Lest we forget “Among those who despised them the most were the second-generation Irish, whose fathers had been guilty of the same crimes. Irish kids pulled the beards of old Jews and knocked them down. They upended the pushcarts of Italian peddlers.” E.L. Doctorow writing about immigrants from Western and Eastern Europe circa 1905.
People are always afraid of those different from themselves. That fear grows into an ingrained prejudice passed on to other generation until someone is smart enough to recognize that fear and prejudice of perceived differences is ignorant.
Embrace those differences. Do you eat spaghetti and meatballs, lasagna, croissants, curry dishes, Collard greens, Chinese food, guacamole, burritos, tortillas? All American foods or do you actually like something from other cultures? There are people and cultures associated with those foods. It’s not just about the food.
Like generations before, all ethnicities experienced and still do experience prejudices. I remember what it was like growing up different from my peers. Sometimes it’s words, all too often it becomes threats that incite violence. Just ask the Native Americans of their treatment over the years.
It has been made very obvious these past 2+ years that it has become socially acceptable to show prejudice with pride, because after all White Nationalists, aka Nazis, are good people too.
America is the Land of the Free and Home of the Brave, E Pluribus Unum (out of many, one: the motto of the United States). You are a good American as long as you can hide behind Social Media or the President. Allow yourself to believe the lies told by Fox Opinion hosts and conservative newsletters and websites, go to Church on Sunday to show the world what a good person you are on the outside. As the catch phrase of the 30’s and 40’s put it, you’re “Free, white and 21.”
The Media Master had them chanting “Lock her up” long after the election and far into his Presidency. He needed a new catch phrase and ignorantly told people who were born here to go back where they came from!
It really saddens me to hear chants of “Send her back”, with a 13 second pause to let it sink in and make sure it sticks. Check into your own ethnic background and history. It wasn’t that long ago when your parents, grandparents, great grandparents, etc. heard those same words.
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