Monday, February 11, 2013
February Question 1: Nativism today
Nativists of the 19th and early 20th century often complained of immigrants
because they took away jobs from "native" Americans, were uneducated (didn't
speak English), poor and utterly different (leading to discomfort). Are
such nativist arguments heard today in your own country? Is there any
validity to such arguments?
I
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Isabel (Italy)
ReplyDeleteNo, today in my own country these arguments are not heard. Immigrants are more then welcome in our country and rarely any people complain about it. I believe that there is no validity to such arguments because everyone should have the opportunity to travel and see different countries, and the opportunity to study and to have a job wherever the person likes to. If a person was born in a poor country, he certainly has to have the possibility to travel to other countries.
In my country, this is a topical arguments.People complain that most jobs are offered to immigrants, who accept lower wages. Moreover, they argue that these immigrants, who are indisciplined, creat many trobles. For example, they commit crimes which cause severe social problems; they also damage the environment. There is validity to this argument because the problems caused by immigrants always appear on the newspaper, and everyday, illegal immigrants are caught by the government.
ReplyDeleteAngela (Italy)
ReplyDeleteIn Italy we hear such arguments only for immigrants coming from certain countries. While no one complains about immigrants from western countries such as France, England or America, we often discriminate towards those of the east. There are different opinions regarding whether they take away our jobs or not. They do not really steal them, as they take the jobs that no one else is willing to accept. Even if right now the country is in crisis, and many people are left without a job and would do anything, it is not even right to take away the works that these people accepted while everyone was looking down on them. On the other side, there is a validity to the fact that they are uneducated, as many steal and commit other crimes, even though they are certainly not all like this.
In Mexico there are not a lot of immigrants, but there is a few. There are a lot of Americans as well as some Europeans. Nevertheless, there are very few nativist arguments against them. Of course, there are some comments, especially about 'gringos' or Americans. These comments might be about their way of thinking they are the best, or them thinking they can take over us. There is no real validity to these arguments. They all come from stereotypes. These comments are very few. Mexico is used to being very accepting when it comes to accepting immigrants.
ReplyDeleteEven though they are not as strongly implied as they were in the 20th century, they still exist. We automatically all love our countries and protect them and when other people come to take advantage of it and make our own people have disadvantages, we react poorly. Immigration is not generally a problem, but when it's illegal all sort of people enter the country which makes our country seem bad. We are or should be open to all people around the world, as everything needs a limitation, so does immigration.
ReplyDeleteHist
ReplyDeleteFirst of all the majority of immigrants in Venezuela are spanish spoken and from South America so they are really similar to us in their way o thinking. Or the ones that come from a non spanish country like Portugal normalize real fast.
So such comments against immigrants are not valid in my country but, even though they are said often.
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ReplyDeleteNo, in my country, which is Kazakhstan, people are not complaining about immigrants. Immigrants in Kazakhstan mostly are from Tajikistan and Kyrgyztan. Kazakh peolpe not only not unhappy with them, thay are conversely happy with immigrants, because they are take care of constructing. They are cost not too much, but in their countries, which are poor, they are very rich. And their working estimated as very quality work.
ReplyDeleteYes, today as in the 19th century, people are still existing this problem. Every year many italian immigrants take swiss jobs, leaving the "natives" unemployed and spending swiss money in on other country pouring this state.
ReplyDeleteIn my country, this is a strong argument. Immigrants are not welcome in my country! Most of them come from the middle east and Africa. They break the law by stealing, raping, taking jobs and even killing. This is like spitting in the face of someone who is helping you. They introduce their culture interfering ours in a negative way. Where can immigrants fit in such a small peninsula? Italy, right now, has its own problems, we don't need to solve other's.
