Christian Invaders – the turnaround

cnr5034 says:

It’s classes like these that you really have to step back and realize this is what sociologists do and whether or not you agree with what Sam is saying, he’s really trying to make you question our norms and our culture one way or another. It’s interesting that sometimes the things Sam says really get on my nerves but on this issue of Christian invaders, I was pretty much with him.

I think that racism has gone away until I hear some of the comments and jokes people make about Muslims and the Middle East. I’m always hearing people defend themselves, saying they’re not racist, that they get along fine with black people (as if just being ok with black people means you’re alright with all types of people). Then I hear the same people turn around and say these blatantly despicable comments about Middle Easterners. And when I ask why I hear, “we discriminated against blacks because of the color of their skin but Muslims attacked us on 9-11” and that’s their reason. It makes me wonder how people can be so incredibly ignorant. Perhaps because I’m in school and I’m constantly being told to look at a situation through another lense, I don’t realize that so many people today are not being given the same advice and even though it sounds like common sense, much of the American public looks past it.

But I don’t think Sam’s forceful method of teaching the way he did in this class would get through to a terrible amount of the American public because at times it seems more threatening and accusatory. But nonetheless I think he got through to a lot of the students, but for myself I’ve already heard this argument and agree with it. Of course, if I were an Arab Muslim living in the Middle East right now I don’t think I’d have a good view of Americans with their armor and tanks coming into our towns and killing innocent civilians (if not on purpose, it still happens regardless). I do see the “War on Terror” as mainly an issue centered around oil. There are plenty of places in other parts of the world that need our help, but instead we put all our money into making the United States seem like a superpower in the Middle East because ultimately we will get oil out of it. But what do we get for involving ourselves so drastically in, for example, Africa where countless numbers of people are starving on accord of their poorly run governments? I just feel like we could be using this energy so much more positively. I see many parallels between this war and the Vietnam war. America needs to understand the people it’s fighting in order to respect their life.

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knb5051 says:

I think this class was very thought provoking. It takes a great deal of ethnocentrism to be able to see through Iraqi eyes. Before this class, I thought I was ethnocentric, but I think I had it a little wrong. I thought that I possessed some ethnocentric traits because I was able to see things through the eyes of someone else if I thought about it. But after this class, it made me think that there is another component to ethnocentrism. I think it is being able to see through the eyes of someone else without having to make a conscientious effort to do so. After sitting through Sam’s class I really could take on another point of view. After Sam brought it to my attention and made us be on the other side of the fence, I can completely understand why people look at us the way they do. I always knew that Iraqi civilians were being killed for no reason all the time, but it was so far away, in another land that I can barely imagine, that it did not really hit home that these are still humans that are dying, as much as it should have. I know just from that little role playing activity that I would not want anyone even trying to tell me what I can and cannot do with my land. The example Sam gave with the Chinese people coming for oil was a really good parallel. It helped to drive home a point that is too abstract to understand in any other way. As far as the rest of the lecture went, I read a ton of comments where people were saying how sick of Sam bashing Christians they are, and I really think they are missing a really crucial part of his lectures. Besides the fact that Sam came right out and said that he has no problems with Christians, there is a much deeper meaning in what he was telling us. I do not listen to Sam’s word and take it as holy doctrine, because I know better than that, but I think there is a lot of truth to what he says. We look at all these Iraqi people and do not know how to handle ourselves because they are “different”, but how different are they really? I think the people we should be questioning are the people in our own country who are on a power trip. The people who think that the United States should have all the power to do whatever we want and to strip everyone else out of what is theirs. The reason others look at our country and see pompous assholes are people who only know us for our leaders and what they are trying to do, control the rest of the world.

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bcw5060 says:

I think religion and resources are two huge parts of this war. I think the government would like you to think that the only reason we are there fighting because there are terrorists and they attacked us but there are so many more subplots to this war. We have a huge military far superior to any other military force in the Middle East much like the advantage we had in the Vietnam War. However we are sending more and more people all the time expanding this war to different countries, first Afghanistan, then Iraq, maybe Iran now? It seems to me from a distance that we are looking for reason to invade countries at this point and I think a lot of it has to do with their resources.

Also I think American likes to play the role of a world police. There is intensive genocide and people dying all through Africa however we focus on terrorists groups in the Middle East. I understand we are fighting in the Middle East because they attacked us, but we are spreading ourselves too thin. We go into different areas and try to instill our religion and democracy as if all countries should do what we do because we are always right. I do not think that is the case. People in the Middle East have an entirely different culture than us and it is not our business to tell them how to politically run their country. I understand stopping Sadam Hussein and his evil doings but instilling a new government and virtually telling them how to run their country is not our job.

