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I think it's because we don't really have a rigid class system in America and we have people coming together from all over the world. Every ethnic group that came as immigrants were looked down upon, until the next wave. it just so happens that the newer waves have been non Europeans. Every person wants the American dream to succeed and make it into the middle or upper classes.
It's very hard for people to emigrate to other countries, and i have lived in a few as an expat. There is less mingling of the races in many other countries. It is easier to come to the U.S. either legally or illegally. With poorer immigrants and oppressed classes striving to become middle class, there will be people who try to keep them from moving up in class. (whether they were Irish, Polish, Italian, Jewish, Hispanic, Asian, or Black.)
I think racism and classism are rampant throughout the world, but it is talked about more in the U.S. than in other countries.
Location: SF Bay Area, aka, Liberal Mecca/wherever DoD sends me to
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Meyerland
I think racism and classism are rampant throughout the world, but it is talked about more in the U.S. than in other countries.
classism is barely talked, or not at all in the US. "Racism" is overloaded in discussion to the point where stupid things like trayvon martin shooting in turned into a "Race" war.
Location: SF Bay Area, aka, Liberal Mecca/wherever DoD sends me to
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trying to ask the question the OP asked is like a chicken and the egg question. Americans have this obsession for too many reasons and I feel it will destroy them.
People in the US may not focus so much on class, but I wouldn't say classism is a small thing. People of different social classes usually don't mix. Nationwide there are entire town based on social standing and ceraint people avoid certain places because its either too uppity or trashy. Also, Americans from different social classes tend to think differently, they see the world differently, and they even think of themselves differently.
It also appears that Americans from the upper scale tend to be much more alike in mannerisms, culture, way of seeing the world; regardless of race. It seems that in the lower levels there are many more divisions and many of these division take place along racial/ethnic lines.
Then there are the African Americans that have been considered to be a separate caste, similar to the untouchables of India. This caste-like treatment that historically has been applied to AA's probably explains the higher race focus that exist among AA's. It seems that people from other ethnic group always found a level of reconciliation among themselves, but this was simply not an option for whomever was categorized in the most despised caste.
Lastly, the fact that in the US there is an interesting phenomenon where most people consider themselves to be 'middle class' regardless if they are or not, speaks volumes about the deep social class divisions that exist in this country. That's the only way that a working class person and an upper middle class personcan consider themselves as 'middle class'. They don't mix that often so they think their lifestyle is the typical 'middle class' lifestyle.
The racial issue is probably used to keep people from seeing what is actually the most important divisions in a society. This is why class lines remain quite rigid in the US and most people seem fine with that. When the issue is racial, even if social class remains untouched, US Americans become uneasy.
The caste-like nature of AA's is clearly mannifested in certain popular sayings. For example, if an AA manages to rise above the rest and becomes important, their will alwas be someone that will say something like "but you are still black", sort of saying 'don't think too highly of yourself because you still belong to an inferior caste and that will be the case until the day you die.'
If we here were not being flooded with millions of Illegal aliens most of which are of a "different race" we most likely wouldn't pay much attention. Its like the native americans living here before the country was colonized by Europeans . Then the "race" of the colonist was also very much a noticeable thing. Its human nature.If the illegals and their third world habits were to leave I believe the interest in them would go down..
But...weren't Americans illegal immigrants in Spanish, French and Mexican land?
Weren't they invited courteously and granted lands and instead of behaving like decent human beings, they perpretated uprisings with the help of the American army installing bogus banana republics, that were just excuses to join the Union? If those illegals squatters were to leave and return to wherever they came from, the interest in them would go down.
I think that since there are so many origins, and people are so "muttsy" in the US, that they use race as a form of identity....but I never understood what kind of identity is that.
For example, most Americans that purport to be white are a barrage of Irish, Polish, Italian, Ukranian, somebody hidden in the woodpile, some Comanche, Jew,.....and a large etcetera....but for the most part, such "totus revolutum" does not imply any identity because they all share the same American culture, and are completely ignorant if the culture of their remote ancestors.
They love to put down mestizo Mexicans, but curiously enough they have a clear identity, and are more faithful to their historical background.
People in the US may not focus so much on class, but I wouldn't say classism is a small thing. People of different social classes usually don't mix. Nationwide there are entire town based on social standing and ceraint people avoid certain places because its either too uppity or trashy. Also, Americans from different social classes tend to think differently, they see the world differently, and they even think of themselves differently.
It also appears that Americans from the upper scale tend to be much more alike in mannerisms, culture, way of seeing the world; regardless of race. It seems that in the lower levels there are many more divisions and many of these division take place along racial/ethnic lines.
Then there are the African Americans that have been considered to be a separate caste, similar to the untouchables of India. This caste-like treatment that historically has been applied to AA's probably explains the higher race focus that exist among AA's. It seems that people from other ethnic group always found a level of reconciliation among themselves, but this was simply not an option for whomever was categorized in the most despised caste.
Lastly, the fact that in the US there is an interesting phenomenon where most people consider themselves to be 'middle class' regardless if they are or not, speaks volumes about the deep social class divisions that exist in this country. That's the only way that a working class person and an upper middle class personcan consider themselves as 'middle class'. They don't mix that often so they think their lifestyle is the typical 'middle class' lifestyle.
The racial issue is probably used to keep people from seeing what is actually the most important divisions in a society. This is why class lines remain quite rigid in the US and most people seem fine with that. When the issue is racial, even if social class remains untouched, US Americans become uneasy.
The caste-like nature of AA's is clearly mannifested in certain popular sayings. For example, if an AA manages to rise above the rest and becomes important, their will alwas be someone that will say something like "but you are still black", sort of saying 'don't think too highly of yourself because you still belong to an inferior caste and that will be the case until the day you die.'
Great post Antonio. let's not forget to add to the last paragraph that phenomenon when blacks move up, they often get ridiculed from other blacks and called things like "sell out". Almost making it sound as if being successful is a betrayal.
The caste-like nature of AA's is clearly mannifested in certain popular sayings. .'
AAs are a good deal less trapped in a caste than are afrodescendants in virtually EVERY Latin American country. We do have a large black middle class. Indeed more blacks are now middle class than are "ghetto". The numbers of males attending college has doubled over the past 20 years, and images of successful blacks are every where on US media. Indeed Edward Olmos told Tavis Smiley (yes he has his OWN program....how many people looking like him in Latin America do) that blacks in the USA account for about 17% of the screen images. Will Smith and others are huge box office hits. Large numbers of ads these days have a blacks in upper middle class roles.
Can you tell me whether I will see as many on El Globo in Brazil, or in Colombia?
So it turns out that these "race obsessed" AAs are making some degree of progress. Certainly more than their brothers in Latin America, despite this country's sordid history of extreme racism.
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