What's so bad about multiculturalism?

[Orrex]

On at least four separate programs in the past week I've heard Righties railing against the "dangers of multiculturalism," a specter which I apparently hadn't realized is haunting our hallowed nation.

What's the basis of Rightwingers' fear, exactly? Do they fear a loss of "national identity," whatever that is? Is it simple ethnocentrism? Is it something else more complex?

:wtf:

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

1. It's in conflict with white supremacy.

[pitohui]

2. yeah i think you hit a hole in one that time EOM

.

[underpants]

5. "Return to the 50's"

same thing really

[Orrex]

8. Good answer!

Gosh, it must be tough for them to be part of The Master Race...

[shanti]

10. really....

i've heard a black man rail against multiculturalism before (on another board), but i suspect that he gets this from limbarf. it makes no sense to me, but he also rails against the "mexicans coming across the border", and we all know where THAT comes from!

[rebel with a cause]

17. sometimes one minority group will turn on another

Because they feel like they have fought hard to get where they are at in the social ladder, and the new group is going to benefit from their struggle. There is also the fact that some members of every group likes to look down on another group. This opinion comes from racism classes I have taken and personal experiences.

[Broken_Hero]

23. True, I've seen this play itself out

a few times...

[unpossibles]

3. it means they are afraid to become the minority here

because they fear they will get what they deserve: the treatment they give others.

[slj0101]

4. Because you might actually learn something from another culture.

Knowledge is bad- it can make you question.

[kineneb]

6. nothing

Except to those who's self-image is defined by "being superior" to others.

One of the reasons I love living in California- all the different cultural groups here. And almost as important- all the really tasty foods they bring with them!

[no_hypocrisy]

7. When I taught kindergarten at a Harlem daycare center, I

borrowed from a variety of kids' backgrounds to shape my curriculum. We learned vocabulary in patwa French, Mandarin Chinese, Swahili, Arabic, Spanish, International Sign Language. We had African dancing after hours, we had different international foods, we read international children's books, etc. Yes, we did "European/American" culture too. (I taught them Woody Guthrie songs.) I never had a more vibrant experience in the classroom; I hope the kids enjoyed it as much as I did.

[tblue]

9. That's code for 'having poor black people and homosexuals where they can be seen' Can't have

that! The people who cry about it most are self-loathing, closeted gays and racists who wish the South had won. They are so afraid black men will attract their daughters, and gay men will attract their sons.

[RaleighNCDUer]

11. Or, attract them... nt

[muriel_volestrangler]

12. First, you need to define 'multiculturalism'

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/3600791.stm

Because some people define it as separate cultures (perhaps with separate laws) in the same country. Among those who say it's not working in Britain, using one definition anyway, is Trevor Phillips, then chair of the Commission for Racial Equality, now chair of the successor Commission for Equality and Human Rights.

[provis99]

13. social scientists can't even define "culture". Multiculturalism is pretty vague

Don't the nutjobs on Fox already insist San Francisco "culture" is different from "mainstream" American culture? Everytime a right-winger uses the word multicultural my mind jumps to that Herman Goering quote on culture and reaching for his revolver; just substitute the word multiculture for culture in Goering's words, and that pretty lays out the right wing's views in the issue.

[Lilith Velkor]

14. Deep down they know this land is stolen

They fear the possibility of it being stolen back.

[sandnsea]

15. beats me

French, German, Italian, Irish, Swedish, Russian, Polish - they aren't all exactly the same and we've blended them pretty well. Mix in jazz, mariachi, bluegrass - steel drums, fiddles, bagpipes. I don't know what the hell these 'American culture' people are talking about. This country is fabulously multicultural, it's the very best thing about us.

[VelmaD]

16. What you said...

:yourock:

My own personal family tree has become so muddled that I just kinda assume I have a little bit of everything in there and I try to sample something from every culture I can...never know...it might be mine. :)

[sandnsea]

18. My heritage is French

My ancestors came down from Canada and were in the Mississippi Valley before the Revolutionary War. So my family history is completely different than the New England westward expansion story. Until the 1900's, my family was pure French. My mother and grandmother were German, my great-grandmother English. Then, I have one Polish and one Italian aunt, then an Irish uncle. Different houses, different foods and folk art and traditions. Then I was raised in California with Mexican, Armenian, Chinese, Japanese. We aren't a melting pot, we're a buffet! I love it.

[VelmaD]

19. I don't know if I have any French ancestors...

but I like the food so I'm willing to pretend. :)

[sandnsea]

24. lol, Italian or Mexican - I'm in heaven!! n/t

[rebel with a cause]

20. Ah, but all these "culture/nationalities" are made up of white people.

That does not scare anyone, and as long as you are white you can assimilate in the US and blend in. But if you have brown skin you cannot really assimilate, because you can always be seen as different. No matter if you leave your culture behind, the best you can ever hope to become to some in this society is "one of the good ones".

