Was I surprised by Basum’s responses? No, after some of the lectures that we had previously had in Soc 119, I am not surprised by his responses. I think I am more shocked because of the fact that he is a real life person, right here in the classroom (or shall I say Skype speaking to us his truth.) Some of the things he were saying I already kind of figured were the feeling of other Iraqis however I never met one myself to even ask. I’m so glad we had this opportunity to just talk to him and see his onions because we get to see the truth to the other side. One of the questions was “if he could tell anything to the Americans, what would it be?” his response was “Don’t believe everything you here.” This is true for all aspects of life and everyone should follow through with this. I can only imagine what the news in Iraq says about us. We should not believe that all Iraqi’s are out to get us. Basum was actually very respectable throughout his whole time on Skype. He made valid points and he sounded very respectable. I also remember a question we had asked, I believe it was how he felt about the American troops coming into his home. He said how you’re not going to let just anyone come and invade your home like that. This is so true. Anyone who has much self-pride would never allow a stranger harm you or your family. So what are they supposed to do? I would do the exact same thing… fight back. No one will ever disrespect me in my home or in my land. Not only are you invading my privacy but you are becoming a threat to me and anyone who else who might be residing with me. Many people are also territorial and lots of more people get angry when you invade lands not just home. So honestly I agreed 100% with most of the answers that Basum spoke. One of the nicest things out of the whole lecture was when Basum said he wished us all the best. You know how wonderful that sounds. It’s amazing that a man we all do not even know wished s only the best and also wished upon us bright futures. He also stated that he would never wish we had to ever experience a war like this. He did not need to even say anything since we the Skype call was technically about to be over but he stated that. It just shows that even the nicest people are going through something. It saddens me to think that because of Americans we are invading Basum’s world with no real/great reasoning; however he still finds it in his heart to wish us the best. He has such a big heart.

I don’t know if putting myself in the shoes of the middle eastern changed my view on the way I look at the Iraq war; however, I would have to state my personal opinion first to know if it was changed or not. My personal view on the Iraq war is that our government had something to do with this. No, I am not a radical or an extremist; however, my view is skewed on the things I see. If my view is biased, so be it, but I do believe this has something to with our government. Now I don’t know if y’all have seen the movie Fahrenheit 9/11 but this movie is what persuaded me a little towards my current view. So I guess we can say that I have much compassion for the Middle Eastern people. I started off with compassion and ended up with more compassion. I feel so sorry for the people in the Middle East. I feel very sympathetic to their situation especially since I never had to put myself in their shoes before. They must feel so terrified because they are not sure when/if something will happen. But we don’t see that over here. Here in the United States, all we see is media covering the wrongs of the Middle East. The media constantly shows us that the Middle East are the “enemies” when in reality, we ourselves are our own enemies. And because the media portrays the Middle Easterns in this light, Americans are warranted for how they feel; however, if Americans knew the truth we would see who is wrong. What’s more horrifying is that the media doesn’t show us what our soldiers really do. The Middle Easterns act in a way to protect themselves. That’s all they know how to do when someone is attacking they’re family and friends. We can’t blame Middle Easterns for reacting the way they do. I believe that as Americans we should really see what is going on. We all believed that this war was only for our protection however we’re only harming other people; in fact we’re harming more of the innocent then those who are guilty. As Americans we are told to defend our country, but are we told to harm whoever is in our way, even if they’re innocent? I truly do believe that the Middle Easterns are getting the short end of the stick. I do not blame anyone for their actions, but I do believe that both sides need to know the truth; yet, I don’t think anyone will ever get to find the truth. But if both sides knew what was going on here, I believe they’re wouldn’t be as much chaos. So, in conclusion, my heart goes out the Middle Eastern because they are doing exactly what they know is right: to protect they’re family, something we THINK we’re doing.

