Social Issues in America
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1. The route of assimilation of members of ethnic groups into mainstream American society can be a matter of individual choice, or it can be a matter of accident or forces outside the ability of the individual to choose. The ethnic enclaves started by different ethnic groups come about as immigrants from other areas come to the United States and want to feel comfortable with others of their background; the ghetto that developed for black citizens, however, is different in that these people are not immigrants (at least not in this generation) and at least at one time had little choice about where they could live, since neighborhoods were segregated. The Women of Brewster Place live in the area they do because black people historically have populated such neighborhoods and still do. These women have not been given a choice as to where they want to live. The neighborhood was once all white, and this changed with the arrival of one black man. As more blacks moved in, the whites moved out, another trend creating ghettoes in different inner-city neighborhoods. The reason why so many immigrants seek others of the same background is made evident in the article by Nava (1993) which shows how a French boy in his neighborhood was taunted for being different. Nava finds that the tormented individual grows to hate back, which might prevent assimilation unless it can be overcome. For many blacks, remaining where they are allows them to remain comfortable. The older generation in
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en now do not do this. Instead, they penalize the women, punish the children, and impose hardships as a way of forcing future generations not to get pregnant, a dubious proposition at best. The first value to be maintained is that the children have to be given all the assistance they need for food, shelter, and clothing, and punishing the children for the "sins" of the parents is an approach that shows a complete lack of real values or real understanding of the issues involved. Much of the discussion today is based on false information, such as the stereotype of the black welfare queen referred to by Ronald Reagan, while Ehrenreich (1991) notes that 61 percent of the population receiving welfare is white (Ehrenreich, 1991, 84).
3. The statement that most American-born members of minority groups see themselves as primarily American rather than members of a particular subgroup may be correct, but the conclusion that because of this they have the same opportunities as all others in this society is ridiculous. They may see themselves as having the same opportunity because they consider themselves Americans first, but whether or not they have the same opportunity depends not on how they view themselves but on how they are viewe
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Some common words found in the essay are:
Women Brewster, Reagan Ehrenreich, Los Angeles, Cesar Chavez, Barbara Ehrenreich, , Asians Koreans, Americans Chang, Watts Riots, Central LA, women brewster, chang 1992, american society, ehrenreich 1991, naylor 1982, economically successful, nava 1993, chavez 1975, economic development, los angeles,
Approximate Word count = 1630
Approximate Pages = 7 (250 words per page)
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