This used to be a question that I used to ask myself often whenever this topic was brought up but now I can safely say that yes I would help them out. Whenever I responded yes to that sort of question, I always asked myself why? What possible reason could I have for helping them? Is it out of pity, do I feel bad for them, or whatever. After deeply thinking about this question I finally realized that I would not help them out of pity, or because I feel bad for them, I would help them because I want them to keep moving forward in life and to keep working hard. I want them to feel as if they did not just sacrifice or throw everything away in vain. Sure they might be illegal but I just cannot bring myself to just be the person that just walks on by. Everyone is a human being. No one deserves to be out casted by others. No one has the right to pass judgment on another human being because we are all the same. There is no human being in this world that can call themselves superior to everyone else. Maybe part of the reason that I would want to help them is because I am Latino too, and just seeing my brethren like that just makes me feel so frustrated. I do not want people thinking that all Latinos or Hispanics are poor lazy people who cannot do anything right. I can understand how the man’s mother felt when she was crying about the labor workers going to sleep hungry. “We are all brother in this world. We should not be fighting amongst each other. Instead we should be looking out for one another. We should always lend a helping hand to anyone who is in need because when the time comes that you are in need they will lend a helping hand out to you”. These words were the words my dad told me when I was little. Okay sure, some of you have probably heard this and thought that that is such a cliché, but it is true is it not? Everyone who rises must also fall, that is how the world works. It might not be immediate and it might not be so obvious but it happens. Now this is not some response so as to convince everyone and anyone who reads this to start helping them out, far from it. This is just MY response. The reasons why I choose to do this. There is no special understanding that I have with them. Everyone can come to understand these labor workers it is just a matter of WANTING to understand.

Well, in a way I guess I can see what you are saying. I mean I did not notice it until you said something, but it is hard to tell if most of it was due to forgetting it or if it was because the white kids tried sugar coating it. In my personal opinion I guess it is a little bit of both because I know I would forget most of the story if someone kept leaping back and forth when telling the story like one of the kids did, sorry I cannot really remember who did what. Then on the other hand I can also see how the white kids sugar coated the story because some of them would say African Americans and near the end they started to use the word minorities. Also another thing which I noticed is that none of them dropped the n-bomb, or even mentioned that that was said in the story at all. I can see that it is reasonable to not say the n word, but they could have mentioned that it was said so the others would know how the “real” situation went down. If everything was sugar coated then no one would know how everyone’s real reaction was and also it would seem too plain, or not very convincing. Sure laying out the whole story word for word is not easy, especially when there are parts of the story where there is some vulgar content. Although, if I had to choose between the two then I think I would say that they were more forgetful, especially if they did not have enough time and one of them went all over the place telling the story. Sometimes I find it kind of hard to believe if they were really forgetful or if they just were not really paying attention because some of the stories that were retold were really out of the park. For instance, I think it was the second to last story which said that there were absolutely no minorities in the university. Since this question was brought up I have been thinking more and more about the exercise and I have started to believe that part of the reason for this exercise was to see how each race would relay the information to the other. Then again, I also start to think if his selection of the storytellers were made at random of if he specifically picked out which people he wanted up there. in the end it all comes down to whether or not the storytellers were sugar coating the story or if they were just plain forgetful about what had actually happened in the first place.

Well, that is a statement that I believe to be true. Most commercials which ask for help usually put up pictures of impoverished people so they can get some sort of sympathy money, but I think that things should not be that way. When I was little and I saw pictures like that on the TV about a certain place I used to think that the whole area was like that. For instance, when I saw how Haiti’s landscape was I was amazed at how it had a beautiful landscape. If all you saw were pictures of rundown areas of Haiti, then you would think that that is how the whole island is like. Sure it is ok to show that one needs help but sometimes, like Ernso said, it can send the wrong message. I learned from him and Sam that they are not looking for handouts just an opportunity. I guess some people think that unless they do not show people in desperate need they will not get any help, but I believe that they should have a little more faith in the people. I mean sure it might probably help out more if they did that but sometimes the people might think that they might need too much help so they think that even if they did help not much will be gained so they choose to not even try at all. Also it makes the people in the pictures seem like they cannot take care of or lookout for themselves. I respect Ernso for saying that because it shows that he can take care of and lookout for himself, not that I ever thought he could not do so I just mean that he reinforced that belief. To be honest, him saying that statement made me want to take action even more than when I saw the pictures of impoverished people in Haiti. Do not get me wrong, I had always planned on helping, but when Ernso what he said it gave me reassurance the Haitian people can still stand tall and on their feet even after disaster and that the ideas that we will provide for in the project for Haiti will be able to be put into good use and will be well benefitted from. As long as there is still the will to go forward then moving ahead is no problem. Yeah, that sounds a bit cheesy but I believe it is true. I mean if you are unable to get through the past than moving towards the future is not something that will be easily done, but I believe that the Haitian people show their determination and have every intention to move onwards and rebuild their country.

