Monday, November 18, 2013

Chapter 13, Appreciating Diversity, Nov. 18-24



One of the most exciting scientific accomplishments of this century is Human Genome Project which is the cataloging of human genes. This will lead to great understanding of the human body and advance medical science. One of the most important findings is that while human beings differ in outward appearance, the genetic structure of all human beings is 99.9% identical. These researchers agree that there is only one race, the human race. 

However we continue to struggle with the concept of appreciating diversity and discrimination and prejudice still exist in many forms. For example, you may have been discriminated against because of your ethnic group, religion, height, weight, gender, disability, or even academic skills. For this discussion, give an example of a circumstance where you have experienced or witnessed discrimination. Any ideas on how to reduce discrimination? 

I will share an example of discrimination that I experienced. I started my doctoral program at USC when I was 8 months pregnant. After the first class the professor took me aside and suggested that I drop out of the program because of my family situation. I was really angry and decided to show him that I would finish. I am happy to report that I was one of the first three students to finish the program. 

At Cuyamaca College, we have many Chaldean students who are Christians who have emigrated from Iraq to avoid religious persecution. Since the attacks of 9-11, this group has faced discrimination at our college. Whenever there is anything about terrorism in the news, many students who are from the Middle East suffer discrimination even though they have nothing to do with terrorism. Any comments on this? 

This week you can make one post of 200 words (instead of 2 of 100 words each) if you want since the topic of appreciating diversity or describing incidents of discrimination might need more words.  

37 comments:

  1. I am Chaldean myself and this is my first year living in San Diego and it is really different seeing other Chaldeans because I lived in the Chico area for 18 years and never encountered with another Chaldean. Thankfully I have never had to experience being called a terrorist or other horrible names. I find this crazy because just because we are originated from the Middle East it does not mean that we are bad people we are the same as everyone around us. I have been in San Diego for a few months now and never been called any mean names because I am Chaldean but if I did I don’t know how I would take it because I was born in raised in the U.S. I think its ridiculous that they call Chaldeans terrorist because they are from Iraq, that does not mean that Chaldeans were the ones to attack on 9-11 it was actually an Islamic terrorist group. My main point is that just because someone comes from the Middle East that does not give anyone that right to automatically assume that this is a bad person because they came from the Middle East. I am still new to seeing a lot of Chaldeans and this is the first time me hearing them being called names because they are not from the United States.

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    1. Hello Rawnsen,

      Thank you for your post. It is cool that you are from Chico since most Chaldeans do live in El Cajon city. I feel bad for Chaldeans on a daily basis because there is so much stereotypes and specific things that are mentioned among them. You should be very proud and happy you did not have to go through what many Chaldeans did. I even had friends that were afraid to go on an airplane because of this discrimination that happened to them. People can be so ruthless and disrespectful.

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  2. This morning I read an article in the newspaper that somewhat upset me and to a certain extent is it discrimination. UCSD has revised its guaranteed admission program for transfer students who have completed at least 60 semester units at a local community college. The new program is limited to students with high grade point averages and are from low income families. To be eligible for the updated program the students must have an annual household income of 40,000.00 or less and have a GPA of 3.5. To me this is discrimination. If I choose to go the community college route, which I am seriously thinking about and then want to transfer to UCSD which is one of my dream schools I would not even be considered under this program because my parents make more than the stated income above. That is not right because I would have worked just as hard if not harder than one of those students who would qualify, but because my parents make too much money I am discriminated against. One of the reasons they state that it is open to only low income students is because their parents can’t afford to send them to a school out of the region and pay for travel expenses and room and board. However it is okay for my parents to pay for the expense of travel and room and board. This program is not fair to students who are good students and just don’t want to travel and be away from home. I am one of those, I love my family and want to stay close and that is why UCSD is so appealing to me. I guess the only way for me to go around this is to apply as an independent student and say that I am supporting myself and then I will fit the criteria. It is sad that I have to do that and I should not have to but I feel that I may not have any other choice. All students should be treated equal and not be given certain benefits over others. If there are certain criteria for admission it should be the same whether you are rich or poor.

