jenw11

jenw11

17p

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13 years ago @ Race Relations Project - 300,000! What's ... · 0 replies · +1 points

Although we are all a part of one world, it is easy to focus on what is right in front of you and see the world in a close view. It is also easy to overlook or forget certain disasters, such as the earthquake in Haiti because the media is quick paced, constantly focusing on the next big disaster or issue. The media also prefers to package stories in a way that allows for a beginning, middle and end. The media breaks a story, assesses the situation and seems to try and end on a positive note, with success stories. The media does not want to keep coming back to Haiti if it will not pique audience interest. The bottom line is audiences prefer a happy story, rather than a seemingly hopeless one. The media is a business, and the news filtered through must be more questioned. In today’s world with 24/7 access to information, it is kind of amazing what does and does not reach an audience. If Sam did not remind us of how Haiti will never be the same, it is unlikely that I would fully understand the depth of the situation. That is not to say that I would not think back to the disaster and feel sadness, but I would not understand the ripple effect of this truly devastating occurrence. When people do not understand the depth of a problem, it is easy to look the other way and go on with life. As a culture, we are pretty desensitized to violence and death. It seems statistics have taken a hold of coverage, rather than in depth analysis of where exactly these numbers come from. I’m a communications major and became alarmingly awareness of this freshman year in a journalism class. We discussed the ethics of publishing a picture of a car accident. The picture showed a mangled car, and a figure in the front seat. The figure was a man who had died in the accident. The implications of publishing such a photo were various, but one was how the family may feel upon seeing the photo. To readers, this was just another car accident, a statistic. To the family of the man who passed away, it was their father, brother, uncle, son, photographed, lifeless. To the family, their lives would be forever changed. To the public, this was an explanation as to why there was traffic at 7 pm on an expressway. This is neither positive nor negative, as the function of the media is to be gatekeepers of information to the public. Each news story cannot delve into the implications of each incident, accident or disaster. The media by nature can only give a snapshot of reality to the public. This leaves the real investigative work up to the viewer. I say this with myself included, it is easier to move on without full understanding of a situation that it is to take time to understand the implications of an event. It is easier to know that something horrible happened and send money to aid a situation, than it is to venture to say, Haiti, and fully grasp what must be done to rectify the situation. I’ve learned from this class that we must just not stay current on current events, but stay current on past events to have a full grasp of reality.

13 years ago @ Race Relations Project - Christian Invaders - t... · 0 replies · +1 points

That class left me feeling very uneasy. It is astonishing how much impact the media can have and how they can forward/set and agenda. The class also made me question my thoughts about the war. One thing that is very hard to wrap my head around however is the cause that some of these extremist are fighting for. The whole idea of a suicide bombs just don’t sit well with me. It is a blatant disrespect for human life. I understand feeling patriotic and feeling that you would die to protect the ones you love or a personal ideal, but I do not understand taking civilian life. I do not understand how someone could praise September 11th. This class however challenged my beliefs in a way. For the first time I tried to see things from a different perspective. I cannot imagine living with a fear that another country could take away things that are important to me and my family. I understand that not every person from the Middle East is a terrorist, but the fact remains; these terrorists attack people of their own country, of their own religions and their own culture. It is important though, that the media focus on more of the Middle Eastern culture than just the ensuing war. The media has a duty to the public to be gatekeepers, bearers of truth. The media needs to give amore balanced view of world affairs. The view of Americans in the foreign media needs work as well. I always just assumed that other countries did not like American because of the disproportionate wealth and our need to intervene in foreign affairs. I never considered that the media would cover Americans the same way we cover religious extremist or terrorists. I think the media is to blame for a lot of these issues. The stereotypes perpetuated by the media about various cultures has become truly damaging. This class has closely examined stereotypes within the United States, but international stereotypes as just a damaging an not analyzed as much.
On a separate topic, I would like to commend the troops. What the military does each day is very inspiring, honorable and deserving of much gratitude. Because of the military the United States is able to hold liberties that many other countries will never have. We are able to feel a sense of security because the military put themselves in harms way for people they do not even know, like me, my family, my friends; people who make my world go round. This class made me feel very lucky to live in America. I do not know what it is like to live in fear or poverty. Things may not be perfect in America, but I feel grateful for the opportunities and life I am able to live, because of where I live and the people willing to protect our society's freedom.

