<p>So this is a discussion thread. Hopefully it won't turn into a namecalling thread or anything of the kind. </p>
<p>Basically, the whole idea of multiculturanism has been embraced (for some reason) and is now spreading in our country. At least where I live (South Florida), practially every school has a "multicultural club". </p>
<p>What are your thoughts on this? We have kids of Indian ancestry growing up saying: "I want to marry an Indian. I want Indian kids. I want an Indian family" because their parents have brainwashed them into it since they were kids. </p>
<p>We have people of Cuban ancestry waving a the flag of a communist country in our nation. I mean yes, we have freedom of speech and they are free to do whatever they want. But if they love Cuba so much, why are they here in the first place? Same with Mexico. Same with India. </p>
<p>People don't seem to realize that this kind of thought is what ends up splitting countries. As long as we have immigrants who DO NOT assimilate to our culture and who DON'T want to in the first place, we will have isolated communities sprouting out.</p>
<p>Imagine if the entire West is invaded by a bigger flood of Mexicans. If they don't want to assimilate into our culture, we'd end up with a conflict like the Canada-Quebec problem. Where half of the people don't feel like they belong and want to divide the country. </p>
<p>^ Many of them are here because of the harsh conditions in their countries. Just because life is rough in their country, though, does not mean they should not be proud of their heritage. And people show their traditions in different ways. If they don't believe in interracial marriage, that should be okay. It's their perogative. I know plenty of caucasion people who wouldn't marry outside of their race. And, just saying, but your post is coming off a little harsh...</p>
<p>You started the "HELP! Where do I FIT???" thread wherein you state you're "Hispanic," so your concerns seem curious. You seem to have a problem with Indians, Cubans and Mexicans, which is odd for someone who self-identifies as Hispanic. Most people who admit to having a problem with Indian, Cuban and Mexican immigrants have a problem with all Hispanics.</p>
<p>No I never said I had a problem with Hispanics or anyone of any race. I said I had a problem with people not willing to adapt to our culture. </p>
<p>And the thing with me being Hispanic is... odd? It's what I don't understand from the examples stated that makes me angry. Yes, racially I am Hispanic. But it ends there. I am American. My "fellow people" means fellow Americans (regardless of you been white, or black, or mexican, or indian, or whatever). </p>
<p>However, there are certain people that like the examples mentioned, consider "their" people to be a certain nationality or race. What I mean is that if you come down to South Florida, an astonishing number of people don't consider themselves "American" even though you know, they live here, eat here, work here, they are here. Permanently.</p>
<p>Instead, they discriminate against all others that do not "belong" in "their" people. Which is the main point of the OP of "multiculturanism". I think people should assimilate to American culture and not try and hold on to whatever they brought from somewhere else. Especially because (at least from what I've seen) they discriminate against all other groups. Most of the kids I know from my school are this way. Say their parents are from Pakistan. They will have parties in which every single person present is also from Pakistan. They only hang out with people of Pakistan ancestry. They only date people from Pakistan ancestry. If you ask them where they are from, they will never say "America" and instead say "Pakistan."</p>
<p>What I meant, is that that seems awfully ungrateful to me. So far, I haven't heard any convincing argument from the opposite side (pro multiculturanism).</p>
<p>Why is what you are saying bad? Why is it bad for people to only associate with people from their culture? Why is it bad for people to say that they are from the place that they are from? I am from Philadelphia, and, even though I live in Virginia, if someone asked me where I was from I would say Philadelphia. Just because people do not hang out with people from other cultures does not mean that they hate people from other cultures. They just feel most comfortable with people from their own culture. They should not have become "Americanized." Maybe you think that it is neccessary for them to embrace the American culture, but maybe they don't want to. Don't get me wrong, though- I love learning about other cultures and I feel that it is important to embrace many different ethnicities. But those are MY opinions. Other people have different opinions. And that is okay. It doesn't mean that they are ungrateful. And who should they be grateful to? Whatever success they have, they earned it. They worked hard and came up in the world. They should only be grateful towards themselves.</p>
<p>MultiCULTURAL clubs embrace the CULTURE of the member's country of origin...</p>
<p>the members are HERE because that country of origins happens to lack basic freedoms, or whatever other reason floats their boat. god, don't be so judgmental.</p>
<p>
[quote]
isolated communities sprouting up
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<p>i'd like to inform you that such communities already exist. i.e., amish settlements, native american reservations, black ghettos, 100% white suburbs, amexica towns, etc etc etc. are these bad? no. people are drawn to their own kind--accept this fact.</p>
<p>To add to what Beefs said only 0.9% of the population of America is made up of Native Americans. Which shows that, generally, we are all immigrants to this country. </p>
<p>That's the whole Melting Pot vs. Salad Bowl debate. </p>
<p>And okay, Im quoting Tom Tancredo here. I know he might not be the most credible source. I am not a fan of him. I just read his arguments and thought they were pretty logical:</p>
<p>
[quote]
Throughout history, America has absorbed waves of immigration and preserved a shared national identity by assimilating newcomers into the great "melting pot." But many Americans have begun to wonder whether or not the "melting pot" is still melting—or if it has been replaced by a "salad bowl."
[/quote]
</p>
<p>
[quote]
The "melting pot" has taken on all comers since the 19th century—and the melting pot has always won. But the current scope, duration, and wave of immigration (both legal and illegal) presents a challenge for the melting pot like none ever seen before. In the first place, never before has America taken on such a disproportionate amount of immigrants from one geographic part of the world. Nearly half of our legal immigration and about 90% of our illegal immigration is from Central and South America and is Spanish-speaking.
<p>I think it makes sense. Don't get me wrong, I am not insulting anyone or anything. I am trying to look at both sides of the argument in order to get an informed position. So far though, the salad bowl argument is the one that makes more sense to me. </p>
<p>I thought you CC'ers would come up with convincing arguments pro and con of the issue, which would be interesting to see.</p>
<p>I know, I was just trying to say that I would rather have a mixture of different cultures than one "American" culture, because that is what Metdeth seems to be arguing...</p>
<p>De facto segregation has always existed. The immigrants to this country never really mixed, they always lived separately, creating their own ethnic neighborhoods. It's always been the children of immigrants who take up the American culture, not the immigrants themselves.</p>