It was never about assimilation
I try not to pay too much attention to what goes on in the United States these days. I figure, instead of worrying about things that don’t apply to me and events that I have no control over, that I can best serve myself by keeping my head down and putting in the work. But even if I focus only on what I can fix, there are aspects of myself that I cannot change. Aspects that I love, to be clear, but are unalterable. That doesn’t mean I don’t belong, but it does anger some people. And, seeing as I literally have skin in the game, I feel like I ought to speak up, as a proud Australian citizen by birth, and as a man of Indian descent.
Ever since MAGA re-entered mainstream politics and online discourse, there’s been this fixation on Indians in America, and in particular, their need to assimilate. See how the right were obsessed with how Zohran Mamdani ate rice with his hands, as if there was something wrong with that. The answer, they say, is to embrace American traditions. Maybe attend a football game?
Here’s an unalterable fact — those UT Austin students are Americans. They are citizens, they live in Texas, they earned their place at that institution, and they were out there supporting their team. This is what assimilation looks like. And yet, that’s not enough for some people. I would usually ignore these worthless opinions, but unfortunately, they're being expressed more frequently, and they are being held by people who want to obtain positions of power. Positions that would allow them to unfairly discriminate. Those students did nothing wrong by showing up to that game, but it’s as if those with far-right tendencies were offended by their mere existence. For Bo French — the latest contributor to this ongoing social commentary — there’s something that’s not quite white. He doesn’t appear to be willing to state in writing what he’s obviously thinking, so I’ll do it for him:
It was never about assimilation. It was always about the colour of their skin.
It’s always been about the colour of my skin.
For these people, we will never be enough. We can never fit in. We can’t even enjoy a college game without being singled out. In Bo French's mind, those guys displaced others who were more deserving of those seats. That opinion is what defines his campaign for, of all things, Texas Railroad Commissioner. Affirmative action for white kids.
I’ll quote part of what I wrote in a group chat a few months ago, the last time a similar topic was mentioned:
As a son of immigrants from a third-world country, I have a nuanced opinion. Assimilation is necessary when you live in a country other than the one your parents came from. I practice my own religion, celebrate my own festivities, and speak in a non-English language with relatives. That doesn’t mean I don’t love Australia. I consider myself the luckiest man on Earth to be a citizen of the greatest country in the world. And you couldn’t find more proud Australian citizens than my parents. I love my best friends from high school, regardless of where they came from. I love our military, and I love our way of life. We just don’t eat the sangers at sausage sizzles. And I’ve never wanted to impose my worldview upon others.
As for racism, I really don’t care what the white man’s dictionary definition of it is. When you experience it … get called names, be insulted, have shit thrown at you, when they presume that you don’t know English, and when you achieve academic and career success, but get derided for being a ‘foreigner’ (or worse, have it attributed to you because you’re a foreigner) … it’s a lived experience. And I call it racism, which is what it is.
Once upon a time, legitimate arguments were being made when this dialogue was limited to illegal immigration and policies related to net overseas migration. But Indians didn’t hop cross-border freight trains from Mexico and Canada. They legally migrated to the United States decades ago, settled down and raised American children with American values, some of whom just wanted to celebrate their university’s football team the other day. They’re a reflection of the demographics of the country as it exists today. They’re as American as everyone else; thus, they are the people you should want to represent in public office. They are the realisation of the American Dream. They are ‘E pluribus unum’ personified.
And if you happen to not like that … what’s the saying you folks love to use? Oh, right — fuck your feelings.
And one more thing — what kind of God-fearing patriot has the surname French? Change it to America, you coward. We wouldn’t want someone to presume that you’re one of those Europoor commies.