I’m not sure how to make sense of this story other than to see the reactions of these New Yorkers as “racist.” Anyone who knows me well also knows that I am very careful about throwing out that word. But in this case, I think I can use it freely…and without constraint.
The attached article from the New York Times is a bit long, but it’s well worth the read. I’ll spare the details and not pontificate about all of the things that I see in it. However, I do want to say one quick thing.
All of these people who are complaining about Asian Indians “taking over” this Queens, New York neighborhood seem to imagine that their people, the relatives who came before them some 60-80 years ago, did NOT take over that very same Queens neighborhood from some other cultural group. For you see, at some point in the not too distant past, the relatives of these Asian Indian haters who are featured in the article were the ne’er-do-well “invaders” who were destroying some other group’s way of life (and I don’t mean some Native American group). Their relatives were the scourge, the vermin. THEY were the ones who did not want to assimilate; THEY were the foreigners; THEY were the people who were going to ruin the flavor of what the neighborhood had become.
It’s rather remarkable how we don’t like to look backward…and how what comes around seems to inevitably go around.
By the way, I love the gesture of Mr. Patel, the one Indian owner, offering to sell the property to anyone who wants it–at a loss. “Okay…quiet now please.”
I think the opinions expressed by the community in Queens, NY, exemplifies the opinions of many other individuals in our nation, not including the other communities that are continually faced with these same issues and express their opinions to others different than themselves. As Sam stated, they do not recognize that their families undoubtedly did the same thing in order to live where they are living now. It is a continual process that will live on and progress in the same way as it has been. I can understand keeping a historicity to a town/community, but in a situation similar to Bellerose, Queens, there comes a time when a plot of land can bring profit to a general area rather than maintaining an empty building for the sake of memories. I think that the community needs to not blame the immigrants for this problem. The community is to blame. I wonder if an Irish-American came to buy the land and wanted to put a hotel up, if the same accusations and confrontations would arise? Because the white dominated region of this community is being overrun by immigrants and becoming more diverse, they must be feeling as if the “white superiority” is being undermined. In present day America, we are continually growing and becoming more and more diverse in our communities. When a man in the crowd stated, “you’re changing our whole way of life, our whole neighborhood,” I was appalled. “Our” most definitely insinuates the “white supremacist” ideals that seem to continually arise in immigrant/race relations. Once again, I think we can all agree that the “race” issues that we face currently are more focused towards our parents and grandparents’ age. When the 23-year old, John Dolan expressed, “we didn’t really care who was who,” I found this statement more agreeable with my generation’s opinion on race relations in the United States. Although it is not the general consensus, it is a more acceptable opinion because we have been born into the change. For the older generations, they are not as accepting to change and want everything the way they are used to it, the world where whites dominated the population in communities. Pertaining to the Queens debacle, “everybody wants to bring their country here, they don’t want to look like Americans, they don’t want to dress like Americans, and they don’t want to speak English.” This is a perfect example of the ongoing debate by many Americans. They believe that assimilation is the only way that immigrants should and could be accepted in today’s day in age. If we are the “melting pot,” why should these immigrants, who are seeking the American dream, not be able to bring their family and culture along with them?
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After reading this article and blog on the area of Queens, New York where the South Asian population has dramatically increased and has brought much of its culture with them has brought about various thoughts in my mind.
First, I wanted to make a comment on the interesting point Sam made in his blog about how many of these individuals in this town are complaining about how the Asian Indian people are taking over their community in Queens like they had not done the same thing to another culture in previous years. I find this point to be very interesting because I feel like this happens a lot in society. Individuals only think about what is harming them in the here and now rather then taking account what they have done to get to where they are as individuals today. Therefore, when these people act like the South Asians are doing something wrong for expanding into the community these people only think of it as wrong because it is not what they in vision and want their society to look like. However, it is ok when these people transformed the culture because it was to their benefit. Therefore, I think it is important that society starts to look more into the past rather than just into the present and realize that a diverse society is NOT a bad thing at all.
The second thought that came into my mind after reading this article is how people were angry that the small little ice cream shop was being torn down and being replaced with a big hotel. I can see people being angered by this because I live in a small suburban town and very slowly small shops that made the community very quaint are being closed and replaced with giant super stores and franchises. At one point in time barely any franchises besides the supermarkets existed in the town, which is now surrounded by franchises such as staples and chick fila and Applebee’s with smaller shops rapidly being closed. This is sad to me because I like the quaint little neighborhood that was not filled with huge stores and all the traffic that goes along with them. Therefore, this article reminded me of how I do not like extreme commercialization of small neighborhoods. However, the reason this story is different from the story in my neighborhood is because I just do not like the big franchises while the people in this article seem racist because they do not like the people coming in and building the new stores and actually seem like they are using the destruction of the small store as an excuse for their dislike of the south Asian lifestyle. I agree with Sam when he says this is definitely racism. This story makes me sad to think that many people in today’s society cannot accept a diversified culture. I t also makes me wonder what must be done to combat these racist thoughts?
Therefore, I thought the article and the blog were extremely insightful and brought about many interesting topics.
