Aggressive & Failed Assimilation: Discourse on Les Jeunes

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Aggressive & Failed Assimilation: Discourse on Les Jeunes

Tibetan "Niggas"

After reading an essay by Emily Yeh on Tibetan racialization in America, I have learned that marginalized Tibetans, that ingest elements associated with low-class black culture, may refer to themselves as "niggas". Personally, I feel as though the n-word should not come out of your mouth unless you are black or within the African Diaspora. On the other hand, since the n-word describes the condition of oppression and suffering, ethnicities who become racialized and grouped with blacks understand what they believe to be a similar struggle. At the moment, I am going to refrain from debate on the usage of the n-word and whether its usage is "wrong or right" for non-blacks to use (some would even argue blacks shouldn't say "nigga"). I will focus on the racialization of Tibetans and how this may allow young Tibetans to structure their identity around black culture, specifically "gangsta rap". Gangsta rap in this context as music created by low class black Americans who live a life of violence, drug dealing, and other elements that are prevalent in low-income housing projects. As a sidenote, gangsta rap does not characterize hip-hop, it is only a subgenre. This analysis is forthcoming in addition to other themes in Tibetan Diaspora.

Arizona immigration laws explained through Appadurai

Click here to see, in its entirety, the new immigration bill, or as it has been campaigned, "Support Our Law Enforcement and Safe Neighborhoods Act".

"A LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICER, WITHOUT A WARRANT, MAY ARREST A PERSON IF THE OFFICER HAS PROBABLE CAUSE TO BELIEVE THAT THE PERSON HAS COMMITTED ANY PUBLIC OFFENSE THAT MAKES THE PERSON REMOVABLE FROM THE UNITED STATES."

"NOTWITHSTANDING ANY OTHER LAW, A LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCY MAY SECURELY TRANSPORT AN ALIEN WHO IS UNLAWFULLY PRESENT IN THE UNITED STATES AND WHO IS IN THE AGENCY'S CUSTODY TO A FEDERAL FACILITY IN THIS STATE OR TO ANY OTHER POINT OF TRANSFER INTO FEDERAL CUSTODY THAT IS OUTSIDE THE JURISDICTION OF THE LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCY."

"IT IS UNLAWFUL FOR AN OCCUPANT OF A MOTOR VEHICLE THAT IS STOPPED ON A STREET, ROADWAY OR HIGHWAY TO ATTEMPT TO HIRE OR HIRE AND PICK UP PASSENGERS FOR WORK AT A DIFFERENT LOCATION IF THE MOTOR VEHICLE BLOCKS OR IMPEDES THE NORMAL MOVEMENT OF TRAFFIC."

"IT IS UNLAWFUL FOR A PERSON WHO IS UNLAWFULLY PRESENT IN THE UNITED STATES AND WHO IS AN UNAUTHORIZED ALIEN TO KNOWINGLY APPLY FOR WORK, SOLICIT WORK IN A PUBLIC PLACE OR PERFORM WORK AS AN EMPLOYEE OR INDEPENDENT CONTRACTOR IN THIS STATE."

The four excerpts above highlight notable changes that reflect "problems" Arizona seems to be having. The first two, in light of Appadurai, I argue, represent the anxiety of incompleteness—frustration, fear, disappointment, anger of a minority presence and the wish to create a "pure, untainted" majority—by expelling them from the country or incarcerating them where they cannot be seen by the public eye and do not share the freedoms that legal Arizona citizens do. The last two excerpts directly target day laborers and those who hire them. These are methods that also serve to get rid of minorities and to arrest legal citizens who aid them.

Appadurai speaks on the globalization of terrorism and the process towards genocide between majorities and minorities. It would seem that comparing Arizona immigration law with acts of genocide cannot be compared in any form. However, his theories of how the majority identity acts towards the minority is reflected in the state's legislation. The people of Arizona have not developed "predatory identities" (Appadurai 2006) because they do not see themselves as one ethnic singularity. However, the anxiety of incompleteness appears in the "we/they" factor which can generate "solutions" to this "problem". Appadurai explains this sociological theory, "The creation of collective others, or them's, is a requirement, through the dynamics of stereotyping and identity contrast, for helping to set boundaries and mark off the dynamics of the we" (2006:50). Not only is this often based on ethnicity and race, I argue, that the minority problem is also connected to an immigration problem. Discerning the illegals from the legal citizens is at the heart of this immigration bill. There is a presence of illegals in Arizona, but who are they? They are of Latino heritage. Are all illegals Latino? Certainly not, but illegal immigrant and Mexican have almost become interchangeable in the last decade. So in this "we/they" factor there is a dual representation: White Arizonan/Mexican and Legal Citizen/Illegal Immigrant. (The majority are white Arizonans, but that does not mean all white Arizonans express an anxiety of incompleteness.) In reconceptualizing the "we/they" question and the anxiety of incompleteness, one can see how these concepts have actively become a part of state legislation with the hope of expelling the Other.

