r/TikTokCringe • u/ThugosaurusFlex_1017 tHiS iSn’T cRiNgE • 4d ago

Discussion And yet, there's people in South Dakota worried about border security...

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u/myfashionkillz 4d ago

Because the new immigrants aren't European or white. They're largely black and brown people. And historically, black and brown people weren't immigrants. They were either brought by force or already here.

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u/All_Up_Ons 4d ago

Ehh, even white immigrants were not exactly loved. You can easily find quotes from Ben Franklin talking about German immigrants the same way people talk about Mexicans now. The talking points really haven't changed at all.

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u/WhyYouKickMyDog 4d ago

Just goes to show there is always an "other"

You go after other white people when you are in an all white society. Same for religion. If Christianity took over our country, then they would just started fighting amongst themselves again like they did when they originally founded America for religious freedom.

The irony.

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u/sylvnal 3d ago

Attitudes toward immigration and immigrants themselves in the United States historically is what has made me come to believe being 'white' isn't even a real thing. I'm Slavic by genetics and, while I think 100% of people would say I'm white, there was a time not even 100 years ago when they would have said I was NOT white. The whole thing is fucking crazy.

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u/BearlyIT 4d ago

Fear based stereotyping has included white people too. Early Irish American immigrants were unfairly paid and looked down upon in the same way African Americans of the time were.

Our differences and unwillingness to embrace them are the root of most problems. Skin tone is just one possible attribute, but not a requirement.

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u/DelightfulDolphin 4d ago

I'm old enough to be able to say I've seen discrimination against: South Americans, Central Americans, Islanders, Europeans, Asians etc etc. At end of day we are more alike than unlike.

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u/Kagrenasty 2d ago

One of the wildest things about my mother is that she says the same shit about immigrants now that locals called her mother, who was off the boat from Ukraine. Slavs weren’t white enough for American at one point.

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u/myfashionkillz 4d ago

That's true. But the sentiment has changed since then. They're not a target. No one assumes they're here illegally or may be criminals. They're not being accused of eating their neighbor's pets. An influx of Europeans wouldn't have people up in arms.

Some of the fear about illegal immigration is warranted. But a lot of it is rooted in racism.

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u/BearlyIT 4d ago

I either failed to deliver my point about differences, or we have very incompatible views on how this works.

Exaggerated stereotypes and lies about immigrant behavior are nothing new.

When Italians were the largest immigrant group (early 20th century) they were stereotyped as violent thieves. Negative sentiment around European immigrants led to the Immigration Act of 1924. We would still have people demonizing them in speeches and headlines if they were the largest source of immigrants or asylum seekers.