For a leftie, I suppose one could make an argument that, 150 years ago, Irish and Italians were as differentiated to 19th-c. Americans as Somalis and white Minnesotans are differentiated now. Hating on the new Somali neighbors is just like hating on the Dagoes that moved into your great-grandparents Irish neighborhood in 1917. Therefore there is no "heritage" (white) American just human beings competing in a space together.
There is some truth there, though. A 19th-century white would've seen Mediterraneans as "swarthy" at best. I don't think he or she had even close to the big-umbrella white nationalism that today's most fervent and purity-spiralling WNs have.
This sort of "white line" which is ever-more expanding is only an American thing though. In the European context, I know exactly what a German looks like, and so do you.
Well generally heritage Americans would not include Italians and those who came through Ellis Island. Heritage Americans are people whose ancestors were here when we gained independence from Britain, so primarily of English heritage, but also some Scots, Dutch, and Germans. Irish and Italians were certainly discriminated against, but they were being discriminated against by the Heritage Americans. Of course, nowadays, most of the descendants of Ellis island immigrants have intermarried with heritage Americans so they have grafted into the American nation. It’s true that southern and eastern Europeans were discriminated against in the past, but they were always legally classified as White, and I think the American understanding of who is White has generally coincided with the borders of Europe, which seems agreeable enough to me and most people I assume.
This is undoubtedly true and it's a well-documented fact that early Anglo-Americans had very negative views of Catholic immigrants coming in from Italy and Ireland. It's hard to make honest historical arguments against immigration for this very reason. Those of us who want a more ethnically and culturally unified America are in a tough spot. Seems like we have to draw lines that are somewhat arbitrary.
Of course this example serves as a warning and should guide us. Making an error doesn’t commit one who benefitted from that error to argue we must err in perpetuity.
I do tire of the dual high class problems of first the left and their special pleading for shitty non whites to be part of the polity by deconstructing history, but also the right, when people are being raped and killed in the street everyday by nonwhite scum who should be removed, bemoaning the lack of traditionalism and deep cultural rootedness because everyone is shallow and degenerate or something, as if the average person trying to survive who couldn't read really cared about the shit they do, from either side. Instead of trying to make everyone christian, banning porn, imbuing us with mythology, mental masturbation debates about which parts of the cannon are better (superman vs. batman or captain kirk vs. picard for intellectuals, frankly) a much better use of time, energy and resources would be removing as many nonwhite people as possible. I would love to see them acknowledge that a degenerate white america, with safety, kindness, clean streets, accountability, a sounder economy where people are hedonistic but don't have to worry about non filth creating violence misery and suffering everywhere would be a damn good place. 'We need purpose, we need destiny' said the rich asshole with made up problems who lives in his head bemoaning the uncultured masses.
For a leftie, I suppose one could make an argument that, 150 years ago, Irish and Italians were as differentiated to 19th-c. Americans as Somalis and white Minnesotans are differentiated now. Hating on the new Somali neighbors is just like hating on the Dagoes that moved into your great-grandparents Irish neighborhood in 1917. Therefore there is no "heritage" (white) American just human beings competing in a space together.
There is some truth there, though. A 19th-century white would've seen Mediterraneans as "swarthy" at best. I don't think he or she had even close to the big-umbrella white nationalism that today's most fervent and purity-spiralling WNs have.
This sort of "white line" which is ever-more expanding is only an American thing though. In the European context, I know exactly what a German looks like, and so do you.
Well generally heritage Americans would not include Italians and those who came through Ellis Island. Heritage Americans are people whose ancestors were here when we gained independence from Britain, so primarily of English heritage, but also some Scots, Dutch, and Germans. Irish and Italians were certainly discriminated against, but they were being discriminated against by the Heritage Americans. Of course, nowadays, most of the descendants of Ellis island immigrants have intermarried with heritage Americans so they have grafted into the American nation. It’s true that southern and eastern Europeans were discriminated against in the past, but they were always legally classified as White, and I think the American understanding of who is White has generally coincided with the borders of Europe, which seems agreeable enough to me and most people I assume.
This is undoubtedly true and it's a well-documented fact that early Anglo-Americans had very negative views of Catholic immigrants coming in from Italy and Ireland. It's hard to make honest historical arguments against immigration for this very reason. Those of us who want a more ethnically and culturally unified America are in a tough spot. Seems like we have to draw lines that are somewhat arbitrary.
First we had the melting pot. Then we had the salad bowl. Now we have the slop bowl.
Maybe "slop bucket" is a better term.
Of course this example serves as a warning and should guide us. Making an error doesn’t commit one who benefitted from that error to argue we must err in perpetuity.
I do tire of the dual high class problems of first the left and their special pleading for shitty non whites to be part of the polity by deconstructing history, but also the right, when people are being raped and killed in the street everyday by nonwhite scum who should be removed, bemoaning the lack of traditionalism and deep cultural rootedness because everyone is shallow and degenerate or something, as if the average person trying to survive who couldn't read really cared about the shit they do, from either side. Instead of trying to make everyone christian, banning porn, imbuing us with mythology, mental masturbation debates about which parts of the cannon are better (superman vs. batman or captain kirk vs. picard for intellectuals, frankly) a much better use of time, energy and resources would be removing as many nonwhite people as possible. I would love to see them acknowledge that a degenerate white america, with safety, kindness, clean streets, accountability, a sounder economy where people are hedonistic but don't have to worry about non filth creating violence misery and suffering everywhere would be a damn good place. 'We need purpose, we need destiny' said the rich asshole with made up problems who lives in his head bemoaning the uncultured masses.
Before we were even the U.S., Franklin was worried about German immigration https://chroniclesmagazine.org/view/benjamin-franklins-american-dream/