I didn't even have to really think about this to come up with an answer. Usually I watch the video at least twice but this time it seemed pretty clear to me. Minority groups look out after there people because they know or think that the majority groups won't. Usually minority groups are the oppressed and they don't expect other groups to look out for them. They go by the "Look out for ourselves, because if we don't no one else will" type of mentality. I'm not saying its the right way to think of things, I'm simply saying it is how things are...and we can't deny that it is the logical way of approaching the situation. Oppressed groups only depend on each other because they feel that those within the group are the only ones capable of empathizing. I personally, felt just as bad for the white woman as I would for anybody of my minority group. In all actuality I think in a way I empathized more with the white woman simply because it is not something I'm use to seeing or hearing about, no one is. We often think about whites as the majority groups and fail to acknowledge that some are in poverty and live in some really horrible conditions. That's why I was surprised by the scenario and because poor whites are actually more ignored than poor minority groups. The stereotype is that minority groups are most of the poverty population. The media has bombarded us with images of poor blacks and poor hispanics. They have engraved into our heads that minority groups equal poverty. So although I might have more emotional ties to someone of my own minority group, I will not be as surprised because it is what society has exposed me to and it is what I am use to seeing. I would however feel a unique sadness because I've seen first hand what people of my group must go through and when you are able to relate with personal experiences, your always able to empathize just a bit more. Now i don't think that because minority groups focus more on their well being that they don't care about America as a whole, they are simply looking out for themselves. Racial discrimination and stereotypes is what makes certain groups not care about others. Things like these make racial groups feel as if the rest of America doesn't have their back. Until we get rid of stereotypes and racial discrimination, which I doubt will ever actually happen, no one will be able to care for everyone equally. I look forward to a world were everything is equal and when everyone equally wants the well-being of others. Its hard to say if we will ever stop being categorized into these "groups". I hate the feeling of hopelessness situations like these give me....Its like i want to help...but if you really think about it...there isn't much you could do.

During this exercise, my initial thought without any contemplation or consideration was to save my child. I don't know if it is weird that I didn't feel the least bit conflicted or confused about who to save. I even said to my friend next to me, "That's a no brainer...he should of made it difficult...like maybe a sibling instead or something". My reason for choosing my child over all the other options is simply that my mother and my husband have already lived there life, and obviously have lived more of a life than my child. Therefore, saving them, and them letting me save them would be selfish. Because in the perfect scenario, my mother would obviously not let me and not want me to save her, and my husband would want me to save our child instead, because obviously they've lived longer and it would be selfish of them to even consider saving
themselves over a child. Yet, I must admit, that when our guest speaker said child, I immediately pictured a child no older than 4 years old. So with this sympathetic picture, it was without a doubt that the obvious person to save is the child. Yet, I wonder how my thinking process would of changed if my child was older. Maybe, I wouldn't of had an automatic answer, and I would of weighed out the alternatives more. But what makes it a different. Why do the circumstances and situations change when your child becomes your 35 year old son who is married with kids? At the end of the day, he is still your son and your mother and husband have still lived longer than he has. It's funny, because I think a lot of students actually pictured their son or daughter as no older than 8 years old. Why?..I also would like to point out how it seemed wrong to me that people were saying things like, "well I can make another baby..or kid". Like I said, what if your kid was already old? But what really strikes me is the many responses that portrayed people as easily replaceable. Like "So, you can find another man", "You could make another baby" . It was quite astonishing to hear and consider other perspectives like those. Especially perspectives that had a different choice than mine and perspectives that I probably would have never considered. Hearing that saving your husband or significant other as opposed to your own child was just never an option to me. I'm one of those people that like to think that their mom or husband wouldn't let them do it. So to hear that, I automatically judged and thought that the female speaking was needy. && the people who chose their mothers, although I can relate because your mom was the one who raised you, taught you, fed you, and dealt with you, in my opinion you should still chose your kid because you'd want to provide the same that was provided to you..for someone else.

