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208155 Responseshttp://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/what-are-we-doing-here-really/What+is+the+end+goal...really%3F2010-04-11+19%3A36%3A20Sam+Richards to What is the end goal…really?
What is the end goal really? I think that is a very interesting questions pertaining to both soc119 and life in general. Throughout this semester being in Sam Richard’s class I have actually found myself asking the same thing. What is the point of it all? Were all going to die anyways right? The boy in the video said that he feels the guilty and hypocrisy of it all. While that may be what he is feeling, I personally do not believe that that is what Sam wants us to take from his class. While he is educating us on various subjects, guilt might be a consequence that results from learning the things he has to teach us. But ultimately I do not believe that Sam wants us to feel that way. We may have to experience the feelings of guilt or hypocrisy at first, but I think that if we truly learn and understand what Sam has to say, that we should not feel that way anymore. However I think that this could be hard to obtain. Sam teaches us about all of these things that we do and the way they affect other people. He tells us how we live on the land that has seen the greatest genocide in the world. He tells us how the chocolate we eat has a negative affect on people all over the world. He tells the white people that just be being alive they have an advantage over everyone else out there. These things along with everything else he has to say, could understandably cause feelings of guilt in anyone. Especially someone who had no idea about the things that Sam says before taking his class. But I think that if Sam thought that at the end of the semester everyone in the class left feeling bad about themselves, that he would not be happy at all. In fact I think that he would feel that his power as a teacher had been wasted. I personally feel that I went into Sam’s class more educated than most and probably even more open minded. But even so, nothing could prepare me for the things Sam had to say. At first I may have felt guilty or hypocritical but then I realized that that is not the answer. We need to learn from what Sam has to say, and either alter our behavior or be aware of what is going on around us, and try to make the world a better place. I know that I am more fortunate in several ways than most people in the world. But I try not to feel guilty about it. I try to think that I can take the things Sam has taught us and the things I have learned on my own and be a good open minded person, and really that’s all you can do. So I hope that you don’t end the semester feeling guilty, but rather feeling educated and like you have a new outlook on life that you did not have before.
Yeah I agree with you when I sat foot in Sam class I was like this guys is just going to give us on what he thinks about everything and not really speaking the truth but as I looked at it he wasn’t trying to do that at all he wanted us to really think about what is going on in our world instead of being closed minded but open to everything that is going on in other words open our eyes and see the truth what lies between the lines. I say the Sam I really learned so much from this class and sat back and looked at how allot of the stuff I’ve been taught could be wrong and that’s the thing that’s not a good thing in my book
I don't know if this question has one single answer because the end goal for everyone is going to be different. Some people will have gone into this class close-minded and leave the same exact way. They will try to brush off the facts when they are presented or make excuses for reasons why these issues don't matter. For others, they will have learned about a few harsh realities that many minorities face in our country and it will move them to at the very least THINK about these issues. I think some of the info and data has been so moving to some that they are already actively trying to find ways to combat the racism. I know personally I feel a sense of guilt and shame when I hear some of the wrongdoings, as well as when I realize how lucky I am every single day to even be going to a college like PSU and have an apartment to live in. So, if nothing else, even if someone may not take any actual steps themselves to try to fix the injustice we hear about every SOC 119 class, I think just feeling different or weird about something after this class is a good step for many people as it will show itself eventually. What I mean is that, whether unconsciously or not, just thinking about these issues might cause us to speak out against racism in the future or vote politically for policies that will help minorities. Or maybe we will unknowingly bring up these race issues when talking with others which helps to spread the information to the masses. Who knows. The point is that Sam has been giving us gold (as he likes to say) and it is up to us individually to decide whether we want to act to make a different end goal than what it might have been before.
I completely agree, I believe that the outcome will be different for each person. Moreover, I believe that there is not an end goal however an on going process. We walk each day of our lives in an attempt to improve race relation. Some may advance faster than others. We can always learn something new even those in the humanitarian stage. Each encounter with another person gives us the opportunity to become that more educated on the race relations topic. Arriving at the humanitarian stage does not mark the end of your journey, just the start of your journey through a new understanding.
I believe that the end goal for this whole race relations idea is to know that we live in a world where race clearly exists, but where it isn’t a problem. There’s no more inequality just because of your skin color, and everyone is treated exactly the same no matter if they’re black, white, brown, or any other color. People would be able to see past skin color and just recognize that every person is a human being and deserves to be treated like one. Even though this end goal is ideal and pretty much perfect, I don’t think the people of this earth will ever get there.
This is a pretty good question. I don't think there really is an easy answer. I believe depending on each individual, answers will vary drastically. Speaking for myself, the end goal of my race relations experience is opening my eyes. What do I want out of this class? I want to at least acknowledge race relations. I want to be able to take off "my lenses" and put on another persons lenses. I don't believe that Sam is trying to mold us into conforming sociologists, rather dig out a path for our own discovery. The end goal is obvious from day to day and it can be very simple too. Walking to class, I pay particular attention to race relations; I believe I pay more attention to the details that shape race relations. I want to know what it must be like for the inter-racial couple to get stares as they walk hand in hand. I try to acknowledge their courage for simply being themselves and honor race relations in general for simply not ignoring them, nor discriminating against them. I've increased my curiosity level. I am thinking about things I have never thought about before. What it would be like if I were to bring a person of the opposite race or same gender home to meet my parents? Would they accept the person, or rather my relationship, why and why not? Challenging yourself to step outside of the box. Even thinking about every day things we take for granite, such as munching on a piece of chocolate. Recognizing that my ten seconds of enjoyment was produced by someone's unpaid, torturous hard work. It's a difficult pill to swallow. But, race relations is reality. Reality that you need to look at life not only from your own perspective or your parents, but from a stranger's perspective. The end goal of my race relations experience is experiencing life as purely and as real as possible. Accepting the world and people in the world, for their unique identities that shape our planet. Without letting yourself go and realizing the end goal is just taking notice of life, you're just going to die. Sam is correct. We are all going to die. Keeping Sam's belief in mind, I want to die knowing that I lived not only from my perspective, but from others too.
My advice for those who haven't found the end goal: be open to everything. Honestly listen to strangers and observe people. Allow yourself to look at the world outside of your own immediate "bubble". Yes, you may find things that you don't like, but you don't have to like everything in the world. You are still allowed to keep your identity and beliefs. However, I suggest you develop your identity with your own experiences and others' experiences too.
It is hard to visualize what the point of race relations is in the short term. There are so many conflicting views and people that the baby steps that we talk about in class seem to be purposeless. After all, Sam does answer 50 percent of questions with the declaration that he is “going to die”, so that is what he is worried about. Unfortunately, this view point does not do much for those of us concerned with living well. Basically, race relations is an incredibly long term endeavor, the benefits of which we will probably not see; however, the promise of race relations is that we are capable of making a change that will drastically improve the quality of life for future generations.
In actuality, the betterment of future generations is why we do almost everything in life. We go to school to ensure our own well being, but also to ensure that our children will be looked after, or at least the children of our loved ones. Arthur C. Clarke’s novel Childhood’s End, depicts a world coping with the reality that they are the final generation of people to inhabit earth. The world’s population deals with the situation differently, but in general chaos and disorder ensue. This scenario reminds me that we are truly living for our children.
With this in mind, the measures we take to improve the race relations and general equality in our world seem actually to be hopeful goals. In our time we may see some small steps, like civil rights bills being passed, or gay marriage becoming universal; but these are simply ways of changing the consciousness of the world, the effects of which will only be felt later on. In order to achieve different abstract systems of thinking, there needs to be concrete development in reality.
Unfortunately, the promise of a better world for our children is typically not the best motivator for action in our time. But one must always remember that without the actions of past generations there would be no progress. In an attempt to rationalize life, progress is typically a goal or motive. Progress is made in small steps, like what we have talked about in class. Ultimately there must be a decision made by individuals. They must decide if they feel that they want to participate in the betterment of our society (meaning the extension of equality and peace as far as it can go) or if they feel that life is not progress based. Many people would and do choose the second option because it is a reasonable conclusion to make. The hope of race relations is that society can put the future before the present.
I think the big picture is to get our world to a point where there is understanding. Ethnocentrism was the theme of class on Tuesday and it really hit home with me. I think THAT is the main goal. Laurie talked about when she first had that moment where the lightbulb lit up and she really heard what the other person was saying for the first time. I don’t mean that like it was the first time she physically listened, but that for the first time, she completely understood the story from another person’s perspective. She went on to say that that is literally the difference between peace and war- how true! Wars are fought over ideologies. How can I, who have grown up my entire life immersed in my own culture, and brainwashed to believe what my culture is taught me, pass judgment on someone else who was raised in a different culture? What makes them wrong and me right? It’s just because of how I was raised and what I saw in my life and my experiences. Had I been born into a different body that grew up in Afghanistan, for example, my mindset would be very different, just as my ideology would be. Wars arrive because two ideologies collide, and cannot coexist. The war in Afghanistan is going on because we, as Americans, have it in our ideology that it is our duty to liberate the rest of the world and spread democracy, because we value individual choice and rights. That conflicts with the culture in Afghanistan, where women are not treated as equal citizens and their leaders run the country more by dictatorships. Of course to me that sounds insane, and I think it is “better” to live in America with democracy. Our ideologies collide and so there is war. What if ethnocentrism existed between our two cultures, and both sides of had that light bulb moment like Laurie did where everything just clicked and we finally really “got it”. The world would be a much different place.
The end goal of race relations is also to make it better for future generations. Just as we all take care of the earth so that it is not destroyed for our great great great grandkids, we should be taking care of society and perceptions of people. Look how far race relations has come since the 1960’s. Many people who worked so hard to improve race relations back then are not even alive to see Obama as president. They didn’t work hard for themselves to have a better life, but for their kids and future generations to have a better life. We owe it to the people of the future to work on this now so that one day, the thought of judging people by the color of their skin will sound completely and utterly ridiculous.
I think the goal for humans and the only reason we are here on this earth is to enjoy ourselves and have sustainable relationships to do that. Personally I don’t believe in god or an afterlife so I live for the moment but that doesn’t mean doing stupid things because that could potentially ruin the rest of your life and all the time you have in this world. Being a good person and helping other people enjoy this life is also something that people should do because without having fun or having relationships, what is the point? Live for the moment, plan for the future.
The Race Relations Project and Soc 119 in my opinion is to expand our horizons and start a conversation on topics were avoid talking about due to political correctness. Sam’s goal is for us to continue the conversation outside of the classroom. Throughout the course, Sam has talked about issues I was never aware of. I felt so naïve and ignorant because I had no idea about these things were going on in the world until he brought them up in class. Maybe all of these emotions of guilt and hypocrisy that stirs up in some of us in class is to motivate us to change the state of the world, start a conversation, and bring attention to these issues in order to fix them or improve the situation.
I really do not know if there is an “end goal” for everyone. I think that it depends on the individual. Everyone is going to have a different opinion on the overall ( meaning the meaning of life). I personally feel that I must have a purpose here. Why would God put me here if there was no purpose for me to be here? Obviously you can tell I am a bit religious, but I was not always. And I used to question why I am here and what my purpose is here on Earth. I used to think…oh well I am going to die anyway so why bother with some things. For example, I used to smoke cigarettes. My parents wanted me to quit really bad and I asked them what for and they said for my health and I will die from smoking cigs. I told them-everyone dies so what is the point? I eventually quit because cigs are bad for you and we do not know when we are going to die.
