The Chinese Invasion of America (Amish, identities, Muslim, kids)

[Packard fan]

Originally Posted by StanfordGrad12

Well they are smart, hardworking and have money to spend. Face it, you are just jealous that they became/ are becoming rich while and drive Audis and porches while you struggle to make payments on your used F-150.

Consider this fact: if even 10% of the population of China is middle class and above that means around 150 million Chinese are well to do. That's more than half the entire population of USA. India and China is where the future lies, we have to get used to playing second fiddle.

China: I ain't real impressed since its working age pop is dropping year by year AND there are less Chinese people being born after 1980 than before going year by year. Think Japan of 1990 and that same country of 2015. India OTOH: they MAY have a better chance of overtaking the US, maybe.

[Packard fan]

Originally Posted by dechatelet

Maybe the government and our major corporations could give poor white Appalachians affirmative action preferences, just like they do for non-whites -- including recent immigrants (who are not white but also not black.)

I don't think anyone should imagine that our government cares about poor whites.

The liberals here sure don't.

As for blacks, they have to compete with Latinos for all those racial preferences.

Liberal identity politics in all of its glory!

To be fair: "Hispanic" ain't a race; some are def white. Too; some of the white "hillbillies" DO look like a regular "Mexican" because many of those hillbillies are mixed with American Indian and Black.

[qworldorder]

Originally Posted by dechatelet

Why do liberals/leftists have to screech "racism" and "xenophobia" just because a lot of people don't like what they like (or claim to like -- the liberals I know live in the most lily-white areas, but that's another story...)?

Hey, y'know what, thus far in this country we get to like what we like and dislike what we dislike, and I hope that continues in spite of the "you must love what I love or you're a racist" pc mentality.

And why do conservatives/rightists love to wear ignorance and fear like a badge of honor? There may be some hypocritical lefties, sure, but the vast majority of righties live in isolated, white communities devoid of real cultural interaction. Fact. You'll see that the enlightened blue cities and blue states are the most diverse and progressive. Red America? Not so much. The Right continues to hold America back.

[qworldorder]

Originally Posted by dechatelet

And here is the problem with a lot of people. They think that America has no distinctive characteristics.

But then, why would they? They know little about our history, literature, music, art, regional customs and manners, etc. It's all just commercialism and money as far as they are concerned.

While it is overly simplistic to say that America is all about baseball and apple pie, they are certainly important parts of our history and culture, just as baguettes and boules are important parts of French history and culture.

We have always been a diverse country with many distinct regions, but that is not the same thing as having no overall character worth considering.

Mark Twain certainly captured aspects of the American character and spirit that are still alive today. But then you have such contrasting authors as Poe and Melville. Or Hemingway and Bierce, London and Steinbeck...all represent parts of the rich tapestry that is the United States of America.

I don't accept the notion that America is merely an empty slate to be written on by immigrants, erased, written on again, erased, etc., with the only durable thing being that we are a nation of immigrants and constant change.

Hint: The founders of this country were of European heritage (mostly English) drawing on European customs and ideas.

Instead of asking what is the social fabric and character of this country, why don't you ask yourself why you even have to ask that question? I don't sense any curiosity here...

You didn't answer the question. What is this overarching national identity, this American character and spirit? What defines us as a nation, say, as opposed to Britain? Germany? Brazil? Merely listing prominent authors (all male and white, btw) does nothing to answer this question. Furthermore, yes, the founders of this country were of European heritage, drawing on European customs and ideas. Hint: they aren't the only significant contributors to this country. Do their contributions carry more weight in your eyes than others? Based on this and previous posts, it appears so.

[qworldorder]

Originally Posted by dechatelet

An intelligent reply to condescension, unwarranted assumptions, smug superiority and blatant anti-white racism and stereotyping?

Weren't you the one who made the first charge of racism?

You and unbrainwashed need to look in the mirror.

Please point out the "blatant anti-white racism and stereotyping" in my posts.