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First of all, just to play devil’s advocate, some of the people of Bellerose do have one valid reason to be upset, and this is that a structure that has been round for 70 years is going to be uprooted. In general no matter you are or where you live there are going to be some people who do not like the fact that a comfortable fixture of their hometown is going to be uprooted. People do not like change, especially when there are good memories attached to the past. So no matter whom the individuals were that bought out the ice cream stand I think it is safe to say there would be some conflict and sadness. But when looking at some of the remarks that these citizens have made about the flux of incoming Asians it is easy to see that there is some racism involved in this situation. The fact that Frozen Cup was bought out by an Asian man is obviously more unsettling to these people. I agree with Harshad Patal that there might be a little bit of jealousy involved when one of the original members of the area wondered where “the Indians” got their money from. They might be envious that newer American citizens are more successful in a country they have been in their whole life; it is quite possible when racism has to come from some reason other than hating someone purely because the color of their skin. Again, most of the things that the members of the old community are saying are just simply stupid, such as the newcomers are “turning the neighborhood into a third- world country”. Last time that I checked a third-world country was one that was underdeveloped in terms of economy and standard of living, so I guess someone needs to explain to me how establishing new businesses is making the neighborhood less developed. In addition, another resident of the Queens area stated that the immigrants do not want to look like Americans or speak English, but they come for the benefits. What I am about to say is by no means a profound statement, but who cares if they look like Americans! Do we not have more important things to worry about in this world? I would like someone to ask this guy if he had the opportunity to have a better life would he not move to another country and would he suddenly adopt their way of dress and change his whole way of life just because some stranger wants him to. But lets face it; we are surprised that some of the people of Bellerose are racist when these same people insisted that Frozen Cup was a landmark because it appeared in an episode of “Sex and the City”.
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I chose to comment on this post because I am from New York and both of my parents grew up in Flushing, Queens. My remaining three grandparents still live there, only a few blocks away from each other, so I go there to visit somewhat often.
I am not surprised at all by these New Yorker’s comments and feelings about the South Asian people moving into their neighborhood. I see where they are coming from but I also agree that they have been very racist. The white residents make is seem like their town is going to become poverty stricken and a home for prostitutes all because the Indian people are moving in and bringing their businesses and culture with them. This is an extraordinarily narrow minded way to think. Change is inevitable and people really need to get over it.
Although the white residents of Bellerose are in fact intolerant, maybe some people just do not understand their point of view. No, the white residents did not express their opinions in a well thought out way, but I will give them the benefit of the doubt and explain how they could quite possibly feel, but hopefully more eloquently and politically correct: They have lived in this area for most of their lives, made lifelong friends, and have watched their children go to school and grow up in Bellerose. This is probably where their fondest memories are, where their family is. People are tearing down their memories and their children’s memories and it probably does not matter who is doing it. They would be angry at anybody who was taking part in the destruction of their beloved home, and so would you. The fact that the people who are doing it are South Asian is what makes this a touchy subject.
My parents’ hometown of Flushing has also been experiencing a change regarding the people who are moving in, for many years now, probably since before I was born which was about twenty years ago. Most of the younger families that I see in this neighborhood are Chinese. The rest of the folks who live there are old Jewish people, such as my grandparents. (I am not saying that there are only elderly Jewish people and Chinese people in Flushing, but that is who I see most of the time I am there.) The Jewish population in Flushing is dwindling; so many of the baby boomers—my parents’ generation—moved out of the Queens area and into New Jersey and Long Island. My parents were no exception. Many of the baby boomer’s parents remained in Queens, or moved to Florida. (Again, I am not saying that all of them live in Queens or Florida, but many of the ones I know do, or did.)
Over my life, I have heard so many stories about how my parents grew up and it just sounded like so much fun; running down the stairs of their apartment buildings to hang out with friends, meeting at the schoolyard any time of day and always finding people there, or walking across the street for a soft pretzel. To me, it has always been hard to imagine my parents growing up there because there is almost a different culture living in Flushing now. They speak a different language and have different customs, but of course that does not mean that Flushing, or Bellerose for that matter, is declining in quality. They are just changing like everything else does, and the ethnic groups moving in will also make fond memories there too.
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After reading the article about the “Frozen Cup” it reminded me of my town and what many of the people in my town have said. The residents of this community in New York were complaining of the influx of Asian Indians into their old fashion town. The residents of my small town have had and shared their views in sort of the same way. I’ll always here something along the lines of “they’re moving,” “those New Yorkers,” “our schools are having more violence because of the influx of people.” I think with any changing town or society people will try to blame someone or some group of race for the new growing problems. What people do not realize is that it is not just “their” town, all over the country the population is growing. So if you live near big cities where there already is a high population, it will grow the fastest and eventually people moving to the city will start moving farther and farther out from the city into the smaller towns surrounding the city. Unfortunately small towns are becoming more crowded but no matter who is moving into the town it’s going to happen at some point.
Another thing that surprised me about the article was the part about how the people of Bellerose are worried that the hotel the new residents are going to build in place of the “Frozen Cup” is going to serve to prostitutes. It really surprises me that they would say this, why would they think that? To me it sounds like they may have a problem with prostitutes in Bellerose, not Asian Indians. Just because these people are moving in to Bellerose and building hotels that are cheaper to stay in doesn’t make them automatically mean prostitutes will take it over.