I do not think we should be the moral leader and police of the world. First off it is very expensive to do that and we live in a bad economy right now. And if our economy is bad and our country is not doing well, that is more reason we should not be telling other countries what to do. We are not exactly the superpower we once were and we are not exactly the most morally correct people as well. Protecting our country and citizens should be the goal. I understand the reaction to stop evil when we see it but we can not stop everything in a world like today it is just too hard. There is too much bad out there to stop and it is a never ending goal. I am not saying we should go back to isolationism but having our nose in everyone else’s business is not the best thing for our country especially at this time. I respect everyone that is fighting for our country and is in the military because I know it’s a tough job.

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alf5143 says:

This is one of Sam's lectures that I enjoyed the most because it really probed me to think. Based on the controversial nature of what he was talking about, I'm not sure how anyone could have left that lecture without feeling like he really caused them to think. As always, he wasn't trying to get us to change our beliefs, but just to think about those beliefs in a different way.

He kept saying what he was saying from the perspective of Muslims, specifically Iraqis. I think that too many times we only hear the perspective of people who are just like us. And with that tainted perspective, it's hard for us to understand the perspective of others. But Sam kept talking about things like the insurgency and specific actions that we do as if he was one of the people living there. By him doing this, I was able to put myself in their shoes a little bit better.

I definitely agree that the war in Iraq was not declared or fought for the right reasons. The sole reason for starting that war was because Bush and his administration suspected that Saddam Hussein was housing "weapons of mass destruction" in Iraq. Therefore, once these were not found, and official reports declared that it was likely that they weren't there, all troops should have been withdrawn. However, they weren't, and they still aren't today. Based on this, the war must be taking place for some different reason, and it is being fought at the expense of our soldiers and Iraqi civilians. I really do not think that that is right.

The one thing I disagree with is this Christian Invasion. I understand what it must look like to the Iraqis, but it's much more of an "American Invasion" than a Christian one. Yes, many of these soldiers are Christian, but they all are not. Therefore, this is Americans pushing their beliefs and ideas on the Iraqis, not Christians. This is a great example of the American way, us thinking that our way is better than other peoples, and not settling for people disagreeing with our way. I'm not trying to defend the actions of Christians here, just saying that it's more America as a whole than one particular religion as a whole.

It is things like this war in the Middle East that makes the United States hated by so many people. We are not content being one of the most powerful nations in the world, we must have more, and fight more to attain that power. It's also things like this that should help us to understand why other nations do not like us. I think that once our country starts to see more from the view of others that we'll finally be able to make some concrete changes to better our nation's image, and in turn, the nation itself. Until then, we will continue to be a hated nation that is seen as oppressive and power hungry in the eyes of almost every other nation in the world.

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amj198 says:

Sam made a big deal about this lecture being mind-blowing and eye-opening in so many different ways. Like it was the one lecture that we should all have been at because he was going to give us gold (except I seem to remember him saying something very, very similar about the LGBTA lecture, which was a good lecture, but not really mind-blowing). But wasn’t the majority of the lecture, or at least the basis on which it was built, kind of common sense? It’s pretty obvious what Americans are doing in Iraq and Iran and any other country in or around the Middle East. Think about it. There’s nothing there of interest to America except oil. America is desperately in need of it because we consume ungodly quantities of it and don’t have enough of our own to really survive for long. So what are we going to do? We’re going to go take it from someone else. We didn’t go to the Middle East because we wanted to spread democracy or any of that bull shit. We went there for our own economic gain.
And of course, it stands to reason that if we go in and try and take oil from these people, they’re going to want to stop us. If you came home and your house was being robbed, you would try to stop the robber. No one just sits there and says “Go ahead, take what you want, I don’t mind.” So it’s not any different with the residents of the countries we try to take oil from. They will try to drive us out through any means possible, and that includes violence, just like you would do if your house was being robbed. And because we are trying to take what they perceive as belonging to them, they would consider us invaders. It’s kind of an obvious thing if you have any sort of logical train of though and any sort of ability to understand a viewpoint different from your own. And hey, I guess because most Americans are Christian and most people from the Middle Eastern area are Muslim, then we’re the “Christian Invaders”. There’s nothing really controversial or eye-opening about what Sam said. The entire train of thought is logical, and the “title” of the lecture is just a generalization. In fact, I think what was eye-opening was the fact that people would actually need a lecture like this to open their eyes to what it’s like for an Arab Muslim living in the Middle East area. Have you really never considered what it’s like on the other side? Are you so entirely absorbed in your own life that you’ve never tried to think about someone else’s until Sam fed you this information?

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mikeparetti says:

I thought this was a great lecture for several reasons. First and foremost, I must admit that I did not agree with much that professor Richards said. To an extent, I do not think that he even agreed with what he said. Sam's provocation methods were effective and really made me think of the issues at hand. I am not a religious person, so it is hard for me to be offended by many things dealing with the subject. In reality, I think religion is a good concept that leads to terrible consequences what it is misinterpreted or overly interpreted. I understand why many people who identify themselves as Christians could be offended by this lecture, but on the same note I think they need to step out of their own shoes for once and into someone elses; the concept that professor Richards has been preaching all year.