I have definitely been around many racism slurs and incidents. I’ve also have racism jokes thrown at me; however, I was never a direct “victim” to racism. I’ve never had someone call or insult me in any way that was intentionally harmful however one of my best friends in high school has and her story has impacted me since the very first day I heard it.
When I was a sophomore in high school, my best friends at the time was this girl. She was very pale-skinned, brown hair, big brown eyes, and had curves. She was in the drama club at the time and she had to stay after school for practice. Our school was separated at the time because of reconstruction, so the freshman’s had their own campus and sophomores, juniors, and seniors were in the actual high school. Since the freshman campus actually had an auditorium that was not going under renovations, the drama club had used that auditorium. Practice was over and the late bus came around 530 to pick her up to drop her off at her house. She was with another Latin girl. The bus had stopped in front of them and when they went to enter the bus 4 Caucasian males were in the back of the bus telling them to get off. They even ran to the front of the bus to scare the two young girls off. They called them “spics” or “wetbacks” and told them to go back to their home country. They eventually had scared my best friends and her friend off the bus. The one boy even spat in their direction out of the bus window. The saddest part of the story was the bus driver did NOTHING.
The next day my best friend went to the principal and all the 4 boys ever got was detention and they also got suspended from school for one day. She was not happy with this ruling. She believed it was unfair do to the fact that it doesn’t teach anything to the boy and that’s true. When she finally came and told me about the situation, I was so shocked. I couldn’t believe that this had happened. Of course, I was infuriated and wanted to find the boys who did this; however what would that solve? It wouldn’t have solved anything. Now after looking back at it, I’m still a little disturbed that someone could be so hateful; yet, I hope the 4 boys are a little more educated on their decisions. I do hope that the 4 boys are NOT like that anymore and they never did anything in their future as to say hateful things to another race. Now, of course this wasn’t the only time I have heard of racist slurs or instances but this was one that really stuck with me. If there were ever a time where I was the victim of a racial incident, I, honestly do not know how I would react. Maybe, I would get a little frustrated; however, I know that isn’t going to help the situation. I just would hope that people can grow from this. I also pray no one has to undergo a racial discrepancy, but I know that isn’t realistic.

After watching Tammy’s story in class, I felt a little sad because of the situation in which she was in. Now, I did feel compassionate and I do not believe anyone should go through that, however not everyone has compassion. I believe everyone should have compassion but that’s not what everyone thinks.
Poor white people have it just as bad as poor black people it’s just different in each situation. I seem to see more that white people tend to stray more towards suburban areas when minority poor people tend to stray to urban areas. I believe this is because we, coming from a minority family, tend to stray to bigger communities with people who are more like “us.” I don’t think this is right but this is what I have observed in my years of existence.
Now, would I help Tammy? I am not quite sure. I would have to know a lot more about Tammy to help her considering I am not in the most financial situation myself. But just because she is white doesn’t mean that’s the reason why I’m doubting to help her. I just wouldn’t help anyone I don’t know: black, white, Puertorican, Mexican, whomever. I have to trust you to help you a great deal. Now this kind of answers the next question of more likely helping my own race. I know that I tend to hang out with my own race or people of the minority community more than I hang out with the Caucasian community so maybe I would help out my own race only because the people I trust are from my race or from the minority community. I find more in common with them. But that doesn’t mean that I would help out a Rican before anyone else. Like I said, I would have to know you. Best believe, if I see a random stranger struggling I can NOT help only because I do not trust everyone and even if he’s Hispanic I could care less. Maybe that’s mean to say but it’s the truth. I do sincerely have compassion for Tammy and anyone who is poor however I don’t know how I can really help your situation. But I guess in conclusion we tend to only help people we trust, well I know I do. And in my opinion this has nothing to do with race. I feel compassion for everyone in any horrible situation. I do hope that Tammy and anyone in that situation gets help from someone sooner or later. And I also do hope that no one discriminates against any race because anyone in this situation deserve help and race shouldn’t be the factor in which you help someone or not.

