This has been one of the greatest sociology courses I have taken so far and I can only speak for myself but it has taught me so much about the racial inequalities that we endure in our society. We often try to avoid speaking about race because some of us don’t know how to address it. Sam made a point; how will we know about another race if we don’t surround ourselves with different cultures? We do not get the experience of meeting different cultural backgrounds because most of us live in a neighborhood that is predominant of our own race. Attending Penn State has definitely allowed me to branch out because it is so diverse. I also learned different aspects of others backgrounds which allowed me to be more open-minded of others people’s feelings or beliefs. I am glad that Sam focused on not only Americans but other countries because we often become a bit selfish and we do not realize that others withstand the same problems that we face. Given the opportunity, he has broadened our minds and allowed us to, for example, think before you speak and take your actions into consideration because what you may think isn’t offensive may be offensive to someone else. An infamous moment that I enjoyed in class was when we addressed the word “colored people.” It was very intense and as bad as this sounds I am so glad that she had said that word because if she hadn’t, we wouldn’t have gotten anywhere in that course. That class taught not only black people, but white people what words can really offend another race. Now, I hear a lot of white people saying outside of class they won’t use that term anymore. I see it as a movement towards better understanding of all our differences. This class makes you realize that your “voice” has so much power! We have the chance to make a difference among our peers by sharing our viewpoints in a respectable manner. How will we ever know anything if we do not ask or we do not communicate with one another? Sam gave us so many chances to speak upon our beliefs on different topics. Although some were afraid to speak up, a lot of students had the ability to speak their minds. All the demonstrations that followed with the discussions made it more interesting because we use real-life situations as examples to prove our point. Interaction is important. The clicker’s also allowed us to learn more about the class anonymously which was cool. Overall, I feel like racial inequality courses should be mandatory for any major because race is very important in our society and it should not be inevitable.

Thursday’s lecture was perhaps one of my favorite lectures because it made me think way beyond what I usually perceive. Sam and his wife made a point in saying that we live in a male world. Even two individuals being intimate with one another determines that we are still living in a male society. I have noticed that the “male gaze” is constantly shown in the media but as for sex, I never actually perceived that females are always satisfying the male’s needs and males do not give women that same feeling in return. Women do dress for men, a statement that Sam stated, are completely true. For instance, he mentioned college girls on Halloween weekend and how we dress provocatively just to impress the other sex. If we were living in a female society, we would dress more comfortably and wouldn’t worry about putting on excessive amounts of make-up. A male’s sexual drive is faster and with one kiss, it triggers sex. With a female, she enjoys foreplay, kissing, touching or and kind of sensuality that will get her aroused. Typically the female has to move at the males pace just so he can get what he wants. In this process the women may get a bit aroused but she will not get the same affect if it were more passionate.
I was not at all surprised at the statistics when they mentioned how many women reach an orgasm from sexual pleasures. A majority of women fake an orgasm to please their partners. Sadly, some men are happy to say they have sexually pleased their female partner but majority of the time, this is not the case, women often lie so they would not hurt their feelings.
One statement that Sam made that I liked was him mentioning the differences between a male and female when it comes to sex; Males perceive it as a moment where they become a “man’ whereas the women feels “the relationship has progressed.” I am glad that he mentioned that because girls, even women in college, do not know majority of the time that men do not take them seriously if they are “easy” to get with. Also, the female’s emotions begin to be played with when in actuality, the male just wanted sexual pleasure and nothing more.
It’s an interesting topic because no one really realizes these things unless it’s addressed to us. Lastly, the empowering video of the dolls creates an idea of how we internalize things at such a young age without even knowing or realizing it. The media is certainly an aspect of our ways of thinking and how we portray certain views and it will always be instilled in the minds of young ones.

