11: Racial and Ethnic Diversity
The opening anecdote relates the experience of a Korean businessman who visited America on a short trip - he was pleased when it was noted one of the locals would show him around the town before he returned to Seoul, but somewhat shocked when the local, "Bill Young," turned out to be a Korean, American-born but the son of immigrants. He had hoped to spend time with a "real" American.
The author pauses to address any offense that may be caused by the use of certain terms in this chapter - what constitutes a "race" of people is subject to some debate, but it's generally considered to be a collection of physical attributes such as skin color, hair type, build, and the shape of their features. Ethnicity deals more with vales and customs, but the two notions are often blurred. A person who is ethnically Mexican may consider themselves to be of the Caucasian race, or may use "Mexican" to describe themselves in both regards.
(EN: And it's worth noting that the notions are tangled, even among Americans, such that many people prefer to avoid describing another person in terms of race or ethnicity at all. It can be an uncomfortable topic.)
WHAT INTERNATIONAL VISITORS SEE
The racial and ethnic diversity visitors will see in America depends largely on the location they visit.
Per the 2009 census estimates, people of European ancestry ("white" or "Caucasian") make up 66% of the overall population, but in some parts of the US, nearly everyone is white. Maine is 96% while, Iowa is 94%, and Nebraska is 91%. Until the late twentieth century, the wealthiest strata of society and most positions of authority were held by whites, and usually white males.
Hispanic Americans, from Mexico, Central and South America, Spain, and Portugal, constitute 15% of the American population, largely concentrated in the southwestern border states and some larger cities. (EN: Worth noting that Brazilians, Portuguese, and Puerto Ricans may object to being lumped into the category of "Hispanic.") This population is growing rapidly.
African Americans, also called "blacks", make up about 13% of the population, and are concentrated in the southeastern United States. Asians (including pacific islanders) are about 5% and are concentrated on the West coast. Native Americans constitute less than 1% and are found only in small pockets and in few areas. The remaining 2% report themselves to be "mixed" or "other."
It's also noted that, in some areas, there are pronounced concentrations of specific ethic groups. Detroit has a large population of Arab Americans, Minneapolis is home to many Hmong, and many small Midwestern towns have a noticeable number of Somali.
It's noted that where there are large concentrations of specific ethnicities, the foreign culture often seeps into the American culture. The culture of Texas, for example, is heavily influenced by Mexican culture - it's not uncommon to see signage in Spanish and English, a wide popularity of Mexican cuisine, Spanish language television stations, and public celebrations of Mexican holidays and cultural events.
Typically, when there is a large migration of foreigners into the United states, they aggregate in certain neighborhoods. Many cities have a district called "Chinatown" and neighborhoods that are known to be populated heavily by a specific culture (Little Italy in New York, Greektown in Chicago). Immigrants may remain in these neighborhoods and seldom associate with Americans in their own cities, out of convenience or security concerns.
It is generally the next or following generation before descendants become Americanized, assimilate into the culture, and disperse to other parts of town. Those who assimilate may find themselves less accepted, or even spurned, by their former ethnic groups, and descendants who no longer speak the language or participate in the culture are considered outsiders.
Even so, there is little sense of unity among members of a given race or ethnicity in America. An ethnic neighborhood may be fairly communal, but will have no connection with another neighborhood of the same ethnicity in another part of town. Those who speak of a group of people as a "community" are generally attempting to pander to them for personal gain (a politician seeks to win a block of voters, a business seeks to market to a given segment), which is generally considered offensive unless the individual is a member of the given race or ethnicity to which he panders. (EN: Even then, there is hostility toward those who presume to speak for a given ethnicity, especially among individuals who are not immediate immigrants.)
There is also the outdated notion of America as a "melting pot," in which immigrants of other countries quickly blend into society and rapidly adopt American culture. While the male WASP was the ideal of culture until the mid-twentieth century, American has become increasingly multicultural, and the culture of other people and nations can be seen to have an impact on mainstream culture - sometimes temporary, sometimes more permanently.
