I don’t think that people should just move on. I just think that people don’t care as much because it does not affect people directly. It is crazy though. Just because it doesn’t affect us directly people act like nothing ever happened. Some people do not even think about it. It is crazy how some people do not even know about it. I remember talking to my friend and being like “Did you heard about what happened in Haiti?” and they responded with “No, what happened?” I could not believe that some people did not even know what happened. It is a perfect example of egocentrism. People in this country are so oblivious to what happens around us. And to be honest I used to be one of them. Before I took Sam’s class I was oblivious to pretty much everything that he brought up in class. I am so happy that I took his class because I am so much more knowledgeable about what is going on around me. Before I took this class I did not even know what the war was fought about. I did not know the hardships that native Americans go through day to day. I did not know about the Haitians and what they go through. This class has truly opened my eyes and I am thankful that I took this class.
About what is going on in Haiti. I feel very bad for what they have to live with and what they have to go through. Every chance I get to help them I donate money. I wish that I could go there and do something. But in cases like this I feel helpless. Even with problems with racism I do not know what I can do. I want to help and I want to make a change but how can I make a change when everyone around me does not want to change the way that they think. People do not care. People are okay with being racist. In fact some people like being racist and they like the fact that they are white and they do not care that other people are discriminated against. I want to be able to change the views of other people but sometimes I feel like one person can not do anything to change any thing.
I grew up in a very diverse environment and I wish that people could see the way that I see and feel the way that I feel. However it is not that easy and it will never be that easy. I hope that one day everyone will be equal and everyone will be happy. I hope this will happen someday.

I agree with her in every aspect of what she said. I do care about my body and the way that it looks but not to please other people so that they see me a certain way. I dress the way that I feel comfortable dressing and what I feel comfortable in. I really do not care about other people because what that ends up giving you is low self esteem. Having low self esteem can have very bad effects on you so that is why I have learned to not give a f*ck about other people. I just worry about myself.

Wow. I wonder what was going through her mind throughout this class period. I was trying to think from a Muslim point of view throughout the class period but there is really know way that I could know what it really feels like to be a Muslim. I do not know any Muslim people very personally, I am not very knowledgeable on the subject of the Muslim faith or the Muslim people. But what I just felt was bad. I felt bad for the people but this is the reality. This is what is going on. As sad as it is to say that.

A lot of things were going through my mind throughout this class period. Before the class even started, I was intrigued and wondering what the hell we could be talking about next class. I was excited and I told all my friends about it that it was going to be such a good class. I do not know why but I get really excited when it is a good class because I think it is fun and funny sometimes.
This class, however, was not very funny at all. I can not say that I was disappointed when I found out the topic of yesterdays class. It was not what I thought it would be but I was not unhappy about it. I was actually excited because I have always said that I wanted to know about what is really going on in Iraq and Afghanistan. Yes, unfortunately, since 2001 I can honestly say that I hardly knew what the war was really about. It is really sad and sometimes I am ashamed to say it. But I just felt like I could not find out what the war was really about because it was too far in and there was just too much information that I needed to know. That is what I really really liked about the class yesterday. It taught me what I wanted to know about the war. It showed me what is really going on in these other countries and most of all how these people must feel. I feel a lot more knowledgeable on the was in Iraq now- all that information in just one short class. While at sometimes Sam would just ramble on and lose my interest, I did get a lot from the class.
What I think blew my mind the most was the religious aspect of the whole thing. I am not a religious person and I always say how I do not really believe in anything. But leaving class yesterday, I felt almost bad for not believing in anything. Obviously, these people take religion very seriously (Christians and Muslims), so seriously that they are willing to die for their religion or make other people die for their religion. I never saw religion as such a serious thing and I honestly do feel sort of bad for it. It is just crazy to me that that goes on in this world. And here I am worrying about what I’m going to wear to class or who is going to buy me alcohol. It is really sad and I wish that this was not going on in the world today. But the reality is that it is happening, and there is no sign that that will be changing any time soon.

I agree with some of the things that she says. The LL Bean pictures were not really funny to me because what like what is he saying? That there can’t be black people out there who dress “white” and go camping or hiking or whatever they are doing? Okay understandable maybe one argument could be that not AS many black people enjoy these activities as much as white people but I do know black people that act “white” and dress “white.” If they are trying to add more diversity to the catalog isn’t that something we should be wanting? I don’t get it.