I believe that people in America live a lot better than a lot of other countries. In America, “the Free Country”, we have a lot of more opportunities than other people. Going through history until present, immigrants or “aliens” or simply anyone from another country decided to travel to our country to find a better life for themselves or their family. America provides a lot of more positive reinforcements or simply hopes of a better future. Now my question is: why does everyone but Americans see that? I truly do believe that Americans take for granted a lot of the opportunities that are given to us. I know that being born into the family that I was, I took for granted a lot of the things that were provided to me.
My parents aren’t rich however they do have enough money to get by and I definitely took that for granted. The day that I went to Puerto Rico for the summer of 2005, I stayed with my aunt. A couple days after arriving I went to my cousins house in the mountains of Puerto Rico. When I arrived, I was surprised at what I was welcomed with. My cousin and my aunt who we went t visit lived in a raggedy house, broken down, with barely a roof. It was such a shock I did not know how to react. When I told my younger cousin that I lived in the United States, she put a big smile on her face. She said how she longed to live their because of all the beautiful things they have their. I told her that it wasn’t that big of a deal. However, looking back at what she said, I became so grateful of everything I have. However, I never realized what I had when it was right in front of me and that’s the difference between me and my cousin. My cousin no matter what she has is SO appreciative of anything that is given to her. She was so happy that I was around and playing with her. I gave her one of my shirts that didn’t fit me and she became tearful. She said she never got such a nice shirt and to me that shirt was old. I couldn’t believe that my cousin has lived in a world where food is made once a week and she only gets to make limited showers. This experience only made me appreciate everything ever given to me. Other countries have nothing compared t America and what I don’t understand is how we can complain so much. Honestly, I believe that the only way we can contribute to other places around the world is by providing aid. Little things make people happy especially people with nothing and with this mindset we can do wonders.

The King of the Mountain idea that Sam wanted us to understand was actually very insightful. At first I thought it was funny and related it back to The Lion King. But my vision actually was pretty shocked with the outcome. I do not want to sit here and say that “Oh Yes, white people are the King of the Mountain;” However, to be stereotypical even historical they are. But to knock out the stereotype of whites. A great example would be huge corporations. Huge corporations such as Google or Apple prey on the littler companies. Money, history, and power is all they possess. In order for one to get to a higher place they need to step on someone or something. Power is a source of madness. Now I'm not quite sure if we actually aid the people of our own skin color. I think it all depends on the location of the mountain you reside. I tend to notice that when you really don't have much you tend to try to help others and try to receive whatever they are willing to give. I tend to see people be more trusting at the bottom of the mountain; however, I also see that the closer you are to the top of the mountain or “king” the less you tend to trust people. I know that i'd be more skeptical on who to trust if I have all that power. Power tends to lead to greed and more power. So i'm not quite sure if I would help anyone. Of course when I didnt really have anything to loose (at the bottom of the mountain) I was willing and also tended to stray to help people of my own race; but, if I had all that power I would probably not trust anyone. The only people who I would trust would be my mother, father, and my brother. I don't even think I'd let my aunts up in there. The King of The Mountain was a great way of showing how power plays a predominant role in our society. Maybe if we were to stereotype we can say that Whites are predominant; on the other hand, I do not know if I truly believe that. I think anyone with money and greed are “the kings of the mountain” for example like the media. It's sad that people of that power don't really look upon the less fortunate and thats what's so shocking. It's as if they lost the true meaning of life and focused soley on the capitalism. In the end, the king of the mountain does exist. I'm not quite sure if we can blame it on class, race, age, or sex, or even all of the above, but this is a HUGE problem and im not quite sure when this will be fixed.

I do not believe that anywhere in the future we will be able to get rid of the issues dealing with race. Our country is so competitive and we always seek out ways in which we are better than people or how we can strive or become better than certain people that we look for anything that separates us. I mean I can not say that it wont get better, because there are certain circumstances in which things got better. For example the one day when we were discussing in class about how a black man befriended one of the leaders on the KKK and how now they are great friends. I mean that just shows us right there times have gotten better; however, things will never diminish. Even here in state college there have been instances where many minorities have felt uncomfortable or have been treated differently because of their race. One of my best friends stayed here for the summer and she went to the McDonalds by the mall and she felt so uncomfortable. She felt as if everyone was looking at her in a wrong way and she did not like it so she left her food and bounced. Another instance is when a Venezuelan girl was talking Spanish and she got verbally harassed down town just because she wasn't speaking english. These are just among the different examples in which race is still prevalent and will probably still be prevelant. It is upsetting because it doesn't seem as if ignorance has really been taught in most cases, but we can only go around showing people that there are more important things than race.
So, in my conclusion I do not believe that race will ever slowly die. I believe that it will still be there, maybe not so in the light but it will be there. There are going to be people that do not want to step out of their boundaries or people who will only stick to their crowds. I mean no one can blame them, they just do not like change or they do not want change. I don't know. I guess it's just a hard subject considering that no one ever knows. But we've been fighting with race since the beginning of time and if it hasn't fully gone away now, when will it fully go away. There will always be competition no matter where anyone goes. All anyone can do is actually try to reach out to people, even if you have to start small. Some people will change, some won't. But all one can do is try. I believe that classes like this can open someones eyes but it takes the individual to actually change.

