underscored

@underscored

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It doesn't matter whether you assimilate or not. Yes, if you speak a foreign language or build a Hindu temple or wear traditional Indian clothing, the New Right will scream their heads off about it. But if you put on a University of Texas sweater and go to football games, they'll still scream "Alien invaders!!" when they see you in a photo. It's who you are that bothers them, not what you do.

Noah Smith
1d ago

Asian American culture is probably destined to be a sort of transitory, ephemeral thing. The classic second generation experience — 'My parents really drove me hard and kids made fun of my weird lunch, until I went to college and met other people with the same background' — almost never lasts beyond the second generation. Assimilation happens.

2w ago

In the past, showing that you were a good American — waving the flag, joining the army, speaking perfect English, and so on — was good enough to reassure most conservatives that you weren't an invader bent on overthrowing America's culture and replacing it with something alien. Nowadays, that's not enough.

5mo ago

Underscored — save the words that stop you in your tracks.

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