can someone please explain what assimilation means to them? (residents, states, green card)

[irman]

Originally Posted by malamute

We have a lot of that here. Various denominations are jumping on that bandwagon, having their congregations divided into different languages/ethnic groups.

At the Spanish services, it's obviously that one group but the beauty in the English services is that there are people from all kinds of backgrounds, including immigrants and their offspring from the Philippines, Nigeria, Korea, Poland, Germany, many countries. Praying *together* and afterward socializing *together*.

Churches should not work to divide their congregations by race and ethnicities, using language to divide, segregate their people, they should be working for an integrated, assimilated America.

I think this is a better way of expressing my *dislike* for those services.
I purposely did not mention *which* language they were conducted in, but the fact remains that I complained and inquired why there were no services in, let's say, Malay ....
I guess, those people did not request it .... ?????
I even offered to conduct classes to learn proper English ...
No reaction ....
As always, I end in ... Oh well ....

BTW, I do not like playing golf.
I think, I get the same exercise mowing my lawn !!!
But ... I love to watch Baseball !!
When we lived in the LA area, we had season tickets for the Dodgers !!!
OK .... nose bleed section, but we did have tickets ..
And ... You can NOT go thru life not partaking of a Dodger Dog !!!!
I do not like apple pie !!! or any pie that even looks like it !!!
I abhor eating at a Mexican restaurant, where each dish is served with *refried beans*...
To me it looks like something that should NOT be on my plate....
But I love the crispy skin tacos and all meat burritos.
If there are any Angelenos lurking here from the Santa Monica area, Dang I do miss Titos Tacos !!!

I hope I am still considered *assimilated* ....

LBNL, I remember a bumper sticker a long time ago :
America .. Love it or Leave it !

[malamute]

Originally Posted by graceC

Malamute, I think you've completely missed Bluebird's point. I attend church, but I have no interest in sports. So when the guys start talking about sports, I turn away and join another group that discusses something else that I like. Does that mean I'm un-american?

America has diverse culture. This means football is just one of many choices available here. Celebrating thanksgiving is another example of assimilating into American culture.

And maybe he missed mine. I used people from various countries discussing football plays as one example of assimilation. The fact that they're able to discuss something together is the important part. For that they need a common language and a common interest, something that ties them to this culture. It doesn't have to be sports at all, maybe movies.

What happens when we just decide our culture and language aren't important, every group should go on just as it was back on the other side of the world and now you've got all these "little" places. Say one ghetto is "little Pakistan" and the block over is "little Israel" with "little Palestine" on the other side. And then you have "little North Korea" and "little Somalia", "little Taliban" and so on and there's no assimilation going on.

Another example - in WWII, there were things that were going on that went against traditional (Christian tainted) American culture. There were plenty of German descended people here but because they were assimilated Americans, they didn't automatically go along with "their people", they were part of the American people, and fought and died as Americans to stop what was so atrocious to the American mindset.

[Syngar99]

1) learn english
2) be loyal to your new country- if your old country was so great go back

[stillkit]

Originally Posted by malamute

And maybe he missed mine. I used people from various countries discussing football plays as one example of assimilation. The fact that they're able to discuss something together is the important part. For that they need a common language and a common interest, something that ties them to this culture. It doesn't have to be sports at all, maybe movies.

What happens when we just decide our culture and language aren't important, every group should go on just as it was back on the other side of the world and now you've got all these "little" places. Say one ghetto is "little Pakistan" and the block over is "little Israel" with "little Palestine" on the other side. And then you have "little North Korea" and "little Somalia", "little Taliban" and so on and there's no assimilation going on.

Another example - in WWII, there were things that were going on that went against traditional (Christian tainted) American culture. There were plenty of German descended people here but because they were assimilated Americans, they didn't automatically go along with "their people", they were part of the American people, and fought and died as Americans to stop what was so atrocious to the American mindset.

What do you mean "now" we have all these little places? That's nothing new. We've had them for hundreds of years because that's what immigrants have always done when they arrive in large numbers. Let me repeat what I said earlier: It's not the immigrants themselves who fully assimilate, it's their children and grandchildren.

But, the anti-immigrant bias, or even downright hatred, is nothing new either. You mention the Germans and, while that's mostly true, thousands also belonged to the German-American Bunde before the war started. And, for each fully assimilated German family who had a son in the war, I can show you a fully assimilated Japanese family who were stripped of their property and herded into camps. During WWI, many German families ""Americanized" the spelling of their family name to avoid censure, or worse. Even after WWI, my wifes grand father was murdered in Alliance, NB because he had a German name.

You also fail to credit our current crop of immigrants for their service to the country. About 1/3 of all the casualties in the current war have Hispanic surnames, a good many serving with only a green card. In fact, the first American killed in Iraq, LCP Jose Guiterrez, had entered this country illegally as a teenager from Guatemala. He was awarded citizenship posthumously. There are also thousands of Muslim's serving in the line of fire, many of whom have given their lives for this country and most of them were either immigrants themselves, or first generation Americans.

[ArizonaBear]

Originally Posted by stillkit

What do you mean "now" we have all these little places? That's nothing new. We've had them for hundreds of years because that's what immigrants have always done when they arrive in large numbers. Let me repeat what I said earlier: It's not the immigrants themselves who fully assimilate, it's their children and grandchildren.

