I suddenly find an article on the Norway bomber, Anders Behring Breivik, and how he wasn't going to be sentenced to life in jail since Norway's laws work differently than ours. In fact, their jails are quite luxurious (i.e. flat-screen TVs, saunas, sunbeds, etc.)
[SPOILER="Spoiler"]This is an in-mate sun-bathing in one of Norway's prisons. Insane, no?
[Image: http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2011/05/06/article-1384308-0BF0134500000578-746_634x345.jpg]
Makes me wanna kill someone and go to jail too.[/SPOILER]
The point is, I came across an article on multiculturalism and how it never works and whatnot, which inspired me to write my sincere thoughts on the matter.
I believe that people honestly have the right to an opinion, be it for or against multiculturalism, but every time I read an opinion against promoting multiple cultures in one's nation, it always comes off as somewhat xenophobic, or even racist, which rubs me the wrong way.
It always seems like there's one group that is "better" than the other and I feel like that's why there's a lack of acceptance. When you're not exposed to different cultures or different groups of people, you tend to become a little judgmental of those "other" people, even if unintentional.
While Japan continues to promote its idea of a "one race" nation, it continues to be one of the most xenophobic countries out there. To tourists, to non-ethnic Japanese residents (especially Koreans and Chinese), you name it.
Promoting your culture and your heritage is one thing, but shunning all other cultures and/or sub-cultures within your country? Seems a little too much. And that's my main problem with people who tend to be against multiculturalism.
I may live in New York City, one of the hugest melting pots in the entire world (i.e. Jewish, Italian, African-American, Hispanic, Indian, Muslim, etc.), but I've seen my small share of anti-multiculturalism. During the time I lived in the Dominican Republic (from ages 12-15), I witnessed a lot of hatred towards Haitians. Maybe "hatred" isn't really the right word to use, as most Dominicans wouldn't treat Haitians with any antipathy or whatever, but there was always that sentiment that Haitians didn't "belong" in our country.
"What they are they doing here?"
"They should go back to where they came from."
"They're here, trying to steal our jobs."
"They're trying to take over our country."
I would heard those phrases often, not gonna lie. And even as a kid going through puberty, I always thought they were downright stupid.
Why shouldn't someone else have the right or the freedom to go to another country and pursue a different life, a different happiness, especially if it's for their loved ones? Is that not why most immigrants immigrate anyway? To pursue a better life, away from their poor, crime-ridden third-world (or in the case of Haiti, four-world) countries?
Most of the Haitians I met in Dominican Republic, however, tried hard to fit in with the Dominican culture. I dunno if that can be said about all of them, but the ones I met did make an effort to learn Spanish, even if they spoke it with an accent.
I forget the point I was originally trying to make, but it goes a little along the lines of this: I don't think multiculturalism is at all bad. It can be bad, but it can also be quite good, especially when there's tons of different people around ya.
I don't know what it is to live in Europe and be faced by a massive amount of Muslim immigrants, the counterpart of America's Mexicans and Dominican Republic's Haitians, but I must say that I am glad to live in a country where diversity is promoted and accepted. Heck, it's even ingrained in the very foundations to this country and its government.
The Bill of Rights and the Constitution were created to protect different groups, religious and cultural, from being persecuted for their beliefs and customs. The Quakers immigrated here and so did some Catholics, and French and British and Spanish colonists too. And we learned to co-exist. We might have done away with most of the Native American population, mainly because we wanted their land, but among us, we did quite well.
Whether there's multiculturalism or not in a country, I'll argue that there will always be racism. You've seen how awful Africans were treated when they were brought to the New World as slaves; that racism still remains today, yes, but it's not as it was before. Why? Because we've learned to co-exist, IMO.
The bigger picture I'm trying to paint, however, is that a nation can benefit a lot from multiculturalism and I think that's one thing people don't tend to focus on.
When you're in a room with people of different backgrounds, there's a lot to be brought to the table; different ideas, different beliefs of what's right. For example, we use Arabic numerals today, instead of Roman numerals, even though our civilization derived from Rome, and the Arabs themselves got these numerals from India (source). Our alphabet, at the other hand, is Roman (or Latin).
This tolerance for a wide range of religious belief systems is what draws more people to America, and has avoided their banishment. The development of the atomic bomb during World War II, which relied heavily on European (and often Jewish) scientists who fled Hitler, is one illustration of the value of ethnic and cultural tolerance; the benefits Americans have gotten from past generations of immigrants is another. (source)
And whether we like it or not, the world is full of different cultures and people. Multiculturalism allows us to experience those other cultures for ourselves and in turn, helps us learn how to deal with other cultures and understand them, be it a religion or a language.
Prior to entering high school, I didn't know what Sri Lanka was, until I met somebody from Sri Lanka in high school. I didn't know much about Indian food or how great it tasted. I also didn't know that having a Chinese friend to cheat off on exams would be beneficial to me in the long run, because they're so smart! (Kidding on that one).
I just hate hearing of people thinking that they're losing their homogeneous culture because someone decided to move down the block and he's black. It seems a little wrong to me.
While I do agree that we shouldn't let just anyone enter a nation, especially if they're addicted to drugs or have committed multiple crimes before, I honestly do believe that people immigrate to other countries to seek better futures for themselves and their families and I support that one-hundred percent because I would probably do the same living in poor, crime-ridden, no-future, third-world country. And no, I would be stealing nobody's job.
You'd be surprised at how many Americans would not work the jobs that some Mexicans do. And man, Mexicans work hard, man. They work haaaaaard. And you know what's it for most of the times? Not drugs, not alcohol, but their families.
I always find it a little ignorant when people say, "You're in America, learn English!" when they don't know the struggles a person has gone through. I just don't think have the mentality that one culture is entitled to one land or one race or one language. I'm just as American as I am Dominican, and yes, I'm not white. Doesn't mean I don't "truly belong" though.
Things change. Today, to not know Spanish here in the United States is not somewhat of a bad thing, especially when living in a big city. You need to keep up with the times. It's not losing your culture, it's adapting to change, because change is inevitable, IMO.
And yeah, multiculturalism can cause trouble, and lots of it, in places like Yugoslavia and Northern Ireland, but I believe that as long as a group tries to assimilate itself into the host nation's society, by either trying to learn the language or whatnot, that group can indeed maintain a sub-culture within that very same country and co-exist with the host society in that country.
I think I said that right.
But yeah, those are my two cents.