The sari is the new robe
Rekha’s razor-sharp jawline appears on the current Time Out New York cover (thanks, Mo). The poll reads, ‘This picture: thrills me / angers me / confuses me.’ But I thought a bindi means the opposite of liberty 
on Monday, August 27th, 2007, 9:23 pm in Humor, Photos › 
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I just love it when people ask, “Does race still matter?”
The concept for that cover:
X angers me.
X confuses me.
Earlier this week, I watched a one-hour televised debate on a banner unfurled at a football stadium here in Moscow, addressed to an African player reading “Monkey go home!” The question for debate: “Is it racist or not?” Highlight of the debate: “There are white monkeys too.”
So here’s a question, what’s worse: “Does race still matter?” or “Does race matter yet?”
actually, on interpretation of the bindi is that it represents the “third eye” of discrimination/intellect/vivek with which ones sees the ultimate truth/god-which some would say is the ultimate freedom/liberty/moksha=)
“tamasha I just love it when people ask, ‘Does race still matter?’”
The answer to that question is no. People for the most part aren’t discriminated on the basis of their race, and for the most part people aren’t treated with racism in most day to day interactions.
And, sure the answer is also yes, the issue of race is always going to be in the background, that is just human nature. I don’t know what to say about it than just recognize it and then just move on because dwelling on it just makes it worse.
Buster, I can’t speak for Russian society, but in American society calling someone of a different race a “monkey” is considered as meaning that race is sub-human. It goes back to Darwin’s theory of Evolution where he says that we are all descended from monkeys. So when someone of a different race is called a “monkey” what is being said is that the race that person is of is less evolved than the race of the person calling the other guy a “monkey” and that is what makes it so extremely offensive.
And once a race is considered subhuman then of course the fear is that people of that race would be abused and denied their human rights from the race who consider themselves genetically superior to them. It happened in Germany when people believed there was some genetic flaw in Jews that make them inferior to the members of the “master race” of Aryan Germans.
Ծ_Ծ
The problem here that I see speaking as a white person is the difference between inclusiveness and being taken over.
I for one try to embrace inclusiveness as much as possible. I feel to do otherwise would be racist and not appropriate.
But I must admit when I drive down a street in my home town and see that most of the businesses I see have foreign language lettering, it does make me nervous. I get the feeling of being taken over. I get worried that soon I will be the one to be the outsider. I am not saying this is the appropriate response but it is my response and I fear that is the response of others as well. It must be difficult to move to another country where you are now the outsider I am sure though I don’t have personal experience for I have never done that. But, imagine living somewhere and see it slowly change (or sometime not so slowly) to a state where you now feel the outsider. For the immigrant if they are tired at feeling like the outsider they can always go home. But for us, we are home, we have nowhere to go.
It’s even worse when you see the immigrants benefit from reservations (affirmative action aka quotas) and other preferential treatment by government.
And then when national symbols like the Statue of Liberty change to reflect the changing demographics then yeah it seems like a slap in the face. I know it was only a image on some magazine so it doesn’t hurt me too much, but still the symbolism of it rubs me the wrong way.
Again, I do not mind, or at least try not to mind, being inclusive and welcoming new cultures into my community and I try to see it as enriching my community. But it is all a matter of degree. At what point does it move beyond just being an interesting element to my community to becoming a dominating element of my community, with me feeling the outsider left out in it all?
By the way, I am just looking at it from a middle class suburban community perspective. I know the article was about New York, which has always been considered a little different than life in the rest of America and has always been known for a more cosmopolitan feel.
steve
very honest and well articulated.
i think it is ridiculous and downright hypocritical for americans (white or otherwise) to say this when you consider this land’s initial inhabitants. if americans sidelined and (intentionally) diminished an entire people that was living here before them, they should be prepared to do be so treated. i am so sick of people conveniently ignoring this history, esp. when they are telling more recent immigrants to ‘go back home.’ except for the native americans, we’re all immigrants - which means that if a white man has a claim to america, so, too, does anybody else who chooses to call this place home. otherwise, we should all fucking ‘go back home. ‘
normally i’m more diplomatic, but given steve’s honest comments, i felt that some honesty should be injected from another perspective.
Maybe indeed I don’t want to see happen to us what happened to the Native Americans.
I bet they wished they would have had a more restrictive immigration policy.
