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Actually; 'ethnic' Hungarians come in several varieties------much like Mexicans.
The 'Szekler' minority; of which my father is one, are closer genetically to the English/Irish/Spanish, etc. peoples than to most 'regular' Hungarians. Many of the latter are actually Mestizos.....and, that is not counting the Roma (5-10%) who have to deal with racism due to having dark skin and, more importantly, the rep of being criminals.
I recently spent a week in Erie, PA. It has a metro area population of about 200,000 but basically everyone is White (with a very small Black population). Because this is a message board and I do not have to be politically correct, I can say what I feel. I felt all warm and fuzzy in a place with basically no immigrants. I enjoyed being in a place with few LEGAL and Illegal Immigrants.
My parents and older siblings were all born in Erie.
I thank god every day they got out of there. It is a dying city... poster child for the rust belt.
I remember going to school in Carbon County, PA and most of the people there were kids from Carbon County when I moved there, with some Jersey kids. Then when I moved to York, was when the hoards from Allentown and New York started pouring in, and the school went downhill. Now my school district where I graduated from here in York, is going downhill thanks to all the Baltimore residents moving up here
Today I found your comments about Erie, PA, my hometown, and was apalled by the statements you made about it.
First of all, and least significantly, the population of the metro area is about 280,000 and has been at or near that level for about 50 years.
More importantly, you stated that there is very little immigrant population there. That is completely 100% inaccurate. Erie has a very significant population of Polish, Italian, German, Russian and other descendants of immigrants, many as recent as 2nd generation. You stated that there is a small black population as an example of "immigrants". The City of Erie is about 20% black within the city limits, which has a total population of about 100,000. I would suggest to you that 90%+ of the black population there are not immigrants, but descendants of slaves who are from various areas in the deep south. Most of the black population originally came to Erie because it was one of the fastest growing industrial centers in the first half of the 20th century. The implication of the word "immigrant" is that the person voluntarily came to this country aspiring to a better life. I can assure you that the ancestors of the majority of Erie's present-day black population did not come to this country voluntarily.
Perhaps you meant by few "immigrants" that there are not many Hispanics in the area. While that is true, it reveals a sort of anti-Hispanic bias on your part that I would prefer not to comment on.
You stated that you felt "comfortable" there. I would have hoped you would have felt this comfort based on Erie's beautiful summer weather, its seven miles of sandy beaches on Presque Isle and its moderate cost of living rather than the absence of any particular racial group.
Last edited by garystear; 02-06-2011 at 09:54 AM..
Reason: misspelling
Personally, I love diversity and if I were stuck in a community of people who all looked and sounded like me, I would feel like I was missing something. It would feel bland.
When I was a kid, almost everyone at my school was white. From kindergarden on, I was pretty much drawn to people who were different from the majority...there were only like 2 black kids in the entire school and I was intrigued, so I sought them out as friends. From then on I befriended exchange students who crossed paths with me and have had friends from many backgrounds. None of my current best friends nor my fiance share the same race as me. I've spent time abroad and found it interesting to be in the minority racial group.
The world is a big place, with millions of people, and the better we can understand each other and find common interests, the better off we'll be.
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Dingler, do you know what an immigrant is?
