posted by Sam and Michelle
Post your 450 word (minimum) comment and 100 word (minimum) response to a classmate. You should be responding to the lectures about multiculturalism and LGBT. You can write anything you want about whatever you hear in the lectures.
June 30, 2010
As far as homosexuality is concerned, I can say that I have known homosexuals who “you could just tell” were homosexual from a very young age. I truly believe that homosexuality is biological and not so much sociological. I love how Dr. Richards made the distinction between choosing gay sex and choosing to be gay. Often times we see these two things as the same, but in reality choosing gay sex is more of a choice than choosing to be gay. When I was younger, I was slightly homophobic. In recent years, however, I have gotten past this, because I realize that homosexuals are born gay. I also realized that they should have the same partner rights as heterosexual couples. Why should we discriminate against this group? Why do we choose not to focus on other “sinners” in our religions and just focus on gays? What is the big deal?
[Reply]
June 30, 2010
I always notice when two men or two women are holding hands or embracing each other in a mall or on the street. I do not know why this catches my attention – perhaps because it is something “different.” Sam really put this and the homosexual lifestyle into perspective in this lecture. My boyfriend and I ALWAYS hold hands, so why shouldn’t homosexuals have this same right? Why can’t these people walk in peace? Why do we judge these individuals so harshly? Do people of color hold homosexuals in such a negative light because this makes them more relatable to whites and white culture? Does this hating of homosexuals put people of color in a majority group? I really wonder about all of this…
[Reply]
6/30/10
This lecture was really cool. When he mentioned hypocrisy and multiculturalism, I started thinking about where I stand with this. To be honest, I wouldn't be too upset living in a diverse community, but if I had to choose, I would probably want to live around people like me and the people I grew up with. Those people, just by coincidence, tend to be white middle-class country-folk. I'm not saying that there aren't any other races that live in the country, but I'd feel most comfortable with people who remind me of what I grew up with. Here's an example of diversity in my hometown and my reaction. While I was at PSU last Fall and Spring a Mexican-American family bought a small plot of land at the end of my road and built a new house. When I got home, my parents never told me anything about them, and I just found out their background about a month and a half ago when I met their son, who is my age and goes to OSU. It doesn't bother my parents or my family that they moved in, or that they have a different background. It doesn't really bother me either. I mean, I hang out with their son sometimes, but I don't go out of my way to spend time with them and I don't avoid them. I just go about my life. I guess I fit somewhere in the middle of the hypocrisy. My neighbors, on the other hand, hate them. My neighbor, who is the spokesperson for Redneck culture, likes to say that “Them there Mexicans built the house, then all 50 of them moved in”. It's stupid. Let me explain myself a little bit. When I said that I don't go “out of my way” to spend time with them, I mean it literally. I live in the country, which means that we're not as cramped as people are in the suburbs or the city. My redneck neighbor, Shelby, actually lives two miles from me, and the Mexican-American family lives three miles from me, which is FIVE miles from him. How strong is their influence that it's making him worry FIVE MILES AWAY?? I don't understand it. As far as the idea that we, as a culture who welcomes people in and feels comfortable among immigrants, demand immigrants to learn the language and culture of our country, I think that is definitely hypocrisy. I get frustrated when someone tries to interact with me in their language without trying to meet me in some “middle-ground”, but I don't care what they speak at home or when they're talking to another person from their culture. If someone moves in and completely avoids the culture that they've immersed themselves in, then I start scratching my head. Why would you close yourself off completely from something different? But I guess it's just as easy to ask that question of the Americans living around them.
[Reply]
One of the common misconceptions about homosexuality is that it has only become pervasive within our society over the past several decades. However, despite this belief, homosexuality has existed on a global scale for thousands of years. Ancient Mesopotamian/Greek paintings and literature illustrate how this is nothing new. Yet as a result of the media and the surge of members of the gay community coming “out of the closet” over the past several decades, the issue of homosexuality has begun to be more commonly addressed.
