The diversity of the West put a strain on the simpler varieties of racism. In another setting, categories dividing humanity into superior white and inferior black were comparatively easy to steer by. The West, however, raised questions for which racists had no set answers. We Indians better than blacks–more capable of civilization and assimilation–perhaps even suitable for miscegenation? Were Mexicans essentially Indians? Did their European heritage count for anything? Were mongrel races even worse than other pure races? Where did Asians fit in the racial ranking? Were they humble, menial workers–or representatives of a great center of civilization, art, and, best of all, trade? Were the Japanese different from, perhaps more tolerable than, the Chinese? What about Southern and Eastern Europeans? When Greek workers in the mines went on strike and violence followed, was this race war or class war? Western diversity forced racists to think, an unaccustomed activity. —Patricia Nelson Limerick, The Legacy of Conquest (Norton, 1987)
Posted on: Sat, 05 Jul 2014 04:06:36 +0000
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