Blog Response for Grade. July 7th.
Nepotism is not soley for those who know the right person in the right place for a job; it can be for anything I just think most people relate it to jobs. I am also with you in that when my daughter and son grow up, if I can help them get their feets in the door, then I will. My mother, too, would have given me a foot in the door because of who she knew. Not for a job but because I originally wanted to get into law school and my mother knew (because of her job) our District Attorney and just about every sitting Judge; so getting a letter of recommendation for law school was not going to be a challenge for me. I obviously ended up on a different school course than law school but the point is, my mother would have had me benefit if I had wanted it.

Blog Response for Grade. July 7th.

I have to agree with you. Everyone uses nepotism and I think everyone will continue to use it. Like I said in my posting, I think those who have a problem with it are likely those who have not benefitted from it. Nepotism is everywhere and I do not think it is a white man vs everyone else issue. There are black people who know someone that can get them ahead, there are women who know people to get ahead too. I think people tend to see it as unfair because they are unfamiliar with what it truly is and that they have used it, as some level, in their lives.

Blog Comment for Grade. Lesson 14 Affirmative Action. July 7th, 749pm
I have such mixed feelings here. I do think that every student should be given the same things in school. I know private schools cannot be regulated but state school certainly can. I do not think it is needed for one school to have a ridiculous amount of material things and the other school to have nothing; schools should be equal. I also think that once you get into the adult world and have to fend for yourself that that is exactly what should happen. Fend for yourself. If someone has something nicer than you and you want, go get it. Bust your butt, network, do what you must to get ahead. As much as people may hate that knowing the right people in the right places gets you somewhere, it is what it is. I find that most people tend to dislike it when they do not have the networking skills that others do; if they had someone who could set them up for success or at least get their foot in the door, they would take it.

Blog Comment for Grade. Lesson 14 Affirmative Action. July 7th, 749pm
Like I said, I knew very little (just enough to some what understand) of this subject but I certainly do not feel like I know ALL that encompasses it. I also thought the slides on the Ten Commandants was, well, not accurate. There is not a doubt in my mind that those who did the survery were not being truthful. Seems like an overwhelmingly high rate of people saying they follow the adultry Commandant and yet if you look at the divorce rates for infidelity, it shows that to be inaccurate. But that is just my take on it.
I also agree with Dr. Richards in that we will never be equal. I do not know of a system that can be dervied to make everyone happy and give everyone a fair chance to move up the ladder - I do not see how it could work, at least, without a socialistic system put into place and I will never agree to socialism. It was intersting how that student (after the lecture) said the idea he had about making an even playing ground was basically socialist and that some things from the socialist view point is good.

Blog Comment for Grade. Lesson 14 Affirmative Action. July 7th, 749pm
I thought it was interesting how Affirmative Action and Nepotism are one in the same. I must admit that I have benefited from Nepotism. I did not GET my last job because of who I knew but I did get the INTERVIEW because of someone I knew. This "someone" was not high on the food chain but he was still someone who had the "in" and the "know" and from that he was able to help me. I can say that what did get me the job was my military background. Ironically, after I was hired I ended up making a higher salary than my friend who put my foot in the door (of course I never mentioned that to him).
I thought it was interesting how Dr. Richards was able to connect Affirmative Action as an around-the-way way of still putting white males on top. I also thought it was interesting that white women are the ones who benefit the greatest from Affirmative Action; I truthfully thought it was the black community.

Blog Comment for Grade. Lesson 14 Affirmative Action. July 7th, 749pm.____I have mixed feelings about this lecture. I always find them informative and I always gain knowledge that I did not have before but I just felt like there was more to Affirmative Action than this lecture went in to. I do think that we tend to view Affirmative Action as a black vs white or white vs black (however you want to call it). I did not realize the depth it went into, how it is so much more than just black people getting ahead simply because they are black. Though, I have always understood that the "system" of Affirmative Action was to give those who are seen as minorities a more equal chance to get ahead or at least to the same level as their white male counterparts. In my opinion though, as a woman, I would not want to get ahead because of a government formed system; I want to get ahead because of my life accomplishments, professionally or scholastically.

Blog Response for Grade. July 4th, 11:37pm

I have to disagree with you on this part of your post. I think society views that woman's sign as "wrong" because they don't share her views. I personally have nothing against Hispanics, my father is Hispanic, but I also support the right of people to express their views and their opinions no matter how deplorable any other person thinks it is. There may be opinions you have that others may have some heartburn with but you certainly have the right to express it. No person should have to be silenced just because a vast majority does not agree with what is coming out of their mouth. If she is on her property (which is what I am assuming since the video did not say one way or the other), property that she owns, then why should she not be able to post her sign?

Blog Comment for Grade. Lesson 13 - Immigration. July 4th, 11:16pm

I had pretty much banked on this lecture being interesting and informative. I have always had a lot of different thoughts/opinions on immigration not to mention all the talking in the media at the moment - especially with Arizona's new law. One thing I noticed the Dr. Richards said very early on was the U.S. History (at least its books) have misconstrued facts about its history. U.S. History books are intentionally written to show a story that hides the deprivation and genocide that took place on our soil. So, my question is how does any ONE person find the true history of the United States? If every book is written with how the author views our history, then how do we ever know what is factual and what isn't? It certainly is not possible to ask anyone who was around back in the 18 and 1900's, so where do we turn for non-biased information?
I do think that it is quite difficult to come up with an immigration policy, at least one that appeases to everyone's needs. Truth of the matter is, you cannot make everyone happy at the same time. It just isn't possible. Someone will disagree or feel oppressed. I think the trouble is that those in the political arena want to create laws more so to satisfy their own political agendas than what will really solve the underlying issues with immigration. One thing I noticed is Dr. Richards' insistence that our business world is what dominantly shapes our immigration policies. "We" need immigrants to do the jobs that most do not want to do and if they did, they wouldn't want to do it for cheap - dirty jobs, to some, should yield a higher paycheck. Immigrants tend to not be on that level - they will work for lower wages doing the dirty jobs and business owners (at all levels) will gladly pay the cheap wages and sweep their status' under the rug.

