So when Maziar called to offer his condolences about the Boston bombing, I really appreciated it and it made me think about how I felt about bombings and what not in other countries. My personal feelings on bombings especially ones that happen on our “home” turf go out to the parents and relatives of anyone lost or hurt badly in any bombing or act of terror. Not necessarily acts of terrorism but even the various shootings, like the batman shooting and the school shootings that have happened. When I hear about catastrophes like this it makes me feel sad to hear that someone so as some people say crazy go through and kill innocent people on a whim. This is a lot different than an act of terror which happened in Boston that is used as a tool to enact fear into many people as opposed to just a small group. But now to get back to my reactions to other acts of terror around the world. I personally have a much more objective view which does not necessarily show as a good trait for me to have a good world view. I think however that it is really important to keep up with world issues and try to think about these from time to time and try to really be empathetic for the families in other countries. I also think that it was very interesting to see that people from other countries are empathetic of us as Americans especially from a country that is known to not be very friendly to the United States. I think also that I can bring these kinds of emotions into my relationship with my “homeland,” Israel. I think there are a lot of the same kind of issues that occur in Israel that have recently happened in the United States but bombings and acts of terror occur lot more there. It is this kind of world view that I think benefits the world which is why the call from Maziar was very moving and emotional to hear. I never had an opportunity to talk or interact with a person from a country that does have an overall opinion of dislike toward the United States. I thought this was a very good way to open my eyes to world views that I would have never have had it not been for this class. I really think it changed my view of people in other countries and that there are people out there that are really empathetic toward the United States. I think it is calming to see this because maybe it means that younger generations will move away from hate and more toward peace.

honestly if I really had an important message to portray I think I would put it out there with the countless outlets of social media. There are so many ways to express your ideas in today's world but I think the best ways to express yourself is through social media. Not only is it a very popular form of social interaction but rather it allows so many people to access the message that you are trying to get out there. I mean there are a lot of other different ways to send a message. there is song, text, blogs, and twitter the quick easy way to send a very meaningful statement. This new form of social media has really been an outlet for people to make quick and powerful statements that reach as many people that you can get followers. And if your statement makes a really good impression on people it will be "retweeted" by your followers and will eventually a lot of people will see it.
I really do not know what kind of statement I personally would make but honestly as a person with ideas I am very poor at expressing them which leads me to believe that I would be a terrible person at getting one of my personal ideas out into social media. Not only as a way to express ideas which in social media is really easy, but rather to get my ideas to catch on. I do not really think I am witty enough to express an idea that would get the attention of the people and of my friends following my twitter. I do not think my ideas warrant people "retweeting" my posts.
Getting back on to the statement that I would make if I would probably talk about anti-Semitism just because it hits home with my Jewish heritage. Honestly I do not have the clever mind to make a statement that would sway any people in a way that would persuade people that would follow me on twitter. even though I do not use twitter and even if I did I do not think I would get a lot of followers. Other than that I think it would be really important to bring anti-Semitism to the attention of the major public even though it is not as big of a topic as racisms. I just kind of wish that I had a clever mind because then personally I would participate more in social media. I just do not find a point because even if I were to say anything meaningful I would probably get made fun of by my close friends. Finally I think that if there is something to be said then just say it because if it affects one person maybe it will be passed to someone else.

In my opinion I think that nepotism is more socially accepted then it has been in the past. With the influx of potential applicants it is hard for someone to get an internship or even a job in today’s job market. This venture has become increasingly difficult and only is made easier by networking. In order to stand out more from other applicants it has become majorly important to network. It is funny for me to write about nepotism because I have personally gotten a job because of my father. Three summers ago I got a job working in the back of a Sherwin Williams paint store. The only reason I knew about the job was because my father that used to be the boss of the district manager was able to do my dad a personal favor and see what stores in the area had space to hire. Luckily there was one in which my dad let me know to go talk to the manager. It was a weird situation because immediately after getting hired the store manager was fired, so I basically worked and was never formally trained. In this case I am personally for nepotism because I see it as a way of networking. What parent these days in such a tough job market is not going to help their child get a job and set them up for the future. I personally see myself as lucky that my father is able to be a person I can go to in order to advance myself in the workforce. I only see him as an opportunity. I can understand that someone might view my situation as being given everything and not having to work as hard as other people. I think I personally am in a different situation than children that are given jobs because their fathers or grandfathers own a company. My father only works for a division that I am not even able to get a job for. I am looking into becoming a part of a division that my father doesn’t even have any contacts in but was able to get me the name of the person in charge of internships. This is why I think that it is important to be able to use my father as a resource. I might have an opportunity now to become a member of my the company my father works for which is striving. Why would I not want to become part of a company that has only increased in stock price and was not hit very hard when the stock market crashed. There is always going to be a need for paint in America. I just feel as though it is an opportunity for me to become a member of the working force and networking through my father is an easy way to get there.