And for me at least it has more to do with culture than race.
the culture vs race issue - this is how it was with almost every phase of (white) immigration - irish, italian, eastern european etc - as someone who was born here, you have the benefit of being exposed to american culture from birth. but depending on what your ethnic roots are, your ancestors themselves might have been viewed by others the same way you are viewing current immigrants. it’s unfair not account for the influence of time and generations when you’re considering immigrant culture - if your worry is about assimilation, it is one that will be satisfied as time goes on.
but to go to a more deeper issue - the us vs. them - why are ‘they’ not ‘us’ to you - simply because their native language is not american english, or they do not have an american accent? many americans look at the cultural aspects in this issue, but to me, the truer measure of being american is the acceptance and practise of our political values. take naturalised citizens - they have to prove their belief in american civil values, something that is never required of native-born citizens. if you’re treating people of ‘other’ cultures differently, then i would say that is actually not very american, so far as our conception of equality etc goes.
Because “they” have different language lettering on their businesses.
And you have to admit that many immigrants don’t want to be “us” but instead strive to have one foot in each country.
By the way ak, read my original post more carefully. I never said I treat them any differently than anyone else.
That said, try walking into a Japanese grocery and perhaps you will get at least a small sense of what I feel.
I am not ignoring this history. I am using this history as an example of what can happen to us if we aren’t careful. I certainly don’t want to be “sidelined” like the Native Americans were.
“Because “they†have different language lettering on their businesses.”
Like the Italians did (do?) when for the first few generations?
In the history of immigration in America, there have always been they and us. As ak says, it’s a matter of time and generations to pass, that’s all. You evincing unease about a few shop-signs in foreign lettering when the entire country is filled with English shopsigns? Very unfair. Wait till their next generation realizes they have a much larger clientele to gain by switching to a different language for their storefronts, or maybe the next generation doesn’t even speak the old language.
“And you have to admit that many immigrants don’t want to be “us†but instead strive to have one foot in each country.”
True of each and every immigrant, and justifiably so. Usually untrue of the next generation that’s born here who rarely if ever feel at home if and when they visit their parents’ countries, be they European or Asian or whathaveyou.
I meant “true of each and every immigrant group”
I have to say Steve that your concerns are overblown. As long as the new generations are brought up with American ideals and schooling, one has nothing to fear imo.
Steve,
All your fears about today’s immigrants have been voiced many times over in the past. And I am sure your own ancestors have been on the receiving end. For example the Irish said the exact same things about the Italians and the Germans about the Irish. Assimilation will happen, there will only be English lettering and their children will all speak unaccented English.
Also please don’t go around spreading canards about immigrants getting the benefits of affirmative action or even welfare. No matter what those sons of bitches on talk radio tell you. Immigrants are not eligible for affirmative action and for most welfare.
i didn’t say you treat anybody differently - but you do look at ‘them’ differently, by your own admission - it’s a difference in your viewpoint, and that clearly has affected how you think of immigrants.
i admit that some immigrants don’t completely blend into american society and retain their native cultures - but so what? you make an assumption that retaining one’s native language keeps them as a ‘they’ - but what of native-borns who speak both languages? it’s not a zero sum game. e.g. the characters in sopranos speak italian, too - are they somehow not american? or, despite the fact that they speak a different language, do you consider them more american (than an indian) because they’re white?
sorry, but as a white person in america, it’s not your birthright to feel comfortable in every given situation. and part of your discomfort in that particular situation comes from your unique viewpoint - i’ve been in many a japanese grocery, and i don’t get the feeling that this country is being ‘overtaken.’
but you only used this history after i pointed it out - none of your comments went to the history of immigrants in america, or the status of native americans since the original immigrants (white people) came to this land.
anyway, i still stand by my point that being american should be more of a political, rather than a cultural, concept. in that regard, you are more ‘them’ and ‘they’ may be more ‘us’ than you’re willing to admit.
Interesting that you bring the Italians up as their immigration caused great problems for America as when they immigrated “the Black Hand” (latter to be known as the Mafia) immigrated with them.
Italian immigration was very harmful to American society. Though it did make our movies more interesting.
Obviously if someone can’t speak your language that is going to affect how that person is going to be looked at.
Have you seen the Sopranos? They didn’t speak Italian. Most of them didn’t even know Italian. They did make some connections with people back in Italy and even had a guy from Italy come and work for them for a while, but they themselves didn’t know the language.
So, yeah, they were Americans though they had been very careful throughout the generations to mostly marry people of Italian descent.
Probably a bad example as one would have to purposely put oneself in such a situation. The better example is driving down a street where you have driven for years and seeing more and more signs of businesses being in foreign languages.