This lecture made me think back to the American Revolution. Too often people forget that the founder of this nation, America, were considered terrorists against England at the time. Samuel Adams, for instance, was viewed in the same light by England as we view Osama Bin Laden today. Terrorism is really in the eye of the beholder. To us the American Revolution was justified and excusable. To many Iraqis, attacks against the United States are justified as well.

I like to believe that we have occupied Iraq for reasons other than oil. I know oil played a crucial role in our military and political decisions, but the innocence (and perhaps ignorance) in me believes the true reason was to liberate people who had been oppressed by a terrible dictator. After our invasion and removal of Saddam Hussein from power, Iraq had no remaining government infrastructure. For this reason, we are still over there helping Iraq rebuild itself.

Though many Iraqis may see this as a "Christian Invasion," as Sam has deemed it, I do not think this is the case. Christianity has nothing to do with it. If Iraqi people truly believe that this is the doing of Christians in order to spread their religion then shame on them. If American Christian missionaries choose to go to Iraq and preach that is not morally right; but it is their choice, not the choice of America. The bottom line is people can believe whatever they choose. Sometimes they may be right, but often times they are wrong. I think anyone and everyone, whether American or Iraqi, should learn the facts before passing judgment. As a human race we have more in common than we could ever have different. Once people stop believing that their God is right or that their God is the only god, the world will become a much more peaceful place.

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missmeliss1189 says:

I am also starting to get annoyed with how disrespectful Professor Richards is becoming when it comes to Christians. I don’t really care if he does or does not believe or find importance in the concept of religion, but he needs to respect the fact that many people in a class of 700 do. I don’t care if he says he doesn’t care what religion you are, and if you are a practicing Christian, but he also needs to understand putting down or the tone of his voice when he says the words “Christian” or “Christianity” come across to me and many other people I know as unnecessary. Tone is everything, and he is teaching us to be respectful towards race when he shows no respect towards religion. I think he thinks he is better than religion.

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iunlearn Reply:
April 20th, 2010 at 3:42 am

I don't see this. Maybe it's because I don't look down on people with religious beliefs, not Christians, Jews, Muslims, Buddhists… Maybe you hear something in my voice that I don't feel in my heart, however, and so perhaps I should take notice.

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missmeliss1189 says:

I think that if we do not respect race, then we cannot respect religion, and if we cannot respect religion, then we cannot respect race. They go hand in hand. Christians do not want to take over the world. They want to promote peace, just like Professor Richards wants to create peace by promoting racial equality. However, just as in race relations, some extremists give the whole “entity” a false image, message, and name.

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kaith2690 says:

While sitting through this class I experienced a variety of unexpected emotions. When same was telling a story about the Chinese coming to America to steal our coal and use it for their own personal benefit it made me feel upset and useless, like things were out of my control and that we Americans were being treated unfairly. Then same continued to point out that Americans are in Iraq to take there oil and use it for our own good. It was not until then that I could truly view things as if I was a citizen in Iraq. It was like my world stopped for a moment and I could truly see things from a whole other perspective. During this class was the first time that I felt guilty for American soldiers being in Iraq to benefit our country. It sounded selfish to me and it made me feel that we had no right to be there. I know that each individual soldier that goes over to Iraq to “serve” our country is probably a good person that means well but what I also know is that our overall purpose of being in Iraq is unjust. I can openly admit that if a large group came to America from another country trying to teach me a new religion I would be scared and I would be wondering why they even cared what religion I practiced. I have realized throughout this one class period that whichever side you are on you only here the most negative news about your supposed enemy. I was shocked when I saw the news that the citizens of Iraq watched. I didn’t know that they feared Americans as much as we feared them. I was very surprised to see them tuning into the behavior of American radicals. There is one point that I can understand to why Christians think its right to try and teach Muslim children the way of Christians. I have heard many times that they think it is an honorable to kill yourself while bombing others. I have heard that they believe you get sent right to heaven if you are suicide bomber, and maybe Christians are just trying to prevent young Muslim children from committing suicide. I don’t truly know why Christians are trying to teach their religion in Iraq but after this class I realized it does feel like an invasion. Maybe if they realized how they are making all of the Iraqis feel they would stop trying to teach Muslims about Christianity. Also, I really don’t like how Sarah Palin refers to this war as a mission from God or how George Bush calls it a crusade. I think both of their comments make them appear dumb. Stealing someone’s oil is definitely not anywhere close to a religiously sanctioned military campaign.

