It's amazing how so connected we as a beings can be in which the negativity of someone set off by the emotion of sadness can radiate into our hearts and provide for comfort. These people no matter how violent they may seem to be show us what true compassion is when we on the outside sometimes forget what it means to show others that we feel too. There exist this pressing idea that certain characters who you have and may never meet are spawned from evil, the truth is they feel as well. Just like each one of us don't see what the other feels for certain people makes them no different. The problem is that we only see things through our eyes, unfortunately you couldn't even see into the eyes of your father or mother even if you wanted to because deep down the feelings you possess are different. But there exist this connection between us all that no matter who we "prefer" or feel for in our lives we all feel the sympathy and compassion you would for others. We all just choose a different path to follow and make our own mistakes. Just like us when we got in trouble for doing something bad. Our parents sentenced us to our respective punishment, but does that mean that we are not educated respectable individuals able to show compassion and reason? Do you think any president didn't get into trouble in their past? What makes a criminal so different, besides the fact that their crime was considered "heinous"? Aren't we all at times a little heinous? So does that justify the fact that "they can't show compassion"? The fact that we are exactly like these criminals is an idea that can not be percieved in many. Maybe we took the initiative to refrain from doing something extremely bad, which we like the criminals are so capable of committing. They didn't though. They continued on with doing what I believe most of us have thought of or probably without being caught have already done: murdered. Sometimes there are individuals who deserve there punishment because there are people who were just born evil. But that doesn't mean that there aren't a lot of people who just made the wrong decision and regret it ever since. Unfortunately the label placed by us is automatically stamped on them the moment they commit the crime and the become evil. I bet that most individuals who committed some of these crimes are better people than the majority of the people who are on the outside of the bars. We live with these people who on a daily basis carry evil in their back pocket everywhere they go. You know who I'm talking about, the people who feed on greed and evil in their secret ways, but we still consider them to be the educated respectable people because they have not been caught. They're everywhere. Maybe they should be the ones behind bars.

I don't think that education on the menstrual cycle is a man's problem. After reading a few posts on this topic many seem to think: Oh yea we are educated on this but we do not want to hear it. What is that? This is a little hypocritical of some of us. It could be seen as something as us being educated on anything that we do today. We are educated but that does not stop us from wanting to talk about what ever it is that we do. So what is the difference when it comes to talking about these kind of issues? I think the problem here in lies with the maturity levels that, probably more than anything here in the US, males lack. I am a guy, and I see menstruation as a normal thing. It is a regular body function that happens and believe it or not one day we as men are going to have to deal with the fact that our wife has a menstrual cycle and yes she bleeds. I guess me being a foreigner in this country has a great deal to do with my acceptance to this. I have been exposed to certain social customs here that strike me as different but non the less most of them immature. It was funny for me to see this first hand with my girlfriend. She was menstruating while we were having sex and as soon as she saw the blood she freaked out and became embarrassed. Should she? I don't think so. And I told her that her menstruation shouldn't be seen as an embarrassment but something normal. Sure I'll have intercourse while she's on her period, so what! For all I care you could be disgusted by it, but not me, just like Sam. Difference is that we are educated men who are not affected by the way social norms make what is acceptable and what is not. In a way it ticks me off seeing as though no progress is made in college here. Technically we are men, as of our 18th birthday we become men, or so most of us say. Truth is most of us haven't accepted what the world really is about, such as this stupid idea that girls do not poop. It pisses me off because then I get seen in this society as just like every other guy here, and the bottom line is I'm not and probably wouldn't want to embarrass myself with this naive attitude. I got into an intense debate about this very same subject with some other guys. I've come to love periods (Yea I said it). They are my friends. They let me know that I have been acting safe and responsible and not getting my girl pregnant (knock on wood). Plus as weird as this sounds, probably the most intense and passionate sex I've ever had has been with a girl on her period. Not all things turn out to be disgusting in the end.