I do believe that the people of Bellerose and especially Mr. Augugliaro are racist. They only seem to be upset and angered that Asian Indians are moving in to their town. Why wouldn’t they just be angry that “people” of any race are moving out of the city and into their new town? Mr. Augugliaro specifically mentioned Asian Indians and said it several times that they were ruining his town. Why would he be so angry that this certain race is coming into Bellerose? Because he has a racist feeling towards them most likely. Also the old residents of Bellerose and even Mr. Auguliaro referred to the new residents as “they” instead of people their names or ethnicity. It is a shame that people think like this. Many small towns are up and coming and growing, that is just the changing society. Just because towns are changing doesn’t mean it’s because of one certain race. I do believe if you blame the change in a town due to a certain race you are racist. It is certain people, individually that cause an increase in violence not a whole race all together.
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When I first began reading the article “This is Racism In Case Anyone Was Wondering”, I went directly to the attached article, so I had no seen the comments made by Sam. So I began reading the article and it didn’t seem interesting- some people upset by the fact small business are being taken over by larger businesses, such as Staples. Initially I thought these people just didn’t want “big business” in their neighborhoods. Then I slowly realized they didn’t want “those people” in their neighborhoods. I just thought it was funny how the article brought this racism on subtly at first so, to someone like me, it looked innocent.
One statement that really bothered me was about the hotel bringing in those on welfare or prostitutes. Now I know nothing about prostitution, but the comment about people on welfare moving into this hotel seemed a little stuck up. What’s wrong with welfare people being in this hotel? These people who are talking about this are not living in hotels, so how much will it REALLY change their life. Maybe they’ll be seeing more of those who are less fortunate from day-to-day- I’m sure that’ll be a real challenge.
Then it was a little unnerving to say “they’re turning the neighborhood into a third-world country”. America is not a third-world country and a particular group of people would not turn a town into one, single handedly.
The next thing- why are they not angry with the people who sold this ice cream place? If it was SOOO important to the community, then wouldn’t the money this place is bringing in be so great that the people wouldn’t have to sell- apparently not. These people are putting their memories in from of being acceptable people to other people. I completely understand that this place is special to people, but only for its symbolism, really. Things change. Things go away so new things can happen. Who knows, these new places could bring about more memories, and different things will happen.
This is why I think it sounds more like a clear attack on a group of people and not the destruction of an extremely memorable place.
And the story of the man who was talking about the good ol’ days of calling payphones hoping that a girl would answer, and saying how one of his friends was named Nashad. Now I don’t know the situation, but it was probably fine when there was only a couple Asian Indian people there, and as long as the white man was above him. But once they begin taking over, the primarily white community panics.
I don’t really like attacking these small town people that much, when I don’t know everything, but I do feel I know enough to tell that they’re just calling one thing something else- calling racism “small town/business concern”.
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My first thought after reading the New York Times article was “wow! They really enjoy their Frozen Cup!” And the part where the locals fear the Days Inn (that would replace the Frozen Cup) will eventually house prostitutes and welfare patients is plain bogus! Really? They couldn’t come up with anything better? To go so far as to say “they’re turning the neighborhood into a third world country” is completely ridiculous. I highly doubt that this comment would have been made if the new hotel owners would have been white.
The article continued to mention other instances that led me to believe the white people of Bellerose were racist. Many people were upset at the amount of Indian restaurants that were popping up around the area. Again, I doubt that these people would be upset if more Italian/French/Irish restaurants were to be built. It especially angered me that someone would say a South Asian grocery store is “not the kind of store an American goes into.” Oh, so there aren’t any South Asians who are American? No Americans are interested in going to any kind of ethnic grocery store? Why would you want to be that type of person?
The way I see it, the residents of this area are completely jealous, and maybe even a little bit afraid. Not only are the South Asian people “taking over” the area, they are gaining wealth, power, and influence. Who wouldn’t be afraid?
Sam made the point that we were all immigrants at one point, and a lot of us like to forget that. This being said, there is no reason why the white residents of Queens should feel that it is their land. There should be no reason why they should feel uneasiness or feelings of contempt. Because at one point in time, I am sure that another group of people felt the same way about them. The feelings of superiority have got to go! To me, the white residents seem to be nothing more than bitter people who have nothing else to do with their life than be worried about someone else’s business.
It’s always impressive to me to see someone come to America from a different country and fulfill the “American Dream.” They often come with nothing and are willing to work hard and sacrifice so much in order to make it. My parents came to the United States when they were twenty years old to complete their Masters program. They hardly knew English, but worked hard to get good jobs and have a comfortable lifestyle. My parents are my heroes, and sometimes I think am a little embarrassed because I am not as on track as they were. I only hope that I can be like my parents.
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The Great Divide, is an eye-opening article to me and it really hits home. The ice-cream place named Frizz and Freeze that my friends and I would go to after half days of high school, and my mom would take me after long after school sports practices, was torn down and replaced by a starbucks (as if we don’t have enough of those) and a few other businesses. I understand what the Augugliaro family is saying when they remember all of the times their family had at The Frozen Cup, and how this is a landmark, one that appeared in Sex in the City. But after reading the entire article, I must say that I do side with the Augugliaro family. Sure, Patel thinks that there are so many places to go, that he believes taking down the Frozen Cup will do no harm, only help, I must disagree. I believe that the Frozen Cup had a great family atmosphere (from what I read in the article, and what I remember from Frizz n Freeze in Lancaster as well). But Patel is being insensitive to the fact that there were memories made there, and although he believes a Days Inn will attract the right kind of business, there is a chance for a crowd of prostitutes to come to the area. Although I am on the side of the Augugliaro family when it comes to tearing down the Frozen Cup, I am seeing yet another side to this story…the racism side.