This is a very interesting question. The whole notion of a girl having to "respect" herself is a socially constructed concept and is in the midst of the set gender roles society has giving to a female. Of course one cannot deny that these "values" stemmed from religious views and notions, like many other concepts and beliefs in our society. In America the role of a female has mixed concepts, we are stuck between traditional gender roles which would emphasize a patriarchic society and modern gender roles which have a big emphasis on individualism and female expression. This "independent" movement has confused our views of what the female role is suppose to be like sexually. Is she expected to be conservative or flirty? Submissive or independent? Cover up or dress however she feels? How can you possibly be disrespecting yourself if your holding up to the view of the independent modern woman. This may be disrespectful to all those who uphold the traditional expectations of the woman. Respect simply means admiration, how do you not admire yourself by expressing your individuality, wearing what you please, not following society's socially constructed concepts of how you are suppose to behave and suppose to act? It just seems so brain washy to use a word like respect, it implies that everyone is upholding these traditional expectations for women that are inevitably tied to religious values, not everyone is religious, not everyone still believes in the submissive, non flirty woman, who all are religious and they all admire themselves or "respect" themselves by covering up their body. So in our society of mixed views and mixed messages...(i.e we see half naked women on TV who are very sexually expressive and do whatever they feel like but we aren't suppose to emulate them, or are we under the right conditions) it's very clear why a female walking down in a bikini or a tiny skirt may send a reaction of "no respect for herself" when in reality you can admire yourself very much. So i don't know if it is that the Muslim women actually admire themselves more than American women or is it maybe that Muslim women abide strictly by the traditional, patriarchic, and religious conditions of what is respectful or admiring one self. I do however must admit that their idea of getting to know someone's inner personality as opposed to simply talking to someone because of their attractiveness or looks is something I have to admire and respect. It is no secret that many men today in American society simply talk to a woman because of her looks only to find out later on that they have nothing in common and hate their personality. So in this aspect, the way Muslim women attract men, simply by their personality is something I can look to with admiration.

Will there ever be a world free of racism and bias people. Well as long as there are stereotypes are dreams of a utopic society are more than just a long shot. These socially constructed stereotypes that WE CHOOSE to follow and believe in have a bigger part in our lives than we choose to acknowledge. What we know and learn unconsciously takes part in determining the way our mental process will go and what thoughts and actions will come to mind. We may not be racist but the fact that we are exposed to many racist stereotypes and in some way have racist expectations, we will act and do things that will lead us to do things that to the outside world will look as pure racism. When we watched that video in class about the man trying to steal the bike I not only thought the people's reaction was very interesting and had much to say but I also found myself astonished by my reaction, more because I am a minority and you would think that stereotypes don't cross over so deeply to minority groups. When I first saw the white male, I simply thought it was kind of funny. The answers he was giving to people along with the reactions were actually making me laugh. I wasn't really surprised that not a lot of people thought to stop. But then, when the black kid came on, I already knew what to expect and knew there would be a problem with him. Yet my initial reaction was oh, but you see it's because they dressed him differently, that's fucked up, he looks ghetto.! Then I heard the commentator say "dressed in the same way"...and I was actually confused. It wasn't until they showed the white male again in the same type of clothing that I realized they actually were dressed identical. Why didn't I acknowledge this? Is it because I am subconsciously looking to reaffirm the stereotype. Why did the black kid look ghetto to me yet the white male simply looked casual. I was perplexed by this. I couldn't comprehend why the same type of clothing looked more deviant in the black kid. Why were his responses not provoking humor? I was confused at how without me wanting or knowing, my mind had actually reaffirmed the stereotype of the deviant black kid dressed in ghetto clothing, looking for crime and not abiding by the rules. This probably was what everyone in the video was experiencing. Since this isn't the stereotype for white males, it was actually confusing and sort of weird to see a white male doing something like this. It was had to even label it "deviant". So when I hear about this story of how the county schools just don't get caught, I am not the least bit surprised. It is just one more way to keep the white supremacy thing going on. Others create these stereotypes, we choose to believe them or even if we don't are still exposed to them, and without realizing it let it control our lives and be a way to be quietly racist, because we all know it isn't fair that white people get to get away with things black people can't. Although this is unfair, what are we going to do, I didn't even realize my own mind did this, If i couldn't control my own thought process how am I suppose to do anything about this. As long as these stereotypes are around, this will go on.

