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The census says the native born population has been over 86% for well over a century, so (assuming commonplace xenophobia) most of us have no living ancestors w
by prodigal_erik 17y ago
The census says the native born population has been over 86% for well over a century, so (assuming commonplace xenophobia) most of us have no living ancestors who immigrated. And I think there has long been a perception that emigration is such a drastic step that most were either raised by a poorly-functioning society (which they are now fleeing) or not highly valued by their society (which basically got rid of them). Even the proverbial "poor, tired, huddled massses" weren't eagerly welcomed, and they were racially and culturally more similar to the average native (and more willing to assimilate) than many immigrants today.
- foldr 17y ago>and they were racially and culturally more similar to the average native You're speaking as if there were some completely objective and ahistorical measure of racial and cultural similarity. Many of these groups are considered to be racially and culturally similar to the "average native" today precisely _because_ they immigrated some time ago. Italians, for example, were not considered to be white even up to the mid 20th century.
- prodigal_erik 17y agoThere are degrees of it. Italians got the "slaves of the antichrist pope" and "don't let your kid marry one" hate, but not the "they don't have souls like human beings" or "they're secretly cannibals" hate.