Oh, I certainly agree with that statement though there is a cultural component to it too. But certainly the political concept is far more important. All Americans regardless of ethnicity, regardless of country of birth, need to have their exclusive loyalty to be towards America.
I’ve mulled over this for a while. Here’s where my mind is at. I was across the table from a few guys the other days and we were discussing how to staff a team. one guy told me that he needs personalities to click - and the interactions on his end will be with hard core people - one was acquitted of murder, another is a recovering crackhead, a third is behind on alimony. Another guy told me about the client reps he hires. His experiences show that sexy women get 300% revenue growth than guys. Why? because his feedback has been that - at the back of the mind, every client WANTS to talk to someone hot and hopes that he can fuck them after they are done with lunch. So the recommendation is to hire the one who is articulate but uses her charms to get people to decide with their dicks.
So the conversation was pretty charged and brutally blunt. These guys are all family men here. Yet, I am in the room and I am as square and as brown as can be.
My point. Race matters. But it all gets trumped by the basest human needs - sex and money. Egalitarianism is an unrealizable theoretical objective for the masses. The closest society will get to it is through feeding the human needs. Rest is all chatter.
I had to obfuscate in my comment above to preserve anonymity. Some filling-the-gaps might be needed.
Junior might have known Italian. I am not sure. Tony didn’t. I don’t think Christopher did as well.
trollerboi do you know what “boi” means?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boi_%28gender%29
Oh, and do you know what “troll” Means?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Troll_%28gay%29
Someone might have a mistaken impression of your nickname.
sure man. btw - here’s a canadian reference.
So are you not saying that you are a young-appearing (and in reality relatively young) bisexual or homosexual male who might be somewhat effeminate, who cruises or wanders about looking for sex or potential sex partners
boi -An altered spelling of boy used for various purposes, including:
* As a spelling that is deliberately altered for reasons of gender identification, sexuality, or group affinity; see Boi (gender)
* In goth (and sometimes punk) subculture boi is used to refer to a young man not afraid to experiment with traditionally “feminine” things such as eyeliner, frills, etc. and as a protest against gender roles
move on dude.
Just asking.
That is what the nickname suggested to me, but then again perhaps I am not into youth culture enough to understand it doesn’t necessarily have such a meaning.
“Interesting that you bring the Italians up as their immigration caused great problems for America as when they immigrated “the Black Hand†(latter to be known as the Mafia) immigrated with them.
Italian immigration was very harmful to American society. Though it did make our movies more interesting.”
Steve, the idea that an underworld of crime and gangs didn’t exist before the Italians arrived is bs and you know it.
Steve, your repeated mentions of driving around old neighborhoods that have now changed suggests that what you’re really sad about is having lost your old haunts, essentially change itself. That is a part of life and worrying about change when we ourselves are temporary visitors here is stupid - life’s too short to waste time doing that, imo. But if it rocks your boat and makes life more interesting for you, so be it. I’m outta here.
serious wurd up to arjun 31.
but doesn’t steve have a right to live where he wants, in a community of his choice? in his pursuit of happiness, guaranteed by the government, he has the right to be perturbed by the changes in his town.
his only recourse however, is to go to town meetings, express his voice (carefully - as not to be labeled a bigot/racist) and perhaps once day even run for local office and try to make the change that he envisions to be a proper America. This is the right of every American (it’s why something like obscenity law varies from state to state, town to town - the citizens decide… & why the KKK is allowed to march down streets preaching white brotherhood) if you don’t like the change, try to change the change. Or move.
in French Canada (at least Montreal) it’s law that all business signs must be in French… of course the various denominations of Indian businesses there ignore this law…
so steve, get (by law) the local businesses to have their signs in English first, then whatever native language second… this would be in essence, a zoning law.
yes, i am thoroughly familiar with the sopranos - my point wasn’t that they spoke it on a regular basis but that they used phrases and were very much into their italian culture - yet you consider them properly american. perhaps, for language, this is a bad example that i chose. but you also ignored the main point of that paragraph - that it’s not a zero sum game of eradicating one language in preference of english.
but why are you assuming that foreign language lettering = no knowledge of english? and why should it affect how you think - that’s your problem, your way of thinking, but it’s not an inevitability. does speaking a foreign language in this country somehow make anybody less american? why do we learn spanish, french etc.? again, i go back to the generational issue - your immigrant ancestors may have been so discriminated for speaking a foreign language - it’s extremely unfair and hypocritical of you to do so under your ’security blanket’ of native-born status.
in general, i see a lot of assumptions in your statements and generalisations about all immigrants - no two are the same, but you don’t seem to realise that. it also seems to me that you may have very little personal interaction with recent immigrant americans, and what interaction there may be is coloured by this viewpoint of yours. given that, it’s hard for me to continue this dialogue. like arjun, i bow out.
yes, because the only thing worse than being a racist/bigot is the appearance of being one.
