Tilted Forum Project Discussion Community - View Single Post - Hilariously racist Texas legislator suggests foreigners change their names.

essendoubleop · 04-09-2009, 06:23 AM

I think calling him 'racist' is going too far. That word carries a lot of connotations to be thrown around so lightly. I think ignorant is the right word.

The guy is certainly ignorant, if that's what the Asian immigrants want to be called then so be it. Personally, I think it helps to tell more about the person and their background and could even be helpful in polling situations.

But one thing that is almost unique to Americans is the influx of immigrants from all over the world. If everybody retained everything about their cultures, there wouldn't be a common bond to unite people from different backgrounds. They HAVE to lose a small part of who they are so they can gain a part of who they will be. I think that's one of the reasons why America is one of the best countries in the world in many regards. The vibrant energy you get through fresh influxes of people by way of immigration, as we accept people from cultures who are looking to improve their lives or to change where they could not in a rigorously traditional homeland.

There's no arguing that it would make it easier for Americans to deal with if immigrants changed their names. Maybe part of his frustration (and many others) is that when they or their families immigrated into the U.S. they had to change their names like everybody else and became American. When they see people coming into the country now who aren't sacrificing part of who they are, it could be interpreted as a display of not choosing to sacrifice part of who they were and choosing to make the same sacrifices that current Americans had to make.

I don't want to extrapolate to much about the congressman based just on one comment he made, but it is both ignorant and understandable. I certainly would not call him a racist though.

04-09-2009, 06:23 AM	#2 (permalink)
essendoubleop Psycho	I think calling him 'racist' is going too far. That word carries a lot of connotations to be thrown around so lightly. I think ignorant is the right word. The guy is certainly ignorant, if that's what the Asian immigrants want to be called then so be it. Personally, I think it helps to tell more about the person and their background and could even be helpful in polling situations. But one thing that is almost unique to Americans is the influx of immigrants from all over the world. If everybody retained everything about their cultures, there wouldn't be a common bond to unite people from different backgrounds. They HAVE to lose a small part of who they are so they can gain a part of who they will be. I think that's one of the reasons why America is one of the best countries in the world in many regards. The vibrant energy you get through fresh influxes of people by way of immigration, as we accept people from cultures who are looking to improve their lives or to change where they could not in a rigorously traditional homeland. There's no arguing that it would make it easier for Americans to deal with if immigrants changed their names. Maybe part of his frustration (and many others) is that when they or their families immigrated into the U.S. they had to change their names like everybody else and became American. When they see people coming into the country now who aren't sacrificing part of who they are, it could be interpreted as a display of not choosing to sacrifice part of who they were and choosing to make the same sacrifices that current Americans had to make. I don't want to extrapolate to much about the congressman based just on one comment he made, but it is both ignorant and understandable. I certainly would not call him a racist though.