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Why does living next to someone else destroy an ethnic identity? Does a chinese family moving into an italian neighborhood all of a sudden mean that no one can

Why does living next to someone else destroy an ethnic identity? Does a chinese family moving into an italian neighborhood all of a sudden mean that no one can open an italian restaurant? If there is a German festival one weekend, does that mean they can't have a Scottish highland festival the next weekend in the same venue? Does a Russian family moving in next door mean that I have to start drinking Vodka instead of Rum? No, of course not ... all of those are ridiculous statements, because the truth is that the only reason you would not want to live near someone else, is because you (not you personally, in the general sense) don't like that someone else. Clamoring on about "maintaining your ethnic identity" is just a dogwhistle ... and masks the true underlying racist/xenophobic underpinnings of that person's mindset.

Oxitendwe 9y ago
>Does a chinese family moving into an italian neighborhood all of a sudden mean that no one can open an italian restaurant? No. It does mean a lot of other things though, like a vastly increased chance of chinese/italian intermarriage for their descendants, which means their descendants will not share your ethnic identity - it will be destroyed. Whether you think that's a good or a bad thing is an entirely different matter. >the only reason you would not want to live near someone else, is because you (not you personally, in the general sense) don't like that someone else. Not liking someone is not the same as not wanting your descendants to be like them. Wanting for yourself (or, your group) is not the same as hatred of everyone else.
- CodeCube 9y ago
  There it is ... respectfully, I hope your mindset is extinguished and rendered extinct soon. Disrespectfully ... well, I won't share my disrespectful thoughts here; just know that they exist.
  - deleted 9y ago
    [deleted]
  - ryandrake 9y ago
    I give the guy credit for at least admitting his point of view, disgusting as it is. We can down-vote him on HN and wish extinction upon his mindset, but the scary reality is, at least in the U.S. that his mindset is now spreading, after a long period of time where it was declining. It's not enough to hope that it's extinguished--you have to actively fight it.
- ABCLAW 9y ago
  So the actual issue here is that the 'pure' bloodline might be tainted? Oh boy. The cat is out of the bag. If this was actually about 'culture', we'd have a different discussion here. Nothing prevents a chinese/italian family from making dumplings and home-curing some pancetta. If anything that seems like a pasta/noodle dream-team of family. The cultural elements that make up an ethnic identity are remixed over time, and the ones that work tend to stick around. Is there some creative destruction that happens there? Sure. But that's the norm, not the exception. Plenty of great stuff comes out of it. We wouldn't have chicago-style deep-dish if all the italians had to stay in Italy and use fior di latte and mozzarella di bufala exclusively.
- hx87 9y ago
  > which means their descendants will not share your ethnic identity - it will be destroyed Mixed and combined, not destroyed. Besides, where to draw the line? Should Calabrians and Sicilians not live next to each other? Cantonese and Hakka?

Oxitendwe 9y ago

>Does a chinese family moving into an italian neighborhood all of a sudden mean that no one can open an italian restaurant? No. It does mean a lot of other things though, like a vastly increased chance of chinese/italian intermarriage for their descendants, which means their descendants will not share your ethnic identity - it will be destroyed. Whether you think that's a good or a bad thing is an entirely different matter. >the only reason you would not want to live near someone else, is because you (not you personally, in the general sense) don't like that someone else. Not liking someone is not the same as not wanting your descendants to be like them. Wanting for yourself (or, your group) is not the same as hatred of everyone else.

CodeCube 9y ago
There it is ... respectfully, I hope your mindset is extinguished and rendered extinct soon. Disrespectfully ... well, I won't share my disrespectful thoughts here; just know that they exist.
- deleted 9y ago
  [deleted]
- ryandrake 9y ago
  I give the guy credit for at least admitting his point of view, disgusting as it is. We can down-vote him on HN and wish extinction upon his mindset, but the scary reality is, at least in the U.S. that his mindset is now spreading, after a long period of time where it was declining. It's not enough to hope that it's extinguished--you have to actively fight it.
ABCLAW 9y ago
So the actual issue here is that the 'pure' bloodline might be tainted? Oh boy. The cat is out of the bag. If this was actually about 'culture', we'd have a different discussion here. Nothing prevents a chinese/italian family from making dumplings and home-curing some pancetta. If anything that seems like a pasta/noodle dream-team of family. The cultural elements that make up an ethnic identity are remixed over time, and the ones that work tend to stick around. Is there some creative destruction that happens there? Sure. But that's the norm, not the exception. Plenty of great stuff comes out of it. We wouldn't have chicago-style deep-dish if all the italians had to stay in Italy and use fior di latte and mozzarella di bufala exclusively.
hx87 9y ago
> which means their descendants will not share your ethnic identity - it will be destroyed Mixed and combined, not destroyed. Besides, where to draw the line? Should Calabrians and Sicilians not live next to each other? Cantonese and Hakka?