[Reply]
So let’s back up for a second. I don’t believe true neutrality can actually exist in regard to the gay issues we face today, for if an individual has the guts to get his or her hands dirty and explore the issue in depth, I feel as though it is impossible to not come out in one of the two ends of the spectrum. I don’t mean to criticize anyone’s particular view-points, for as Sam has emphasized numerous times, the entire purpose of this class is to share differing opinions. Despite this, I’m truly amazed at how some people can choose to disassociate the word “normal” with homosexuality. Going back to the lecture Sam gave, homosexual tendency is not something that is unique to the human race. I can pretty much guarantee that at one point or another each of the people in this class have witnessed a male dog humping another male dog.
[Reply]
Let’s try to build off of this point. Many argue that homosexuality is a choice. If this was the case, clearly those who are gay made the wrong decision by deviating from the norms which have become popularized in our culture. But if we back up for a second, if gay tendencies exist within other species as well, this would mean that in order for homosexuality to be a choice we would need to recognize the capability of these other species to likewise make such a choice.
[Reply]
I thoroughly agree with Sam when he says that if a person is gay, he or she is born that way. It is not a conscious decision that an individual makes; one that would cause them to lead a life infinitely more difficult than would be the case under more “normal” circumstances. That being said, I also find it intriguing that we are looking at homosexuality after talking about the concept of racism for so long. I group the two together in that racism is just a specific form of discrimination. I think the reason that people are so adamantly against homosexuality is a combination of their lack of understanding, as well as their inherit tendencies to follow tradition. Tradition, which as I stated earlier, developed in a world where homosexuality still existed, but was not as widely recognized as it is today.
[Reply]
6-30-2010
This lesson had a lot of unbelievable statistics. One of the statistics that stood out to me in the beginning of the lecture was the fact that more college graduates want to live in more diverse communities than high school graduates. I find this to be very true because many students who go away for college may experience a whole different life setting because so many new people, new ethnicities, and races surround them. Going to a school like Penn State and living in the dorms, especially at East, freshmen are put into rooms with many diverse students. This definitely a great way to learn and experience having friends of different backgrounds and ideas. It definitely does make sense that the high school graduate statistic is much lower than the college graduate because the high school student has probably not had much experience with living with other diverse people.
Another thing that stood out to me was globalism. People from all over the world come to the United States bringing in different cultures and ideas. Hip-hop music can definitely be a way for all different types of people to come together. The video shown is pretty cool because music is definitely a way to bring people together, whether it is hip-hop or classical. Music notes are read the same everywhere in the world, it is universal. There is only one format, or one language. Someone from Guam can read the same music notes as someone from Alaska. That is one of the things about music; it is everywhere and can bring people from different nationalities or cultures together.
What I also thought was interesting was the statistic on someone who has “shared saliva” with someone of a different race. More than half of the students have “shared saliva” or have shared considerably more than saliva. This is interesting to me because it shows that people are attracted to people of a different race than themselves. This shows that students are going out of the norm of their race and are going for people who are a different race. What was also interesting was the statistics on parents being okay with you falling in love with someone with a different race. This can definitely be a huge problem for many people and a big obstacle for assimilation.
As for the LGBT issues, I feel that a lot of people are uncomfortable with LGBT people because they don’t really experience it in their lives. I feel that people who are not okay with it are influenced by other major factors like the church beliefs. I feel that if everyone had a LGBT friend in his or her lives, they would feel less uncomfortable with the idea and start to realize that they are just people too.
[Reply]
bsa5057 Reply:
July 1st, 2010 at 3:55 am
I also think the same thing about how college students want to live in more diverse places than other people like high school graduates. My college experience, so far, allowed me to interact with people of other cultures, religions, and colors, from whom I have learned many things about how simple were the stereotypes we are spoon fed by the media. I also experienced living with people from other nationalities whom I know, if I did not go to college, there was no way I was going to meet someone from their area on the map. College has been a point of transformation for me.