In my honest opinion, I would have to say that surprisingly I felt no discomfort at all. When Sam’s wife kept emphasizing that she is in no way trying to offend anyone, I started thinking that maybe it will offend someone to a certain extent or maybe even possibly offend me, which by the way is kind of difficult to do that is unless you are actually trying to do so. But surprisingly enough I was not bothered, offended, or even discomforted by the lecture at all. I cannot really explain it, but it felt really normal to hear about it. I am not sure why I felt that way, whether it is because I probably had many speakers during elementary and high school to talk about it to me or because I probably knew to some extent about what some of the lecture had been about. Even if that was the case, I found the lecture about the “needy” penis very entertaining and informative. Sure some of the basic stuff that was presented was sort of a given for me, but everything else about the statistics and other sexual related cases were kind of an eye opener for me. Maybe because it was presented by people who I knew liked to talk about this sort of topic and because it was presented in a sort of laid back manner, I was not in any way, shape, or form discomforted. Although I felt pretty comfortable about the lecture I could tell that there were some people that were not ok with the situation. Seeing them like that made me wonder why they felt so taken aback by some of the ideas presented about knowing one’s own body. For example, when Sam said that his sister suggested that each girl should have at least one lesbian experience so they can know their body better, I saw some of the girls around me seem really reserved and even a little offended by the idea. I know it may seem like it is because I am a guy that I was ok with it, but that is not true. I mean I can understand that if they said that a guy should have one gay experience, but I would not go as far as to react in a very dramatic way. Sure I might be a little taken aback but it is not like it is a necessary factor to do and it does not mean I will actually do it. I do not know, I am a guy after all so there might be some things I do not understand about most girls. Now do not get me wrong I am not saying that all the girls reacted in that way. I am just saying that is how the girls that I saw reacted. Overall I liked the lecture, not because it was about sex, but because I found it very interesting.

Well first off I would like to say that I was one of the people that said that I have not witnessed some racist or discriminating situations. Now I am not going to lie if I was in such a situation the way I would react would be a little rash but if one of my friends was being mistreated because of their race, then it would just boil my blood because this guy might be making fun of my friends’ accents or their background. Now do not get me wrong if it was just me they were making fun of then I would not be so rash, but it just frustrates me that I would have to witness something like this if it were to happen. Although I have not witnessed any such events in State College I have, however, witnessed racist situations outside of it and what I see is just plain wrong. I remember this one time 3 years ago I overheard some people in a Mexican restaurant I was at make racist remarks about how the workers are probably some illegal immigrants mooching off the governments money and how they are taking people’s jobs. Now I really could not do anything at the time because they were about 40 years old so I did not want to show any disrespect, and because they were not directly talking to me. I know I should have said something back then but I could not bring myself to do it. it is not that I was scared, it was because I did not have anything to argue with. With all of the things that I have learned in this class I realize that back then I did not know enough about these problems, and with the knowledge I have now I would probably have been able to have a proper argument with them. There is no telling what the outcome would have been but I would be satisfied with just being able to have spoken my mind to them. Now, I did not plan on having a heated argument with them but I would have liked to have talked about this subject that they knew nothing about. Yeah I know that this just sounds like I am trying to make myself seem like a good person, but I am truly being honest. I am not saying that I would treat every confrontation this way but there would be some where I would like to just have a legitimate and intelligent argument about some issues. Of course there are also some situations where I might go off on the person but that just makes me human. No one person can just take insults or see friends or family members be insulted racially by others and not be angered and retort back negatively. Maybe once we can get past this chain of hatred.