This is the funniest thing I have ever read.
I am not assuming that. But by having a sign on your business with foreign language lettering that sends the message that if you don’t speak that language you are not welcome there.
Perhaps for language and perhaps for length of time they have been in America, I don’t know.
They certainly do represent a subculture in our society with elements that are apart from the society as a whole
To retain that subculture though they had to ensure that they married only people from their ethnic group. If that ever breaks down, this subculture will fade.
I guess the reason I consider them properly American even though they are very exclusive in keeping to their own in many ways is because in the modern days at least they don’t really have connections with the original homeland of their people.
And also, while some are exclusive many Italians have started moving away from the subculture and start marrying people from other ethnic groups.
The signs are only a sign of what is going on (sorry for the pun) . Only an indication of another culture coming in and supplanting the one already in place. And as ak mentioned we have seen this before in America. And it was very rough for the people pushed aside though we are now trying to make up for it a bit by allowed their descendants to place gambling casinos on the few pieces of land they were moved into. Although sometimes it gets kind of ridiculous as lots of these people have intermarried with other ethnic groups so you might only only have part ancestry and still you might be considered part of this group.
http://www.native-languages.org/blood.htm
if only you knew what it’s like to be an immigrant in this country. fortunately for you, the immigrants are not at all bothered enough to be concerned about deterring white people, but use the lettering as a sign that at least in this one place, you’re sure to hear your native language (regardless of whether you fluently speak english). that’s all.
as to the rest of your comments, you clearly do not have a solid enough insight into how immigrants and the current generation in this country function within and without their ethnic communities. to put it colloquially : get a clue.
A couple of wrong assumptions.
1. English is the only native language,
2. People who dont speak English are not friendly.
In Canada there are provinces where English is not the dominant language. French and Inuktikuk take precedence. It has no bearing on how the locals relate to visitors and it does not impede commerce. As the song goes, “baap bada na bhaiya, sabse bada rupaiya” - which translates to this.
Again, it is a matter of degree. A few businesses with foreign lettering on their signs might seem a little exotic, might seem a little cosmopolitan, maybe a little quirky for a small suburban city and people would not mind it. But when it starts to feel that every other business has foreign lettering on their signs then one gets the feeling of being concerned about ones community being supplanted by a foreign culture.
English is the only native language.
Unless you are talking about Canada where then you do have the problem with Quebec where of course their native language is French.
In America the defacto national language is indeed English. Until recently such a fact was so self-evident that it was felt that it didn’t need to be codified into law, but now I guess it does.
Well obviously I wouldn’t know if they were friendly or not considering I don’t speak their language.
Quebec is not a problem. Disagreements are common among people and our ability to resolve issues through discussion is what distinguishes civilized society. Furthermore, languages other than English are in common use among the Acadian population, as well as in New Brunswick and Nunavut.
Dont you see that the ‘unfriendly’ person in the equation is you. I remind you …
Clearly there is a disconnect not only at the factual but also the philosophical level. To illustrate - I am Canadian. Any language I speak is a native Canadian language.
Finis.
All I can tell you is that English is the language of America. If you live in America you should know English.
And again, please go back to my original post. I never said such signs on businesses should be banned (unlike in Quebec that requires all businesses to be in French). I was just relating my feeling and the feelings of others when such signs start to dominate a community. I don’t know if it would be appropriate to handle this situation with legislation but I have a strong feeling that the answer would indeed be that it would be inappropriate.
I do think we need to limit immigration. For two reasons. One is lack of space, and the second reason is technology. I don’t have time to go into the second reason right now as it takes a little bit of explaining and I want to do a good job in explaining it and I don’t have time to create such an essay now.
But the first reason is obvious. There is just not as much room here as there used to be. And there is no more land we can take from the Native Americans. Today we see in many communities traffic congestion getting worse and worse and housing prices getting higher and higher. Immigrants might have build this country, but guess what, it’s all built now.