[Reply]
6/30
I found this lecture to be very interesting and eye opening. The statistics in the lecture were somewhat surprising and somewhat not surprising. At first I was extremely surprised about the statistics that were given because of political correctness, saying what you think is the right thing and not always what you truly feel. I was honestly not very surprised at the low percentage of people who want to live in a more diverse community. There shouldn’t be any reason why you wouldn’t want to live with people who are slightly different then you but only just over half of all people under the age of 65 want to live in a more diverse community.
I would be lying if I told you that I would want to live in a community with a high number of immigrants. Its not that I’m racist or think that immigrants have no right to come to our country, it more the fact that I would struggle with the language barrier, that more than likely, would be present. I would most likely be with the other 84% of conservatives who say that don’t want to live with many immigrants. I also know that it is stupid to not want to live with someone who speaks a different language than me but I can’t say I would want to live with them.
I was surprised at the number of republicans that answered that they would prefer to live in a community made up mainly of people of their same racial ancestry. I would of thought that with political correctness and saying the right thing, that the percentage would have been lower. After thinking about it a little bit, I’m actually not as surprised about that figure. The reason is not that I believe republicans are racist; however I can see in conversations with my family (who are republicans) that they prefer to live in an area that has people like them in it. I don’t find this to be right but the percentage does not surprise me.
The final statistic that I didn’t find surprising was the increase in the percentage of black, Hispanic and Asian enrollment in suburban schools. I am an education major and I have seen in volunteer hours and observations of schools that suburban schools are becoming more and more diverse. I noticed this the most in a school near my hometown. This school is on the out skirts of Reading and used to be primarily white in the 1990s. Now there are more and more Hispanic and black students that have moved into the area to get away from Reading. I think this is good for schools to become more diverse so their students can learn to live in a diverse community.
[Reply]
I could not agree more with Professor Richards and his points about how some are asking too much of immigrants when they want them to leave all their culture and all that they used to believe as their values, and adopt the American substitutes, but when they do, those immigrants find a group of people who do not like them. Now, the immigrant, will find himself in limbo, he is speaking a new language, adopting new values, eat and wear differently, and change his entire life, some even change their names, so that they can fit in the new environment they are in, only to find a person who is not going to accept them no matter what because of color, accent, or other reasons.
I do not think that the American values and the beliefs and views that a person must believe in as part of being an American are things that are commonly rejected. I mean who does not want to live in a place where they will be free, where nobody is above the law, and a limited government that is not up in everything the person does. I believe many would dream about living in such place, and that is why it is universal, wherever I have travelled, they would say: “I dream about living in the US or Canada.” For the reasons I have mentioned, and as you discuss their dreams and what they think will happen when they go there, nobody ever mentioned living in the Indian, Nepalese, or Tunisian communities. Nearly everybody I have met who said he is interested in immigrating wanted to integrate and become just like the people who came before him, but the shock and the way they were treated by some people who were there before them made them reconsider. I heard many things like: “Nobody like your own people.” I do not blame them at all, to be honest. I mean do you expect me to completely transform in months to become a person who talks, walks, eats just like you, and while I am still in the process of doing so and as I am trying hard to replace whatever feelings I had for my country and switch my allegiance, as well as force myself to speak the language just like the locals, do things the locals do, even try to become interested in sports the locals are interested in, and while I am still in the process of doing so, I start seeing many people who do not want me, and will alienate me and call me immigrant or other names. They may feel uncomfortable around me and think I am not trustworthy, if this happens, I think it depends on how much the person loves the country he is in now, and how much he loved his dream.