Arizona's controversial legislation

In the past week, Arizona has passed legislation allowing officials to ask to see legal papers from suspected illegal immigrants. Also, a new proposal that may potentially come into law would ban ethnic studies from being taught at public schools. Racial profiling and assimilation anyone? For the most part, I am against laws that shelter illegal immigrants, businesses that hire illegal immigrants, and in general illegal immigrants being in the country. Yes, there are companies and people that exploit illegal immigrants in methods of unhealthy conditions, cruel work hours, low wage, and abuse. While I am strongly opposed to exploitation and abusive practices, I am equally opposed to immigrants who do not a visa or green card. I understand that the allure of the United States is so attractive compared to political unrest and economic disasters in developing countries across the globe. However, illegal immigrants pose one main problem for me...they are ILLEGALLY here. The very basis of being in a country without going through the process of the legal system is a problem. Unfortunately, I do not have an alternate proposal on how to assist immigrants in obtaining a legal status that is easier and less discriminatory than the immigration laws in place now. I may be against illegal immigration, but I am 100% against racial profiling and forced assimilation. More on the story here.

Assimilation

A well assimilated individual does not stand out. He or she blends in with society by whole-heartedly adopting its culture, being familiar with its national history, and having an overall sense of nationalism. In a society that encourages assimilation, the majority (in this case Frenchmen and women), may immediately feel threatened by the Other (mostly North African immigrants) who attempt to live an alternative lifestyle. In France, it is a problem when anyone or anything stands out from the rest. In a sea of green apples, the red one becomes a target for criticism, scrutiny, racism, discrimination, socialization, and a host of negativity that stigmatize the culture on a macro-level. Rather than being acknowledged as disadvantaged youth in a disadvantage neighborhood, the police, media, and judicial system appoint blame to cultural differences and family dynamics in immigrant families. The irony is that France is legally void of attributions and legal framework regarding race.

"Since the end of the racist policies of the World War II Vichy period, it has been illegal in France to collect data on ethnic, racial, religious, or cultural origin or to track racial or ethnic distributions in jobs or institutions. With the goal of rejecting racial categorization and institutionalized discrimination, public bodies have refused to permit any official recognition of racial or ethnic difference" (Terrio 2009:25).

In other words, they have adopted a color-blind society. This has proved to be the foundation for an aggressive means of assimilation. In order to promote a color-blind society, one must make sure that no one stands out as being different. So, how does the French judicial system cope with multiculturalism and immigrant populations who are proud of their ancestry? They demand that these immigrants fully ingest secular French culture. However, this is a failing agenda as Terrio notes the high overpopulation and representation of juveniles and immigrants in French prisons. By being legally void of race, the French judicial system is only masking the high correlation incarceration statistics of juveniles and immigrants.

I will post the rest next week.

Discourse Among "D'origine Etrangere"

This was going to be my blank canvas to construct and develop my thesis for a paper regarding the French judicial system and its effects on non-French immigrants. However, since I have such strong aversions for ethnocentrism and negative stereotyping, this may seem more like an opinion column out of some newspaper. Personally, I am partial to rehabilitative models, as opposed to strict penal systems, especially in juvenile matters. Maturity has yet to reach a number of young children who commit petty crimes, like stealing a cell phone for instance, so how will incarcerating these individuals advance their maturity? In fact, that seems to be the focal point of my argument. Every government, whether it is France or the United States of America, encourages and polices an extent of public order and maturity. In other words, you will be reprimanded if you are a menace to society. The debate here is not in the idea of reprimanding deviance, rather how the deviance is reprimanded. If a fifteen-year-old boy steals his neighbor's car and crashes it into a stop sign should he serve time in prison, or should he experience an alternate form of punishment that corrects his or her behavior? Understand that both systems strive to eliminate deviance, but rehabilitative models "accept that a minor's criminal misbehavior is symptomatic of factors beyond his or her control--such as bad parenting, nefarious influences, and underprivileged living conditions--rather than a conscious and deliberate will to break the law" (Terrio 2009:48). The lines begin to get blurry when speaking about serious offenses where a minor is involved in manslaughter or rape. Even in serious offenses previously mentioned, the minor may have suffered or been influenced by factors beyond his or her control. The point is that juveniles are still very psychologically immature and have yet to fully develop the set of laws that society sets up. With this premise, I acknowledge and argue that the current French judicial system, which advocates and enforces sanctity of public order and social etiquette, induces alienation and social rebellion. Thus, the relative lack of a rehabilitative option creates an environment where deviance is not corrected, but reinforced in prison and/or temporarily suppressed around figures of authority.