This has definitely been one of the more interesting classes that I have taken so far during my college career. We discussed many things that I would usually never talk about, sometimes not even think about. But there was one issue that I think stuck with me the most. That issue was of latent prejudice. Not prejudice in the traditional sense of the word, in which someone blatantly discriminates against one group or another. I’m talking about the latent prejudice, where one could be acting prejudice without even realizing it or without even intending to do so. I never realized how much prejudice and racism still effect people even in today’s society. It always seemed like something that had ended after the civil rights movement in the 20th century. However, Sam has illustrated several clear discrepancies as well as pointed us towards literature that shows us that this is still an issue that persists today. For example, the study of two men, one black, one white, with identical credentials and mannerisms applied for several different jobs. And despite all else being equal, the white man was 50% more likely to receive a call back. This was shocking to me, not that it says that all of the manager’s who chose the white man over the black man are racist, but the numbers are significantly different and it can’t just be chalked up to coincidence. This also showed me the white privilege that I have enjoyed for the duration of my life and I had never even realized it before. That my grandfather was more eligible for the GI program after World War II simply because he was white, which allowed him to purchase a home and improve his family’s situation while many other black veterans were denied the opportunity for such a program. This paved the way for my father to go to college and in turn, set me up for success in the college atmosphere as well. Now that I think about it, the best job that I have ever held, working as a cabana boy, which actually earns a lot of money, was due in part to my white privilege. Yes, I received the job after a recommendation from a friend; however, if I was black, I do not think that I would have received the job. I would say that 100% of the members at this private beach club were white. And that the only employees that were not white were the janitorial staff. This I believe is a perfect example of a combination of white privilege as well as latent prejudice. All in all this class has had a major effect on my thought process. And I hope it will lead to many conversations and small victories.

After the needy penis lecture I think my views have definitely changed. Although I was always more centered on the female orgasm. For me, I felt it was much more important for a woman to have an orgasm then me. Though I never new that intercourse is not the best way for a female to orgasm. I always thought that it was very important to have sex in order to stimulate a woman sexually. The data on the number of orgasms women commonly have are also very interesting. In society, it is usually mentioned in some half ass joke on a TV show about the under performance of the male. Which now that I think about it this is contrary to what you said in the lecture. You talked about how some women are undergoing operations in order to enhance their pleasure, but what about all the male enhancement products that are in the market today. The pill to increase your size, to increase your endurance, or to increase the man's pleasure. There is also a lot of pressure on men to perform in sexual situations. I understand that society is a man centered world, and so women's needs are almost secondary. I knew that establishing a dialogue works rather well when in these kinds of sexual situations so that everything can be talked out so that the women is not left out. Although I feel that opening this kind of dialogue can me difficult, when the situation arrives it is usually not my first thought to try and talk out the next move. I know that this is definitely important when it comes to creating and maintaining relationships. As with the rest of this class, the theme has been to open a dialogue so that two different people can better understand each other and perhaps improve each others lives though that understanding. I know I will no longer look at affirmative action the same way. Before I took this class I had no idea of the government policies introduced during the New Deal that so greatly discriminated agains people of color and set them up for poverty and failure, through little or no fault of their own. I say that this has changed my perceptions, however I can never truly know until I take part in a conversation where one of the topics during class is discussed. Its easy to say that I am a changed person but a lot more difficult to enact on what I believe. that time will tell. and I hope that my actions will reflect well on the teachings of this class, and that I have become a more rounded, and better person. To see that will be a great realization for me.

This is what our government needs to do. Right now we have no real solution. We spend millions of dollars on guards and walls and fences, people still immigrate here illegally and the problem is still here.
If we could conduct more studies to show the American people that many of the jobs that the illegal immigrants are taking are that of undesirable jobs that most people just don’t want to do. If this could be communicated more successfully people would realize the need of these immigrants and would be more receptive toward government relaxation of the immigration laws here in the United States.

More detailed information could be mandatory for hotels or other dwellings as another way to weed out illegals that make it into the United States, but this is hardly a solution and would require much more paper work and would most likely be very ineffective.

