pathdr2b said:
My definition, Assimilation is the abandonment of your "culture" in an attempt to be accepted by the majority culture or in an attempot to be like the majority culture. Blacks in america have developed our own culture which includes things like religion (ever been to a southern baptist church?), language (Ebonics although there is much debate over this one), food (unfortunately foods high in fats and salt), music (Jazz, the originators of rock and roll, R & B and hip hop), and dress. Perhaps other african amreicans can debate this or add to this list.
Let me put it this way. African americans proudly wear dishikies (or shirts in cloth/designs from africa) and our hair in braids as some in Africa do. Drums, an African tradition, make up the beats to all music today. But when was the last time you saw somone on the streets in a Kimono? And rugs don't count as "culture" here!
So what's YOURdefinition of assimilation?
So by your definition Asians are LESS assimilated into America than blacks.
1. Religion: Blacks have completely adopted the white religion (Christianity) imposed. Asians, on the other hand, are generally Buddhist, Hindu, Muslim, etc, all of which are completely seperate from the mainstream caucasian christian culture. So Blacks are more religiously assimilated than Asians.
2. Language: Blacks have completely adopted a form of the predominant white language (English) and that is the language they talk to their grandparents in. Name a non-English language that black people speak? You'd have to name a Carribean or African language, but those blacks aren't the same blacks we're talking about (as has been discussed many times, immigrant blacks consider themselves, and are considered, an entirely different group than african americans). So Blacks are more lingually assimilated than Asians.
3. Food: Why do people order "Chinese" or "Indian" or "Thai" food, but no one orders "Black" food? Hmm, maybe because Black food has been completely integrated into the mainstream white culture (or vice versa)? So Blacks are more culinarily (I just made a word up!) assimilated than Asians.
4. Music: Im gonna consider this a tie. White people listen to a hell of a lot more Rap than they do Bhangra. But this might be reverse assimilation on the part of whites, so whatever.
5. Clothes: You will see a LOT MORE saris in the US than traditional African garb. I think this is a general fact. So Blacks are more assimilated in terms of clothing than Asians.
So what do we see, by your assimilation criteria, Asians are LESS assimilated than Blacks.
Let's get to the real underlying point here. Black people think Asians are more assimilated in white culture not because of anything culturally, but because of BUSINESS and EDUCATION practices. I think all this talk of culture is a strawman for these two facets of race relations. So lets face it, when black people say that asians have been assimilated, it has nothing to do with culture, it has everything to do with their position in the sectors of business and education.