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    1. Hello Michael,

      I am going to be honest with you and the class might be upset. When you are poor, you get too many benefits. You can get financial aid, (FREE MONEY) to go to school. You can get Med-iCal, FREE HEALTH INSURANCE. You can get scholarships, again free money to go school. I am Hispanic and I get a lot of benefits. If I sit down and apply for scholarships and do other things, I am most likely able to get them. You on the other hand, will not. It is not right that your parents worked hard and are paying all this money in taxes to support those people that manage to have children at a young age and not push themselves. I hope I do not have a class that hates me after writing this but I have to be honest.

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  3. My ethnicity is Sicilian; it is different than Italian because the roots of my family trace back to Sicily from before it was annexed by Italy. Sicilians today are in a sense Italian, but it would be the same way Hawaiians are also American. Outside of my family, I do not know many other Sicilians in the United States; neither do most people that I meet. So frequently I have to deal with people’s assumptions, a lot of people assume that I’m Mexican and immediately start talking to me in Spanish, although nobody in family is Mexican. I’m not necessarily discriminated against; however there is a lack of understanding and people jump to conclusions about my background. I do not notice this only happening to me, but people tend to clump together a lot of Latina/Latino groups and just assume that they are Mexican, when the person could be Venezuelan, Dominican, Cuban, or a variety of other ethnicities. They fail to appreciate or learn the differences of other cultures and widen their views. I think that a lot of discrimination could be stopped if people were to take the time to learn about the differences in other cultures. I’ve noticed that people tend to group together Asians and pacific islanders a lot as well. However their cultures have vast differences that people could learn from and appreciate more if they just took the time to truly appreciate each for what it is. Also I think it is best to not make assumptions about another person’s ethnicity, and just ask them what it is while meeting them for the first time. If anything you may learn something new.

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  4. One form of discrimination you hear most I think is against gays or homosexuals. I don't understand why there is so much discrimination after them existing for so many years. Of course, you always hear about how people are afraid of what they don't know but if that's true then there is about ninety percent of the ocean that is undiscovered. Also, we are always to treat people the way that we want to be treated so if we say rude things about other people we are telling them that we don't mind being talked rudely to or about. Gays are people with feelings and should be treated as such and not like they are completely different and horrible because of it. Gays are slowly getting the right be married in the United States but I don't understand why. Not the part of them getting the right but the reason that they are slowly getting the right because of how they are human beings just like us. There was one time where I was just scrolling through my news feed on Facebook and say this thing from Adam Levine was supporting gays and said we might as well ban straight marriage. I mean straight marriage has a high divorce rate anyways. Who says that we have the right to tell other people that they can't marry someone that they love. I also don't understand it when people say that it is against their religion. That God had intended marriage to be between a man and a woman. That's the reason why he created Adam and Eve in the Bible but in reality it is just how interpret it. I know people who have read the Bible cover to cover many times and they have never read that. Also, people who believe in God always preach that God loves his children unconditionally and equally so if He truly does then why would he prevent some of his children from being able to marry someone that they love. A lot of people nowadays need to learn to be more accepting of others and respect each other.

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    1. Thanks for raising the issue of discrimination toward gays. It seems that this is the last group to be accepted. The golden rule applies here, "Treat others as you would want to be treated." It is good that people are talking about the issue and we are seeing positive changes being made, even if it is slowly.

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  5. I’m from Iraq but I was born and raised in Iraq. But ever since I came to united state they were calling other people terrorism. One day when I was still in high school I had a friend it was a girl and in English class every time our teacher talks about something that had to deal with the 9/11 the other students will make fun and call this friend of mine terrorist and blame everything on her and they will tell her that why would you do this. And every time that she hears this she starts crying and says that she was even Chaldean and christen but other students were thinking that since she came from it means that she was one of those people who caused that. So my friend couldn’t take it and deal with anymore so every time that we had to talk about that topic she would go outside the class because she doesn’t want to deal with anymore. So not because you see some Chaldean people and you say that they might cause the 9/11 but it’s not true because they didn’t have nothing to do with this. And everywhere I go I see this not only in the class.

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    1. Hello Ledya,

      That is crazy and really rude of your teacher at the time to talk about this. I am surprised they did not change the subject and talk about something that has happened recently. For one of your classmates to be discriminated in this way, it is not right at all. When she is walking out of the classroom, your instructor should have had her back and said something. It is sad to see that they did nothing about this and allowed for this bullying to occur. This is first handed why students commit suicide. I am not saying your friend should or anything but what I am trying to prove is a point. Many times a teacher is involved and sees this bullying and somewhat manages to encourage this behavior.

