drilla
09-05-2003, 12:15 PM
i was watching a televison program on thirteen last night (public station...some great docs and informative programs).
anyway, there was a program on about the history of race in the united states...it was quite good, what i saw anyway.
one of the things i learned that i found very interesting and instantly realized my ignorance was the use of the term "the melting pot".
the first time this term was used, in respect to different people blending together, was when immigrants were being classified. they explained that immigrants were classified as white or black according to where they came from in the world. everyone was trying to be classified as "white" because they received more benefits..voting, etc. the term "the melting pot" came out of this mess...it was used to describe all of the different peoples from all over the world blending together to become "white"....the term never included anyone deemed as "black".
interesting, right? i thought maybe you cats would dig on this.
anyway, there was a program on about the history of race in the united states...it was quite good, what i saw anyway.
one of the things i learned that i found very interesting and instantly realized my ignorance was the use of the term "the melting pot".
the first time this term was used, in respect to different people blending together, was when immigrants were being classified. they explained that immigrants were classified as white or black according to where they came from in the world. everyone was trying to be classified as "white" because they received more benefits..voting, etc. the term "the melting pot" came out of this mess...it was used to describe all of the different peoples from all over the world blending together to become "white"....the term never included anyone deemed as "black".
interesting, right? i thought maybe you cats would dig on this.