Journal 3

          I enjoyed this activity very much.  The in class portion was not only interesting, as it revealed something new about people's families, but also thought provoking as it made me reflect on my own views and those of my family.  Obviously, origin and upbringing play a huge role in our social perceptions and prejudices, and that is quite apparent in the class discussion.  Several of my classmates attributed certain familial opinions to things like culture, parental occupation, and religion.  For instance, an overwhelming majority of the class stated their families would not want them to date a person of the Islamic faith.  While I'm there is some racial prejudice involved, most of my classmates cited religious conflict as the reason for the answer "no."  The rest of the Muslim column further illustrates that there is little "ill will" towards Middle Eastern people , with only four people saying no to them as neighbors.  Something that was a bit disheartening was the number of families who would say no to dating an African American.  I understand that there is deep-seated prejudice against African Americans in the United States,but I also thought that prejudice wouldn't be present in the families' of Honors students.  I'm not saying that Honors students are superior to other students, but there is a correlation between excellence in education and more liberal views of the world.
          Throughout the class exercise, I was curious to see how my classmates' viewpoints differed from their families.  Overall, the class was more accepting and tolerant than their families.  One interesting, but not so surprising stat was that there was no change in the "Muslim dating" cell.  I think this reflects well on everyone because, again, this is primarily a religious matter and does not show a distinct underlying racial prejudice.  The most interesting, and sad, column for me is the "illegal immigrant" one.  I understand why many people would not want to date an illegal immigrant; there are many issues that can arise such as them getting deported, legal issues involving the citizen, and lack of acceptance by the family.  However, it was sad to see how many people said no to their citizenship.  While 4/5 of the class were fine with them as neighbors and friends, 1/2 of the class didn't want them to have citizenship.  That means that something like 2/5 of their class would deny their accepted friend and neighbor citizenship.  That is seriously messed up.  Now this may just be my opinion,but any person worthy of friendship deserves, at the very least, to have their friends want them to belong to the country.  Besides the strangeness of people not wanting their friends to citizens, the fact that half the class would not want illegal immigrants to be citizens, in my opinion, is ridiculous.  I understand that there are instances where people who are here illegally want to terrorize and harm America.  However, the immigration laws for this country can be ridiculous, and I believe that any person who respects the government/country and is willing to work deserves citizenship. (of course, this is simplified and I don't mean to downplay the necessity for background tests and citizenship classes)