[Reply]
The bit about people being welcomed to America with open arms seems rather far fetched, even if it was honest. Hypocrisy is really found in American culture more so than any other I would argue. I just could never imagine people being welcomed with open arms in this country. I mean but it does happen in other countries with people who want to learn another language. Think of a person trying to speak Spanish and looked at as some kinda weirdo, who knows nothing about the culture and will never be truly accepted in the ideas of a real person over there. I always wanted to learn Japanese before any other language. The bit around music videos and language surprised me, but it seemed the majority of the music was based on the take from the country. The Swiss rap and the camera techniques that they use really just took me aback. I had a History teacher that spent the majority of her young adult life in Ecuador and she said the majority of the music they listened to was techno that also surprised me. I’m not sure what the official language of Ecuador is but I would love to see a video of techno music. I’ve tried learning languages multiple times, mostly the Japnese language, but I took Spanish in high school but I really didn’t have much of a place to practice and immerse myself in that language. The question about entering a small store with a storekeeper that didn’t speak my native language intrigues me; I would just buy my items probably, and not ask them to teach me how to say basic words because I believe that ostracizes the person to a point. I would never in my life believe that people involved in church would be assimilated, most of the people in church are attracted to people that believe their same ideas, and it also goes with color too. As for getting high or drunk with someone of a different race that is way to high to count, most of the people in my dormitory were of different races and in fact me and my roommate where 2 of the 4 black people out of a 40 person floor. I’ve even get flack from different people for hanging around so many people of different races while, high and drunk. Going to them “white parties” most people would say, even earning me the nickname White Black Rob, but its not much I can even do about it. Curiously enough I feel like it’s them missing out instead of me, because I have always said I have my whole life to be around black people andeverything associated with them. Unless I decide to teach at a university of course
[Reply]
lesson 12
People do not understand LGBT people so it is hard for them to be able to relate. What has helped me is that some of my closest friends have become gay and when you actually know someone you are able to put your differences aside because you are able to se them for who they really are, and not for their sexuality. The more I have began to learn about gay people the more I am able to realize that being gay is not really a choice. You are who you are and even if you decide to suppress your sexuality you will still be gay. The question about what was the earliest you have ever noticed someone that you thought was gay made me think of this little six yearold boy who lives in my apartement building back home who is clearly gay. He plays with my little sisters, dances around everywhere, and is just obviously gay. I never thought deep enough about the issue to actually think that wow he has to have been born gay. I must admit I was one of those people who really thought that being gay is a life style that you choose, but the more I learn about it and actually have friends who had “gay” tendancies actually come out, I realize that like being straight it is just the way you are. You cannot blame someone for being who they are. I also must admit that until this lecture I was a person who thought that when gay people openly showed affection they were “flaunting” their sexuality. I feel very ignorant to have never thought that just like we show our affection to the people that we love so do they. Has everyone ever noticed how people generally treat gay men worst than gay women? Why might that be? How much does being gay actually take away from peoples views of a gay mans masculinity? There are so many questions that people have about LGBT people that they are too scared or embarrased to really ask. Gay sex vs. being gay is very different from one another. For some reason when I was in tenth grade in high school every girl in my school was turning “lesbian” and many girls who have always seen themselves as lesbians were upset about all these girls saying this about themselves because they fellt as if they were making a mockery of their actual sexual orientation. I have friends who make sure that they make people understand the difference between being gay and being attracted to people of the same sex. Just because you find people attractive who are of the same sex does not mean that you are gay. People are so confused because we just don’t know, we should all take the time to understand people before we even think about forming opinions that are basically uneducated.
[Reply]
I think this is a hard topic to discuss. I think it is hard to talk about this topic with an unbiased view. People including myself start to bring emotions, beliefs, and what they where raised with when even thinking about this topic especially in today’s world. I guess it is hard to look at anything without bias and just see it for what it is. I never just think of homosexuality as people just loving whom they want to love. I am not saying what my personal beliefs are because I think I am trying to see this subject as unbiased as possible. But I do not like the term gay lifestyle because that is like saying there is a straight lifestyle. That is like saying all straight people are the same, which they are not and they obviously do not all lead the same lifestyles. We obviously have seen the different lifestyles people in general lead so why would there be a gay lifestyle. What would it even entail if there were a gay lifestyle. People in general lead such varieties of lives why would people think just because others are gay there lifestyle would the same. I think that is just an even smaller minded view of things because people generalize people.
