Ghettoization vs. Assimilation

One thing I have always admired and will always admire the United States for is its open-armed embrace of intelligent and worthy people from around the world, regardless of their race or creed. It is the embodiment of a meritocracy. My admiration for the U.S. is all the more enhanced when I read in the newspapers here of how the government is all set to extend a 27% quota in all institutions of learning (whether they accept government funds or not) for what are known as OBCs (Other Backward Castes). This is in addition to the existing quota (50%?) for SC/STs, or what are Scheduled Castes / Scheduled Tribes. If you're unfortunate enough to be born a Brahmin in today's India, you'll pay dearly for the crimes of your ancestors. Never mind that without adequate primary schooling, these quotas will do nothing but deprive qualified people of careers based on their birth. But anyway, I'm going off on a tangent here. I'm talking about American meritocracy (Yes, I know we still have affirmative action, but hopefully, as more immigrants flood in to the U.S., there will not be any single "majority", so then race-based discrimination such as affirmative action will cease to exist).

This is a very interesting article and it sums up the U.S.A. in a nutshell.

Pakistanis Find U.S. an Easier Fit Than Britain

There is a world of difference between American and European immigrant communities. Even in Philadelphia's ghettoes, while immigrants do come in from Latin America, Asia and Africa, they almost always manage to work hard and get out of there within a generation or two. In fact, over the past year, I seem to recall at least a number of incidents where unemployed black (American) thugs in Philadelphia violently assaulted a number of Africans because they were apparently jealous of their hard working nature that was "taking away" what jobs there were left.

Anyway, back to the point, I found a number of things in this article worth commenting on.

"“You can keep the flavor of your ethnicity, but you are expected to become an American,” said Omer Mozaffar, 34, a Pakistani-American raised here who is working toward a doctorate in Islamic studies at the University of Chicago."

I think anyone who has lived in the U.S. for a significant amount of time can attest to that.

"Britain remains far more rigid. In the United States, for example, Pakistani physicians are more likely to lead departments at hospitals or universities than they are in Britain, said Dr. Tariq H. Butt, a 52-year-old family physician who arrived in the United States 25 years ago for his residency."

I don't remember who, but I remember someone had told me that they personally had experienced more racism in the U.S. than in Europe. I didn't quite believe the assertion then and I believe it even less now. If racism was more common in U.S., then the U.S. should have been the place where the Oldham and Paris suburb riots happened. The U.S., not Austria, should have had a ultra-right government based on an anti-auslander (outsider) platform. Have I experienced racism in the U.S.? Once, which was when Mani and I visited West Virginia. But to take West Virginia as representative of the U.S. would be similar to taking a urinal in a New York City Subway station as representative of New York City.

"The attitude of the American government in adopting terms like “Islamic fascists” and deporting large numbers of immigrants, he said, makes Muslims feel marked, as if they do not belong here. “The society in the United States is much fairer to foreigners than anywhere else,” he said, “but that mood is changing.”"

I am far more optimistic of the U.S. than the New York Times reporter. The U.S. becoming like Europe is very unlikely, because it is against the very spirit of America. Well, if anyone is capable of destroying what good America stands for, it's George Bush and his fellow Republican thugs, but I'm hopeful a complete regime change would have taken place by the third week of January, 2009.