13 years ago @ Race Relations Project - How Can We Ever "Win"? · 0 replies · +1 points

I wasn’t offended by the L.L. Bean pictures. I have seen people of all colors dressing in a preppy way. I am very confused by the whole acting white idea. In my weekly group meeting with talked about that a lot. It must be difficult to be in that position. The girls in my discussion group talked about how people would call them “white” in a negative way. They said they felt they must act a certain way around her family a home. Although I can identify censoring myself around my parents, it was an idea I had never considered. The girls mentioned how they sometimes feared going home because if they spoke in a seemingly educated way made them snooty or less a part of their community. I just feel that there are so many lines within each community. It is crazy that people like to abide by certain stereotypes within each race. I feel this lecture opened my eyes to a completely different spectrum of the entire race phenomenon. It seems society tells people they can be whatever the want and achieve whatever they want, at least in America. But, conflicting ideologies present a different idea. It seems that people may be whatever they want within certain defined boxes. You may go to college and receive an education, but you must not become too white or too educated. Isn’t the whole idea of college to be exposed to different cultural idea and different people. More over, isn’t it encouraged to see different areas of the world? To gain a world view? Maybe this is just my idea of college and the education system. I truly do not know. All I know it very much confuses me. It is something I do not know if I will ever understand, but I am glad I am more aware of now. It makes me understand that people are not just up against a struggle against people of different races, but a struggle within their own. White people have the same issues, but it was something I had never considered. I know when I go home I need to talk in a certain way, as not to be offensive. I always considered this a form of respect. Now that I am revaluating this, I feel maybe I have been conditioned to act in a certain way by others that really isn’t me. I suppose it is just a product or growing up and probably of this class, but I really feel I may not be able to have certain conversations or broach certain topics with people from home because they just would not understand where I was coming from. Despite all this, I want to say I enjoyed this class and really feel I am gaining an insight into how complicated race really is.

14 years ago @ Race Relations Project - Those Dolls Say Alot A... · 0 replies · +1 points

There was so much in the video to comment on. I never considered that the media could do this at such a young age to women. As a whole, women have several obstacles to overcome as far as body image. The idea of beauty portrayed by the media is virtually unattainable. To see however, these beautiful women talk about feeling ugly as a child is truly disturbing. It makes my stomach turn to think that someone would need to consider the way their hair naturally lays is ugly. To feel so much pressure just to make one’s hair look “white” at a young age must be incredibly difficult. The idea that all these girls believe the lighter one is the more beautiful ones is awful. It makes me feel incredibly naïve. It is something I never had to encounter as a child. I cannot imagine what it must have felt like to feel that way. The one girl, Jennifer, who is 18, said she used to consider herself ugly because of her dark skin. It makes me so angry that someone would feel that way because of a white dominated image of beauty. I was also disturbed upon hearing about skin bleaching. The woman who bleached her own children’s skin in Honduras at age 11 and 6 made me very angry. She didn’t give her children a chance to decide how they wanted to be seen by the world. Also, she has seriously hurt their self esteem for the future. They would never feel naturally beautiful, literally in their own skin. No one should be denied the right to feel beautiful. I almost feel bad that I went through childhood without that pressure. I have felt the pressure to be tan to be beautiful, but never that I need to use chemicals to bleach my skin. I can’t imagine that feeling good on your skin. I’m sure it would burn. I work in a restaurant and we use bleach to clean. It dries out your hands like crazy not to mention leaves a very distinct smell on your skin. I can’t imagine people feeling the need to bath in bleach. It is utterly disturbing. Finally the experiment made me sick to my stomach. To see the children not choose a doll that was good be white, is awful. Finally the agony that the young girl went through to tell the researcher that the doll that looked as she did was the mean doll, was hard to watch. She is four years old, and believe that she is bad because of her skin color. I cannot imagine this. I am incredibly sad that this is someone people of a different race must encounter each day. I think more people should watch this, such as Disney executives, media moguls and photographers. We must as a nation seriously look at our idea of beauty. It seems that the ideal body only gives the rest of society poor self esteem and self hatred.