I think in today’s society a lot of people believe that it is morally wrong to be racist. And when something is thought to be morally wrong people in general tend to avoid it as a common courtesy to all who may be offended by such an act. For example being naked in public or in this case being blatantly racist. I think a lot of the time situations come about when someone tells a racist joke. You get that first couple minutes of caution and looking around to make sure that there is no one that you will offend by telling said joke if they are listening in on your conversation. I know there could be certain situations where one may think that they fear misspeaking but I really just think that it is out of respect which comes from person’s background and upbringing. I really think it is very important to understand that someone who grows up in an area with mostly black people, this person might see it ok to slur the black race because have been accepted in a way into the culture to which they might be slurring. I think it is pretty normal for a person of an opposite race that grows up in a black community to have a very similar cultural background to the point where you could almost blend the line between race as long as this person is accepted. Otherwise this person would probably be rejected highly in the community and seen as an outcast. But for people who grow up outside of a black community for instance and are thrown into a setting like college where there are lots of people of every race and religion I think these people censor themselves out of pure respect. It may be interpreted as fear to some but that is only if that person is extremely racist and thinks that for example if a black person gets offended they will immediately turn and get into an altercation and sure some people are like that. But in the real world, in a college setting this is hardly the case. And I think that most people are aware and sensor themselves out of respect and ignorance. It is important to know that you do not know everyone and must be cautious of the fact that people can sometimes be dangerous. And in a college setting this fact is multiplied because drinking. Some people behave way differently than they do when under the influence so I think in this way people may fear offending someone. This I think is where the idea of censoring based of fear rather than respect comes from. But for me personally I think most people do it out of respect.

The difference between befriending a lesbian or a gay male is very much dependent on your personal views about homosexual people and your level of comfort being around those people. Like for me personally I really do not have a lot of experience with people who are gay or lesbian, however I do not feel as though I, as a morally just person could discriminate against someone of that sexual orientation solely based on that. I feel that it is necessary to judge a person by their character and not by something as private as sexual orientation. Like you could be friends with a gay male and not even know it unless this particular male is overly flamboyant in which case you would obviously know. Otherwise I think it is real important to not make important an issue such as sexual orientation before meeting and getting to know someone. To get back to the question at hand where the girl’s I assume guy friend would if presented with the option only be friends with someone of the opposite sex if they were gay. First of all I just want to point out that a person who is gay if presented with this situation would probably not be friends with that person at all. I think this problem comes down to that fact that having the thought that the gay male might hit on him which would put in an awkward situation with this person’s new friend. In a very basic way this would not happen if the homosexual friend was a female just because there is not that tension from the fact that the new friend would hit on them. And for some reason in a male’s eyes it is like pretty cool to have a lesbian friend not only because their sexual orientation is inherently interesting because it is so different but also it introduces a fantasy into the male’s life that he would not normally have. I think in a lot of ways just having any inkling of an opportunity to be close with a lesbian in a male’s eyes leaves him with the tiniest hope that he might be able to have a threesome with his lesbian friend and her partner which is where the fantasy lies. This is clearly not the case when it comes to having a gay male friend because that fantasy is not there. In a straight male’s eyes it is more like a nightmare. Not to say that being gay is a nightmare or having gay friends is it is just a possible perception that one might have. Other than that for me personally I would welcome any person of any sexual orientation to be my friend as long as I could regard them as my friend and passed my personal standards.

