For a long time I believed cultural assimilation plagued non-native cultures in America. Names became Americanized and people left their native languages at home. It is easy to see how anyone could feel pressure to blend and adapt. Being in a new country and having to learn new things all at once can be overwhelming. Upon reading “The Chinese in All of Us” by Richard Ramirez, I learned that the blending of cultures is not forced. He speaks of multiculturalism and how learning from other cultures is inevitable. It doesn’t matter whether you’re Hispanic or any other nationality because we are what makes America whole. It does not mean that you will lose your culture, pride or traditions. It is possible to blend with others and still maintain …show more content…
I had started school and while I had mostly the same classes as everyone else, there was one that was different. English as a second language was the first step in becoming a fully assimilated American. My experience overall was positive, until classmates began poking fun at those who had not learned English as well as I had. From that point on I resented the fact that bilingual teachers were not staffed. I also resented the need to learn this foreign language in order to be accepted. I struggled with my identity because I felt I had to choose a side, like I was betraying my heritage. It wasn’t until I became an adult that I began to understand what I was taught in school. It was not my teacher’s job to validate my identity but to educate me on why I am an American. Richard Ramirez wrote, “For myself, I like the metaphor of the melting pot. I like it for two reasons. First, its suggestion of pain and there is pain. The school teacher can put a sombrero on my head and tell me to feel proud of my heritage, but I know I am becoming a different person than my father. There is pain in the melting pot” (Ramirez). What this means is that although it may feel as we have to identify with one versus the other, things were not meant to be that way. We are as much the product of our environment and influences as we are the product of our ancestors. It is okay to be different, just as it is okay to practice your …show more content…
When people are forced to assimilate it can cause resentment and maybe less likely to embrace their new surroundings. Being able to practice your culture openly offers an array of people the opportunity to get to know each other. This would ultimately lead to a greater understanding, peace and harmony. While I believe in the notion of a common culture, I believe also in the notion of a dynamic culture. Even while America changes immigrants, the immigrants are changing us. They have always changed us. Assimilation is reciprocal (Ramirez). A common lesson we all share is how to be tolerant. Those who succeed in grasping that subject will be able to exchange ideas and find solutions to real problems. This country was built from diversity, without it where would we be? The answer is nothing and that alone should be enough to spark compassion within each individual because we all face a similar
With Ruiz, the melting pot did not welcome him for his outer appearance comparing to his friend Valdes. Their “friendship was cemented through school and sport. They stood up for each other against troublemakers” (Ojito, 2000), but they now hold two different lives due to the color of their skin. Although sharing the same ethnicity, the colors of their appearance separate the two best friends. In other words, by biological mean, they are “differentiated by physical characteristics”
“Melting pot” is a common term used to describe the culture of the United States, as the country blends the values and ideologies of an abundance of different groups of people and individuals. As a result, there are a variety of possible positions on what it truly means to be an American. Some may argue that American identity depends on ethnic origin, religious background, or other personal characteristics. Others might claim that being American depends on whether one believes in liberty, equality, individualism, and justice. Nevertheless, Dwight Okita and Sandra Cisneros demonstrate that some perceptions about American identity can induce more harm than others.
Richard Rodriguez essay “Blaxicans and Other Reinvented Americans” reveals Rodriguez’s attitudes towards race and ethnicity as they relate to personal identity. An evidence to support Richard Rodriguez’s claim in this section is when he says “ I am chinese, and that is because I live in a chinese city and because i want to be chinese”. (163-165) This evidence reveals, rodriguez point that ethnicity has nothing to do with race . He says that a person can choose their ethnicity based on the way they want to act and on things they want to be value. Rodriguez got used to the differences and actually started to like them.
The government seemed to only be focusing on the experience of white/ European immigrants transition to America. Omi and Winant clearly point out in their book and research that it’s the minority’s job to be assimilated into society, and not the larger society responsibility fro accepting them as they are. They argue in the United States that ethnicity theory was exclusively based on the immigration patterns of a white ethnic population and did not account for the unique experiences of non-whites in this country (Omi & Winant 17). Omi and Winant also believe in the “Bootstraps Model”. As a result, they believe that hard work will allow one to overcome any obstacle that is placed before them.