This is an interesting point that Vinny brings up. How can those who do not consider themselves white, but then again not of color respond to a situation such as this one. In a diverse world that we share here in our community of Penn State, we are surrounded by people of so many different cultures that it may seem nearly impossible to be able to consider every single one that partakes alongside us in our course as a different category. I come from Ciudad Juarez, Chihuahua, which for those of you who do not know is located bordering the city of El Paso, Texas. Now, I do not consider myself white for any category, because I am Mexican in every way possible, but I'm of the physical color of white. People always give me the look and with that same surprised looked tell me: You don't look Mexican. The reason being because of the color of skin that was passed on to me by my ancestry. If people were to understand that not all Mexicans are the typical sterotype, in fact a lot of them are not. My ancestry comes from Spain, but yet I associate with the culture that I was born into and have lived my entire life and that is that of the Mexican culture. But when it comes down to race issues here in the US I do not feel that I fall under the category of white. Last Tuesday during class I did not respond to the whites only post but then did not know whether to respond to the colored post. I personally consider myself a minority in this country. But then again how many others do too. Not everyone in this class might consider themselves white here in the US and might not even consider themselves of color either. Where do we fit in? I came to realize that Sam does not separate based on colored and whites but I feel that in a class that contains people of all around the world the majority, and this being based on the fact that we are currently within the US, can be seen as two races: those of color and those that are white. It is just that on an interesting note that those of us who consider ourselves neither would be more inclined to say consider themselves of color as opposed to white. This does not apply to everyone though, this is based on an observation that I personally along with other who feel the same way understand this situation. To me this brings up another point: Why would we be more inclined to say colored then white? Being one who has been used to being surrounded by Spanish speakers in a social setting, I here at PSU have a majority of friends who are of Hispanic and Latino background and come from countries from anywhere from Venezuela, Peru, Panama, El Salvador,Mexico, Puerto Rico, etc. and the great majority, if not all of them are of white color. But why then would we be more inclined to say that we do not associate ourselves with being white here in the US?

As part of our neurological programming we are donned with this hypothetical keyboard which allow us to write our very mind to fit our capability and needs as we progress through transitions in our lives. Within that "programming" we find basic human instincts which determine our stability as beings, many being our ability to talk, see, eat, etc. Then we find more complex code which we have written which determine our state of being and our ability to assimilate as well as perform, i.e. what trigger emotions, who we hang out with, the hobbies we undertake, etc. Unfortunately the way our programming works is based only on the person writing it. As bad as it is our programming is made for a "me only" society in which case the reason for us programming ourselves to do something only relies on our wants. What a bunch of vain selfish people right? Thing is it is human nature. We care at the instant but as soon as we see it does not pain us in any way directly (of course according to the person) we disregard it and maybe talk about it after, but what is done? The answer is nothing. We as a society live a life without concern unless it affects us directly or someone that falls into our "circle" of life. Unfortunately this is the very same case. Of course we go by living and acknowledge what is going on and we put on the same "Oh my God!" face but that does not dictate our ability to react to these actions. What I mean by a reaction to this is an acknowledgment that allows us to perform. We must stop this "me" programming and transition to the "us" programming. It is easier said than done. We cannot blame ourselves for not caring in the first place because that is the way we think. On the contrary everything that has happened in which we have reaped the benefits there after are directly related to us regardless of how it was given to us and by who. Thus we are to blame as well. We reach a point in which we say: "Well I feel bad but what can I do?" This is usually the breaking point in which we probably 95% of us will drop this question and disregard it because our efforts seem useless. It takes a lot to be someone who reacts fully. We all have that very same capability but because of our "me" mentality we stop at a certain point and give up. So what can you do? We need to change the world. "Oh but that is hard how can I do that?" It is simple. We need to get everyone to accept this issue. The best way to change anything in this society is to hit them where it really will hurt: mentally. Our brains are probably one of the most complex systems that are known and if we can integrate this "us" mentality then we are taking one step closer to changing the world. Going back to what can you do: acknowledge. Once you can complete this take it to others to acknowledge. We do not need to change the world now, but if we can start getting people to change this mentality now future generations which we will produce will have the same to acknowledge and then they will pass it to the next generation. Hopefully when everyone can react mentally to this a physical change can occur and we can change our world. Hypothetically this should work, but we must now take the initiative in accepting a blame which has been placed in our hands and change the way others see it as well.

The following are a few quotes:

“Other things may change us, but we start and end with family”
- Anthony Brandt

"A family is a place where minds come in contact with one another."
-Buddha

"As the family goes, so goes the nation and so goes the whole world in which we live."
-John Paul II

"As to the family, I have never understood how that fits in with the other ideals --or, indeed, why it should be an ideal at all. A group of closely related persons living under one roof; it is a convenience, often a necessity, sometimes a pleasure, sometimes the reverse; but who first exalted it as admirable, an almost religious ideal?"
-Rose Macaulay

We live in a time where words and ideas are no longer our own.

I find it funny how we have words that are pitched around without an understanding of the true meaning behind them. Words that have become loose in meaning have been translated for us and dictated to a norm that is to be our own, i.e. people are defining them for us. Take the quotes that are stated above. What do they have in common? These quotes show us some of the constitutions derived from the embodiment of a complex idea in the form of one word: family. Which brings us to the beg the question: What is a family? A family according to all lingusical sources is a union of a group of individuals who share a mutual place of habitation. Before we continue to dissect the issue further let's stop here for a second.