I wonder sometimes still but I do know that I have a purpose. Personally I think I was put here to help people. I want to get my license to practice as a psychologist. I particularly would like to work with people who have drug and alcohol addiction. I know Sam says we’re all going to die and what not but while we are here we might as well make the best of it right? I do not see why he says that all the time because it kind of puts a damper on your life. It almost makes you want to give up on succeeding in anything if we are just going to die anyway…then why should we do anything at all?
There are so many different ways to look at this question…why are we here? What is our purpose? Who the hell even knows. Some of us might dwell on the meaning of life forever until one day-bam! You are dead. I would rather not think about dying all the time otherwise I probably would not be motivated to do anything with my life. If I knew when I was going to die, I would probably would sit around and do drugs all day until I was going to die. Why would I bother going to school? Why would I bother getting a job? If everyone knew when they were going to die, don’t you think there would be extreme chaos? I think the world would be a complete mess to be honest. People would be robbing banks, stores, just basically wreaking havoc all over the place. If everyone had a set day when they knew they were going to die…what would the world be like?
I believe the end goal, at least for me, was to not be so judgmental and not to judge based on something we seen. This can really pertain to a lot of things but more so with Race, Ethnicity, and Culture that make us unique. For example, I was eating at Cici's Pizza with a friend and I saw this guy carrying back a whole plate stacked with pizzas, at first thought I said to myself "Wow, way to take all the pizza for yourself that is really rude" and then not think anything else of it, the man sat down at the table where his wife and 3 kids were sitting. I made passed judgments too quickly and I think that is what the whole point of the class is about. We are all here together, one planet, as humans. And nothing about that is going to change ( Until we live on the moon?) and we should all start to respect one another as individuals rather then a group based off of race, ethnicity, and culture backgrounds.
I think the final goal is to realize whats going on in the world. That's a huge step because not many people think about those things. When people don't think about those things, they don't see the whole picture. They only see through their lenses and not other peoples' lenses. For people who think outside the box is an important step, because you realize whats going and not worrying just about yourself. The other step is do to something, I mean knowing whats going on is big, but doing something is even bigger. Just imagine people helping out with each other and the world a better place. That could happen, it just takes people out of their comfort zone. Some people are in their comfort zone or so called bubble and only worry about themselves and not others. So people don't want to get out of their comfort zone because they don't care about other people. I just think that's crazy and to tell you the truth, that's the real world. People only looking out for each other, instead of helping out the people in need. Some people do get out of their comfort zone and help out people in need. They realize that they have so much stuff and some people don't have anything. They also are thankful for having stuff and using it and not wining like other people. Did you ever watch the movie called Pay it Forward? That movie is so good and people should do somethings in the movie, it would make the world a safer place to live. If one person gets a gift or someone does something nice, they would have to do something nice to another person. Before you know it, everyone would be doing something to each other. Just think about that. That is crazy, a simple thing like that would make everyone lives happier. I just don't understand some people and their actions towards others. Think of the simplest rule, treat others as you want to be treated. That's crazy if people want to get respected from others, well they have to respect them first. People want the best things in the world, they either want the best t.v. or best car, because they want others to feel jealous. Those examples are people not thinking outside of their box and only worrying about themselves. Just think no more violence, wars, or battles. People caring for each other and helping each other out that would be awesome.
This is a really tough question to answer but I am going to attempt. I don’t really think any one person can claim they have the grand knowledge of what the end result of learning about or practicing race relations should be. I honestly don’t think its even possible to claim an end goal. To me if there were an end to race relations, those of us fighting to make a difference would have lost the battle.
I think that as long as there are people in the world we will have differences and opposing opinions… if not, then the government has probably changed us all into robots.
I think that ideally (but not realistically) every person would accept the differences we have with each other and find them to be a blessing instead of a reason for death, torture and discrimination. This is never going to happen. I know I sound like a huge pessimist but its true. People will always find themselves better, smarter, more attractive or more deserving than others. And as long as they do, there will be discrimination, death and torture because of those differences.
So, what are we to do if there is not end result? What is the point of continuing the fight for race equality? The point is, that we can at least lessen the pan of those who experience discrimination. We can teach people to embrace our differences. We can teach people to understand and not be ashamed of how they feel about race but rather to accept that they need to make an effort to understand race relations and accept each other.
This task may seem daunting to some people but I think that’s where Sam’s class comes in. His class has really facilitated these thoughts and feelings in me and in many other people as well. All I think we can really do is one; spread the word about Sam’s class. Two; we can continue to make steps towards our goal by continuing our race relations experience past Sam’s class and into talks and other activities. Lastly we can make the conscious effort to not let Sam’s words go in one ear and out the other but rather really take them to heart. Ponder them. Then act on them. That to me, is the most important step, action. If you see some injustice or misunderstanding, don’t just sit there, do something. Help the world become informed about race relations.
To be as general and generic as possible, I think that when looking at the grand scheme of things, I think that the overall goal is to just stimulate thought and hopefully some of it sticks causing people to understand slightly. This class is a perfect example of that. Sam continues to say throughout the semester that he doesn’t want to hurt feelings, he just wants to make you think. Videos like the ones we’ve been watching such as the chocolate harvesting are put in place to open people’s eyes and evaluate what we do every day. We as Americans can do pretty much what we want, it is up to you personally to decide what is right and wrong and what you want to stand for in life.
I am wondering this same question. Yea we learn so many things about the hypocrisy that there is in the word, but what are we suppose to do with all this information he’s giving us? I remember clearly that he stated that as a teacher he is just trying to make us think an open up our minds a little bit. I think nobody can say that they haven’t been provoked to think by his lectures unless you haven’t been to class. I think that thinking outside the box and looking at things from other people’s perspectives has been the major purpose of this class. So maybe we just have to think about things differently as we continue life and really open our eyes to everything.
The end goal, for me at least would be that everyone learns to respect or at least acknowledge each other. What Laurie said in her book about not seeing color captivated me so much. Usually people feel that it is ok to not se color. That by not seeing color they will not be considered a racist or anything like that. That by not seeing color they can treat everyone in the same manner. That by not seeing color they do not have to try to understand people. Seeing color is an amazing thing. People who can acknowledge someone for who they really are are incredible in my eyes. Seeing color is a way into a person. Not only into their lives but also into their culture. If everyone were able to respect and see everyone for whom they are then I think we have reached a high point. But as long as there are people who do not care about race and who think that by just ignoring it they can end the talk about it. Well guess what? Race relations will never end. Speaking about race makes people nervous, and I understand that, but if we do not talk about it then we are getting nowhere. I also understand that people think that they can never fully understand a race because they are not a part of it. At to some extent this is true. A Black man will never fully understand how it is to be a white man, and vice versa. As I write I realize that there may never really be and end goal. As long as we work with each other and try to maintain some type of stability then things will go on from there. Because if we like it or not, there will always be a person who is so caught up in what they believe that they are blind to what others believe. Not that we have to change our beliefs but just acknowledge the fact that they exist. The people who are so obsessed with trying to change everyone else instead of seeing that everyone is an individual. Even if people are in the same race, they do not have to have the same thoughts and beliefs. This is a common stereotype for all races. Our ignorance towards race relations is what is holding us back from reaching the end goal or at least getting closer to the goal. We are all fabricated to stand up for what we are but if we stand for what we are alone as a person then we get nowhere. We have to stand for what we believe in but also realize that there are others out there who are also standing for what they believe in. and if we wna them to respect us then we have to give that respect.
What many people don’t realize is that almost everything that we wear, or eat, has some percentage of coming from slaves. If a person just realized this and they want to change it, it is hard to just do it “cold turkey.” When a person is accustomed to eating chocolate all of the time it is harder for them to stop, even though they know that it comes from slaves. What we can do is try to stop the companies from continuing to use this method. If a persona totally gives up everything that has been produce by slaves, then they give up almost everything they have and do. You asked how they can stomach eating the chocolate, but how can you stomach wearing the clothes you wear or sending a text message??
This student brings up a good point. I think that the end result of all of this is for all of us to get along. The whole point of race relations is so that people of all different races no matter what skin color you have or where your ancestors are from. If race relations solved all of the problems then we would not have to worry about people being racist or judging other people. The whole point of this is for people to move past the idea of people having different skin color and on to seeing people for who they really are and what their true personalities are. Because in the end what is on the inside matters unlike what is on the outside.
What is the end goal of all this? I feel there can be many answers to this question from a lot of different individuals. I personally think the end result of this class and all the discussions Sam talks about is for us to realize what other cultures and races see in their eyes. Of course during Sam’s class most of the things he does talks about I feel do not connect or relate to what he is trying to cover. However, when class is over and I walk to my car to go home I actually think about some things he talks about and I try to relate myself to the discussions. I feel this is what he wants to happen; just getting us to think about what he spends an hour and fifteen minutes preaching to us, is one step into the ‘end result.’ This is being aware of and knowing what other races and cultures go through in their everyday life. In our discussion groups I actually learn a lot more, mainly because there are less people and more discussions. If you are not in a discussion group I can understand how this class does not really hit home to you. I definitely recommend taking a race relations course or joining a group that has diversity talks. With more discussion and more questions I begin to become less ignorant of the other individual’s lives in my group. Our group may not be very diverse in race, but we are very diverse in our opinions and thoughts, and even our personal experiences. Therefore, when we get into our discussions they become heated and it becomes a little easier to understand where other people are coming from. I think the way Sam has made me think definitely benefits me in the long run. I may not realize this now, but somewhere in the near future I will get a job, well hopefully, and there will be a diverse group of individuals working with me. If I did not have any knowledge of other individual’s race or cultures then I would tend to be an outcast, or I would just be afraid to say anything. I would simply think if I did open my mouth I would be called a racist. However, with this class, it has made me think differently about other races and cultures. I now have a better understanding of what other individuals are going through. Yes we all are going to die at some point, but this should not be our end result. We should want to live our life to the fullest and I think the ‘fullest’ means to understand your peers. How they got here, where they came from, and their thoughts about themselves and yourself.
I think the questions “what is point of race relations” and “what are we hoping to do in this world” have the potential to be two completely different questions so I will answer then separately. I believe that the point of race relations is to gain knowledge. Every time we are in class Sam talks about how the whole point of the class is to gain knowledge and to understand. But I think that understanding s not enough. I think what he really wants is for us to pass the knowledge on to people and the next generations. The more we spread knowledge the more we will do about the problems we have. But if we do not gain the knowledge we will go nowhere. We will gain nothing. At least by sitting in the classroom and learning about what Sam has to say we are opening our minds to things we may or may not have previously known. Without gaining knowledge we can’t spread it and without being able to spread knowledge we won’t be making a difference in the world. Everything would stay the same. No knowledge is as great or powerful as the knowledge we share with our world.
As far as the question about what we are hoping to do in the world I believe that the answer is similar to the answer of the first question. I believe that all we can hope to do is to make a difference. We can do this by making our little corner of the world a better place. There are all kinds of ways to do this too. It doesn’t just have to do with race in this situation. You can do so many different things to make the world a better place too. Treat people fairly, stand up for the beliefs and rights of others, teach your children to love everyone equally. Without teaching love and affection to children the human race could become cold. So really all we have to do is understand and then teach our understandings to the next generation. So they can start off one step higher then we were and maybe learn something more and teach it to their children so they can be another step higher. Eventually we could reach a world of understanding. The problems in the world today can be fixed. Maybe they wont be fixed today, or tomorrow, or even 10 to 20 years from now. Change takes time and if we give it enough time things will turn out all right. The world can be a better place if we just try. And the first step to try is to open our minds to new ideas. Because once we open our minds we can start to see things in a new light.