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jmb5573 says:

I would have to say that this lecture really held my attention most of any of the other lectures throughout this semester. I have never been into politics at all. I don’t think I am very well informed so I just stay out of different political discussions. And the same goes to say for discussions on war. I could not say if I was for or against it. I never really thought about it too much. I see the attacks on television, I know people with personal experiences with September eleventh, but I still just don’t understand it all. I never ever thought to look at it from the other side. And that is why I thought this lecture was so interesting.
I completely understand where Sam was coming from. He made us feel how they feel. They see us in completely different lights than we imagine ourselves. They hear different stories and see different things from us. And yet, they still don’t hate us. It is so clear when we saw pictures of the families that the student took over there. They asked the student to take their picture. We don’t think about the innocent civilians that are getting hurt. Just like all the innocent people that get hurt or killed in attacks on us. Based on the videos that were shown they still somehow have a positive perception of us. But when we see any Muslims we assume they are all bad. Just like when as a country we shunned every Japanese person in our country because of Pearl Harbor. They arrested Japanese Americans who had nothing to do with the Pearl Harbor bombings simply because they were Japanese. As soon as some war breaks out, we have a stereotype of that specific country and it changes our perceptions and we think that they are all bad.
It really struck me when we saw the news report that was shown there. We see distorted news stories about what is going on over there just like they see distorted news stories. It all truly made me realize how it all depends on the side you look at to see which understanding you will have. And that brings me to think that the news truly does distort our views. We trust the news to give us the truth, but in all reality they are giving us what they want us to think. We need to realize that we can only take what they say with a grain a salt. Some stations portray different views and we need to really think about the station that we are looking at before we try to understand what they are saying. It happens in our everyday life and clearly, based on the lecture, happens in other countries as well.

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milton7109 says:

This video was sickkkkk. Anyways I actually really enjoyed this lecture because I was able to see this event from a different perspective. and honestly I think it is completely true, or should I say I understand. I am a very religious person, and I don't think that this war is over religion, but this is how others would see it. I never saw those clips from President Bush and Sarah Palin, but the stuff they said is just well let’s just say it could get twisted around. I don't know how everyone is taking this but, Sam knows it’s not really a "Christian Invasion", but from another stand point it is. Just like we say it is the war on terror, it is also about oil and using their resources. We learned in the lecture that there is not that much radicalism, but of course we see what is the most extreme, so it turns into this. People in Iraq are seeing these out of control religious view points, and build on that so they see us as religious invaders, even though we are not all extremists. There are so many things that I don't know about on the War in Iraq, and that is why I am swayed by the media. That is what Sam was trying to say. WE ALL KNOW…the video clips he showed us where extreme people…..but ethnocentrism changes this so Islamic people take these things very differently. I mean I don't know everything there is about politics, and what is exactly going on in Iraq, but as for the lecture it did go along with our past lecture on ethnocentrism, and I can see where Sam is coming from. Yea he could have just taking a whole bunch of random clips and made them sound like this and that, but those clips where legitimate. Bush called it a crusade; he was in office when he said this. How can that be taken lightly to another country, Bush isn't an extremist. All I know is that I wasn’t offended by this lecture. I know it’s really not a Christian Invasion that just how we may look because of the media. I support our troops and I know they are over there to fight to keep us safe. It is just a very hard to say what both side of the part truly think because we come from such different places, and our ways of living and thinking are so different of course we are bound to have different opinions. To me that am all Sam was trying to get at. I know we were supposed to be really offended with things he was saying, but I didn't really if you try to see it from a different prospective this is what it could look like. ORRR maybe I just didn't really get what he was trying to say at all?

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tiffany1212 says:

I think they should have a choice or an option of what they want to do, like us American’s, we have a choice whether or not to be in the army and part of the war. I liked when Sam said to change our role from Penn State college students to their role in their country as Muslim Arab college students and think of how we’d feel about the American’s trying to take our oil. That made a good point across to most students I believe. I know Sam says about some class lecture days, that they are suppose to be one of the best classes, but this time when Sam said it I really felt like this class was actually very different from others. I believe it had a lot to do with the video he had shown in class.

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tiffany1212 says:

My friend also says how he prays at the end of each night and thanks God getting through another day of war. At the end of Thursday’s lecture I felt like I knew a lot more about what goes on with war and Muslims. It was one of Sam’s strongest most eye opening classes I have experienced!

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abp5001 says:

I finally understand what Sam meant by seeing things through a new lens. I think that this is by far the only lecture that I can relate to and understand without being disgusted or aggravated. I am a Veteran of Operation Iraqi Freedom, and a United States Marine. I understand what he means by Christian invasion. We as Americans have viewed the radicals of Islam with disgust and contempt since the towers fell on September 11th. And in hating these radicals we have stereotyped the entire Muslim world. This is where our ethnocentrism has lowered our level of credibility as Americans who promote freedom to all.

When September 11th occurred, two of my friends and I made a pact that we would all serve in the Marine Corps after high school. We hated the people that did this to our country, and we wanted to do our part in taking the fight to them. We had no idea at the time that the people we wanted to seek revenge on were a minute percentage of the Muslim population. Before and in the beginning of my deployment, in Iraq’s Al Anbar Province, I hated the Iraqis. I thought they were all terrorists and insurgents. But after seeing that they are people just like you and I, is only when I had a realization. I realized then that these people are just that, people trying to survive in a third world country. And most importantly they are not all the enemy.

