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I think it's fascinating, personally. My family has been here for hundreds of years (everyone I've traced so far originates in England and emigrating to America from the 1600's to mid-1700's), and so I have no personal experience with ethnic areas. Read historical accounts, of course, and heard stories from DH's family, but that's about it. They came to the Niagara Falls/Buffalo, NY area, where there is a substantial Polish population.
My heritage is pretty identical to yours on my Mom's side, although on my Dad's side I'm descended from German Quakers and Mennonites who moved from colonial Pennsylvania down to Virginia, and eventually settled in the Midwest and Great Plains as farmers and ranchers before the civil war.
I think the story of more recent immigrants is fascinating as well. In the Midwest and Great Plains states like Nebraska and the Dakotas, little rural ethnic communities are very common. Every little town has some kind of annual celebration, usually around that heritage and its food and music. It's a lot of fun. I think that history is one reason why people out here are more welcoming to "newcomers" like the Hispanics coming here to work in our meat packing industry and in construction. We haven't forgot that we were all newcomers not that long ago either, and people out here respect hard work. Most of the new immigrants I know work their backsides off, and they make sure their kids get the education they didn't have the opportunity to get. That's why I don't get the hostility toward the man who just won powerball--he sounds like the type of person that we WANT to come to this country.
If you want to read a great book about the Czech immigrants in Nebraska, try My Antonia by Willa Cather, or any number of Cather's books. Another great Nebraska pioneer author is Mari Sandoz, who was the daughter of Swiss pioneers, and wrote some amazing books about the early immigrant pioneer history of the state, including my favorite, Old Jules.
The guy who won? Dang, he was here for 26 years and just hit the Big One. He probably LOVES this country.
Here's an idea: You could be happy for him. Life is hard. His just got a whole lot easier. I say, "Good for him." He won. You, on the other hand, speak English but..... gosh....... continue complaining because you didn't, lol. Gotta love the irony on that one!
My heritage is pretty identical to yours on my Mom's side, although on my Dad's side I'm descended from German Quakers and Mennonites who moved from colonial Pennsylvania down to Virginia, and eventually settled in the Midwest and Great Plains as farmers and ranchers before the civil war.
I think the story of more recent immigrants is fascinating as well. In the Midwest and Great Plains states like Nebraska and the Dakotas, little rural ethnic communities are very common. Every little town has some kind of annual celebration, usually around that heritage and its food and music. It's a lot of fun. I think that history is one reason why people out here are more welcoming to "newcomers" like the Hispanics coming here to work in our meat packing industry and in construction. We haven't forgot that we were all newcomers not that long ago either, and people out here respect hard work. Most of the new immigrants I know work their backsides off, and they make sure their kids get the education they didn't have the opportunity to get. That's why I don't get the hostility toward the man who just won powerball--he sounds like the type of person that we WANT to come to this country.
If you want to read a great book about the Czech immigrants in Nebraska, try My Antonia by Willa Cather, or any number of Cather's books. Another great Nebraska pioneer author is Mari Sandoz, who was the daughter of Swiss pioneers, and wrote some amazing books about the early immigrant pioneer history of the state, including my favorite, Old Jules.
Thanks for the book recs - My Antonia happened to be free for Kindle, so I got that, and a sample of the other one. New reading, yay!
We spent twenty years in Tucson; we saw a lot of hard-working immigrants, and their children. You can usually tell by the accents who was born here, and who was not - going back to the immigrant, first gen, second gen thing.
In this area, the primary non-English immigrant group seems to have been Italian. There's an Italian festival every year in Wilmington, and oh, the names! People generally think of the Amish/Pennsylvania Dutch, but their presence is notable due to their unwillingness to completely assimilate. But, since they are European in origin, people find it charming instead of offensive.
Learn English for the respect of this country? HAHA load of crap! I don't give a rat's ass. Just be a legal immigrant and contribute to society. Pay your taxes and don't commit crime. It's all good!
Enabling communities that shelter people from outside ethnic culture. I worked with a buddy a few years back on a parking lot project in Albuquerque, NM and one of the guys there was born in town, in his early 70's and couldn't speak any English. Never had to. Much of Texas and California are the same way.
I have met plenty of Canadians who don't speak either English or French. So freakin what!!!!! If that is any skin off my AZZ I need to get a freakin life. It's actually their loss if they isolate themselves like that.
Some of the comments in this thread just confirm that there are SO many American xenophoblc freaks out there.
The guy who won? Dang, he was here for 26 years and just hit the Big One. He probably LOVES this country.
Here's an idea: You could be happy for him. Life is hard. His just got a whole lot easier. I say, "Good for him." He won. You, on the other hand, speak English but..... gosh....... continue complaining because you didn't, lol. Gotta love the irony on that one!
If he immigrated here 26 years ago and never bothered to learn the language thats hostility toward American culture.
Enabling communities that shelter people from outside ethnic culture. I worked with a buddy a few years back on a parking lot project in Albuquerque, NM and one of the guys there was born in town, in his early 70's and couldn't speak any English. Never had to. Much of Texas and California are the same way.
American English is not Ethnic & its certainly not outside culture.
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Life is hard. His just got a whole lot easier. I say, "Good for him." He won. You, on the other hand, speak English but..... gosh....... continue complaining because you didn't, lol. Gotta love the irony on that one!