The government could impose greater fines and penalties for the use of illegal workers, however this would be very costly and I am not sure how they would enforce it, especially if the business is using cash only.
I don’t think that building a wall will help the issue. To quote one of my favorite shows, “show me a 10 foot wall, I’ll show you an 11ft ladder.” Just trying to keep them out is not a practical solution. For example, in Europe to deal with prostitution practically, some countries have legalized it in certain areas. All of the prostitutes must be regularly tested for STD’s, and they have a panic button in the room for their own protection. These governments realized that the problem could not be solved by simply banning it, so they took on a more practical approach.

Illegal immigration will never completely be resolved. Someone will always end up immigrating illegally into the United States for one reason or another. That being said that does not mean that the issue can’t be reduced. A practical solution could be to have a registration system for businesses, a request form of sorts in which they could request illegal immigrants to be allowed into the United States. This way the government would have a figure of the number of jobs available for jobs that were less than desirable, and they could allocate a number of green cards for workers so that they could be admitted into the country legally. This could help reduce the number of illegals who come to the US and can’t find work. This however has many issues with it. What if the workers wanted to bring their families? What of the political implications? Many people don’t want these people here now, and having a legal form allowing them to come in would no doubt be hard to pass.

Not that it was an openly discussed point, no one said that they are voting for or against Barack based on the color of his skin, but I definitely think that it was an underlying effect on their decision. An example of this is one of my friends from home that was a black man. He was a major advocate for Barack. But when I asked him why he was voting for him, he would give a vague answer, usually something that had nothing to do with any of his policies or standings. This I definitely see as another example of latent prejudice and it exists in something as important as the decision for the president of the United States. I do think that it is extremely important to point these issues out though. As Sam always says, it’s important to have these dialogues in order to talk about these issues and try to find a way to minimize the latent prejudice, and maybe one day it will no longer be an issue.

Though the interviewer probably didn’t even realize it, his decision was probably influenced by latent prejudice. You can also view this from the average income of people of different social groups, such as white, black, Hispanic etc. People of color are by far the group with the lowest average income. This could be the same situation with the interview example from before, as well as discrimination from government policies that could lead to this. Politically I think that these latent prejudices could greatly affect the likelihood of someone winning an election. Someone who did not know that much about the issues, nor someone’s political position, then they may choose the candidate that they like the best. If the two candidates are of a different race, the voter may choose the one they most readily identify with, which would most likely be the person that matched their own race. I think that race was a huge issue in the presidential election between Barack Obama and McCain.

There are numerous implications of latent prejudice. In the example with the interviewer, and sitting at the optimum distance, latent prejudice can have a major effect on the likelihood of a positive outcome in the interview. If your interviewer doesn’t feel that comfortable with you, he may not choose you for the job. And as we said it’s not that he would be thinking that he doesn’t want to have him for the job simply because he’s black, but that he just has a bad vibe or something that didn’t sit well with the interviewer, or he simply didn’t like the person. But the latent prejudice that has an effect on that decision is very important and it should be recognized.

due to my skin color. I may have benefited from a “nudge” due to the fact that I am white. One day I was pulled over for not making a full stop at a stop sign. The cop came up to me and asked me for my information. But when he saw my uniform and realized that I was on my way to work he told me that he knew where I worked and decided to let me go. Would this have been the same situation if I was black? I am not so sure. It dpes seem strange though that the only people who are black at my job are the janitorial staff. I think a certain degree of racism remains among the people of the beach club that would make them uncomfortable to have a black man wait on them. I could just be luck, but what are the odds that there never was a black cabana boy at this club?

was to be born a black man, I would have very different feelings based on the fact that I would not be receiving any benefits but that I was actually being discriminated against. Affirmative action, in the traditional sense of the word, does have some purpose. When companies are expected to have a certain number minority groups in their workforce, it forces them to give the jobs to people of a minority group. This can help dispel some of the inequality that we can see today through the average income of different racial groups. Besides a job opportunity where I am not even 100% sure I benefited from the color of my skin (I always feel that a recommendation from a friend works the best) I have never received a benefit from being white. At least in the way that is obvious and it can be expressed. I have never received a discount from any establishment based on the color of my skin. I’ve never been given preference over another individual