I do not know whether you were talking about personal traits or certain characteristics but I guess I’ll start by stereotyping both.
If I pin point to my Puertorican attributes; stereotypical appearance would be: Curly Hair, hips, big butt (which I DO NOT have), fair skin, caramel complexion, nice shaped lips, dark hair, brown eyes.
Now going to traits: some Ricans can be loud, ghetto, family orientated, argumentative, crazy, independent, prideful, and sexual (to name a few)
Now I know I definitely stereotyped a Puertorican girl HOWEVER there is no way I can give characteristics to myself. I did try to characterize my race by the names I listed above but if I do not apply to more than half of these attributes, can I classify myself as my race. Well yes, I believe I am puertorican. I am very prideful. I would like to think I am an independent young lady. I can be loud at times. Ghetto? Uhm, I would like to think I am not. I am family orientated but who isn’t? On the other hand, some of the physical traits of puertoricans I definitely lack. I do not have Jennifer Lopez’s butt. I do not have that many curves. Yes, I have dark hair but that’s AFTER I colored it. My hair is curly on GOOD days after I use the diffuser. So I’m not sure how to classify my race. Yes there are certain characteristics that some puertoricans predominately have but NOT every puertorican girl looks like this. My cousin is full Puertorican born and raised. She has blonde hair, blue/green eyes, very skinny, tall, full lips and curly hair. If you were to look at her I guess you can say she could be mistaken for a white girl but she is more Rican than I am. So I do not know if we can characterize races. Everyone comes in different shapes and sizes.
It’s even harder to classify races that have many races underlying it. For example, Dominicans. Some Dominicans are light and some are really dark. They have Haitian, Spain, European, and Indian blood. Now how can we characterize that. That’s how it gets so complicated. That’s why I seriously believe we can not characterize a certain race.
Some people just inherit traits differently. Even if we go away from the obvious which is looks. If we go deeper into it, like attributes everyone can share similar attributes. Anyone can be loud or ghetto. Anyone can be family-orientated, that all depends on the closeness of your family or the type of person you are. Anyone can be crazy. Women in general should be independent and prideful. And sexual? Well when in the heat of the moment anyone can be sexual.

It is not a need to be politically correct, however depending on whom you speak to: political correctness can be a necessity. You first need to define political correctness. Next you need to get a feel for who has a need for it to be used. In my opinion, political correctness is all bull. However some people, I feel, need to be political correct so that you won’t offend, you need to be political correct so that your audience can understand and relate, and you also need to be politically correct so that you can apply it to a professional setting.
To start off with my first point of to not offend, a great example would be the difference between the word “Black” and “African American.” I know that I can go up to some of my African American friends and call them black; however, not everyone thinks that is “politically correct.” Some might believe this can offend them. This also goes back to the lecture we had the other day of Hispanics and Latinos. Some Puertoricans that I know would NEVER want to be called Hispanic; on the other hand, some do not even care. So political correctness can be an excuse to not offend. But depending on who you come across something that you believe can be politically correct actually isn’t.
Another reason to be politically correct is to understand or relate to your audience. This can also tie in with “offending.” But, when you travel to certain places or come across certain audiences you want to be politically correct so that you do not offend someone and you make sure you can relate to their terminology. Many people from different cultures might let them allow you to call them a certain name and it might not be politically correct back home but it could be to them.
And the last reason why someone would think about being political correct is to be professional. In many professional settings some words can be the opposite of political correctness. You might not want to OFFEND anyone so you try to stay politically correct, so political correctness can be used in a professional sense so no problems can start.
But what is political correctness? Because if I want to be called Puertorican and not Latina; however I am technically Latina and you call me Latina, I can get offended. I could easily get offended if someone called me Hispanic but technically I am Hispanic. I guess it all depends on your audience and who you are SCARED to offend. Some people do not mind being called Black, Rican, White but other s might get highly offended if you did. In the end there is no need to be politically correct, but I guess there’s a need to not offend.

Soc 119