This is a tough truth to convey to family and friends that are in the mindset I previously had. I tried to explain to them by using the cold war and communist Russia as an example. I tried saying that we would be doing the same things that the insurgents are doing in Iraq, if communist Russia had invaded the United States back during the cold war. And after further pondering of this I came to realize that I would be an insurgent here in America if I were faced with the same adversity as the Iraqi and Afghani people. I completely empathize with them. I don’t believe that what they do is right, but I understand why they do what they do.

I feel as though our nation has been duped into looking out on the world rather than in on itself. America is at war. This war we are at is with ourselves in our land. We are tearing a nation apart. Greed, power, wealth, and self-interest are the catalysts to this war. Our strongest of people, the blue collar Americans, are being oppressed into the working poor. Our poor are being brushed under the rug. And the rich are only getting richer. We are fooled and misguided by those that we elect to serve in the best interests of the people. And we allow this to continue on. We point the finger outward at the world and blame them for having better health care, education, taking our jobs, and having cleaner energy. And at no point do we collectively look at our nation and ask why and how this could be. I fear for the future of this nation. I fear what the powerful will do to further sink us into turmoil and oppression. I hope we can dig our ways out of this mess.

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jas5561 says:

This class was by far the best class of the semester. I was glad to have a lecture on the war because I have never really known or understood much about it and why we are at war. It was a great idea how Sam had us put ourselves into the shoes of a Middle Eastern Muslim. I was skeptical at first but when I really put myself into their shoes things started falling into place. I think the main problem here is that the United States has false accusations against the Middle East and the Middle East has false accusations against the United States. Just as Sam said in class, if there are some radicals in Iraq we think that all Iraq is crazy and needs to be destroyed. And if there are some rude, abusive, Christian soldiers fighting in the Middle East then Iraq people thing all Americans are crazy Christians. I agreed with everything Sam said except for the whole “Christian” part. Are we invading Iraq, sure we are, but it’s not just Christians. Some soldiers may be Jewish, Buddhist, or not even practice a religion. I don’t understand why the term is “Christian Invaders” it doesn’t make any sense to me. Why do Christians get a bad rap for this? I also don’t agree with the fact that Christians are trying to make everyone practice Christianity. I know that Sam would argue that his point was that this is how Christians appear to the Iraqi people, but how? How do Christians appear this way? I’ve watch YouTube video and such and I’ve never heard about crazy Christians trying to take over the world. And also, if God wanted everyone in the world to be Christian then he wouldn’t have made his son Jewish. The argument just doesn’t match up. But I do agree with Sam’s point about this war being about oil and yes of course if my country was invaded and other countries were stealing our resources I would be furious. I would want to fight back. But haven’t we always gotten our oil from Iraq? Why is it such a big deal right now? But then again it is hard to discriminate against different countries in the middle east because when I think of the middle east my mind goes right back to September 11th. All I remember from that day is that the middle east attacked our country and almost caused a loss in our family. From that day forward I just have associated all of the middle east bad and I was all for the war. I guess I never thought of it from Sam’s perspective and put myself in the shoes of other individuals. At least now I understand why there is so much confusion and commotion over this war and I also understand now why the Middle Eastern troops are fighting back.

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ralsoc119 says:

I absolutely loved this lecture. It completely blew my mind. I would have never ever, in a million years, had the opportunity to think about the war from an Arab Muslim’s perspective without this lecture. In fact, I probably would not have even wanted to try to understand it. I have always been very confused by this whole Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq, etc. war that has been going on. Before entering college, I basically agreed with the war and why were there “fighting terrorism,” and who would not be? Terrorism is a horrible and dangerous thing. The more I learned about the United State’s agendas, the more I came to disagree with why we were there, but I still felt like the Middle East was full of people who hated America and were extremely violent. This lecture completely addressed all my questions and most importantly, made me realize how ethnocentrism was really hiding my ability to even want to understand the Arab Muslim’s side of the story. I am actually surprised I did not just blow Sam off in class and refuse to pretend I was an Arab Muslim and refuse to try and see it from a different perspective. Since I did place myself in an Arab Muslim’s situation, it has made me so much more aware and so much more understanding. This is by far the best lecture in this class and the way it was done was so effective. Putting the class in the place of an Arab Muslim is really the only way to get people to understand the reality of it. I really wish that I could explain this to my friends and family, but I do not even know where to begin since it was probably a struggle to fit it in to a one hour and fifteen minute class period. This lecture was so interesting that I think Sam should offer this to the whole campus. I know so many people that are affected by this ethnocentrism, and I feel as though this could really create a lot of understanding and even change people’s minds about Muslims. I know that it definitely changed my mind, and I consider myself to be pretty strong headed in my beliefs. Also, imagine what this type of education could do for Muslims who believe this whole Christian Invaders theory just like we believe the whole Muslim Invaders idea. It would eliminate a lot of ethnocentric thinking and give people a ton of valuable answers and end the disconnect that is going on. Also, those people who left the lecture claiming Sam was attacking Christianity are way off. If I were you, I would watch the lecture again and open your mind to the role-play more, then you would really see the excellent point he is making.

