An ugly reality

[Stephanie]

Apr 18, 2006
by Thomas Sowell ( bio | archive | contact )

Thank heaven for the massive marches across the country by those favoring illegal immigrants. These marches revealed the ugly truth behind the fog of pious words and clever political spin from the media and from both Democrats and Republicans in Washington.
"Guest workers"? Did any of the strident speakers, with their in-your-face bombast in Spanish, sound like guests? Did they sound like people who wanted to become Americans?

Were they even asking for amnesty? They didn't sound like they were asking for anything. They sounded like they were telling. Demanding. Threatening.

Somebody must have told them that their Mexican flags that dominated the earlier marches were not making a good impression on television, so they started flying American flags. But such cosmetic changes did not keep the ugly reality from coming through in their hostile speeches.


These were not the speeches of people who wanted to join American society but people who wanted their own turf on American soil -- in disregard and defiance of what American citizens want.

Europe has already been through this "guest worker" policy that we are being urged to follow. They have learned the hard way what it means to have a growing foreign population in their midst -- a population that insists on remaining foreign and hostile to the culture, values and people around them.

Some European countries have learned this lesson at the cost of riots and bloodshed in the streets and lives lost in terrorist attacks. Others have only had to contend with national polarization -- thus far -- but polarization is not a small thing.

In this country, however, there are still people who refuse to learn any lesson at all. Some business interests see only an opportunity to get cheap labor. Some intellectuals see only abstract principles about abstract people crossing an abstract border.

Some tell us loftily that earlier generations of immigrants who were once thought to be unassimilable turned out over time to become as American as anyone else and patriotic citizens.

That might well be true of immigrants from Mexico, both legal and illegal, if the circumstances of today were the same as the circumstances during an earlier era of immigration from Europe. But circumstances are not the same -- and those circumstances are not going to become the same by pretending that they are.

The ugly display of grievance-mongering bombast at the illegal immigrant marches is just one of those circumstances that are not the same as in an earlier era.

When people came here from Europe, they came here to become Americans. There was no prouder title for them.

American generals of German ancestry led the fight against Germany in both World Wars. The Irish "Fighting 69th" earned its fame on the battlefields of the First World War and Japanese American fighting units were among the most highly decorated in World War II. They proved they were Americans.

The underlying tragedy of the present situation is that it is doubtful whether the activist loudmouths, who were too contemptuous of this country to even speak its language while demanding its benefits, represent most immigrants from Mexico.

Both legal and illegal immigrants have come here primarily to work and make a better life for themselves and their families. But a country requires more than workers. It requires people who are citizens not only in name but in commitment.

Americanization did not happen automatically in earlier times and it will not happen automatically today. Immigrants in an earlier era had leaders and organizations actively working to transform them into Americans -- the Catholic Church with the Irish and numerous organizations among the Jews, for example.

Today's immigrant activists and the politicians who kowtow to them have just the opposite agenda, to keep foreigners foreign and to make other Americans accept and adjust to that. It will be a national tragedy if they succeed.

Just what problem will amnesty solve? Illegal aliens will benefit and politicians will benefit by sweeping the illegality under the rug by making it legal. But how will American citizens benefit? America can lose big time.


Thomas Sowell is the prolific author of books such as Black Rednecks and White Liberals and Applied Economics.

http://www.townhall.com/opinion/columns/thomassowell/2006/04/18/193984.html

 

[Annie]

I don't know why, but that reminded me of this:


http://www.nerepublican.com/index.php/2006/04/16/the-pretty-american/

The Pretty American
Sunday 16 April 2006 @ 10:23 am

or, how to avoid an international incident for less than $20,000US a day!

[UPDATE] Welcome Little Green Footballs readers and thanks for the link! Please look around and check out the rest of NER.

Americans tourists have pretty much always been regarded as “ugly” in the sense that we have the temerity to be wealthy enough to afford vacations to foreign countries, then show up over there and instead of just handing over our traveler’s checks or credit cards, we actually talk, dress and act in an American fashion.

Well I’m sure that’s news to you, as a typical ignorant American barbarian, stomping around the Rue des Pommes de Terre in your Nikes and NUKE IRAN T-shirt, unwittingly giving the US of A and President George “Dubya” Bush a bad name tarry-hootin’ around with your provincial monkeyshines. So, ok, now that you know you are an unsophisticated clodhopper, how can you avoid that embarrassing faux pas (Fr.; literally, “fart in church”) that can turn a lovely overseas visit with our foreign friends into a blood vendetta that engulfs even your children’s children?

Today’s online News Telegraph sports an article of interest and educational value (file under: inter-cational) for all y’all stateside yokels; ‘Speak softly, don’t argue and slow down’ By Philip Sherwell which instructs the boorish American Tourist thusly:

Loud and brash, in gawdy garb and baseball caps, more than three million of them flock to our shores every year. Shuffling between tourist sites or preparing to negotiate a business deal, they bemoan the failings of the world outside the United States.

Its well known that gawdy, colourful garb is frowned upon, especially in African or Latin American countries, so go with the earth tones, people. And if you’re visiting Mexico or Ecuador, a large, jauntily embroidered sombrero would be much more appropriate than a baseball cap for formal occassions, particularly. A scarlet fez with purple piping and a festive gold tassle is also suitable for almost any situation in any country.

“World Citizens Guide” features 16 etiquette tips on how they can help improve America’s battered international image. The guide offers a series of “simple suggestions” under the slogan, “Help your country while you travel for your company”. The advice targets a series of common American traits and includes:

• Think as big as you like but talk and act smaller. (In many countries, any form of boasting is considered very rude. Talking about wealth, power or status - corporate or personal - can create resentment.)