I think the end goal is just being able to treat people regardless of the color of their skin. I think that once everyone can get to that point where race is no longer an issue and it can be openly spoken about then that is where we would want to be. With no more racism or discrimination and just really being able to look at people for who they are and not the color of their skin. I feel that once we get there then everything will be so different and maybe people would be a whole lot happier!
I think the end goal is actually what you make of it, but he's using this class to point us in the right direction. Many of you touched on that direction – he's trying to open our eyes to the way that we think, the way we act, and why we do the things we do. We almost always do things through a certain "lens" and he's trying to eliminate that lens so that you can grasp other peoples viewpoints and maybe step into their shoes for a moment. I think he's really trying to let us know that our actions have so many consequences that we are too often ignorant of. We can also be ignorant of the reasons that we do what we do in the first place.
I think that once we can grasp this concept, then the end goal would be, as I said before, where we can take it. I mean if everyone in our class alone actually did take this concept, really push ourselves to step out of our comfort zones, be in other people's shoes, then our eyes would be opened so much not only to so many issues at hand, but also to solutions. I think we would finally understand that war is not the answer because in truth it solves nothing and causes completely unnecessary death. We could give people the self confidence that they need and eliminate judgement. Who knows, maybe some of us can help shed light to the world that slavery still actually exists, and is in fact more prevalent now than ever before. Maybe we can take steps to actually ending slavery, maybe…..wouldn't that be nice?
This is a very interesting question that throughout the semester, I myself have wondered about. To me, I think the end goal is a multitude of things. First of all, I think part of the goal is to get each of us to take off our own glasses, and to put on someone else's glasses to view what life is like in their eyes. It is trying to get us all to be a little bit more open-minded. Also, I think the class is trying to get us to remove the blinders that so many of us have, and to actually see the whole world and what is going on, then to just see our own little world. Sam wants us to see different perspectives of life that we do not see or possibly never would have seen if it were not for this class. Also, what I believe to be one of the main goals of this class is to realize we are all people and that we all should be treated the same. It does not matter where we come from, income level, sexual orientation, color of our skin, education level, we all deserve a fair shot. Unfortunately, we are not all given a fair shot because we all do not start out evenly on the racetrack of life, but this is also something we should recognize and take into consideration. I think Sam wants us to realize that just because we do not see it, does not mean it does not exist. I know I personally was blind to how prevalent slavery still was in the world, and how terribly these slaves can be treated. If it were not for the class, I might have lived for the rest of my life blind to this. Also, I think one of the points is for all of us to spread the knowledge that we have gained from this class to help make a difference in the world. For instance, if we all took action to stop using items that took part in supporting slavery and told our family and friends about the horrible things that happen to these slaves, they too in turn might stop using these products, and we can help to make a huge impact on the slavery issue. Without a class like this to educate people, no one would ever know about some of the horrible things that go on in this world or how other people, other than ourselves, feel about the things we say and the things that we do. Classes like this are a way to educate people to help make this world a friendlier place. So for me, I think this class has ton of different goals. However, I think it really just depends on each individual. Others may perceive Sam's messages in a different way than I have, or another person just might not be open minded to taking another view other than their own.
This is a really good question and one I think about a lot, especially in this class. I think that complete race equality and unity is a far reaching goal that we may never actually get to, but I think what is important is that we keep trying to reach these goals because as soon as we give up that is only taking a step back. The real goal may be always trying to move up a step in our race relations with one another. There are probably always going to be obstacles and disagreements, but whether we see an end in sight is not the important, the fact that we’re trying is.
This is a great question, what really is our ending goal in life? For many of us it is the Day of Judgment where we will be held accountable for our actions. And for some people they believe in karma and others I guess simply thing they will be buried and that will be it. But for all people on this earth one day we will all die and I think that’s one thing everyone agrees on. For me I am a believer of the Day of Judgment and believe that I will be held accountable for everything I have done in this life. My beliefs are strong in this and I see life as a test, life to me is not about making the most money, and living the best lifestyle out of everyone, but instead it is to worship God, and live life according to the way my religion teaches me. Though I fail to do this at times I still try to correct my mistakes and live life for its actual meaning and not get carried away with greed, and wealth. To me this is life, and Sam said something in the last lecture that really got me thinking, I eat chocolate that a slave makes, I also buy a chocolate that a slave makes, and living in a country like America where poverty is nowhere as bad as some parts of the world I take advantage of this. I try to enjoy life and take advantage of me being lucky that I am in a country like the United States, instead of thinking of how I can help slaves or less fortunate people. Sam said in class when we die the people of the book or anyone who believes that they will be held accountable for their actions on earth, he asked us what answer will we give God when he asks why didn’t we attempt to help the unfortunate people around the world, when we had the money and power to do so? This really got me thinking that if I am such a strong believer as I think what answer will I give? Well to be honest I don’t have an answer to this question, I understand that us being fortunate we have responsibilities to help people in need, but we fail to do so because we want to have that rolex, or that bmw, but none of this when we die will help us in our grave. Sam like he does to me after all his lectures gets me to think just like he says, he doesn’t want us to change necessarily, but wants us to think, and after this question I don’t think I ever thought more after class, and I am still thinking. Sam made a good point and for all of us that believe we will have to answer to God for our actions on earth, are we really ready? I don’t think so.
This is definitely one of the better questions that people have asked in this class. It's one of those questions that people often think about when things aren't going very smooth. It definitely makes you think, what is the purpose of life? What is the end? What will happen when we die? Different religions have different answers to those questions, different people have different answers to those questions, I believe that is the reason why a question like this one is so interesting. For those who just believe that when they die, that'll be the end of it, it should not really bother them. But for those who believe in afterlife, for those who believe that they are going to have to answer for their actions when they die, it is definitely something that they want to think about. No matter how pure we try to be, we, in most cases, are always going to end up doing things that we shouldn't. Whether it is eating chocolates and wearing clothes that slaves make, or causing harm to people, cheating, lying and all the other "known" sins, we eventually fall into their trap a lot of the times. This question definitely makes you think, but it's one for which an answer is very difficult to find.
I think the end goal is just to be able to have everyone become a little bit more aware. Not everyone has to become a humanitarian, but I think everyone should leave this class with a little bit more understanding than when they walked in. I know personally, I have thought more about the differences between myself and others of different race. I used to think that race relations wasn’t such a big deal, but I’m more aware now of the differences of different racial groups when I walk on campus. I think about why everyone’s so separated and why certain races have certain stereotypes. I may not be a master at fully understanding everyone who is different from me, but I am more aware of the fact that those differences do exist, and I think that’s one of the goals for race relations.
The point is to learn all about this to understand everyone is equal in the long run. The point of this class as Sam said was to at least change how you view certain things. Now according to Lauries question in class when she asked how many peoples views changed in the discussion group,.. well only one person raised there hand. So to me that is telling me not many people are getting a lot of points in this class. Like I said before in a lot of blogs, if someone feels a way on something they are usually going to stay that way and keep that view. That is why this class is very hard to get points because many of us already have views on these things.
I think the end goal of this particular class is just to get us to think more critically about the world and the inner workings of our particular society, so that we can come to terms with our personal biases and prejudices and work them out. As far as beyond this class, I think we should take what we have learned here and try and engage in intelligent, probing discussions with friends, and even strangers, about race relations and inequality. Otherwise, the discussions won't happen, and we can't have true equality, or have people treating each other with respect and dignity regardless of SES or other variable.
This guy raises a very interesting question, but at the same time one that is very difficult to answer. This is because race relations has common end goal that everyone strives for. No two people want the exact same thing for race relations. However, I think that those who are interested in learning about race relations do have at least a common purpose in become more enlightened and more educated. This is there really is no fixing society and its tie to race relations because there is no single right answer. One may want equality for all races, while others may feel like things are good just the way that they are. This is a very subjective question.
Ha-ha death, Sam cracks me up at the way he talks about death as if it’s nothing. Although he is right of course we will all die one day. But death isn’t really a subject that everyone is comfortable talking about. But to touch on what he is saying, I think that the point of race relations is to get everyone involved in what problems are happening in and through all aspects of life. Meaning that a race relation has an effect on more than just racial issues, it can be intertwined with things such as the war. This is what we talked about today and how it is seen through the Middle Eastern people’s eyes. Sam asked everyone to imagine as if they we were middle eastern ourselves. By doing this it allowed us to think as one. Once we did this Sam asked us questions such as what we want out of life. People said things like health, peace, and family the normal things pretty much that every human being wants out of life. Now he asked how would we feel if American soldiers came here and decided to take the oil was under the homes and lives? Right then the room slowly went silent, this wasn’t only because of the realization of how we share the same mentality but how there is more damage being done than we are shown. It hurts somewhat to think about how many people are being killed for oil! When Sam gave us the amount of civilians that we’re allowed to killed in order to get one terrorist, it didn’t process in my mind right. Wait did I really say ALLOW to kill? Ok I thought so, those words shouldn’t even be anywhere near each other. No one absolutely no one should be allowed to kill another person is my first point. Secondly the number is 29, that’s about a classroom at an elementary school.
I can honestly say I have no idea what the end goal is. I think that what Sam and others like him want to do is first make the world aware of all the issues concerning race and how they branch out to almost everything in the world. Then once the attention is on that, it then time to expose publicly what hardships have happened to all of the race and ethnic groups. This will put everyone on the same page and if this action is put to use the right way we may see what the big picture really is.
I think this class, and race relations in general, is just to get people to realize the major part that race and other sociological issues play in our every day lives so that we can continue our lives knowing this information. If we all expand our minds to the different cultures out there we will no longer be stuck in our current mindset. I know that I rarely ever thought about what it means to be white, and that seems to be because I grew up around a majority of white people my entire life. This class is about ethnocentrism, and realizing that the views that we hold are not the end all be all and that learning about others views and experiences is extremely important.
I believe the end goal of this class is for everyone to learn how to see things from the perspectives of others. This class is meant for us to understand the happenings of everyday life and the consequences and benefits of our actions. It takes a well-rounded person to fit in with others. You cannot just go through life with a mediocre skill-set and expect to just coast through everything. Should we choose to listen, we are being taught how to explore circles of people who we have never been in contact with. It is up to us to get to know others and to figure out what happens in other cultures.
I feel that the reason there is race relations and this class is to open your eyes and your views on life. Many people aren’t familiar with diversity and coming to a campus that is so big and there are so many different groups that you can get involved with and help you expand your horizons on diversity really helps as well. I feel that many people don’t take advantage of all the different groups we have at Penn State and everyone just sticks with their own race most the time. I grew up in such a diverse suburban area that when I got to Penn State it was like a culture shock to me of seeing not much diversity. I feel that being able to have the race relations project is great, because you are able to sit in a room with people you have never met before and talk about things that everyone wants to talk about but never thinks its ok to discuss. So I feel that the end goal of having race relations and a class like this is to open up people eyes to what is really out there and how people should be able to experience this once in their life.
Additional Blog# 2
The end goal for soc 119 is not to get a good grade. It isn’t to get people to feel guilty about things that occurred before you even made it on this earth. The end goal of race relations is to get everyone to open their eyes and see what the ins and outs of race are. It is needed so that we can look at the views and thoughts of others. We as humans have a very blatant way of sweeping our dislike of another culture, race, or ethnicity under the rug. It is time for us to realize that the world is not completely in black and white. For once, we need to reach a point where we are no longer just different groups of people living on one plant. The goal is for us to learn how to co-exist together with our fears and thoughts about one another cultures, races, and backgrounds.