14 years ago @ Race Relations Project - Does this rudeness thi... · 0 replies · +1 points

I have been thinking about the text messages from class all day. I was very disappointed that people would consider texting insulting comments in class, especially in a class which tries to improve race relations. I felt today created more tension than understanding between all the class members. I know that I was embarrassed to be white when I saw those comments. I was horrified to think someone may have written that, but mortified that someone could look around and suspiciously think that any white person in the classroom could have commented in such a way. It highlights the fact that racism will always exist in the world toward people of all colors. It just truly made my stomach turn.

In answer to the question, I feel that there is a political correctness that is socially accepted among people that making racial comments about people of color is wrong. I also feel that everyone gasped at the thought that people would make those comments because not only was it wrong and made people feel uncomfortable, but it was not politically correct. It seems that everyone was embarrassed and uncomfortable with the comments for a number of reasons. One, because they were offensive comments. Two, because the comments made, in my opinion, white people look ignorant. Third this was a class where people come together to try and bridge differences.

I think the reason people reacted more publicly was because everyone knew it was wrong. I think the reason that there was not such a reaction to the negative comments about white people because there really isn’t a politically correct standard. Also, I was a bit stunned by the comments. I am a white person, and knew that after the negative comments about people of color there would be a backlash, but the comments were overwhelmingly negative. I was almost shocked. But, I felt inappropriate reacting. I was offended, but I just felt that I needed to take it. I cannot explain why. Many of the stereotypes also seemed aimed at fraternity and sorority types of people, as well as people who wear Uggs. It was as if people chose to pick apart people’s physical appearances. After class I really thought about it and came up with the simple answer that it is not politically wrong to make fun of white people.

The thing that made me truly upset was that in a class like this, where the goal is to understand different people in a judgment free zone, people would make those comments. I felt deflated leaving class, as if the whole purpose of the class had been tainted. There is always going to be racism. I am not a person of color and have never encountered racism in that form, but I have encountered racism. At the end of the day though, everyone must hold their head high and be who they are.

14 years ago @ Race Relations Project - What's With the Theme ... · 0 replies · +1 points

I completely disagree. Actually, most of the themed parties I’ve been to do not have anything to do with race, such as a ‘Christmas Morning Party,’ or ‘Golf Pro’s and Tennis Hoe’s.” Every themed party I’ve been to have been purely for fun, and usually a result of a recent movie or upcoming holiday. If anything, it could be said that these themes are to poke fun of stereotypes, not necessarily based on race. Also, the ‘Golf Pro’s and Tennis Pro’s’ themed party was thrown by the golf and tennis team. If anything, it seems that themed party was aimed to poke fun at themselves. This is not to say that there are no themed parties that aim to make fun of a certain sect of society, but I can honestly say I’ve never attended or heard of one. I am white, and maybe because of this never viewed a themed party as a racist act, but I do consider myself a tolerant person who wouldn’t engage in such a party. Halloween is again a time for people to dress as a theme. I have encountered several racist outfits out on Halloween. I have also encountered several inappropriate outfits on Halloween. These outfits have ranged from people painting themselves brown to appear as if they have dark skin, a person dressed as a Virginia Tech victim and a slutty nun. All these are offensive, however the majority of people I know, see this is ignorant not funny. Many people, myself included, have looked at those ignorant people and been embarrassed for them, and embarrassed for making white people look intolerant. Maybe I am wildly optimistic of society, but I believe that most people wouldn’t use a theme or holiday to lower themselves to be an ignorant person. There are certain people who are ignorant and conduct themselves as so on a regular basis. I believe if people are willing to throw a themed party in a way of making fun of a sect of society, it truly showcases their own ignorance. Think about it, someone is throwing a party to dress as a person they are trying to degrade. It is stupidity at it’s lowest. It does make me upset that someone would label themed parties as a white way to poke fun of people. I believe that is actually a racist comment. I have never walked in different shoes, and like I mentioned before have not been a part of a racist themed party. It is unfortunate that a few white people can make an entire race seem intolerant. Perhaps there will always be wildly eccentric ways people will think of to act racist and showcase their ignorance. But I think it is a stretch to say it is a white way for people to make fun of others.

