Reply #5: Let's Do the Whole Backstory, O.K.? [View All]

Victor Davis HANSON is a Classics Dept professor at some California university. He's a multi-generational occupant of some part of California, operating a grape/wine plantation. He has family members who are married to Mexican-Americans. He also employs same and also has doubts about the wholesale populace-invasion of Mexicans into the U.S./California. He can see both sides, the hard-working MXs but also the drugs/uneducated/recklessness of it all.

So. Where are we? Ahhhnuld can come here with VAST finances and family connections and go to the head of the class, but dirt-poor MX-cans can't?????

*******QUOTE****
http://www.city-journal.org/html/12_2_do_we_want.html
.... How did the old assimilationist model work? Brutally and effectively. In our grammar schools during the 1950s and 1960s, no Spanish was to be spoken on the playground—officially at least. Groups of four and larger were not allowed to congregate at recess. When we were caught fighting, nontraditional kicking instead of the accepted punching earned four, rather than two, spankings. A rather tough Americanism in class was rammed down our throats—biographies of Teddy Roosevelt, stories about Lou Gehrig, a repertory of a dozen or so patriotic songs, recitations from Longfellow, and demonstrations of how to fold the flag. “Manners” and “civics” were taught each week, with weird lessons about not appearing “loud” in public or wearing glittery or showy clothes, and especially not staring down strangers or giving people the “hard look” with the intent of “being unpleasant.” Our teachers were at times insufferable in their condescension as they disclosed the formula for “making it in America”—but make it in America the vast majority of these immigrants did.

Apparently, these rather unsophisticated teachers thought that learning to master English and acquire the rudiments of math, American literature, and national culture were more valuable to the immigrant than were racial studies, ....
**********UNQUOTE********