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David Emmons’s work Beyond the American Pale explores how the average Anglo- American defines what it means to be a real American. He focuses in on the Irish population scattered throughout the U.S and how the Anglo American population perceived them. They were labeled as inferior or fraudulent because of their heritage and faith, and as my peer Tram pointed out were only tolerated because the economy was in need of cheap labor. Though to be totally honest I struggle to define their attitude as tolerance because of the obvious persecution present.
This work doesn’t remind me of any previous readings we had this semester but it does reminds me of an idea I ran across in previous history/ ethnic studies courses I have taken. Bigotry and hatred are often the result of proximity. It is hard to think of someone who lives on the other side of the planet let alone come up with reasons to hate them, but if they live next door hated becomes easier to accomplish. You see them every day and they act different from you, look different than you and speak differently from you and soon you just label them as different. This “othering” of a person is often what leads to hatred and persecution because; someone who is set in their ways and fears change does not want this “other” invading their personal space. I can see a lot of this happening in this book. (Side note I probably should have started reading this before 1030 pm I did not know this was going to be 60 pgs)