14 years ago @ Race Relations Project - When Do We Do or Say S... · 0 replies · +1 points

I agree with both student comments. I believe if you are raised to respect others, you must stand up for individuals who are being disrespected. One does not have to use harsh words or violent actions to address intolerance. One may be completely calm and address intolerance. Standing by in silence is not being respectful, it is being an inactive member of society. If someone was in danger of being physically injured by an outside force most people would step in and try to alleviate the situation. People need to have the same attitude about intolerant words; their marks can be must more damaging than a physical wound. People internalize hurtful words, and unfortunately may create a negative identity. The video we saw in class was powerful. I still do not know whether or not to look at the glass as half full or half empty. I truly believe I would be in the group of people who stood up for the woman. I was proud to see several people stand up to the actor who was portraying an intolerant bigot. I was especially touched by the man whose son was in the military. I was touched because I feel people may become jaded if their relative is at war with a nation, and project the ideology of the enemy onto everyday people. It made me hopeful that there are people see the whole picture. I have a cousin in the military, and I hope he has the same unjaded ideology. Although I was touched by the two women who stood up to the actor, I was more touched by the father of the soldier because he had not personal connection to a person of Middle Eastern heritage. It made me wonder how it must feel to be judged in that way. I am a white female, and have encountered very little racism in my life. I have been judged, but never have I ever felt judged based on my skin tone. It makes me sick to my stomach to think how that must feel. I do not know how I would fare as a person of color being judged by a physical attribute that I had no control over. I think that people fear what or who they do not know and it is easy to be hateful. I like to believe that this generation has a lot less patience for intolerance. I believe this is because as a society we are more integrated than before, but also, people have really started to look at the reasons for racism: ignorance. Ignorance is really a result of a lack of factual education. I believe as a society we must stand up to intolerance and educate the ignorant. We must carry ourselves with respect, and demand respect from others.

14 years ago @ Race Relations Project - LGBT Class - Question ... · 0 replies · 0 points

I always have a difficult time understanding why the United States, as a nation, has yet to legalize same-sex marriages or unions. I understand that people say it is a religious union, but truly it’s a copout. For one, there needs to be a separation between Church and State or religion and state. There are universal right’s and wrongs which should be enforced by law, such as violence, theft, murder, extortion, etc. However, how can love be universally wrong? Isn’t love what people tend to search out for their entire lives? Isn’t love the core value of all religions? Despite the obvious hypocrisy of religious condemnation, it is absurd that in this day an age that same-sex marriage or unions are not legal.

And as long as we’re on the “religious” reason same-sex unions are not legal, why don’t we analyze the institution of divorce. Divorce is religiously wrong, but legal. How and where does the government draw the line as to when and when not to insert religious thought? Furthermore, it’s pretty ridiculous that the government is all for granting divorces, but not a union between two committed people who are in love. I feel that two same-sex couples who want to legally be committed are more devoted to each other, because they must fight for their right to solidify their commitment to each other.

While I understand via the movie “I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry,” that lawmakers say people COULD enter into same-sex unions to reap medical benefits, is again a copout. What about straight people who marry to stay in the United States or gain a green card? What about a gold-digger marrying purely for money? What about two people drunkenly marrying in Vegas? What about mail-order spouses? Where is the sanctity in those unions? There must be a universal standard. I wonder what would happen if straight people were investigated for the authenticity of their marriage how they would feel. I’m certain most people would find this a gross violation of personal rights. So then how is it that people are quick to question same-sex partners.

We must find a middle ground and fix the institution that has been created by the government. Fellow United States citizens are being denied basic rights because of an outdated and hypocritical governmental institution. Instead of dissecting why people choose to love who they love, the government must accept it. The government does not question certain aspects of straight peoples lives such as, whether they be able to have a child; or whether they be able to be married; or whether there is there an alternative reason two people want to publicly acknowledge their commitment to each other. We must grant equal rights to every citizen and legalize same-sex unions or marriages.