Take everything that is floating in your mind behind this idea of family and anything else that may be there as well and put it away for a second. Clear your mind. Find a blank white space in your subconscious and picture one thing: a dog. I want you to picture this canine and only this particular one. Concentrate. What an intelligent and magnificent creature. One of purity and strength. With its shortly trimmed brown fur, its stubbed cut tail, majestic pose, a splash of white on its torso, and its genetic black snout that hangs on its sides. I think we can all agree that the dog that we are all thinking about is the boxer! Or is it...? Were we all picturing the boxer before I began to describe it to you? Or at the end did I just inject my dog into your mind and made you think for a second that at the end the dog was a boxer. Take this very same example, but lets change one thing: change the dog to a family. What do you picture?

As we went a bit astray from what we are trying to understand in this introduction, it was essential to take you on a short detour so that you can further understand this argument that will be discovered. The meaning behind words in today's society have taken a turn for the worst as we uncover a different understanding: one of the individual. For years we lived by a meaning that was dictated as a norm for our society, i.e. words were being defined for us and not by us. Who is to tell you what dog you should be thinking about? Who is to tell you what a family is?
This idea that a family is constructed of a mommy and a daddy and the children and grandparents, etc., is an idea that was defined for us to be the norm for our living. Society, its many institutions [religions], and its rulers ["elected officials"] created this idea of an Ozzie and Harriet family in which its a perfect union of its members. But what gives them the right to tell us or anyone for that matter what a family is? "Sorry Billy who lives in an orphanage but those kids that you live with are not your family." "Hey sorry Jen, but those lesbian mothers of yours and yourself do not make a family." Would anyone in the world look into the eyes of these kids and tell them this?

Lets look at one more thing: marriage. When we think about marriage we think about family. They run parallel to each other. Sure a family can be formed by the union of two people who love each other but a family in the eyes of another can not form a perfect union of love? The rule only applies to a man and a woman. Oh yea and a man and his PS3 and a woman with her cat but two women or two men getting married to each other, we can't have that! I find it funny how religion and our political leaders like to step in and give their 2 cents to this assertion of marriage, but look at the quotes stated above. Since when should a marriage and a family be defined by our government/religion? Where does it say that a family can only be made up of a man and a woman in marriage? No where. Then why can we except LGBT families but not marriages? Problem is that unfortunately those two cents of Bull$#% that they feed us is worth gold in this society and people are afraid to give it up. Just like the dog example, the family is this day and age is the boxer.

Misinterpretation is a big issue in the world we live in. Take a moment to situate yourself in that very same flight. Your searching for your seat, same procedure as always, you find it and sit down. Just like anyone possibly flying alone your sitting there waiting, a wait that everyone takes in which they engage an inter debate on trying to find out who's going to be the one who may choose to or not partake in conversation with you to pass the time. A young man sits down next to you. He seems normal, friendly and possibly a little tired from flying all morning long. As the airplane is taking off the young man pulls out these little black boxes and starts wrapping these cords around him. Being a person who is not culturally aware of the ancient Jewish traditions you freak out, as well as everyone sitting around you. Soon the whole plane is in commotion and the pilot is setting tracking coordinates to land the plane. The young man is then escorted out as well as the flight at the time cancelled. Now imagine that you were in that very same position but lets change things up for a moment. The young man is still sitting next to you but instead of the teffilin lets change what he had to a rosary and a bible. Would you still freak out? Would the plane have been landed as though it were an emergency? Would there have been the same misinterpretation of cultural tradition?

I’m not here to state that this was wrong but to bring up a point that society here has been lead astray to the border of social panic when it comes to anything strange that does not sit with your understanding or open mind on what may seem bizarre but is something accepted in other parts of the world. I brought up the point of the rosary because if you were to see that no one would have freaked out and it all would have been normal -- just another Catholic praying the rosary.

I have a Jewish friend from Panama here who prays with teffilin every morning. I have been able to observe this but I did not freak out. Being from Mexico I grew up more aware of the foreign and "bizarre" being that we have customs that we partake in that may seem weird and strange to others. Non-the less I still partake in these things even though they may seem weird. The US has been oppressed from understanding of the outside world not because it may not be common but because we have this fear that today might be our last day as if it were a bad thing. So anything that may seem to be a possible danger to them with an air of social paranoia they freak out. If this were not on an airplane this possibly would have been averted.

What I am trying to bring out in this is awareness, be it that my argument may not be as in depth as it should, be aware that there are things out there that should not disturb your state of conscious being. I want to leave you with a thought. What if we were a culture that grew up with utilizing the teffilin? What if someone pulled out a bible and a rosary in an airplane during a time in which paranoia takes part of our social life? Would we still have reacted in the same way if someone started practicing some form of meditation that was in every way foreign to us? We possibly would.

Carmona