Stereotypes and assimilation are two main issues within the article by Kasinitz and Marcuse. However bother authors choose to describe the causes for such stereotypes and assimilation much differently. Kasinitz discusses the ethnic identities that belong to second generation immigrants as a means of discrimination from whites as well as from other minority groups causing assimilation to be a challenge. However, Marcuse accuses social, economic, political, and, most importantly, physical separation for the difficult task of assimilation into society.
Immigrants have been coming to New York City for years, and the children of such immigrants, or second generation, are now a valued part of our society. These second generation immigrants distinctly differ from their parents who have taken up employment familiar to their country of origin or gender roles. Some examples given were the Chinese who took up jobs in the Chinese food business or women who manufacture garments in factories. Presently, the trend is beginning to change with the emergence of second generation immigrants. A majority of the children of first generation immigrants wouldn’t dare go into the businesses their parents have built when they arrived in America. Today, the second generation wishes to escape these cultural “niches” and assimilate into the progressing world the surrounds them. However, most second generation immigrants face the issues of discrimination and assimilation. Some immigrants use such discrimination from whites as an incentive to be more successful, but some still cannot adjust to society. Kasinitz blames such hardships partly on the stereotypes society brands on these immigrants. Hopefully these stereotypes and discrimination will end due to the hybridization of cultures and the new identities being formed everyday.
In the world Marcuse, there exists the ghetto, the enclave, and the citadel; all of which have a direct affect on the society we live in. Physical separation based on economic class, social status, and ethnicity fosters the difficulty of assimilation and upward mobility in society. Although each one of these are a concentrated area of one people typically closed off to others, each is distinctly different. The ghetto is similar to a prison of outcasts no longer useful to the economy as a whole. On the most part, one’s decision to live their is involuntary and is usually hard to escape. Assimilation into society from a ghetto would mean obtaining a a job of some value to the society instead of within the ghetto, which could be a difficult task due to discrimination. An enclave on the other hand is one of which a group of people with a common identity wish to live together to strengthen their identity. Those within the enclave utilize their identity to benefit themselves in their community, the negative aspect is would be an increase in stereotyping which again proves difficult when one wishes to assimilate. Lastly, there is the citadel which stands out to be the best of the three where their location signifies dominance in either social or economic status. Their gated community is a means of protecting themselves from the world surrounding them. All of these communities in some aspect separate these people from society causing much trouble when it comes to integrating into society.
Regardless of the cause, assimilation and discrimination go hand and hand. Discrimination must be brought down in order to allow these immigrants to join society and give back what New York City has provided for them. Whether its creating a new identity for themselves or ridding the world of these gated communities, New Yorkers should work together instead of isolating themselves within their cliques.
