Response to “Our Fear of Immigrants” In “Our Fear of Immigrants” Jeremy Adam Smith takes a neutral stance on the immigration and anti-immigration argument. Smith begins by telling the story of a 4th grade class at Jefferson Elementary School in Berkeley, California who try to fight back against immigration laws after a classmate of theirs was deported back to his home country. Smith then goes on to compare the 4th graders to the adults of their town who fight for stronger immigration laws asking his readers what qualities the children possess that the rest of the citizens do not to make them react so differently.
“Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” This famous quote by the novelist and philosopher George Santanya exemplifies the problem this country has with immigrants and foreigners. While the focus of certain immigrant groups has changed, the standards by which foreigners under fire are treated has not changed. That is to say, the peoples being discriminated against may change, but there is always a specific group or groups of people that are treated with prejudice, and continue to be discriminated against even by the government of the country they are in. The Japanese were treated outrageously after the bombing of Pearl Harbor.
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.
When filling out surveys or job applications, all Asians must check off the “Asian American” box regardless of national origin or place of birth, forcing a single classification on an extremely diverse group. This aggregated approach to understanding Asian American is not new, it has been present since the us versus them Occident-Orient approach that powered racism against early Asian immigrants. With the increasing presence of second and third generation Asian Americans, it is time to redefine what it means to be Asian American and to discover a new manner of framing the Asian American experience as unified yet diverse. The best approach to emphasize diversity is through stressing the national, socio-economic and gender differences within the Asian American
As the child of two first-generation immigrants, I’ve witnessed harassment against my family and me for who we are and our culture. The rise in hate crimes against people of color is something imperative that we should be fighting to abolish. Despite the countless fights and protests for our rights and lives, nothing seems to really have that much of an impact. Hate speech and crimes continue to this day. In Espada’s “The New Bathroom Policy at English High School”, he’s seen fighting strongly for Spanish in many ways.
As immigration and relations between races become more influential issues in politics, there have been many opposing views on the treatment of minority groups. Some people believe that diversity and immigration is a threat to original identity while others believe that they are extremely beneficial to society. Writers Samuel P. Huntington in The Hispanic Challenge and Herbert Marcuse in Repressive Tolerance express these differing views regarding these important topics. Huntington takes the ‘threat to identity’ side when explaining how Mexican immigration is extremely different from European immigration. On the other hand, Marcuse takes a different route when explaining the idea of tolerance, claiming that majority groups who oppress the minority
When one hears about The United States of America, one automatically thinks of the idea that has been instilled into our brains, the idea that America was founded and continues to be based on freedom and equality for all, a belief that once anyone immigrated to America, he or she will be welcomed with arms open and will become a member of the “melting pot.” However, what is the truth behind this expectation? Various events and experiences have proved otherwise. In the article titled “Causes of Prejudice”, written by Vincent N. Parrillo, a sociology professor at William Paterson University, he explains the various causes that are correlated with the result of prejudice especially in America. These theories can be used to try and understand racism in America and the interview done by Studs Terkel, a renown oral historian, of C.P. Ellis a former member of the Ku Klux Klan.
Muñoz (2013) begins his paper by describing early waves of Mexican immigration into the United States. Muñoz (2013) states the main reason that Mexican immigrants migrated to America was to take advantage of the vast agricultural labor opportunities. According to Muñoz (2013), this insurgence of immigrants led many Americans to fear that Mexican migrants were taking their jobs. This fear ultimately manifested into racist and xenophobic anti-Mexican legislation and rhetoric, including the segregation of schools, mass deportation, and the perpetuation of the idea that Mexican immigrants were socially and culturally inferior and a threat to the American way of life (Muñoz, 2013). Muñoz (2013) gives a vivid example of the sort of racist rhetoric some Americans spewed during this
Intersectionality has become the latest feminist “buzzword” as it comes to the discussion of pop culture, politics or academia. the article “Intersectionality” by The Washington Post, tells us how the term intersectionality was initially used to describe how race and gender could bisect as the forms of oppression. However, now the term is used to trace how different forms of discrimination overlap and relate. It also describes how important is it for feminists to consider women from diverse backgrounds when advocating for social causes. This term encompasses numerous social factors such as sexual orientation, disability, class and nationality.
Introduction Integrating theory into social work practice is essential in defining why social work is needed and how to practice it effectively. This paper will discuss two theories; intersectionality and life course theory, as I believe that these two theories are collectively suitable and effective in interrupting the cycle of oppression. I will draw upon both my own experiences and literature to analyze the strengths and limitations of intersectionality and life course theory. This discussion will exemplify how intersectionality and life course theory enhance each other and can work synergistically to inform my social work practice. Intersectionality Intersectionality is a macro theory, which looks at the complexity of an individual’s identity
This essay is an effort to discuss why matters or race and racism are more than just the attitudes and behaviours of individuals. I will be discussing what racism is and the different forms of racism and I will explain how racism is socially constructed, furthermore, I will give a brief discussion on the history of racism and also discuss some of the key concepts and perspectives to offer a sociological analysis of the complexities of politics of difference and identity, furthermore, I will show how this applies to schools in the South African context. Race is one of the traits that accompanies a person’s social identity, it contributes to the definition and formation of a person’s social identity. Race can be defined as a person’s physical characteristics such as skin, hair or eye colour, it is one of the factors used to differentiate and categorise people where people can be categorised as black,
The world today consists of children roaming the streets, technology taking over the world, and being able to work wherever you 'd like, but, could you imagine a life without all these things? Believe it or not there was a time in life where these things were very uncommon to see. This would be known as the Victorian era. This time period was between 1837 and 1901. Daily life was very different from now.
The author takes the topic of Xenophobia to be a human condition that arises out of a lack of proper meaning interaction among people. For example in Oxford University people from other African countries, except South Africa were referred as to Mukwerekwere or Likwerekwere, Afrikans etc. To show that even people from other places were experiencing Xenophobia Refentse mother, while at Tiragalong, she believed that all Johannesburg women are evil and men destroyers even before she meet Lerato Refentse’s girlfriend (Mpe, 2001:29-63), which is leading to the element of fiction known as Dystopia were a person dislike a certain place because she/he imagined it as a bad place (Abrams and Harpham (2012:416-417). Xenophobia also falls under the biggest issue that the world especially South Africa suffers from, immigrants are facing discrimination and violence in the world, though much of that risk stopped from the institutionalised racism of the time due to apartheid. These immigrant were also accused of causing high crime rate in
Have you ever been hostile towards, feared or distrusted people of other cultures, regions, religions or colour, that is, in all, been belligerent towards people who are foreign? Have you laughed or found humour in the prejudiced or abusive comments passed on foreign people? Well, then you suffer from an uncured and fatal disease-Xenophobia! According to the dictionary definition, Xenophobia is the unreasonable fear or hatred of strangers or foreigners or of that which is strange or foreign. It is a combination of the word ‘xeno’ (foreigner) – which originated in Greece and ‘phobia’ (fear).
The intolerant attitudes learned during Apartheid still dwell among some of the citizens. Another explanation of the violence that occurs in South Africa is blamed on the ANC government’s service delivery bad record, what Apartheid didn’t damage, the ANC did. South African xenophobia has also been explained by the level of social and economic inequality in the country. It has been noted that the greatest punishments of xenophobic violence have been carried out in borders of formal society, where foreign nationals compete with the poorest South Africans to make themselves a basic living. And then lastly, South Africa’s immigration policies are also blamed for exasperating the problem.
