This class has shown me that a lot of what we think is socially acceptable, really is just us tip toeing around each other. What’s worse is that we never bother to get to know the other races, we just assume they are going to be offended. If we spend the time getting to know these people maybe we would understand that we do not actually have to go out of our way the way we do. Sam has shown me that with his humor coupled with his understanding, the barriers between races are much lower than what we see. I also now see that there are different degrees of racism, and that some people may be offended by one word, but others are not at all. I have always respected everyone, but sometimes would wonder why those who were not personally affected by slavery would not just want to move on. However, now I know that just because they were not physically enslaved, but their family has been, that is personal. Also, it goes both ways, racism is not dead. It may be to me and the people I know, but there are still those people stuck in the past that make others feel like it is not. Race is not the only thing I have taken new lessons from. Many of the issues surrounding sexuality and religion have opened my eyes to so many new things. I now know that we may think we understand others sexuality but we could be very wrong. There are so many levels and degrees of sexuality that we must take the time to really understand. And understanding can take a really long time, but it is one of those things that is necessary to becoming a better version of ourselves. War is another thing that I have a new understanding of. I used to think we would send our soldiers away to make life better, and to end conflicts. However, I will never forget the video of our soldiers crushing the livelihood of that civilian for fun. They should be doing constructive things and helping the world. I know this is not the case most of the time, but it shouldn't happen ever. It really just make me see how with so many good things, there is always going to be those one or two individuals that have to go and ruin it for the rest of us. I have learned so many new things about the world and now feel a little less oblivious then I did before. It is exciting to be more informed and have a new take on life. I am so happy I took this class and now see what all the hype is about

Interracial dating and intimacy is so difficult because of societal expectations. We are raised to see it as taboo, something we’re not supposed to do. Racists are still very prevalent and they are not ashamed to keep their views to themselves. We all live to have the acceptance of our peers in one way or another. I do not think that our generation cares as much as our parents did and as we become the older generation, I feel as though it will become something to not even look twice yet. It is the same with homosexuality, eventually it will be the same as straight relationships. Dating someone of another race is more difficult because of the added strain of feeling as though so many other people are judging you. You want to be proud of the person you love, and feeling ashamed because family or friends is not good for a healthy relationship. Another important thing to focus on is culture. We are taught from an early age to try and preserve our culture, and starting a family with someone of another race does not do that. It is combining two cultures, which personally can be a new and wonderful thing. Why aren’t we excited to progress and make this world amazing for everyone who we share it with? The combining of cultures will only ease tension and create common bonds. I am all for interracial dating. I personally believe in dating someone for the way their personality betters me. If everyone would have this mentality, then this world would be a greater place to live. This type of dating is so difficult because people make it difficult for us.

Some of the challenges of placing yourself into the shoes of Muslim stem from stereotypes. If we did not already have this evil connotation on our minds, then maybe we would be more willing and able to see the world through their eyes. The video that showed the Muslim civilians sitting around and having to watch American soldiers use a tank and crush a local man’s car did not sit well with me. It showed our soldiers in a negative way, something that isn’t easy to watch, but I feel it was necessary. The realization ripped me from my fantasy land where everything that happens overseas during the war is necessary and for a greater good. However, when I see our own soldiers single handedly destroy a man’s livelihood, I start to question. It is not that I would ever dream of turning my back on my country, but it has made me more aware of grouping. When I say grouping, I mean the idea of clumping a vast amount of people together based purely on one broad thing. Where someone is born is out of their control, the way they live their lives is what we should count. The Muslims are defined by the radicals that make the news, but we have those same types of people in our own country. If we look at this issue and learn to break things down and look at everything that makes up the whole of the Muslim culture, then we can appreciate it further for the good it has to offer. People who are closed minded are one of the biggest problems with our own culture. They are told one thing and believe it for the rest of their life. This does not go well with an ever-changing culture, and it does not do anything to help us move forward. We need to have a larger abundance of forward thinkers in our society. Without these progressives, then we will never reach a greater way of life or a greater understanding of those that we co-inhabit the earth with. We are all in this together, we are all earthlings. By definition, an earthling is one that inhabits the earth. That is everyone, everything, every animal, person and plant. Stereotypes aside, we are all one in the same when looking at it this way. We can all bond over one thing or another, and judging an entire group of people based on a few rotten radical eggs, does not seem fair to me. For a country such as America, the amount of backwards thinking astounds me. I was not proud when I saw those soldiers destroy that man’s car just because they could. I want to be proud of where I live, always. The Muslims are people just like you and me, and frankly they deserve much better than what they receive.

