Quote:
| No business wants an immigrant with a bad accent; it implies you're dumb and that you don't know your way. If it wasn't for the people of his race helping him out and the money he had stashed, my parents probably wouldn't have made it above the poverty line. |
Having a 'bad accent' does have some handicaps associated with it: it makes effective communication with others harder to accomplish. In addition, there will ALWAYS be a certain level of bigotry (discrimination, whatever) in the market simply because it is a part of the current state of human nature - fear of the unknown, instant defensiveness, etc. Beyond those things, from a purely objective worker/productivity standpoint, there is no basic 'hinderance' compared to another person without said accent. This being the case, then yes, there will be additional hurdles to jump through, perhaps restricted avenues of generating income (as you mentioned a few lower wage paying services) or jobs in which the 'accent' or negative effects of having one are minimized or reduced: no telemarketing or direct sales, more 'back-office' work, etc. The example you give regarding your parents being helped out by others of same race has been and will continue to be the 'way things work' (in addition to support from local religious groups or other 'same minded' institutions). This is one way that folks of Japanese decent (or otherwise asian) have been able to get a decent 'foot hold' in America. It works and is one viable strategy for immigrating here. The way to effectively counter social 'injustices' is through social networking - not by government decree. The government is NOT going to change anyones mind regarding their personal biases. These things are items which must come from a general and gradual cultural shift through the free market of ideas.
Quote:
| You can supply all the work and talent and advertise it, but if there isn't a demand for it, you will be forced to do things you imagined were beneath you to make ends meet. If you have a family at this time, it's even worse and you might not climb out. The clincher is that this "demand" might not even be fair raging from a favor, nepotism, or irrational hate for your kind. |
Whatever one 'imagines' is beneath them is of no consequence - I can imagine that I am worth $1000/day for me to greet newcomers to my city, but it is not reality. The thing that made america great in the beginning was that there was no hindering regulation so EVERYONE had the opportunity to say 'Scr_w you, Mr. Discriminating Hypocrite! I am going to start my own business and out compete you and your irrational ideas.' - these days, due to regulation and bureaucracy, it becomes an expensive and twisted endeavor to accomplish this. The government has imposed a barrier to entry on the market in general which gives 'monopolistic' advantage to those already entrenched. Want to cut hair out of your home? Nope, you need to be licensed and state certified to do it first. Want to open up a little cafe or restaurant? Nope, gotta not only pass through licensing hoops but also have to comply with many health regulations and paperwork in addition to putting up with zoning and monopolistic liquer licensing. Want to practice medicine? Forget it, even if you could treat a majority of illnesses just as effectively as the 'doctors guild' member can. Want to do anything? Not without permission and volumes of paperwork and bureaucracy, all written in some form of english which the average american (let alone immigrant) can't understand. Strip away governmental ability to hinder business (esp. small business) and the immigrants and poor will then have, once again, an avenue through the free market to show those discriminators and bigots a taste of reality - turn the tables on them and the market will 'punish' them for their irrational behaviors... on the other hand, we can pass some arbitrary law (in addition to the conglomeration of other laws) and the MOST we will accomplish is forcing the behavior underground and perhaps exagerating it.
more to come, gotta go for now
michael