In my opinion, I would have to say that the root of these messages comes from the person’s living environment. Sure to some people the logical answer would be that it comes from the media or bad parenting, such as which was stated on Thursday’s class, and that is true to an extent. Each of these factors have had some impact on the young generation. So much so that, as we saw in the doll video, people of the same race as the dark doll considered it to be bad despite the fact that they had the same skin color. Now the reason I say that a person’s (a child for instance) living environment is part of the cause for these messages is because in some areas of the country maybe a dark skinned person that they saw was acting bad, so they saw it and labeled people who look like that as bad. Another example would be that maybe the parents are not very fond of people of color, such as in the movie American History X. near the end of the movie they find out that the root of the older brother’s perspective on colored people is because his father was very racist and kind of molded his son’s brain by saying that his teacher was wrong in everything he teaches because he was black and does not know anything. Sure that can fall under bad parenting but it is also an issue of the boy’s living environment. Everything has an impact on some one. Whether it is a good influence or a bad one depends on how it is portrayed to the one who is being influenced. These influences are then passed on to others without any problem because the person who was exposed to it saw it as a normal thing to say, do, think, or feel. These messages about people of color being bad while white people are portrayed as good are not only due to the environment or bad parenting, it also is seen in the media. There are many shows out there which show black or Hispanic/Latino people as the enemy or the bully against the white person. Do not get me wrong there are some shows where it is the other way around as well, but the most of them are as stated previously. The media just puts in the stereotypes of each person in a show and just broadcasts it on air. Although that maybe true there are still people who are white and colored that find this as good entertainment. Basically we the people are essentially guilty for these messages being sent out to others. Everyone is at fault when we look at it, we just don’t like admitting it so we find it better to blame something else.

Based on the question being asked, as a person of color I would have to say that I do kind of feel some sort of guilt for the disadvantaged freed slaves. I mean it is not like I feel responsible, actually to a certain degree maybe everyone is including me, but what I am trying to say is that there is not much I can do about it. I could donate all the money and necessary resources I can but even that would not be enough to help everyone. I know Sam said that it is better to help at least one person rather than none at all, but that just does not sit right with me because I wish I could do more. Rather than guilt I feel frustrated because we cannot do much, whether it is because people neglect to help people in a different are than them or be it because they believe it is not their responsibility. “Sometimes the world ain’t fair,” at least that is what I have been told every time something that did not go my way, but that is no excuse for what is happening to the freed slaves. I mean seriously, after living a brutal lifestyle for who knows how long, they finally have opportunity of being free and now like the old saying goes, “I got myself out of one hole and fell down another.” This is basically what is happening to them. I really cannot express in words what exactly I want to say but I think it lies somewhere between trying to get more people to care about this situation and trying convince people to actually do something about it. I am still not sure what I want. I do not want to force people into doing something I just want them to think about it for second and actually give it some real thought rather than just give a quick statement and just let it go. I guess it all goes back to the ignorance card and people turning a blind eye to foreign affairs. The point which I want to get across is that people should not feel guilty, but if you do fine but what they should really feel is frustration for not being able to do anything. Not only should they feel frustration for them not being able to do anything, they should also feel frustration for the people who actually have power to do something about not doing anything about it. Guilt does not do anything for anybody. It is only when we take action that it truly matters. Those who just stand there, see the problem and just walk away are just as bad as those who have the power to do something about not do anything. You do not have to do much just do something that benefits them. Even a small thing such as giving pocket change is enough. Do not get me wrong I am not saying that you are a bad person for not doing this. I am just saying that you could do something about it.