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sicbeach82 says:

I think this lecture last Thursday was one of the best this semester. I usually don’t get too much out of Sam’s lectures to be honest; however, this one did open my eyes up to the whole war in Iraq. This lecture really did make me think. I never really thought to put myself in the Iraqi’s shoes and see it from their perspective. The only time I ever really thought about the Iraqis was when I realized a couple years ago that we were pretty much just going into their country and taking it over. But I never really gave that idea much thought, because then I just brushed it aside and thought we were doing it for the good of their country, instead of to benefit ourselves. Whenever I watch the news, I always feel like it is so one-sided. The press tells you what they want you to know and tells you how to think. Over the past couple years with all the news coverage on Iraq, I believe that the news has made many people, including myself, believe that we were truly going into their country to help them out. We were killing their people and invading their land and homes in order to find the bad guys, such as Osama bin Ladan and Suddam Hussein. We were destroying their government and “helping” them form a new one in order to better their country and get rid of terrorism. The news basically lied to us and rarely or never explained the other side of it.

Once I actually thought about our true motives during that lecture, I realized we were going in for our own selfish reasons to benefit ourselves. The war in Iraq always had the nickname the “War for Oil” but George Bush always claimed otherwise. Once Sam actually told us to put ourselves in their shoes and see things from their perspective, it showed me a whole new side of everything. No wonder a good amount of the country considers Americans evil. If a country invaded America for similar reasons that we invaded Iraq, I would probably strongly dislike and think badly about that country just like many Iraqis do with us. Our invasion with the country started because of terrorism, but not all of the people in Iraq are terrorists or have terroristic beliefs. Many innocent people have been killed and their homes taken away because of something that their fellow citizens and leaders planned. Not every citizen in Iraq was behind the attacks on September 11th. However, pretty much every citizen has been affected by our invasion in their own country. This lecture definitely opened my eyes up, and I thought it was good how Sam made us see it from somebody else’s perspective.

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eat5077 says:

I get it. I understand Sam's lecture on Christian invaders. I really didn't think I was going to be able to sit through the entire hour and fifteen minutes giving 100% of my attention to Sam, but I did because everything that came out of his mouth was true. It all made sense in so many ways. Ethnocentrism is behind it all. We believe what we do is the right thing because we only see things through our eyes and our perspective is completely biased on the entire war of Iraq. We think it's okay to be in Iraq fighting against "terrorism" after September 11th. We think it's okay to still be there almost ten years after the terrorist attack occurred. They don't. Why would they? We sure wouldn't if we were them. We are in Iraq because of their rich oil reserves that we don't have. That's what they see, and the terrorist attack is a safe cover up for the United States.

I know damn well, that I would not stand by and let foreign soldiers come and bomb my home, run over my car with their tanks for no reason and take our natural resources that belong to our lands and our people. Why should they? I feel biased in a way because I was never for the war in the first place; even before Sam taught this lecture on Christian invaders, but this just gave me an even better reason to oppose war after all.

Why are we being so hostile towards other Middle Easterners that live in the United States? They weren't in Iraq when 9/11 took place, they weren't a part of the awful attack. Why do we make hasty generalizations when we have no clue who these people are? We don't know how long they've lived here and the worst part, we don't even know where they are from because we don't ask questions, we just assume. I know sometimes it's just second nature to be afraid of someone because of their race because of all the negative stereotypes that is portrayed about them by others in the media, but I feel like once a person goes through the revisioning stage of race identity they finally stop being afraid. Now they start getting upset with other people just like them that act scared or alarmed when they walk by people of other races. It's funny how all these different parts of sociology start to fit together like a puzzle.

With all this said, I don't want people to think I'm bashing the United States army. I'm just not in favor of the war in Iraq because one I don't think violence is the answer to anything in this world and two, because I see the war through their (arab's) lens' now. I understand it.

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tve5009 says:

