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> This week I learned on this very forum the US opened up to non-EU immigrants only after 1965? What? The stereotype of Asian laborers working (and dying) to
by simoncion 11y ago
> This week I learned on this very forum the US opened up to non-EU immigrants only after 1965?
What?
The stereotype of Asian laborers working (and dying) to build the great Western railroads is grounded in a fair bit of truth. Moreover, San Francisco's Chinatown acquired the Asian residents that lead to its name long before 1965.
- the-dude 11y agoI stand corrected: they were just second class citizens. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_laws_concerning_immigration_and_naturalization_in_the_United_States https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_laws_concerning_imm...
- simoncion 11y agoIt seems likely that there will always be at least one group of second-class citizens. The overall quality of life for humans appears to be increasing as the decades and centuries go by, but -frankly- I don't see our tendency to create outgroups going away for a very, very, very long time. Not to be mean, but I'm having some difficulty understanding how your contributions to this subthread are related to the topic broached by rm_-rf_slash.
- the-dude 11y ago> instead of embracing the source of America's strength I am trying to put this narrative into perspective.
- simoncion 11y agoAh. I expect that -if you make a close study of history-, you'll find that "[America's greatest strength is its ability to assimilate people and ideas into something greater than the sum of its parts as] long as [those people] are white and [those people and ideas are] christian..." is a statement that isn't supported by the facts. Xenophobia and racism was and is real, yes. But, -culturally and ideologically- the US has been and remains substantially less homogenous and substantially more willing to accept immigrants into its borders than many other countries.