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    2. It is common that Chaldeans are called terrorists. It just shows how ignorant people are. The Chaldeans are Christians who emigrated because of religious persecution. Thanks for raising the issue so that people can increase their understanding. I agree that teachers should be informed and not let students be bullied in their classes.

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  6. I would like and am looking forward to comment about this discrimination. I take most my classes online because I have been discriminated when I am in the classroom. It is hard to fight and try to win when an instructor does not like you. I think most of you has had this happen to you. Unfortunately, I am going through this right now in one of my classes. There is nothing I can do just like there is nothing you guys can do. You can talk to the student affairs about the situation but again, they all help and go based on the instructors opinion. My friend took a class and the instructor failed her by one point. He gave her half credit on her final paper to make sure she got a 79/100. (In this school she attended C was failing for the Master's Degree). I bet again you all have gone through this. What does one do? What can one honestly say? It is sad we live in society like this that some people have more power than others.

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    1. I have worked at Cuyamaca College since 1978 and have not known any instructor to discriminate because of race. Instructors do discriminate because students do not do the work or miss too many classes or disrupt the class. Of course there are exceptions to anything. If you do encounter discrimination, just take a different instructor or file a complaint with the administration. Counseling can help if you need assistance. Don't limit your choices because of discrimination.

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  7. I have seen this discrimination towards Chaldeans and it is not right. They come after them about everything but when a White person shots a school, it is okay. No one says anything about that. We see the situation with the Hispanic person killing an African American boy. There is no discrimination there and it is okay. An African American person I believe shot people at some government place. I honestly do not keep up with the news or try to listen to it, it is fine. When this Terrorism event happened, everyone came after the Chaldens about it. I do know a lot about them because I have friends that are Chaldean. I hope I do not offend anyone in this class. Most of the Chaldean people are Catholic. If you see the parents that are from Iraq, they are very old fashion but the women tend to be very religious. You can see how much their faith means to them. It is so horrible to see them being put down and discriminated against. You ask yourself why this is, I think because they are an easier target. I feel bad for them. Many times Chaldeans that are born in the US are put in English as a Second Language because one automatically assumes they cannot speak English which is not right.

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  8. I haven't felt that I have been particularly discriminated against personally but there is not doubt that there is discrimination around us every day. I have heard comments around campus about the amount of chaldeans that attend Cuyamaca and I find it very petty and unnecessary. Discrimination is something that has consued our world and happens in little things some people dont even notice. The "flesh" colored band aids that were only sold in the light pale tone in stores for years. People form ideas about people that physically look different than themselves and then find it okay to talk about and to those people like they are less than them, or inferior. This is the true meaning of being racist, thinking someone of a different color or culture than you is less. America is browning, and the people who don't except it, better start.

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  9. I am bi-racial and very proud but sometimes I do get discriminated against or people use false stereotypes against me. Because I do well in school people often make assumptions against me. For those who do no know that I am bi-racial and judge me based on my features that are predominately African American assume that I have cheated on a test. Or another comment that I get a lot is that I am smart for being black. I do notice that African American students are a minority in most of my AP courses and so it makes me feel discouraged when people make these types of comments. Another occasion in which I was discriminated against is when I was at the mall with my family. My mother is Japanese and so many times people do not realize that when we walk into a store that she is my mother. While in a store at the mall one of the security guards began to follow my sister and I around because they thought that we were going to steal something. My mother saw that the guard was following us around and she confronted him and told him that she didn't appreciate that he was stereotyping my sister and I. I was young when that happened and that day I realized that racism still occurs in this day and age. I didn't really understand why it was happening because I grew up in a home that is very tolerant of diversity. My mother raised my siblings and I to appreciate diversity because it is a beautiful thing. I like the Human Genome Project because of the findings and the statement that they made in the chapter that said "there is only one race, the Human race" really stuck to me because that is true. I think as humans we should be able to accept all types of people and coexist peacefully.

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  10. One way of discrimination I see a lot is when it comes to drivers. Many people think that the worst drivers are either Asian, women, the elderly, or any of them combined. It is silly since this is not always the case. The truth is that anyone can be a bad driver and anyone can be a good driver. It has nothing to do with what race, sex, or age you are. It is the same when it comes to texting/talking on the phone while driving. Many people think that it is the young people who do this the most, but this is not the case, I see older people doing it more often. When it comes to driving their are many assumptions about it and their are lots of discrimination against it.
    -Jennifer Waugh

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    1. i agree with you Jennifer.their is discrimination with driving talking and texting.it doesn't matter what race you are or where you come from that determines your driving skills.people may have a problem with someone on the road and label that driver.times have changed because, just like young drivers get pulled over for texting while driving,it is also happening to people of all ages.sometimes the world can be so judgmental and discriminate even on the road.