Congo the Dog. That was pretty interesting - the facts and circumstances of that case is what I mean. To answer Dr. Richards' question, no I do not think the assemblyman would have initiated that bill/law if it was a white person who was attacked. However, I also feel that it would not have been initiated if the person who was attacked was legal - no matter the race or ethnicity. I think the public has an issue with an illegal immigrant receiving a 250K settlement from the insurance company, I think that infuriates a whole lot of people. It certainly makes my eyes widen just a smidge. I mean, if I went to Mexico and I was attacked by someone's animal down there, would anyone want to extend help my way or want to see justice done for me? I'd venture to say (and this is based off of time I've spent in Mexico, no not at resorts either) that they would welcome nothing for me except me getting what I deserved and that I had no right to be there anyways. I have had friends go to Mexico and be beaten and robbed by Mexican authorities...where is their settlements? Where is their sympathy for the people of Mexico?

The Rant. Well, I have to say, I can appreciate what this guy thinks of illegal immigration. While I think he could go about it in a more productive way, it is not like he a political figure, so why does he need to be calm in the assertion of his feelings? I agree with him; our country is harboring illegal immigrants, nobody can deny that fact and he is not wrong for bringing that to our attention. I also think he made a good point in that if you knowingly hire an escaped convict you are harboring a fugitive/convicted felon but it is okay if you knowingly hire an illegal immigrant? It sometimes makes me wonder what some people would do if they lost their cushy jobs sitting behind their desks in air conditioning and had to go out and look for those lower-level/lower-paying jobs...if their family's livelihood depended on it...but they lost out to an illegal immigrant - how would that shift their views on these so called "rights" of illegal immigrants?

Blog Response for Grade. June 30th 1800.

I think most people have an issue with the Gay and Lesbian community because for those who are straight it is very foreign territory. I think a lot of people (I'd venture to say most) are taught to fear what they do not know and what they do not understand. I understand what you are saying in that what impact do gay and lesbian people really have on our own individual lives; but some do. For example when I was in Boot Camp I had a large number of gay women in my platoon but in boot camp we had to shower together and run all around our squad bay in our bras and panties. And when I say shower I mean a single pole coming from the ground with about 10 shower heads sticking out of it. Very close quarters. So, it can be quite uncomfortable to know that someone "may" be staring you down in a place (a shower) where you are usually comfortable. I think religion does play a role in it too, even if the person doesn't go to church their parents may have and in turn "brain washed" them into thinking or believing a certain way. I use quotations around brain washed because it is the best one I can think of at the moment but I don't think people get brain washed, per se. What is interesting to me is if, from birth, we were immersed in nothing but a gay community we would probably find those who are straight to be quite abnormal; wouldn't we?

Lesson 12 Multiculturalism and LGBT. Blog Comment for Grade. June 30th 1735.

I think multiculturalism is an interesting topic and has always been a "passionate" one for me. I say passionate loosely because I don't want have that appear as though I have done extensive research on it and am well versed in it; by passionate I just mean that I "feel some kind of way about that." I am one of "those" people who see immigrants still clinging to their culture and it bothers me. I would almost venture to say it infuriates me to some degree - especially when I see the female Muslim/Arabs who are in the US and still dress in their traditional full coverage clothes. I guess that particular aspect bothers me because they have brought themselves into a country where women are required to be treated as an equal and live without fear of reprisal for being at any level in the professional and personal arena. It kind of makes me mad that you want to be here and then conduct yourself as though you are in a repressed country; the United States is not that and a lot of women had to do hard things to make that happen for people of this time. That really could be related to why it bothers me for any immigrant in this country who still maintains strong ties to their culture. What is terrible about expecting people who come to our country to utilize our resources to adopt to our ways of life? I recognize that even within the US we have many different cultures but what I am referring to is if you come here you should learn our language and not dress in what your country expects you to. I live in S.Korea right now and my husband and I both have tried to learn some Korean (even had a class), ask questions about their cultures and what is expected, we try their foods and go to their restaurants...we are guests here so we try and not stick out like a sore thumb even more than we already do. The fact that we and our friends do it kind of makes me more angry that those who come to the US can't.

In regards to Dr. Richards' question about wearing/waving the Chinese flag...well, I have a problem with it. It is a big deal to me. Maybe it is because I am Republican and he did say that Republican's are the ones with the issues in regards to it. I just cannot imagine engulfing myself into another country's flag, especially when it is a country who hasn't done anything for me nor progressed my life in any way. He asks why isn't that okay but I ask, why is it okay? It could be I am more guarded towards to the flag and our country because of serving in the Marines and we have a certain code (God, Country, Corps) and the flag (colors) is a very big deal and is very highly regarded and respected in that community.