This lecture was very helpful to me because I was actually thinking to myself the other day as to where I stand in the stages of racial identification. All my life I have been raised by different races, cultures etc. but I definitely feel that I lack in conversation with white people. I only have a small amount of white friends but I would like the amount to be way larger. For instance, I went canning for a weekend once and I was the only minority in that group. I did feel a little uncomfortable when I found out that I was going to be the only black girl there but I got over it and I actually had a great time. All my life I have felt more comfortable around black people but when I came to Penn State, I was surrounded by more white because I began to join a lot of organizations. Often I ask myself why do I feel uncomfortable or why do I focus so much on a person’s skin color? You begin to realize that your skin color does not make you who you are, your personality does. This is why I have been more acceptant of anyone’s race and its actually interesting to learn more about someone; race is important to talk about because there is no way of avoiding it. Having the opportunity to be around different races taught me a lesson and I learned so much about everyone’s background. When the substitute came to our class to teach us about racial identification, he explained that he hadn’t associated with many races but his own. When he graduated, he began working and he mentioned going to Germany and meeting a fan who was white and now they are best friends. Later on, he began having more and more friends of all different races. I did not know that there were multiple stages. One thing that did not surprise me was when someone from the class said that they’re brother is Asian and he considered himself to be white. I know many minorities that do not like to embrace their race. I am not sure as to why they do that but one should always embrace their culture and they shouldn’t be embarrassed about it. I feel like I am at that stage in my life where I need to branch out and begin to focus more on race because it is somewhat hidden in our society; not too many talk about it. Speaking about our race really opens our eyes and enables us to learn about our cultural differences or backgrounds. This class is teaching me a lot about race and inequality and I am glad that its becoming more noticeable.

Well since homosexuality is a sin, it makes no difference from any other sin. It all depends on the person and the fact that people make a choice to be gay. People are just so quick to judge gays; people who are religious at times do not accept homosexuality. Those who are so quick to judge gays also sin themselves. In my opinion, God can only judge you for your sins and no single individual on this earth can. Repenting to your God for sinning may be a way for some gays to feel better. I feel like it may be harder for a homosexual because they cannot help the fact their sexual orientation is different from a heterosexual person. The perfect example of what Sam said in class was “Are people born gay or is it their choice?” We will not know because it all depends on the individual. People from the young of 4 years old notice their interest in the same sex. It’s an amazing question to ask and we will not know the answer to that question just by asking one person.
I personally do not have a problem with homosexual individuals. It does bother me that certain men make little remarks that some things are “gay” or they do not want to be around gay people. Also men or women seem to feel a little uncomfortable when they see two gay men together kissing or touching. One thing I do like is that our generation is becoming more accepting of gays because they weren’t accepted in the past generations. One comment that did make me laugh was when Sam mentioned that men and women were in a study to read/watch gay erotica and they were actually aroused by it, causing them to have an erection. Men and women would deny the fact that it would arouse them but there was proof.
Bisexuality has always been an orientation that has always confused me a bit because it’s a bit complicating. Having the ability to like two sexual orientations really amazes me. I wonder which sexual orientation they would end up choosing or are they just confused? Bisexuality was common when I was in High School; I remember when my friends would tell me they were bisexual and I became shocked because I wondered did they choose to be bisexual overnight or was it for attention? It baffled me because it seemed like they were craving attention from other guys because they knew guys liked “girl on girl” action. Men like to see sexual acts between two women but if it were a man, it isn’t acceptable. Maybe as the future goes on, gay men will be more accepted in society for showing public affection.

Having contact with “another group” is very important because it expands our minds. It’s best to be open-minded so that we can be more accustomed or have the tendency to feel more comfortable around a certain group. There are many moments where I felt that a group has shifted my understanding. One instance was when I came from New York City to Pennsylvania when I was younger. I was 7 years old just entering the third grade and at a young age, I realized the racial shift. I didn't feel any discomfort because when I was in the city, I would be surrounded by a huge variety of races. But in the area where I moved into P.A., white people weren’t as friendly. Of course they accepted different races in their schools but they would try to make people, especially from the city, feel like they were delinquents. I was constantly polite no matter what they thought of me but after a while I gave up because I felt like I was never accepted in their “group.” That resulted in me hanging around my own race more but they did not benefit me because I did not know anything about white people. At one point I became afraid to even approach a white person because I did not want to experience any hostility that I experienced when I was younger. As a teen, I became more open-minded; I started to speak to white people more but at the end of the day, the white people would hang around with their group and vice-versa with minorities. I always wanted to have a diverse group of friends and I did but not until I was entering college. When I finally came to Penn State Hazleton, I began hanging around more white people and we would often joke about our races because we became so comfortable. We taught each other about our cultures and for once I didn't feel afraid to talk to them about anything. In the past, I always thought if I spoke to a white person, they would think I am weird but I have begun to be more open-minded. Being at Penn State Main now I've noticed a lot of people are so much friendlier and a lot of people are willing to be your friend. Even this class has taught me a lot about people’s backgrounds which was very interesting to me. For those who live in predominant neighborhoods with just one race, it can make it difficult to reach out and have contact with a different racial group. But once you attend a college like Penn State, in my opinion, it’s very hard to just avoid hanging around with just one race because it’s our school is so diverse.