ReplyDeleteIn Italy, my country, there are frequent arguments about such problem. Immigrants in Italy are stealing jobs, bringing ignorance, raping women and increasing microcriminality. I am always afraid to get robbed by them when I walk in public places such as train stations, subways, lanes and crowded streets. I can feel their slippery eyes analyzing my body when I walk in the mall, and sometimes, I am followed. In that case, I always enter in the first shop I see. I don't think that Italians should live in fear of being robbed or raped by the numerous immigrants that come to our country because it is not right! However, what I'm sayuing is not that every immigrant is dishonest and ignorant, but a big part of them are. Therefore we should prevent the huge flow of people coming from Africa and Eastern counties to protect Italians, also because they come in illegaly!
ReplyDeleteWhere I come from we accept immigrants with no such a problem as they did in 19th and 20th century. Croatia offers immigrants education, works and healthy insurance. The immigrants who come to Croatia are accepted the same way as all the other people. However, some people can be racist sometimes and make jokes about the immigrants who come from certain places, but overall as a nations we are very mature about accepting immigrants and treating them the right way.
ReplyDeleteThere are not a lot of immigrants in Mexico, but there is a wide range of tolerance for people who do immigrate. Maybe tolerance exists because most of the people who immigrate are from South America; who have a kind of similar life-style from ours. We know that most immigrate are not well educated, that need a job, shelter, food, among other things, but this situation is also seen in many parts of Mexico. Over all, immigrant rate is Mexico is low, and it is also hard to notice.
ReplyDeleteNo, because Brazil doesn't have problems with immigration; therefore, workers don't suffer from this competition against immigrants. Besides that, Brazil has bigger problems that still need to solve; corruption, education and housing conditions are the main issues. With that, such nativist arguments are not valid in Brazil, because only low-wages jobs are performed by brazilians in Brazil
ReplyDeleteYes, in my country, Switzerland there are people who talk about these things about immigrants who actually stoled the jobs from the natives, the Swiss. For example, the italians get the jobs in Switzerland and live the Swiss without any jobs. Eventhough italians think that this is fair, for swiss people it is not because after we cannot continue living without money.
ReplyDeleteYes, these arguments are very common in my country especially in Moscow. Many people move to Russia, however these immigrants are doing the job, which not many russian people would be willing to take. They work for very low salaries. However, there is also an argument that most of the crimes in Russia are done by immigrants.
ReplyDeleteThis idea of Nativism is very prevalent in American society. Many immigrants in the U.S. take jobs that most people don't want to do. It is hypocritical for americans to declare nativism because the only true natives of America are the Native Americans.
ReplyDeletei agree with Jake, that Nativism is always a topic of discussion in america. Americans claim that immigrants are always taking the jobs that nobody wants to do. Which is very hypocritical because at one point most american were immigrants coming into this country. So i don't think that they have the right to judge.
DeleteJake's ideology is very similar to mine in fact;) The only natives in our country are the Native Americans that settled on our land way before us. Other countries ignored the existence of the culture and intruded anyways. The "new americans" then took all the well paying jobs and claimed that all people crossing the boarder are trying to take "our" jobs. The idea of nativism is a hypocritical point of view that seeks to blame the new comers on issues instilled in America
ReplyDeleteI think that today we complain about the people crossing the border and taking jobs. The reason why the Mexican Immigrants are getting the jobs over people that are actually citizens of America is because they are cheaper than those that are educated and they will do all the dirty work for a cheaper price. Americans complain that the Mexican Immigrants are taking many jobs that they are not even qualified for but at the same time some people like that they are doing the "dirty jobs" so that means that they do not have to
ReplyDeleteI Believe that nativist ideals are still very prevalent in the US today. Many people believe that immigrants from countries such as Mexico are coming to America, and taking away many avaliable jobs. This happens often in california, becuase it is so close to Mexico. I believe that there is not much validity in these ideals, however it makes more sense to not want illegal immigrants taking job opportunities. However, many of these immigrants are taking the jobs that many Americans would not want, and they also work for much less.
