More on emails
This one isn't scary so read on!
The other day I got a forwarded email from a friend, containing a quote purportedly from Theodore Roosevelt, on the topic of immigration. The quote was actually appropriately attributed, just inaccurate in the details, as shown here:
http://www.truthorfiction.com/rumors/r/roosevelt-immigration.htm
Yes, I do look this stuff up - the vast majority of stuff emailed around the internet is false. But Roosevelt's stance has nothing to do with today's Spanish-speaking immigrants. Having read the Wikipedia article on Roosevelt, looking for events which would have inspired the quote, I am thinking that this passage is pertinent:
"Roosevelt angrily complained about the foreign policy of President Wilson, calling it "weak." This caused him to develop an intense dislike for Woodrow Wilson. When World War I began in 1914, Roosevelt strongly supported the Allies of World War I and demanded a harsher policy against Germany, especially regarding submarine warfare. In 1916, he campaigned energetically for Charles Evans Hughes and repeatedly denounced Irish-Americans and German-Americans who Roosevelt said were unpatriotic because they put the interest of Ireland and Germany ahead of America's by supporting neutrality. He insisted one had to be 100% American, not a "hyphenated American" who juggled multiple loyalties."
So we have the context of a major wartime to put the quotation in though it should be noted that the remarks were made sometime later than those referenced in the Wikipedia article. Can I say that the quote is being used for a different purpose in a different context and not offend anyone?
I would also point out a more personal reason to be less than thrilled with receiving the email: my own Great- and Great-great-grandparents came over from Scandanavia and Denmark in the time not too long before the First World War or in the decade following it. They assimilated very well, anglicizing their names and essentially giving up their culture. I am conflicted about, on the one hand, being an American, but also being able to still talk to someone who remembers these immigrant ancestors: my Mom can occasionally be induced to talk about her Grandmother, who came over on the boat with her sister. Great-Grandmother died before I was born though my Mom still has some silver dollars given to her for my older sister's birth. There is little to reclaim now other than a connection to Norse history which many of my correspondents are aware of. You don't hear much about Scandanavian cuisine for a reason. But much of my family has not been here long - the immigrants are still remembered - and while I don't use a hyphenated cultural label I still reserve the right to be proud of a heritage in addition to being an American.
The other day I got a forwarded email from a friend, containing a quote purportedly from Theodore Roosevelt, on the topic of immigration. The quote was actually appropriately attributed, just inaccurate in the details, as shown here:
http://www.truthorfiction.com/rumors/r/roosevelt-immigration.htm
Yes, I do look this stuff up - the vast majority of stuff emailed around the internet is false. But Roosevelt's stance has nothing to do with today's Spanish-speaking immigrants. Having read the Wikipedia article on Roosevelt, looking for events which would have inspired the quote, I am thinking that this passage is pertinent:
"Roosevelt angrily complained about the foreign policy of President Wilson, calling it "weak." This caused him to develop an intense dislike for Woodrow Wilson. When World War I began in 1914, Roosevelt strongly supported the Allies of World War I and demanded a harsher policy against Germany, especially regarding submarine warfare. In 1916, he campaigned energetically for Charles Evans Hughes and repeatedly denounced Irish-Americans and German-Americans who Roosevelt said were unpatriotic because they put the interest of Ireland and Germany ahead of America's by supporting neutrality. He insisted one had to be 100% American, not a "hyphenated American" who juggled multiple loyalties."
So we have the context of a major wartime to put the quotation in though it should be noted that the remarks were made sometime later than those referenced in the Wikipedia article. Can I say that the quote is being used for a different purpose in a different context and not offend anyone?
I would also point out a more personal reason to be less than thrilled with receiving the email: my own Great- and Great-great-grandparents came over from Scandanavia and Denmark in the time not too long before the First World War or in the decade following it. They assimilated very well, anglicizing their names and essentially giving up their culture. I am conflicted about, on the one hand, being an American, but also being able to still talk to someone who remembers these immigrant ancestors: my Mom can occasionally be induced to talk about her Grandmother, who came over on the boat with her sister. Great-Grandmother died before I was born though my Mom still has some silver dollars given to her for my older sister's birth. There is little to reclaim now other than a connection to Norse history which many of my correspondents are aware of. You don't hear much about Scandanavian cuisine for a reason. But much of my family has not been here long - the immigrants are still remembered - and while I don't use a hyphenated cultural label I still reserve the right to be proud of a heritage in addition to being an American.