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  11. I myself am a Chaldean Catholic. People mistake me for being a "terrorist" just because of the way I look and how I speak. The fact that some people can be so ignorant when they talk about someones culture is actually quite disturbing. I do believe that people only look like they do because thats where their ancestors came from. This kind of discrimination of people gets really absurd and annoying. I try to make people feel like everyone is the same and that everyone should be treated the same. Obviously many people know about the prejudice of some store owners how they believe any african american who walks in their store who doesn't look rich will most likely be ready to steal something. I also find this ridiculous and a horrible act of discrimination. My parents can be somewhat prejudice, but they are not openly rude to people and discriminate out load. They simply hear some of the stereotypes and think that they are true because they are immigrants and moved here a long time ago and have seen things happen. So they always say "they can never be too safe," which I guess isnt the worst possible thing to believe about people.

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  12. I am Mexican-American and my family has been living in the United States for the past 50 years way before immigration was a problem. Now that immigration is a problem, they stereotype us for being "illegal". Luckily, I haven't been discriminated against directly from a person standing around me. I am just pointing out what the media makes people to think. San Diego is very diverse and people are used. More and more people are appreciating diversity because we get to learn a lot from other cultures. I also hate it when the media link Mexicans with violence and drugs. I dislike stereotyping because most of the beliefs that people use to discriminate us aren't true.

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    1. i get what you are saying christian.we can learn a lot from other cultures and try not to discriminate other people.we all have different stories and backgrounds and should be open to learn from each other, instead of labeling like the media does.i also don't like stereotyping because it's basically not giving someone a chance to show who they are.we shouldn't judge a book by it's cover.it's better to look inside the book because it may be very inspiring and better than we thought.i will take your advice and try not to stereotype people and get to know them first.diversity is what makes us all special and unique anyways.

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  13. I have lived in Rancho San Diego since the day I was born. I never had any contact, or even knew what a Chaldean was until my 6th grade year. I have not fully understood the culture until the last couple years. Very seldom do I hear Chaldeans getting discriminated against for being 'terrorists'. Clearly these 18 year olds who were born here(or Iraq) are not terrorists. I think most intelligent people can conclude that. However I do frequently hear discrimination on Chaldean's for other issues daily. For example they get discriminated against a lot for being 'scammers' of the American Economy. Many Iraqi families moving over from their country get government funding(also welfare) for 'acclimating' into our country. Yet I see very few Chaldeans that don't own Mercedes. They also get paid money to take certain classes at Cuyamaca, without needing to complete them. I don't think they should be aloud to get any funding what-so-ever if they are driving around in Mercedes and not taking classes they need. I have quite a few Chaldean friends who attest to this and say 'its no big deal, we all do it'. This, I think is the biggest discrimination against them today. I don't think discrimination against Chaldeans will ever go away here in San Diego because they have made this their home and people have a hard time not blaming 9 11 attacks on them. This is ridiculous because even though they came from the middle east as well, it was a completely different group of people that administered the attacks. Their will always be discrimination- examples such as skinny people, Asian drivers, and unfamiliar cultures. The human race is very good at discriminating.

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  14. I think that being able to have an open mind is good and going to make you more intelligent and helps you out in life. I am Mexican and Italian and German. I was adopted into a white family when I was 6. I do look Mexican and my mom now has red/blonde hair. we look nothing alike. even though I went to school with Mexicans growing up I never really hung out with them I have always been with the white group of students. most people still this day will call me a white girl. I most defiantly am Mexican and Italian more than I am white but since my family and all my friends are white I am considered white instead of the actual culture I am. now being in high school where there are more races and cultures and the people I hang out with say I am so white washed that I am white. I have no problem with people saying this but it just shows that people are ignorant in the fact by just because you are associated with them doesn't mean you are the same race as someone. I think that people should judge as an indivuial and not based on group. an open mind is what people need to have when judging and basing there opinions on other people.

