Takaki, Chapter 12

Chapter 12 of “A Different Mirror” by Ronald Takaki discusses the great migration of Mexicans or Chicanos as they are referred to in this chapter. Takaki gives an account of the social, political and economic facts that were the push and pull factors of the Mexican migration to the United States. During the early 1900s in Mexico the conditions for Mexican peasants were very similar to that of the Irish around this same time period. Peasants lived in shacks or hut. They had no running water or electricity. Those who were fortunate enough to be employee in factory and other industrial jobs were paid low wages and worked in extremely bad conditions. Because of the major struggles that faced the Mexican people the Mexican Revolution took place in 1910. This revolution overthrew the government. There was much opposition and rivalry when political strife erupted between the new political leaders of the overthrown Mexican government. Mexico finally erupted in a civil war that lasted for years. The civil war in Mexico created even more hardships on the people. Many became refugees and sought safety across the boarder in the United States. The land provided opportunity and work at higher wages than what they had been paid in Mexico. Although there was safety and work in the U.S. most refugees planned on returning to Mexico once the civil war had ended. The war lasted for longer than most citizens thought and residing in America had become their only option. Takaki mentions another pull factor that resulted in so many Chicanos fleeing to the United States. He mentions the “Supreme Law of Necessity” which basically says that people will flee their homeland in order to find jobs that pay higher wages. Takaki has shown this factor to be true not only for the Mexican immigrants but also for the Chinese, Japanese, and the Irish. The combination of poor conditions in their country of origin and the prospect of work in America has throughout history led people to the U.S.
Another huge factor that helped bring Mexicans across the boarder was transportation. The Mexican International Railroad ran from the Mexican boarder to Texas. During this time of great Mexican migration an estimated one tenth of Mexico’s population migrated to the United States. The agricultural and text tile industry of the U.S. was in need for labors. Although not said to be as strong as the African American, labors preferred Mexican workers because of their obedience and willingness to work for such low wages. Things were not perfect for Mexicans once arriving upon American soil. Like other immigrants from different countries they too suffered discrimination, low wages, and other forms of human cruelty. They were often tricked into contracts that would keep them around working longer because of debt that they would have to pay off to their employer. It seems to me that during this time people believed in the American Dream. Yet were things really that much better when they arrived here in America and were treated so badly. It seems to me that throughout history the poor and suffering have always remained the poor and suffering, with the exception of only a few.

McBride, "Why I Hate Abercrombie"

In the reading “Why I Hate Abercrombie” by Dwight McBride, he explains his discuss for a popular clothing label that has throughout its history be sold and advertised towards white males and more recently white females. The brand itself was started back in 1892 by David T. Abercrombie. The store sold products that were geared towards “hunters, fisherman, campers, and explorers” (62). Later in 1900 Abercrombie entered into a business deal with Ezra Fitch and thus “Abercrombie & Fitch” was born. This store which began in New York City had a very high end list of clientele. This is where McBride makes the notion that this is where the condition of promoting to white, elite men began. McBride states that, “celebration of whiteness, and of an elite class of whiteness at that, in the face of a nation whose past and present are riddled with racist ideas, politics, and ideology, is not entirely new” (64). The company went through several stages when the owners retired and the company changed hands. “Abercrombie & Fitch” had its major return to the United States clothing market in 1992. The newly refurbished company kept with the same advertising strategies as in its previous years, advertising to the whites. Due to the high price of the merchandise usually only middle class or above could afford these overpriced pieces of clothing. McBride throughout his piece reiterates how Abercrombie is associated with whiteness and its power in our American society. He explains how, “Abercrombie & Fitch has devised a very clear marketing and advertising strategy that celebrates whiteness – a particularly privileged and leisure-class whiteness – and makes use of it as a ‘lifestyle’ that it commodifies to sell otherwise extremely dull, uninspiring, and ordinary clothes” (66). U may ask how is it that Abercrombie became so associated with whiteness. Perhaps this can somewhat be explain simply by those that they hire as “Brand Reps”, who are the initial sales people located in the stores. McBride explains how in the employee handbook also known as the “Look Book” it tells the employees what their appearance must be. Now this is common for most employers, however Abercrombie & Fitch take it to a higher level that had resulted in law suit against their highering practices. For example the book tells which hair styles are appropriate. All the hair styles listed are classic “White America”, however such hair styles such as dread locks which are typically associated with African American culture are forbidden. Also it states that men can not wear gold chains. This goes against the ethnic culture of black males. It is clear from lawsuits that have been placed against the company that there is clear cut discrimination in terms of who they will hire to represent their product. Usually in pictures, advertisements, and their sales staff a certain whiteness is always presented. This is not to say that the company does not higher Blacks or other racial groups; however they are usually hired to stock and work in the back of the store where they are less visible. If a person of color does work out on the sales floor they are not allowed to show anything that may represent their ethnic culture. They must dress and act white.
As someone who is familiar with this brand of clothes I completely agree with McBride’s evaluation of the company. I have only ever seen mostly white, attractive people working at an Abercrombie & Fitch store. I remember a pretty girl that I went to high school with got a job there. Although she was pretty and skinny she was not very smart and had a poor work ethic. I am positive that there were many people who may not have been as pretty but would have been much more qualified for the job. It is no wonder that so many lawsuits have been brought upon the company. There is something about McBride’s article that does confuse me and he brings it up right at the very beginning. This is the association that he makes between the Abercrombie & Fitch clothing line and gay males. He made it seem that the label was almost a way of determining whether someone was gay. For example he made it seem like if he say a man out in a bar and he was wearing the brand then he could automatically be labeled as gay. This really did not make sense to me when he continued his argument about whiteness and the power that it held. Johnson probably explained it best when he talked about privileged and power. So it confuses me as to why McBride would use homosexuality and the power of whiteness is what seems like the same context. I believe from what I have learned about power and oppression that they two issues are not on the same level. After reading McBride’s article it has been made clear to me that whiteness and the political and ideological ideas about race and power are present throughout our society, even in the clothes on our backs.