The big picture in my eyes of race relations is to not judge and not look past anybody because of their race but everybody should be treated the same no matter what. The big picture at the end of us coming together fighting for what’s right and really helping each other and just think about what is really going on in our world as Sam say we have no idea what is really going on in today’s world with race we only see the outside of or society we need to dig deep and really find out what is really going on in our world not just our community’s but world and as I learned from Sam this world will bring you down fast and with no problem.
I think the end goal is to really open everyone’s eyes to the fact that these issues are going on throughout the world, instead of just ignoring them. If no one really knows about these issues, they can never be fixed. I think the major goal of this race relation’s class was for everyone to think differently then they normally do in the past. I know that throughout this class I have changed my views on many issues just because I saw them in a new light. Everything is not as simple as I thought and this class really helped me realize that.
What is the end goal? Honestly, this is not really an easy question to answer. Personally, I feel as though it is simply to make us think. We have to realize and understand what is going on around us. It is important to see not only through our own lenses, but the lenses of others – more so, the big picture. I think it is unrealistic to say that the end goal is to solve every race relations related problem and for us all to get along, although that would be nice. But, then again, the end goal is different for everyone. It depends on the individual.
When I first came into this class and I was listening in on the first couple of classes, I was like oh man why is this guy trying to change our opinions or make us believe what he does? However as time went on I began to realize that those were not his intentions at all. As I attended more classes I began to learn about things I had never even thought about before. I also learned about things that I encounter everyday. When Sam lecture is not just about race it’s about race and how it relates to us and the rest of the world. I have learned to see things from other people's shoes and be ale to understand the trials and tribulations they go through. Therefore I believe that the point of this class is become aware of the good and the bad that is going on in the world around us.
When people walk into this class room, they need to leave their thoughts, beliefs, and even religion outside and come in the room with their mind blank as if it were a child’s and be ready and willing to hear all sorts of things. These things might be against their religious beliefs, they might completely opposite their opinions, and lastly they might be sufficient evidence to prove what they have always heard to be true to be false. And although at times we may get offended by what Sam says, his intentions are not to make us feel bad or that our opinions mean nothing, he just says things that allow us to really think about the things we believe in. He says them so we can ask ourselves why we believe in the things we believe in or think the way we do. Sam talks about how the media affects all of us in a variety of different ways and how most of us fall privy to it. And as a result of that he reassures us that we are who we are and we should be grateful of that.
Along with hearing about social aspects that concern our lives we also learn about social issues in other countries. Although these issues do not affect us directly these issues do affect us indirectly. Sam opens our eye to these global issues that most people have never heard of before, in places we have never heard of before. Although these issues that he brings up might be disturbing and very upsetting, sometimes it is the only way that our generation can learn to be more appreciative of the things that we have. So Sam does not intend to change the way we think or make it seem that what we believe is wrong but to learn to ask questions and to be open minded of the answers.
This is a question that is something that all of us should honestly think about. Not only has this class made me think of this, but even just being in the real-world should make people think about this question.
Race relations to me is all about talking to one another about our ethnic and racial differences and making genuine conversation. Everyone has various backgrounds they can bring to a conversation concerning race and I think its beneficial for everyone to understand where others have been and why. People come from various walks of life and by sharing their various life experiences, it will expand the lives of others who have not witnessed such experiences.
For example, as a white, Christian woman, I am not normally exposed to the holiday of Kwanza. My one friend’s family, when I was in elementary school, graciously invited me to attend their celebrations one year. With that experience, I learned so much more about a different culture and belief system that I had never been exposed to before. I was able to talk to my friend and her family about the holiday and learned a lot more about their family and values. Not only did I learn about them, but I also learned a lot about myself and my own family’s traditions. This, to me, was one of my first ever race relations conversations I had and I can honestly say that it was one of the most rewarding and interesting experiences of my life.
Without the aspect of race relations conversations, no one would understand one another and racism would be more rampant. In the past, ignorance and societal shame restricted people from having these valuable race relations conversations and experiences. Race relations is about understanding and helping one another realize that there is not just one right way to live your life. Everyone has differences in traditions and experiences and it’s not until people talk about this, will everyone be able to live more harmoniously.
Although there is still racism, I think race relations classes and discussions such as those which we have partaken in this class, will help everyone to stop the unfounded prejudice, fear and stupidity that was historically prevalent between people of varying races. I personally have benefitted a lot from just taking this class because I’ve been able to talk to friends and family members about interesting issues from a perspective that they’re not typically used to. I think we’re very lucky to have Sam as a teacher because he is presenting a lot of issues and ideas from a perspective that the media is not presenting. Talking to my parents in particular has been the most rewarding conversations regarding race. They grew up in a different era and they had never met someone of a different race than white until they came to college because that is just the way it was around them growing up. They had never talked about race as openly as I have been lucky enough to and by telling them about my classes and made them think about why they had some racial beliefs that they did. I think this is ultimately the end goal of race relations- to hopefully make the world a more peaceful, racial world for future generations.
I think that this question is a very personal question in that I think everyone's goal is or should be different. We all took this class for various reasons. I took it because I had Soc 1 with Sam, and he was an entertaining guy, but also because I wanted to think more about race because I have lived in a pretty white world up until this point in my life. So my goal was to be able to see race, but not in the ways that I previously did. Now, knowing what I do, I guess I was in between the pre-awakening and awakening stages coming in, and now I have gotten further than that. I see race, but I want to know more about each person as an individual.
As a lot of people have already mentioned, the end goal is going to differ upon the individual. However, I found myself asking the question “So, where do we want to end up?” a few times while reading Laurie’s book. One thing that she wrote that stuck with me was that several white people are confused because people of color are not exactly sure what they want or how to express what they want specifically. There are mixed messages that are constantly being sent back and forth between races, which makes it more difficult to understand how to resolve what problems we face. She brought up the idea that people of color want to be treated equally in many ways, but still want to be recognized as being a part of something special—a specific culture. I would imagine that it is that way for everyone. Do white people mind being clumped together as one, simply being “white people”? Or would they rather be looked at as something deeper? Maybe Irish or Italian or European? I often wonder if that preference differs when the setting is altered: a mixed crowd versus an all white crowd versus a black crowd.
I feel like the goal is not to forget about race entirely; that would defeat the purpose of the “relations.” But the general goal is to look at race differently. Don’t use it so much as an identifier, but more like a modifier.
I think that the end goal could be that one day we will all find that we are the same. This is true yes we are all going to die someday, but there’s a lot you can do in life to make a difference during your lifetime. I feel that one day everyone will feel that we have accomplished the goal to race relations and we will be able to celebrate and one day maybe everything in the world that is bad will end. I think we will reach our goal even if it’s not soon but even 200 years from now I think it is possible.
I believe the end goal is to just get us thinking about things we never really wanted to discuss out loud. Sam said this class is all about getting the award topics of race relations out so we can find a solution together. In order to find a solution and progress towards equality we need to talk about the things we usually dont talk about with others. I think this class has helped me become more comfortable talking with different races about the controversial issues most find inappropriate. Also this class has helped me think outside the box from another perspective
The end goal is to be comfortable with other races and to be able to be happy with all other races. Or at least to be able to openly talk about other races and to not be uncomfortable with others. This class has totally reformed the way I begin to think about other races and the relationships that take place between different races. I think that there will never be a real solution to race issues but if we can being to talk about races in a more informal and relaxed situation then things will be better for everyone.
What is the point of all this? We venture into these topics attempting to explore the hatreds, fears, prejudices of people around the world and particularly this country (blacks and whites) but it seems to me from all we’ve looked at and especially Laurie’s book, we aren’t getting anywhere and what progress we are making is incredibly slow. Personally I believe this is because race relations asks everyone to shed every sort of shield people carry and asks people to put them at their most vulnerable. For as many people that are willing to put it all out there, there are just as many people that are just too scared because I feel like people don’t believe they have the courage to do it. Maybe, if people begin to see that the point of all this is to make peace, not to create more pain, that people’s intentions are really not that bad in nature then we can go somewhere with race relations.
The end goal, is to leave this class with an open mind, and an awareness of what occurs in our world that the media, government, etc. may choose to ignore. I honestly have to say, I just feel like I enrolled in this class with absolutely no idea of what it would really do to me, and how much it would change me. I didn't think about race much before, I never knew slavery still existed, I had no idea we were in the Middle East for reasons other than what I learned from the news. I guess I was just naive, or I was really just caught up in my own life to worry about the factors that affect other people's lives everyday. Sam is an enthusiastic teacher, and he taught me to just really open my mind. Yeah of course he through his opinions at us, some I agreed with, some I did not, but most of all–he just taught me to go into things with an open mind; To make my own decisions. And the books we have read about slavery are also absolutely incredible. This class leaves me wanting to learn more, and with an open mind in my quest–and that is the end goal.
I think the end goal for this is just like anything else. We exist because we do. What we do with our lives is entirely up to us. Either you feel inspired by life or you do not. Either you make a difference or you work your 9-5 and then die. Although I do not really think anyone can go through life without making a difference. It is impossible. Some people want to spread hate but others want to spread love. You can never see the fruit of the labors of your life but that does not mean they are not worth it. So maybe there is no end point. The only certain end point is your imminent death. What do you do in the time you have? You cannot even know what time you have. This is why religion exists. People want to know there is something next. Which I never understand. So what if there isn't a next life? So what if there is no heaven?
You ask a very intriguing question, and to tell you the truth whatever I say in this blog probably won't even come near to what Sam wants us to take away from this class. I feel like it is a different scenario for each individual. There are definitely some people that came into the class as partially racist and even and the progress they make compared to someone who comes into the class in a higher stage is not the same ending just having a better understanding and awareness of race is a good goal for the class. Personally I came into the class already decently aware of some of these problems and know how to respect another race and how to be socially acceptable with them. Here at Penn State I am a freshman and I live in Pennypacker Halls which is basically the minority dorm so I have a ton of friends from different races and backgrounds and have had in depth discussions with them about the topics covered in class, just from hearing their side of the story and how they feel about these issues has given me a much better understanding how other races feel. Now back to the question that was asked in the video, I think the class objective is to promote thinking and raise awareness. I think it is also supposed to make people want to make a difference and contribute in a positive way; but just for people that are already comfortable with these controversial issues who can make a difference. Personally I think at the end of the class I'll end up somewhere in between those lines, but my mine objective is to try to blind my self to race as much as possible. Even though right now I think I do a pretty good job of not judging people just based on the color of their skin, there is no doubt that I still have a long way to go. The one thing I have learned from being around people of color more then I have in any other time of my life is how we oddly feel the same way about the tension between white people and people of color; it's silly. With all of my friends we understand the magnitude of what is going on but instead of continuing to cry about the problems we just have fun with it and joke around. I think racial issues have become so series that that is one of the main problems with dealing with it. I think other people should adapt the same mentality me and my friends have, if you look past the color of peoples skin you will definitely realize the absolute silliness (for lack of a better word) of the whole controversy.
That jus inspires me ot do more with my time on this earth. It is the reason why I spend every second of every day fighting the boxes that people put me in, put others in, put themselves in. People would not be in Sam's class if they did not think that a difference needed to be made. But then I see how much everyone talks while he is talking. How can they possibly be hearing his words? How can they possibly be hearing anyone else ever if all they do is talk? Listen. It does not take much. Why are you paying money for an education if you are going to be glued to your phone the entire time. That is a complete waste of your time. Fill your head with some knowledge. At lest when you look back on your life you can say you took time to learn more. Maybe pass that wisdom on to other people. Your end result is whatever you want it to be. So figure it out. Take time to think about it. Maybe you end racism. Maybe you are the catalyst for the end but it does not happen for another one hundred years. Who cares? It will happen.
