I think the end goal is actually what you make of it, but he's using this class to point us in the right direction. Many of you touched on that direction - he's trying to open our eyes to the way that we think, the way we act, and why we do the things we do. We almost always do things through a certain "lens" and he's trying to eliminate that lens so that you can grasp other peoples viewpoints and maybe step into their shoes for a moment. I think he's really trying to let us know that our actions have so many consequences that we are too often ignorant of. We can also be ignorant of the reasons that we do what we do in the first place.

I think that once we can grasp this concept, then the end goal would be, as I said before, where we can take it. I mean if everyone in our class alone actually did take this concept, really push ourselves to step out of our comfort zones, be in other people's shoes, then our eyes would be opened so much not only to so many issues at hand, but also to solutions. I think we would finally understand that war is not the answer because in truth it solves nothing and causes completely unnecessary death. We could give people the self confidence that they need and eliminate judgement. Who knows, maybe some of us can help shed light to the world that slavery still actually exists, and is in fact more prevalent now than ever before. Maybe we can take steps to actually ending slavery, maybe.....wouldn't that be nice?

So just to clarify, the student in the blog is me. I just wanted to say that I do appreciate your thoughts, however, I think you misunderstood (or maybe I was just unclear) about the point I was getting across. I am not confused about who I am by any means. I know that "technically" I am mixed, but I completely identify with being Puerto Rican because that's how I was raised and I love that about my family and myself.

My conflict, instead, is with the way Sam (and most of the U.S.) approaches the situation of race and ethnicity. That is to say that Sam divides us up into these general groups and, of course, I can identify with both. That's where my conflict lies, and also, with the other students in the class who will give me judgemental looks because of the group that I answer for. I mean I have black friends who judge me if I answer for the black/brown team (saying I'm white) and I have white friends who judge me in the same way (saying I'm not white). So I guess I'd just like to say that I do agree with you on the fact that I also wish people would feel comfortable with who they are. But I don't think that's where the issue lies.

I think the issue is that people are not comfortable with OTHER PEOPLE, not that they are uncomfortable with themselves. We, as humans (regardless of race) always seem to be judgemental of others because of our differences. We always focus on what we believe are "inferiorities". We need to strive to understand that everyone is different and accept that our differences make us beautiful, but not better or worse, just different. That to me, would be a path in the right direction.

I (being male) ABSOLUTELY think....no scratch that....I KNOW that men always feel the need to conform to society. Now I have no right to say whether or not it is MORE than women do because I am not a woman so it's impossible for me to measure that (and it's probably impossible for you to measure that too because chances are you haven't been in both positions - male and female). I can comfortably say that both men and women feel the need to conform to society's standards and as I've come to college, gained knowledge, and personally grown, its kind of disgusts me.

I mean lets think about some of the standards that men live with:
1) Men are (for the most part) expected to be somewhat tall, be fairly thin, have sculpted muscles, and have hair (What about the short, chubby, and/or bald guys?)
2) Men are expected to be athletic, or at least like sports (What if sports just aren't your thing?) - I can relate to this personally because, for some reason, whenever I've had a girlfriend, her father always wants to talk sports with me and I NEVER have anything to say because I just don't watch sports. Then I look like the weird boyfriend until I prove myself otherwise
3) Men are expected to NOT be sensitive and be kind of a jerk. Too often I have met girls who say "I want somebody who is kind of a jerk". I don't really get it but I play along sometimes (conform) because it's proven to work. I mean what's wrong with a sensitive guy who actually has feelings for you? Is that just not fun anymore? I know I'm not alone in conforming to these things!
4) Men are expected to be attracted to women! It's weird how it's so much more socially acceptable to be a lesbian, than it is to be a gay male. I don't really know where this comes from but I certainly know it's there and so many people in the world are hiding who they are (conforming) because of this standard.

I mean I can keep on with this list but I'll save your eyes. My point is that, although women may not recognize it because they're not in our shoes, men conform SO MUCH. I mean whenever people come to my apartment and they see it's clean, it's organized, I have nice clothes, I take care of my personal hygiene, they immediately assume I'm gay (which I take as a compliment)! But that just goes to show you this standard, or even stereotype, that people have for men.

For the women out there, please understand I am by no means trying to understate the fact that your bodies are exploited all the time and there are ridiculous standards out there for you too. This pisses me off just as much! I mean, to all the men, when is the last time you watched a hip-hop (arguably not even considered hip-hop anymore) music video on mute?? Go ahead and try it, because you don't realize it a lot of the times, but these women are doing the most degrading things all the time and we are blinded by the music. Even the lyrics in some of these songs - we just don't listen to them and our excuse is "oh we just listen to the beat so we can dance to it". Meanwhile, the whole song is about degrading women and killing people...etc. I'm only focusing on music because it's what I know best (being a musician). But it's all around us and we ignore it, and then we come to classes like this where our eyes are opened and we don't know why we didn't see it...

I think in order to destroy these standards, it's not going to come from the top-down, it has to come from the bottom up on an individual level. We need to learn that EVERYONE is beautiful regardless of race, size, skin color, beliefs...etc, that everyone is different, and that, in itself, is beautiful. Accept each others differences, learn what true beauty is and maybe these standards for men and women alike can finally be a thing of the past.