Richard Rodriguez’s claim about a person's identity is the using race as a basis for identifying Americans is not valid; culture should be what defines a identity. Richard Rodriguez says that newcomers were being “welcomed within a new community for reasons of culture. “ (136-137). Richard Rodriguez says that newcomers were welcomed when they were identified by their culture. Richard Rodriguez also says “I am Chinese, and that is because I live in a Chinese city and I want to be Chinese.“
Sanders makes the point that by pursuing this level of nationalism, one is treading down a dark path of racism and greed. Sanders goes on to say, “But who would pretend that a history of migration has immunized the United States against bigotry? And even if, by uprooting ourselves, we shed our chauvinism, is that all we lose?” (Sanders 40). Through this quote, Sanders proclaims how Americans abuse their multicultural descent to justify acts of racism and deceit.
The validity of the perception that “the United States is a country made of immigrants” has been historically challenged by the government and those in power. In his book, Latino Americans: The 500-Year Legacy that Shaped a Nation, Ray Suarez provides a deep understanding of how the contributions and struggles by the Latinos in the past has shaped the present of this nation. To many “Americans,” Latinos are just new immigrants coming from their land in search of a better future. For those Latinos, however, leaving their countries, cultures, families and communities comprise the most significant sacrifice of their lives. As many other Latinos, my family migrated to the United States with the hope of a better future.
The author, Hua Hsu, believes the end of white America was put on a national spotlight when Obama was elected president, which is on the heels of the news of the majority minority switch that is supposed to take place in 2042. This switch would bring the relevancy of W.E.B Dubois, a civil rights activist, prediction of the problem of the twentieth century would be the color line, the race identification society asserts on individuals (Hsu 1). That reality, where the color line becomes a problem, comes to fruition with Donald Trump’s white nationalist views and his growing popularity. His ascendancy illustrates the problem of how we identify individuals and whether America will blur the boundary of race, where people are confined by the identity of race.
Can another culture forced on someone result in conformity? Globalization is a process of interaction and integration among the people. Globalization has come about to due to it being cheaper for foreigners to work for large companies. In Andrew Marantz’s essay,”My Summer at an Indian Call Center”, he speaks on his time being apart of globalization.
So, no matter the political leaning, movements are subject to change depending on the effects it may or may not cause over time. Huntington proves this idea when he explains exactly how Mexican immigrants are different than European immigrants. He begins by stating how, completely ignoring the existence of Native Americans, America was originally settled by “white, British, and Protestant” people whom established original American culture (Huntington 1). Then, during the 19th century, when people migrated across the Atlantic Ocean from countries like Germany, Ireland, and Scandinavia, and brought their cultures with them. They were accepted with open arms.
If someone were to walk down the bustling streets of Times Square in New York City, they’d likely see a large variety of people coming from different ethnicities and cultures. The diversity of this country is why America is referred to as a “melting pot”, and why this country is one of the greatest in the world. Several blocks away in Times Square, there stands a lady in the harbor with open arms, who once welcomed immigrants from various walks of life into the country. Despite this, history reminds us that America wasn’t always such a welcoming place. Those who were different were looked down upon and labeled as pariahs, savages, or animals.
The film, Lemon Grove Incident, depicts the hardships a community of Mexican Americans endured as education, a tool commonly used for upward mobility and inclusion into the dominant American society, became another form of racialization against them. In this community discourse driven by stereotypes and actions geared by academic profiling, denied Mexican Americans students from co-existing in the same school as their white peers. Members of the Lemon Grove PTA and School Board, believed that segregation of the two races would create better learning environments for both parties because the Mexican students lacked full ability of speaking the English language. Mexican American students were targeted because their ability of speaking Spanish
The silence that immigrants experience when assimilating into a new culture is not always a sign of social control. That silence is their confidence with the new language, and
For many new immigrants coming to America, it is difficult to adjust into the new society. Many come to America without the basic knowledge of English, the new immigrants do not have the ability assimilate to American society because of the lack of possible communication between the immigrant and an native. Non-English speaking immigrants that come to America face harsh challenges when trying to assimilate to U.S. society because immigrants are often segregated into ethnic communities away from natives, Americans do not know basics of words of other well known languages, and the lack of government funding education programs. Assimilation into a new society is difficult enough, but when the society pushes any new immigrants to separate part
Assimilation has a major impact on America and its history. Assimilation is a very controversial topic as many people have different opinions and beliefs about it. The reason people have so many different opinions and beliefs is because assimilation impacts America in so many different ways and happens for so many different reasons. I personally believe assimilation is both good and bad depending on what aspect you 're looking at and how the assimilation is happening. Assimilation can be seen in both the past and present, whether it is forced or happens willingly/naturally.