Karen Bodkins, "How Jews Became White"

I recently read an interesting article, “How Jews Became White Folks and What That Says about Race in America” by Karen Brodkin. This article portrays the experience of many Jewish immigrants that came to this country during the time of great migration into the United States. The author herself is of Jewish decent and grew up with parents who went through the experience of “Jews becoming white in America”. Brodkin explains how when the major migration took place in the late 1800s and early 1900s that the Euro-American immigrants that came to this country where looked down upon by the predominant white middle and upper class elite. During this time political figures and scientist began to develop the theories of eugenics, the superior race. Brodkin describes this as “scientific racism. Racism and anti-Semitism were high in the United States during this time period. Bodkins explains how Jews and other Euro-American immigrants such as the Irish, Polish and Italians were able to assimilate into that of the white middle class culture that was expectable in the United States.
America is know for the myth of the American dream, that with hard work an dedication one can pull themselves up by their bootstraps. This terminology is expressly used with those of Jewish decent. However is that really all there is to it? According to Bodkins there are other social and racial factors that have to be considered. It is true that during the early 1900s Jew people began to strive for better education, which meant better jobs and housing conditions. The movement towards the suburbs was an increasing trend. So how was it that Jews and other immigrants were able to assimilate and not others such as African Americans? The Euro-American advantage was their ability to assimilate due to their separation from African Americas. The government provided for this advantage. Although labor was increasingly needed during the war effort, blacks were still discriminated against. Therefore the better and higher paying jobs went to the “white” immigrants such as the Jews. The Euro-America immigrants were able to distance themselves further from blacks due to the housing regulations that were present during this time. Blockbusting and Redlining were common practice made by realtors and banks. These tools made it so that Blacks and Whites lived in segregated neighborhoods. With the difference in jobs and housing the Jews, Irish, Polish, Italian, and other “white” immigrants were able to assimilate into the white middle class because the government allowed for the Blacks to continue the tradition of segregation and racism. It is not true that racism against other immigrants disappeared all together because that simple wasn’t true. It seems that because of the difference in skin color and the history of the slave in America, Blacks made an easy target for discrimination and persecution.
By reading this article it is easy to see that Jews and other Euro-American immigrants suffered racism when they first arrived in this country. That is evident through the scientist who tried to prove that they were all inferior races. Yet what changed to allow them to gradually move away from that type of thinking and enter the middle class? Was it simple that they worked hard and pulled themselves up by their bootstraps? After reading this article it is easy for me to see that the government played a huge role in the assimilation of the Jews and other immigrant groups and the continued discrimination of the Black population. To me it is somewhat of a hard concept to follow. Why did things go one way for a certain group of people and a different way for another? I think that this can only be supported and discussed by taking a look back at the roots of our history and discovering the balance that it was formed on. Our history shows that of a superior way of thinking towards Blacks and other minorities. Although strides have been made I still feel that looking back we have some unfortunate parts of history that should really be studied and observed for the greater future of our county.