True, the Augugliaro’s are not the first to come to America, but at some point their ancestors came over just as Patel’s family has come over, much later. Without the creation of businesses to prosper, their family would have never made it in America, just as Patel’s family needs the same benefit of the doubt. When they made the jokes that they saw a man walking down the street with a turban on, the people interviewed in the bar claimed that families such as the Patel family come to America but do not want to be Americans, that is what our country is. We are a huge slop bucket of so many cultures, and this is what makes our life so interesting and eventful. Sure tearing down the Frozen Cup is heart breaking, but I can’t decide and side with one family. It drives me crazy that families do not want people of other races to move in because I have had neighbors belonging to many races, and they have taught me so many things that I would have never learned from my parents. The people of Bellerose do not understand that although certain changes are being made in their town they must look back to a time when their ancestors were “the New Kids on the Block” as well.
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After reading about the neighborhood that was overrun by Indians I was a little racist myself. I have had the experience of some of my favorite places in my town being changes and closed due to a new people moving in but it was never due to one large racial group. It feels unfair and wrong on many different levels to lose a place or something that is viewed as special.
Along with the sense of loss I feel as if the inhabitants of the town were so set in their ways that they would respond negatively to any changes that would occur in the town. I feel that since it is a change that can be identified with a race of people the need to pass the blame becomes easier to do. I would very easily blame a group of people that I can connect to the problem much faster that actually look at why I am bothered by the situation in the first place. My mother always told me, that when you point at one person to blame them there are always fingers pointing right back at you.
People in this little town need to look at why they are feeling like their town is being invaded. They need to look at why the people moved to the area in the first place and work to make it a more welcoming and happy place for everyone if they wish to continue living together in peace. I feel that they way that the people are acting in this town are very judgmental of who they view as acceptable and criticize very closely others beliefs and traditions. The Indian people that moved into the area did nothing but make the area a more lucrative area by creating shops and hotels that would give back to the community.
It makes a person wonder that if the area was so nice in the first place then why were the Indians able to move in and take over most of the area. I feel as if it is not a race issue more than it is a money issue. Everyone in that town is angered by the fact that the Indian people were able to buy the land in their town so easily. The must be very wealthy families or are able to manage their money well to afford such endeavors. It would only make logical sense that the people of the town would be jealous because the Indian people are building up the area in ways they could have never been able to do.
I agree it is sad when your favorite restaurant of bowling place closes but in reality it was not the Indian peoples fault. It was due to lack of economic need and that cannot be helped. I feel that in order to fix this racist problem the people of the town need to stop looking at their new neighbors as invaders and more as if they are moving into the area to help the town to grow and prosper.
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If you are living in Queens, the issue of race should really be the least of your problems. But once again, a bored community worried about their livelihood after a run down ice cream stand was taken over, have found an insufficient grievance, not surprisingly centered around race. In my opinion, the heart of prejudice is a fear of the unknown—a lack of understanding, which leads to people thinking that a return to “normalcy” (halting cultural integration) will make them happy.
For example, a student may walk into a math class and after not understanding the first problem he encounters, he is inclined to give up and decide that he “hates math” so he continues to hate math. Another student may just so happen to first encounter an equation that she understands and has an initial positive association with the subject so she decides that she “loves math” and continues to have a positive attitude towards the subject because she knows it is possible to comprehend. It is not that one student is smarter than the other, it is that one had a particular initial positive experience toward the subject which lead to define her future attitude. Some members of the white community in Bellerose, Queens may look negatively toward the Asian community because of the initial negative association (closing of the ice cream shop). This will lead to a continued struggle because of the lack of a want to understand the other culture. The white community needs to just get over it and it really is just as simple as that.
Similar to an experience that a student in my discussion course had, an Indian friend of mine in high school invited me over for dinner one night. Of course I was nervous because I was not entirely familiar with their cultural norms. After the dinner was over, I realized that I was apart of an amazing experience. Two cultures had merged and I walked away with an incredible appreciation for this experience. We all interacted very well, there were no awkward moments, I was made to feel extremely comfortable and it was as if I could be sitting with my own family. The only difference between us is how we choose to act. You can openly choose whether you want to have a positive or negative attitude toward another person or community and there are no outside factors or faces shaping this one. So, communities continually change and they evolve and if having a few grocery stores selling Basmati rice and Hindu deities are really just too much to handle…MOVE. It’s amazing that people complain that they have no time when half of it is probably spent worrying over issues of race like the community of Bellerose.
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After reading the article, I felt rather ambiguous toward the issue; I can see both points of view. First off, I think I would have to disagree with all those that say we could be justified in calling these New York residents “racists.” Maybe they are, and maybe they are not, but from this article alone it is not clear for me to judge. Racism and ignorance are two distinctly different accusations. For one, I think it is only natural for people to be attached to such unique hometown establishments. It’s places like “The Frozen Cup” that make the town where you grew up your home. I can almost directly relate to the New York residents because a few years ago in my small hometown a landmark ice cream shop was closed down and turned into a car dealership. I went to “Bailey’s,” the ice cream shop in my town, almost every day in the summer. I shared many memories with my family and friends there, and so when it closed down I definitely was pissed off. And yet the race of those who opened the dealership had absolutely nothing to do with my feelings of dismay and hostility. As a matter of fact, I couldn’t even tell you whether the owners were White, Black, Asian, Hispanic, or Native American. I was upset at whoever turned such a great ice cream place into a car dealership because they did just that, not because of where they came from. Maybe this is not how it is for some of these New York residents, maybe their anger is more deeply rooted in racial issues, but I do not think that we can assume such racism.
