"Arrivals...there goes the neighborhood" (or not)

               I have a major problem with this quote, and that’s that it’s somewhere between “misleading” and “completely false.” The one time it is accurate was when the Native Americans were being kicked out by the explorers, but I doubt that thought even came into the Native Americans’ heads until it was too late. I believe that at most points in history—especially the ones where this quote has been used to try to prevent new people from entering a community—new arrivals have helped the community out in numerous ways.

               Now, obviously, the basis for this assignment is the white explorers coming across the Atlantic, setting up colonies, and kicking the Native Americans out. That would be a case of arrivals taking over a neighborhood. However, I would be surprised if the Native Americans thought that was going to happen well before it actually did happen. I think they were more excited about the new ideas that the explorers brought over, and the possibility for trade. The problem was simply that the explorers said something more along the lines of, “Natives…This is our neighborhood.”

               The ironic thing is that the descendants of those explorers, who most unceremoniously and violently kicked the Native Americans out of their neighborhood, were very gung-ho about preventing new arrivals to enter their lands. Obviously, the Puritan groups would only accept Puritans, which is logical given their history of persecution. But later on, after the American Revolution, there have been numerous waves of new immigrants, all of whom have faced discrimination. The Irish, for example, were discriminated against by the British immigrants and Americans of British descent. “No Irish Need Apply” was commonly seen in the help-wanted ads in newspapers. The Americans feared that the Irish would destroy their civilization. Obviously, that didn’t happen. Other European groups have faced similar discrimination as they came to America, mainly because people feared the new arrivals would destroy their culture and their way of life—in other words, their neighborhood. On the West Coast, Asian immigrants were also discriminated against because whites felt that they might take over the neighborhood with their non-European culture and appearance.

               The aforementioned examples occurred around the turn of the 20^th century or earlier, for the most part. But does that mean people don’t say “Arrivals…there goes the neighborhood” today? I think they still do. Hispanic immigrants, if you ask some whites, are going to be the downfall of America. Some say that they will take all of our jobs for cheaper wages, therefore leaving the whites, who were here “first” out of luck. I find this statement incredibly hypocritical in addition to completely baseless. Firstly, anyone who is not Native American has immigrated to this country after the year 1492, and their ancestors have either been a perpetrator or a victim of this discrimination. Secondly, if we look throughout our own city, some of the most vibrant, active neighborhoods are immigrant neighborhoods. So yes, while immigrants may change the landscape of a neighborhood, this is for the better, proving that “Arrivals…there goes the neighborhood” should really be “Arrivals…here comes a new neighborhood” if applied to our times.

 

I know this is a bit longer than 400 words…sorry, but I feel like this is an important point I would like to make.