Takaki Chapter 6

In Chapter 6 of “A Different Mirror” by Ronald Takaki, the account of the Irish migration to the United States is discussed. The beginning of the chapter tells of the horrid conditions that the people of Ireland faced when it became colonized by the British. Before Ireland was an agricultural state. It grew crops for the people to live off of. When the British came to Ireland they changed the entire economy for those who lived on the land. The British began to use the land for raising and selling cattle. This provided less work for the already poor Irish peasants. Takaki describes how the people of Ireland were so poor that they lived in mud huts that were one room and wore rags for clothing. These hardships were the cause for many Irish to look for new opportunities in America. However there was more to the Irish migration than just being poor. In 1845 the Great Potato Famine hit Ireland hard. A disease killed the majority of the potato crops, which made up a significant amount of the Irish’s diet. People all over the country began to die of hunger and disease. Although the Irish did not want to leave their homeland they were forced by the “push factors” to relocate to the United States were the opportunity for work was greater.
Although America has always been thought of as the land of opportunity many Irish found this not to be the case when they arrived. During the late 1800s and early 1900s life was hard. As the poor Irish immigrants came to America they found jobs in factories and made up a great part of the labor force. When they entered the country they would work side by side with the black slaves and earn poor wages. The Irish and the blacks were in constant conflict for jobs. In order for the Irish to be successful in the United States they had to assimilate to that of the dominant white culture. In order to do this the Irish had to promote their “whiteness” saying that they were not the same as the black labors. Eventually because of their commonalities with the white the Irish were able to move into more domestic jobs and become prominent members of society.
It is easy to see that the Irish could eventually assimilate to American culture because of the fairness of their skin color. What if the Irish had come to this country with some other identity mark that made them easily distinguishable from that of white society? The African Americans had dark skin that made them different and therefore it was easy to enslave them and use them as means. Would it have been the same for the Irish had they not been considered finally as “white”? Personally I think that the Irish were able to become successful in the United States because of their hard work and diligence. The people of Ireland suffered for many years and were able to make a new life in America because of their hard work and dedication to themselves and their families. After ass isn’t that the American Dream?

Film Screening, "A Challenge to Democracy"

Our country has always been one to pride it’s self on our way of governing. The United States is known for the success of democracy. Yet throughout our short history there have been times where the freedoms of democracy have been trumped. This was the case with the internment of Japanese-American citizens during World War II. The film “A Challenge to Democracy” gives a documentation of the life styles that Japanese-Americans experienced during their internment. The United States military constructed barracks for these families to live in for the duration of the war. They were forced to move from their homes and businesses because they were seen as a possible threat to national security during the war. The government feared that those with ties to people in Japan may become spies and tend messages about the U.S. and it’s plans for war. These internment camps that the Japanese-Americans were forced to live in were small and cramped. A family was forced to live in a one-room facility with minimal living accommodations. Anyone that was of Japanese decent was forced to live in these camps. The government tried to make this transition less offensive by calling those who lived there, evacuees instead of prisoners. The people that were forced to live in these camps went about their daily lives as best as they could. Those who knew a craft or trade would work, however it was usually for low wages. The members of these new-formed communities would participate in agriculture as part of providing food for the community. Although the government tried to make things comfortable for the members of the internment camps, their way of life was much different from the free life that they had had before. The film that shows how the Japanese lived tries to show the camps in a positive light. In reality the government took away their rights to freedom and the pursuit of happiness. They were only released from the camps when they had convinced the government that they were no threat.
The obvious question that comes to my mind, is what the government did to the Japanese-Americans constitutional? It seems that many of the rights granted to American citizens by the constitutions were taken away from these people during the war effort. So it makes me wonder, what is more important, the security of a nation or the freedoms of the people that make up that nation? I personally don’t know how to think about the whole situation. I have never dealt with the kind of oppression that the Japanese-Americans were forced to suffer. I feel that it was an unfortunate black mark on our countries history and hopefully this kind of injustice will never be repeated again on American soil.