One way you can help avoid “boasting” is avoid throwing money around like a big shot. Tip very meagerly, if at all. Your foreign hosts, taxi drivers and concierges will appreciate your humbleness and lack of braggadocio. This does not include bribing law enforcement officials, who should get a gratuity on a scale of five times the amount of your fine. Hand it over before they have to ask for it, to avoid embarassment or inconvenient, lengthy incarcerations.

Also, don’t pontificate about the luxuries we enjoy back home, like indoor plumbing, toothpaste and shoes.

• Save the lectures for your kids. (Whatever your subject of discussion, let it be a discussion not a lecture. Justified or not, the US is seen as imposing its will on the world.)

Whether rudely forcing Nazies to leave Western Europe or bossily pressuring the U.S.S.R. out of Eastern Europe, history shows that the U.S. is always “imposing its will” like that. You might think people would be grateful, but you’d be wrong, dead wrong. Its considered bad form to remind your snotty French waiter that he’d be serving crappy, greasy, overpriced weinerschnitzel instead of crappy, greasy overpriced Chaussons aux Framboises if it wasn’t for American G.I.s, when you send back your meal for more sauces.

• Slow down. (We talk fast, eat fast, move fast, live fast. Many cultures do not.)

Its best to drive at a sedate 20 mph (or in Europe, 12.5 hectares per hogshead). Try to take as long as possible to order your meals, asking about each and every item on the menu, whether or not it contains any dog, and how it is prepared. Once you receive your meal, taking 5-6 hours minimum to savor the meal (then taking a short nap at your table) is considered about right in any country with electricity. Send all meat and poultry dishes back to the kitchen repeatedly with compliments to the chef and requesting “otra MSG por favor!” to show your “savoir faire” (Fr.; term meaning “classiness” and/or “toilet-trained”)

And for God’s sake, don’t talk fast in the bossy, rude American fashion. Talk slowly and deliberately, like our Cuban, Mexican, Italian and Central-American cousins.

• If you talk politics, talk - don’t argue. (Steer clear of arguments about American politics, even if someone is attacking US politicians or policies. Agree to disagree.)

This is especially true in Middle-Eastern countries where the natives may engage in the quaint local debating tactic of cutting off your head if you insist on American-type customs and freedoms (like being set free) in their more “restrictive” society.

The guide goes on with helpful tips like “don’t dress too casually” and “allow locals to dump on America and American citizens at will and take it like a good little doggy”, but I thought of a few suggestions myself that have helped me overseas.

• Foreigners have a great sense of humor. In the spirit of inclusiveness, try to tell as many American jokes as you can about their particular ethnic or national group. You’ll have a great time enjoying a hearty laugh together when you explain “Estonian women don’t use them because it chips their teeth!”

• Another humourous gambit is doing an ethnic “impression” to show your hosts how their country and countrymen are portrayed in America. You might consider acting out a skit involving famous foreign comedic figures like Pepe Le Pue, Commandant Klink (Hogan!! shake fist) the Frito Bandito, Boris Badinov or Jacques Chirac, for example.

• In the spirit of international brotherhood and comraderie, point out how things in the United States are much like the things in the country you are visiting, except ours are usually bigger, nicer, newer and cleaner. Remark on how cool it will be when they knock down all these useless old hovels and put up a sparkling new Wal-Mart.

• In an effort to improve communication, adopt an accent copying the people you meet, even if you are still speaking English. Speaking very loudly also helps.

• To help clarify why most Americans prefer baseball, football or even lacrosse, figure skating or Bassmaster to soccer, helpfully explain in detail and at length how stupid soccer is to most Americans.

• Don’t be afraid to ask questions and show interest in your hosts’ country. “Why does this place smell so bad?” is a good conversation starter. “Why are all the children so ugly in this prefecture? Is it something in the water?” is a fine way to hone your international rapport skills.

• Especially in France, discuss cooking and your satisfaction with your meals. “Regardez, mon goût d’hamburger au fromage comme un chat mort” is a happy way to begin a friendly dialogue. Don’t forget to instruct your kids on how to gracefully accept the surrender of any French soldiers they might encounter.

• Bone up on the most popular names in the country you are visiting and use them to address waiters, bellmen, taxi drivers, clergymen etc. Its a more personal way of communicating, for instance in Italy, you would say “Hey Guido, howsa ’bout you get my bags up to my room tutti allegro?” Avoid overly casual terms like “greaseball” or “croissant-jockey” unless you are speaking using informal conversational English.

• Group singing of ethnic songs is a traditional bonding ritual in many foreign countries. Feel free to shout out your own typical, uniquely American folk song and lead the group in a rousing chorus of “Shizzle My Nizzle”

H to the izz-O, V to the izz-A
Fo’ shizzle my nizzle used to dribble down in PA
Was herbin’ em in the home o’ the turbans
H to the izz-O, V to the izz-A
Fo’ sheezy my neezy keep my arms so greasy
Can’t leave rap alone the game needs me
(repeat chorus)

Using these and many other tips, like belching or flatulating loudly to indicate satisfaction with your meal; deeply kissing your host’s wife and gently fondling her buttocks in the Finnish manner to show your appreciation for their hospitality; breaking any dishes, windows or mirrors you see for luck; “busting a cap” in celebration of a goal scored (typically soccer goals are scored several times every 5-10 games, so remember to reload between periods); etc, will help you blend right in with the natives and show proper respect to almost any backward, impoverished, god-forsaken foreign country, and help promote understanding and love between dirty foreigners and decent Americans the world over.