When it comes to the topics involving and surrounding rape and pregnancy, it is no doubt a difficult subject to cover. However, it is a necessary one, and it sometimes is upsetting that people would rather let it go and not talk about it at all, then be uncomfortable for a small amount of time. Women who have to go through the horrific and traumatizing experience of rape should be able to heal, and try to move on. However, what if the issue is doubled? What if as a result of the rape, a baby is conceived. That isn’t fair is it? The answer to this question, I'm guessing, would be a unanimous yes. For one reason, the woman cannot heal, but on the other hand what about the baby. The baby will most often be born into a fairly poisonous environment. It really does not seem fair in so many lights. So many people would say that terminating the pregnancy would be the easiest course of action. However, despite everything, what about the life that could be. What about all of the people that this potential person could influence, change, love? How is that fair in the end. To put this into perspective, what if you discovered the love of your life and you feel that life will never be the same. He or she has lifted you up and changed you for the better. Or, for the less lovey-dovey types, what if the cure to cancer was trapped in the mind of a baby that never had the chance to develop their genius? The world would be so different. There are people in my life that I could never imagine being without, never in a million years. What if their mothers gave up on them. I can tell you for sure that I would not be who I am today. Now, before those reading my blog post jump the gun, and proclaim that “you don't know what you would do in that situation!” Actually, I have dealt with this before, on a very real and very personal basis. I am not going to get into the specifics, and I am not going to talk about it further, because it is not my own personal story to tell. However, I was extremely involved. In the end I know that things could’ve be handled in a better manner, and that someone I know will never be the same, and will always hurt. People say that having a baby as a result of a rape, will only prolong the pain. I believe that terminating a pregnancy due to rape will make the pain last for a lifetime. Adoption is always an option, one that will make so many people happy. More people need to consider everything, and really what is truly the best option.

The exercise that Sam did with the class which discussed who was entitled to the land was really an eye opener. Coming from a suburban, mostly white, upper-middle class hometown, I never really thought about who was entitled to the land. The most I thought of was, “That house is for sale, now someone else will come along and move in.” That isn't very in-depth at all, if it even has anything to do with the real heart of the issue. Further back, when the Americas were still being discovered, and explored, the people originally here owned the land. These Native Americans should have been respected and their culture should have been as well. Unfortunately, taking without asking seemed to be trending at the time, even worse many were killed off. The level of respect has not increased over such a lengthy amount of time, if anything it has increasingly gotten much much worse. It makes me really sad that in a country where we are taught to respect everyone, the peoples that are such an important part of our history have reached such an insane level of poverty. Not only are they barely scraping by, but their life expectancy is far lower than our own. They often abuse alcohol and drugs, eve when most reservations are supposed to be dry. They have been pushed out of their own territory, the territory that is rightfully theirs. Those that are entitled to the land are the ones that originally it belonged too. If it were taken by force, then the ones that it was take from is still the rightful owner. The only time that the land becomes someone else's, is if the land is traded in a fair trade. That is, that whoever is losing the land, is either gaining more in another area, or is receiving some sort of compensation.

