Because your thinking is based off of situational facts, I do not consider it racist. You are not declaring yourself a superior race or person based off of subjective information, rather you are basing it on your position in the world. You have many more resources in your life than they will probably ever have which is potentially saddening because you have probably met great people who you can relate to once you remove your economic status from the picture. I think a racist thinker is one who, if put in the same economic situation as the other person, would still consider themselves to be superior.

The farther removed you are from an incident, the less you feel connected to it. If those were 300,000 Americans that died, we would all feel more compelled to do something because we share a common nation, a common ideal. I don't think this makes us bad people, but it does open our eyes. Even putting it in perspective and relating it back to ourselves makes us realize what we can do and compels some of us to action. It is a very selfish tendency, but it is the result of our ethnocentric thinking. We cannot change how we are raised to think, but we can change the way we respond to this thinking.

This letter serves as such an eye opener to me. I have never any direct or indirect contact with a “lifer,” but I, probably just like most people, have my own stereotypes and judgments about them. I have also struggled with and gone back and forth with my opinion on the death penalty. The reason I sometimes support it is when I hear of a heinous crime and think the perpetrators to be the lowest people on earth, not considering the chance that they may have the potential to change. Obviously, some people will never change- they do not feel much regret for their horrible actions nor do they feel compelled to change. But this letter proves that some people can.

Obviously these people are in prison for a reason. They have committed a crime and are serving a punishment for their actions. In these cases, prison is good for these criminals. They have reached rock bottom and the only thing left for them to do is reflect about what they have done. They cannot take back the crime they committed, but they can learn from their mistakes.

Although the whole letter was shocking, the part that caught my attention the most was the part that talked about how upset and frustrated some of the inmates get when they want to help in the midst of a disaster, but feel as if they cannot. I’m sure these disasters do not directly affect the inmates in any way, but they still feel compelled to help. I feel as if this compassion is lacking in many people outside if jail, so it is so interesting to think that it can be found among people inside of one for the rest of their lives, the last place we would expect to find it. The fact that they give blood, donate money, and write letters to those in need is something I would never picture a “lifer” doing. They do not receive any rewards for these actions, only self satisfaction and a way to better themselves.

This letter complements our recent lectures about ethnocentrism. We rarely, if ever, consider the life of an inmate, usually because we do not believe them to be worth our time as they deserve to be where they are. However it is interesting to step back and think about what it may be like, especially after reading this letter. Inmates will never escape their associated stigmas, and many of them do not deserve to, but I believe that some of them who have learned from their mistakes and are genuinely different people than the ones they once were when they were convicted are worth talking to and trying to understand.

I really enjoyed Dr. Mulvey's play in class on Tuesday because I believe it highlights an issue that is common among a great number of women, especially around this age. Women in our country are all connected by the ideal standards they are held to by society- thin and beautiful with large breasts. Most, if not all women, have been affected by this ideal in one way or another. This is more of an ideal then a reality but the media and Hollywood portray it otherwise, so much so that women think they have to look a certain way to fit in. To me, the most beautiful women are those who are comfortable, confident, and most importantly happy with themselves regardless of whether or not they fit the beauty standard.

I think it's human nature to remember people for their wrongdoings more so than their positive qualities. In the case of Osama Bin Laden, the average American does not know much about the Islam faith and therefore generalizes his horrible actions onto everyone of his religion. Obviously Osama Bin Laden is not a "spokesperson" for Muslims, rather a radical extremist. It is neither fair nor intelligent of us to characterize every Muslim similarly, just as we as Americans would not want to be characterized like members of the Ku Klux Klan. I admit I'm no scholar on the Islam faith, but I know it is a beautiful religion that deserves to be recognized as so.

Thursday's lecture was one of the most eye opening lectures I, a senior, have ever sat through. Although there are many points Sam made that I don't agree with, I think he was able to get through to a great majority of the class with his creative and fact supported approach. I myself was surprised that I found myself answering "Certainly" to the question that asked if I would join an insurgency, along with a majority of my classmates.

Whether or not we agree with everything Sam threw out to us yesterday, one thing is clear to everyone- a great deal of Americans are victims of ethnocentrism, seeing the world through one single lens. I don't necessarily think we're the ones to solely take all of the blame- our media supports the American ideals and our government spins facts in their favor. No one likes to think of themselves as the bad guy, we all like to think we're "number 1"- like Sam said, every country is patriotic and to some degree ethnocentric. But I think a big difference that exists is how we react when we look through another lens and can break out of our ethnocentric thinking. Some people are so stuck in this thinking that they'll never be able to see another point of view while others are willing to learn and leave their comfort zone, finding out that maybe everything they have learned isn't exactly the most truthful.

