Re: OT Migration (rant)

In article <1135798745.179197.55740@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>,
"aem" <aem_again@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:

> Dimitri wrote:
> >
> > You and I have some very different opinions.
>
> Mostly I think it's that I see current conditions as very similar to
> what I've been seeing for my whole life. You see them as having
> changed more significantly in recent years. Either I have more
> historical perspective from being closer to my immigrant roots, or you
> are paying better attention to what's going on....
>
> > The migration now is very different from the past. In the past the
> > Migration to
> > America was to be come American, Today much or most of the Migration is
> > for
> > purely economic reasons with little or no desire to either assimilate or
> > become
> > American.
>
> I think there have always been both groups. Many Chinese came to
> California to seek the mountain of gold or to work on the railroad.
> Many of them sent money home and went home, but many others brought
> wives from home and stayed here.

My best friend in high school was Japanese-American. They even had
names for this. They were issei, nisei and sensei. The first
generation spoke no English. The second had to learn to be fluent in
Japanese in order to speak with their parents, but fluent in English to
go to school. The third generation (my friend) spoke no Japanese, only
English. I understand that this was the rule, although obviously there
were exceptions.

My daughter's best friend is Mexican. Her parents speak no English, and
so she is fluent in Spanish. She came to this country at a young age,
and so became fluent in English also. If she stays in this country and
has children, they may not learn Spanish.

I would propose this is universal, but I could be wrong.

--
Dan Abel
dabel@xxxxxxxxx
Petaluma, California, USA
.

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