I also like Obama's stance on Affirmative Action. Social class should absolutely play a role in who AA is benefitting. If someone has been raised within the upper class and have been given an upper hand already, there are many others who would benefit much more from affirmative action and who are more deserving. I think if we strive for equality then we need to be willing to help those people who need it the most. Going back to the school situation I think that we need to attempt to give more equal funding especially for education to give our students a fair chance to reach their potential and equal potential in itself is so important in an attempt to reach racial and gender equality.

I think in order to allow all those who want to get ahead to actually be able to get ahead, we must first be willing to consider all people equal. Like Sam was saying, regardless of what system is in place, there will always be those who aren’t willing to work hard to get ahead and who either may expect others to do the work for them or to be content with sitting back and recognizing that they will never be ahead in the social status game.
I guess I hadn’t previously realized that white women are the main beneficiaries of affirmative action. I suppose I had always thought that affirmative action benefitted minority groups. It’s interesting that a program that many think support underclass citizens in fact just supports the issues we currently have today of supporting those middle class citizens who have fewer roadblocks in their life.
The concept of thinking you are better than another person for no oteh reason than because we are egotistical is absolutely a major problem, but it’s not just a problem in the United States. However, in order to truly believe in equality and strive for racial and gender equality, it must become acceptable to perceive yourself genuinely as you are instead of disregarding others who may truly have an upper hand. It’s easy to blame others before the thought to blame oneself even crosses someones mind. Who wants to demean themselves? The slides regarding peoples opinions of both themselves and others was extremely interesting. It is so easy to judge other people without having any idea of who they are, but we must be able to judge ourselves.
Today’s world truly revolves around knowing people. It’s sad that we no longer focus on who is truly the best candidate for the job based on skill level and qualifications but is instead very much about the people we have made contact with. Again I go back to my point that before we can eradicate racial and gender issues, we, as a society as a whole, must move towards giving all people an equal chance/opportunity in all aspects of life. Knowledge and ability must begin to play a role in all that we do. Yes, gaining contacts and meeting people in fields of interest is important and should help people move forward in careers, but knowing someone should not be the end all. It may help in getting that initial job interview, but when the company goes forward in the process of hiring it should be based solely on the most qualified individual.
On Sam’s discussion about giving Native Americans scholarship opportunities or those with disabilities special training, I see no problem with that. I think there are people who need that step up in order to have equal opportunities. Why not help those people, such as people with any type of disability, have an opportunity to be given the same opportunity as any other person. I really like Obama’s opinion on Affirmative Action. I do think that we should consider a wide range of reasons as to why people deserve a step up, and social class should indeed play a role in it.

I think there is a difference from allowing illegal aliens into the country for working when there is a need for an increase in workforce than illegal immigrants entering the country with the intent of living here essentially free of the responsibilities of being an American yet demanding the rights of being an American. I agree with the need for additional workforce when necessary but if that is our goal with using illegal immigrants then should there not be something set up for those immigrants to come into the country just for work purposes and when that need is satiated they are readily mandated to move back to their homeland? Would that not resolve many of the problems that are central to the illegal immigration issue?

I hate always focusing on the past. The past is the past and can’t be changed. When the pilgrims first migrated to this new land there was no concept of assimilation. Today, however, times have changed. I think greater restriction or regulations should be set regarding illegal immigration. It makes sense that business is regulation the immigration in this country and that politics currently have no control over it. It makes sense that having illegal aliens allows for cheaper wages, cheap labor, a betterment of the market, but when is it no longer okay to take away jobs from legal citizens. So then what is the point of having laws and regulations in this country?
So are we having to lower the numbers of legal immigrants allowed into this country because the amount of illegal immigrants is becoming so high? If we allowed more into this country who wanted to come to work, yet were willing to become legal immigrants, obtain work visas, green cards, etc., wouldn’t that be better than allows our borders to be overrun with illegal immigrants who then as taxpayers we must support. Instead the illegal immigrants are taking away the jobs that could be available to legal citizens
If we stopped illegal immigration it would make people here actually work for our money, to have the capability to get jobs, to decrease our homeless level. If we decrease our illegal immigrant level, will that not allow those who are currently unable to get jobs, who are homeless and jobless, have the capability to then work those low level jobs and make more money than they currently are? We have such a growing homeless population of legal citizens here in this country that we should be focusing on offering those citizens jobs that we are currently literally giving away to illegal aliens who we then are supporting with taxpayer dollars. I may be considered naive on this topic, but could business still not control the economy while using the workforce already in this country?
It’s not necessary about not wanting poor people. We have poor people in this country already. But why are we not focusing on giving our poor jobs instead of being so willing to give those jobs to the illegals rushing our borders? Immigration is absolutely what makes our country and allows us to be a place where people desire to live, but what is wrong with making the efforts to legally immigrate
On the topic of the dog, Congo, who attacked the Honduras man, any animal who attacks a human being should absolutely be put down regardless of the animal and regardless of who was attacked. It shouldn’t be a racial dilemma, it should be about safety. Regardless of who that dog attacked, were it to not be put down, there is a great chance that the dog could have attacked yet another person and that should be the issue focused on, not the origin of the person attacked initially.