When it comes to the less fortunate, it is such a sticky situation. Of course we want to help them, and yes we have a responsibility to do so, but only to a certain point. I do not believe that we should help them too much, because if they can go out and start to be independent, that is the ultimate goal. If they can actually get a job to bring in a small amount of money, then they should do so. The less fortunate should express a strong desire, and effort in order to receive help from the government. I understand that there a special situations where they can not physically work whether it is due to age or condition, but those who are just poor should make an effort to try and become employed. As long as they are making an effort, then they should receive help from the government. Woman who have a lot of children and can not afford any more, let alone the ones they are raising, should have the option to receive birth control for free. Whether it is condoms or the pill, they should have the option to plan and stabilize their lives as best they can. We have the responsibility to help them, help themselves. Babying those that are perfectly capable to do for themselves is not going to help them in the long run. Its like the old saying, “give a man a fish, and you will feed him for a day; but teach a man to fish and you will feed him for a lifetime”. We do not want to temporarily fix the problem, we want to help the less fortunate become the best they can be and eventually sustain themselves. Part of this is knowing exactly who needs help and who can actually do for themselves. It is easy to receive workers compensation and stay on it for a long time while eventually getting back to a point where they can work. I know this first hand from a friend in high school’s family, and it always bugged me that I saw he was okay but was still receiving money. Also, drug tests should be mandatory for those receiving state or federal aid. I get it, not everyone does drugs, but you never know, and if someone is using, then they should receive help to stop. The aid they receive should be limited to food stamps and different forms of vouchers, but never money. The aid should go to those who are honestly trying, and are going to try to better their situation. If we continue to help along those who could actually make things better for themselves, then they will never learn.

I have always been told by my parents that discussing religion, politics, and wealth is frowned upon in a more open setting. So when the question “Are you rich?” is asked, I immediately feel that it is inappropriate to answer. My family has always been well off, but I don't think I could ever admit that to such a large class. Especially when those who are not well off I feel would easily judge me. Jealousy can get the best of anyone, easily; and I never want to be in a position that makes others feel badly. Admitting to having more than others is never easy. Especially in a classroom full of peers, admitting your financial background is like changing how everyone looks at you. Those who have less would not be happy with me because its like bragging, and those who have more would look down on me. No one ever wants to come off in a way that others would feel threatened by. In the teen and early twenty years we are all trying to find social acceptance, especially in college. We never want to put forth information that would set us apart from our peers, and wealth is one of the easiest ways to do this. With this topic, its like you can never win, so rather than gambling with discussing it, many feel it is just easier to keep it to yourself. However, its like any topic in Soc 119, they are all especially touchy. Just like religion, no one wants to stand forth and admit something that is so personal, It is just an understood thing, especially in the United States. Rich people normally just play off how rich they are, but on the other hand those who have less make it very clear that they have less. Not everyone, but I feel that so many people who do not have a lot of money want everyone to know. It is not uncommon to hear someone proclaim that they do not have enough money to do something, or buy something. Not saying that there is anything wrong with that, but why does it even have to come to that? Why cant someone say no thank you and call it a day? In our society it is okay to admit that we have less and someone will take pity on us, but when we get into the opposite end of the spectrum it is not okay. There is a lot of things to consider when talking about wealthiness, and admitting to ones own wealth is one. It is just not socially acceptable and no one in class wants to do something to end up with a target on their back.

I can see why people would not want these ads to go up because of the raised tensions, but our rights are valid all the time, it is not a part time thing. However, that is about as far as I can go with agreeing with the signs being posted. It is too controversial and upsetting to anyone who may be involved in the conflict. A conflict is a conflict for a reason, it does not need provoking. Especially in our public transportation systems, where thousands of people will see them. All it takes is for one wrong person to see and we could become involved. It could even provoke an attack, which is the exact opposite of what this country needs right now. Were trying to rebuild in so many different ways, an attack on our people would be so many steps in the wrong direction. This kind of issue needs to be handled sensitively and with care, there are many people involved with a lot invested in these issues. Our country can not anger any more people or nations, we want to be peaceful and friendly and these posters are not the way to get to that place. After nine eleven we have dealt with so many issues involving global relations, and the last thing we need is a bunch of public advertisements stirring the pot. We really are one of the most controversial nations, we have our freedoms. These freedoms can sometimes get us into so much trouble, we sometimes wonder if it is even worth it.
Another huge issue with this is that it is falsely representing Israel. Even though it says to support Israel and not Jihad, many major Jewish organizations are extremely opposed to these signs. The jewish people are not supportive of this, so what is this “Israel” that is opposing Jihad? Since the organizations have designated the group behind the ads as a hate group, how can anyone support these signs, if anything it is going to add huge amounts of confusion to Americans who are already ill informed. The woman is gaining support, I can only imagine, through confusion. Those who don’t know what is actually happening will probably think it is a positive campaign, when it is actually the polar opposite. I don’t know why she thinks that it is okay to stir up so many emotions, when she is labeled as a hate group promoter. People like this need to be watched, and their actions need to be evaluated so we can better understand where they are coming from and why they want to do this to our nation. When you are losing support from the people you claim to be “helping” there is an obvious problem.

