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 Has my life been an endless number of opportunities? 
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I have been on this planet for a number of years and I do feel that there has been an endless number of opportunities for me to succeed in life. It seems that the American way of life is full of opportunities for me. Is that because I am white and a male? I probably think so. I can think of many people who are equally as smart as myself who have not been given the same opportunities. I think our society does give opportunities to those that demand it, but also denies many opportunities to countless others that are just as deserving as myself. It is unfortunate that gender, race, social status, religous beliefs and any other difference would disqualify someone from an opportunity.

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Scott Shannon


Tue Feb 07, 2006 4:18 pm
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I wholeheartedly agree. I know I'm probably going to get blasted by some people in this class, but take the Teaching Fellows scholarship. I know, for a fact, that there were more deserving students than I that could have gotten the scholarship. But due to the fact that I was male, I know that had an impact on my receiving it. That's not the only reason, but I know it played a part. So many other opportunities have been given to me because of my gender, race, and social class as well, and yes it bothers me. To me though, even if society is willing to forget about gender and race, as it has done in history before, I doubt humankind will ever be willing to forget about social stratification. Every society has been stratified as has wonderful as it would be to allow everyone to be accepting, history has shown me, at least, that that is a wonderful ideal but unlikely to occur.

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-Adam Warren

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Tue Feb 07, 2006 8:40 pm
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Lots of people have overcome their difficulties and troubles to become successful.However,coming from a white middle class upbringing,I know that I had oppurtunities that plenty of others have not.While there are oppurtunities available for everyone,I don't think I've had to work as hard to get mine.


Tue Feb 07, 2006 11:42 pm
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I totally agree with Adam about Teaching Fellows. I know a girl from my church who is literally the ideal student in every way and she did not recieve Teaching Fellows. I know a guy in Asheville who is a compelete slacker (he broke a bathroom stall in East Hall last semester and was banned from campus for a year) and he recieved Teaching Fellows. Now of course I'm not saying that Adam doesn't deserve Teaching Fellows and there are many other men who have justly recieved it; I'm simply proving his example with a specific one from my own personal experience. I know that I have been given opportunities as an upper-middle class white woman that my best friend, a working class multi-racial woman, has not been given. Looking back at our lives and all the things and experiences that I was able to have that she hasn't, it makes me appreciate my background and the opportunities that I have been given and will continue to recieve.

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Laurie Tate


Wed Feb 08, 2006 1:07 am
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I think it is so so sad that if you look, think, and act a certain way in which our society deems acceptable...then everything is hunkydorie for you! I have a very, very dear black friend. When she got her brand new convertable for her birthday (yes, i was green with envy) we went out for a drive. We got pulled right away, and she was asked to step out of her car. She had to explain that her car was a birthday present and yes, her dad did give it to her....it was not stolen (it was a lexus hard top convertable). After the trooper talked on his walkie talkie thing and verified that she was telling the truth....he told her she could get back in the car....and then had the nerve to nod his head at me and say "Have a good day, mam....sorry for the inconvienance". Completly ignored her or or tears! I really wish that i had said something to somebody...we were both so upset. I was just a stupid fourteen year old (she's two years older) that thought i couldn't do anything about it anyway! Society and all its rules and regulations sucks!

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Anna Kate Shook
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Wed Feb 08, 2006 8:52 am
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Wow Anna Kate. I thought we had passed that level of racism a long time ago, apparantly I was incorrect. But I see it with my friends also, especially in high school. There were only about four guys I hung around with back then and one of them was black, Chris. We called him Stix, he plays the drums. Well Stix could not find a job anywhere in the Millers Creek area close to his home and would constantly complain to me about it. Finally, my brother-in-law hired him to help with the landscaping work he was doing at the time, but it was incredible how many times he was turned down for made-up reasons. When you can't get a job at Bojangles because you're black, they said it wasn't the right hours. We have a problem in this country.

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-Adam Warren

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Wed Feb 08, 2006 12:32 pm
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Anna Kate, that is aweful. It's embarassing that that kind of racism still exists. I just can't believe that that happens, but I guess we'd be blind to say it doesn't. What was your friend's reaction? Did she have similar experiences? I just can't believe that people would discriminate and be hateful. It makes me really want to look at my own life to see if there are ways that I discriminate- even in my thoughts.

As far as your post goes, Scott, success- I agree with you all that success does seem to be more easier for white people. Then, I started thinking about what it means to be successful. Succeeding in life- when I think about if I have succeeded in life, what comes to mind? I think, how do I view other's successes in life? Sometimes, it's little things- a deep conversation with a friend in a coffee shop, someone asking how your day was and meaning it, someone helping you if you have a lot of stuff in your hands, someone really helpful at a store to help you find something- I think those things are also what makes a person successful. How much compassion do they have for people who may not give them compassion? Do they take time out of their day to see how their friends and family are doing? The people in my life who I most value do not have the most money or the best jobs- they are the people who love laughing with you, being with you even when you have a bad day, and people who you just like to hang out with because they're real. Working hard, trying your best, helping others, I hope that everyone has those opportunities, no matter what race you are.

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Laura Greene

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Wed Feb 08, 2006 3:58 pm
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I was never given anything I didn't earn.

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"Whoever fights monsters should see to it that in the process he does not become a monster. And when you look long into an abyss, the abyss also looks into you" - Nietzsche


Thu Feb 09, 2006 12:24 am
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I think our society is beyond strictly denying anyone anything. I do, however, belive that some people might have to work a lot harder than others to get what they want.

Take Veronica Corningstone for example :wink:

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Danny Jugan

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Thu Feb 09, 2006 11:51 am
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