I have always wondered this myself. And to be honest I don’t know. I mean there are certain things that Sam says that I do agree with and that make me think but then there are just some things that make me think he’s just talking out of his ass. However, I think it is very interesting to listen to how he thinks. I see Sam as this very eccentric guy who has been a lot of places and seen a lot of things in his lifetime. I guess this causes him to feel very strongly about his views and he wants people to see what he sees. I get that. I like listening to him talk and hearing his stories. I think he has a good view on race and I guess what he says makes sense sometimes. But being in his class has definitely make me think about race more then I normally would. There are certain things that he talks about in class or that he shows in class that really make me think and actually have an effect on me. For example, the “Girl Like Me” video. When he said that it was going to be very powerful I didn’t expect to actually almost be in tears. Well not even almost I had tears in my eyes. I grew up around a lot of different races so I never really thought of racial inequality too much. But after seeing that video it really made me think. It really made me sad for those little kids who don’t want to be black because they don’t think that they are beautiful. They think that being white is being beautiful and to me that is really really sad. That they can’t feel happy or comfortable in their own skin. It made me think about how I wish that the world wasn’t like this and how bad racism really still is.
I also really enjoyed my race relations group. It was really good to be able to sit down with a group of people who I didn’t know and just talk about race and stereotypes and anything that we wanted without having to censor ourselves or be scared of offending anyone. I feel that if everybody had to do this at some point then maybe people would not think so badly about other races and feel the way that they feel. I learned a lot from it because it let me see into other peoples lives and the way that they feel about race and experiences that they had. It was also cool to hear about where they came from and how they got the views that they have today.

I am confused by this as well. If I were in his shoes I am not sure how I would react. I mean his skin is not black but he’s not white either. Would he be considered brown? Tan? From looking at him I would not say that he’s white. To me it’s evident that he is Hispanic but maybe it’s because I grew up in a very racially diverse town. But I feel bad for him because he is confused about what he is and where he fits in to all of these different conversations. If I were him I am not sure what I would do either.

I am confused by this as well. If I were in his shoes I am not sure how I would react. I mean his skin is not black but he’s not white either. Would he be considered brown? Tan? From looking at him I would not say that he’s white. To me it’s evident that he is Hispanic but maybe it’s because I grew up in a very racially diverse town. But I feel bad for him because he is confused about what he is and where he fits in to all of these different conversations. If I were him I am not sure what I would do either.

This is a very interesting topic and it’s funny to me that I never thought about this topic before. And to think about it now it doesn’t really faze me. I grew up in a very multicultural environment. In my high school it was one-third whites, one-third blacks, and one-third Hispanics. Often at times I would be like the minority. I would walk into a room and be the only white person in the room. I didn’t really think anything of it though. They way that I was raised is that skin color doesn’t really make a difference. I think that if the whites became a minority group, well I hope, that things would be different and maybe everyone would be seen as equal.

Sam was right about this video. It really brought me to tears. I didn’t think it would when he said that it was one of the most disturbing videos that we would see in class. But after seeing it I was deeply deeply moved, upset, and really at a loss for words. I think it’s very hard for a white person to watch a video like that. It’s very frustrating for me especially because I’m so open to other races and am not in the least bit prejudice. It’s hard because I want to tell them that they are beautiful in the skin they are in and they don’t have to feel ugly. I don’t want them to feel like society made them ugly but I know that they already think that. Nothing can change that. Because the true ugly people in this world- the racist people- make them feel this way. The little white boys and girls in their classes probably make fun of them for being “dirty” or having “dirty” hair. It makes me sick. I volunteered at a kindergarten class once and I heard a white boy tell a black boy that his mother said that the black boy was dirty and didn’t want him to go near the black boy. I grabbed him and told him that wasn’t true but he just ran away. Little kids are going to be influenced by what their parents believe just like those two white supremacist singing twins. They were white supremacists because that’s the way they were raised.
I think that the most disturbing part of this video was around 4:49 when the little girl is asked to give the doll that looks like her. What really brought me to tears, and what still does, is how bad shit wanted to give the lady the white doll. You can see her look at the white doll, wishing that she could push it to the lady, but then she sadly returns to the black doll. That disturbs me so much and I feel so much pain for that little girl and for any child who wishes that they could be something different from what they are. I can’t say what I would be like if I was black. I have no idea what an African-American person goes through daily and the hardships that they suffer emotionally, physically, mentally, and socially. But I feel for them in every way possible. I wish that the world did not have to be like this.. but what a wish to wish. Who would wish for the world to be like this? It’s disgusting to me. I see African-Americans as my equals and my friends and I wish the rest of the world could feel the same.