This is a very very hard topic to deal with. When speaking about this question the first thing that I would look at is the term “racist”. It is defined as the belief that a person’s race solely determines their traits and characteristics and therefore racial differences produce superiority and inferiority. After visiting those third world countries you said that you came back feeling as you had a much better chance to succeed than these people and you have a greater chance to affect the world. To me those feelings seem completely natural. After seeing how these countries are and how the citizens live through a daily struggle it is perfectly normal to relate this to your life and see just how lucky we actually are. We simply live in completely different circumstances than these people and this is nobodys fault. We were born here and given an amazing opportunity to do good for this world. This is completely unrelated and is in no way being a racist. Just because there are less fortunate countries than the one we live in does not mean everyone living in our country is a racist. Yet if instead you visited maybe a developed country in Europe such as France or Spain and interacted and learned how colored citizens of these countries lived and still came back with these feelings it could be seen as racist. The key difference that I see in the two is that the citizens of the third world country do not nearly have the resources or oppurtunities that we do to affect this world. Therefore you feel as if you are superior to these people simply because of their living circumstances and not their race. Yet if you visited a country such as France and came back feeling as if the colored people there simply could not succeed as much as you could and are inferior to you, that would be seen as racist. So to answer your question I think there is a big difference in your feelings when you returned and seeing those feelings as racist.
The subject of racism is very very touchy and hard for people to discuss. Is there anyone in the world who sees no race? Is there someone who complete sees the world on an even scale? To be honest I don’t see that as possible. It is human nature to see differences in people. Whether you are ignorant and see the differences in race and feel as if this is a determinant of traits and characteristics. Yet, if you see differences in people simply for who they are than I do not see that as racist. With that being said, this class is teaching me very much on how I can better see the world evenly.

this post is very accurate. it seems that almost all examples in the class are related between white or black/brown. it did not seem that this was the case as much in the beginning of the semester but i feel we have moved away from speaking about asains in lecture. like mqp5040 stated i feel that as a society we dont do a good job recognizing and distinguishing between Asians and Asian-Americans. There are big differences between the two but it is looked over by much of society often. Then again our society as a whole also does a terrible job recognizing differences between chinese and asians and all the different countries and cultures they come from. I feel many times we just mix these people together and tend to not see them as individuals but simply as "chinese" or "asians". This is just one example though and may simply be my view. I do not know what asians themselves think as they may see white people in the same light. They make not distinguish between a german-american or italian-american or an american from the south as opposed from an american from the north.
If there is one thing that i will take from this class it is to learn to see the differences in these cultures and ethnicities.

After watching this flip video I realized I had many opinions on the subject and that this was a good topic for me to respond to. I feel I have encountered many situations like this in my teenage year as my high school was very diverse. It seemed as though white was the minority. It was almost flipped from the norm that whites are the majority in hall ways and classrooms. It always seemed that when a white person acted out in a bad way such as getting into a fight or causing a scene with a teacher it was a bigger deal than when a colored person would do the same. This seemed to be prevelant through out the schools at events such as basketball and hockey games. It also seemed as if they had much better relationships with the people of authority such as security guards and police. If i wanted I could continue on the differences I noticed but I dont feel that is important. The point I am trying to make is that the class has taught me alot already. I believe now that their was no difference in reactions to the actions of both whites blacks and browns but it was only how we percieved it. We had been taught our whole life about racism and segregation and all of this and this only made us more aware of the racial differences. We've been taught how in the past races were treated and looked at differently and sometimes we become guilty of doing so ourself. If this class has taught me one thing its that everything is just peoples individual opinions and views.