I think that that people often vote against their own interests maybe partially due to "politicians talking down to them" but that's definitely not the only problem. To me it's because of many reasons. I think people love to hate somebody else. They look for somebody to be wrong so that they can be right in return. I feel like most of the time, however, people just don't pay attention! "Ignorance is bliss" to me is such a US concept and frankly it pisses me off. I mean I recently overheard a conversation from someone saying "I don't know why I always hear about other countries economies, I don't care about anybody else's economy but my own" and I was just itched the wrong way and to this day I wish I had said something. I wanted to say "do you know where your taxes go? Do you know what globalization is? Do you know where 90% of the things you own come from? OPEN YOUR EYES!" I think if people did their own research rather than relying on campaigns and limited media coverage, maybe use....oh i don't know...that thing called the internet. Check out what our politicians have really been up to, what our country is actually looking to do (which may not necessarily be what they're saying), and maybe you'll end up voting for something or someone you agree with. At the same time, I'm willing to bet people will vote against "their own interest" because some may argue that they're lying anyway. It's crazy the things you hear people say but I think if people truly try to better inform themselves, maybe READ A BOOK, USE THE INTERNET (AND OTHER NEWS SOURCES), AND LISTEN TO WHAT'S BEING SAID AROUND THE WORLD!

This was a very interesting read and I was pleasantly surprised about the positive outlook it had. I do agree 100% with the fact that these Census questionnaires are a large reflection of how the government and/or the country views things. Especially when looking at what it has been like historically and when and how it has changed relative to the times, it's a really big deal to recognize the thought behind these questions. As I have mentioned in other posts, if it were up to me, the race question wouldn't exist because there is only one (the human race) but of course it's not up to me!

Alright so I have many feelings about this move and topic. I'm not sure just how many conclusions, if any, I might be able to draw from my thoughts but I'll do my best.

Just for reference, I went to see this movie with a group of friends, after hearing about how "amazing" it was and that it was a "must see". Everyone seems to be on the same page that the story was old (which I agree with) but there's a difference between having an old story, and having a predictable one. This movie was WAY too predictable for my taste. I mean you gotta give the audience some chance to guess at something or at least a plot twist or SOMETHING, which I think this whole movie offers opportunity for. Here is where I must say Cameron failed but I'm not a film critic and this is not a film class so on to some real discussion.

The messiah complex is most definitely evident in the film and I really have mixed feelings about it. I mean, as Brooks noted, it is based on a lot of stereotypes and "isms". It does rely on the notion that white people are advanced, corrupt, and money and power hungry. It also relies on the notion that the tribe (whether it be in Avatar, Pocahantas, or any other movie demonstrating the complex) is pure, athletic, and spiritual. I mean these are qualities that can fall on ANY human being of ANY race. I'm positive you can find a black or brown person who is advanced technically, corrupt, and power hungry just like you can find a white person who is athletic and spiritual. Because of this, I don't believe in generalizations and quite honestly I think there is only one race: the human race. In my own personal opinion, the fact that we are even attracted to such stories that rely on these generalizations is silly, but we always do. I am no exception although I am forcing myself to become more aware of these underlying messages and notions that our entertainment relies on. The sad part is that the industry (entertainment industry) knows it much better than we do, and they feed off of it which is why they are able to rake in these millions or billions of dollars with messages and notions such as this. With regards to your "water to the fish" comment, I honestly never looked at it from that point of view (which is probably the case with most) and it seems understandable. However I think that sometimes, conversely, people may ONLY understand their own race, culture and ethnicity and NOTHING ELSE. Now this may not be the fault of some but it's those who are ignorant enough to refuse to learn about others and expand their understanding about the people of the world that really upsets me.

Here's a little side note for those of you that haven't seen the movie or didn't recognize this: Near the end of the movie at one of the tribal meetings, there is a black pandora native! He/she is in the shot for not more than 2 seconds but the body is completely black as opposed to the usual blue toned body. I thought that was very interesting... Anyone else notice that?

Nebulous

So I definitely had a similar first impression when I had seen this (on the Daily Show because it's one of the few places I actually trust my news from now), I mean honestly, I wanted to just punch him. But, of course, you gotta take that step back and make a real argument because fists don't do the trick anymore. So of course I disagree 100% with this man and I actually had the exact same thoughts with regards to making a pact with the Devil, seriously was he just hanging out and getting people to sign contracts?! NO!

Okay so that being said, and myself being a Christian, I don't understand how individuals like this could honestly say the shit that they say, and yet still consider themselves Christians. I mean first of all, if we are thinking logically, HOW DOES HE KNOW? Was he there? Was he standing in the room when apparently ALL of Haiti signed a contract that said "Hey Devil, Let's Partner Up". If we somehow get over that, how can he say that "they had it coming to them?" In my personal opinion, Christ never preached this "eye for an eye" and he "forgave all".

One of may favorite quotes from a very interesting movie called K-PAX was "You humans, most of you, subscribe to this policy of an eye for an eye: a life for a life, which is known throughout the universe for its stupidity. Even your Buddha and your Christ had quite a different vision but nobody's paid much attention to them, not even the Buddhists or the Christians..." and this to me is a prime example of exactly what this quote illustrates. I think there is always a certain level of ignorance (or faith) that is taken into account when you talk about any religion but it simply amazes me the RIDICULOUS level of ignorance that human beings will accept, especially in the United States. I was recently told that the world now views us as the "uninformed" Americans and I wasn't shocked at all.

It would be great to never have to hear this guy talk again, or at least understand that half of the crap he "preaches" is entirely hypocritical. I guess this is what we will try to battle in Soc 119 so I look forward to it.