It is so interesting to hear from a person who is serving life in prison. Society makes these people out be anything but human, but the truth is that many have come to be some of the most intellectually stimulated individuals in today’s world. These people know they have made big mistakes in their lives, and as you can see it didn’t take them very long to come to terms with the consequences of their actions. To me it would appear that life sentence is almost worse than the death penalty. Imagine spending the rest of your life in a cell, never to roam free in the sun again. It is pretty obvious that theses men and women are not heartless beings, but humans who show emotions, as we clearly saw from this man’s words. I just really appreciate the willingness of this man to share his story with us. If more people would come to realize the actual nature of these individuals, we might see a change in the sentencing of today’s criminals.

The disheartening fact is that many people don’t give to help Haiti because they are not directly affected by the events that took place in this small, distant nation. Think about it…would many of the people in class donated any money to Haiti had Sam not said something. The sad and realistic answer is no. It’s terrible, but many people don’t care because it isn’t affecting their everyday lives. Additionally, I believe people don’t give support because they simply choose to ignore the events that took place. When you ignore things like this, the suffering and destruction become someone else’s problem. Others fall victim to the “Bystander Affect”. This term refers to the idea that people don’t help others because they think other people will step in and do the work that they could easily do themselves. It’s a plain shame!

I really enjoyed Tuesday’s lecture with Sam’s friend (I think it’s Ian?). It was interesting to hear from someone who has spent time in Haiti after the earthquake hit. The media produces tainted pictures of the true devastation and extent to which the events in Haiti are affecting the natives. Many cities in Haiti were completely leveled as a result of the earthquake, forcing many if not all of the people of this nation to live in “tent cities”. They have little to no possessions and yet amidst the destruction and heartbreak, these people are surviving. And even better is the fact that they are attempting to rebuild their economy without the help of outside sources. It is clear that the people of Haiti are in desperate need of assistance, but as Ian presented in class, they need the right kind of help to rebuild not only their country, but economy as well. Like Ian said, much of the money we are giving to relief efforts in Haiti are in actuality ending up back in the pockets of American industries. As much as selling water filters to the natives is providing clean water for them to drink, it is also undermining the Haitian economy. If this nation ever wants to completely recover from this natural disaster, they are going to have to start putting money into their own economy and not that of the United States. To do this, the Haitians are going to have to start selling the relief products that they are paying the United States for. It is clear from the NPR video that many Haitians are attempting to do this. This is a great start, but we as Americans wishing to get these people out of tent city need to realize that we need to help them reestablish their economy, creating new jobs and industries run by Haitians, thereby producing relief products that will in turn stimulate their own economy.
It’s like Ian said, relief efforts by foreign nations are most definitely a necessity, but if we simply give them everything they need, we are not really helping these people rebuild their country. Doing this is only making these people dependent on foreign help. In reality we can’t be there forever, so we need to help Haiti become independent, not by doing nothing, but by providing them with the tools and resources to undo the damage caused by the earthquake. The individuals in the video are great examples of what the people of Haiti need to do. After watching the video, it is my personal belief that the real problem is the relief efforts of other nations. We need to realize that we cannot fix their country for them. All we can do is be there to provide support and direction. The small businesses that are emerging in tent cities are going to be the catalysts that end up creating new jobs and consumers within Haiti, and more importantly keeping the money in Haiti and out of the pockets of US industries.

Of course we do. No one wants to not fit in. Men conform to the societal norm just as women do. However, I think the standard for a man is far less stringent than that of a woman. That’s why I feel many women don’t think men conform, but in all honesty we do, we just do it subtly. Look at any prominent male figure in today’s society. Tall, dark, handsome, and lets not forget ripped. Men are very self-conscious. We just don’t go around talking about it with our friends. And fortunately for us, society doesn’t require us to show off these assets on a daily basis, unlike the norm for women. You don’t see to many men coming to class with no shirt on, do you? Clothing for women has basically turned into a display case for men to feast their eyes on. For some reason society says naked women are ok, but men best be fully clothed.

I think many of us have an image of what a suicide bomber is supposed to look like in our heads. I see a religious and/or patriotic extremist that is willing to die for their country or religion. I never really thought about suicide bombers from the perspective of this video. If my wife was killed in a civilian shooting, I would be devastated and angry. If this were to happen on top of years of foreign occupation over something like oil, I could totally see myself acting out in revenge. Family is probably the only thing that many of these have in a war like the one taking place in the Middle East. If I had no possessions and my wife was suddenly killed because of the foreign occupation, I think it would be pretty easy to lose control of one’s feelings, thoughts, and emotions. I would live solely on revenge at that point. The war has taken my land, my possessions, and now my wife. I’d be willing to die to revenge what little life I have left.

