The Greatest Society at 50

confuzzled dude wrote:-> The below pretty much answers the debate we had a couple of days ago

"Some of the Great Society’s biggest accomplishments are rarely acknowledged today. For instance, the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965 scrapped a 1920s-era quota system that had effectively shut out most of the world, except for blond, blue-eyed Western Europe.

The 1965 law inviting in Africans, Latin Americans and Asians “was in some ways the most important determinant of our ethnic composition,” said Schuck, who taught immigration law and policy at Yale Law School."

Kris wrote:

confuzzled dude wrote:-> The below pretty much answers the debate we had a couple of days ago

"Some of the Great Society’s biggest accomplishments are rarely acknowledged today. For instance, the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965 scrapped a 1920s-era quota system that had effectively shut out most of the world, except for blond, blue-eyed Western Europe.

The 1965 law inviting in Africans, Latin Americans and Asians “was in some ways the most important determinant of our ethnic composition,” said Schuck, who taught immigration law and policy at Yale Law School."

>>>Some of the above is blatant nonsense (i.e. non blond southern Italians and Greeks and Eastern Europeans have come here since the early part of the 1900s). And Schuck's point is a non sequitur, unless he is talking personally in terms of the income he generated by filing green card apps. If his point is that the society became more diverse, that may well be true but important only if diversity is valued for its own sake. If the point is that the country benefited from the talents of Asian immigrants, yes, but it would have been dumb for them to keep out scientists and engineers because they were brown or yellow, Great Society or no Great Society. A superpower cannot be that dumb.

confuzzled dude wrote:

Kris wrote:

confuzzled dude wrote:-> The below pretty much answers the debate we had a couple of days ago

"Some of the Great Society’s biggest accomplishments are rarely acknowledged today. For instance, the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965 scrapped a 1920s-era quota system that had effectively shut out most of the world, except for blond, blue-eyed Western Europe.

The 1965 law inviting in Africans, Latin Americans and Asians “was in some ways the most important determinant of our ethnic composition,” said Schuck, who taught immigration law and policy at Yale Law School."

>>>Some of the above is blatant nonsense (i.e. non blond southern Italians and Greeks and Eastern Europeans have come here since the early part of the 1900s). And Schuck's point is a non sequitur, unless he is talking personally in terms of the income he generated by filing green card apps. If his point is that the society became more diverse, that may well be true but important only if diversity is valued for its own sake. If the point is that the country benefited from the talents of Asian immigrants, yes, but it would have been dumb for them to keep out scientists and engineers because they were brown or yellow, Great Society or no Great Society. A superpower cannot be that dumb.

Were they treated on par with other white folks, wasn't anti-italianism prevalent those days?

Kris wrote:

confuzzled dude wrote:

Kris wrote:

confuzzled dude wrote:-> The below pretty much answers the debate we had a couple of days ago

"Some of the Great Society’s biggest accomplishments are rarely acknowledged today. For instance, the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965 scrapped a 1920s-era quota system that had effectively shut out most of the world, except for blond, blue-eyed Western Europe.

The 1965 law inviting in Africans, Latin Americans and Asians “was in some ways the most important determinant of our ethnic composition,” said Schuck, who taught immigration law and policy at Yale Law School."

>>>Some of the above is blatant nonsense (i.e. non blond southern Italians and Greeks and Eastern Europeans have come here since the early part of the 1900s). And Schuck's point is a non sequitur, unless he is talking personally in terms of the income he generated by filing green card apps. If his point is that the society became more diverse, that may well be true but important only if diversity is valued for its own sake. If the point is that the country benefited from the talents of Asian immigrants, yes, but it would have been dumb for them to keep out scientists and engineers because they were brown or yellow, Great Society or no Great Society. A superpower cannot be that dumb.

Were they treated on par with other white folks, wasn't anti-italianism prevalent those days?

>>>I thought his point was they were shut out in terms of immigration. The answer to your question: yes, they faced discrimination, as did Irish and Germans and many others. No one ever said America was perfect. It has been a work in progress, but the rate it which it has progressed is astounding. In the 20s, there were sign boards that said 'dogs and irish' not allowed. Catholics were not high on the totem pole. Within 40 years, there was an Irish Catholic President. As late as the early 60s, black folks were made to sit in the back of the bus in parts of the country. A black guy is sitting in the White House now. Admittedly, much of this came after hard fought victories, but it is the system allows those fights. The 'America is bad' crowd misses this big time.