All over the world people want to come to America. If we let them all in we will be more crowded than they are in Tokyo.
your concern regarding immigrants seem very focused on an anxiety that your space around you is changing to an extent so that you no longer can recognize yourself as being “from” there as well. You are anxious that you will become a “native immigrant”. I suppose, if you’ve been living in a number of countries, and especially in Third World countries- and if you think a little bit outside of nationality and ethnicity- as a citizen of this planet as a whole, it does seem as if Americans shoulder far less responsibility for its problems. When 911 happened it was a huge shock and tragedy in America. But I met a Serbian woman who said “yeah. but you get used it after it happens a couple of times”. This put things in a bit of context for me. America has made it possible for citizens to grow up very protected without a sense of accountability and place in context of the rest of the world. The big wars always happened far away. You have neighbors who have grown up very much more aware of you and your history.
Its not just America that is changing. The entire world is migrating. In a place like Bombay, filled with immigrants and many westerners now as well, there is often anxiety that the city will no longer resemble a place in India- but will become a wealthy metropolis filled with chains of McDonalds restaurants and Starbucks coffee. You worry about immigrants? Here, an entire city of people lives illegally in temporary housing in slums that are regularly demolished by the government, who wish to sell the land and drive out the “outsiders” Ironically, most of the city’s basic labour comes out of these slums. I can empathise with your anxiety about loss and the need for legislation to protect your concerns…but I cannot agree with them.
America is a land of immigrants. “Bring me your tired, your poor”. The American culture that you now identify as normal and authentic was once very different. It was once very British. Parts of it were very Irish. Very Italian. now its Indian. Japanese. etc. Things keep changing and they will continue to change. It is actually quite bizarre, according to most non-Americans, that you guys have managed to get this far without taking more interest in the rest of the world’s problems, considering your country tends to be one of them. Now change has arrived on your doorstep. Perhaps its time to gracefully accept it. My advice to those who wish to deal with this anxiety about change is to travel, and experience the excitement and alienation of being a person who is a part of a world economy. If you were living in India you would probably gravitate towards the American community, and discover here just how very insulated life can be, eating American imported food, and circulating around areas that enable those comforting American identifications. But what happens when your kid marries a Japanese kid and their kids marry an African and an Indian. The world is getting smaller for all of us. No amount of legislation is going to prevent this. Who knows? We might be related one day.At some point a very common Indian motto is likely to also become an American one”please adjust.”
Hello all,
I am just surfing from SAJA Forum and wanted to let you know what I posted there on this subject:
“I am disappointed by the cover of “Time Out New York†magazine. Lady Liberty statue does not belong to any ethnic culture. She belongs to all Americans. She is a symbol of America’s freedom. A gift from France, not from India. So why insult the Americans and don her in a sari with a bindhi-dot on her forehead? It sends a wrong message: that American-Indians have so much influence in New York and the country that they can even claim Lady Liberty.
For an American, the Statue of Liberty is very sacred, especially after 9/11. To tamper with its image is enough to provoke anger among the people of the country. I do not appreciate the magazine’s decision to publish this cover. It shows poor judgment.”
By the way, are you guys troubling my friend Steve/Scott? He is a guest on this post, and remember what our Indian tradition says: Always treat your guests well. And yes, I can read Hindi too. Steve: Arjun wants to see if your head will get further heated up or not (by this discussion).
Well Arjun, when you have guests around, you must speak the same language they do; otherwise it is considered impolite. Steve and I have been communicating quite a bit on SAJA Forum, and I want the rest of you to realize that he is telling you his fears of being surrounded by foreigners. When someone admits their fears, you don’t pounce on them. Instead, you try to win him over and welcome him to your group. When he feels welcomed, he will realize that Indians are a friendly bunch of people, and he does not have to fear them if they settle in his neighborhood. So let me see you all try to make friends with him. He can be quite nice, you know. And Steve, I hope you will reciprocate. Pretty soon they will tell you which Indian restaurants you can visit in your town, and what Indian food you should try, and so on and so on…. I just like to see people get along well.
Jaya Kamlani
Jaya, this site will not host a sentiment which reduces to ‘foreigners go home’ no matter how gilt-edged the words. And the statue came from cultural exchange, so the mashup is perfectly valid.
Manish,
The boxing gloves can come off now. It is time for you all to have potmeals together… even if it is a virtual potmeal. When you break bread together, you become friends. And when you do, you will realize that deep down we are all human beings, that we all bleed red. Manish, I was in the audience during the SAJA blogging session at this year’s convention when you were on the blogging panel and Arun Venugopal was the moderator. I observed your pleasant mannerism. I have been a SAJA member for almost seven years and have known Sree for a long time now.