I agree completely regarding the hypocrisy that occurs when people of color who feel they are not treated equally and who call for bigotry to end themselves are against homosexually and equal rights being afforded to members of the LGBT community. No one can, on one hand, demand that they be treated as equals to others (mainly whites) in this country (and in the world) while on the other hand simultaneously treat LGBT individuals unequally and with the same bigotry they are protesting against. I think that before any semblance of equality is reaches in this country we must all put away our defensive and biased swords and actually believe that we are all equal regardless of our race, religion, sexual orientation, and overall beliefs.

I think the statistics on those who would like to live in a more diverse community are interesting. Regardless of the differences in percentages, I think it’s important to recognize that overall those percentages are decently high. Yes, the more conservative Republicans were in the low 30%, but generally there was a higher percentage for the remaining groups. Now obviously to rid the country of racial issues it would be important, and necessary, to increase those percentages to something nearing 100%, but I think this shows progress from where we have been to a country with more acceptance of equality.
I think it’s inevitable for our country to become a more diverse country as the immigration into the US continues at relatively the same pace as it is currently.
I think the video on rap across the world was incredibly interesting. Sam is absolutely correct that it is a genre that has become globalized and that each of the rappers used the same hand motions dressed in similar attire and were most likely rapping about similar ideas. I find it interesting though that American music has infiltrated the world. Artists from here tour Europe, Asia, etc and when I have gone to other countries it was always interesting to see that in music stores the music that was popular here was just as popular in those countries as well. My point is that although genres of music may in themselves be popular in multiple countries, but regardless of the popularity of music made within a certain country, music from America is often just as popular. I just think it’s interesting to see the influence of America, even in something like music, is still quite high throughout the world.
Based on the kid’s comment about the double standard that he felt had been discussed regarding American’s not wanting to assimilate into the culture of another country and having that been looked down upon whereas those immigrants who move into the US aren’t expected to learn English. Now granted English isn’t technically our official language we are overall an English speaking country and if you move here you should be expected to assimilate into the American culture and learn to speak English. I think that should occur in any country. If you are interesting in moving to a foreign area you should also be interesting or willing to learn the culture integral to that country and that in itself includes how to speak their language.
I found that the statistic of only 1.1% of individuals wanted to live in an all colored neighborhood was actually rather surprising. I think it’s interesting that even people of color say they don’t want to live in a neighborhood of all color. Also, those percentage wanting to live in an all white neighborhood was also relatively low which I think it’s a good sign that move people want to move towards a society that is much more racially diverse

We absolutely still have a long way to go before I think a solid dent is made in racism. Going back to learning about racism though, and the thought that such young children are already facing the backlash of racism, I think it's important for parents of all races to make sure their children don't perpetuate the problem. Kids are so easily influenced when they are young and the fact that the ones in the video have already been faced with racism and have the notion that whites are superior to blacks is just sad. When dealing with kids we absolutely need to be careful that we don’t influence them in a way that just perpetuates the problem of racism.

