Something about America that keeps coming up when I read about history:
If you're willing to adopt our ways as a member of Western Civilization, you will succeed.
Everyone is welcome, regardless of national origin, skin color, religion or native language.
The list of peoples who have passed through the melting pot is long.
The people who refused to join were subjected to horrendous discrimination and bigotry.
The Irish, arguably, had it worse than a black slave prior to the Civil War. A slave was, at least, valuable property. An Irishman? Worthless, and there's ten more where that potato eater came from...
Signage that said, "No Dogs or Irish. CENSORED and Chinese OK." were a real thing.
The Irish, eventually, shed their stigma by joining American society. Not once, but twice.
"But they're white!" is the objection to black people choosing this option.
Asians aren't white. Asians are undeniably successful in America.
You'd hardly be able to tell that a non-Dawes Indian wasn't white by their success.
The problem really is that a group of politicians who hate black people set things up to actively prevent them from joining American civilization.
They were not from the party of Lincoln.
An ounce of prevention stops a ton of cure.
Now it's a point of pride to be part of a culture apart from America. To insult and abuse any crab trying to get out of the boil.
"Don't be like Whitey" is an admonition to reject joining the, proven, successful American civilization and remain a savage and BE The Other.
While we're being brutally honest here, if it weren't for a stubborn Christian compassion streak in America, those who refused to join our society as members would have long ago starved to death.
We don't even make them go hungry.
I feel pretty safe in making these observations because I am friends with several people who escaped the boil and are successful. Not despite their dark-brown skin, but because they are Americans first and foremost rather than accepting they can't be successful because of that skin color.
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