ReplyDeleteNativist arguments as described in the question are definitely still prevalent in the United States today. However these opinions are only directed towards particular groups of immigrants. As many of my classmates have stated, Mexican immigrants, both legal and illegal, are some of the main bases of these nativist arguments. Our Mexican neighbors are targeted, however no one ever goes around talking about how Canadians are coming to the U.S. and stealing our jobs. This double standard is very unfair. I think that in a time where the job market took a tremendous nose dive, causing severe repercussions for those effected by the unemployment in the U.S.'s current economic state, many individuals sought someone to blame.
ReplyDeleteJobs aren't the only area where these nativist arguments show up in the United States. In recent years, the amount of foreign applications and acceptances into American colleges has upset citizens living in the states who claim, very similarly to the argument with jobs, that these foreigners are taking the place that American students should rightfully be primarily given.
I have never heard such arguments in my country, instead I have heard the opposite. Immigrants that come to work in Brazil usually come because we don't have a labor force qualified enough, therefore they don't take nobody jobs away nor cause discomfort since we are really open and extremely cultural diverse. Many immigrants go there to do a job that cant be done by many Brazilians and or to specialize our workforce.
ReplyDeleteThese are daily arguments in my country. Illegal immigrants from North Africa ora Estern Europe try to enter the country everyday. Italians say these people take the jobs Italians would not take, the ones paid badly and in bad security or health conditions. I believe nativism should be a strong though between Italians. People should be able to serve their countries instead of emigrating. There is job for everybody in very country, people are just too lazy to look for it. Lorenzo (Italy)
ReplyDeleteAlthough I believe that this whole concept of "Nativism" is completely invalid, I do believe that it is still dramatically present in modern day society. The main controversy in my country, The United States, regarding Nativism is the subject of illegal Mexican immigrants. Since these people come to our country with nothing and are willing to risk their lives and leave everything behind, the "Natives" of our country use them as a scapegoat for our internal issues because they are seen as an easy target. This is utterly unfair. Not only is it unfair, but Mexican immigrants seem to be the only immigrants blamed for "stealing jobs". Realistically, the jobs that the immigrants are taking are well earned and are based on the hard work that the immigrants are willing to do. I think that the immigrants provide a distinct culture and diverse atmosphere that our country needs in order to succeed as a world power. Once immigrants are no longer used as a scapegoat and Americans accept responsibility for the lack of success they are experiencing due to their own decisions, they will be enlightened to the importance of immigrants within our country and will learn tolerance towards them.
ReplyDeleteNativism, although constantly perceived as naive is very present in the United States especially in Southern California. The most frequently discussed issue is that of the constant and increasing influx of illegal immigrants from Mexico. Many feel, and many politicians argue, that this rise in illegal immigrants is preventing Americans from getting many job opportunities. Although there is some validity in that statement I think the fact that the U.S. associates "different" with uneducated and dangerous is very ignorant. Furthermore the fact that most Americans generalize and treat all Mexican immigrants whether illegal or legal with animosity is hypocritical of our beloved ideas of "The American Dream" and as America as a "Melting Pot" and shows more ignorance of our citizens.
ReplyDeleteNativists of the 19th and early 20th century often complained of immigrants because they took away jobs from "native" Americans, were uneducated (didn't speak English), poor and utterly different (leading to discomfort). Are such nativist arguments heard today in your own country? Is there any validity to such arguments? Nativist arguments are heard daily in the US and in my community daily. These comments are almost strictly relating to Mexican immigrants crossing the border into the US. Job opportunities have been seized by Mexican immigrants, but rightly so as many of these immigrants are willing to do labor intensive work that most Americans would dread doing. Mexican immigrants also bring over a zestful culture with a mix of their savory foods, remarkable dancing, beautiful artwork, and enlightening activism. However, an argument can be made against immigrants that bring over these traits without documentation. Many nativist comment have validity with regards to these illegal immigrants, but the benefit of having foreign culture in our society outweighs the notion that some of these foreigners came here illegally.