I think when it comes to race it really only comes down to the color of your skin or where you are from like heritage. This is only a really basic look into how you define a person race wise. I think when people look at race they look into a person’s skin color first. And personally I think that it is important for people to start to look at race in this way as only a trait that is “skin deep.” The problems that come with race I think lies in the stereotypes that are associated with that race. This provides a basis for people to be identified and judged and it does not even need to require interaction with the person. When it comes to aspects of race I think it all depends on the person you are asking. Like for me personally I think it is very basic and has to deal with skin color and where you come from. For other people it depends on how you act. For instance you could expect someone who is white but hangs with lots of black people, may feel like they are black. This is the classic case of the wigger which I do not have any experience with but I don’t think that matters when it comes to opinion. This person may feel that it is much more important to be described by the way he acts and not by the color of his skin. In the original video the person asks how you would perceive a person that looks like that. In my opinion this person would probably feel that it is more important to him to be accepted by his black friends because he looks black. And the only way to do this is to appear black. I am not saying that acting this way is a bad thing in fact I really do not have an strong opinion either way on someone acting not in a way that is not common to me at least. Other than that the kid asks to identify his race by looking at him. Obviously he is an Asian male but I really do not know why he asked to comment on the way he looks. I would not change my opinion of his race but rather choose to comment about how I personally cannot comment on how he holds himself normally. I think that you have to meet this person to really comment on how he acts in the real world which I really cannot do. Other than this I think the student poses a very important question about the perception of race in the real world and how it affects people.

I think that discussing a topic like atheism really makes a person look into their own religion. This is because atheism is such a drastic change from what you believe either as a Jew, Christian, Muslim, or whatever countless other religions are out there. When addressing a topic like atheism I first have to look at the way I define myself and my own religious beliefs. For me personally I am not very religious but strongly define myself as being Jewish. Some people believe that if you are not religious and Jewish you fit into what some people call a “cultural Jew.” This in some ways is kind of similar to being atheist because you classify yourself using a religion but you do not believe in the religion yourself and observe the holidays because it is family tradition. Now to get back to the question at hand; “Is atheism such a bad thing?” Personally I very open to new ideas like atheism but when someone tells me they are an atheist like when it comes up in conversation my personal beliefs cause me to question the fact their beliefs. So my answer to the question is t it is not really a bad thing but could be seen in that way just because is different to what you are used too. Unfortunately it is weird to say that I personally do not really have any strong views either for or against someone being atheist. I agree with the girl asking the question that being an atheist is really is just a choice. And how can one person’s choice be considered bad when it comes to beliefs. I personally do not think that a personal choice such as being atheist should be able affect others in such a way as to deter other people from accepting an atheist person. Like Sam pointed out to all of us in class that parents were least likely to accept their son or daughter to marry someone that openly identifies themselves as being atheist. Just like everything in this class the final thought always has to come down to a personal thought. In this case it’s what I personally would do if my son or daughter were to marry an atheist spouse. I do not think I would mind much about the spouse’s beliefs as long as they were willing to raise their kids in a similar fashion to the way I grew up. I think religion in some way is an important tool to raise a child with because it teaches them a moral code which is good for a child. My point is that there is really nothing wrong with being atheist only that it is different than what I personally believe and grew up believing.

I think it was very surprising how fast that Sam kind of snapped on the girl, when he was like, “You’re not really white, and there is no way.” When he said that I was very taken a back because he was essentially challenging this girl’s whole heritage in which she was very confident in her heritage and he was just telling her there was no way she could be right. This attack in a way made me feel a little bit uncomfortable just because of the way I would feel if I got attacked by Sam about my heritage or culture or religion. I just don’t think I would be able to handle it like that girl did. Fortunately for me, I do not fall into any category where I’m necessarily seen as biracial. I am a white, Jewish male most likely from Europe, but I’m not really sure. I haven’t put any major focus on my heritage since middle school, where I did a project with my class to look up my heritage. Also I do not have much perspective when dealing with race because I have not made many interactions with people of a different race than I am. Maybe that is a flaw of mine and I should seek to change that or maybe it’s just a comfort thing. I feel this kind of attitude defines me as a person. But I don’t necessarily see this as a bad thing, I personally am not racist or biased in any way, I just feel more comfortable with people very similar to myself. And I think this is very common. Most people tend to settle into a comfort zone, and that is consistent with most people because it is human nature not to go out and drastically change something that feels correct that feels safe. All I am saying is that most people of the same race or religion tend to group together, take for example any of the many Chinatowns in the United States, or Jewish quarter in areas like New York. Getting back to Sam’s conversation with the “white” girl I thought I brought up an interesting perspective on race in general. My takeaway from Sam's explanation of the emigration of a people to a new place really drove home the point about mixed race. I was surprised how easy it was to group and see where people most likely came from just from basic geography. And people from neighboring countries most likely have the same genetic markers for race. It is great to see that we can discuss things like people’s race that doesn't match what they say their race is, like the “white” girl’s because of the sheer size of the class. There would be no way to do this in any other classroom on campus unless extensive research on examples was made. Which would make the class extremely boring.