Also, just because no one was willing to buy “the venerated Frozen Cup,” does not mean that the right of the people to be upset about the destruction of it should be extinguished. People have lives, people have jobs, and people have responsibilities. With that said, most people cannot simply buy, run, operate, and take full ownership of the ice cream shop that they enjoy at the drop of a dime. The fact that no one was willing to buy “The Frozen Cup” certainly should have no correlation to the fact that people would be upset when it closed.
Furthermore, Sam makes the point that is it remarkable how these residents can complain that these Asian Indians are “taking over” when their own people, relatives from 60 to 80 years ago, took over the same neighborhood for some other cultural group—but this is only natural in my opinion. I would bet that the Native Americans who were there first complained and felt hostile toward whoever was moving in, as would any other cultural group. I’m not saying that the Queens’ residents are justified in “complaining,” but what else can you expect?
I do see the side of the Asian Indians for clear reasons, as I’m sure most do, but I think the residents of New York should not be viewed in such a pessimistic outlook after reading this article alone.
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This is an interesting but not surprising article of racism. I do agree that it is racism, but I don’t find it to be blatant or intentionally harmful racism. For decades, America has been seen as a cultural melting pot and safe haven for people seeking refuge from oppressive governments, or people just looking for a new beginning in a land teeming with opportunity. Whatever the reason may be, America is constantly changing culturally and racially, and people feel most comfortable when they are surrounded by people of their own race and culture. This is evident by the way immigrants tend to stick together and occupy certain neighbors. For example Little Italy, Chine Town, or even Bellerose, Queens are all neighborhoods that are occupied by a certain ethnic group. It not only makes it easier for the residents of the neighborhoods to find the food they like, people that speak their language, and their unique religious place of warship, but they also get the underlying comfort associated with being among people similar to you. It is just human nature, just how it is human nature to be upset or even angry when another ethnic group treads on your land, and threatens to change your way of life. If this is considered racism, than it is equally racist for the immigrating groups to all want to live together. I am not sure if both the immigrants and the presiding communities are racists to one another, or if it is just within one’s nature to be with people similar to them, maybe a little bit of both. But what ever they are, they are the same. This article is one sided with its depictions and quotations. I would be surprised to see one single neighborhood in the entire globe where the inhabiting people of a community would welcome an invasion of foreigners to replace their supermarkets, stores, and places of warship with foreign replicas that provided no use to them. Although the The Frozen Cup ice cream stand, a historical landmark of Bellerose, Queens is used by the author of this article as an example of a store being taken over by a foreign immigrant, I don’t see it that way. I personally don’t think that race plays any part in the way the community feels about their historical landmark being destroyed to make way for a Days Inn, which is ugly and astatically unappealing. Whether an Indian man or a White man was attempting this business endeavor, the community would still be responding with the same outrage. Yes there were some racist remarks made toward the Indian immigrants, but I think they are just the result of people letting their judgment and opinions be clouded by the anger and fear that their community and culture is slipping away from them. Those remarks were also the opinions of only a few people, who the author undoubtedly set out to find.
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After reading this article, I felt saddened by the idea that a local memory to many would be lost due to new construction plans for the site of The Frozen Cup. In this day and age, however, we see this happening all over the place. Small businesses that are not as popular as others are being bought out and the land is being used to build hotels or townhouses on. If my favorite ice cream stand was being torn down for a hotel to be built, I would feel sad, but the opinions of these people in Bellerose are obviously bitter towards the people who have the money to tear down that ice cream shack. More and more, I see empty lots with signs advertising the new town houses or fashion stores which will be built there. More often then others, I find myself wondering what was in the lot before the emptiness. Construction is something we cannot avoid, and I say if people have the money to buy lots, tear down any existing building and build something new, then more power to you. If I had enough money to go tear down an old shack and build a brand new hotel on it, I think I would. Or maybe I would just be appreciative of the money that I had.
It is very ironic that the people in this town are complaining about the South Asian culture, which is buying lots and building upon when it is very true that years ago that same land was taken away from Native Americans. Locals ask “where do they get the money?” as many Americans ask when a new race moves in or buys the local mini mart to build a new one on. The owner of this hotel to be built in Bellerose claims his family lives in the community, and they do not plan to turn it into a brothel. That sounds legitimate. The man has a family. He seems like a wealthy man who wants to make something with his money.
I don’t really know that new races in my community would affect my point of view. There are a couple black families on my street, a couple brown, but mostly white. A few years back an Indian family bought the local Wawa and turned it into a Pantry One. It still convenient, and people still go there. I’m sure some community members weren’t please about it, but I would have to imagine that’s because Wawa coffee would no longer be available there, but most convenience store items would still exist.
If people need leaders of their race to prove that there is diversity in America, then I don’t see the problem. The man running for city council, Swaranjit Singh, is a leader for his people. I wouldn’t call him their Obama. Even though Obama doesn’t have the same color skin as I do, doesn’t mean he isn’t a strong leader who can change the way things in the world are today. I can still see Obama as a leader, my leader, regardless of our opposite skin tones.