I was definitely surprised at the statistics shown on the screen. These statistics changed my views on certain things but that did not change the fact that I would allow my child to walk alone to school. Sam made an example by asking the class how many children are most likely to be abducted and if we would allow our children to walk alone to school. Another question he had asked was if your child had been lost, what would you want them to do. Honestly, in my opinion, I did not vote on that question because I would not have let my child walk alone in the first place. In the end, no matter if they get abducted, if something happens as a mother, I am the one to blame because I gave my child the choice to walk alone and I would feel guilty. It is not so much a belief system in my opinion but it is how I was raised. I do think most of our beliefs are formed by what society expects us to believe. At a young age, we are primed; we learn to have certain belief systems. He made a point about saying most people would learn not to trust others because of television shows but that is not the case to me. When I was younger, I would not be able to walk alone anywhere until I was around my teens. When I lived in an urban city, I saw a lot of children walking to school alone and my mother did not want me to do that. My mother taught me not me not trust just anyone I meet. Especially if someone lives in a city, crimes are higher and it is less safe. This determined me to definitely not allow my child to walk school alone under the age of 13. At thirteen, they are more likely to understand and have more common sense.
One statistic that surprised me the most was that family or people whom we know are most likely to abduct our children. I noticed that the statistics with television versus real life situations are very different. Crimes that are committed in television shows are more likely to attract viewers I guess. But society is to blame for tricking our minds into believing that the crimes that are being committed are not a true importance to real life crimes. We are all entitled to our own opinions concerning beliefs but we have to learn to become more open minded. Everyone needs to look past the facts and determine the importance of certain situations that may or may not affect us.

Tuesday’s class was an eye opener for me because it really taught me that at any time anyone can just come and take away everything that you have. He demonstrated by using a few white people and other people of color; the people of color originally had that land until the white people came and took it from them. He then added more and more people and it conflicted with children and grandchildren. The question was would you still fight for your land even if you were a grandchild? That is a question that many of us were not able to answer until he asked us, what if you came home one day and saw that your car was taken and your summer home you had has been taken? It was a great point to make because most often people do not think of situations like this. This resulted in the conversation that Indians had their land taken away from those who were “superior.” This was not fair to them because majority of this land was owned by the Native Indians. The video that was shown about the Indians in the Dakotas and how they are struggling sickened me because they had absolutely nothing! Indians are said to be one of the poorest in the country. I also saw that majority of the teenage Indians are more willing to commit suicide and that was so sad. A guest speaker came to the class and he was one of the people who were part of the demonstration; he acted as a grandchild. When he went up in front of the class and acted as the “grandchild,” I noticed that the class burst into laughter. I am not sure why but as soon as he began speaking, he realized that the class was laughing. Little did everyone know that he is a grandchild of Native Americans. His ancestors land was actually part of what is state college now and I found that so interesting. In a way I felt guilty because I knew there was nothing he could do about it. Later, we saw and heard the lyrics of a man who sang about the Indians and how he said they took their land. I wonder what the guest speakers reaction was and how does that make him feel? To see someone singing a song with such negativity was hurtful even to me because I felt so bad. The guest speaker ended by singing a Native prayer and I thought it was awesome because he shared a part of his culture with us. Overall, my reactions were that nobody should take someone’s things that are so valuable to them, especially land!