Since coming to school here I have noticed the difference in peoples views and opinions on different races. Because there is not nearly as much diversity here at Penn State as there was in my high school, people and much different views. People seem to be almost uneducated on the subject of race and try to hide behind it through political correctness like talked about in class. But again what I have learned in this class is that their is no fault that there is a difference in how people view race because everyone is raised differently and we cannot determine right or wrong. Here at Penn State I dont seem to notice much difference in reactions to the actions of different races. This video and instance is actually one of the first times I have noticed it. This may be because people just have different views but I feel it simply is because of the lack of diversity here. Like stated in class Penn State is 84% percent white and sometimes we dont even realize it. I just want to show that there is much to learn in class no matter where we come from and how we were raised.

this article on the Lemba clan of South Africa was very interesting. while reading i found many parts that i was skepticle about and didnt seem quite right. these people have been around for hundreds of years and have a very deep system of beliefs. they practice such things as circumcision and ritually slaughtering animals, which other groups from their country don't tend to do so much. i feel this would lead to a strong belief in their culture and ways yet what disturbed me is that after reading that they were so in touch with their judaism ways, they were still so shocked and happy from the results of the DNA testing and the locating of the ancient artifact. if they believed in their ways so deeply, why did they need these findings to prove to themselves their own existence? also, why if they have been around for so long and the DNA research being completed many years ago, is this surfacing now?

aside from the weird findings in the article, i also thought there were many interesting parts. such as how they are deeply rooted in judaism ways and culture, yet christianity is the religion for many of the clan members. i find this strange yet very interesting. I relate to this a little in that I am a presbyterian. we follow much of the same culture as christians and roman catholics, yet our religion is far from the same.

another very interesting part was how the culture changes by generation and each generation adds more and more. the son of a well known elder in the clan is set to break out of the mold and marry outside of their clan which typically was frowned upon before. this shows how cultures evolve and change all the time. in 100 years from now the Lemba clan may look and speak completely different, yet at the same time still have their sacred prayer language and deep judaism ties. this is exactly how the clan began in the first place as stated in the article. you can see in this in everyday life even in america. the culture we live in is completely different than the culture our parents were brought up in and one thing that may have been accepted when they were our age is completely unacceptable now. the world is constantly growing and evolving as each new generation becomes more knowledgeable and grows. it will be very interesting to see the world that we bring our kids up in as it will most likely be very very different from the world we are living in each day. the smallest of events can have the biggest impact and that is why every life in the world is important.

growing up I was never around homosexual couples much. I never talked to my parents or older siblings about the subject and because of this i did not know much about the topic. as i grew older and i became a teenager some could say i was ignorant about the topic. terms like "fag" and "homo" were constantly used throughout my groups of friends and i saw nothing wrong with it. I never had a problem with gay couples but wouldnt think twice about using such words. As i grew older i became more educated on the subject and saw that there was a problem with using these terms.
It also definitely baffles me in how people see such a difference in lesbian and gay couples. in essence their is no difference, yet everyday guys look at lesbian couples and may even be attracted, yet will turn their head and see a gay couple and throw up in their mouth. like emc5178 said, it may be because a guy who could never see themselves as being with another man couldnt imagine how other guys could be. yet because they are not women, they see nothing wrong in two girls being together.
I have learned much about the subject in this class and look forward to continuing to expand my knowledge on the issue.

although I feel that Brooks may be right in his views and ideas of the "White Messiah" in Hollywood, I think it is unnecessary to focus to much attention on this plot line. The movie Avatar, which did have the so called "White Messiah" and other related plot lines, was meant to bring awareness to these subjects. Aside from being a groundbreaking movie in terms of visual effects and cinematography, James Cameron put themes in his movie that he knew would upset people and cause controversy but that is the way he wanted it. He wanted to stir up conversation on how the movie in many ways relates to our country now. He used the epic visual effects, animation and setting to grab attention of all viewers, but once the movie was seen, alot more was taken from it then cool images. He wanted the nation to talk about topics that relate to the movie such as how for many years America depended on the Middle East for oil and now we are at war with them. Also about how when things go wrong in the nation we are very quick to use our military power.

I do not agree that Cameron solely used this "White Messiah" theme to drive his movie or even that it was a main point in the movie. It simply worked into what Cameron was trying to get across in his movie and what he wanted to teach the viewers. The movie, whether looked at from a political side or artistic side, was amazing either way.

