4 ms·

Why would "assimilation" be a goal? Of course giving children opportunity to learn (including the local language) is good, but pretending a single culture and w

Why would "assimilation" be a goal? Of course giving children opportunity to learn (including the local language) is good, but pretending a single culture and way of life needs to be shared among everyone is an imperialist construct. Not everyone born to a land shares the same culture. There are huge cultural shifts between faiths and political sides, for example, and it's not a problem. A society that is not multicultural has a settler's mentality which is profoundly racist. For example here in France, at the same time the colonial process aimed to destroy local cultures in the colonies in Algeria/Indochine/etc, public schools were used as a weapon to destroy the local cultures and languages in Bretagne, Alsace, Occitanie, etc... A few generations of beating children who spoke their native tongue, suggesting that french was a somehow superior language (and assimulation was a requirement), was enough to annihilate most local cultures. EDIT: I also don't understand why "reliance on safety net" would be a bad thing. There's a reason such mechanisms are in place, and one's contribution to society can hardly be measured in purely economic terms.

newsclues 5y ago
It’s the two factors, failure to assimilate and heavy use of social safety net. It’s the combination of failing to respect the local culture and refusing to contribute and extract benefits without giving back. You wouldn’t like if I moved into your house, didn’t respect your way of life and just ate your food.
- southerntofu 5y ago
  > failing to respect the local culture Assimilation and respect are not the same. If anything, there's strong incentives for immigrants to respect the local culture and to assimilate. I dare bet there's more respect for the flag and symbols of a nation from immigrants than from natives themselves, in proportion. I've often found myself in situations where immigrants despite facing very rude situations were telling me all the great things about France, and praising Napoléon's conquests. And it's required of them as part of the legally-mandated racist assimilation process (in France at least). Many french people i know spit on the national flag and despise Napoléon for being a bloody tyrant and colonizer. > extract benefits without giving back Source? Even if you do have stats, they would be skewed by the fact illegals are often unaccounted, and that most immigrants (students, asylum seekers) are not allowed by law to work and declare income. Also, measuring in purely economical terms fails to account for participation in society outside of work: school trips, local associations, arts, militant activities... > You wouldn’t like if I moved into your house, didn’t respect your way of life and just ate your food. Of course not, but my house is my house and i don't appreciate anyone dictating me how it should be run, not even the State. Outside of my house, there's an abundance of food and housing and other resources. Who am i to dictate how other people should live? Who gets to decide what's "respect" or not? There's not a single way of life that's fairer than others, and even within a same ethnic group / region you'll find plenty of different ways of life and cultures.

newsclues 5y ago

It’s the two factors, failure to assimilate and heavy use of social safety net. It’s the combination of failing to respect the local culture and refusing to contribute and extract benefits without giving back. You wouldn’t like if I moved into your house, didn’t respect your way of life and just ate your food.

southerntofu 5y ago
> failing to respect the local culture Assimilation and respect are not the same. If anything, there's strong incentives for immigrants to respect the local culture and to assimilate. I dare bet there's more respect for the flag and symbols of a nation from immigrants than from natives themselves, in proportion. I've often found myself in situations where immigrants despite facing very rude situations were telling me all the great things about France, and praising Napoléon's conquests. And it's required of them as part of the legally-mandated racist assimilation process (in France at least). Many french people i know spit on the national flag and despise Napoléon for being a bloody tyrant and colonizer. > extract benefits without giving back Source? Even if you do have stats, they would be skewed by the fact illegals are often unaccounted, and that most immigrants (students, asylum seekers) are not allowed by law to work and declare income. Also, measuring in purely economical terms fails to account for participation in society outside of work: school trips, local associations, arts, militant activities... > You wouldn’t like if I moved into your house, didn’t respect your way of life and just ate your food. Of course not, but my house is my house and i don't appreciate anyone dictating me how it should be run, not even the State. Outside of my house, there's an abundance of food and housing and other resources. Who am i to dictate how other people should live? Who gets to decide what's "respect" or not? There's not a single way of life that's fairer than others, and even within a same ethnic group / region you'll find plenty of different ways of life and cultures.