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are times when American society tends to make major shifts. Polite people in
polite society do not engage in certain slurs, certain nasty stereotypes.
This does not mean that the prejudice against Jews, let us say, goes away,
but it does mean that certain words are not used -- like the k-word. And
certain stereotypes are indeed shared -- Jews are dishonest in business --
but only with those with whom you know you can get away with it. The n-word
is absolutely forbidden, but you can whisper in the dark that blacks are too
dumb to be NFL quarterbacks. Stereotypes about Catholics cannot be whispered
in most contexts, but in certain faculty lunchrooms one can still hear --
quite out loud -- that Catholics just can't think for themselves. Italian
stereotypes can still be celebrated in an immensely popular TV series.
Prejudice doesn't go away because there are deep sub-basements in our souls in which we can hide our antagonism against those we don't like, those who are different from us (like Chicago White Sox fans). However, a society as pluralistic as ours must rejoice at some progress in the struggle against stereotypes. |
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Overt, express dislike for Jews and African Americans diminished enormously in the years after World War II, especially in those now much-lamented 1960s. (I mean some of my best friends are White Sox fans!) It was not so much that people changed their behavior as new cohorts came along, prejudiced toward a different somebody. It was unfashionable, even dangerous, to engage in slurs against Jews and African Americans, but you could attack hard hats, white ethnics and young people from military families. You can't attack gays anymore with the f-word or you'll be in deep trouble with the speech police. I wonder when it will become unfashionable to engage in slurs against Mexican immigrants -- they don't work hard, they don't learn to speak English, they are taking money away from other Americans, some of them may be terrorists, they don't drive trucks safely. |
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The well-educated, upper-middle-class nativist bigot will justify his position with the argument: I don't have anything against them, but I resent the fact that they're ILLEGAL! If such an argument comes from one who never drives five miles above the speed limit or never parks in a no-parking zone or never jaywalks or never sneaks away from a parking meter, then they are without sin and can throw the first stone. But few of us are innocent of misdemeanors. Should we therefore be gathered up and shipped away, separated from our families, treated by some government agencies the same way we treated Chinese coolies at the end of the 19th century? Should we be deprived of basic human rights? Should Americans be free to dismiss us as criminals who must be ostracized? To enter the United States without the proper papers is a misdemeanor like double parking. Does it justify a righteous anger that permits storm troopers to break up families or deprive young people of an education or adults of health care, including chemotherapy for cancer? When will it happen that the American media will treat the i-word with the same care as they treat the n-word or the k-word or the f-word -- all words that are bleeped out or repudiated or cost people their jobs? When will it happen that this hardworking, family-oriented, reliable group of human beings is protected from the storm troopers and the vigilantes who are like the Ku Klux Klan? When will Mexican immigrants become politically correct? Not in this generation.
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