[qworldorder]

Originally Posted by dechatelet

When I worked on the ramp at United Airlines, a bunch of my co-workers were speaking Spanish. I had reason to think they were talking #### about me, but couldn't prove it.

Another time, I had a Puerto Rican lead whose English was just so-so. He was trying to get me to do something but couldn't explain it. He got angrier and angrier and his face turned purple. I finally told him "Learn English or get another job, you d--che!"

He actually had the nerve to take me to a supervisor, who blew him off but also "counseled" me for calling him a d--che.

Isn't multiculturalism wonderful?

Lol at blaming multiculturalism for your own ignorance and prejudice. All you've just said is that your lead speaks more English than you speak Spanish, you're paranoid whenever other languages are spoken around you, and that you have no idea how to handle workplace relations/misunderstandings in a constructive manner. Yes, quite the anecdote.

[qworldorder]

Originally Posted by dechatelet

Not really.

Belgium and Canada have had serious problems because of linguistic diversity.

I admire people who are fluent in many languages. But any society must have one language that everyone understands in order for people to communicate with each other. That seems like a pretty simple concept to me. The only people I know who hate accents are liberal/leftists who mock southern accents and use terms like "Murica" and "librul." No, it's an accurate term. The Chinese have babies here, then take them back to China. But those babies have U.S. citizenship and can get freebies here, having paid no taxes. When I travel abroad, I do everything I can not to offend my gracious hosts. What is wrong with expecting the same consideration from people who visit or immigrate to this country?

And, not speaking English, how would they understand what he was saying? Not true. The founders were descended from settlers, not immigrants. Then there were the indigenous people and slaves who also wouldn't qualify as immigrants. I would guess at least 75 million Americans are descended from the original English settlers. And we had long periods of no immigration at all. Wrong.

An immigrant is a newbie. Common sense and morality both require that he or she adjust to the new country, not the other way around.

Only liberals could come up with such nonsense as telling native-born Americans -- whose families have been here for ten generations or more -- that they have no more right to this country than new immigrants do.

Absurd!If this country is boring, it's because it is increasingly full of people who have nothing in common with each other and little to say to each other outside of liberal "kumbaya" celebrations.

Europe, on the other hand, is a fascinating patchwork quilt of different cultures that preserve their cultural differences instead of diluting them into the mush we have here.

Jeez, where do I begin?

You're overplaying the language tensions in Belgium and Canada. Both countries are stronger for being multi-lingual, and internal polling reflects this. Still don't know why you brought this up. English is quite established in this country and isn't going anywhere.

If liberals mock southern accents, it's because historically, and presently, the South has been a bastion of backwardness and intolerance. Slavery? Jim Crow? Gay marriage? Southern conservatives haven't exactly unearned the dumb/ignorant stereotype. And yes, slavery, segregation and gay marriage opposition are ignorant and wrong. This isn't 'untolerant' liberal speak disagreeing with opinions. Don't pull that lame card.

So the founders are 'settlers' now, and not immigrants? Even though there was an established population here first, with laws and culture and everything, who inhabited these lands? This is ugly conservative revisionism. Downgrade the natives' importance, play up the white settlers. And you wonder why people keep throwing around racist. This country was stolen through genocide and deceit--do you deny this? Native Americans weren't saints, but don't act like what the 'settlers' did was just.

Only conservatives could downplay/deny our nation's immigrant history that LITERALLY occurred right from the beginning in order to strip/restrict those same rights from newer immigrants. Disgusting.

Full of people who have nothing in common with each other? If this were true (which its not), how would this make the country boring? If anything, it would be quite the opposite. Your logic is flawed and your biases are really showing now. What commonality should we all have then? I mean, besides language? Define this American commonality that 'newbie' immigrants should have to earn.

"Europe, on the other hand, is a fascinating patchwork quilt of different cultures that preserve their cultural differences instead of diluting them into the mush we have here." You're contradicting yourself so much here it isn't even funny. Which is it? Are we "full of people who have nothing in common with each other" or are we "diluted mush"? Should we preserve cultural differences (to include language, as Belgium and Canada) or should we all unite under the grand 'American' culture (still yet to be defined by you?)