I also agree with giaquinto in that the movie was not as much about the white mans burden and "white messiah" as it was about money. The only reason the two cultures interacted was because we were in search of money. It showed that the white people will do anything to gain money and in turn do anything to move upwards in society. If the indigenous people had decided to move and let the white men harvest their "gold" no deaths would have occured. But it could not simply happen that way and when the people decided they would not move, the white men decided the money they would recieve was far more valuable than these peoples lives. Although not right of fair, it is true. People will do anything for money and a rise in society. That is what America has always been about and always will be about. That being said Avatar was an amazing movie. James Cameron was able to script together the artistic value and all the epic special effects, with the deep plot with many political statements. I would recommend this movie to everybody.

Although there is much racism and hatred in this video and much much more than we would ever see at an event in USA, i see the racism and hatred differently. I disagree with it 100 percent and watching some of those video clips made me sick to my stomach, but this racism is different than a white guy making those remarks to Thierry Henry in the streets. In the mind of a die hard sports fan, the reason those racist remarks are being throw at those players is not solely because they have hatred towards that race or ethnicity, but because at any cost the fan wants to give his team an edge. When you see players such the one who picked up the ball and would not continue, that is the reason the fans are engaging in these actions. By yelling and screaming at these players it takes their focus off of the game and makes their team weaker.

In no way do I condone the actions of these fans, but i see it in a different light. They know how angry they can make these players and they really do have the ability to alter even the best player in the worlds game. A die hard fan would go any length to give his team the slightest edge. In America we do not see fans as crazy and loyal to their teams as we do in Europe. You see this is things such as when fans have gone even as far as murdering opponents of other teams. Just last March an Iraqi was shot and killed on the field while attempting a penalty shot. This just goes to show that for some fans there love for their team far outways their sense of judgement.

Again in no way do i think these actions are right or justified in anyway I just wanted to throw this different viewpoint out there and see how people react. after all thats kinda what this whole class is about. it is interesting that this topic came up now especially with the world cup coming in June. This is time being in South Africa there will be a much greater number of minorities in attendence than in the past few world cups. It will be interesting to see how FIFA will handle the racism at this upcoming event.

One thing that is aside from the racism coming from the fans is the racism shown by the Spain coach. much backlash came from his actions as it was deserved, yet he does not feel he did anything wrong and I can see where he is coming from. He says he is not a racist person at all and has friends of all ethnicity, yet he was using the slurs to simply fire up his team. again i dont agree with this just see where he is coming from

Tyler Schmitt

I can relate to Laurie in many ways. When I hear that Jesus died for me and my sins I don't think much of it. I don't think of Jesus and his actions before I decide to sin or commit a wrongdoing. Many times I also think in my head to find ways to justify my poor actions and find peace in myself.

Yet when events like this occur it makes me stop and think about the people who are being affected. Nobody asked for these events to occur but they did and nothing can be changed. I think to myself that if I was a citizen of Haiti and this occured to me, my life would be completely altered. I also then think that this could happen to every single one of us on any given day. That thought alone is what makes me change. It makes me think of every action I make even typing this blog now. We are so lucky just as Dr. Richards stated in class, no matter how poor we may be.

When catastrophes like this do occur, i think back on religion and Jesus and I feel he did really die for us. Whether for our sins or not, we learned from his death and that was our gain. When catastrophes like this occur, I also believe that their is a reason for it. As we all scramble to help the victims in anyway possible, while doing so we need to realize that change must come from these events. It is easy to donate $100 and continue to be the same person you always have been, but when the help you give out is able to change your ways, that is when your help is most valuable.

College communities such as the one we are in also help us to realize this. With the effort all of the students here at Penn State put into events such as THON, we see that people do gain from giving help to others. It has the ability to change everyone and that is why everyone should become involved in some sort of volunteer work at some point in their lives. By doing so not only do people make the world around them a much better place, but they make themselves that much better as well. If we strive to do this everyday in someway or another the world will continue to become a better place. Also when events like this do occur, the world will be ready to step in and strongly aid in recovery.

I myself will definitely be working harder to help others each and everyday. Whether it be a large task or small, anything can help, and by helping others your helping yourself.