Everything I’ve read and heard in my attempt to better understand race and race relations, coupled with my life experiences, has led me to two distinct (and precarious) conclusions about what people really think - and maybe what’s wrong with everyone.
Most of the time people told me what they thought because they were speaking with anonymity. Others thought they were speaking to someone they perceived as having a similar ideology. Still others readily identified themselves, and their opinions, with pride.
I have no reason to disbelieve any of them. Who lies about their hatred for Jews or having sold their house the minute they found out a Mexican family was moving into the neighborhood?
The first conclusion I’ve drawn is that American whites, who once hated their white brethren when they showed up on America’s shores as whatever they weren’t (we were Hungarian, but they were Italian; they were French, but we were Irish - no doubt a carryover of the Old World where a country’s borders were synonymous with battle lines), are now generally tolerant of all peoples European, whether they’ve entered America legally or not. They’re still not sure about the Russians, and aren’t hot on anyone hailing from the east and south sides of the Mediterranean, especially if they bear any (perceived) physical similarity to Osama bin Laden.
An influx of millions of illegal immigrants of the European persuasion would probably not raise as many white American hackles as the current millions of immigrants of non-European persuasion. To be sure, white Americans of America’s early days brutally facilitated the influx of many millions of blacks - the “legality” of their status having never come into question because they were regarded as cargo, not human beings. To this end, white America seems to take little issue with blacks from any part of the world entering America - again, legally or not.
Many white Americans seem to have broadened their circle of acceptance to include Asians, Islanders, and Africans. South Americans are still iffy on the white-y-meter because of their (perceived) resemblance to Mexicans. Frankly, this cracks me up after I’m done feeling sick about it. American-born people in general, regardless of their heritage, have the most bizarre lack of recognition. A non-white American who can’t tell a German from a Norwegian — and says as much — sounds just as ridiculous and ignorant as a white American who says s/he can’t tell a Japanese from a Tibetan.
Article comments
1 - Jordan Richardson
Wonderful, wonderful fucking article.
As someone living in a society that considers itself a mosaic, I've long wondered about the American melting pot and about what good it does people to melt into the same colourless goop. It's good to see somebody else struggling with that hollow philosophy.
2 - Joanne Huspek
I agree. What a great article.
I was just thinking of the Native American view of what happened in the last 400 years. The "Europeans" devised a divine reason to mow down the "savages" and force them to assimilate, instead of (as you say) being a good neighbor.
I'm pretty sure we as a culture are never going to learn from our mistakes.
3 - Teri Centner
That was great, Diana! Both of your analogies -- shattering the mirror and after-the-game potluck -- were ideas that I never would have come up with. Yet they both made good sense to me.
If you have never read "Infidel" by Ayaan Hirsi Ali, I highly recommend it. She is a woman who, I think, did a great job of shattering mirrors. She first shattered the "submissive daughter/wife" image created for her by her Somalian father/family. After shattering that one, she had to start all over again and shatter the "immigrant" image assigned to her by Dutch social workders. This is one lady who's never going to give into "victimhood."
4 - Diana Hartman
Teri,
What we call victimhood is seen as a lifestyle choice by a lot of American women. This social curiosity will be the featured discussion on The Morning Show with Mike and Juliet on Friday, August 15th.
5 - Jason J. Campbell
Diana,
Loved your article. The discussion of the mirror is a very interesting concept because it is a reflection of the self rather than finding comfort in that image, some only see their failures to embody the expectations of their dominant society and their failure is embodied. The metaphor's cool because the person's physical body is a representation of this failure. I would have never thought of it in these terms, making the pressure to assimilate that much more dangerous. Loved the metaphor.