As i said in class, I grew up in a hispanic dominated area. In fact my whole county was basically a hispanic area. Growing up, I thought I was growing up in a pretty diverse neighborhood, but I soon came to realize that a lot of minorities doesn't classify as diverse. In all actuality there were little to no white people in my school. Blacks had a significantly higher proportion in my school which was significantly higher than whites, but still, no where near comparison to the hispanics. So in all reality my school wasn't diverse, we did not have a fair amount of everything. Hispanics were the Majority, blacks were the middle, and whites were by far the minority. My vision of the whole world was pretty narrow, and I actually was in stage 3 for most of my elementary and high school years, the whole "hispanics stay together...show your hispanic pride" was more than evident in my community and especially in my school. The only thing that opened my eyes a little was when I moved for six months to a what you would call "white" area that was only 15 minutes away. That was when I was introduced into a whole new world. Going from that majority to minority in a matter of one day was so confusing. It definitely moved me forward a few stages and once I moved back to my old school I saw things completely differently. I was actually a bit disgusted at the way we "stuck together"....I realized that the "hispanic pride" was actually a shield. A way to separate us from them and gain "Strength". I started to noticed the white jokes, and the "gringo" remarks that I really actually never thought much of. I was born into stage 3 and i feel like a lot of hispanics are. I was sent to the dominican republic every year since I was one and lived a constant battle between my mother and father focused on which heritage to uphold. "You're Puerto rican....no no...you're dominican...show your pride." So although I may have gone through the innocent stage one, I was simaltaneously always living stage 3 and continued n stage 3 in high school until I eventually moved onto stage 4. Now of course I've let those stages go and I feel like I'm at a crossroads between stages 5 and 6. Sociology has made me hate the world. Its funny how although I acknowledged the stages white people go through, I couldn't really relate to all. I did ofcourse Identify with one or two but I really couldn't say "oh yeah i completely went through that". Although it was easy for me to see how a white person could. Then as soon as the minority stages came on...I was so quick to identify. I wonder if that's how white people feel. What I'm getting at is that it's really interesting how we want to all be considered equal but we can't ever deny that we are different. Even the stages we must go through about a certain topic like race are completely different for one another. Why can't we all go through the same stage process? Will there ever be a time where we can all identify with the same process? Until then....these different stages are another way of separating us.

My perspective on war has changed a whole lot, and has been changing for quite a while. I always looked at it with hypocrisy not to mention killing isn't something I'm very fond of, but after tuesday and thursdays classes, Sam really put it into perspective for me. We honor men who've died that may have actually killed many others? But then when they honor men it's a problem? It goes back to the rudimentary..."put yourself in someone else's shoes" that we all have had such troubles with since a very young age. If it isn't about us, we don't wish to acknowledge it deeper. We will always make excuses for ourselves when things go wrong and blame external forces, but when it comes to other people, we never make excuses and always look to internal forces. I don't think I've ever actually understood things or really sat down and looked at things from there perspective...from the "these christian" perspectives. "They are praying to their god that they don't die, but that we die"....It was truly an eye opener. Its one of those things you always knew, but you never really sat down and thought about, and now that it is brought to light, your amazed, as if you never knew it. I was also really shocked by the distasteful videos of wrecking that taxi mans car and pushing the car onto the road because he wouldn't move. The whole class really made me think a lot about things, especially about hearing the first hand experiences from the war. I know sam says that empathy is key, and it really is but so is knowledge. Ignorance and the inability to empathize are such disgusting factors that can really turn this world upside down, for the worst of course ( as it already has in numerous occasions.) What really kind of annoyed me though was the truth, that this is in fact, very much about oil. What are we still doing over there? This may have began with a war on terrorism, but this is actually about oil. && like sam said, can you imagine people coming into your country and killing for oil. Sociology has really made me hate this world and think that its one big fucked up piece of work. There are so many hypocritical problems that sociology brings to light, and as hard as it may be to face the truth, you really can't ignore it, which at times is the hard part. Once you embrace these issues as reality, the even harder part, is accepting and acknowledging, that there is absolutely NOTHING you can do to change them, these beliefs and ways are built on tons of years of socialization and expected norms, and it's just the way things are...fucked up. Sad to say that this is how war is too, although we know the solution, "empathy"...will that ever really happen. Will people ever sit down and settle things, will we stop trying to be bullies, keep a war going over a resource that will eventually end? Will ignorance ever end, every time people see a muslim they will automatically assume terrorist, and that is not something that can be removed over night. The hatred, the ignorance, lack of empathy, and once sided views will always be there and I feel like it's just another thing we have to accept. Although it sucks...its the way things are.

