Lesson 14 Blog Response 7/4/10
I thought that the Ten Commandments were also very comical and I am a Catholic. I could not believe these people and how they thought that they can do no harm. It is almost like that mom who has a kid that she does not stop talking about the kid just is an angel in the mom's eyes but when the mom turns her back the kid goes on a rampage and really is not that much of an angel. I mean do these people really think that they are better than everybody? I do not know what goes through some people’s heads in today’s world but it seems like they are pretty self-centered.

Lesson 14 Blog 7/13/10
I really do not think inequalities will ever be solved. I mean all the opportunities that you have are as a result of the equality standard that you live. I have used nepotism to get summer jobs during college. My mom works at a hospital and I would work in a department in the hospital for the summer. That is not it, I would also get a pretty good pay. For the first summer I was making $9.50 an hour for filing papers. The second summer I got a raise from $9.50 to $10.50 basically because my mom work in the hospital.
I would always want to be the victim of nepotism and when I have kids one day I am going to be sure to use my resources so they have a beneficial life. I mean from these opportunities gates open up and you do not have to work as hard as the other person coming up in the rank. Who would not want their father to be the CEO of a fortune 500 company and you know that as soon as you step out of college you are easily making six figures. If I had that opportunity I would definitely take that offer, you would be crazy not to take it.
I think that affirmative action is a weird word to actually define. Most people think of black people trying to get money from the whites when they hear affirmative action. I just do not think that these people really sit down and think what the definition of affirmative action. I think that people just get pissed at the word because of the label that has been given for the word.
In addition to nepotism, Penn State is all for this. Penn State believes in the networking theory, which is not a bad theory but it is definitely nepotism. I know that if you network and have ton alumni that you talk to then you will most likely get a job. It does not start just when you get into college because you can benefit from your families nepotism. See if your parents graduated from Penn State then you can build of their network and their friends. This is continuing the nepotism because if one of your parents friends that they graduated with is working for a company that is in your interest all your parent has to do is make a phone call. Then you can submit you under worked resume which they will not even look at and they you can get through to the interview process. Then if your parent’s friend is the interviewer well most likely you have known this person for a portion of your life so you are comfortable talking to this person. Of course you will get the job with a good pay because of nepotism!

Blog Response 7/13/10
It is easy to say your ancestors did it but you know any of the troubles they went through? It also depends where your ancestors came from. Sometimes people do not have the resources or the money to become an American citizen. Sometimes it is better to come into the country illegally because they do not have to deal with all the bull that we as citizens deal with. I mean put yourself in an immigrants shoes that has lived in a horrible society and has no money to enter the country the right way. All they want to do is to better their family and their lives just so they can live another day.

Lesson 13 Blog 7/3/10
Illegal immigration is a touchy subject. I am on the fence about the current situation dealing with illegals. At first I think to keep these people out of the country. They take American jobs and they just cause problems with healthcare cost rising and societal problems. I believe that if these people do want to come over then try to do it the proper way. If you are coming into the country illegally then you are already breaking a law and how can you try to call yourself an American citizen if you cannot even try to enter the country the proper way. We are not trying to keep people out because we do not want them but look at our deficit and healthcare problems; we are just trying to regulate our own problems first before we let other people from other countries come in to live a better life.
Saying that, I do understand why people are trying to enter the country illegally. I will just use Mexico for example because this is mostly where this argument revolves. I understand that these people in Mexico are coming to the United States because they want to better their opportunities. Even if this means if they are working for a low wage this is still better than any work in Mexico. In addition, the Mexican society is not the best society to live in currently. I mean throughout the country you have the drug wars which are killing innocent people every day. So I take these points and I do not try to stay narrow minded but I try to put myself in a Mexicans shoes. I am a Mexican living close to the boarder of the United States. I have lived here all my and have seen the hardships of my family growing up. Now I have a family of my own and we are struggling to survive. We live in a drug infested society where there is at least a killing a week if not more. The only way to be successful, money wise, is to join the drug cartel but then you are putting you and your love ones at risk. You need to get out of the country to keep you and your family safe and hopefully try to better your life. You decide to try to bring you and your family to America because even though you may be poor when you get into the United States, it is still a lot better than dodging bullets on your way home from work and having you heart in your throat because you do not know if your family is alive or drug dealers raided your house for the little things you had and your family is living in a pool of blood.
Just think about that scenario; I mean like I said before, I am on the fence but I definitely can see both sides of the argument. I guess if you are totally against illegal immigration, just try to put yourself in the shoes of a Mexican and maybe your thoughts will change a little just to understand why they try to come to the United States.

Blog Response Lesson 12 6/29/10
I understand what you are saying about the Chinese flag. I mean people that grow up in their respected countries are going to have a set ideology towards their country and the symbols that represent them. Obviously people are very offended when something disgraceful is done to an American flag not only in our country but all over the world. The idea here is that I am sure if North Koreans saw the U.S. stomping on their flag they would be pissed too. I just like Sam's idea on how he says if we were totally stoned out of our mind that it would not matter because it definitely would not matter.