When it comes to the war in Iraq I can see where Sam is coming from. He’s a sociologist and is open minded and most of the time with a lot of issues you have to be open- minded and see things from another perspective. When Sam calls American “Christian Invaders” I’m sure he’s using that term from a Muslim perspective. After seeing all the videos of how politicians use God’s name for the reason why we are at war it makes it seem like they are professing a Holy War. I try to put myself in the shoes of the Arab/Muslim and I can’t understand how people can’t see where these people are coming from. I did my own personal background to see how this war even started and I saw videos of the Taliban saying that Americans have been messing with them for years and these are things we are not even aware of they. They aid that they Americans want everybody to conform to Christianity and they see it as a Holy War. I see it the same way to, I can’t understand any other reason America will feel the need to go to a country and destroy its whole community using the excuse that they are looking for “weapons of mass destruction”. My question is: Who the hell do we think we are that we have a right to do such things? I’ve watched videos of soldiers being extremely ruthless, killing innocent people, and every time I think of it I ask myself “what would we do if things were turned around? How would it be if people where shooting down the streets of NYC everyday and bombs and missiles where going off in all directions and around the whole country. I would be terrified. People need to wake up, open there eyes and mind and think about what this war is really about. President Bush in 2001 said that there were weapons of mass destruction, well hey we have weapons of mass destruction too; we are actually using our weapons on a nation that doesn’t have half of the means to really go to war like we do. We have so much money and dominate so much that we can actually fly soldiers, tanks, planes and so much more to a whole different county. The saddest part about is that till today 9yrs later no weapons of mass destruction has been found. So my question is what are we really there for?’ Oil? Holy war?” Questions that nobody in authority will probably ever answer honestly. This was one of the best lectures in class so far. Sam used a real good way to see things from another perspective and those that can’t understand that. I think they are honestly close minded to the situation.

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arieakm says:

Here is the first part:__After this lecture I heard a lot of people talking about how angry they were at Sam for coming at the Christians. This was funny to me because it is a prime example of what he talked about way back in the beginning of class. See, when we are listening to something that we want to hear, and that we agree with then we have an open mind and listen. However when it is something we want nothing to do with then the part of our brain that really allows us to listen and process thoughts shuts down or gets cloudy. I myself am a Christian and I had a few doubts about going to the lecture. He had said in the class before that he would really be “going in” on the Christians and that was the last thing I wanted to hear. But I was surprised in class when the lecture was less about Christians and more about seeing the war from a different perspective. Nothing of what Sam said was surprising to me, because I had educated myself before I had even taken this class, but I was pleased of how he presented the lecture.

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arieakm says:

Here is the last part:
Another thing I like about Sam trying to make us understand was him putting it into perspective about what we would do if we were the young Arab/Muslim students looking at the foreign news about the American soldiers. People always talk about how we need to be over there because “they bombed us, so we need to bomb them”. I saw 9/11 first hand and to think that destruction on that scale has been happening for the last 9 years in their country also puts things in perspective. So it is important for everyone to try and understand why these things are happening. I need to say that I do not agree, but I understand.

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Jel5191 says:

This lecture was one of the most profound and impacting classes of my entire college career. I was blown away. It made me see this entire issue that has effected all of our lives whether we choose to believe it or not, through the eyes of the Iraqi Muslims. Sam really "Brought the fire."

I am not against Muslims at all, i am against the jihad. And to tell you the truth I was sacred watching that “jihad” video. This group of people are ruthless and give no compassion even to their own people let alone americans. They want our blood and will do everything to get it.
But looking at it from there- the iraqi peoples- perspective I can only imagine the fear Muslims face when they watch the news and internet about the US having 50% of the military spending funds or electing leaders who want to shove the "Muslims back into their caves". When they see the radical christian acting like baffoons. They do not know what it is like in America that that is not average. The same thing goes for the muslims from the american stand point. THe only exposure most of us Americans get on what iraqis are like is the radical Jihad and suicide bombers, etc. So we look at them the same way they look at us.

I never really thought about a country coming into my homeland, stripping us of our natural resources, the people doing the invading living the good life and then leaving our country in ruins. As with what Sam stated, I do not agree with the insurgencies killing and harming people with bombs and suicide attacks, but Sam had a good presentation on both sides of the controversial issue. He made comments about how Americans feel and how the Muslims feel. From Sam’s presentation, I do not agree with their actions but I have a better understanding on their unrest.

SO i brought up to my mom this weekend what we learned in class and i tried to explain to her what they see, and what sam was able to point out for me from a different perspective or stand point. My mother, who is a right wing libertarian, has said before that "if this war is not going to be fought like a war, if my men have to fight with their hands behind their back as they have been, then we need to blow that place to glass." She is not as radical as this sounds but if you think about it, i can see why she thinks this. Our soldier have no idea who they are fighting or who is the enemy. I asked her why we are in this war and i pointed out that we are there to take their oil. She flipped out on me, she could not see that that was the reason or at least one of them. Hopefully when i go home for summer we can calmly talk more about this topic and i will get her out of her box and see the world in the way sam has helped me see the world. if only a little bit.

