Immigration Without Assimilation Is A Disaster
David Harsanyi writes at NRO, "Biden Admin Ends Use of 'Assimilation,' Makes Same Mistake as the Europeans":
Transforming the notion of "assimilation" into something undesirable is a dangerous attack on one of the most vital ingredients of American success.Europeans are learning the hard way what happens when you do not have any genuine expectations of assimilation. American cultural and political life has, for the most part, offered the space to honor the past, while making demands in the present. Despite sloganeering about "diversity," it is not alone what makes us stronger -- though it is the flavor that enhances our personal and cultural lives. It is the ability to convince disparate people and cultures to adopt American norms and surrender many of their own. It could not happen without a unifying ideology, a shared understanding of civic life, a shared language, a hierarchy of societal values, respect for law and order and liberalism, and acceptance of a meritocratic society and social contracts. All these foundational ideals are being corroded right now.
To integrate is to combine. To assimilate is to absorb. And if there were no difference between the meanings of those words, the Biden administration would not be sending out memos about which one to use.
The lack of assimilation in France led to the death of an elderly Jewish woman, Sarah Halimi, murdered by a Muslim neighbor screaming jihadist slogans, who beat her and threw her out a window.
"In 2019 the assailant was declared to be not criminally responsible because he had consumed cannabis, which induced a state of psychosis."
Seriously?
10 percent of the State of California is probably stoned off its ass much of the time, and they eat Doritos or go outside and stare at a bee -- they don't go murder an elderly neighbor.
This is going to shock you but I've always thought the anglicizing of immigrant names to not be such a bad idea.
NicoleK at April 19, 2021 11:44 PM
In California it's not pot what makes people go on a murderous rampage. It's Twinkies.
Sixclaws at April 20, 2021 6:26 AM
Multiculturalism as it is currently constituted is about highlighting the good and noble aspects of every other culture except Western culture where instead they only highlight the worst aspects. Seen in that context why would any group of immigrants assimilate?
Shtetl G at April 20, 2021 6:48 AM
That, Six, is a common mischaracterization of the "Twinkie Defense" used by Dan White in the killing of Moscone and Milk.
White had been a fitness fanatic. His mental and emotional deterioration in the period leading up to the killings was evidenced by his high and uncharacteristic consumption of junk food. The Twinkie was not blamed for the killings, but used as evidence that White "suffered diminished capacity as a result of his depression."
Conan the Grammarian at April 20, 2021 7:58 AM
No surprises there, Conan.
After finding out what really happened to the old lady who sued MacDondald's for the hot coffee; I always assume any form of mockery from news outlets to be dishonest at best.
Sixclaws at April 20, 2021 9:14 AM
IIRC, McDonald's used to heat their water to something like 160℉, fuggit, here's Wiki—
Skin grafts on the pelvis? You'll notice that this hasn't happened to Starbucks, about whom I've never heard anyone complaint of tepid product.Even beyond that… Kids today will never know how shitty McDonald's coffee used to be. The heat and the flavor were a running joke in my family for decades. (When I was wee, fast food was often made from unprocessed ingredients, and flavorful.)
There's a Mac and a Buck's side-by-side where I live now. On the maybe semi-annual occasions when buying carryout coffee, I go for the one with the shorter line.
Crid at April 20, 2021 3:03 PM
According to the National Coffee Association of the USA, for optimal flavor, coffee should be served at around 180ºF.
Starbucks serves theirs at 150-170ºF, most likely due to the lawsuit and not due to any flavor considerations. You can order it "extra hot, however. This former Starbucks barista and manager recommends doing that, noting that 180ºF is the optimal temperature.
True.
For all that people love to bag on Starbucks, the success of Starbucks did force other coffee-serving establishments to up their game. And coffee drinkers across the US benefitted from that.
Fun fact: the Starbucks guys learned their craft working for Alfred Peet, founder of the Bay Area coffee chain, Peet's.
Conan the Grammarian at April 20, 2021 5:13 PM
"In 2019 the assailant was declared to be not criminally responsible because he had consumed cannabis, which induced a state of psychosis."
The assailant was just follwoing the noble precedent of the hashishans (https://www.thoughtco.com/history-of-the-assassins-hashshashin-195545).
Fred Merckle at April 20, 2021 5:20 PM
“Fun fact: the Starbucks guys learned their craft working for Alfred Peet, founder of the Bay Area coffee chain, Peet's.”
Related fun fact: Alfred and three of his siblings expanded into Japanese rice wine under the brand Four Peet’s Sake.
JD at April 20, 2021 6:45 PM
If I'm going to let it cool down thirty or forty degrees before sipping it anyway...
And that's forty real degrees, forty moon-landing, drive on the right, have-a-nice-day-Mr.-Fahrenheit American degrees.
Crid at April 20, 2021 6:56 PM
France: Where there's an adult stupid enough to believe "Reefer Madness" - and they made him a judge.
The Hashshshashins must have been lacing their weed with something far more powerful. Anyone who's been around potheads knows the worst effects of good marijuana are passivity and laziness.
In any case, when you choose to take drugs or alcohol, you are responsible for what you do under the influence. E.g., no one picks fights in bars or drives recklessly because he's drunk - he gets drunk to give himself permission to be an a**hole.
markm at April 20, 2021 7:46 PM
Liebeck put the coffee between her knees to add sugar whil her grandson was driving. Dumb move. But McD’s stalled on settling, which was equally dumb, and thus, big win at trial.
https://www.tortmuseum.org/liebeck-v-mcdonalds/
KateC at April 21, 2021 7:27 AM
The woman in the McDonald's hot coffee case was elderly (thin, delicate skin that tears easily), and wearing sweatpants made of a synthetic - can't remember which - that helped in trapping the coffee right by her skin. That, plus the temperature of the coffee, made her require skin grafts. All three played a contributing factor.
Janie4 at April 22, 2021 8:50 AM
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