Native Speaker the Evil Called Assimilation Assimilation

¶ … Native Speaker

THE EVIL CALLED ASSIMILATION

Assimilation has been one of the most burning questions of debate in the U.S. since immigrants became a dominant part of American population. The question that arose was: to assimilate or not to assimilate? Most immigrants especially the second generation immigrants were given lessons in the evils of assimilation and they were asked to stamp their individuality on American social fabric by staying true to their roots. Chines, Italian, Indians and almost every minority learned that assimilation was somehow akin to being a traitor. If they assimilated, it would mean loss of their own culture, heritage and identity and this would lead to loss of an entire ethnic group. Eric Liu however feels differently. Being a second generation Chinese immigrant, he felt that assimilation was considered evil simply because it was considered synonymous with white power. Those who tried to assimilate were considered poor soul who wanted to be white, they wanted to behave like whites, and they wanted to become a part of the white power.

THESIS

Liu feels that assimilation wouldn't be such a curse if we separate it from "being white." America is such a huge conglomerate of so many identities that it is no longer white and assimilation doesn't mean one is trying to be white, it only means one is trying to be an America and America is no longer white.

ESSAY

What it means to be an immigrant who has assimilated well? This is a question worth digging into because the answer might reveal a lot more than what we expect. We often connect assimilation with someone forgetting their roots and acting like whites. But deep down, assimilation has little to do with being white, and a lot to do with being an American. And America is not white alone. The American way of life is not white way of life; it is hugely influenced by variety of cultures, values and beliefs. Eric Liu has become an America but not necessarily a white. We in the U.S. need to understand that being an America is no longer synonymous with being white. "In every assimilation, there is a mutiny against history -- but there is also a destiny, which is to redefine history. What it means to be American -- in spirit, in blood -- is something far more borrowed and commingled than anything previous generations ever knew. Alongside the pain of migration, then, and the possibility, there is this truth: America is white no longer, and it will never be white again."

The Hispanic population alone is so dominant that Spanish has become the second most spoken language in the U.S. right after English. Who is to say that with such dominant Spanish population, American society has not been affected by Spanish culture or values? Thus we could just as easily say that someone who has chosen to assimilate has chosen to become more Spanish. The choices we make after coming to the U.S. are our own. After getting higher education, some people might not want to stay close to his or her illiterate relatives but is that assimilation? What if the person feels more connected with more educated people than with his less educated relatives? The same is happening with Liu. "Here are some of the ways you could say I am "white":/I listen to National Public Radio./I wear khaki Dockers./I own brown suede bucks./I eat gourmet greens./I have few close friends "of color."/I married a white woman./I am a child of the suburbs." (Lines 1-10)

Liu would be considered white by many who feel that his choice to have more white friends or watch certain channels or engage in certain activities makes him white but Liu thinks this is not true. It is indeed wrong to connect these with whiteness or aspirations of being a white, instead we must understand that these are things that people with certain educational and economic background would enjoy even if they are people of color themselves. It is just sad that most less educated people with less power are people of color. "When I imagine myself among white people who influence the currents of our culture, it is not for their whiteness but for their influence…It is cruel enough that the least privileged Americans today have colored skin, the most privileged fair. It is crueler still that by our very language we should help convert this fact into rule. The time has come to describe assimilation as something other than the White Way of Being."

Conclusion:

Being white or not being white is not connected with the kind of activities one engages is, instead it's a whole mindset. We need to understand that people of certain economic status would enjoy certain activities and also have a certain mindset. This might give them certain inclinations and tendencies that would give them more reasons and chances to along with like-minded people. For example a person with a white collar job will join a few nice clubs, his children will attend private schools, and he will spend his weekend at his beach or farm house but that are the perks that come with having a good job. This doesn't make him white or non-white. However ironically, most people doing the same thing happen to be white because they have better educational opportunities and thus better jobs. And hence a person of color or from any minority group who gets a white collar job has more white friends than friends from his own ethnic group. Others think that he is acting white because he has assimilated but that's not true. Assimilation is not bad; it is the way it is perceived that makes it evil.