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Re: Shifting demographics - Racism lives on
Posted By: Interested bystander In Response To: Re: Shifting demographics - Racism lives on (dave9x)
Date: Friday, 4 February 2005, at 9:12 a.m.
Dear 9x: I have been following these posts and can see the points made by both sides. I'm curious though: do you live in Fort Lee? what is your ethnic background? Do you have children in Fort Lee schools? Do you own a home or rent?
You are right in that ethnic minorities experience the same kind of feeling "like an outsider" that the poster "Another Voice" bemoans. However, there's one difference. The Asians moving into Fort Lee have CHOSEN to move from their home countries because they believe life is better in the US. They KNEW they would be a minority here, and in fact they are experiencing much greater acceptance in the US than an American would experience if living in Korea, for example, because Korea is virtually 100% Korean with no history or understanding of diversity.
On the other hand, a white American living in Fort Lee (or any other town) is understandably a bit upset when the town he has known for decades is changing in a way that he did not anticipate, and where the incoming population essentially has no use for him. There's no direct "pushing out" of American culture and no animosity on the part of Koreans that I can see for whites, but they live separate lives. Of course, over time, the Koreans will inevitably become Americanized through their children. But right now and for the foreseeable future, what Another Voice sees is a town whose new residents are bringing foreign language, stores, and institutions that serve their needs exclusively.
In a large city like NY, this diversity is not an issue, because ethnic groups for the most part establish their own neighborhoods. But when a town with 30,000 residents experiences it, it doesn't allow for that kind of separation and it is harder to adjust to.
This is a complex issue where a fair observer can have many different perspectives, all of them being valid.
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