What is the end goal really? I think that is a very interesting questions pertaining to both soc119 and life in general. Throughout this semester being in Sam Richard’s class I have actually found myself asking the same thing. What is the point of it all? Were all going to die anyways right? The boy in the video said that he feels the guilty and hypocrisy of it all. While that may be what he is feeling, I personally do not believe that that is what Sam wants us to take from his class. While he is educating us on various subjects, guilt might be a consequence that results from learning the things he has to teach us. But ultimately I do not believe that Sam wants us to feel that way. We may have to experience the feelings of guilt or hypocrisy at first, but I think that if we truly learn and understand what Sam has to say, that we should not feel that way anymore. However I think that this could be hard to obtain. Sam teaches us about all of these things that we do and the way they affect other people. He tells us how we live on the land that has seen the greatest genocide in the world. He tells us how the chocolate we eat has a negative affect on people all over the world. He tells the white people that just be being alive they have an advantage over everyone else out there. These things along with everything else he has to say, could understandably cause feelings of guilt in anyone. Especially someone who had no idea about the things that Sam says before taking his class. But I think that if Sam thought that at the end of the semester everyone in the class left feeling bad about themselves, that he would not be happy at all. In fact I think that he would feel that his power as a teacher had been wasted. I personally feel that I went into Sam’s class more educated than most and probably even more open minded. But even so, nothing could prepare me for the things Sam had to say. At first I may have felt guilty or hypocritical but then I realized that that is not the answer. We need to learn from what Sam has to say, and either alter our behavior or be aware of what is going on around us, and try to make the world a better place. I know that I am more fortunate in several ways than most people in the world. But I try not to feel guilty about it. I try to think that I can take the things Sam has taught us and the things I have learned on my own and be a good open minded person, and really that’s all you can do. So I hope that you don’t end the semester feeling guilty, but rather feeling educated and like you have a new outlook on life that you did not have before.
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goldenboybrodie Reply:
April 16th, 2010 at 4:24 pm
Yeah I agree with you when I sat foot in Sam class I was like this guys is just going to give us on what he thinks about everything and not really speaking the truth but as I looked at it he wasn’t trying to do that at all he wanted us to really think about what is going on in our world instead of being closed minded but open to everything that is going on in other words open our eyes and see the truth what lies between the lines. I say the Sam I really learned so much from this class and sat back and looked at how allot of the stuff I’ve been taught could be wrong and that’s the thing that’s not a good thing in my book
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I don't know if this question has one single answer because the end goal for everyone is going to be different. Some people will have gone into this class close-minded and leave the same exact way. They will try to brush off the facts when they are presented or make excuses for reasons why these issues don't matter. For others, they will have learned about a few harsh realities that many minorities face in our country and it will move them to at the very least THINK about these issues. I think some of the info and data has been so moving to some that they are already actively trying to find ways to combat the racism. I know personally I feel a sense of guilt and shame when I hear some of the wrongdoings, as well as when I realize how lucky I am every single day to even be going to a college like PSU and have an apartment to live in. So, if nothing else, even if someone may not take any actual steps themselves to try to fix the injustice we hear about every SOC 119 class, I think just feeling different or weird about something after this class is a good step for many people as it will show itself eventually. What I mean is that, whether unconsciously or not, just thinking about these issues might cause us to speak out against racism in the future or vote politically for policies that will help minorities. Or maybe we will unknowingly bring up these race issues when talking with others which helps to spread the information to the masses. Who knows. The point is that Sam has been giving us gold (as he likes to say) and it is up to us individually to decide whether we want to act to make a different end goal than what it might have been before.
[Reply]
gcj Reply:
April 16th, 2010 at 5:04 am
I completely agree, I believe that the outcome will be different for each person. Moreover, I believe that there is not an end goal however an on going process. We walk each day of our lives in an attempt to improve race relation. Some may advance faster than others. We can always learn something new even those in the humanitarian stage. Each encounter with another person gives us the opportunity to become that more educated on the race relations topic. Arriving at the humanitarian stage does not mark the end of your journey, just the start of your journey through a new understanding.
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I believe that the end goal for this whole race relations idea is to know that we live in a world where race clearly exists, but where it isn’t a problem. There’s no more inequality just because of your skin color, and everyone is treated exactly the same no matter if they’re black, white, brown, or any other color. People would be able to see past skin color and just recognize that every person is a human being and deserves to be treated like one. Even though this end goal is ideal and pretty much perfect, I don’t think the people of this earth will ever get there.
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This is a pretty good question. I don't think there really is an easy answer. I believe depending on each individual, answers will vary drastically. Speaking for myself, the end goal of my race relations experience is opening my eyes. What do I want out of this class? I want to at least acknowledge race relations. I want to be able to take off "my lenses" and put on another persons lenses. I don't believe that Sam is trying to mold us into conforming sociologists, rather dig out a path for our own discovery. The end goal is obvious from day to day and it can be very simple too. Walking to class, I pay particular attention to race relations; I believe I pay more attention to the details that shape race relations. I want to know what it must be like for the inter-racial couple to get stares as they walk hand in hand. I try to acknowledge their courage for simply being themselves and honor race relations in general for simply not ignoring them, nor discriminating against them. I've increased my curiosity level. I am thinking about things I have never thought about before. What it would be like if I were to bring a person of the opposite race or same gender home to meet my parents? Would they accept the person, or rather my relationship, why and why not? Challenging yourself to step outside of the box. Even thinking about every day things we take for granite, such as munching on a piece of chocolate. Recognizing that my ten seconds of enjoyment was produced by someone's unpaid, torturous hard work. It's a difficult pill to swallow. But, race relations is reality. Reality that you need to look at life not only from your own perspective or your parents, but from a stranger's perspective. The end goal of my race relations experience is experiencing life as purely and as real as possible. Accepting the world and people in the world, for their unique identities that shape our planet. Without letting yourself go and realizing the end goal is just taking notice of life, you're just going to die. Sam is correct. We are all going to die. Keeping Sam's belief in mind, I want to die knowing that I lived not only from my perspective, but from others too.
My advice for those who haven't found the end goal: be open to everything. Honestly listen to strangers and observe people. Allow yourself to look at the world outside of your own immediate "bubble". Yes, you may find things that you don't like, but you don't have to like everything in the world. You are still allowed to keep your identity and beliefs. However, I suggest you develop your identity with your own experiences and others' experiences too.
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It is hard to visualize what the point of race relations is in the short term. There are so many conflicting views and people that the baby steps that we talk about in class seem to be purposeless. After all, Sam does answer 50 percent of questions with the declaration that he is “going to die”, so that is what he is worried about. Unfortunately, this view point does not do much for those of us concerned with living well. Basically, race relations is an incredibly long term endeavor, the benefits of which we will probably not see; however, the promise of race relations is that we are capable of making a change that will drastically improve the quality of life for future generations.
In actuality, the betterment of future generations is why we do almost everything in life. We go to school to ensure our own well being, but also to ensure that our children will be looked after, or at least the children of our loved ones. Arthur C. Clarke’s novel Childhood’s End, depicts a world coping with the reality that they are the final generation of people to inhabit earth. The world’s population deals with the situation differently, but in general chaos and disorder ensue. This scenario reminds me that we are truly living for our children.
With this in mind, the measures we take to improve the race relations and general equality in our world seem actually to be hopeful goals. In our time we may see some small steps, like civil rights bills being passed, or gay marriage becoming universal; but these are simply ways of changing the consciousness of the world, the effects of which will only be felt later on. In order to achieve different abstract systems of thinking, there needs to be concrete development in reality.
Unfortunately, the promise of a better world for our children is typically not the best motivator for action in our time. But one must always remember that without the actions of past generations there would be no progress. In an attempt to rationalize life, progress is typically a goal or motive. Progress is made in small steps, like what we have talked about in class. Ultimately there must be a decision made by individuals. They must decide if they feel that they want to participate in the betterment of our society (meaning the extension of equality and peace as far as it can go) or if they feel that life is not progress based. Many people would and do choose the second option because it is a reasonable conclusion to make. The hope of race relations is that society can put the future before the present.
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I think the big picture is to get our world to a point where there is understanding. Ethnocentrism was the theme of class on Tuesday and it really hit home with me. I think THAT is the main goal. Laurie talked about when she first had that moment where the lightbulb lit up and she really heard what the other person was saying for the first time. I don’t mean that like it was the first time she physically listened, but that for the first time, she completely understood the story from another person’s perspective. She went on to say that that is literally the difference between peace and war- how true! Wars are fought over ideologies. How can I, who have grown up my entire life immersed in my own culture, and brainwashed to believe what my culture is taught me, pass judgment on someone else who was raised in a different culture? What makes them wrong and me right? It’s just because of how I was raised and what I saw in my life and my experiences. Had I been born into a different body that grew up in Afghanistan, for example, my mindset would be very different, just as my ideology would be. Wars arrive because two ideologies collide, and cannot coexist. The war in Afghanistan is going on because we, as Americans, have it in our ideology that it is our duty to liberate the rest of the world and spread democracy, because we value individual choice and rights. That conflicts with the culture in Afghanistan, where women are not treated as equal citizens and their leaders run the country more by dictatorships. Of course to me that sounds insane, and I think it is “better” to live in America with democracy. Our ideologies collide and so there is war. What if ethnocentrism existed between our two cultures, and both sides of had that light bulb moment like Laurie did where everything just clicked and we finally really “got it”. The world would be a much different place.
The end goal of race relations is also to make it better for future generations. Just as we all take care of the earth so that it is not destroyed for our great great great grandkids, we should be taking care of society and perceptions of people. Look how far race relations has come since the 1960’s. Many people who worked so hard to improve race relations back then are not even alive to see Obama as president. They didn’t work hard for themselves to have a better life, but for their kids and future generations to have a better life. We owe it to the people of the future to work on this now so that one day, the thought of judging people by the color of their skin will sound completely and utterly ridiculous.
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I think the goal for humans and the only reason we are here on this earth is to enjoy ourselves and have sustainable relationships to do that. Personally I don’t believe in god or an afterlife so I live for the moment but that doesn’t mean doing stupid things because that could potentially ruin the rest of your life and all the time you have in this world. Being a good person and helping other people enjoy this life is also something that people should do because without having fun or having relationships, what is the point? Live for the moment, plan for the future.
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The Race Relations Project and Soc 119 in my opinion is to expand our horizons and start a conversation on topics were avoid talking about due to political correctness. Sam’s goal is for us to continue the conversation outside of the classroom. Throughout the course, Sam has talked about issues I was never aware of. I felt so naïve and ignorant because I had no idea about these things were going on in the world until he brought them up in class. Maybe all of these emotions of guilt and hypocrisy that stirs up in some of us in class is to motivate us to change the state of the world, start a conversation, and bring attention to these issues in order to fix them or improve the situation.
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I really do not know if there is an “end goal” for everyone. I think that it depends on the individual. Everyone is going to have a different opinion on the overall ( meaning the meaning of life). I personally feel that I must have a purpose here. Why would God put me here if there was no purpose for me to be here? Obviously you can tell I am a bit religious, but I was not always. And I used to question why I am here and what my purpose is here on Earth. I used to think…oh well I am going to die anyway so why bother with some things. For example, I used to smoke cigarettes. My parents wanted me to quit really bad and I asked them what for and they said for my health and I will die from smoking cigs. I told them-everyone dies so what is the point? I eventually quit because cigs are bad for you and we do not know when we are going to die.
I wonder sometimes still but I do know that I have a purpose. Personally I think I was put here to help people. I want to get my license to practice as a psychologist. I particularly would like to work with people who have drug and alcohol addiction. I know Sam says we’re all going to die and what not but while we are here we might as well make the best of it right? I do not see why he says that all the time because it kind of puts a damper on your life. It almost makes you want to give up on succeeding in anything if we are just going to die anyway…then why should we do anything at all?
