On Fri, 11 Jan 2002 08:46:41 -0600 "Dan Minette"
<[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes:
> This can be seen the easiest with the Jewish population. For 2000
> years,
> Jewish people have maintained a unique identity under great pressure
> to
> convert to the local (usually Christian) religions. But, now that
> they are
> simply accepted as part of America, we find that the intermarriage
> rate has
> reached a historical high. IIRC, half of Jewish marriages involve
> non-Jews.
-
I feel that this has a lot more to do with the breakdown of religious
identity and belief in the post-'Enlightenment' Western world, than
ethnic mixing and melting pots.
Also, it seems that in the discussions here on this topic people aren't
exactly delineating what it is they mean by "melting pot",
"multiculturalism", "assimilation", etc.
The question is, what's the difference between "assimilation" and a
"melting pot"? Assimilation has always meant, from my experience, a
rejection or draining away of one's own cultural (etc.) heritage in favor
of what is seen as the mainstream, or the majority. Now "melting pots"
are slightly different - when you throw cultures and ethnoses into a
melting pot, are they supposed to dilute into the stock, losing their own
identity (= assimiliation) ? Or are they supposed to melt together *with
each other* to form a new and (at least somewhat varied) whole?
fanatic multiculturalism ("me here, you there, stay away") = traeki on a
bad day?
'new consensus' melting pot (mm... chunky soup...) = traeki on a good
day?
assimilation into something not-your-own = Jophur?
I guess you all can see which of the alternatives i personally prefer ;-)
-Stephen (Steg)
"old linguists never die - they just come to voiceless stops."
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