Why do so many immigrants come to the US if it's racist?

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ironpony
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11 Mar 2021, 1:24 am

There seems to be a lot of racism going on in the US, at least according to what the media says as well as social media, and you can't go one day without hearing the words racism or white privilege. But what puzzles me, is the US is very popular for people from other countries to immigrate to, and so many want to live there. But why, if it's so racist is about white privilege?

Are immigrants just be suckered? But since you think they would notice all the racism according to the media, and social media, as it's not that hard to find, then would is suckering them then, if that's the case?



naturalplastic
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11 Mar 2021, 1:57 am

The short answer to your question is...facing racism is better than facing death. Folks in the third world face desperate conditions (starvation, extreme poverty, war, gangs, dictators, etc). So thats why they seek entry into the US.

And the racism in the US is partially a response to fear of the refugees and immigrants taking over.

Its a complicated issue. The history of America is largely the history of immigration. Waves of folks came here, settled, and then descriminated against the next wave to come over, who then assimilated, and then joined in in hating the next wave of migrants after that.

But each wave would hire folks of the next wave as cheap labor to do the scut work. So they would give incentive to the vary new groups that they hated to keep entering the country.



MidnightRose
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11 Mar 2021, 2:24 am

American immigrants facing racism is nothing new. Italians, Irish, Poles, and more all faced discrimination when moving here back in the day. Life was bad for them in their home countries and the US was seen as a land of opportunity. Our economy is massive, there is a lot of opportunity. Also, to people living under violent regimes or civil war, the stable government of the US and other first world nations is basically a dream society. If they have to face some discrimination, it might still be worth the risk. They might already be facing persecution in their home country anyway.



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11 Mar 2021, 3:12 am

Because they might be facing even worse racism in their home countries. Or if not that, then something else than they consider to be worse than the racism. They choose the lesser evil, but that doesn't mean they like it.



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11 Mar 2021, 7:30 am

Money.

They see Hollywood portrayals of luxurious American life and believe most Americans live like that.


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kraftiekortie
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11 Mar 2021, 7:43 am

One reason is the strength of the dollar and the exchange rate versus other currencies.

I know people who make the Minimum Wage, share the rent with others in an apartment, and are still able to send dollars back to their families who still live in the “old country.” Those dollars go the long way in those countries.

My wife started off by doing just that. She paid off the mortgage on her house through sending money “home.” She was a babysitter for an affluent family on Long Island.

She then went to school and became a nurse.



Mr Reynholm
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11 Mar 2021, 9:42 am

Because the United States isn't really racist. Its just political rhetoric.



funeralxempire
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11 Mar 2021, 10:53 am

Mr Reynholm wrote:
Because the United States isn't really racist. Its just political rhetoric.


Funny how the only people who believe this are people who aren't impacted by it. :lol:



KT67
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11 Mar 2021, 11:23 am

Because they come from desperate situations. So desperate that they'd rather be put in a cage.

You know a country is doing well when it's worried about immigration in rather than emigration out.


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slam_thunderhide
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11 Mar 2021, 12:32 pm

ironpony wrote:
There seems to be a lot of racism going on in the US, at least according to what the media says as well as social media, and you can't go one day without hearing the words racism or white privilege. But what puzzles me, is the US is very popular for people from other countries to immigrate to, and so many want to live there. But why, if it's so racist is about white privilege?

Are immigrants just be suckered? But since you think they would notice all the racism according to the media, and social media, as it's not that hard to find, then would is suckering them then, if that's the case?


Good question. The fact that so many immigrants move to the US even with all the media warnings about all the "racism and "white privilege" in the country just goes to show what a swindle all that rhetoric really is.

And newcomers to the US soon pick up on this. They see that by complaining about "racism" they too can get more attention, concessions, handouts etc.



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11 Mar 2021, 12:34 pm

naturalplastic wrote:
The short answer to your question is...facing racism is better than facing death. Folks in the third world face desperate conditions (starvation, extreme poverty, war, gangs, dictators, etc). So thats why they seek entry into the US.



Most immigrants to the US are not fleeing an immediate threat of death or anything like it.



Mr Reynholm
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11 Mar 2021, 12:58 pm

funeralxempire wrote:
Mr Reynholm wrote:
Because the United States isn't really racist. Its just political rhetoric.


Funny how the only people who believe this are people who aren't impacted by it. :lol:

I know immigrants who have told me as much.
The masses vote emotion not reason. Facts and figures won't get you popular support if your'e a politician. Emotional buttons and feeling like a good person for supporting Politician X will motivate people.



kraftiekortie
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11 Mar 2021, 2:01 pm

The United States, per se, is not racist. But there are some people who are racists---including people who are victims of racism.

People usually come here for either "a better life" or to earn some money for their family back home. I don't see the problem in problem seeking to better their situation. People immigrate to the United States today for the same reason people immigrated to the United States in the early 20th century.

Think about what you would do if you are constantly the victim of a natural disaster, cannot earn enough to put food on the table, are always being harassed by drug dealers----or all of these things. What would you do?



funeralxempire
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11 Mar 2021, 3:28 pm

Mr Reynholm wrote:
funeralxempire wrote:
Mr Reynholm wrote:
Because the United States isn't really racist. Its just political rhetoric.


Funny how the only people who believe this are people who aren't impacted by it. :lol:

I know immigrants who have told me as much.
The masses vote emotion not reason. Facts and figures won't get you popular support if your'e a politician. Emotional buttons and feeling like a good person for supporting Politician X will motivate people.


I'm sure you can find token examples to provide anecdotal evidence. That doesn't actually make your case though. Facts and figures don't support your claims but do trigger fragile conservatives who then emotionally insist racism doesn't exist because the truth hurts their feelings.



Tim_Tex
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11 Mar 2021, 5:02 pm

Here is a question I have:

When European countries restrict immigration to people with an in-demand skill and marrying someone from those countries, why isn't it considered xenophobia?


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11 Mar 2021, 5:04 pm

Pretty much the same thing with Canada, I believe.

Seems like a leading question.