ReplyDeleteYes, these type of arguments between "native" Americans and those who immigrate here are still heard in our country today. By far the most ridiculous fact about the matter is that people aren't just discriminating against people who aren't native born americans but also against those who look similar to the immigrants in that same category. This type of prejudice has been seen in the subjugation of many non-white races such as Mexican Americans, Asian-Americans, and Indian-Americans. Although there may be some validity to these debates one must not confuse the immigrants nationality for the stereotypical image of all people sharing similar characteristics. We are a country that is quick to blame our internal problems on the foreigners rather than shoulder the blame ourselves.
ReplyDeleteThere are still nativist arguments heard today in China.The unfair treatments to the immigrants who are from Vietnam or Kampuche are ridiculous. They do most of the heavy and dangerous work without reasonable wages or personal security. Also, they don't get enough respect from the public.
ReplyDeleteNativism regarding job opportunities is most definitely present in America today. I agree with my some of my other classmates who have pointed out that there is really no validity to these nativist complaints on how immigrants shouldn't be allowed to work because it really is hypocritical, especially for Americans, to criticize those who have come here to work and get a better opportunity to succeed since that is the basis of American history. The only true "natives" are Native Americans, and immigrants who came to America as it was being formed took away their land to make it into what it is today. Americans are defined as a mix of races, and immigrants who come here have just as much of a right as anyone else. However, I can't support illegal immigrants taking the job opportunities because it's a privilege to be a citizen of a county like America, and the immigrants who actually worked to get their citizenship should not be cheated out of a job opportunity because someone who illegally crossed into our borders filled the position. As long as the people working, no matter where they came from, are working legally and doing their part, then these so called "natives" shouldn't be complaining because unless they are Native Americans, the previous generations before them were immigrants who worked hard to let today's generation be fortunate enough to be born citizens of the United States and not have to go through the process of gaining citizenship to live and work here with equal and fair rights.
ReplyDeleteI agree that nativism is still relevant in todays society. It is true that it is illegal for immigrants to come take jobs in America, however, the nativist influence on this law is what classifies this idea as "illegal." Just because this country is called America doesn't mean it was originally our land. Most Americans are'nt native to this land either.
DeleteYes Nativism is still heard today in my Country which is Korea. People complain that people from China and South-east Asia are taking their jobs. But the argument that these people are uneducated and cannote speak Korean should not be counted against them.
ReplyDeleteIn america a lot of chinese people come and they are not exactly the best drivers. I live in carmel valley and so do a lot of chinese. I feel like it is dangerous to have them here because of their poor driving abilities.
ReplyDeleteIn america there is a lot of talk about Nativism. This is including every race. Mexicans come to america for opprotunity and too work, they aren't trying to take jobs, they are trying to succeed in life. Yes no one likes unemployment obviously but it is basically impossible to have 100% of the country have a job.
ReplyDeleteI definitely hear comments about nativism in my life. People talk about immigration from Mexico and how the immigrants are taking jobs from Americans. Personally, I believe that those immigrants are just doing whatever they need to for survival. It is there right to fight for the job they need to support their family. Also, if the Mexican immigrants are said to be taking jobs from Americans, that means that the immigrant earned the job instead of the American. The company hiring will chose whatever person is best for the job so if the immigrants get the job it is because they earned it, not because they stole it.
ReplyDeleteNativism regarding job opportunity is definitely something we have all heard about. It is not right for illegals to come to our country and take the jobs away from the legal citizens. America is such an amazing country because of all of the opportunity, yet the amount of opportunity slims down when such influxes of people from other country sneak in. I do understand that life is a competition and being a legal citizen doesn't mean that you are going to get a job. I believe the main reason illegals are winning the jobs is because they are willing to work for less. They will obviously have to be able to do the work, yet it is favorable to a company, especially during our tough economic times, to save money on salary. This gives them an almost unfair advantage when competing with American citizens. From these ideas do Nativist remarks arise. I believe that as Americans we are threatened by illegals and their ability to take jobs, and Nativism is the result.