[qworldorder]

Originally Posted by dechatelet

That is a poem, not a law or anything people voted for. A nice, feel-good sentiment, but the reality is that virtually all countries want immigrants who assimilate and who can benefit them.

Just try immigrating to Europe without a huge bank account. Try immigrating to India without being Indian. Or Japan without being Japanese...

Now you're just blatantly hating. This 'feel-good sentiment' is literally emblazoned on our countries' greatest symbol for liberty. A symbol that literally was the gateway for millions of immigrants. But yea, none of this matters. And I'm supposed to take your talk of standardized American culture/identity/etc. seriously when you discount one of its most famous examples?

[qworldorder]

Originally Posted by Hefe

Hey this is exactly the American way... this is pure free & open market capitalism, people pulling themselves up by their efforts. This Chinese "invasion" should be a conservative Republican's ideal.

This. It 'should' square exactly with their supposed ideology. But it doesn't. Wonder why?

[qworldorder]

Originally Posted by bmexman

OP here.

Since I keep getting hounded with requests to define with American culture is, here's my answer.

As another poster said, American culture as an institution is hard to define with its multiple influences and origins.

Origins and influences from decades, centuries of immigration of peoples from all over - English, Germans, Irish, Italians, Greeks, Jews, Chinese, Mexicans, Poles, etc. of modest means, who felt entitled to nothing but freedom and opportunity to achieve the American dream. And they did not arrive on their boats to Ellis Island or San Francisco or elsewhere flashing their cash or buying America for themselves bit by bit. People did not take those boat voyages and then immediately go back to Italy, Ireland, Poland, or wherever once a U.S. citizen baby with papers in hand was born.

English may not be our official language, but it is nonetheless our national language. Language is an important, if not the most important, paramount institution of a culture. And if you disagree, ask a Quebecois, a Catalan, a Kurd, or a Belgian. People who choose not to participate in our culture by not speaking our language and not bothering to learn it are not part of of our culture, only because they choose not to become part of it.


People who only associate with their own are a slap in the face to what this country is about. We are the United States of America - associating only with your own and not attempting to associate with your neighbours is completely against what this country is about. And those people chose to move here, so they must make an effort to integrate into their new homeland. If I were to move to Mexico or China tomorrow, I would be expected to learn their cultural mores, no questions asked.

Like it or not, we are an English-speaking, unified culture with Anglo-Saxon roots and worldwide influences brought in by people who not only brought in their own culture, but integrated it with the local culture.

Ok, we finally get an answer. Not bad, but there are holes here.

First, I like the modest means bit, but there's always been wealthy immigrants to this country who had an entitlement complex and flashed cash. See slave owners, fur merchants, etc. And even those who weren't wealthy often felt entitled in this pursuit of the American Dream, at any cost. See Native American genocide, Manifest Destiny, gold rushes, etc. I'd argue that this country has never been about modesty when it comes to cash.

Furthermore, people didn't immediately go back to Italy, Ireland, etc. back then because travel was arduous and expensive to do so. Once airplanes come into the picture, this isn't the case. Plenty of anchor babies, cash sent back home, etc. with Italians, for example. This isn't just a Chinese phenomenon. Quit singling them out.

Your claim of people not bothering to learn English is dubious. Studies show that second and third generation immigrants always speak English. The first generation usually learns enough to get by. This is no different with the Chinese (see Jeremy Lin). Again, English isn't going anywhere.

People only associating with their own? Sounds like the Pennsylvania Dutch, the Orthodox Jews, Cajuns, white conservative Republicans, Nuyuricans, East LA Mexicans, Chicago Cubs fans, atheists, stamp collectors, tech tycoons etc. This isn't a unique phenomenon. Get in where you fit in. How this is a threat to America is beyond me. Should we all be the same?

We are an English-speaking, unified culture with Anglo-Saxon roots? What about the Spanish missionaries? French traders? Black slaves? Native Americans? Do those roots count to? Are we Catholic or Protestant? Mormon?