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This article is very interesting and I am pretty sure this is not the first place where this has occurred concerning Asian Indians. I myself am from the subcontinent of India, but was not there and therefore have a perspective that mixes on both worlds. Personally, I think the residents of that county in New York are definitely somewhat racist since the opinions they are expressing address race as the primary reason. They kept on saying that race should not be brought into the picture at all, and that the only thing they are concerned about is how the community’s image is on the verge of changing.
The change that is occurring in that location is a change forward and not backwards, so for anyone to get angry at that is just plain stupid and idiotic. The community is getting businesses such as hotels that will make the economy better in the area as well as modernize the place. As for the other things that are being put in the community such as the Indian stuff, the temple, stores, and just people I do not see any problem with them. However, the white people in the area think that those things just do not represent the town for what it is and that it is degrading the community. That statement is nothing other that totally racist. How can someone say that the Indian culture being put into his or her community just does not fit in and not be racist? When the first immigrants came there such as the Germans, the same thing probably happened and they had their things pop up in the communities. So why cannot they be accepting of our culture and stop being so culturally relative and ethnocentric.
This problem that occurred in that part of Queens has actually happened in numerous places around the United States. I hear about it since I am Indian and my parents tell me about me. There is a place in New Jersey called Edison, which is dominated by Indians now. This transition happened around twenty years ago or so, and now the place is totally brown now. People other than Indians are very accepting there and actually think that the Indians are a beneficiary thing since they help out the economy so much with their professions and businesses. Therefore, what the people in Queens need to realize and stop being so racist about is that this new transition that is happening there is actually going to help them out in the long run and is much needed for that community. For one last thing, I thought it was interesting how the white person brought up the stereotype of how all these brown people get money after moving to the States. I myself always hear this and after being in the Soc 119 class, understand the multiple reasons for why this is true.
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People have an interesting aversion to change. Like Sam said, these Irish, Italians, and Germans have ancestors who moved into that same town and “took over” from another group. Honestly, a lot of people don’t think about it that way. I know I didn’t. It’s weird to think that the same ethnic “problems” that this country is having happened a hundred years ago, and a hundred years before that, and really have been happening since the Pilgrims moved in, or even before that. I don’t know enough detailed history to really know what everyone did about it, but it makes you wonder. I’ve heard about people throwing bricks through new business’ windows, or setting things on fire, and the government passing unfair legislation. While this country is known for its “melting pot” tendencies, I think that we’re also known, at least within the borders, for our aversion to that “melting.”
Some of this stuff is hard to think about, especially when put into perspective. I’m extremely proud of my mostly Irish heritage, and some of that is manifested though my pride in my Irish features. Round face, pale skin, freckles, reddish wild curly hair, hazel green eyes. When my mother gets worked up, a bit of an accent comes out (even though it’s been a few generations since our ancestors came over); when my brother his drunk his emerges. We’re proud of our drinking and swearing abilities and our distinctly “Erin” looks. But I also know that when our people immigrated over to America, they were treated like dirt. I’ve heard it said that the Irish immigrants were treated worse when they came over than black people were during the peak of slavery. Whether that’s true or not, the fact is that they were still heavily discriminated against. My last name comes from my dad, whose dad was German, with a little bit of Jewish mixed in; we all know the story of what happened to the Jews in the earlier 1900s. My heritage is definitely ripe with its share of discrimination.
And really, I think everyone’s is. What I’m trying to say is that it’s really interesting how people can forget what their people went through, how their ancestors not too many generations back were spit on walking down the street just for the color of their skin, the shape of their face, the curl of their hair. And weren’t they? Every group has been isolated at one time or another; even the very first founders of this nation, the original “pusher-outers” who pushed the Native Americans out of their home soil, had a reason for coming to America in the first place. They were being religiously discriminated against back home in England and were tired of it. The English came here and hated the Irish; when the Irish and Germans and Italians were assimilated, they hated the black people, who hate the Indians and Mexicans. Just because someone’s skin is “white” doesn’t mean that they haven’t gone through their fair share of hate crimes somewhere in their lineage. I think it’s amazing how people forget that, and forget, as Sam said, to “look backward” when it comes to the subject of race and racial discrimination.
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After reading the article in the New York Times about the “Frozen Cup” I was beyond disgusted about how the Bellerose residents reacted. I believe these residents used the excuse of missing a great ice cream shop with their own realities of pure racism. I found most of the article and the assertions the locals made to be pure ignorance and racism. I understand that some might be upset that a huge hotel is replacing their small town feel, but once again I believe this was just an excuse of people being ignorant of foreigners establishing businesses in their communities. The assertion that Mr. Patel (the owner of the hotel) was stealing their community and only going to rent rooms to his type of people was completely bizarre and I could not believe people actually thought that way. It makes me wonder if people still don’t understand that America was a country built on the hopes and aspirations of immigrants. Like ancestors in Mr. Patel’s family and probably Mr. Augugliaros’ everyone was probably once an immigrant and no one should be denied their dreams or aspirations because of their race. America is a land of freedoms and possibilities and if we deny Mr. Patel his dream, who knows what rights will be denied next, and furthermore we are not as far on the race relations scale as we think. Mr. and Mrs. Augugliaro’s comments about the South Asian neighborhoods and different types of people in their communities just prove how ignorant about other cultures they might be. For example, the way they spoke about the Sikh man was so appalling to me and I was baffled that people would share these opinions openly. Their assertions about the Sikh man were repulsive and ignorant. This article was another example of what some critics have called small town America. In small towns like Bellerose, there is a lack of diversity and people are usually mindless of other cultures. People tend to not realize when they make comments or ignore people. People tend not to open up to other cultures and therefore like the Bellerose residents alienate someone who might be different than the traditional citizen. Growing up in a town that thrived on diversity, I was able to be exposed to many different types of cultures and races. By being exposed to so many different types of people, I was able to grow as a person and learn so much about other cultures. I feel sorry for people like the Augugliaro’s who choose to be ignorant to different types of cultures and alienate them. I understand that there are probably a lot of memories associated with the “Frozen Cup”, but this story has underlying themes of racism and the motives of families like the Augugliaros are questionable.
