Malcolm wrote:kirtu wrote:Malcolm wrote:
Tell that to Algerian kids in France...
You are correct about that. Unfortunately the same (or similar) is true for any North African descended kid and almost any Arab kid as well.
Just like the prejudice against African-Americans, many Hispanics and American Indians in the US.
There aren't that many differences, except that Americans to their credit have been addressing both overt and subtle racism while the French just seem to flounder along. However I haven't seen this up close for over 20 yrs now. Hopefully the French have at least begun to address the issues.
Kirt
Well, no. I think that European xenophobia is greatly exacerbated compared that that of Americans in general, that at least is my experience of Europeans.
In the above I was specifically referring to the French. Of course you can find xenophobia displayed openly at times in Eastern Europe still. I did not experience it or see it in Poland but my Hispanic ex and I were mostly in cities. You will not really find xenophobia in Holland (except that the Dutch do assert xenophobia within their ranks and obviously there has been conflict in the society which has risen in intensity since the 90's as exemplified by the murder of Theo van Gogh and the work and treatment of the Somali-Dutch-American former lawmaker and activist Ayaan Hirsi Ali). And I was shocked by xenophobia displayed toward some immigrants by two young German friends, one in Nuernberg and the other in Berlin.
I have seen nothing in Holland, Belgium, Germany, Switzerland, Poland, Austria, Italy, or Spain that comes close to the normal and daily prejudice shown to American-Americans, Hispanic-Americans, sometimes still Asian-Americans and definitely American Indians. Nothing close. For many people of those groups life is a daily confrontation with de facto le Penites or German Neo-Nazis just appearing in the form of a white person born and raised in the US. And now with the anti-Muslim sentiment openly spoken of in the US, it is quite shocking.
However we all do have different perceptions and experiences.
Kirt