[Reply]
In the general sense even if I do or do not believe in homosexuality I still think people are people and I do not think others should ever have the right to judge them. They are still people and even if you do not believe in it because moral reasons that is no right to hate people. I think anyone who can past proper background checks should have the right to adopt. I think that children are better off in a loving home with two of the same sex parents or just one who happens to be gay than no parents and growing up in the system. I do not believe this is okay because that is the government judging people lifestyles and not the character of the person they are inside.
[Reply]
I think children just need to be loved and unless everyone else in the world is willing to take all the children in the U.S. that need adopted in than they should not be aloud to say anything about if people should be aloud to adopt. I think that children are worse off staying in the system for the rest of there lives where they aren’t receiving as much attention as they should or the love they need. There is a lot of inequality in the world still but this one upsets me because I think that it is great when people want to adopt children that otherwise would not have any kind of family.
[Reply]
I am glad we got to this lesson because it makes me think of where I am from and also my upbringing when it comes to this topic. The first thing I want to mention is where I am from and how homosexuality is viewed there. I am from Philadelphia and in Philly, the younger generation is more disrespectful to me when it comes to homosexuality and they really make it hard for people that are truly in love with the same sex to get the same respect as straight people. I say this because in high school or amongst the younger generation, you see a lot of kids just doing it because it is “in.” They may not truly be in love with the person or dating someone of the same sex might not even be their thing but they experiment and get in a bunch of relationships just because. When this happens, the older generations and even their peers who are truly homosexuals, do not respect them or take them seriously.
[Reply]
Being around a lot of people who are homosexuals and even having friends who are gay, I have had a lot of talks concerning this issue. Some of them feel as though it is a waste to even express their sexuality or try to fit in with society and they genuinely feel like an outcast. I have friends who are females who have cut their hair just to appear as a man and make their relationship seem a little more acceptable. They said it is not because they wanted to but because they are so shunned by society, they just want to be happy. It makes me think about how much in life they are discriminated against. In organizations, sororities and sports, they are looked at differently or even turned away simply because of their sexual orientation.
[Reply]
I just think it is ridiculous that we can pick and choose who is in and who is out in our society. We cancel people out and make them feel like shit just because we think it is wrong. What is actually wrong? Is it because our bodies were made for the opposite body parts to enter? Is it because the bible says so? Do we actually take the time to figure out what is so wrong about two people being happy? I am far from a homosexual but I also think it is ridiculous. I could not imagine someone treating me the way some people treat homosexuals because of who I choose to love or what I choose to do with them. If I want to get married, I should be able to or even if I don’t get married, I should have the same rights as everybody else. Love is love. Bottom line.
[Reply]
One thing that I thought about when listening to this lecture was how multiculturalism and diversity seem to go hand-in-hand with one another. I remember one of things I used to tell people when they asked me why I chose to attend Penn State as compared to some of the other universities I got accepted into was that there was a lot of diversity at Penn State. I would say that Penn State has something to offer everybody. The student body is so diverse at Penn State that you meet people from all walks of life. Who would have thought that you could have this town in the middle of central Pennsylvania that could serve as a "melting pot" of cultures and beliefs right in the middle of nowhere? But, that is exactly is one of the things that makes Penn State such a special place. I think it's one of those things that someone people have to be reminded of from time to time. Tolerance and respect for one another and one another's beliefs and practices is something that goes a long way into having diversity with respect to cultures.
[Reply]
(cont'd) In addition, did anyone ever think of how it would be if everyone thought the same and practiced and behaved in the same manner? It really would not be that enjoyable. I've read many posts from fellow classmates over the course of this semester about how they first had preconceived notions about others who were different from them in terms of culture, race, or ethnicity then realized how these stereotypes of others had been completely wrong all of these years. I look at life as being part of a learning process for all of us as well. If many of us were taught as youngsters that it's okay to be different and that being different is acceptable, think of how much progress there would be in this world? Think of how many issues could have been avoided. It’s such a shame that many students have to wait to go to Penn State before they are exposed to different culture, races, and ethnicities and become exposed to people that may or may not be different than they are. With so much of an individual’s personal development and ideologies being determined by what is learned at home, why can’t more parents take an active role in showing kids that there is nothing wrong with diversity?
