To Be An American. Bill Ong Hing
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legacy of race relations. Underlying the debate over immigrants and American identity is a concern about the interaction, or lack of interaction, among different racial groups.
Because some oppose immigration on the basis that “immigrants hurt the economy,” a rational look at what economists have to say on the topic is essential. As this book will demonstrate, the allegations of the negative economic impact of immigrants are clearly overblown and largely unsupported by the weight of evidence. The current level of anti-immigrant rhetoric is simply not justified on economic grounds.
Contextualizing the impact of immigrants is also important. Until we can understand the real causes of our fears about job loss and public bankruptcy, we cannot evaluate immigrants’ actual collective role in our economy. Since California seems to be the hotbed for much contemporary anti-immigrant fervor, I examine the genesis of such hostility: the state’s ailing economy and strained budgets. Another crucial factor is the loss of jobs that the country experienced in recent years and the globalization of the economy. I also take up the question of how, in using low-wage immigrant workers, we may simply be exploiting poor workers both domestically and globally. I counter arguments from immigration opponents who say that like Japan, we can operate our economy quite well without immigrant workers. Since many restrictionists, including the proponents of Proposition 187,3. argue that efforts to curb immigration should be supported because immigrants compete directly for jobs with African Americans, I investigate some of the real issues facing the African-American community.
Because the principal complaint of restrictionists today is culturally and socially premised, the primary purpose of my efforts here is to analyze the positions of two broad groups: first, the assimilationists, whose opposition to current immigration is chiefly grounded in cultural or social complaints, and second, the cultural pluralists, the counterpart to the assimilationists, who promote diversity or multiculturalism. The debate between these two groups not only influences our views toward immigration policies, but also encompasses the very nature of American culture and our normative visions of society. The objections that cultural assimilationists and Euro-immigrationists express about today’s immigrants generally consist of overlapping race-based and culture-based complaints. And two points that assimilationists seem to overlook must also be considered—that the United States is already a multiracial, multicultural country whose culture is constantly evolving, and that today’s immigrants actually do acculturate. I set forth some modern-day justifications for a pluralistic approach related to visions of democracy, the economy, and social benefits. We must all be encouraged to consider a new approach to cultural pluralism which respects diverse views and cultures, which is constantly attentive to race relations, and which shares a common core set of values. In confronting these difficult issues, we need to go beyond the rhetoric of assimilation and cultural pluralism and think seriously about what it means to become an American in an increasingly diverse society.
In their current attack on the influx of Asian and Latino immigrants and criticism of interethnic group conflict and separatism, assimilationists essentially posit two solutions: terminate or drastically curtail immigration; and Americanize those who are here. In response to these proposals that are couched in a rhetoric of culture, I set forth my own constantly evolving notions of cultural pluralism and what it means to be an American.
The concept of a common unifying core set of values holding different groups together must be considered. This core would include respect for laws, the democratic political and economic system, equal opportunity, and human rights. This concept does not, however, imply a lack of support for ethnic communities. Indeed, diversity must be the basis for an “American” identity. Ethnic communities are critical to providing a sense of identity, fulfillment, and self-confidence for many. Society should respect those who hold separatist views and prefer to live and work among others of the same background. At the same time, society should strive to eradicate the harmful situations that lead to separatist sentiment. We cannot expect those at the margins to buy into a core without the commitment of the power structure. Immigrant adaptation, and the creation of a common core, must be viewed as the dual responsibility of the immigrant and the mainstream.
As I consider these issues, my experiences growing up in a multicultural community and working with immigrants seem relevant. Certainly no one’s personal experiences should be used to generalize for all others. But we should listen to each others’ anecdotes and views, for it is from these stories that we understand the perspectives of others. My own stories are shared not to elevate anecdote to theory, but in the hope that others may benefit—as I believe I have—from these experiences.
Restrictionists and pro-immigrant advocates do agree on one critical point: we face a defining moment in the nation’s history. The course we choose will tell us much about ourselves.
chapter 1 A Superior Multicultural Experience
Our experiences, from childhood through adolescence, young adulthood, and beyond, inevitably shape our views of race, assimilation, and a multiracial society. I grew up in Superior, Arizona, a copper-mining town of about five thousand people in the east-central part of the state. The youngest of ten children in one of three Chinese American families (or one extended family, since their members were my uncles, aunts, and cousins), I spoke mainly Cantonese to my immigrant parents,1 and English to my American-born siblings. We had a small grocery adjacent to our house. Since Superior was predominantly Mexican American, I spoke Spanish to our older customers and a combination of Spanish and English to the other children in the neighborhood and at school. Speaking Spanish on school grounds was prohibited. Some of our customers and my classmates were Native American, mostly Navajo and Apache. With them I spoke English.
I learned a lot about Mexican American culture growing up in Superior. I spent a good deal of time at my friend Leonard Martinez’s house, eating and talking with Leonard and his grandmother, who was from Mexico. I learned about hunting from his grandfather and uncles by listening to their stories and sharing in the celebration when they returned from trips with deer, rabbit, wild boar, or quail. The father of my friend and next-door neighbor Ray Ramirez taught me how to sing and play several Mexican corridos (folk ballads) on the guitar. My friend Diana Viramontes was great at sandlot baseball and at cracking open piñatas (candy-filled figurines) blindfolded at birthday parties. She once even introduced me to her Girl Scout friend Mary Rose Garrido, on whom I had a crush for several years afterward. It was not uncommon for some Mexican children to taunt me because I was Chinese. But I was good at defending myself, and often my Mexican friends joined in on my side.
Growing up, I was especially close to a Navajo classmate, Margie Curley, and an Apache, Joe Thomas. Both read everything they could find, wrote interesting stories, and had beautiful handwriting. Margie was soft-spoken and we often had long conversations about our families and interests. Joe, one of my Little League teammates for four years, was one of the most popular children in school. I lost track of Joe and Margie after high school, although I heard later that Margie settled on a reservation and makes jewelry; neither had the funds to go on to college. I came to know another Navajo family that traded at our store, the Bendles. The parents were terrific with the children—always exercising the right amount of discipline, but spoiling them with candy on occasion and consistently assigning responsibility and displaying trust. Hugh Bendle, Jr., became a fine tennis player, and with the help of loans, grants, and Mr. Bendle’s savings from his wages as a copper miner, all three of the Bendle children went to college.
After school each day, I played games with Mexican, Anglo, and Native American schoolmates and friends: baseball, basketball, football, marbles, tops, and yo-yos. From the ages of seven to fourteen, I played Little League and Senior League baseball in the summer. When I was fifteen, I decided to spend the summer in California with one of my older sisters, and was quite envious of the fact that Superior’s Senior League All Star team, comprised of many of my friends, won its way to the Senior League World Series in Louisville, Kentucky. In Kentucky, local families provided housing for the team. One of my Anglo friends, Billy Joe Walker, told me that when the team arrived in Louisville, the family that was assigned to him was chuckling