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I feel for the people who live in Queens and are having their favorite places taken away from them from this great wave of newcomers. I do not think that it has to deal with the fact that they are of South Asian decent, but that what Queens use to have, for example the Frozen Cup, was now being taken away from them and the norm was beginning to change. A family that grows up in one neighborhood for a long time becomes accustomed to their surroundings and do not really like change in the neighborhood. For instance, the bowling alley that some considered the heartbeat of Bellerose was taken away and that was a real shock to the current residents of Bellerose.
However, the way the people of Bellerose handled this situation was very racist and just plain wrong. When I read the quote about how the hotel would just be filled up with “their people” I became enraged because it is really unfair. The hotel will not segregate between people from South Asia only and that is why I did not like it. They are trying to make a living and I do agree with what Mr. Harshad Patel did when he said that if they felt so strongly about it then why not buy it? I also found it very comical.
I feel both of the Augugliaro’s are very disappointed about the situation because they were the ones who ran the Frozen Cup, but they way they talked about it was just bad. They criticized the entire race which was very insulting for me as well. And what I found very funny was when he said towards the end how he was not a racist. It is a total contradiction against what he is saying. The one line that really struck a nerve in me was when he said that the South Asians were turning Queens into a third world country! That was totally shocking to me. I felt very offended, not being of South Asian decent, but rather just being a human being.
I think that the trouble that the Queens people are going through is dealing with change. I feel as if the South Asians are coming over to America for opportunity and freedom, not to take over the entire country. I think that people can say that it is a little different at first to see new buildings popping up that are promoting South Asian items, but after some time we need to become accepting to these new people. We are all human beings, there is not one race that is better than another, and until all of us discover this, we will not get far. I agree with Dr. Richards about how these people of Bellerose are being very racist, and they need to understand the situation and become accepting to it.
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I think it is very understandable that the people living in Queens are complaining about the Asian people migrating to Queens, New York, but I do not agree that it is right. If you put yourself in a town with people full of your own color or race and you noticed a specific race moving in, you would ask yourself, “What the hell is going on?” I am not saying it is right to do this, because it is not at all, but it is only in our human nature to think like that. And when Sam talks about how our distant relatives and other people took over the land we live on, he stands on a good arguing ground. People do not think about the history and if they do, they do not want to believe that it occurred. But going back to the New York Times article, it is completely absurd to blame the Indian migrants, whom are buying the parlor to build a hotel, for the foreclosure of the Frozen Cup ice cream parlor. How can you blame someone for ice cream shop foreclosure that happened BEFORE they actually bought the ice cream parlor? These people had absolutely nothing to do with the foreclosure! And then, for the local people to go on and believe that prostitutes are going to be used in the hotel is absolute ludicrous! Did they discover prostitutes in the Quality Inn because it IS the same man who owns Quality Inn who bought the ice cream parlor? They aren’t even giving him a chance. They’re just stereotyping him! The man, Mr. Augugliaro, who lived down the street, cannot actually believe he is not racist. Mr. Augugliaro does not call himself a “racist,” yet he clearly showed some true colors with the comment, that the Quality Inn down the street, “stands out like the Taj Mahal.” Later on he goes to say, “They’re turning the neighborhood into a third-world country.” I am sorry, but that just proves he is a racist bastard (sorry for the political incorrectness.) For people to actually believe something like that blows my mind. It just proves how rationally ignorant some Americans truly are. Is this same man pissed that there are Italians or Germans living in this same area? Absolutely not. When are we going to grow out of this “racist culture” we live in because it is just getting plain and simply old?
The thing that sticks out to me the most about the whole situation is that New York is a very diverse state. Many Asians, Africans, Europeans, Hispanics and Latinos live there. So if you live in New York, you should already be used to the fact that it is diverse.
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It is unfortunate that people rank themselves above others not on a universally acceptable ranking system but rather their own made up ranking system that conveniently makes whatever is common to them better. These current residents of Queens seem to have no respect for the Asian Indians who seem to be the only neighbors in Queens contributing to successful businesses. It is not the fault of the Asian Indians for the foreclosure of many of the establishments but rather the economic recession that the US is facing. These citizens who consider their new neighbors foreign invaders seem to forget that New York City began as a haven for people of almost every ethnicity. Just because one ethnic group moved into a neighborhood before another does not mean that it has to remain that way forever. The complaints of the Asian Indians not “acting American enough” is completely absurd on the basis that America was created from many different cultures coming together and combining to form new norms. Acting like a true “American” would imply acting like a Native American if that statement were to make any sense. What the disgruntled and uneducated residents of Queens are really saying is “I want these foreigners to act more like me.”
