Joe Doakes from Como Park emails:
If the Prime Minister of Norway came to Minnesota, would she get an exuberant reception from crowds of Minnesota Norwegians? I suspect not, because for Americans, being of Norwegian extraction is not a core identity, it’s a footnote. That’s what happens when people assimilate: they put their new nation first and recall The Old Country on St. Urho’s Day. That’s what needs to happen for these folks, else they’re not Americans, they’re tourists.
I don’t disagree with Joe in principle – but not every immigrant ethnic group has molded itself to its surroundings (and, let’s be honest, vice versa) like Scandinavians of the Midwest.
I’ll submit for your approval the Italians, whose fitting into American society had a few hiccups.
And I’m not just talking Godfather Part 3, here.
Let’s hope the PM’s impassioned plea, motivates thousands of those Ethiopians to return to their homeland and make “a better Ethiopia” and quit driving around the metro with their cell phones plastered to their ears!
The Danes molded molded themselves to their surroundings so well that they disappeared.
BTW, Skal? Do you mean “skol” or “skål” or perhaps now out-of-date “skaal”?
Ethiopians may not be assimilating as quickly as Western immigrants do, but they’re miles ahead of Somalis.
Ethiopians come from a fairly civilized country, at least by African standards. Somalis arrive straight from a steaming garbage dump, and act like it.
What Swiftee said. Ethiopia aint great but they dont have the Somali problem, just look at the differences of their living situations
It strikes me that this is big coming out of Ethiopia; it is as if the King of Norway came to apologize for how the Sami were treated–to an audience of Sami. This isn’t just an ordinary visit. I don’t know how for real it is, but it’s big.
Here’s a paragraph from the Wikipedia entry on Ethiopia:
Light blue: Others
Recent human rights violations include the killing of 100 peaceful protestors by direct government gunfire in the Oromo and Amhara regions in 2016.[130] The UN has called for UN observers on the ground in Ethiopia to investigate this incident,[131] however the EPRDF-dominated Ethiopian government has refused this call.[132] The protestors are protesting land grabs and lack of basic human rights such as the freedom to elect their representatives. The TPLF-dominated EPRDF won 100% in an election marked by fraud which has resulted in Ethiopian civilians protesting on scale unseen in prior post-election protests.[133]
Did anyone notice if there was a balloon depicting the Prime Minister as an infant flying outside Target Center?
The standard of living in the Old County was the reason they left. The question is why they cam here? If they want to be Somalis who aren’t being shot at, they could go to Chad or Niger or someplace where I don’t have to foot the bill.
If they want to come to America, they should want to become Americans, which means leaving behind the old politicians. I have no idea who the Prime Minister of Ireland is and could not possibly care less if he came to St. Paul. I’m not Irish. I’m American of Irish extraction. That is the critical difference between a citizen and a tourist.
I’ve gotten to know a number of refugees from Ethiopia and Sudan–Gambela province of the former–and suffice it to say that I’m not of the opinion that they’re convinced that it’s time to go back home. So we’ll see.