather than spreading focus to a national and all socio-economic class level.

I too grew up Catholic, attending a Catholic preschool and elementary school and attending a Jesuit middle and high school. While I am very well educated in the church, I have followed a different path when it comes to what I see in the world and its processes. When quoting the Bible as a literal interpretation, there will always be discrepancies between its words and our own historical and scientific knowledge of the world. The Bible’s texts come from a multitude of sources, all working to achieve a greater goal yet most historically misinformed about some of the empirical truths of our world. I believe that what one must take into account as to “truth” of the Bible is that the words are true in that they are a beautifully and eloquently crafted metaphor, revealing through parable what we must do to lead a morally sound life, thus attaining the spiritual enlightenment which we desire.
This carries over to the point of the genetic links between humans and chimpanzees. I think that in order to understand Theistic Evolution, it needs to be understood that the viewpoint used is God’s creation of the miracle of life, rather than the immediate and unprecedented creation of complex animals and then a divinely superior being in his image with rational thought. People do not want to think that they came from monkeys, and looking at one, who would.. However what they need to understand is that the monkeys that we see today, including the chimps that we are so close to, represent simply an evolutionary step on the ladder that is our rise to the human beings we are today, not a definite being that we grew from. While we are only 4-5% genetically different from chimps, that 4-5% represents evolutionary features of profound importance that cause a significant amount of change; to name the largest, tweakings in brain function that allow for adaptive language, rationality, and eventually self-awareness. African and Asian elephants are both elephants, yet they have a larger difference in their genetic makeup due to a vast multitude of smaller and mostly physical differences and evolutionary tweaks that could go virtually unnoticed.
As for contactless humans originally coming up with “the concept of God,” our nature as humans is to wonder and contemplate. Becoming something out of nothing, inquisitions will always be made as to what is going on around us, who we are, how we got here, and what we should do with our lives. The earliest people worshipped what they did not understand because, like all of us, something that we cannot wrap our minds around fascinates us. We desperately wanted answers to these questions, and through various worships and pagan religions came the “certified” religions we follow today, with rules and guidelines in each being refined and rewritten throughout history. Yet all of these religions come together in worshipping a higher power, wishing to attain enlightenment ( which some even describe as “God”). When contemplating God, it is important to think about not just a being in the sky, but the possibility of a being within yourself, your mind and consciousness, and your ability to rationalize what is right and wrong.
I don’t mean to force my opinions on you or change your beliefs at all. I just wanted to share my side of thinking for some of the same issues it sounds like you’re going through. I hope it helped.