@Nisse_Hult Jesus Christ, did you spend all day responding to me? lol I don't have enough time to spend going back and forth with you as you obviously have zero grasp of the cultures within my country as well as what I'm even talking about. This isn't about just "clothes and food" - this is about what is considered socially acceptable, general social behaviors, laws being changed by a new majority that has moved in and voted our laws be changed leaving us with no say, and our way of life - which just so you know, culture actually varies greatly across the US depending on which region you're in. This is due to the countries that settled the regions, their resources, economies, religions, etc. We use different dialects in speaking, consider certain things rude one place that is typical in another. I just really don't believe you fully understand the diversity that exists even within our borders. Sure we share some common traits... but our differences still aren't always so small.
"I mean sure there are slight differences, but you're all citizens of the same nation, all speak the same language, all eat the same food and grew up seeing the same movies and TV-shows and so on an so forth."
- We don't all eat the same foods by the way. This is extremely ignorant. We also don't have an official language, so you can hardly state that either. I'm required to speak Spanish basically in order to get a job because so much of the population in my area doesn't speak English.
"Yes they are - culture is culture, there is no difference.
US cultural import gave us the hamburger - Middle Eastern cultural import gave us the kebab.
You're letting your prejudices cloud your thinking here - there really isn't a difference. "
- You seriously believe this? So you believe that the division of Western and Eastern cultures has to do strictly with geography? Oh boy... this is some post modernist thought process if I've ever seen one...
"You live in a country where you're 25 times more likely to be murdered by a gun then a person from any other developed country. Your life could end tomorrow if another mass shooter snaps and you're unlucky enough to be there. But you're worried about what could possibly one day happen because immigrants move in and bring their culture along?"
- This is a ridiculous argument. I never said I feared other cultures, I said it bothered me to see mine disappearing. And whether you believe it or not, yes, it is. And it's not the "American culture" I'm worried about, it's my local culture. And I don't believe that I'm 25 times more likely to be MURDERED by a gun - perhaps killed by one. There is a major difference (suicide, accidents, etc). The truth of the matter on this is that more people die from guns via suicide in my country than those who are murdered. And as we all know, if a suicidal person doesn't have a gun, they'll find the next most convenient method.
"How many people of Italian or Chinese decent, who's ancestors came to the US in 1905-1914 do you think view themselves more as Italian or Chinese then American today? How much of their cultural ancestry have survived unchanged? How much danger do you think they pose to American culture?"
- Actually, many of these people DO consider themselves these things, just along with being American as well. I never claimed they were a threat to the American culture. But when you have a town of 100,000 and over the years 250,000 people from different parts of the world/country move there, there is a good chance the entire culture of that town has become a massive melting pot rather than maintaining it's original culture.
"I'd advise you to not trust that source at all as that's a partisan think-tank pushing their own agenda while masquerading as a non-profit research organization. They've been describe as an organization "that favors far lower immigration numbers and produces research to further those views" - which is of course not unbiased research at all."
- And I'd advise you not to believe that 'PolitiFact, FactCheck.Org, Washington Post, Snopes, CNN and NBC News' are unbiased sources. I literally just looked up some information because you repeatedly insisted on seeing sources.
"How exactly has the culture of your state "changed greatly"?
How exactly has this had a "significant effect on the state" as you knew it? I get that you see other people around and that they might eat other food or wear other clothes, but you don't have to do that - right? Have the laws changed? Have anyone stopped you from doing anything you did before and if so what? Or is this just that you feel it's somehow a negative change that there are other people around you that eat different food or wear different cloths?
I'm not really sure what you mean?"
- Like I said, this isn't about just "clothes and food". Yes, laws have changed due to the shift in population. People in California, New England, and even Mexico often have very different stances politically than many Texans do.
"I mean for all I know this Christmas tradition of yours might have been highly offensive in some way - some old traditions are."
- If having a few Christmas trees around, having Christmas music (not even 'religious' in theme) playing, and simple childish things such as that is "offensive", then idk what to tell you.
"Also, if this persons protest was accepted by a community in Texas (which is not known for being a bleeding-heart-liberal kind of state) I feel the "person from up north" must have had a convincing argument?"
- She threatened to sue people if the parent's organization that threw these events didn't comply. The organization didn't want the trouble or expense she was threatening to put them through, so they just opted to stop so she'd leave them alone. She wasn't angry about having our celebrations, she just wanted us to either celebrate her holidays too or not celebrate at all.