There are so many different ways to look at this question…why are we here? What is our purpose? Who the hell even knows. Some of us might dwell on the meaning of life forever until one day-bam! You are dead. I would rather not think about dying all the time otherwise I probably would not be motivated to do anything with my life. If I knew when I was going to die, I would probably would sit around and do drugs all day until I was going to die. Why would I bother going to school? Why would I bother getting a job? If everyone knew when they were going to die, don’t you think there would be extreme chaos? I think the world would be a complete mess to be honest. People would be robbing banks, stores, just basically wreaking havoc all over the place. If everyone had a set day when they knew they were going to die…what would the world be like?
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I believe the end goal, at least for me, was to not be so judgmental and not to judge based on something we seen. This can really pertain to a lot of things but more so with Race, Ethnicity, and Culture that make us unique. For example, I was eating at Cici's Pizza with a friend and I saw this guy carrying back a whole plate stacked with pizzas, at first thought I said to myself "Wow, way to take all the pizza for yourself that is really rude" and then not think anything else of it, the man sat down at the table where his wife and 3 kids were sitting. I made passed judgments too quickly and I think that is what the whole point of the class is about. We are all here together, one planet, as humans. And nothing about that is going to change ( Until we live on the moon?) and we should all start to respect one another as individuals rather then a group based off of race, ethnicity, and culture backgrounds.
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I think the final goal is to realize whats going on in the world. That's a huge step because not many people think about those things. When people don't think about those things, they don't see the whole picture. They only see through their lenses and not other peoples' lenses. For people who think outside the box is an important step, because you realize whats going and not worrying just about yourself. The other step is do to something, I mean knowing whats going on is big, but doing something is even bigger. Just imagine people helping out with each other and the world a better place. That could happen, it just takes people out of their comfort zone. Some people are in their comfort zone or so called bubble and only worry about themselves and not others. So people don't want to get out of their comfort zone because they don't care about other people. I just think that's crazy and to tell you the truth, that's the real world. People only looking out for each other, instead of helping out the people in need. Some people do get out of their comfort zone and help out people in need. They realize that they have so much stuff and some people don't have anything. They also are thankful for having stuff and using it and not wining like other people. Did you ever watch the movie called Pay it Forward? That movie is so good and people should do somethings in the movie, it would make the world a safer place to live. If one person gets a gift or someone does something nice, they would have to do something nice to another person. Before you know it, everyone would be doing something to each other. Just think about that. That is crazy, a simple thing like that would make everyone lives happier. I just don't understand some people and their actions towards others. Think of the simplest rule, treat others as you want to be treated. That's crazy if people want to get respected from others, well they have to respect them first. People want the best things in the world, they either want the best t.v. or best car, because they want others to feel jealous. Those examples are people not thinking outside of their box and only worrying about themselves. Just think no more violence, wars, or battles. People caring for each other and helping each other out that would be awesome.
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This is a really tough question to answer but I am going to attempt. I don’t really think any one person can claim they have the grand knowledge of what the end result of learning about or practicing race relations should be. I honestly don’t think its even possible to claim an end goal. To me if there were an end to race relations, those of us fighting to make a difference would have lost the battle.
I think that as long as there are people in the world we will have differences and opposing opinions… if not, then the government has probably changed us all into robots.
I think that ideally (but not realistically) every person would accept the differences we have with each other and find them to be a blessing instead of a reason for death, torture and discrimination. This is never going to happen. I know I sound like a huge pessimist but its true. People will always find themselves better, smarter, more attractive or more deserving than others. And as long as they do, there will be discrimination, death and torture because of those differences.
So, what are we to do if there is not end result? What is the point of continuing the fight for race equality? The point is, that we can at least lessen the pan of those who experience discrimination. We can teach people to embrace our differences. We can teach people to understand and not be ashamed of how they feel about race but rather to accept that they need to make an effort to understand race relations and accept each other.
This task may seem daunting to some people but I think that’s where Sam’s class comes in. His class has really facilitated these thoughts and feelings in me and in many other people as well. All I think we can really do is one; spread the word about Sam’s class. Two; we can continue to make steps towards our goal by continuing our race relations experience past Sam’s class and into talks and other activities. Lastly we can make the conscious effort to not let Sam’s words go in one ear and out the other but rather really take them to heart. Ponder them. Then act on them. That to me, is the most important step, action. If you see some injustice or misunderstanding, don’t just sit there, do something. Help the world become informed about race relations.
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To be as general and generic as possible, I think that when looking at the grand scheme of things, I think that the overall goal is to just stimulate thought and hopefully some of it sticks causing people to understand slightly. This class is a perfect example of that. Sam continues to say throughout the semester that he doesn’t want to hurt feelings, he just wants to make you think. Videos like the ones we’ve been watching such as the chocolate harvesting are put in place to open people’s eyes and evaluate what we do every day. We as Americans can do pretty much what we want, it is up to you personally to decide what is right and wrong and what you want to stand for in life.
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I am wondering this same question. Yea we learn so many things about the hypocrisy that there is in the word, but what are we suppose to do with all this information he’s giving us? I remember clearly that he stated that as a teacher he is just trying to make us think an open up our minds a little bit. I think nobody can say that they haven’t been provoked to think by his lectures unless you haven’t been to class. I think that thinking outside the box and looking at things from other people’s perspectives has been the major purpose of this class. So maybe we just have to think about things differently as we continue life and really open our eyes to everything.
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The end goal, for me at least would be that everyone learns to respect or at least acknowledge each other. What Laurie said in her book about not seeing color captivated me so much. Usually people feel that it is ok to not se color. That by not seeing color they will not be considered a racist or anything like that. That by not seeing color they can treat everyone in the same manner. That by not seeing color they do not have to try to understand people. Seeing color is an amazing thing. People who can acknowledge someone for who they really are are incredible in my eyes. Seeing color is a way into a person. Not only into their lives but also into their culture. If everyone were able to respect and see everyone for whom they are then I think we have reached a high point. But as long as there are people who do not care about race and who think that by just ignoring it they can end the talk about it. Well guess what? Race relations will never end. Speaking about race makes people nervous, and I understand that, but if we do not talk about it then we are getting nowhere. I also understand that people think that they can never fully understand a race because they are not a part of it. At to some extent this is true. A Black man will never fully understand how it is to be a white man, and vice versa. As I write I realize that there may never really be and end goal. As long as we work with each other and try to maintain some type of stability then things will go on from there. Because if we like it or not, there will always be a person who is so caught up in what they believe that they are blind to what others believe. Not that we have to change our beliefs but just acknowledge the fact that they exist. The people who are so obsessed with trying to change everyone else instead of seeing that everyone is an individual. Even if people are in the same race, they do not have to have the same thoughts and beliefs. This is a common stereotype for all races. Our ignorance towards race relations is what is holding us back from reaching the end goal or at least getting closer to the goal. We are all fabricated to stand up for what we are but if we stand for what we are alone as a person then we get nowhere. We have to stand for what we believe in but also realize that there are others out there who are also standing for what they believe in. and if we wna them to respect us then we have to give that respect.
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What many people don’t realize is that almost everything that we wear, or eat, has some percentage of coming from slaves. If a person just realized this and they want to change it, it is hard to just do it “cold turkey.” When a person is accustomed to eating chocolate all of the time it is harder for them to stop, even though they know that it comes from slaves. What we can do is try to stop the companies from continuing to use this method. If a persona totally gives up everything that has been produce by slaves, then they give up almost everything they have and do. You asked how they can stomach eating the chocolate, but how can you stomach wearing the clothes you wear or sending a text message??
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This student brings up a good point. I think that the end result of all of this is for all of us to get along. The whole point of race relations is so that people of all different races no matter what skin color you have or where your ancestors are from. If race relations solved all of the problems then we would not have to worry about people being racist or judging other people. The whole point of this is for people to move past the idea of people having different skin color and on to seeing people for who they really are and what their true personalities are. Because in the end what is on the inside matters unlike what is on the outside.
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What is the end goal of all this? I feel there can be many answers to this question from a lot of different individuals. I personally think the end result of this class and all the discussions Sam talks about is for us to realize what other cultures and races see in their eyes. Of course during Sam’s class most of the things he does talks about I feel do not connect or relate to what he is trying to cover. However, when class is over and I walk to my car to go home I actually think about some things he talks about and I try to relate myself to the discussions. I feel this is what he wants to happen; just getting us to think about what he spends an hour and fifteen minutes preaching to us, is one step into the ‘end result.’ This is being aware of and knowing what other races and cultures go through in their everyday life. In our discussion groups I actually learn a lot more, mainly because there are less people and more discussions. If you are not in a discussion group I can understand how this class does not really hit home to you. I definitely recommend taking a race relations course or joining a group that has diversity talks. With more discussion and more questions I begin to become less ignorant of the other individual’s lives in my group. Our group may not be very diverse in race, but we are very diverse in our opinions and thoughts, and even our personal experiences. Therefore, when we get into our discussions they become heated and it becomes a little easier to understand where other people are coming from. I think the way Sam has made me think definitely benefits me in the long run. I may not realize this now, but somewhere in the near future I will get a job, well hopefully, and there will be a diverse group of individuals working with me. If I did not have any knowledge of other individual’s race or cultures then I would tend to be an outcast, or I would just be afraid to say anything. I would simply think if I did open my mouth I would be called a racist. However, with this class, it has made me think differently about other races and cultures. I now have a better understanding of what other individuals are going through. Yes we all are going to die at some point, but this should not be our end result. We should want to live our life to the fullest and I think the ‘fullest’ means to understand your peers. How they got here, where they came from, and their thoughts about themselves and yourself.
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I think the questions “what is point of race relations” and “what are we hoping to do in this world” have the potential to be two completely different questions so I will answer then separately. I believe that the point of race relations is to gain knowledge. Every time we are in class Sam talks about how the whole point of the class is to gain knowledge and to understand. But I think that understanding s not enough. I think what he really wants is for us to pass the knowledge on to people and the next generations. The more we spread knowledge the more we will do about the problems we have. But if we do not gain the knowledge we will go nowhere. We will gain nothing. At least by sitting in the classroom and learning about what Sam has to say we are opening our minds to things we may or may not have previously known. Without gaining knowledge we can’t spread it and without being able to spread knowledge we won’t be making a difference in the world. Everything would stay the same. No knowledge is as great or powerful as the knowledge we share with our world.
As far as the question about what we are hoping to do in the world I believe that the answer is similar to the answer of the first question. I believe that all we can hope to do is to make a difference. We can do this by making our little corner of the world a better place. There are all kinds of ways to do this too. It doesn’t just have to do with race in this situation. You can do so many different things to make the world a better place too. Treat people fairly, stand up for the beliefs and rights of others, teach your children to love everyone equally. Without teaching love and affection to children the human race could become cold. So really all we have to do is understand and then teach our understandings to the next generation. So they can start off one step higher then we were and maybe learn something more and teach it to their children so they can be another step higher. Eventually we could reach a world of understanding. The problems in the world today can be fixed. Maybe they wont be fixed today, or tomorrow, or even 10 to 20 years from now. Change takes time and if we give it enough time things will turn out all right. The world can be a better place if we just try. And the first step to try is to open our minds to new ideas. Because once we open our minds we can start to see things in a new light.
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I think the end goal is just being able to treat people regardless of the color of their skin. I think that once everyone can get to that point where race is no longer an issue and it can be openly spoken about then that is where we would want to be. With no more racism or discrimination and just really being able to look at people for who they are and not the color of their skin. I feel that once we get there then everything will be so different and maybe people would be a whole lot happier!
