Macaulay Honors College Seminar 2, IDC 3001H

Day: March 17, 2017

Artificial Perfection

We have throughout the semester and in the past few classes discussed the assimilation of immigrants into America. A common theme that was discussed was the theme of trying to change who you are to fit the group you are in. In my perspective, it is that many Americans expect perfection from others around them and in return immigrants that come to America try to fit into these norms. This is because of the growing culture of striving for perfection that grew in America. We refer this theme to people that have just immigrated but what about ourselves? For example, when we scroll through our Facebook feed, Instagram feed, or any other types of social media platforms we see pictures of friends who really don’t look the way that they appear. These pictures are of friends that have used filter after filter in this strive for perfection. I think when people think of assimilation they don’t think about this concept. Furthermore, transitioning from one area to the next we change ourselves and sometimes we don’t truly show who we are. When going from high school to college, there might be some things that we do, act, wear, or more to try our best to seem “perfect”. But, I’d argue that it is important for people especially immigrants to stick to their roots and to not be afraid to show the qualities in them that others may view as imperfect.

 

Struggles Faced by Chinese Immigrants

Immigrants have faced an innumerable amount of hardships while trying to assimilate into the United States. On Monday, we briefly discussed our trip to the Museum of Chinese in America. Before visiting that museum, I was totally unaware of how much discrimination Chinese immigrants faced. They came into this country in search of new opportunities and freedoms, and were utterly discriminated against.

There were certainly many images that had stuck with me throughout the trip, especially the propaganda image, titled “The Coming Man”, which was created in the year of 1881. This shows a cartoon of an evil looking Chinese man with long nails taking over and monopolizing all of the different work industries at the time. When white laborers began to organize for higher wages, American capitalists turned to Chinese workers to fill the need for human labor to open the frontier, fuel the industrial revolution, and support a new middle-class lifestyle. The Chinese were caught in between big industry and labor. Labor organizers used ideas of white supremacy to rally the working class. Prevented from joining labor unions, Chinese demands for better working condition fell into obscurity. White workers labeled the Chinese as the enemy. Americans accused Chinese workers of stealing their jobs, as well as being unfit for citizenship.

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Even though this happened in the late 19th century,  this issue is still relevant today. Many people in this country claim that immigrants are stealing jobs from American citizens. During Monday’s discussion, we touched upon how racism can still exist through different mediums, like putting up a rent flyer that says “Chinese only” or “Whites Only”. This makes us reflect on the fact that history does repeat itself in a strange and scary way. It makes me ponder on what the future holds for America.