Bridging the gap between east and west is a difficult thing, especially because we live such different lives. HipHop and Art are excellent ways to do so, any sort of self expression is a great way to bridge a gap between two problematic things. We can all relate to music and art, because for the most part we all enjoy it. Everyone is more responsive to things we enjoy, so if we bring up important issues and link them to enjoyable things, we will get more of a response. Positive associations encourage progress, no one likes listening to something that does not make them feel good or better about something. Everyone should remember this when dealing with problems. At first you could be listening to a song just because you enjoy the beat. However, once you get past that, you can start to understand the words. This method could be used to influence extremely biased people who are headstrong. The same applies for art, everything is confusing at first, but once we start to digest what we’re viewing, we can understand everything a lot better. The way to influence people with our own thoughts, is to appeal to their senses and the things that they appreciate. Art, every form of it, appeals to our senses and makes us think in new and exciting ways. In class, when we were listening to the rapper, I honestly didn’t hear much, but I knew he was talking in another language at one point. That alone intrigued me, I wanted to know what he was saying. This method should be used more often. If we leave an air of mystery, and people want to know more, they will do it because it is their own interest. No one is forcing them to learn or understand anything that they don’t want to. If I had more time, or a second to talk to the rap artist, I would probably ask him what he was saying. Wouldn’t anyone? Its only a natural human instinct to be curious and want to know more about what we don't understand. I obviously didn't understand what he was saying, I don't speak that language. So naturally, I would want to know more. This yearn to know more is the beginning of how art influences people. It is a great technique to employ, and interesting to think about. More songs and art should be made to address the problem between the east and the west. If I don't know what someone is talking about, I will want to understand. The same is true with most people. I love art, and I don't listen to something for the content the first time around. However, once i’m past the original attraction, I know what the message is, and I start to appreciate it.

The pictures that I saw were very graphic and really upsetting. It is horrible to know that this goes on because they are innocent civilians. I cannot imagine how these families must feel losing members of their family and friends. What is worse, is that my own country is the cause of their grief. It is a bad feeling, because in some way I feel I am partially supporting it. I can catch myself saying things about protecting our country, whatever it took. However, now that I know what those measures are, and what they lead to, it is a horrible feeling. The veteran in class provided some amazing insight. He said he had a great relationship with ninety percent of the people he interacted with. This only makes it clearer that we need to make a greater effort to pinpoint only the bad people in this world. Just because someone is near the line of fire, does not mean that they should get blasted to. The acts of violence in the sickening pictures that we viewed did not need to happen. Many people would say that the terrorist attacks that were aimed at us did not need to happen. And they are right, but ninety percent of the people we are hurting were not behind that. Just like we have bad people in America, there are bad groups in every country. I think that a major reform needs to occur. There is something that can be changed so that the innocent are treated as such. Just because people may not appear to look innocent, does not mean the same rule we live by does not apply to them. Innocent until proven guilty. We would never punish one of our friends, or family members if they did nothing wrong. So why is that happening in Iraq and neighboring countries? Until this class I was living in a fantasy land where this did not happen. We should always try to be fair and just in everything we do. This applies to every person, no matter where they live. As human beings, how can anyone support senseless violence? If we had been born in Iraq and not America, what would change for us? We would try to understand why a seemingly good country is trying to harm us. Constantly living in fear is no way to live at all, and our country is causing people to live this way. Now that my eyes are open to these pictures and this violence, I can no longer support these drone attacks or anything that may hurt the worlds innocent. How could anyone? I support the takedown of the evil in this world, but there has got to be a way to do it that spares the good.