"Your family might not celebrate Ramadan or Yom Kippur - but if you have a classmate that does and your parents aren't racist asshole who tell you that family is less worth then yours, you grow up knowing a little more about the rich fabric of the world you live in.
Them celebrating another holiday doesn't hinder you from celebrating what you want."
- Please see above. People sometimes DO try to demand you accommodate them.
"Any newspaper articles from this incident you could link too?
It sounds like the kind of thing media would love to cover?"
- People didn't tend to publicize everything like crazy in the early 90's like they do now. There was no social media, etc, for things to spread. So, no, there wouldn't be any kind of news coverage on this.
You're general attitude to this situation very much shows your personal biases. Also, in response to the commentary you had on our immigration (both domestic and international), I don't need charts and graphs to see my home changing drastically. Becoming over crowded. 1 in 4 people in my city weren't born in my country, and even more weren't born in my state. If people want to come here and truly integrate with our culture, I have no problem with that whatsoever. But that often is not the case, they move here and want to make things like their home that they left. Mock our cultural 'quirks', the way we talk, etc. When you go to your Human Resources department as a grown woman starting a new job (in a company with thousands of employees), and the person collecting all of your information looks at your birth certificate and says "Wow! You're a Native Texan? I've worked here 6 months, and you're the first one I've seen come through here!" There is a big problem. Or when the 'big city' you grew up in once had less than 400,000 people in it total now has over 2 million causing the natural spring you grew up riding your bike to to go swimming with your friends to now has a daily visitor maximum that is filled for over a month and requires reservations. There is a problem. This isn't just from Texan's having lots of babies. It's a known fact that our economy attracts hundreds of thousands of people. Me being upset about this having a huge effect on my surroundings isn't something you have the right to how I should or shouldn't feel about it. And it definitely shouldn't be mixed in with insinuations that if I am upset about it, I'm somehow a racist or something of that nature, because that couldn't be further from the truth. I honestly just believe you don't have the ability to grasp my perspective as you've not been in my shoes.
And tbh, if you respond with another massive wall of text, I most likely won't respond due to not wishing to argue with a wall (figuratively and literally). No offense to you, but it's fairly obvious that your mind is made up and nothing will sway you otherwise. Have a good evening.
30
@Nisse_Hult Jesus Christ, did you spend all day responding to me? lol I don't have enough time to spend going back and forth with you as you obviously have zero grasp of the cultures within my country as well as what I'm even talking about. This isn't about just "clothes and food" - this is about what is considered socially acceptable, general social behaviors, laws being changed by a new majority that has moved in and voted our laws be changed leaving us with no say, and our way of life - which just so you know, culture actually varies greatly across the US depending on which region you're in. This is due to the countries that settled the regions, their resources, economies, religions, etc. We use different dialects in speaking, consider certain things rude one place that is typical in another. I just really don't believe you fully understand the diversity that exists even within our borders. Sure we share some common traits... but our differences still aren't always so small.
"I mean sure there are slight differences, but you're all citizens of the same nation, all speak the same language, all eat the same food and grew up seeing the same movies and TV-shows and so on an so forth."
- We don't all eat the same foods by the way. This is extremely ignorant. We also don't have an official language, so you can hardly state that either. I'm required to speak Spanish basically in order to get a job because so much of the population in my area doesn't speak English.
"Yes they are - culture is culture, there is no difference.
US cultural import gave us the hamburger - Middle Eastern cultural import gave us the kebab.
You're letting your prejudices cloud your thinking here - there really isn't a difference. "
- You seriously believe this? So you believe that the division of Western and Eastern cultures has to do strictly with geography? Oh boy... this is some post modernist thought process if I've ever seen one...
"You live in a country where you're 25 times more likely to be murdered by a gun then a person from any other developed country. Your life could end tomorrow if another mass shooter snaps and you're unlucky enough to be there. But you're worried about what could possibly one day happen because immigrants move in and bring their culture along?"
- This is a ridiculous argument. I never said I feared other cultures, I said it bothered me to see mine disappearing. And whether you believe it or not, yes, it is. And it's not the "American culture" I'm worried about, it's my local culture. And I don't believe that I'm 25 times more likely to be MURDERED by a gun - perhaps killed by one. There is a major difference (suicide, accidents, etc). The truth of the matter on this is that more people die from guns via suicide in my country than those who are murdered. And as we all know, if a suicidal person doesn't have a gun, they'll find the next most convenient method.
