Forced Integration=Culture Diffusion

In my opinion, forced integration is a problem in the U.S. Not only does it cause a backlash against the very people the government is trying to assimilate, but it also waters down the uniqueness of the various cultures of our great nation.

In my city of Chicago, we have millions of poeple from all over the world living here. But they tend to stay in their own neighborhoods. They have a sense of unity with one another. I like the fact that I can go to China Town, or Little Village(Latino), or Ukrainian Village, or German Town, or Little Italy, and taste their wonderful foods, and immerse myself in their culture for a day.

I believe that forcing people to live together, that are of different beliefs and cultures, does cause a lot of conflict. ( birds of a feather....). It also takes away from that very uniqueness that makes them Latino, or Chinese or Croatian.

We are indeed American, one and all. But it is the cultures of our families that came here before us that makes us unique. How boring would it be if everyone were the same?

peace

The ease of travel and the choice of where we live is a fact for many of us in todays times. As the human population increases the co-habitation of different cultures is unavoidable. Although I recognise that many wish to keep their culture, times are changing and change is often a scary thing. Past cultures have come and gone, its a natural evolution.

One positive way of looking at this is that over time as different cultures mingle, ideas and traditions will be shared. Eventually this will lead to yet another culture, one that is a mixture of many.

Okay, so you like to visit the 'reservation' for the day, sample the exotic delicacies of the natives, then get the feck back across the river to homogenous, white bread, suburban, mainstream America...

Maybe catch a little BET when you're feeling especially randy.

So where's the "Forced Integration?"

I'm glad you celebrate diversity. I'm just lost on the angle here.

What examples of forced integration are you talking about? And is your proposal then...forced segregation?

[edit on 11-2-2005 by RANT]

I can think of one forced intgration method that seems NOT to have worked:
forced bussing. From what I see, all the white schools they tried to integrate are all still segregated. But, now they are predominately all black.

Rant

what I am saying is that in our American culture today, we are somewhat coerced in certain choices when it comes to culture/race. For the longest time, the State of Illinois was trying to integrate the town of Cicero, which was mostly Italian, but is now mostly Latino. They were offering a years free rent to prospected black home owners and renters. As soon as a black family moved in, the Italians, and latinos, would break their windows on their houses, spray graffitti on their garages, and generally harrass them until they moved out. See, the State was in some respect trying to force blacks into a neighborhood. I'm not saying it was right was the people of Cicero did. We could use any example from any ethnic group.

And, to live in the city of Chicago, is not the same as living in a white-bred, suburban, mainstream America. I can see people ffrom rural areas having a problem with various cultures, or even on the other end of the spectrum, call a person a 'bigot' who believes that cultural awreness is key to the harmony of our nation. Unless a person lives in a major metropolitan area, with a great many number of neighborhoods, all saturated in their own history and culture, they would have no idea what I am talking about. To have a few Mexicans or Asians living in a small city of 50,000 is of no comparison. But to live in a city of millions, with as many different cultures as there are potholes in the road, is a different experience.

As to Forced Segregation, of course not. But we are segregated by choice. That is why we have our little neighborhoods. People feel more at ease around those who are the same as them.

[edit on 11-2-2005 by nathraq]

Originally posted by nathraq
As to Forced Segregation, of course not. But we are segregated by choice. That is why we have our little neighborhoods. People feel more at ease around those who are the same as them.

Well, we integrate then by choice to. It's not forced (now). In your example, what was it tax incentives for any willing to integrate? If others left, their choice. Sucks for them I guess, but they could have gotten over it. I really don't have sympathy if they couldn't handle different neighbors.

I chose to attend a magnet school growing up. Left a private school just to do it. Travel to a depressed area just to go to public high school. I had no idea how much I needed that until later reflection too.

Since then I've even bought and lived in literal ghetto areas as part of a collective effort to revitalize and offer incentives for integrated low and high income housing for those willing. Good tax deals. I bought.

I've worked on other planned communities too (non urban). They're quite successful. It's a choice though.

I understand better where you're coming from, but I don't see anything forced about it.

If you're building to an affirmative action angle in the workplace, there's certainly consequences for not hiring proactively. I guess that's like being forced. But I (along with corporate America) have no proble there either.