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I think the end goal is actually what you make of it, but he's using this class to point us in the right direction. Many of you touched on that direction – he's trying to open our eyes to the way that we think, the way we act, and why we do the things we do. We almost always do things through a certain "lens" and he's trying to eliminate that lens so that you can grasp other peoples viewpoints and maybe step into their shoes for a moment. I think he's really trying to let us know that our actions have so many consequences that we are too often ignorant of. We can also be ignorant of the reasons that we do what we do in the first place.
I think that once we can grasp this concept, then the end goal would be, as I said before, where we can take it. I mean if everyone in our class alone actually did take this concept, really push ourselves to step out of our comfort zones, be in other people's shoes, then our eyes would be opened so much not only to so many issues at hand, but also to solutions. I think we would finally understand that war is not the answer because in truth it solves nothing and causes completely unnecessary death. We could give people the self confidence that they need and eliminate judgement. Who knows, maybe some of us can help shed light to the world that slavery still actually exists, and is in fact more prevalent now than ever before. Maybe we can take steps to actually ending slavery, maybe…..wouldn't that be nice?
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This is a very interesting question that throughout the semester, I myself have wondered about. To me, I think the end goal is a multitude of things. First of all, I think part of the goal is to get each of us to take off our own glasses, and to put on someone else's glasses to view what life is like in their eyes. It is trying to get us all to be a little bit more open-minded. Also, I think the class is trying to get us to remove the blinders that so many of us have, and to actually see the whole world and what is going on, then to just see our own little world. Sam wants us to see different perspectives of life that we do not see or possibly never would have seen if it were not for this class. Also, what I believe to be one of the main goals of this class is to realize we are all people and that we all should be treated the same. It does not matter where we come from, income level, sexual orientation, color of our skin, education level, we all deserve a fair shot. Unfortunately, we are not all given a fair shot because we all do not start out evenly on the racetrack of life, but this is also something we should recognize and take into consideration. I think Sam wants us to realize that just because we do not see it, does not mean it does not exist. I know I personally was blind to how prevalent slavery still was in the world, and how terribly these slaves can be treated. If it were not for the class, I might have lived for the rest of my life blind to this. Also, I think one of the points is for all of us to spread the knowledge that we have gained from this class to help make a difference in the world. For instance, if we all took action to stop using items that took part in supporting slavery and told our family and friends about the horrible things that happen to these slaves, they too in turn might stop using these products, and we can help to make a huge impact on the slavery issue. Without a class like this to educate people, no one would ever know about some of the horrible things that go on in this world or how other people, other than ourselves, feel about the things we say and the things that we do. Classes like this are a way to educate people to help make this world a friendlier place. So for me, I think this class has ton of different goals. However, I think it really just depends on each individual. Others may perceive Sam's messages in a different way than I have, or another person just might not be open minded to taking another view other than their own.
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This is a really good question and one I think about a lot, especially in this class. I think that complete race equality and unity is a far reaching goal that we may never actually get to, but I think what is important is that we keep trying to reach these goals because as soon as we give up that is only taking a step back. The real goal may be always trying to move up a step in our race relations with one another. There are probably always going to be obstacles and disagreements, but whether we see an end in sight is not the important, the fact that we’re trying is.
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This is a great question, what really is our ending goal in life? For many of us it is the Day of Judgment where we will be held accountable for our actions. And for some people they believe in karma and others I guess simply thing they will be buried and that will be it. But for all people on this earth one day we will all die and I think that’s one thing everyone agrees on. For me I am a believer of the Day of Judgment and believe that I will be held accountable for everything I have done in this life. My beliefs are strong in this and I see life as a test, life to me is not about making the most money, and living the best lifestyle out of everyone, but instead it is to worship God, and live life according to the way my religion teaches me. Though I fail to do this at times I still try to correct my mistakes and live life for its actual meaning and not get carried away with greed, and wealth. To me this is life, and Sam said something in the last lecture that really got me thinking, I eat chocolate that a slave makes, I also buy a chocolate that a slave makes, and living in a country like America where poverty is nowhere as bad as some parts of the world I take advantage of this. I try to enjoy life and take advantage of me being lucky that I am in a country like the United States, instead of thinking of how I can help slaves or less fortunate people. Sam said in class when we die the people of the book or anyone who believes that they will be held accountable for their actions on earth, he asked us what answer will we give God when he asks why didn’t we attempt to help the unfortunate people around the world, when we had the money and power to do so? This really got me thinking that if I am such a strong believer as I think what answer will I give? Well to be honest I don’t have an answer to this question, I understand that us being fortunate we have responsibilities to help people in need, but we fail to do so because we want to have that rolex, or that bmw, but none of this when we die will help us in our grave. Sam like he does to me after all his lectures gets me to think just like he says, he doesn’t want us to change necessarily, but wants us to think, and after this question I don’t think I ever thought more after class, and I am still thinking. Sam made a good point and for all of us that believe we will have to answer to God for our actions on earth, are we really ready? I don’t think so.
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keane Reply:
April 16th, 2010 at 2:22 am
This is definitely one of the better questions that people have asked in this class. It's one of those questions that people often think about when things aren't going very smooth. It definitely makes you think, what is the purpose of life? What is the end? What will happen when we die? Different religions have different answers to those questions, different people have different answers to those questions, I believe that is the reason why a question like this one is so interesting. For those who just believe that when they die, that'll be the end of it, it should not really bother them. But for those who believe in afterlife, for those who believe that they are going to have to answer for their actions when they die, it is definitely something that they want to think about. No matter how pure we try to be, we, in most cases, are always going to end up doing things that we shouldn't. Whether it is eating chocolates and wearing clothes that slaves make, or causing harm to people, cheating, lying and all the other "known" sins, we eventually fall into their trap a lot of the times. This question definitely makes you think, but it's one for which an answer is very difficult to find.
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I think the end goal is just to be able to have everyone become a little bit more aware. Not everyone has to become a humanitarian, but I think everyone should leave this class with a little bit more understanding than when they walked in. I know personally, I have thought more about the differences between myself and others of different race. I used to think that race relations wasn’t such a big deal, but I’m more aware now of the differences of different racial groups when I walk on campus. I think about why everyone’s so separated and why certain races have certain stereotypes. I may not be a master at fully understanding everyone who is different from me, but I am more aware of the fact that those differences do exist, and I think that’s one of the goals for race relations.
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The point is to learn all about this to understand everyone is equal in the long run. The point of this class as Sam said was to at least change how you view certain things. Now according to Lauries question in class when she asked how many peoples views changed in the discussion group,.. well only one person raised there hand. So to me that is telling me not many people are getting a lot of points in this class. Like I said before in a lot of blogs, if someone feels a way on something they are usually going to stay that way and keep that view. That is why this class is very hard to get points because many of us already have views on these things.
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I think the end goal of this particular class is just to get us to think more critically about the world and the inner workings of our particular society, so that we can come to terms with our personal biases and prejudices and work them out. As far as beyond this class, I think we should take what we have learned here and try and engage in intelligent, probing discussions with friends, and even strangers, about race relations and inequality. Otherwise, the discussions won't happen, and we can't have true equality, or have people treating each other with respect and dignity regardless of SES or other variable.
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This guy raises a very interesting question, but at the same time one that is very difficult to answer. This is because race relations has common end goal that everyone strives for. No two people want the exact same thing for race relations. However, I think that those who are interested in learning about race relations do have at least a common purpose in become more enlightened and more educated. This is there really is no fixing society and its tie to race relations because there is no single right answer. One may want equality for all races, while others may feel like things are good just the way that they are. This is a very subjective question.
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Ha-ha death, Sam cracks me up at the way he talks about death as if it’s nothing. Although he is right of course we will all die one day. But death isn’t really a subject that everyone is comfortable talking about. But to touch on what he is saying, I think that the point of race relations is to get everyone involved in what problems are happening in and through all aspects of life. Meaning that a race relation has an effect on more than just racial issues, it can be intertwined with things such as the war. This is what we talked about today and how it is seen through the Middle Eastern people’s eyes. Sam asked everyone to imagine as if they we were middle eastern ourselves. By doing this it allowed us to think as one. Once we did this Sam asked us questions such as what we want out of life. People said things like health, peace, and family the normal things pretty much that every human being wants out of life. Now he asked how would we feel if American soldiers came here and decided to take the oil was under the homes and lives? Right then the room slowly went silent, this wasn’t only because of the realization of how we share the same mentality but how there is more damage being done than we are shown. It hurts somewhat to think about how many people are being killed for oil! When Sam gave us the amount of civilians that we’re allowed to killed in order to get one terrorist, it didn’t process in my mind right. Wait did I really say ALLOW to kill? Ok I thought so, those words shouldn’t even be anywhere near each other. No one absolutely no one should be allowed to kill another person is my first point. Secondly the number is 29, that’s about a classroom at an elementary school.
I can honestly say I have no idea what the end goal is. I think that what Sam and others like him want to do is first make the world aware of all the issues concerning race and how they branch out to almost everything in the world. Then once the attention is on that, it then time to expose publicly what hardships have happened to all of the race and ethnic groups. This will put everyone on the same page and if this action is put to use the right way we may see what the big picture really is.
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I think this class, and race relations in general, is just to get people to realize the major part that race and other sociological issues play in our every day lives so that we can continue our lives knowing this information. If we all expand our minds to the different cultures out there we will no longer be stuck in our current mindset. I know that I rarely ever thought about what it means to be white, and that seems to be because I grew up around a majority of white people my entire life. This class is about ethnocentrism, and realizing that the views that we hold are not the end all be all and that learning about others views and experiences is extremely important.
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I believe the end goal of this class is for everyone to learn how to see things from the perspectives of others. This class is meant for us to understand the happenings of everyday life and the consequences and benefits of our actions. It takes a well-rounded person to fit in with others. You cannot just go through life with a mediocre skill-set and expect to just coast through everything. Should we choose to listen, we are being taught how to explore circles of people who we have never been in contact with. It is up to us to get to know others and to figure out what happens in other cultures.
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I feel that the reason there is race relations and this class is to open your eyes and your views on life. Many people aren’t familiar with diversity and coming to a campus that is so big and there are so many different groups that you can get involved with and help you expand your horizons on diversity really helps as well. I feel that many people don’t take advantage of all the different groups we have at Penn State and everyone just sticks with their own race most the time. I grew up in such a diverse suburban area that when I got to Penn State it was like a culture shock to me of seeing not much diversity. I feel that being able to have the race relations project is great, because you are able to sit in a room with people you have never met before and talk about things that everyone wants to talk about but never thinks its ok to discuss. So I feel that the end goal of having race relations and a class like this is to open up people eyes to what is really out there and how people should be able to experience this once in their life.
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Additional Blog# 2
The end goal for soc 119 is not to get a good grade. It isn’t to get people to feel guilty about things that occurred before you even made it on this earth. The end goal of race relations is to get everyone to open their eyes and see what the ins and outs of race are. It is needed so that we can look at the views and thoughts of others. We as humans have a very blatant way of sweeping our dislike of another culture, race, or ethnicity under the rug. It is time for us to realize that the world is not completely in black and white. For once, we need to reach a point where we are no longer just different groups of people living on one plant. The goal is for us to learn how to co-exist together with our fears and thoughts about one another cultures, races, and backgrounds.
