I think the reason some people believe homosexuality is a choice is because many Christians who believe it is a sin want a reason to see something wrong with it. I have never heard anyone's reasoning behind their belief that it is a choice, but I cannot think of an argument myself. I believe that people think this because they want some comfort to support their belief as being the right one. I think people that believe it is a choice are noticing that hatred towards gays are irrational, and so they are looking for a reason to support their hatred towards gays. They want a reason to think that gays can decide what they are and so they decide a sinful way.

I feel as if the man in the video is an approachable person. I don't normally judge someone before I've met them by their appearance alone. I can definitely see how people could be possibly intimidated by his appearance. There is so much judgement that goes on when someone first sees another person, and some people may find him a little unapproachable because he is african-american, he has dreadlocks and he is wearing flat top hat. I however took into account that he is smiling, he seems well-spoken, and he is keeping eye contact with the camera. It obviously is not how you would dress if you were trying to get a job or anything of that nature, but based on just the appearance and not what he was wearing, I would give him a chance if I were a hiring manager at a business. People take skin color and other exterior features way to seriously when evaluating people, rather than on a person's manners and character.

When I was deciding on which college I wanted to attend, it was between 2 schools, Penn State and South Carolina. They are both completely different schools and I liked them for different reasons. South Carolina looked more fun, relaxed, and laid back, while Penn State looked like a place that by attending could really benefit my future. My family had given their input, and even though they claimed they wanted me to make my own decision, I knew they were pushing for Penn State. I was kind of leaning towards South Carolina because it seemed more fun. It had reached the deadline day to decide, and I just decided that Penn State was the place where I could better succeed at so now I am here. If it had been up to my own free will I probably would've chosen South Carolina, but because I was thinking about what would be a smarter decision, I chose Penn State and couldn't be happier with my decision.

I am a white student from a pretty nice suburban area outside of Washington DC. My school was very diverse because it was a big school and a lot of neighboring areas from mine were also in the district. Although I was and still am friends with a lot of people of different races, I never really thought very hard about affirmative action. Once I started applying to schools however, I started to think about it more. Me and one of my African-American friends both applied to the University of Georgia with very different resumes. I had a 3.1 grade point average with a 1930 on my sats and didn't get in. My friend had a 2.5 grade point average with a lower sat score than me and he got in. This is the first time I had really thought about the fact that it race may be taken into affect when applying for either colleges or a job. I didn't really think it was very fair, but I got over it. Since then, the only thing that has brought affirmative action to my attention is the Rooney rule in the NFL for hiring coaches. I think it is a stupid rule, because you shouldn't be forced into interviewing at least one black person when searching for a head coach. You should be searching for the best man for the job, and in many cases a black man is eventually hired because he was the right candidate. I honestly think that in that case, it is just an exxaggerated effort to show that we are sorry for everything bad that has happened to the African-American race in the past. You shouldn't have to give a pity interview if you have no intention on hiring the guy. If the best man for the job is black then he will get the job.

I can understand why people don't want to identify themselves as rich. I for one am pretty well off and I have kept my mouth shut about my financial situation for most of my life. If a rich person starts talking about themselves as rich, then they come off as a snob and very rude. It is also disrespectful to talk about how much money you have in front of people who don't have as much because then those people will judge you as a jerk. I live next to one of the most rich and predominantly white areas in Maryland, and my cousin is from the area so I know a bunch of his friends. From what I noticed, they feel that nothing is more important than material possesions, which is very off-putting. These kids are spoiled from birth and don't realize that there are people out there with less money because everyone they socialize with is the same as them. I went to a school where there was a mixture of different people, so I knew how to appropriately behave and not talk about what my parents make. I just let people judge me on things other than me being rich or poor.

I think it is bigotry what some people are saying about this girl in the comments section of the picture. Many people are very ignorant to the Sikh religion and if you have no clue what you are talking about than you should not be saying anything at all. Regardless of her religion, it is rude to say these kinds of things to anyone. If for example, she was dressing like this because she wanted to and not because of her religion, it is not right to verbally abuse a person and tell them how to live their life. I found it very disturbing that people would say these types of things to a person who they have never met and whose life they don't know. Everyone should be given a chance before they are judged.

I agree with Sam's approach to the issue that we need to take people's differences into account in order to understand them and be sensitive as to what they go through on a daily basis. You can't just ignore a person being different and expect that to work. You must take notice to a person's difference so they don't feel awkward around you, and also be able to interact with them knowing that they are different, and being ok with it. I've personally been in situations with people before who had an obvious difference with them, and instead of ignoring that they were different, I took it into account that these people were different, and got a better understanding of what it is like to live with whatever difference they have.

I registered for soc 119 because all of my friends said that Sam was a very unique teacher and it is a class I will actually enjoy. I definitely enjoy his teaching style, it is very different from any other teacher's but he gets his point across and it works. I like that he tackles all these issues head on, and says whatever he feels like. He doesn't try to offend people, he tries to challenge peoples beliefs and get them to notice things from an opposite viewpoint that they wouldve not noticed before. His teaching style is obviously the reason that the class enrollment is so high and everyone wants to take it. People want to see what all the fuss is about with this class, and I am really enjoying it so far. It's a unique experience to have a professor like Sam, and I enjoy how he opens people's minds to beliefs other than their own.