I really enjoyed Sam’s lecture on “Christian Invaders”. I’ve noticed that numerous people have responded to this post, saying that “they are sick and tired of the way Sam talks about Christian.” I myself am a devout Christian, and I for one have never felt that Sam has ever verbally attacked those of us who follow Jesus Christ. Secondly, I believe that in many instances Christians force their religion on not only the people of Iraq and Afghanistan, but also the citizens of the United States. I don’t want to get too off topic, but I have wanted to say this for a long time. At times, us Christians turn the act of spreading the Gospel into an all out Crusade. Throughout my adolescent life, I overheard people talking about how intimidating Christians were. Up until college I had no idea what they were talking about. Upon arriving at Penn State I was confronted by an overwhelming number of religious groups who wanted to make sure I knew about the works of God and Jesus Christ. I pray regular and also attend church while here at PSU, but I was overwhelmed with the amount of religiously affiliated activities these people participated in everyday. It seemed like everything they did had to involve being Christian, and if you weren’t a “super-Christian” like them, then you weren’t in their click. I look around campus and see groups of Christians instead of just Christians. God desires a personal relationship with each and every one of us, a relationship that is the result of one’s own choices and beliefs. That is why so many people who claim to be Christians are not really people who truly believe in Christ. Going to church and worshiping was something that their parents forced them to do, and therefore they never desired to know Christ on their own, they simply went because they were forced or because of parental expectations. The fact that so many of our national leaders are Christians, and that many of them like Sarah Palin claim our deployment to Iraq was the result of “God’s will” is what gives Sam the right to talk about “Christian Invaders”. I think most of us will agree that if the shoe were on the other foot, many of us would be in the insurgency to get the Americans out of our country. Not only are we taking their oil, but we are also converting people to Christianity. And although it is not stated out loud, I know there are many missionaries over there who believe that our God is superior to their worshiped deity. All these people want is to be left alone to live their lives the way they want to. And how do we know that we are not all worshiping the same God, who simply has many different names according to each culture? After Thursday’s lecture I understand why many Muslims have acted a certain way against American troops. Like Sam said, they don’t know that these military men and women are good people; they just know that we are there to take their oil at any cost. And thanks to a small group of “knuckle head” American leaders like the ones we saw in class, it’s no wonder why there is so much hatred between Muslims and Americans. When one person who represents a whole country says something stupid, it reflects on the country as a whole. All in all, I know that my opinion on this subject of the war overseas was drastically changed after Thursday’s lecture. Ethnocentrism is a powerful force to be reckoned with.

Accepting the fact that many of the items we consume each day are the products of slave labor is a great first step in putting an end to modern day slavery. However, we need to follow up with a second step, and I think Sam started to mention something along the lines of supporting those companies that strictly forbid the production and distribution of slave made items. If enough interest was shown towards these businesses and away from those who sell slave products, all companies may start to lean in that direction. However, people are going to realize that this means inflated prices on goods, but how much is you freedom worth to you? How much would be willing to pay to live your life the way it is right this moment?

I agree with the student in the video to some extent. Like you said the person benefiting from affirmative action must have the minimum qualifications for the job. In the example of a doctor, the person must obviously have gone to medical school and earned his doctorate, regardless of affirmative action. However, I am sure that there are numerous jobs out there where affirmative action has given someone a job that neither deserves it nor has the skills or knowledge to do the occupation correctly and efficiently. I would like to say that I believe that affirmative action is far less unfair than nepotism. If you think about it, nepotism literally requires no one to have any skills. You only need to know the boss to get the job.

I can totally relate with this student. My dad is white, and my mom is half Korean. I strongly identify with my Korean ethnicity, but have white skin and speak very little Korean. I find myself pondering the same question when Sam asks us to answer questions as someone on the white team or an individual playing for the brown or black team. It is so hard to be forced to pick between identify with one single group of people when you honestly fit into either category. And I hate that today’s society forces you to have to make that decision. I will typically respond as a white person just because I am only a quarter Korean. Additionally, I feel that because I can pass as a white person physically, and I have not experienced the same discrimination as a Korean student who actually looks Korean, I have little right to add my opinion.

Last semester I took Psychology 100, and we did a whole section on the effects of race and color, and how they affect the human psyche. This is where I first saw the white and black doll experiment. Having to watch it again made me relive the same sense of sorrow and disbelief that I felt after watching this video the first time. I think the scariest part of the whole thing is the fact that five-year-old children are already feeling the effects of racism and discrimination. Personally, I feel like when we discuss the outcome of racism and discrimination brought about by the white society, we focus on grown ups. This video is a crude awakening to the fact that these effects are hitting an even younger crowd. Honestly, this video is one of the saddest clips I have ever seen. Sitting in class as a white person and watching those black children pick the “better” white doll over the “dirty” black doll made me feel inhuman. This is what the white dominated society has done to these five-year-old black children. To see these innocent children sit there and say that they are undesirable compared to white skinned people really reflects poorly on our society. These kids have barely been alive for five years, and yet they already have been exposed to the effects of racism and discrimination that some of us white people are just starting to recognize as college freshman. It’s absolutely disgusting. If people don’t think racism and discrimination exist in today’s world, well then they obviously haven’t seen this video.

As sad as this was to see, I think it is something that everyone needs to see and come to terms with. After we watched the clip in class, it was amazing to see how everyone started to recognize things about our daily lives that make it possible for these types of events to still flourish in today’s world. Someone is the class mentioned Disney movies, and when you stop to think about it, have you ever seen a princess or hero of color in your favorite Disney flick? But it’s not just the movies. It’s the television, magazines, celebrities, and other forms of media. White is bright and right, and if your not white well, you better get that tube of whitening cream from Sam.

I have mixed emotions with the whole subject. These children make me sad, and then I feel downright pissed. How can we fix this problem? How can we make sure that these kids grow up to love themselves and their skin color? Looking at that one girl’s face when she realized that her skin was “dirty” really hit something deep down inside me. This girl should be proud of her skin, so how are we going to undo the wrongs that have obviously affected these children’s psyches?