ReplyDeleteYes these types of arguments are made in the United States today. Although i don't know stats it is obvious that some illegal and legal immigrants are taking jobs of those Americans that have been here longer (whether actually native or not). I believe that the right person should be hired for the job in all cases, but if that person is here illegally, there is no question that they should not be given the job and something needs to be done about that. It is morally wrong to hire a person that is American compared to another race just because you want a white person in your company or business, racism like that is wrong. But hiring an illegal immigrant because they could be better for the part and maybe works lower wages is also wrong. These comments do happen in the US but if people are here legally they have the same chance as anyone else that is legal (but this does not mean to just let everyone in legally).
ReplyDeleteThis "superiority" mindset still holds value in American society today. Many of our extremist ideologies tend to place the blame on immigrants who are trying to find opportunity in this cesspool that we call a free market. It is important that we realize a fact that we all are descendants from immigrants who wanted to create a better life for themselves and their families. My grandfather and grandmother emigrated from Italy to New York City back in the 1920's so I too have some perspective on the matter. The reason behind their departure was not just to escape the oppressive, fascist regime of Benito Mussolini, my grandparents were trying to start a new life so that future generations didn't have to be subjected to the horrors of poverty and suffering. The whole point behind this nativism issue is that we, as a society, need to empathize with immigrants who desperately need a second chance, just as we did not too long ago.
ReplyDeleteIn my country, South Korea there has been an argument going on about taking jobs away and nativism. However, only difference that we have is that Korea is very ethnically united. We are not very diverse. There are only few people who are foreigners in Korea. So, the argument is not very serious. However, I would have to say that there are pros and cons when foreigners take the job. personal expense that Foreigners (chinese, thai, vietnamese, philipines) get is so much less than Koreans. SO, it would be better for the owner or people who give out the money, would be much beneficial because they don't have to pay so much money to hire employees. However, it would be bad for the laborers, because Koreans would not have enough jobs because of the foreigners taking jobs "away" from them. There has been a tension, but it is not really a big problem. Korea is very conservative so foreigners have hard time getting the job as well. Especially for North Koreans (who ran away from their country to South) have hard time getting the job.
ReplyDeleteNativist comments such as those described are heard from day to day, especially living in San Diego so close to the border. Mexican immigrants come in for better opportunities and job offers. The questions of whether they are taking up job opportunities is definitely opinion based, but i believe whoever is best qualified for the job is probably getting it. Therefor, Mexican immigrants are not essentially "taking" the jobs of americans, they are ending up more qualified than the other american applying for said jobs.
ReplyDeleteas far as immigration is concerned, i think that any people who come to america in search of jobs or whatever they desire is completely fine as long as they undergo the process of gaining citizenship. what i have a problem with, is people coming here illegally and looking for work and taking jobs from actual citizens. this is an unfair way to cut corners and try to gain easily what others have earned or worked for.
ReplyDeleteThe topic of foreigners taking away jobs from native people isn't such a huge topic in my home country, Japan. There are foreigners from southeast Asia such as China, Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam, but these foreigners aren't exactly 'stealing' jobs of Japanese people, because they are doing the 'dirty work' that most Japanese people don't want to do.
ReplyDeleteI hear about Nativist discussions all the time. Most of these comments are about illegal Mexicans crossing the border to get to the U.S. People often complain about immigrants taking our jobs, but many of these immigrants are willing to do work that involves hard labor that most Americans would never want to do. Many immigrants bring along a culture that our country and especially San Diego is founded on.
ReplyDeletei personally think that most nativist discussions are bad. the reason i say that is because a lot of jobs in america can consist of hard labor that most natives are will to do. its really not a bad thing because the hard jobs in america are being taking care of. the reason the reason i feel like people think its such a problem is because people dont like the idea of non us citizens taking their jobs away but this in my opinion helps the hard labor jobs make the country flow.
ReplyDelete