Takaki Ch.10

In Chapter 10 of “A Different Mirror”, Ronald Takaki tells of the great Japanese migration to the United States during the late 1800s and early 1900s. Takaki explains the differences between the Japanese migrations verses that of the Chinese migration in subsequent years. The Japanese migration occurred due to the prospect of labor and high wages offered in the Americas including Hawaii. However, their migration was different in several ways from that of the Chinese. One of the main differences was the amount of women that were able to leave Japan for the United States. Unlike the Chinese women were sent most in the form of “picture brides”. The concept of the picture bride was an arranged marriage between Japanese families. This allowed Japanese men to settle in America and start families. Japanese women were important for other reason, especially labor. Japanese women were of the frontier of women in the work force. They worked in the textile industry and along side their husbands on the sugarcane plantations. The Japanese migration came about in the United States because of the drastic need for labor. The demand for goods was increasing and so the supply went up through the increased amount of labor provided not only by the Japanese but also by the Chinese, Portuguese, Koreans, and Filipinos. The diversity was an important aspect to the America bosses. With such diversity present it was difficult for the workers to come together and strike. Ethnicity and language barriers prevented the workers to rise up together. The “white” leaders were thus able to keep control over all the labors and force them to work under poor conditions. Takaki expresses the importance of the Japanese workers throughout America history. Those Japanese who traveled to the mainland led a very different life than those who worked on the plantations in Hawaii. The Japanese in California in the 1920’s made up only about 2% of the population. They were not able to get labor jobs, as they were able to in Hawaii, so instead many became shopkeepers and farmers. The Japanese always played a great role in the construction of the railroad systems. The Japanese believed that farming in America was living the dream that they had dreamt when first coming to America. However the work was exhausting and never ending. Men and women would both wake before dawn and labor until late at night. Women had it especially tough. As in traditional Japan women would work beside their husbands yet also be responsible for the household work and rearing the children.
Takaki shows the impact that the Japanese labor force had on American during the early 19th century. The question that comes to my mind is, if the Japanese had not been so quick to come and labor in America then what would have happened to the need for labor in America. It is true that the Japanese were not the only immigrants to labor in America, however they did make up a significant portion of the labor force. America at this point had a history of forcing others who were not white to labor for the white man. Could this have been the case with the Japanese? Looking back at history I think that it is important to take into account the circumstances of the time. Labor was needed in America and the Japanese were seeking out work. It seems like it would be a perfect system. I wonder then why the Japanese were treated so poorly. The thing that comes to mind is the simple fact that they were so different from Americas. They were considered the “yellow race” with small eyes and a different language. It just goes to show how the differences among people helped to shape our country.

EXTRA CREDIT "The Ethics of Living Jim Crow"

Richard Wright tells a compelling story in “The Ethics of Living Jim Crow”. It is a story of his life and how he had to learn how to behave as a young Black growing up in a torn society. As a child he learned very quickly that his behaviors towards whites where essential for his survival. Richard worked several jobs growing up, all under white bosses. At his first job he was treated poorly by his white coworkers who felt threatened by his mere existence. They beat him and told him “this is a white man’s work around here” (24). He learned quickly that if he wanted to work then he would have to know his place beneath the whites that ran society. It is a truly heart breaking story to hear how Richard was treated. He had to change his way of living and act a certain way just to keep from being beaten. If Richard made even the smallest mistake, like forgetting to call a white man sir, then he was punished. When punishment was giving out to blacks at this time it wasn’t a harsh word or some kind of fine they would have to pay. They paid for their mistakes through beatings and harassment. It literally was a life of survival and adapting in order keep out of trouble. I guess the question that comes to mind is why didn’t the blacks come together and fight back. If a white woman was assaulted in front of a white man he would defend her. Richard however, was unable to defend the black woman in his story. I guess at this time white supremacy was too strong to fight against. The thing that really upset me was how after the white men would beat up Richard or some other black who was out of line, they would say something about how they were lucky that was all that they got. To me this seemed like they were threatening death. It is hard for me to imagine a white man killing a black man simple because he did not call him sir. This thought is terrifying to me. The more important thing is that people actually committed these offenses without punishment. It all goes back to public lynching of black and the cruelty that they lived with. In our society today it is hard to imagine that these things actually did exist. Being someone who is white I can not believe that I very possible had ancestors who practiced these behaviors and believed that they were doing the bidding of God. I know that different justifications were used for whites violence against black however by today standards nothing seems to justify the cruelty that our society placed upon another human race.