But, the anti-immigrant bias, or even downright hatred, is nothing new either. You mention the Germans and, while that's mostly true, thousands also belonged to the German-American Bunde before the war started. And, for each fully assimilated German family who had a son in the war, I can show you a fully assimilated Japanese family who were stripped of their property and herded into camps. During WWI, many German families ""Americanized" the spelling of their family name to avoid censure, or worse. Even after WWI, my wifes grand father was murdered in Alliance, NB because he had a German name.

You also fail to credit our current crop of immigrants for their service to the country. About 1/3 of all the casualties in the current war have Hispanic surnames, a good many serving with only a green card. In fact, the first American killed in Iraq, LCP Jose Guiterrez, had entered this country illegally as a teenager from Guatemala. He was awarded citizenship posthumously. There are also thousands of Muslim's serving in the line of fire, many of whom have given their lives for this country and most of them were either immigrants themselves, or first generation Americans.

The cold reality is that it is past time to clamp down-----------hard on especially illegal immigration. We need a moratorium on any sort of mass immigration for at least 20 years with the obvious exception of political refugees.

[malamute]

Originally Posted by stillkit

What do you mean "now" we have all these little places? That's nothing new. We've had them for hundreds of years because that's what immigrants have always done when they arrive in large numbers. Let me repeat what I said earlier: It's not the immigrants themselves who fully assimilate, it's their children and grandchildren.

You're wrong. I've known immigrants who assimilated very well. Some of the most pro-America types I've met are actually immigrants who came here to be American. Many immigrants work hard to learn English -- and do speak English, with accents of course. It's a myth that all immigrants recluse themselves in their own little communities, some do just fine living as Americans, holding jobs and working alongside Americans.

Of course it's true many refuse to assimilate, they never learn English, I live in a city where one third of the population speaks no English.

Wha'ts different today is the immigrants resist assimilate so much that they insist their children be taught in their own language and the government provides them welfare handouts in their own language. Radio, television, even church is provided to them so that they never have to learn English.

In some places English is so little heard now it would even be difficult for an immigrant to assimilate even if they wanted to.

[malamute]

Originally Posted by ArizonaBear

The cold reality is that it is past time to clamp down-----------hard on especially illegal immigration. We need a moratorium on any sort of mass immigration for at least 20 years with the obvious exception of political refugees.

I think family chain migration needs to end ASAP. And political refugees are in my opinion a bad idea in most cases because it removes the very people who can work for political change and reform in their countries.

The kind of immigration that brings massive numbers who never intend to assimilate is a very poor kind of immigration.

However I believe there are people out there who truly wish to come here and be a part of the American people, who are smart enough to work for a living, and smart enough to learn our language quickly -- and many probably already have made that effort.

I would like to see immigration reformed so that more of the latter can come, that just having a family member here doesn't get preferential treatment. More employer sponsored immigrants.

[stillkit]

Originally Posted by malamute

You're wrong. I've known immigrants who assimilated very well. Some of the most pro-America types I've met are actually immigrants who came here to be American. Many immigrants work hard to learn English -- and do speak English, with accents of course. It's a myth that all immigrants recluse themselves in their own little communities, some do just fine living as Americans, holding jobs and working alongside Americans.

Of course it's true many refuse to assimilate, they never learn English, I live in a city where one third of the population speaks no English.

Wha'ts different today is the immigrants resist assimilate so much that they insist their children be taught in their own language and the government provides them welfare handouts in their own language. Radio, television, even church is provided to them so that they never have to learn English.

In some places English is so little heard now it would even be difficult for an immigrant to assimilate even if they wanted to.

BS. Prove it.

[ArizonaBear]

Originally Posted by malamute

I think family chain migration needs to end ASAP. And political refugees are in my opinion a bad idea in most cases because it removes the very people who can work for political change and reform in their countries.

The kind of immigration that brings massive numbers who never intend to assimilate is a very poor kind of immigration.

However I believe there are people out there who truly wish to come here and be a part of the American people, who are smart enough to work for a living, and smart enough to learn our language quickly -- and many probably already have made that effort.

I would like to see immigration reformed so that more of the latter can come, that just having a family member here doesn't get preferential treatment. More employer sponsored immigrants.

In all fairness; I was referring to those folks who would likely be in physical danger if they did not flee their homelands------------the Jews trying to leave Nazi Germany prior to the Holocaust come to mind.

[bluebeard]

Originally Posted by malamute

That's a total lie because I never once said that. What I gave was an example of people fitting in, standing outside a church discussing football scores and games, getting along unmindful of where there ancestors or they themselves came from. Some talking with accents, some not but able to converse, laugh, have a discussion.

Ok, so if you are saying that people from different backgrounds talking together (regardless of the subject and reason for being together), well, then that's completely different. You seemed to have ignored my repeated statements regarding how American's can have different interests and beliefs.
One of the most segregated groups despite generations passing by are African-Amercians. I'm not planning on getting into why, how, or who's fault about that. Mostly I just want to say that I don't believe it's really an issue. After a couple generations, almost all immigrant families integrate and enjoy many relationships with others across whit differing ancestries.