Of the four readings this week, Milton Gordon’s “The Nature of Assimilation” and Jacob Riis’ “Jewtown” left a mark on me.
Jacob Riis seems ignorant of the act that the circumstances in sweatshops are bred as immigrants struggle to make ends meet. The immigrants don’t have much of a choice, and as much as it seems unlikely, they are victims. Their difficulties were bred from their situation, not the fact that they were Jewish. What comes off as a fear of poverty should not necessarily be attributed to greed- it stems from the genuine need to survive in a foreign environment where other opportunities may not be available. Perhaps Riis brought issues to the surface in this excerpt, but I could not bear to take him as credible considering how he linked the Jewish immigrants to hereditary uncleanliness and low intellectual status.
On the other hand, Gordon raised a wonderful point. Taking up permanent residence in a foreign society is difficult, and so immigrant enclaves serve as a “‘decompression chamber’ in which the newcomers could, at their own pace, make a reasonable adjustment to the new forces of a society vastly different from that which they had known in the Old World” (Gordon). It is preposterous to force assimilation, especially that which is immediate, unto those who are truly vulnerable, having to adjust to a new geographical region, a new culture, a new language, etc. In contemporary discussions, Americans often state that the only language that should be spoken here is English and that the only acceptable ways are the American ways. It is clear that not only is that preposterous based on the fact that an extremely large proportion of America’s population consists of immigrants, and that America’s values stand for immigration, diversity, and inclusion, but also because giving up the circumstances immigrants have lived with their whole lives is genuinely difficult.
Of course, assimilation will occur to some degree, and this is fine so long as it occurs naturally and without force. Americans share a common culture which holds us all together. Eventual assimilation may help immigrants to an extent as well. However, immigrants should not have to lose the culture they had before moving here. In fact, the mixing of all these cultures contributes to American society.
