Quote:
Originally Posted by Chef
I think part of the phenomenon we see with the Irish in the US and Canada is that historically oppressed or conquered people seem to maintain their group identity longer and more intensely than those who weren't. You see this with African Americans and Native Americans, you see it with Jewish and Irish white people and you see it with the Hmong compared to other recent Asian immigrants.
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Well, Jewish (of the early 20th century Ashkenazi immigrant waves) and similar Irish immigrant waves are some of the examples often cited as assimilation success stories. Where some aspects of their cultures were partially lost as they assimilated into Anglo culture but also their cultures heavily became part of US culture too. They experienced mostly forced assimilation in the old countries they escaped from, so they defined themselves in opposition to the old culture there, but less so on US soil
African American and Native Americans were historically oppressed on US soil itself, so the definition oneself in opposition to assimilation was stronger in terms of survival in the US itself.