The idea of America as a "Christian invader" was a thought I had never considered before Thursday. We all look to Islam and immediately characterize them like their extremists, who in reality are in the minority. After this lecture I can understand how us Americans, although not all Christians, can be characterized like our Christian extremists- some politicians and high ranking members of the military.

As someone who has lost a friend in the War in Iraq, it is difficult for me to think about questioning the war's motives. In my mind my friend gave his life for what he thought our country stands for, not for rights to a foreign country's oil supply. He fought in the army and died helping the people of Iraq. I know many soldiers who have this same mindset, who give up their comfortable lives to join the military to "fulfill their patriotic duty" because they think that is what's right. Watching the video of the soldiers punishing the looters crushed my heart because they, like my friend, honestly believed they were doing the right thing- preventing looting which, in any typical situation, is honorable. They were being right in following their orders, but are they at fault if their orders are tainted with hidden and malicious intentions?

This person brings up a really interesting point- how often do we really think about Asians when we think about minority groups? I honestly admit that the phrase "minority group" brings blacks and hispanics to mind. I also think I stereotype more against Asians than the other groups, mostly because I know very little about their culture or history and automatically rely on my stereotypes. The history between blacks and whites has been taught to us since we were born so we are more knowledgeable about those two races as a whole. I think I could distinguish between Africans and African Americans better than I could between Asians and American Asians as well, for the same reason of a lack of knowledge.

I think a big potential outcome stemming from minorities becoming the majority is the impact on politics. If this transformation happens, will the new majority groups be accurately represented in the government? Or will the white male standard still dominate? If the former happens, we could potentially see a change in the way our politics work, with a bigger focus on equality and diversity than we have now. Not to say that politicians of different races will act as proponents of their race, rather that there will be a more diverse voice that goes into political ideas and the making of legislation.

It is so sad to see the effects of prejudice and discrimination on such young children who are completely unaware of what is happening to their world. Through some source of information, most likely a combination of media and their own observations, they learned that in our society, white represents good while black represents bad. They will have to live in this world for their whole lives. It is a shame that these children have this burden on the growing up and that their full potential may be stunted because of it. They should not be made to feel inferior, especially at such a young age.

When the last girl was asked to pick the doll that was most like her, after already stating that the black doll is mean because she is black, you can see the confusion and discomfort in her face. You can visibly see her acknowledging the discrimination that exists against her in our society. It is disturbing to see this recognition in such a young, innocent child who is merely the victim of other people's prejudices. I think it would be interesting to see the reactions of these children all grown up. I would like to hear their thoughts after seeing what we all saw . I am interested to see what they have to say about discrimination and how it has affected their lives, starting from such an early age.

I was shocked to hear some of my classmates' responses as well-the majority of those in minority groups preferred to play with white dolls too. In addition, one girl brought up the idea that even in the black community, darker skinned individuals are not considered as beautiful as lighter skinned people of the same race. I was not aware that this stigma existed and it brings a lot more support to the same idea as the video- the whiter (or closer to white) you are, the more beautiful and appealing you are.

I put a lot of blame on the media. It continually portrays people in their racial stereotype categories, for example the black man as the bad guy. It's no wonder these children think this way- they are growing up with these images everywhere around them. For a Psych class with a focus on prejudices, I had an assignment to go to a department store and observe the items for sale. While in the girls' doll section, I noticed an overwhelming assortment of white dolls for sale and very little (5) dolls of minority groups. Again, if children are offered only a few nonwhite dolls to pick from in a sea of white dolls, it would seem to them that the white dolls are the most desirable.

As much as they might object, I think me should be more educated about women's menstrual cycles. My reasoning is that I see menstruation as a natural part of the life cycle. They may disagree by saying it doesn't affect them, but in reality it does- we are all on this earth because due in part to the menstrual cycle. Yes it is an unpleasant time of the month, but from a mature standpoint it is actually a intelligently designed phenomenon, without which we would not have life. Although I don't think men will ever understand it completely unless they experience it themselves, I don't think it would hurt to better educate them, if not just to make the subject more comfortable and less taboo.