Honestly, growing up in western Michigan, even as a white male I felt somewhat oppressed by the very nature of the clannish ethnic groups. It didn't matter if you were white, what mattered was whether you were Polish or Dutch. For example, the Dutch had bumper stickers that said "If you're not Dutch, you're not much." Talk about discrimination... you couldn't buy a house in Zeeland, Michigan without going through an "interview" with a Dutch realtor - there were no "For Sale/Rent" signs in Zeeland, even though houses were obviously available. If your last name didn't end with a "ski" or other Polish ending you weren't accepted on the west side of Grand Rapids and the blacks were all located in their own section of town, because to avoid the busing and integration laws each small community that made up the total of Grand Rapids proper, incorporated into their own small towns. Benton Harbor, Michigan is a prime example: in the 1950's it was predominately white, but in the 60's a nd 70's as blacks moved in - whites moved out across the river to St Joseph... the last time I was there, Benton Harbor was referred to as Benton Harlem and St Joseph was almost totally white.
> From: rpm...@aol.com > Date: Sat, 26 Jan 2013 23:44:50 -0500 > To: phono-l@oldcrank.org > Subject: [Phono-L] Edison and anti-semitism > > Given when he was born, where he lived, and his own ethnic and cultural > group, I would be surprised if he were either more or less "anti-semitic" > than others in the United States who weren't themselves Jewish. > > It wasn't remarkable for a Christian home owner to want to sell his home > to another Christian; for a Christian employer to want a Christian employee. > What we have here, I think, is a kind of "social distance" felt by one > social and cultural group from another. > > In my own lifetime, newspaper advertisements for houses for sale or > apartments to rent in New York City included clues in their texts about who > they > wanted, e.g. --- "churches nearby" --- carrying with it an implication of > who they *did not* want. > > Edison was a man of his time, place, and background. > > paul charosh > _______________________________________________ > Phono-L mailing list > http://phono-l.org _______________________________________________ Phono-L mailing list http://phono-l.org