I was kind of aware that there was still slavery going on because a few years ago I saw a documentary about how in some parts of Asia there are little kids working as slaves making sneakers. I knew about modern day slavery then but over the years it started to fade away, but after Sam’s lecture I became more aware about again. In my opinion, I really do not thing that people are that unaware of the slavery problem. I mean there have been tons and tons of commercials, media documentaries, and movies that have been made to make people aware. The problem is not that people are not aware; the problem is that people are aware but choose to not do anything about it. They believe that because the problem is situated on a different part of the world, the government or people of that area should deal with it. They think that since it is out of their hands, then there is nothing they can do. They pull out the ignorance card and claim that it is out of their hands. We cannot make the people more aware of the slavery problem because the truth is they are more aware then you think, they just turn a blind eye to it. Fortunately there are some who actually do something about, but just their efforts are not enough. What the people need now is a constant reminder of what is going on outside of their lives. The messages that are sent to the people are just euphemisms; it ignores the main points of the message. I know people do not want to see dead corpses and people being mercilessly built, but without knowing what ACTUALLY happens to these enslaved people then no one will think it is something to be dealt with. In general, people turn a blind eye to what does not affect them and therefore most problems are never dealt with. This is about the only suggestion I have, to make people more aware of modern day slavery. There is not much else that we can do. It all depends on the people’s method of thinking. Whether or not they take action is up to then, all we can do is to try and convince people to help solve this problem which not only do the areas where there is slavery has to deal with but us as well. What we do with the goods that slaves make affects the slaves themselves. If we kept buying slave made goods then it would only encourage the use of slavery and more people would be put into modern day slavery. Now if all the suggestions I have stated above do not work then I honestly do not know what will. Although we cannot control what people do, we can still provide ways in which people things can be done differently.

The whole king of the mountain concept did not really surprise me all that much. I mean I had a pretty good understanding that society was like that, but it did help clear up some gray areas that I did not understand. Other than that, I had a pretty good grasp of the concept. I mean it was kind of obvious, for me that is, that society would follow this type of hierarchal system. The one on top would obviously try to find allies, normally ones similar to its own kind, so that they can gain leverage over a certain majority of people. This system seems to have been quiet effective over the years, with its white leaders still being in power and all. Just as Sam said in class the one t the top which makes the rules are the whites. Now although I admit that this system has been effective, I still do not agree with it. One of the points that Sam brought up was that if World War II had not occurred then we would have had total equality. Just hearing that amazed me and made me think, if we never had that post-war event happen then no one would have tried to get on top. It made me realize that it did not have to be this way at all; instead if WWII never happened then we probably would have avoided all this prejudice and discrimination. Yeah like that would happen. Sure there would have probably been equality, but there would still be people against minorities from gaining rights. People’s hatred is not something which is so easily forgotten. Let us take evolution as an example. If we are really beings evolved for primates then it would be our natural instinct to come out on top, would it not? So it would only be natural for us to behave that way. We all strive to be on top either consciously or subconsciously, it does not matter how. Whether it is to be number one in class, sports, political status, or even in something as trivial as being number one in a game, it is all due to the fact that people do not want to stay where they are. People in general are not satisfied until they have power, and once they do, they just abuse it. Sure there are those who want to gain power to make improvements in life, but when they finally get sometimes the power corrupts them and become engulfed in it. I could say that I do not approve of this whole King of the Mountain concept all day, but the fact of the matter is that even I, either knowing or unknowingly, will follow this method because I may or may not be satisfied with what I have.

The issues of race are something that has been around for quite a while and to get rid of it really depends on the people who make it an issue. However, if you were to ask me then in my honest opinion, no I do not think that we will be able to forget about race. I mean yeah we will do an effort but since race has followed us such a long way and is basically part of our history then I do not think it will go away. Although, I do believe that the severity of race will diminish over time to a point where we can just joke about it and not be bothered by it at all. Like I said in my discussion group, I believe that comedians are people who can look at race and any other stereotype or issue and just laugh about it without a care in the world. If you just say that they say those things without caution because they are protected then I would have to disagree. Comedians are just people who are not afraid to USE their freedom of speech which is an amendment that not only are they entitled to but to us as well. We cannot be afraid to say what we feel because then people will not truly understand us, but even that is only wishful thinking. I know this because I know that people are afraid of being scolded by others. Racism is not the only thing that keeps the race issue around. All this stuff about being Politically Correct also has a role in making race an issue because it is just people trying to talk without saying something offensive to someone of a different race or ethnicity, which in my opinion is not working because in order to do that they HAVE to think about race so that they can avoid it. If all these issues with race existed decades ago then it would not surprise me if it kept on being a problem in the future even with our attempts to get rid of it because even back then they tried dealing with it and while a lot of progress was made back then, not much can be made now. Hopefully there will come a time when future generations can just laugh at it and see it as another obstacle civilization had to overcome. Even though I say this I know that when one problem is resolved another one rises. So yeah I kid of contradict myself in my response but even if in the future race no longer becomes an issue it is only a matter of time before something else is.