My perspective on war has changed a whole lot, and has been changing for quite a while. I always looked at it with hypocrisy not to mention killing isn't something I'm very fond of, but after tuesday and thursdays classes, Sam really put it into perspective for me. We honor men who've died that may have actually killed many others? But then when they honor men it's a problem? It goes back to the rudimentary..."put yourself in someone else's shoes" that we all have had such troubles with since a very young age. If it isn't about us, we don't wish to acknowledge it deeper. We will always make excuses for ourselves when things go wrong and blame external forces, but when it comes to other people, we never make excuses and always look to internal forces. I don't think I've ever actually understood things or really sat down and looked at things from there perspective...from the "these christian" perspectives. "They are praying to their god that they don't die, but that we die"....It was truly an eye opener. Its one of those things you always knew, but you never really sat down and thought about, and now that it is brought to light, your amazed, as if you never knew it. I was also really shocked by the distasteful videos of wrecking that taxi mans car and pushing the car onto the road because he wouldn't move. The whole class really made me think a lot about things, especially about hearing the first hand experiences from the war. I know sam says that empathy is key, and it really is but so is knowledge. Ignorance and the inability to empathize are such disgusting factors that can really turn this world upside down, for the worst of course ( as it already has in numerous occasions.) What really kind of annoyed me though was the truth, that this is in fact, very much about oil. What are we still doing over there? This may have began with a war on terrorism, but this is actually about oil. && like sam said, can you imagine people coming into your country and killing for oil. Sociology has really made me hate this world and think that its one big fucked up piece of work. There are so many hypocritical problems that sociology brings to light, and as hard as it may be to face the truth, you really can't ignore it, which at times is the hard part. Once you embrace these issues as reality, the even harder part, is accepting and acknowledging, that there is absolutely NOTHING you can do to change them, these beliefs and ways are built on tons of years of socialization and expected norms, and it's just the way things are...fucked up. Sad to say that this is how war is too, although we know the solution, "empathy"...will that ever really happen. Will people ever sit down and settle things, will we stop trying to be bullies, keep a war going over a resource that will eventually end? Will ignorance ever end, every time people see a muslim they will automatically assume terrorist, and that is not something that can be removed over night. The hatred, the ignorance, lack of empathy, and once sided views will always be there and I feel like it's just another thing we have to accept. Although it sucks...its the way things are.

When i saw the picture at first, I was kind of surprised that this would be a blog response. I lost sense of reality for a few seconds and believed that we lived in an accepting society. I literally thought, aw he came back from the army, two gay men kissing, so what...what am i suppose to say about this? Then I slowly came back to reality and realized that this world isn't completely accepting of a homosexual couple. In fact, there are many people who strongly oppose this (which i find completely immature seeing how it is none of their business). Yet as i came back to reality, I was curious to see the clip and whether or not it was tied along with any negative connotations. I was more than surprised to see that it really wasn't, that everyone on the table was trying to be politically correct and voice there acceptance of gays. Yet i would like to not that although i accept the gay community, I cant shy away from the "gay" label. I said so what..and I mentally categorized them as "two gay people kissing" and although it is not abnormal for me to see it, I do automatically categorize it as "accepted but different" and i feel like a lot of people do still do that. Although this is more commonly accepted today, there is still a large number of people who cannot stand to see or hear about this because it is not the "norm". But this norm of a heterosexual couple is socially constructed, and it is a social construction we fail to see but succeed in believing in. Who is anyone to define what a couple should be like properly. It is obviously not the only form of a couple because there wouldn't be different variations if it was. There wouldn't be tendencies for some to like the same sex if we were all biologically engineered to ONLY be heterosexual. That's why it kind of bothers me when things like this become viral. They are meant to shock people and be tied with "omg! look they are different and they flaunt it". It shows how we haven't fully accepted the idea of the gay couple, because if so, this would be overlooked not gaining attention. I mean the picture is a beautiful thing, they are reunited after confessing there feelings for each other, great, but you know that if this would have been a heterosexual couple they would not have received even a minimal of the attention that they are getting. So in a way yes we are moving forward and the world is changing but at the same time there is a sense of distinction that will always be tied into homosexuals because they are not and will always be different from the "norm". Yet, the beauty of socially constructed ideas are that they have the ability of changing over time, although heterosexual marriage is one that has stayed pretty consistent i would like to see in the future what the definition of marriage is and if homosexual marriage even becomes widely accepted throughout states. Times are definitely changing, but we can only tell how much change actually happened after a few years have gone by.

