Last night I found myself reading an article about singer Billy Joel and his family.
This paragraph stood out:
To escape Europe, Billy Joel’s grandparents and his father “secured places aboard a cruise ship called the Andora Star, for a 1939 passage across the Atlantic to Cuba, where they resided for two years before the United States — strictly limiting the immigration of Jews to protect “the ideal of American homogeneity” — allowed them entry.
What on earth was “the ideal of American homogeneity”?
That took me on a journey which included the Immigration Act of 1924, The Asian Exclusion Act, and the National Origins Act. Also, a quick visit to Google ensued.
ho·mo·ge·ne·i·ty
noun
the quality or state of being all the same or all of the same kind."the cultural homogeneity of our society"
(Just Up the Pike)
black lives matter, we’re glad you’re our neighbor, families belong together, SAY NO to an apartment building on my street
This prompted the response:
Black lives matter as long as they’re in another zip code.
“The ideal of American homogeneity”. Otherwise known as segregation. Or exclusion. Or, “I just want to be around people that don’t make me feel uncomfortable.” Or, perhaps, “I like whatever American ideal protects my property values.”
This is your friendly reminder that school redistricting is coming. And that this blog doesn’t find anything particularly American or idealistic about homogeneity.
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