"How many people of Italian or Chinese decent, who's ancestors came to the US in 1905-1914 do you think view themselves more as Italian or Chinese then American today? How much of their cultural ancestry have survived unchanged? How much danger do you think they pose to American culture?"
- Actually, many of these people DO consider themselves these things, just along with being American as well. I never claimed they were a threat to the American culture. But when you have a town of 100,000 and over the years 250,000 people from different parts of the world/country move there, there is a good chance the entire culture of that town has become a massive melting pot rather than maintaining it's original culture.
"I'd advise you to not trust that source at all as that's a partisan think-tank pushing their own agenda while masquerading as a non-profit research organization. They've been describe as an organization "that favors far lower immigration numbers and produces research to further those views" - which is of course not unbiased research at all."
- And I'd advise you not to believe that 'PolitiFact, FactCheck.Org, Washington Post, Snopes, CNN and NBC News' are unbiased sources. I literally just looked up some information because you repeatedly insisted on seeing sources.
"How exactly has the culture of your state "changed greatly"?
How exactly has this had a "significant effect on the state" as you knew it? I get that you see other people around and that they might eat other food or wear other clothes, but you don't have to do that - right? Have the laws changed? Have anyone stopped you from doing anything you did before and if so what? Or is this just that you feel it's somehow a negative change that there are other people around you that eat different food or wear different cloths?
I'm not really sure what you mean?"
- Like I said, this isn't about just "clothes and food". Yes, laws have changed due to the shift in population. People in California, New England, and even Mexico often have very different stances politically than many Texans do.
"I mean for all I know this Christmas tradition of yours might have been highly offensive in some way - some old traditions are."
- If having a few Christmas trees around, having Christmas music (not even 'religious' in theme) playing, and simple childish things such as that is "offensive", then idk what to tell you.
"Also, if this persons protest was accepted by a community in Texas (which is not known for being a bleeding-heart-liberal kind of state) I feel the "person from up north" must have had a convincing argument?"
- She threatened to sue people if the parent's organization that threw these events didn't comply. The organization didn't want the trouble or expense she was threatening to put them through, so they just opted to stop so she'd leave them alone. She wasn't angry about having our celebrations, she just wanted us to either celebrate her holidays too or not celebrate at all.
"Your family might not celebrate Ramadan or Yom Kippur - but if you have a classmate that does and your parents aren't racist asshole who tell you that family is less worth then yours, you grow up knowing a little more about the rich fabric of the world you live in.
Them celebrating another holiday doesn't hinder you from celebrating what you want."
- Please see above. People sometimes DO try to demand you accommodate them.
"Any newspaper articles from this incident you could link too?
It sounds like the kind of thing media would love to cover?"
- People didn't tend to publicize everything like crazy in the early 90's like they do now. There was no social media, etc, for things to spread. So, no, there wouldn't be any kind of news coverage on this.
You're general attitude to this situation very much shows your personal biases. Also, in response to the commentary you had on our immigration (both domestic and international), I don't need charts and graphs to see my home changing drastically. Becoming over crowded. 1 in 4 people in my city weren't born in my country, and even more weren't born in my state. If people want to come here and truly integrate with our culture, I have no problem with that whatsoever. But that often is not the case, they move here and want to make things like their home that they left. Mock our cultural 'quirks', the way we talk, etc. When you go to your Human Resources department as a grown woman starting a new job (in a company with thousands of employees), and the person collecting all of your information looks at your birth certificate and says "Wow! You're a Native Texan? I've worked here 6 months, and you're the first one I've seen come through here!" There is a big problem. Or when the 'big city' you grew up in once had less than 400,000 people in it total now has over 2 million causing the natural spring you grew up riding your bike to to go swimming with your friends to now has a daily visitor maximum that is filled for over a month and requires reservations. There is a problem. This isn't just from Texan's having lots of babies. It's a known fact that our economy attracts hundreds of thousands of people. Me being upset about this having a huge effect on my surroundings isn't something you have the right to how I should or shouldn't feel about it. And it definitely shouldn't be mixed in with insinuations that if I am upset about it, I'm somehow a racist or something of that nature, because that couldn't be further from the truth. I honestly just believe you don't have the ability to grasp my perspective as you've not been in my shoes.
And tbh, if you respond with another massive wall of text, I most likely won't respond due to not wishing to argue with a wall (figuratively and literally). No offense to you, but it's fairly obvious that your mind is made up and nothing will sway you otherwise. Have a good evening.