When Sam spoke about affirmative action and ranks and related it back to history of slavery in Thursday’s class, it opened my eyes. His example of slavery really taught me that blacks did struggle and they were such a big source in the past for whites. If they did run away, people who would find them would be awarded money for it. He made a point that if he did run away, where would they run too? They had no land and there only home was their plantation. Slaves in the past have always been at the bottom of the ranks because they were used as property. Now, blacks are still at the bottom of the ranks years later and Sam questioned, “Why is that?” That is a question I would like to know as well because slavery has been over decades ago. Affirmative Action was a serious issue in the past because it served as a process though spoke about nondiscrimination. I don’t think that that is the true issue currently. Each individual has their own choice of trying to succeed in life now and most often blacks aren’t seen as hard workers. Sadly because I am black this is the somewhat norm but people in the black communities have less advantages and motivation. It all depends on how you were raised or if you are willing to motivate yourself to be successful. I am not saying whites, Asians or any other cultures don’t suffer but overall, blacks have fewer advantages. They have more advantages then we do because they are so willing to work or are raised in a wealthy family. Also, they may have better connections so they could get ahead; there are multiple reasons. Getting back onto the topic of Affirmative Action, in my opinion, it is not the main reason why blacks are not able to succeed. When segregation between blacks and whites were happening in the 60’s, blacks were trying their hardest to be equal. Since it was a struggle, it motivated blacks to prevent this from happening any longer. Currently we are all equal, in all races, but it seems like we are not. When it comes to income, we are lacking in that area but for what reason. I just think we have to try harder as a race and make other races know that we mean business and we are serious about getting ahead.

I was not at all shocked at the differences of household incomes between whites, Asians, Hispanics and blacks because that’s how society is just based; Asians are depicted as very smart and white men just have more control over things. Black and Hispanic people, who I thought their ranks would be the same, have less advantages. I guess Hispanics are higher because they work more and harder than blacks. I feel a bit disappointed because I am black and I want to know why the black communities are struggling so much. I know that we are more likely to be in poverty because of the location we live in or school’s we go too but it’s saddening. Even if blacks wanted get higher on that chain, Asians and whites would push harder to higher and make sure no one takes their place. I took way out of Thursday’s lesson when he discussed a little more if someone were rich is it because they had more opportunities because they were rich or is it because they worked hard. I chose both because depending on the person or their experiences, they may get more advantages than the other person who is actually intelligent. In my opinion, relatively people get connections these days and it’s all about who you know and not what you know. In the past there were way more hard workers who earned what they wanted. Now, it’s the other way around. He made another example about students who pay for their loans vs. those who have someone pay for them. He made a point that students who are or claim to be poor are not because there are many other people out there in the world trying their hardest to survive daily; poor people often look down because they know there are poorer people than them. Also he said those who are rich look up because they don’t think they are rich enough. That’s an excellent point to make; it’s often true. Which brings me back to the race issue for wealth; Asians and whites won’t look back. Their only mission is to succeed and make sure that they maintain at that rate. In my opinion, it’s all about competition. Lastly, I found it very interesting that colleges don’t only look at your SAT scores. They base it solely on income, race, etc. I just feel like those who have money have so much more power and that’s not fair. People with money can get away with way more and sometimes they don’t even need to be knowledgeable to get what they want. In result, there are many aspects as to why Asians are at the top but I know they work really hard to succeed!

Nasim is a very understanding man because if I were him, I would have had some much hatred in my heart! Why do people think it is alright to go to someone’s home and assume that they are part of a group that they claim they are not part of? When I saw this, it brought me back to the discussion we had in class about those who are Muslim or live in the Middle East. I remember everyone shared their opinion about how they felt about those in the Middle East. Most of us had no problems with those from the Middle East but certain never got the time to actually think about how they might feel. We all thought about 9/11 and how it affected us. We were so young to comprehend what was going on but now that we are young adults, we understand. The media often times portrays Middle Eastern citizens in a negative light. When we talked to that man from Iran, he gave us his viewpoint on how Iranians feel in his country. He embraced the American culture by watching certain American TV shows or speaking the English language. It is nice to get an opinion from a true Iranian and that definitely made me feel glad that they are comfortable with us. Which goes back to the video that was shown; why are we still treating innocent people as prisoners. It absolutely disgusts me that people have the audacity to take an innocent person from their home and torture them, not even take them to jail, but to torture them is definitely sickening. No matter how much one may think that they are guilty of a certain act, never try to torture them. The fact that they tortured him to the point where Nasim wanted to commit suicide made me feel absolutely horrible because there are many people, to this day, who are being tormented for wrongful doings they did not commit. Most of these men have woman and children. I do not think an American would be too happy if they were taken away from their home and left family behind. Americans do have the tendency of being selfish and or ignorant. Nasim was released but he never got an apology for what has happened to him. I definitely think if an apology was made, it would have been more sincere rather than not saying anything at all. I am glad Nasim is free now and he gets to tell his story. Sadly, this is still happening to these citizens. I would not know what to do if I were him and I commend him for being so understanding towards all that has happened to him.