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mtc5156 says:

I really enjoyed this lecture. I thought that Sam approached it in a very cool way. I think that it really helped to put it into perspective. It was very clever the way Sam made as all pretend to be Muslims. And then he showed us all of those videos, which is essentially what the Muslims are seeing about America. Even though we, Americans, know those videos are not representative of who we are, the Muslims are not aware of this and will base their opinions of off the few bad videos they see. I think that this is the way we see Muslims too. We only see the radical Muslims and the ones that are trying to terrorize us. We do not see the normal everyday people who are just like us. This makes us think that ALL Muslims are like the radical ones, which causes us to think they are the enemy. Unfortunately most people do not realize that we are only seeing the bad parts and will continue to think that all Muslim peoples are radicals. The Muslims do not realized that the videos they see about Americans are just a few bad apples, and we do not realize that the videos we see about Muslims are just a few bad apples. And maybe some people do not care to see otherwise. But I do think that Sam’s approach to getting us to see this was very helpful and effective. I thought that Sam’s made up example about the Chinese taking over our coal was a very good way to make me see what Americans are doing to the Muslims with their oil. I would not be happy about it either. Also I think it is very sad that the war primarily is just about getting their oil for us. I cannot help but wonder when this is all going to stop..when do we stop invading places to get what we want? I could understand what Sam was saying about being Christian Invaders. They do not know anything but what they see on the internet or hear, so they would not know any otherwise. They do not see good videos about the Americans. They only focus on the bad. It is easy to dislike something if you only look at its flaws. Which is what people do here, they look at the flaws and automatically the Muslims are the enemies. The lecture really opened my eyes to many things. It was really great to be able to see the war in Iraq from another perspective besides the American side. And now I am able to understand it more thoroughly. We know that the soldiers over there that fight are good people and the Muslims don’t, so we can’t really expect them to be happy about what is going on if they do not get to see the good things.

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erika4179 says:

I think it is rare times like this lecture that we actually put ourselves in another person’s position. As a Christian, I was not offended by what was said at all, and do not think anyone should have been because what was said was not insulting or wrong. The use of videos and examples for us to put ourselves in another person’s shoes worked very well, and they point was well conveyed. In the beginning of class we all saw the Muslims as the bad guy, but towards the end of class I think many people realized that we were that exact same bad guy to them. It was nice to try to imagine at least a small portion how an opposing side may see us here in the United States of America, and why they may dislike us. There are always two sides to the story. We tend to only look at a very small portion of the entire picture. We see them in the most negative light, and they see us in the most negative light. Every country is going to frown upon intruders no matter what religion they are. If some one storms in to your home demanding change of the way you do things, you are going to be upset. Many people of Iraq see what we are doing as a good thing and helpful, while many of course believe we are ruining their country. After the terrorist attacks, we felt attacked so we took action to go into Iraq to try and do something. Now, just like us Iraqis may feel the need to defend themselves or attack us. Religion does make matters ten times worse because Christian and extreme Muslim views are very different. This fact makes invasions much more heated. This is why many Iraqis may have hatred towards us and why many Americans have prejudice towards Muslim people. When we think the other side is doing something wrong, we tend to focus on their religious beliefs and disregard what we have contributed to their decisions. Our media also greatly helps to shape the world for our eyes. Many times what is portrayed on television is just what we want to see. I think both sides need to come together and see what is really going on behind the scenes. Two parties should gather without the violence, without the war, and most of all without the ulterior motives. These misunderstandings and wrong judgments are causing a large loss of lives on both sides. We are in such a different time in age today that war should not be our answer. I know this will take a lot of time because there are things we can not agree on, but we should try soon.

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ashleyroots5221 says:

The way Sam approached the issue was in a very strategic open-minded manner that really allowed students to experience what it is like to be the “enemy.” I definitely enjoyed the fact that Sam framed how we, as Americans view the war in an ethnocentric manner. There were probably a lot of students that thought that their point of view is right and that our actions are always justified and fair. However, Sam really called that idea into question in my mind because, although our primary goal is to hunt the Taliban and terrorists that hide themselves like cowards behind the veil of religion, there are other benefits and definitely other reasons why we went to war in Iraq and Afghanistan. As former Fed Chairman Greenspan put it, “it is sad to say the war in Iraq and Afghanistan is primarily about oil.” I also liked how Sam specifically looked at some of the media such as the Christian camp that promoted entering the military, and how Muslim Arabs would view this media.
It was ultimately a really unique experience to see how Americans view Muslim Arabs and how the Muslim Arabs view the “Christian Invaders.” It really comes down to the fact that we view each other in such a negative light, not because of our history with one another or our intricate understanding of each other’s cultures (because that is definitely not the case), but rather because through our own ethnocentric lenses, we misperceive the other people’s culture, ideals, and beliefs. Just like Sam understands what it is like to be in the other person’s shoes, I too now understand. To me, it makes perfect sense that an Arab Muslim living in the Middle East who is only exposed to negative media about “Americans” where George Bush calls the war a crusade, John McCain identifies the war as a means of securing oil, and a high-ranking U.S. Army General saying that “their God is a false God” can come to perceive Americans and the U.S. army as Christian Invaders.
This lecture was really eye-opening. Before today, I never thought about all the civilians who are people like me and my family. Their lives must be turned upside-down after all that has occurred in their country. And for what, oil? I knew oil was part of the reason we went over to the Middle East, but I never knew whether or not it was the sole reason. From the quotes we heard from George Bush and an oil company executive, it seems that oil was the most important reason for our leaders who decided the US should move into the Middle East. I think it is really a shame.

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