As immigrants our grandparents faced hardships as well, granted it was at the hands of other white people. I understand that what happened to people of color in the past and still in a small way happens today was and is terrible, but how long must whites keep apologizing for it? Now I’m not saying that we should just let whites run rampant making all kinds of racist remarks (all though I seriously doubt that would happen anyway). What I am saying is hold everyone equally responsible for the things they say, don’t give people of color a little leeway to say racist things just because they themselves experienced racism, that will never get us anywhere. If we truly want equality we must treat everyone truly equal.

These both seem like both seem like legitimate reason for white people being held more accountable for their discrimination than other races. They don’t know what it’s like to be discriminated against so why should we give them a little forgiveness when they have a discriminatory opinion now? Good point, but why should any discriminatory remark be let go, regardless of the color of the person it comes from? If we want to make an honest attempt at wiping out racism in our generation we all have to hold ourselves to the same acceptable standards. We can’t overcome this if just keep putting each other down. Also, how long will we let the past control our thoughts of white people today. We didn’t participate in slavery, although some of our ancestors may have. For a lot of us that are 2nd or 1st generation Americans, not even our ancestors had anything to do with slavery or the subsequent segregation and racism that followed.

Why are white people so reluctant to admit they have discriminations? Well, because if they did willingly they’d be deemed a racist by their peers and shunned. The minute a white person admits or hints at the slightest form of discrimination it is taking to the utmost extremes. That person will always be looked at differently, even if they recant their previous statement. More often than not I’ll see or hear a person of color make a derogatory comment or discriminatory remark about another race or person of color without much social repercussions. More commonly you will hear a person of color make a derogatory comment about their own race, but that’s another topic and discussion entirely. The most alarming thing about this is though, is that it is hard to pinpoint why. Is it because that majority of racism in the world was inflicted upon people of color by whites? Or is it because, all in all, white people have had it pretty good since the beginning of time, and the oppression that some white people have experienced was put upon them by other white people?

. This shows that it is human and animal nature to take control of a group of people and not give it up. I’ll give a more local example; think of a study group you have been a part of or your discussion group, somebody always takes control right? This person will lead the discussions or the studying and they really don’t give anybody else the opportunity to do that. They also tend to favor the people who think like them or agree with them, giving them the floor to speak and focusing more on what they have to say. It’s just who we are. I know I wouldn’t want to give up power if I held it. After all it’s like the old saying goes; it’s good to be the King.

. It’s not like a current leadership group says to itself one day “Ya know, we had our shot. Things went OK but now we’re sort of at a low point. Let’s let someone else give it a try. Good luck fellas!” It doesn’t happen like that. Obviously power is addictive and no one wants to give it up. Every election year in this country a political and media war is waged for political office, and it’s always the goal of whatever side is in power to maintain that power. When was the last time you heard a sitting U.S. President endorse a candidate from a different party or different set of ideals? Never, they will always support the candidate that is essential a version of themselves, to keep their priorities at the fore front. I bet if you traveled to the Amazon and say one of those tribes that still exists deep in the jungle that virtually has zero contact with the outside world you would find the same thing. You would find a leadership structure that passes down power to subsequent family members or other tribe members that think the same way as time goes on.

So its 4 AM and I can’t sleep at all. I’ve been sitting here thinking about the discussion we had in class about King of the Mountain, about how when one group of people takes control they never want to give it up. I began thinking about how this is true all over the world. Moreover, how this has been true since the beginning of time. Other people have always strived to control other people. Even in tribal societies there is some sort of leadership structure that controls the rest of the tribe. Look at animals as well, in the pack there is the “alpha male” the lead animal that east first and has the selection of mates. When another animal wants to take over as “lead dog” the presiding animal doesn’t just give up and relinquish his position. There is always a fight or struggle. Such has been the case all over the world. Behind every major regime changed there has always been some sort of protest, overthrow or all-out war. Leadership changes just don’t happen spontaneously and peacefully.

My life’s course is still being directed mostly by my choices. Recently I’m discovering that maybe college isn’t where I’m supposed to be right now, in fact most of the time I hate it. As a result I am choosing to leave school and pursue something else. Right now I’m looking for open Firefighter positions throughout the country but there are pretty few and far between so I believe I’ll fill a security contractor slot in the meantime. Again, it is a choice I am making to leave school. There is no outside factor beyond my control that is causing my departure. It was this reflection that lead me to the conclusion that my life is the result of free will

. I decided to enlist in the military and earn my tuition that way. Now, I’ve often said that my decision to join the military was based on the fact that my parents couldn’t afford to send me to college but I now see that I could have chosen another way, such as student loans like many of you have chosen to do. However I didn’t want to deal with paying back the loans so my choice was 4 years in the service and use my G.I. Bill to pay for school after. Again, it was a choice. I ended up doing five years because they sent me to Iraq one last time before I got out and had to extend for a year but then I chose to separate and attend Penn State like I always wanted to. I could have stayed in for the rest of my life and always had a paycheck and something to do but I chose to leave, I wasn’t forced out. At that time the fun in it was gone and the leadership structure was changing so I signed my discharge papers and was off to a scholarly life that I thought would be better.

The discussion in class that we had in class about determinism and free will and how each affects different people was very informative to me. I never looked at in the sense of how much of what happens in our lives is based solely on our choices as opposed to what happens because of circumstances out of our control. We also went pretty in depth to that conversation in my discussion group which I enjoyed as well. After looking at myself carefully I believe that I am were I am now due majorly to free will, as in I am attending Penn State right now because of the choices I’ve made. When I graduated high school I was faced with many choices. My parents couldn’t afford to send me to school but I’m sure they would have figured something out if I really wanted to go straight out of high school. I didn’t want to put them through that hardship so I chose another route.

Prt 3 It also represents hate in some cases. Many people use this image as a message of hate. They display it at rallies and on their cars and persons as a symbol that they believe non-whites and non-Christians are lesser peoples. They use it to spread an agenda of hate. They use it to keep racial intolerance and bigotry alive in this country. It shows that we have a long way to go in this country before we fully reach racial neutrality. It is a disgrace that a piece of American history can be sullied and used in this matter. Unfortunately, this is what the Confederate flag is used for predominantly today. Outside of a museum or Civil War reenactment you won’t see the Confederate flag displayed for its historical value. Perhaps one day the Confederate flag, in all forms, will be accepted only as a piece of history and a reminder of how far we’ve come. However, I see that proposal as wildly optimistic. As long as there are humans on this planet, there will be hate.