Multiculturalism is not when the cultures blend and become one. It is when the cultures are retained and allowed to be whole. It is when you have a Chinatown, Little Italy, and etc. It is when you respect one another's differences and live together but are not required to assimilate. Why does this not work? It does in some places. But when it doesn't it usually because the majority class (those in power) feels threatened or the minorities (those not in power) get tired of being suppressed. There is probably other reasons, but these are the top two.

[VelmaD]

21. I agree and disagree at the same time...

it's a Libra thing.

Seriously though, I think the ideal would be for cultures to blend, but not get lost. Each should be able to see what is good in other cultures and assimilate what works while sharing their own good ideas that can benefit other groups. Keep what works. Add new things. Let others in to share what works for you. Everyone learns and grows so that we have some shared culture. I know...very pie in the sky. :) I'm a dreamer.

[rebel with a cause]

22. Keep on dreaming. That way you won't loose hope.

The problem is that in the US assimilation has been made the goal, but some groups can never assimilate because they can never fit in with the majority. Thus because they cannot truly assimilate (pass) they are thought of as a sub culture. There is nothing wrong with belonging to a sub culture, except the majority tends to villainize them.

It would be hard to imagine that people in Chinatown do not have some shared ideals with those in Little Italy (and vise versus), and they also undoubtedly share some ideals with the rest of the people in the country, they are after all citizens of the United States. But their primary culture is that of their family. The same can be said for many people of other cultures who chose not to completely blend into the European culture that is considered "American".

I respect your ideas, but I have a question for you. Since the Native Indians were here first, shouldn't we have tried be assimilate into their culture instead of expecting everyone to assimilate into ours? Just a thought. Must be the Sagittarius in me. :think:

[sandnsea]

25. Jazz? Mariachi? Steel drum??

Nope, not all white people at all. Much of the country celebrates all the cultures within their communities, regardless of color. I was raised in the 1960's in a suburban neighborhood with Korean, Mexican, Japanese, AA and even a gay guy. I went to school with Armenians, Chinese, Italian, all sorts of people with all sorts of backgrounds. Everybody brought various aspects of their culture to the neighborhood, being "American" was respecting that we all had a right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. The people who think this is bad are the ones who don't believe in America, and they're in the minority.

[greyl]

26. It stands in the way of monoculturalism, of course.

Our culture isn't in the business of preserving diversity, it's in the business of eliminating the competition. We are disqualifying ourselves (and countless other life forms) from evolution.

[rebel with a cause]

27. Perhaps this will make what I am saying a little clearer.

Assimilation = The process whereby a minority group gradually adopts the customs and attitudes of the prevailing culture.

The prevailing culture can take in a food, music, clothing style and such, assimilate it into their way of life, but it is the minority that is forced to attempt assimilation. It is the minority that must fit into the prevailing culture and succeed by its standards. There is no getting around these facts.

I have walked on both sides of the road. I was raised in an immigrant neighborhood, with immigrants that were all European. My family was the "Americans" because we were completely assimilated. My mother's side of my family included those that began arriving from Norway onto the shores of Virgina a short time after the Mayflower and were part of the settlement at Fort Christina. This side also included several Native Indians, one of which escaped from the Trail of Tears as it crossed the country and with her white husband "passed". My father's side all came from Europe and most of them had been here for at least a hundred years. I liked my neighbors and loved their French bread, Italian cookies, and Polish sausages. I grew up listening to jazz, the blues, polkas, and opera. I assimilated all these things into my experiences and my life, but I did not assimilate the culture of any of these people.

In my twenties, I met an immigrant from the Caribbean. Married him and had two children. I am their mother more than he is their father, but to our society my children will always be Latino. They do not speak Spanish and rarely listen to the music of their father's primary country, but they are still Latino. They dress like every one else, act like everyone else, but they are still Latino. My children have been called the N word and every derogatory name associated with being Latino. When my daughter was a baby, I was told it would have been better for me to kill myself than to have her. When they were teens we were told to go home and eat watermelon and fried chicken. Why? My children are completely assimilated into the "American" ways, but they are still not seen by many whites as "American". They can never be truly assimilated by the same standard that whites or even European immigrants are.

When my children were younger, they were asked at school what their culture was. They didn't know what to say, and I told them to go back and tell the teacher that we belonged to our own culture, which was just us being us. I am proud of my children, and I don't care whether they are ever seen as "American" by everyone because they are good human beings and that is more important.

[rebel with a cause]

28. I should also point out that

although the insult about fried chicken and watermelon might seem stupid (and believe me these people were that), truthfully these foods are closer to Caribbean cuisine than the "Taco" and "Nacho" that was usually yelled at them. These are only the lightest of insults/threats my children went through growing up. There was much more.

[Hekate]

29. I grew up thinking it was normal; back then we called it the melting pot

Best new definition I've heard for our country's many ethnic groups is "like a salad, not a melting pot." A salad is colorful and each piece retains its own character.

I think "multiculturalism" is just another good term that's been turned into a right-wing bugbear for fearful people, like "Democrat" and "Liberal" and "Nancy Pelosi."

Some people live their lives in fear that whatever it is they think they are or have will be taken away from them and that the world they know will change. "Multiculturalism" represents that to them.

Hekate