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The big picture in my eyes of race relations is to not judge and not look past anybody because of their race but everybody should be treated the same no matter what. The big picture at the end of us coming together fighting for what’s right and really helping each other and just think about what is really going on in our world as Sam say we have no idea what is really going on in today’s world with race we only see the outside of or society we need to dig deep and really find out what is really going on in our world not just our community’s but world and as I learned from Sam this world will bring you down fast and with no problem.
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I think the end goal is to really open everyone’s eyes to the fact that these issues are going on throughout the world, instead of just ignoring them. If no one really knows about these issues, they can never be fixed. I think the major goal of this race relation’s class was for everyone to think differently then they normally do in the past. I know that throughout this class I have changed my views on many issues just because I saw them in a new light. Everything is not as simple as I thought and this class really helped me realize that.
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What is the end goal? Honestly, this is not really an easy question to answer. Personally, I feel as though it is simply to make us think. We have to realize and understand what is going on around us. It is important to see not only through our own lenses, but the lenses of others – more so, the big picture. I think it is unrealistic to say that the end goal is to solve every race relations related problem and for us all to get along, although that would be nice. But, then again, the end goal is different for everyone. It depends on the individual.
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When I first came into this class and I was listening in on the first couple of classes, I was like oh man why is this guy trying to change our opinions or make us believe what he does? However as time went on I began to realize that those were not his intentions at all. As I attended more classes I began to learn about things I had never even thought about before. I also learned about things that I encounter everyday. When Sam lecture is not just about race it’s about race and how it relates to us and the rest of the world. I have learned to see things from other people's shoes and be ale to understand the trials and tribulations they go through. Therefore I believe that the point of this class is become aware of the good and the bad that is going on in the world around us.
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When people walk into this class room, they need to leave their thoughts, beliefs, and even religion outside and come in the room with their mind blank as if it were a child’s and be ready and willing to hear all sorts of things. These things might be against their religious beliefs, they might completely opposite their opinions, and lastly they might be sufficient evidence to prove what they have always heard to be true to be false. And although at times we may get offended by what Sam says, his intentions are not to make us feel bad or that our opinions mean nothing, he just says things that allow us to really think about the things we believe in. He says them so we can ask ourselves why we believe in the things we believe in or think the way we do. Sam talks about how the media affects all of us in a variety of different ways and how most of us fall privy to it. And as a result of that he reassures us that we are who we are and we should be grateful of that.
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Along with hearing about social aspects that concern our lives we also learn about social issues in other countries. Although these issues do not affect us directly these issues do affect us indirectly. Sam opens our eye to these global issues that most people have never heard of before, in places we have never heard of before. Although these issues that he brings up might be disturbing and very upsetting, sometimes it is the only way that our generation can learn to be more appreciative of the things that we have. So Sam does not intend to change the way we think or make it seem that what we believe is wrong but to learn to ask questions and to be open minded of the answers.
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This is a question that is something that all of us should honestly think about. Not only has this class made me think of this, but even just being in the real-world should make people think about this question.
Race relations to me is all about talking to one another about our ethnic and racial differences and making genuine conversation. Everyone has various backgrounds they can bring to a conversation concerning race and I think its beneficial for everyone to understand where others have been and why. People come from various walks of life and by sharing their various life experiences, it will expand the lives of others who have not witnessed such experiences.
For example, as a white, Christian woman, I am not normally exposed to the holiday of Kwanza. My one friend’s family, when I was in elementary school, graciously invited me to attend their celebrations one year. With that experience, I learned so much more about a different culture and belief system that I had never been exposed to before. I was able to talk to my friend and her family about the holiday and learned a lot more about their family and values. Not only did I learn about them, but I also learned a lot about myself and my own family’s traditions. This, to me, was one of my first ever race relations conversations I had and I can honestly say that it was one of the most rewarding and interesting experiences of my life.
Without the aspect of race relations conversations, no one would understand one another and racism would be more rampant. In the past, ignorance and societal shame restricted people from having these valuable race relations conversations and experiences. Race relations is about understanding and helping one another realize that there is not just one right way to live your life. Everyone has differences in traditions and experiences and it’s not until people talk about this, will everyone be able to live more harmoniously.
Although there is still racism, I think race relations classes and discussions such as those which we have partaken in this class, will help everyone to stop the unfounded prejudice, fear and stupidity that was historically prevalent between people of varying races. I personally have benefitted a lot from just taking this class because I’ve been able to talk to friends and family members about interesting issues from a perspective that they’re not typically used to. I think we’re very lucky to have Sam as a teacher because he is presenting a lot of issues and ideas from a perspective that the media is not presenting. Talking to my parents in particular has been the most rewarding conversations regarding race. They grew up in a different era and they had never met someone of a different race than white until they came to college because that is just the way it was around them growing up. They had never talked about race as openly as I have been lucky enough to and by telling them about my classes and made them think about why they had some racial beliefs that they did. I think this is ultimately the end goal of race relations- to hopefully make the world a more peaceful, racial world for future generations.
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I think that this question is a very personal question in that I think everyone's goal is or should be different. We all took this class for various reasons. I took it because I had Soc 1 with Sam, and he was an entertaining guy, but also because I wanted to think more about race because I have lived in a pretty white world up until this point in my life. So my goal was to be able to see race, but not in the ways that I previously did. Now, knowing what I do, I guess I was in between the pre-awakening and awakening stages coming in, and now I have gotten further than that. I see race, but I want to know more about each person as an individual.
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As a lot of people have already mentioned, the end goal is going to differ upon the individual. However, I found myself asking the question “So, where do we want to end up?” a few times while reading Laurie’s book. One thing that she wrote that stuck with me was that several white people are confused because people of color are not exactly sure what they want or how to express what they want specifically. There are mixed messages that are constantly being sent back and forth between races, which makes it more difficult to understand how to resolve what problems we face. She brought up the idea that people of color want to be treated equally in many ways, but still want to be recognized as being a part of something special—a specific culture. I would imagine that it is that way for everyone. Do white people mind being clumped together as one, simply being “white people”? Or would they rather be looked at as something deeper? Maybe Irish or Italian or European? I often wonder if that preference differs when the setting is altered: a mixed crowd versus an all white crowd versus a black crowd.
I feel like the goal is not to forget about race entirely; that would defeat the purpose of the “relations.” But the general goal is to look at race differently. Don’t use it so much as an identifier, but more like a modifier.
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I think that the end goal could be that one day we will all find that we are the same. This is true yes we are all going to die someday, but there’s a lot you can do in life to make a difference during your lifetime. I feel that one day everyone will feel that we have accomplished the goal to race relations and we will be able to celebrate and one day maybe everything in the world that is bad will end. I think we will reach our goal even if it’s not soon but even 200 years from now I think it is possible.
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I believe the end goal is to just get us thinking about things we never really wanted to discuss out loud. Sam said this class is all about getting the award topics of race relations out so we can find a solution together. In order to find a solution and progress towards equality we need to talk about the things we usually dont talk about with others. I think this class has helped me become more comfortable talking with different races about the controversial issues most find inappropriate. Also this class has helped me think outside the box from another perspective
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The end goal is to be comfortable with other races and to be able to be happy with all other races. Or at least to be able to openly talk about other races and to not be uncomfortable with others. This class has totally reformed the way I begin to think about other races and the relationships that take place between different races. I think that there will never be a real solution to race issues but if we can being to talk about races in a more informal and relaxed situation then things will be better for everyone.
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What is the point of all this? We venture into these topics attempting to explore the hatreds, fears, prejudices of people around the world and particularly this country (blacks and whites) but it seems to me from all we’ve looked at and especially Laurie’s book, we aren’t getting anywhere and what progress we are making is incredibly slow. Personally I believe this is because race relations asks everyone to shed every sort of shield people carry and asks people to put them at their most vulnerable. For as many people that are willing to put it all out there, there are just as many people that are just too scared because I feel like people don’t believe they have the courage to do it. Maybe, if people begin to see that the point of all this is to make peace, not to create more pain, that people’s intentions are really not that bad in nature then we can go somewhere with race relations.
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The end goal, is to leave this class with an open mind, and an awareness of what occurs in our world that the media, government, etc. may choose to ignore. I honestly have to say, I just feel like I enrolled in this class with absolutely no idea of what it would really do to me, and how much it would change me. I didn't think about race much before, I never knew slavery still existed, I had no idea we were in the Middle East for reasons other than what I learned from the news. I guess I was just naive, or I was really just caught up in my own life to worry about the factors that affect other people's lives everyday. Sam is an enthusiastic teacher, and he taught me to just really open my mind. Yeah of course he through his opinions at us, some I agreed with, some I did not, but most of all–he just taught me to go into things with an open mind; To make my own decisions. And the books we have read about slavery are also absolutely incredible. This class leaves me wanting to learn more, and with an open mind in my quest–and that is the end goal.
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I think the end goal for this is just like anything else. We exist because we do. What we do with our lives is entirely up to us. Either you feel inspired by life or you do not. Either you make a difference or you work your 9-5 and then die. Although I do not really think anyone can go through life without making a difference. It is impossible. Some people want to spread hate but others want to spread love. You can never see the fruit of the labors of your life but that does not mean they are not worth it. So maybe there is no end point. The only certain end point is your imminent death. What do you do in the time you have? You cannot even know what time you have. This is why religion exists. People want to know there is something next. Which I never understand. So what if there isn't a next life? So what if there is no heaven?
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You ask a very intriguing question, and to tell you the truth whatever I say in this blog probably won't even come near to what Sam wants us to take away from this class. I feel like it is a different scenario for each individual. There are definitely some people that came into the class as partially racist and even and the progress they make compared to someone who comes into the class in a higher stage is not the same ending just having a better understanding and awareness of race is a good goal for the class. Personally I came into the class already decently aware of some of these problems and know how to respect another race and how to be socially acceptable with them. Here at Penn State I am a freshman and I live in Pennypacker Halls which is basically the minority dorm so I have a ton of friends from different races and backgrounds and have had in depth discussions with them about the topics covered in class, just from hearing their side of the story and how they feel about these issues has given me a much better understanding how other races feel. Now back to the question that was asked in the video, I think the class objective is to promote thinking and raise awareness. I think it is also supposed to make people want to make a difference and contribute in a positive way; but just for people that are already comfortable with these controversial issues who can make a difference. Personally I think at the end of the class I'll end up somewhere in between those lines, but my mine objective is to try to blind my self to race as much as possible. Even though right now I think I do a pretty good job of not judging people just based on the color of their skin, there is no doubt that I still have a long way to go. The one thing I have learned from being around people of color more then I have in any other time of my life is how we oddly feel the same way about the tension between white people and people of color; it's silly. With all of my friends we understand the magnitude of what is going on but instead of continuing to cry about the problems we just have fun with it and joke around. I think racial issues have become so series that that is one of the main problems with dealing with it. I think other people should adapt the same mentality me and my friends have, if you look past the color of peoples skin you will definitely realize the absolute silliness (for lack of a better word) of the whole controversy.
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That jus inspires me ot do more with my time on this earth. It is the reason why I spend every second of every day fighting the boxes that people put me in, put others in, put themselves in. People would not be in Sam's class if they did not think that a difference needed to be made. But then I see how much everyone talks while he is talking. How can they possibly be hearing his words? How can they possibly be hearing anyone else ever if all they do is talk? Listen. It does not take much. Why are you paying money for an education if you are going to be glued to your phone the entire time. That is a complete waste of your time. Fill your head with some knowledge. At lest when you look back on your life you can say you took time to learn more. Maybe pass that wisdom on to other people. Your end result is whatever you want it to be. So figure it out. Take time to think about it. Maybe you end racism. Maybe you are the catalyst for the end but it does not happen for another one hundred years. Who cares? It will happen.
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