A stereotype is a stereotype. Whether good or bad. It's a widely held generalized idea about a particular thing, in this case asians being smart, and by doing that, by stereotyping, we are thus stripping asians of their individuality. Yes at first the stereotype may seem positive. "How can this be bad?" "We are saying good things about them, not bad"...but have you really thought about exactly how "good" this stereotype is. In elementary schools and high schools, being smart is associated with being nerdy and we all know that there is a significance different between being viewed as smart or nerdy. The fact that all asians may quickly be viewed as nerdy by other races and ethnicities is problematic, so much so, that they are more likely to be bullied than any other race as seen in class. In elementary school, no one wants to be friends with a nerd but everyone is quick to pick on or make fun of the nerd. Maybe even use the nerd to their advantage. So how can it be positive that we have generalized and created a "good" stereotype only so society can use it to their advantage in a negative way. The fact that asians are more likely to be bullied than hispanics or blacks doesn't show how this stereotype can some how be beneficial.
Like I said before, a stereotype is a stereotype and once aware of it you feel the obligation to uphold or prove the stereotype incorrect. It's the stereotype threat and the pressure of breaking a positive stereotype and the pressure of affirming a negative one. How can pressure be positive on any group of people? Let's face it, not all asians are smart, not all germans are nazi's, not all white men are racist, not all blacks are criminals, so then why is it ok to feel pressured into affirming something that actually isn't true. A stereotype cannot in any way be positive, because although it may at first glance seem positive, there are always negative connotations, to the race in question and others around it. As i mentioned earlier, because Asians are expected to be smart they will be treated in a particular way by others, as seen in middle schools and elementary schools. Their peers will look to make the stereotype have a negative connotation, teachers might feed into the stereotype and actually help asian students more than others, or be more lenient towards them because, "they know they can do better". Stereotypes are what keep inequalities and discrimination alive. Their is actually no such thing as a "positive" stereotype. It can always be manipulated to benefit certain people or not. As long as we continue to have stereotypes we will continue to have discrimination and inequaities. Stereotypes are in no way a "good" or "positive" thing.

One can't deny that we learn more through life experiences than through lectures. You are comparing apples and oranges, knowledge of class material as opposed to knowledge of a transcendent world are complete different things. One is concrete and applied to specific material yet the other is learned, interpreted, and exhibited. Whatever form you come to acquire knowledge, wisdom or enlightenment, whatever, it is, the way you came to it is irrelevant compared to what you took away from it. If you gained something, and actually feel like you know something of use that you didn't use prior, then regardless of how you came about it, you gained some knowledge. If the shaman feel that they acquire knowledge and that it is useful in their lives, then by all means, let them do the things they do that lead them to acquire knowledge.
Real life experiences are able to teach you things that the books can't. There are many things that you did not learn in school or even through your parents, but you exhibit that behavior everyday. Whether it was an observation made or trial and error on certain things, you've gained knowledge as to how this society operates and what different approaches are acceptable and to whom. There are certain things that textbooks can't necessarily teach you, not even by instruction can you learn these things, it is just something one will comprehend through real life experiences. Like when your parents use to say "your too young to understand" you probably got frustrated, yet as you got older you probably saw things differently and in a different light. No matter how many times your parents told you that you wouldn't comprehend, you didn't believe them. It wasn't until you got older and saw things from different perspectives that you were able to fathom what they were saying. This is a perfect example as to why we can't judge nor comprehend the way the shamans get knowledge nor the knowledge itself. It is something foreign to us, and one shouldn't comment on something with such authority if they haven't experienced it. How can you claim something to be false if you haven't at the least done your research, or know what there talking about. There knowledge and the way the acquire it is relevant to the shamans everyday life, and if it useful to them, it is knowledge learned and gained.
Also, in my country I've witnessed a lot of spiritual things. So its not that I'm an easy believer but I'm not an ignorant doubter either. Before one can judge on something I think it's best to know a bit of history one the subject at matter. Which is why I plan to do a little bit of research on the shamans and see what they are all about. The way sam described it along with the double helix thing seems pretty amazing and I'd like to read and learn more about it.