I have been in the U.S for over 38 years. I grew up in Bombay, and can still read Hindi. But what New York was when I arrived in early 1969 and what it is today is very different. I know the feeling that Steve feels, for when I arrived here, there were barely any Indians in town. Fortunately, I was young and very open-minded and have thus come a long way. I remember how wonderful the Americans were to me then. They went out of their way to be kind and helpful to me. But now that we have so many Indians in America, an Indian has no problem settling down here. In fact, he feels right at home. He does not have to reach out to make friends, as we had to do when we came here in the 60s and 70s. Now, do you see why I want you to welcome Steve in your group? This way you can attract more ‘whites’ to your group, and you could have a cosmopolitcan group to exchange ideas. Life is more fun when you have people of all colors coming together.
(P.S: I don’t live in New York any more.)
Jaya Kamlani
Jaya, sorry my last message was just a little joke - since Steve/Scott has a phobia about foreign lettering, I was just yanking his chain by using some foreign lettering ;). All my earlier messages with substance were in English, polite and quite understanding of his position, though I don’t understand the point of expressing the position here on ultrabrown.
He has his fears and phobias, one of them essentially about foreigners taking over his country and culture, which is a perfectly valid and rational fear for anyone. But what he expects to gain by expressing it to us here is beyond me. We are here as immigrants, period. Driven by economics, political views, religion, or whatever to this country. Here’s a person who says he’s afraid we will take over his country. Now in what way, shape or form should we answer him? His govt let us in, and gave us a right to live here and do as we please as long as we abide by the law. If our very presence and language is a danger to him, really, what can I say to that? All I can do is ignore it, really.
Also, I’d appreciate it if you read my other messages and not just jump on me about making a little joke by using Hindi - I don’t believe I “pounced” on him at all.
What is SAJA, btw? I know it’s some sort of South Asian association, but that’s it. And what on earth is Steve/Scott doing hanging around there, with people prone to foreign lettering ;). Kidding, kidding.
Regards,
Arjun
Arjun,
Yes, I glanced through everyone’s comments before I made mine. It is true there are many Americans who feel like Steve/Scott, and all you can do is win them over one at a time, because if you don’t, then we will see racial tensions and hate crimes. And we certainly don’t want that. So, do whatever it takes to win over people. You see Arjun, I was in the IT field for 20 years, and I was an IT/Business/Management consultant with my own practice for most of those years. Some of my clients were very large companies, others medium size. And every few months I had a new client. So not only was I working in different states on different projects, but I had a whole new set of people to get to know and work with on each assignment. As such, getting along with people became a natural thing for me. And I want you all to try that. I have not come on this blog to pick on any of you, but rather to be your friend. And I cannot promise I will visit often because I have too many projects of my own to work on that keep me busy all day long. I am no longer in IT, but am a writer now.
FYI: SAJA is South Asian Journalists Association. They have their big 4-day conventions every summer at the Columbia University. The founder is Sree Sreenivasan, who is a professor and Dean of students at the Graduate School of Journalism.
Jaya Kamlani
Getting along is fine. I disagree with the association of foreign lettering with unfriendliness. I reiterate that if 99% of your clientele speaks a certain language, why not use that on your signboard. It doesn’t translate to dislike, rejection, taking-over or whatever of other cultures. And as I mentioned, future generations will most likely switch to English as they merge into the American mainstream, so the fear is unfounded. Beyond that, I can only hope that Steve/Scott gets better :).
Cant speak for you folks, but I have no wish to blend in or make nice. I realize I live in a different world from you so it might work here, but really!! ‘win them over one at a time’ is just so unamerican, dude :-).
BTW - this blog post did inspire me to go do a round of the city this past weekend. Here’s the photos from the tour de torontoE Pluribus Plura.
trollerboi, I have no desire to go out of my way to blend in - I’m just going to be myself, that’s it (hey, I don’t know any other way to be); if that ends up with me being blended in, fine. If not, fine. If they’d told me at the dock when I stepped out of the cargo hold that I needed to blend in (dark skin and all), I might have considered it for a second or two ;). So ultimately, Steve/Scott can direct his efforts to stopping immigration by talking to his rep in govt, or shut up and live with us the way we are - foreign lettering and all. Period.
This exchange has made me less amenable to assimilation and everyone being the same, actually.. bland and blech are the words it brings to mind.
As for getting along, I’d prefer to get along with people who don’t look at me with suspicion, and there are plenty of white or any other color Americans like that.. those are the ones I consider to have true American values.