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  15. I once witnessed discrimination when I was at a mall here in San Diego. There was a report of some type of crime, and once the security arrived they immediately apprehended the African American male, however come to find out it was actually a Caucasian American male. I felt that this was a type of discrimination because why couldn’t the security guard apprehend the white male at first, instead of going straight towards the African American male. Some ways that we can reduce discrimination is by first standing up for your fellow peers in every situation and make sure to never encourage somebody discriminating against somebody else no matter what the situation may be. There are many people in this world that have to go through discrimination each and every day, and no matter what the reason may be, it is never okay for anybody to ever have to go through that type of situation. Another way to reduce discrimination is for people to be more willing to go out and experience other types of cultures and see how they live their lives each and every day, and that will allow more people to understand other backgrounds and customs of other races.

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  16. Racism is a hard issue to deal with, but I believe that it is starting to improve in America. It is sad that some people think of themselves as superior or more evolved than other humans. In an effort to eliminate racism, I believe that racism has switched sides in some cases. One example is when Obama ran for president. I do not support Obama based on his political beliefs, but got accused as being a racist by several people when I said that I did not vote for him. My voting had nothing to do with his skin color. I think that we should be able to overlook skin color or race and see people for who they really are. We should vote for people based on their political beliefs and character, regardless of what they look like or where they come from.

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  17. Someone made a comment earlier about people having children at a young age and not pushing them selfs so I figured I would tall about that because this happened to me a lot. I was a teen mom and had my son at 16. A lot of people talk down to you and even say that I can't be a good mom because of age.ill have people i don't even know say things so me in a store or find out Im the mother and make rude comments. It still surprises me the nerve that sone people have to say these things to a stranger with no shame. None of this is true
    Having my son as inspired me to do so much more in my life. I have a career already and work full time and go to school for a second career full time at the age of 23 . Most people don't even do one of these things.

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    1. I myself have not experienced being a young mom but I have friends who have gone though the same things. I also have been there to hear and witness the comments people make. Its truly sad how people can be these days. I bet youre an amazing mom! Try to ignore all the dumb people out there :)

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  18. Like the example Professor Fralick set for us, I myself am a Chaldean Christian and do remember getting treated differently after the 9/11 attacks. I remember being in Elementary school when that happened and was treated completely differently. I remember being referred as a terrorist by a couple of students. I didnt really understand why i was referred as one, but then some of the pieces started coming together for me. I guess anyone that was of middle eastern decent caused those attacks. A month after the attacks i remember going to the airport to catch my flight and missing my flight due to me going to secondary. I was given a different reason why i went to secondary but i had a very strong feeling it had to do with my middle eastern name.

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    1. I can relate a lot to your post probably because I am also Chaldean. Like I said in my post I was also treated differently immediately after the 9/11 attacks like I was some kind of monster! I was the same person on 9/11 as I was on 9/10 and it was frustrating that my people and other middle eastern races were being discriminated for dong nothing wrong. People thought it was funny to call chaldeansterrorist and although it did not hurt me as much, I know it hurt others, especially my parents who were born in Iraq and worked so hard to make a good living for their families her in America. It was great reading your post and I am really glad I could relate!

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  20. There are many ways to reduce discrimination. One is to just treat people on how you would want to be treated. I know many of us have heard this before, but it’s true. There are millions of people that have a different ethnicity, religion, height, weight, gender, disability, and academic skills than you. You should not treat people different or as an outsider just because they don’t have the same qualities that you have. Weight is overlooked in most cases. A lot of people may feel insecure and have low self-esteem because of their weight. And this could be causing bullying as well. People make fun of others and torment others because they are different in their eyes. But they aren’t. We are all the same. One important thing to do is to respect each other. If someone has a gender problem or is an ethnicity that goes against your beliefs, I still believe that you should still respect them. They respect your beliefs, so you should respect theirs. Stereotypes, to me are kind of sugar-coating racism. Making judgments on others and calling them something their not. Honestly, to prevent discrimination, just put yourself in their position.

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  21. Discrimination is something that I think most people would agree is wrong. However, when we start focusing on details, it is amazing how fast someone's opinion can change and even contradict the general ideal they believe. For example, we could ask a group of people if they believe that all human beings are created equal, and the unanimous answer would probably be "yes". Then, if you ask them if gay couples should have the same rights as heterosexual couples, we would probably see all sorts of opinions and answers.

