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Forum nameOkay Activist Archives
Topic subjectRE: whites vs europeans
Topic URLhttp://board.okayplayer.com/okp.php?az=show_topic&forum=22&topic_id=7971&mesg_id=8026
8026, RE: whites vs europeans
Posted by Nettrice, Mon Jul-08-02 02:46 AM
When I lived in Brooklyn I had a chat with this guy on a visa, from Italy. Brooklyn has a big Italian American community and that's what I knew. This native Italian guy made a point to differentiate so-called American Italians and himself. He blasted the racist attitudes of the Italian Americans. He told me to visit Italy to see the difference.

Toni Morrison once said that the first word immigrants learn when they come to the US is nigger. I don't fully agree with that statement but I do agree that immigrants buy into a certain social hierachy and see themselves as better than Black and other folks. America is supposed to be a land of opportunity and many immigrants come here seeking a better life. They are often blinded by what other Americans refuse to admit and that is the system is really no better than other countries. The American "dream" is a nightmare for many Americans, esp. institutionalized racism, poverty and other social ills that exist in other countries.

My Italian friend was right. When I met him he immediately addressed this issue. The American dream is an illusion. People the world over see the same dream, esp. through the media and buy into that. Americans are the most blinded (notice I didn't specify white).