Blog Lesson 12 6/29/10
I definitely think that because people now go to college their minds are opened up more for multiculturalism. In high school you only build your thoughts around the people who surround you such as your friends, family and community. In college you break away from what is the norm to you and you get to experience different ideas that you never have experienced before. This is a perfect example on why people who go to college are more open to a multicultural atmosphere. They are able to break away from the norm and learn about other cultures that they have always thought of as not normal because of the community they lived in when attending high school.
I would not mind living with immigrants. Actually that is a lie; I probably would mind a bit just because it is out of the norm for me. I would get a little frustrated if I was walking in my town and all I heard was Spanish or Chinese or Japanese because I have no idea what they are saying and since I have lived in that community for a long time then these languages would be out of the norm for me. I am not racist or anything but I would just want to understand what they are saying. I would want them to speak English because that is the normal identifier for me.
If we are becoming more and more diverse then why is there such a race wars still in the country? I mean I know it is not as bad as before because we have grown as a country but there still is a significant amount of racism. It just seems that if we had more and more multiculturalism in the country then we should not have as much as a race war that we do today. Maybe we are just heading towards that path and we just are not there yet. I have no idea but the concept just does not make sense in our country.
If I had the time and the will power I would definitely learn Chinese. Can you imagine the business you could do with that language? I know some Spanish and would love to keep learning about the language more just because I think in the near future and this language will compete with our English language.
That rap video was crazy. Even though those people were all speaking different languages they all looked like American rappers. I mean basically they were all dressed alike and had the same beats and I am sure if you could translate all those songs and put them next to each other they would be talking about some of the same things. I just think it is amazing how globalization can happen like that.

Lesson 10 Blog Response 6/21/10

I am not going to lie; I get very frustrated when I have to talk to someone on the phone with a thick accent, especially when it is something important like a student loan. I try so hard to not get mad because I know they are trying to speak the language but they just simply suck at it. I think if anyone is to blame it is the big corporate structures because these are the places hiring people for low wages just to save some money. But I must admit that I too get inpatient when I hear a thick accent on the other line.

Lesson 10 Blog 6/21/10
Why do color people get through the pre-awakening stage so fast? Is it because they just know they are colored or just because they have realization of being different and accepting it before white people. I do not understand why it would be so easy for people of color rather than people of white. Maybe because it might be that we look at white as normal, or at least other whites look at whites as normal. Could it be possible that if a colored person grew up in a predominantly white community that they do not consider themselves as black? Would this push the awakening stage back a bit to the point where people of color just do not awake to the fact that they are black? I have no ideas but so many questions.
I think that any person that is stupid enough to say they do not like a group of people because they do not speak “American” should have their tongues cut out. I mean what ignorant fool. These people cannot even label their own country’s language so why the hell should they be telling people they do not belong here because their native language is not one of our own. I just think that is ridiculous.
Wait a second. The higher your grades the whiter you are? That is crazy. It is scary how that even if you do not want to encounter race, it is going to come your way no matter what. I mean just to label that people are related to whites on their grades is a bit crazy. These people of color are not even given a chance to be themselves because they are already placed against the white race. But I definitely can see were people would make these general stereotypes.
The video that we watched goes backs to previous lessons in this class. When people think lighter is beautiful. I mean all these girls talked about are that people want them to be like white people. If you look like white people with lighter skin and strait hair then you are beautiful. I cannot believe that when they did the doll experiment most of the young kids picked the white doll! It just goes to prove that people’s minds have not changed and society influence young kids to be lighter and white.
I think that the awakening stage can bring a sense of anger to people of color. As they start to see that people of color are “them” and that they begin to struggle with white culture then they start to get angry. I mean if you thought that you were in the majority but find out you are the minority then you probably are going to be a little confused and pissed.

Lesson 9 Response 6/18/10

Yea I do not feel guilty for being white either. I actually like being white and feel that I am lucky. I also feel bad when I do not understand people's cultures or racial differences. I do agree that every one should benefit from being American but only the people that play by the rules to get to America. I mean I know that some immigrants are trying to get to the US to better themselves but they have to do it the right way. The only thing is that it takes a long time for them to become a citizen. Maybe the government should focus on how to embrace immigrants and maybe makes it easier for them to become a citizen so we can stop killing people at the Mexican border.

Lesson 9 Blog 6/18/10
First off, I definitely agree that white people do not want to talk about race. I mean I am white and I steer away from talking about other races because I always feel that people will label me as a racist. I do talk about race around my closest friends and family but never around a stranger or a colored person. I just do not know how they would react. I use the N word for some of my friends or when I am playing ball it slips out but never in a demeaning way. I am always cautious though when colored people are around because I know if that slips then the focus will turn towards me because I am white and therefore if I use that word I am racist. So I agree with Sam when he says that white people do not like to talk about race.
What the hell are these two little girls singing about hate? Holy crap these are like spawn of the KKK. I mean these girls are singing about the white race and people are supporting them. I wonder if these girls will ever get a record deal. That is such an awakening for these two girls. I mean if they are comfortable about being white and want to play dance around the swastika then more power to them but they are going to have a tougher life if they end up in college or streets of a huge metropolitan.
I agree that people are trying to move to the next level. With social identifiers I just do not know when to call people by their color or religion. I always think back to an episode of Curb Your Enthusiasms with Larry David. He wants to buy a baby for a Latino woman who is having a baby with a white man so he goes to the store and asks for a mulatto baby doll and a the black store clerk looks at him and say it is not mulatto any more it is biracial. So to me that is kind of like the whole label identifier. What do we call people and when is the right time.
I bring people of race into my life. I tell stories using racial identifiers but I do it subconsciously. I do not know that I am actually doing it; I just say it just to use these social identifiers. I mean I guess that it is mostly when I talk to my girlfriend or friends but I do not usually do it when I am talking to people of colors. I have no idea why I do it; I guess it just happens.
I feel that if white people reach out to people of color then people of color get mad. I do not understand why they would get mad if white people are just trying to understand the inequality between colors.