“The Sting of Prejudice.” What an appropriate title. As my classmates have said before me, the issue of prejudice and discrimination is largely seen, not only in the past, but in the present as well. Coming to America, the majority of immigrants are forced to face one or another form of discrimination. This is inevitable anywhere. In any country, those who were there first feel intruded when other people begin to move in, and so they create a sort of defense mechanism; pre-concieved notions of their own superiority over others. In order to be superior to others, they must find a difference between themselves and outsiders to claim their higher position: their race. Americans at this time were mostly WASPs: White Anglo-Saxon Protestants. And this is exactly what they decided to hold against immigrants who were, of course, not the same race as them.
Over the years, the government tried to quell the American people, and to ease racism. However, these American people didn’t want to hear it; They had their opinions and they stuck to them. When restrictions were placed on them, they found more discreet ways of continuing their prejudices. Foner shows an example of this, when, in 1913, a NYS law stated that public places were not allowed to withhold admittance because of race, creed or color. Rather than continue placing their signs (“No Jews or Dogs Admitted Here”), resorts and private clubs began to only serve “‘resticted clientele,'” continuing to shut out the Jews, without outwardly saying so (148).
Bobb’s article concerning West Indians shows another effect of racism, the idea that all others are the same. Even though West Indians truly are not “black,” because of their skin color, and the Americans’ uncaring attitude, they were considered to be the same as blacks. The American people showed their unwillingness to even try to accept others-in doing this they further presented their careless attitude and their idea that no one else was good enough. By clumping together different groups into one category, it made it easier for the Americans to discriminate against them, claiming that they were against blacks, rather than having to make a list of every different ethnicity (African Americans, West Indians, Guyanese, etc).
These immigrants, even though they are constantly being pushed down by the society they are now a part of, they struggle to fit into the ideal group. Whereas many Hispanics and blacks have trouble doing this because of their original low status, Asians have a much easier time. Asians are generally part of a higher class when they immigrate to America, and because of this, they have an easier time meshing together with the whites, and taking jobs that require higher skills.
As Silky mentions in her post, I also believe that there is some hope for the future. Over the years, we have been able to lower, but not completely vanquish, the amount of discrimination towards immigrants. Our nation strives towards equality, and hopefully, maybe, someday we’ll get there.