In regards to the Frozen Cup Ice Cream Store it also made me laugh to see that after the new owner offered to sell the building at a loss no one stepped up to “redeem their favorite business.” For all of the complaining everyone was doing no one seemed to have any solutions to their economic problem of all of their local business failing. People were trying to say that they were not being racist but I’m sure if the new owner of the Frozen Cup land was not an Asian Indian they would have much less of a problem with a new hotel going up. Also, they were being subconsciously racist in assuming that the hotel would be used for prostitution and not as a legitimate business. The community should spend less time doubting their new neighbors and more time embracing their successful businesses. They also asked “Where do these Asian Indians get all this money” as if it was a horrible thing to be successful. I don’t understand why they can’t learn from the newcomers and turn their struggling businesses around that all seem to be going out of business at a quick pace. I wish people could be more accepting of ideas that are foreign to them because it is impossible to gain knowledge of others if you are unwilling to understand them. This is obviously why the old businesses cannot stay in business. If the owners understood that they could now market Asian and Indian products to their new neighbors there would be plenty of good business. It would be nice to see this community come together and begin to embrace the new neighbors instead of living in their fantasy world where they were the first to live in America.
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Although the destruction of a town’s landmark, such as the Frozen Cup, often times upsets the residents of that town, it is for a much different reason that the residents of Bellerose are perturbed. The beginning of the article seems to attempt to give a base of knowledge to the reader about how important the Frozen Cup was to the area, and how much the destruction of it affected the people who lived there. This is not merely because their favorite ice cream shop was no longer in business, rather it was caused by the upcoming and current change this event signifies for the town. Although it is always sad when a place with so many memories is destroyed, I believe if it had been bought by anyone but people of South Asian descent, residents of Bellerose and surrounding areas would not be nearly as concerned or upset with the purchase of the Frozen Cup. Towns grow and progress in order to keep up with the ever-changing economy and world. Therefore, many small businesses are sadly taken over by bigger companies and more powerful and well-known businesses. This is a very possible reason for why their bowling alley, movie theater, and ice cream shop unfortunately didn’t make it.
While it can be hard to accept the fact that the town in which your family has lived for so many years is changing in many ways, including the ratios of different races and cultures, change is not always a bad thing. People in Bellerose should try to be more open and accepting of newcomers, no matter where they are from. Their intimidation towards these new residents is somewhat understandable, as their dominance and previous ‘hierarchy’ in the area is being threatened. However, just because these South Asian immigrants are thriving and achieving great success in business in their area does not give other residents a reason to attack the fact that they didn’t completely abandon their race and culture upon their arrival in the U.S. I think Bruce Holloway’s comment of how “Everybody wants to bring their country here” is very ignorant, because it doesn’t sound as if they are trying to impose their culture on the other residents, merely like they are continuing their lifestyle over here as they had in South Asia. As for the comment “But they do come for the benefits”; of course, who isn’t looking to better their life and the life they can provide for their family? Why wouldn’t you want to move yourself and your family to a place where you think you can thrive more and have more success in order to create a better life for everyone involved? The people of Bellerose need not only to open their minds to new people and ideas, but also need to let go of their racist beliefs and realize these new people are not out to get them or to ruin their town, merely to be happy and successful in the same way as everyone else.
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I am writing this article in response to the February 22nd post by Sam, which is entitled, “This is Racism, in Case Anyone is Wandering.” In the article, it describes a neighborhood in New York City in which there is a large growing population of South Asian Immigrants. The article is centered on the sale of an ice cream store, which many consider to be a community landmark, to a group of South Asian investors who plan to build a hotel where the ice cream stand stood. The main issue that most of these people try to point out is that this is a historic landmark and that they all have many fond memories of the ice cream stand. Most also try to point out that they are not in fact upset that a person of South Asian decent is buying it, they are instead upset that the ice cream stand is being destroyed. However, when the group offers to sell the ice cream stand to anyone who will agree to run it for 10 years at a loss of $100,000 to himself, no one will agree to do so. It appears that this community is actually much more worried about the influx of South Asian Indians than the loss of an ice cream store. Many people complain that there are Indian grocery stores popping up that lead to large amounts of traffic as well as places of worship such as Hindu and Sikh temples. Many are also very concerned that the growing population of South Asians, which is estimated to be approximately 40% of the community, is going to turn their community into a less desirable and safer area to live.
I think that Sam raises a really good point that these people forget that at one time they were imposing on someone else’s neighborhood and their not too distant relatives were looked at as undesirable. I really feel like people need to be more open-minded and that they need to be willing to be accept people into their community. One man states that “American” people would not shop at a store with the word the “bazaar” in its name. I feel that people such as him need to be willing to reach a hand across the divide and welcome these people. America was built on a blending of cultures, which means that some of an immigrant’s culture would assimilate into American culture. These people are not asking anyone to speak Hindi, or to attend their temples. They are simply trying to establish a good life for themselves and their families in the United States. One thing that people seem to be forgetting is that these people also bring a large amount of money into the community that otherwise would not be there. Since many of these immigrants seem to be affluent, the people in the community would be better off accepting them, rather than worrying about them ruining their neighborhood. With businesses such as the Frozen Cup closing down, residents should be happy that someone is willing to spend money on new businesses in this economy. In general, I feel that the people in this neighborhood are afraid of changing what they have always known, which I understand. However, one has to accept what is coming and make the best of the situation, rather than trying to fight for some relic of a past generation.
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