14 years ago @ Race Relations Project - Swinging Past the Othe... · 0 replies · +1 points

I would agree with Professor Richards. I think we all need to consider both sides of a situation to get an understanding of where a person is coming from. I have to say, I don’t know if I’ve always cut people, myself included, enough slack. I have always thought, at least of myself, that no matter what, I have to get done what I need to get done. I believe however it is fueled by some professors and employers who do not always cut people slack when outside forces affect ones life. It has been said time and again don’t being your personal life to work or don’t let your personal life affect your professional life. The point Professor Richards made about a child in a family with cancer really struck a cord with me. I’m involved in Penn State’s dance marathon, which raises money for the Four Diamonds fund. I recently visited Hershey Medical center to see where the money raised by THON is distributed. The whole idea of the fund is that a family never has to pay a bill, other than what insurance covers. I saw first hand of an illness can really affect a family. I never realized the ripple affect. I never understood how it can literally change ones path in life. Usually one parent needs to quit their job to be able to become a caretaker. This will and does affect one’s finances, relationships and life in general. It is easy to look the other way and choose one way to look at a situation. Saying someone needs to push through this gut wrenching situation and still maintain normalcy and pay bills on time is one way to look at it. Saying a person should leave it up to fate and see what happens is another. Both are easy to make assumptions about, unless you are in the situation or take time to understand the situation. Being in the middle has allowed people to help these families with suffering children in need. Medical treatment is expensive, not to mention physically and mentally taxing. By allowing people who have been in this situation to aid other families, allows for a real solution. I believe it’s because someone took time to look at the situation and outside forces that could affect the situation. Visiting Hershey Medical center really gave me a perspective on life I had never considered. It makes me wonder how we could change the world if politicians and law makers listened to the people about what they think will work. To be completely realistic, most lawmakers fight for a cause, but do not necessarily understand the ripple effect one obstacle could have on someone’s life. What, I wonder, would happen if we talked to several homeless people, or several people without health insurance, or several people who are abused, what solutions could be reached and what laws could be implemented. Many useless assumptions are made by outsiders. This was reinforced by Professor Richards lecture. It has become increasingly apparent that you really cannot tell much about people by just looking at them. I have friends who have been through a lot. They are well adjusted and appear happy, but life will not be easy for them because of outside forces. Not to say their own personal choices did not affect them, but outsides forces will and have affected their life. The bottom line is, a person will need help to get through life, but one MUST have the inner strength to push through. One cannot blame others all the time. One MUST look at both sides of the situation, get in the middle and fight like hell to achieve one’s dreams.

14 years ago @ Race Relations Project - Negroes of the World P... · 0 replies · +1 points

The TIME article brings up a lot of interesting points. The one thing that keeps coming up in my mind is, how is the U.S. Census going to make sense of all these categories and write in answers? I’m a category person. I understand that race cannot be categorized, however I feel as though it’s a waste of time to continually create or use different categories to describe ones race. While I understand the reasoning behind asking about someone’s race to see where government funds should be allocated, I feel that the U.S. Census is perpetuating racial stereotypes. The people who create the U.S. Census have not been able to create a “catch all” race category. Thus have created several different race categories that do not seem to be to a current or accurate description of how people today would describe themselves. And say people strictly use these categories to describe themselves, how is it ensure that the numbers reported can create reputable statistics? The U.S. Census will lump the categories together after everyone takes them to create meaningful numbers, but that is still not accurate. I just don’t really understand it. I almost feel like I did filling out job applications at the end of my junior year. I was currently a junior, going to be a senior and on track to graduate. However I was going to take summer classes to make sure I could graduate on time. I would technically be a junior until halfway through my Fall 2010 semester when my credits from the summer would go through finally deeming me an official senior. I just started to put plan to graduate Spring 2010 to clarify where I was. Those categorizations had to do with college standing, which is must less complicated than determining one’s race.
Because I would categorize my skin is considered white, I do not really have an equal comparison. Regardless, I tried to put myself into the shoes of someone who is unable to be simply categorized. So I thought, I have two parents, one predominantly Irish, one predominantly English. If I were asked, based on that criteria, to fit into one category I would not be able to. If I were asked if I were English or Irish, I could not just say one. Would I choose my mother’s heritage or fathers? Would I create an entire separate category English/Irish? And if I had to, then how would I compare myself to others statistically? To make things more complicated I have one parent who was born in the United State and one born in England. I hold both United State and British Citizenship. What category would I fit into then? Is asking someone to categorize themselves based on the color of their skin really telling society anything? In my opinion a more accurate question would be where someone lives, their education level and income. Based on a socioeconomic profile, I believe more information could be derived that the U.S. Census could statistically use. Isn’t the whole point of statistics, to paint a picture of a certain sector of society or societal phenomenon? If so, then what is race really telling us?