However, it remains true that WASP males are still largely dominant, and there are periodic backlashes to the changes taking place in the fabric of American society due to non-white, no-protestant, and female influence.
HOW AMERICANS VIEW RACE AND ETHNIC RELATIONS
The way Americans think about race and ethnic relationships is influenced by their own cultural assumptions and values. White Americans view the topic through the lens of individualism, people of color considered it in more collectivistic terms.
While interracial conflicts are not a part of daily life, American newspapers and magazines will frequently use the issue of race to sensationalize an otherwise less-newsworthy event, and statistics can be found to support any viewpoint. (EN: The author implies that Americans, being fond of numerical facts, will accept whatever statistics are presented, but my sense is that for this topic specifically, Americans have been exposed to statistics that are conflicting on a regular basis and tend to be a bit more skeptical.)
In regard to statistics, it's noted that many governmental and nonprofit agencies collect statistical information on a wide range of topics. Some examples are the difference in races in terms of employment rates, college-entrance examination scores, incidence of disease and health conditions, level of education and drop-out rates, number of business managers in a company, ten pregnancy rate, representation in entertainment media, per-capita income and net worth, treatment by police and judicial system, etc. And again, the different statistical studies support completely opposite conclusions about virtually any topic.
The primary concern of disparity among races in America is typically the difference between minorities and whites - most often black and white, but increasingly Hispanic and white. The author makes much of this issue and carries on for quite some time, but the general consensus among those who are not seeking to forward a political agenda tends to be that there are still discrepancies between whites and majorities, in favor of the whites, but that the level of disparity is decreasing over time.
A special note is given to the matter of words that describe races. There are a wide array of epithets, and words that are generally meant to be innocuous give rise to offense. The term "Oriental" to describe a person from the Far East was for many years considered acceptable, but eventually it was politicized and the term was replaced by "Asian."
In general, there is wariness of any terminology (and weariness about the constant changes and divisiveness) and a general desire to avoid the topic of race entirely. In terms of sensitivity, it is considered the equivalent of a political issue, and perhaps slightly more sensitive. Foreign visitors are encouraged to avoid the topic and, if absolutely necessary to make a reference to race, to generally append word "American" to any ethic description - African American, Asian American, European American, and so on. This is generally considered to have the least potential to be offensive (EN: unless you happen to describe someone as "Japanese American" who considers himself merely to be "Japanese" - there really isn't any perfect solution.)
The author suggests that the issue of affirmative action has been widely debated in recent years, and the perception that quotas resulted in unqualified students being admitted and under qualified professionals hired simply to meet arbitrary percentages. (EN: I suspect this is something that wasn't updated from a previous edition, as it hasn't been a subject of much debate for nearly two decades, so I'm skipping the rest.)
SUGGESTIONS FOR INTERNATIONAL VISITORS
The author cautions foreign visitors about putting stock in stereotypes, whether they originate from their home culture, the American media, or Americans themselves. The ideal of American individualism and equality require consideration of each person as an individual rather than a member of any group, especially an ethnic or racial one.
Even so, a non-European visitor may experience some prejudices in the United States. Most Americans will declare they consider races equal and treat everyone the same, but their behavior will not always follow suit.
It's noted that if someone is the member of a minority group in another country, they will have some basis for understanding the difference in the way that races are treated, and will find the same to be true in America, to a lesser or greater degree than in their home country.
The author advises foreigners to seek to expose themselves to minority groups - especially to attend public celebrations and festivals that are based on culture. In many instances, the purpose of these festivals is to share information about a given ethnicity with the mainstream culture, so much can be learned.
It's suggested that it will be worthwhile to establish relationships with non-majority people, though it will be more delicate and require intercultural sensitivity. As a foreigner, it will be more permissible to ask questions such as what name a person prefers for their own ethnic or racial group, and to ask questions about their specific experience as a member of that group. However, you will get an array of responses, depending on the individual with whom you are speaking.