[Reply]
(cont'd) A lot of people are going to take away different things from their overall educational experiences at Penn State. Something in common that we can all take away from Penn State is knowing that having a different cultural, racial, or ethnic background from others is not a cause for concern and that many of us have similar interests and many similarities even though our cultures, racial identities, or ethnicities may be different. As many of us finish up this course in just over a week or graduate Penn State in the near future, many of us will be able to look back and reflect on how diversity is good and how there are so many things we can all do to help race relations in this country.
[Reply]
Due 6/30/10
I have a lot of gay and bi sexual friends who I am close with. I’m a Christian but I accept everyone and their free will to be who they are and do the things that they wish to do. I don’t expect anyone to change their sexuality because just like I can’t change mine, they can’t change theirs. I do believe homosexuals are born homosexual and it isn’t a choice, it’s not a lifestyle. I don’t even like saying orientation because it’s more than that. All my LGBT friends are open with their sexuality and if they didn’t tell you they were gay you wouldn’t know, unless they were dressing in drag that day. I was mistaken for a lesbian when I was in High School because I was sporty and didn’t really care about looking girly. I’m straight but I didn’t really care what anyone else thought because I knew what my sexuality was. I have always been secure with my sexuality and I guess that’s why I am so accepting of others. When I hear other people making fun of or degrading LGBT people I always believe it’s because they aren’t secure with themselves or their sexuality. It has nothing to do with the homosexual but with the discriminator themselves.
I always have arguments with family members who don’t accept homosexuals and believe it’s a sin. I understand their religious beliefs but I do not condone discrimination or name calling. You can have your beliefs but that does not mean you have to be a bigot. I guess I’m a very open minded Christian because I don’t believe in a lot of things that old fashioned, to the book, Christians believe in.
I’m very open to other religious beliefs also. I find them interesting and I like to learn about them. I might not believe in their faith but I understand them and appreciate different cultures and their beliefs. When I hear people criticizing other religions because they don’t agree or because it goes against their religious practices it upsets me in a way. I have always loved Egyptian culture and religious beliefs. It has always interest me and I have always gotten flack for it from my family who are more old school Christians. I don’t care though and I still study different cultures and religions. I also love Buddhist beliefs and I also get grief for that as well.
I stand up for my beliefs but I also understand others who have the right to believe in what they wish. People have the right to love whoever they want and sex shouldn’t be a factor. If I fell in love with a woman, for whatever reason, and I truly loved her I couldn’t let a simple thing like sex get in the way of that. If you love someone it doesn’t matter what sex they are because unconditional love in just that, unconditional.
[Reply]
Ok, so I will be honest…I guess I'm the odd man out. I really wasn't interested in the lesson 13. I mean some of what Dr. Richards I understood, but I just wasn't as enthused as I was with all the other lectures. Maybe I wasnt interested because I'm prejudiced of people from other countries coming into America. Coming into America and getting a lot of perks that some Americans wish they had. When I was younger, mid 20's, and just just getting started in the social work field, I would have to do home visits. The area where my office is, is mostly folks from other countries. I would go in these houses, nice houses, with nice cars in the driveway and I would be pissed. I'm going to be honest.
[Reply]
That's when I first realized and really admitted that I was prejudice against people of other countries. This is something i'm still working on. It's really not them I should be upset, I should be upset with the folks who make the rules to give them all of this stuff. We have people right here in America who are homeless, give them a house. Single mothers who catch 2 or 3 buses just to get back and forth to work or school, give them a car. Now please don't get me wrong, i'm not talking about giving these items to the lazy americans who don't want to lift a pencil, but the working(or going to school) americans who may just be having a hard. So needless to say, this lesson, so far, has not been of interest to me. I even kept telling myself have an mind…but I just couldn't do it. SMH @ myself…I apologize if I have offended anyone, but this is just how I feel for now.