I’ve never really thought about what it would be like to have darker skin, to be black or brown. When you gave your example of the preschooler whose friend said she was dirty it reminded me of a discussion I had in one of my classes about the beginning or introduction of racism into one’s life. I think this is a great example of how racism isn’t likely to be inherent, one isn’t born racist. The little girl’s friend had no idea of what racism is, or that what she was saying would be considered inappropriate. Her words would not seem inappropriate until she was told that what she was saying was inappropriate. Racism is taught, not necessarily by parents but by peers, teachers, and daily interactions.
Is the popularity in school that you discussed based solely within racial groups? By that I mean are they considering the popularity of blacks who are smarter within their own racial group? So if we are saying that the higher the grades a black or Hispanic individual gets, the less popular they become within their own racial group, isn’t that in itself racism? To be considered “more white” than your peers shouldn’t be the ultimatum of popularity within a group. If any white group were to be known to do that we would automatically be considered racist, right?
Your example of a black individual driving through an area known to be populated with proponents of the KKK and being aware of the danger of the area can just as easily be turned around and used for whites driving through areas of some inner cities. There are areas within the U.S such as Detroit, St. Louis, parts of Philadelphia that as a white female I have most certainly been warned to lock my doors, to not stop and drive right through. So the argument goes both ways. Yes, there are some areas such as in the south where the KKK or proponents of white supremacy are prominent, but there are the same types of areas in the rest of the U.S. where being a white person driving through is just as dangerous. Racism is prevalent across the U.S., across the world as a whole against all races. With the example of Hampton University’s 1st non-black Homecoming Queen is a prime example of how racism goes both way. There always seem to be the focus on white racism against other races, especially those who are black. I can understand how the black girls may have been upset that a white chick has possibly “taken” what they consider to be theirs, but at the same point it’s important to recognize the racial hypocrisy that is occurring.
We always focus on the history, and I’m not saying history isn’t important because it has shaped what our country is today and who all of us are, but there comes a point when the history can’t be the main focus on what is happening today. We instead need to focus on today itself and how to progress from where we currently on with our racial issues.

I was appalled by the video of the twin girls. It's terrible that parents have the ability to completely isolate their children from diversity and open thinking. I very much believe that children are born open to the idea of anything because they don’t know any better, nor do they do that there are differences between individuals. Parents have the power to transform their child’s opinions and form their ideas about the world. Furthermore, the idea that there are supported white supremist groups is horrible and I think these individuals are completely perpetuating the idea that the white race continues to be racist towards all those not included directly within the white race. It is these extremist groups that are the cause for racism throughout the world to essentially be stalled and incapable to proceed forward.

First of all, I think the video of the two twins was appalling. Not only was what they were discussing and truly believing to be true completely inappropriate, but what their parents were perpetuating and supporting is outrageous. It seriously bothers me when people think they are inherently better than other people and because of that spread the word of ultimate egotistical thinking.
I think it’s often difficult for white people to know when It’s acceptable to refer to someone as ‘black’ because we’re so often criticized by people who are black or other races for stereotyping people for the color of their skin that it’s difficult to know when it’s appropriate to break the barrier and use that term or when it’s ok to use the term and not be looked at with that expression of ‘did you really just call me black’.
It may be important to learn the language of race, but I think it’s equally important to people to not be so easily offended by shit. I think that we’re just perpetuating our tendency to call someone ‘racist’ by assuming that when they say something based off color they mean it to be offensive. You had the example of calling a black guy ‘bro’ but there’s no reason to get offended by that if you don’t know the context of what he’s saying. Essentially there nothing offensive about the term ‘bro’ and I think this a where a lot of racists issues stem from—from people (of all races) getting immediately offended without understanding that person or the context within which they are speaking.
The color of someone’s skin often comes up in conversation because that is where our country and world is at right now. I don’t think it should necessarily be considered racist if during a story the color of one’s skin comes up. Granted there really is no reason in making it a point to state the race of the person you are discussing, but there should also not be a reason to automatically jump to the conclusion that racism is a part of the discussion
Is there such thing as absolute political correctness? Will there ever be a time when there isn’t a person somewhere in the world, or even in a group, that isn’t offended by the way someone says something? I think that inequality is almost impossible to eradicate from our society until people of all races stop becoming immediately offended by the words that others say. I think my frustration begins when people are unwilling to compromise about their way of thinking or who refuse to consider that there may be another, possibly better, way to think about race, to think about other cultural spheres. I think that having open discussions between members of the same race and members of different races will aid in the process of understanding various cultures and races and understanding what is appropriate to say without immediately offending someone.