    Now this is coming from a male, heterosexual Christian. Yes, I know that there are all sorts of stereotypes about people like me. Let me just start off with this: I am absolutely disgusted and appalled at the many things that I have seen other "Christians" say and do. I still love them, just like we would love an unruly and annoying family member, but when we notice that their behavior is harming others, we cannot just sit idly and pretend like everything is okay.

    What I am going to share is based on my personal beliefs. I have been criticized in the past, by other fellow Christians, for having a worldview that is inclusive rather than exclusive. I personally believe that every single person on the planet instinctively knows in their heart that God is love. Therefore, what we believe about love is what we believe about God, and what we believe about God is what we will ultimately act out in our lives. Sadly, I think many Christians believe in a "god" who discriminates and favors some people over others. However, the truth that I have personally found in Christ is that God is not a respecter of persons. In other words, God Himself is not exclusive, but inclusive. He demonstrated that when He became flesh; He united Himself to all of humanity and included all of us in the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, before we even had a say in it.

    I believe that our heavenly Dad created all human beings equal, as well as different. Each individual is equally valuable and deserves our respect. As royalty, we do not see people according to worldly standards, but through God's eyes. We are not to have an "us and them" mentality, "we are in and they are out". Instead, we are to see everyone in Christ and Christ in everyone. They are our brothers and sisters, and we will treat them as sons and daughters of God.

    A key to loving people is understanding them. It is hard not to love people once we truly see their heart and understand where they come from. I think it is important that we value diversity and learn from others who are different than us.

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    1. Thanks for your comments on religion and diversity. I noticed that the new Pope is being more inclusive and wants to loves all humanity. It is a step in the right direction.

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    2. Wow Zabdiel. You could not have said it any better. This is such an amazing blog entry. What you said is so true, and i wish that there were more people in the world who have the same outlook as you. God is Love, and many do fail to recognize that. During Jesus's crucifixion, he was told to save himself to prove he is who he says he is. But he suffered, due to his immense love for us.

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  22. Racism in San Diego:

    Having lived in Rancho San Diego my entire life I was very oblivious to what was going on in our town. Then, last year I spent my freshman year of college in Colorado and to my surprise I didnt come in contact with any people of Chaldean decent. After much thought I decided to transfer back home to San Diego and now after spending a year back home it has shown me that we actually do have some racism going on in the town. There are constant comments being made and it is actually disgusting to hear. I have tried my best and will continue to tell others that the Chaldean people have nothing to do with 9/11 and therefor we need to treat them like we would like to be treated.

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  23. Appreciating Diversity:

    I have witnessed countless acts of racism in my lifetime. Sometimes, one can act in a racist way without even realizing it. Sadly, judgement is something that has become so normal to human beings. Even if we were all color blind, i feel that many would judge based upon the shade of of one's skin. I am Chaldean and Sicilian. Only 50% of both, yet i have been criticized so much in my lifetime. Not many people understand what Chaldean is. They hear and see chaldean, and they automatically think terrorist. Yet it is the complete opposite. Many people hear sicilian, and they think Mafia. While the mafia originated in sicily, this does not mean every single person is a mafioso. Imagine how beautiful the world would be without judgement. It gives you thoughts of world peace.

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  24. I am from the Chaldean decent and my parents were both victims of the discrimination in Iraq and both moved to America for a better life. When the 9/11 attacks happened i was very young, but immediately everybody was a critic. I have been called a terrorist a number of times 'till this day. Usually I ignore the unkind words people have for me because I know Chaldeans had absolutely nothing to do with those attacks. Even for the people that came from the same ethnicity as the terrorist do not deserve the criticism. I know many muslims who believe that the attacks were wrong and an absolute disgrace. If an American were to do an attack in the middle east it does not mean all Americans are vicious and evil. Every race has bad and good and everybody is different so racism makes no sense at all to me and never will. For those who are racist are uneducated and not worth wasting your time with.

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  25. Personally, I don’t feel I have ever been discriminated against but I do believe there is discrimination going around everyday. I met a guy this year that is Arabic and he has told me stories of how hard it can be. For me, I never really realized what people say or how other treat people. I always tried to ignore the rude people like that. After hearing his stories, it really made me realize how horrible some people are out there. Really makes me sad to see people are so incredibly rude to others for no reason. After meeting this guy, it really has opened my eyes to how people can be.

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