[Reply]
To each his own, whatever your sexuality is, is your business. However, whether your gay or straight, public displays of affection, should be kept to a minimum. I do feel that if you are homosexual, and display public affection, you are very much ridiculed more. This shouldn't be. I have really good friends who are homosexual and when we go out people think we are all homosexual. So not true!! One of my good friends actually got fired from his job for being a homosexual. He would go to work dressed as a man, however he has very feminem ways. Some of the older costumers began to complain, about how he walks and talks(he overheard the conversation with these 2 old hags and his manager), and at the end of the he was terminated. At the end of the day he got the last laugh we he sued the company . Whatever your beliefs are, that's fine, but your beliefs should not result in hurting someone's feeling and or causing them their lively hood. That's just wrong!
[Reply]
I found the statistics on fewer churchgoers wanting to live in more diverse communities very interesting. I have long also considered it the most segregated hour of the week before now, but have for an equally long time thought this to be utterly ridiculous and hypocritical (one of the reasons I am not a frequent churchgoer). Church is supposed to serve as the rock of the community as far as institutions go, providing as many of the needy with assistance as possible regardless of faith, creed, color, etc. Moreover, one of the basic tenants and goals of most religions is evangelism and or conversion! So in both of these instances wouldn’t it behoove the church and it’s parishioners to dwell in more diverse surroundings? Just a thought. In terms of assimilation, I have always considered it to be a tragedy because I feel like everybody usually looses – immigrants and “natives”. My great-grandparents on my mother’s side immigrated here from Panama back during a time when people were really expected to assimilate 100%, thus none of our subsequent generations were taught Spanish or even much about our culture and history on that side of the family. In fact, I travelled all the way to Spain at the age of 14 to learn Spanish for a semester because I never knew about my Panamanian heritage until I was almost 18 years of age! Everyone loses in this day and age especially because globalization trends call for increased exposure to other cultures and languages in order for future generations to be successful. The quote of “many live their lives in a very narrow window of ethnocentrism and ignorance” by Professor Richards is so profound because that has to cease and desist from Americans post haste if we are going to thrive in this new global society. For we are deemed to be some of the most ignorant people, are seen as very uncultured, and are actually hated by many around the world currently due to this perceived and sometimes true prideful close-minded point of view. I am also of the opinion, however, that part of the reason Americans are so happy in our xenophobic bubbles is in some part a direct result of our exposure to multiculturalism. I think that the way America coped with the obstacle of being such a melting pot from the start was to unify all of these different cultures, languages, etc. under one really patriotic banner and make the most acceptable outlet for displays of difference be those of regional distinction, or living in New York City – one of the only places of true amalgamation it seems. I would also just like to state that everyone wants to act as if the “caramelization” of America and/or the fact that whites will be the minority by 2050 is not such a big deal – but I believe it is. I think that internally white people are shaking in their skin with trepidation of retribution of some sort (however insane that may be), and actually so are people of color with anxiety over failure at the helm.
[Reply]
I saw the same parallels with my life that you did. My church was very segregated and my hometown is very conservative and tends to shy away from diversity. However, I think that the statistics that Sam used and the way you group people are a little off. I think that its not just the factors we use to describe the people around us that affects their actions. Does that make sense? It was really wordy. For example, you said that you don't remember any people in your Roman Catholic Church that were people of color, and that was probably true. However, I don't think that it's because they're “Roman Catholic” people. I think it's because of the culture of your hometown and the ties that bind the church community together and makes them get together during that hour every Sunday. The same goes for the Republican/Democrat labels. Maybe it wasn't the political party affiliation that your neighborhood identifies itself with that affects their views. Maybe it's their ethnic background, or a union, or a recent event that pulls them together. I'm not trying to argue against your syntax, I'm just voicing my frustration with labels and the fact that we need to look at the bigger picture, i.e. all of Sam's statistics or Census reports, etc, in order to see what really causes people to act the way they do.
[Reply]