Should Immigrants be Encouraged to Assimilate Into Their New Country's Culture?

[Colbor]

I think people should respect the culture of the country they're living in. No more of this "Christmas offends me" bullshit.

[Lothaeryn]

Encouraged? Yes, absolutely.

Coerced, forced, discriminated against until such? No, that only promotes bigotry and racism. The bare minimum any immigrant should be expected to learn is the language of the country they now reside in proficiently enough to communicate coherently. But it is encouraged that they also learn the customs of the people there as well, so much as to not offend or be offended by practices they may dislike, (if it is the social norm there, you cannot disallow it, even if you may be offended by it).

[prwraith]

they should definitely assimilate. If they want to reject their new countries culture and keep their own, they should have stayed in their own damn country.

[spinner981]

Depends on how 'different' their cultural beliefs are. If it is normal in their culture to walk around nude and their normal cultural greeting is to punch somebody in the face, then they should probably assimilate a bit to a culture of people that walk around in clothing who greet each other with handshakes. That's obvious hyperbole, but it makes the point that the level of 'cultural difference' should definitely matter. If the only difference in culture is how you drink your coffee, then you are probably safe keeping that little cultural difference for yourself.

As a general rule though, I think it would be better to assimilate than to not assimilate.

[Abajaba]

I feel moving to a country should be built on the premise that you prefer the customs of another nation and would like to adopt those customs as the nation adopts you. As an American you do not go to Sweden and expect them to cater to your political, religious, and economic preferences.

[Kaleredar]

As an American you do not go to Sweden and expect them to cater to your political, religious, and economic preferences.

That's exactly what you do as an American!

[Deleted]

I feel moving to a country should be built on the premise that you prefer the customs of another nation and would like to adopt those customs as the nation adopts you. As an American you do not go to Sweden and expect them to cater to your political, religious, and economic preferences.

What is that supposed to mean? Cater to your economic preferences? Sweden is a free country, what you do with your economy is none of our business as long as it's not welfare. Same with politics, Swedes aren't some monopolitical entity, we have everything from commies to liberals here.

OT: If they speak the language and contribute I don't care.

[Stormdash]

I think if you aren't interested in cultural assimilation, you are less accurately described as an "immigrant" than as, I dunno, "colonist".

[Melancolie]

Making an effort to speak the language, follow the Laws and customs is a must like most of you have said. I'm kinda split on the rest.

I WANT to say that what you do in private is really up to you. As long as you dont do anything illegal, i dont care if you eat pork or fish, pray to Allah, Jesus or Xenu. But then my cynical and realistic side kinda kicks in and i start thinking. Culture and society must be the reason they had to flee to another country in the first place. Religion, lack of education, oppression of women, bad political concepts etc is what causes all the civil wars and conflicts.

So in the end i guess i have to change my previous statement. You cant go to a new country and expect to just continue like you always have. But changing this is a job for the individual countries, not the individual immigrants. They're just people and they stick to what they know as all people do. Opening their minds to what a well functioning society is, has to be taught. I dont have the answers for how to do that, but stuffing everyone into ghettos surely isnt the solution.

[Mage of Rage]

What is that supposed to mean? Cater to your economic preferences? Sweden is a free country, what you do with your economy is none of our business as long as it's not welfare. Same with politics, Swedes aren't some monopolitical entity, we have everything from commies to liberals here.

OT: If they speak the language and contribute I don't care.

Of course you don't - you're Swedish. Asking Sweden if it likes immigration is like asking a slut if she likes cocks. The Swedes pretty much have zero standards when it comes to immigration and now the country is filled with african and arab immigrants that are more interested violence than adapting to life in another nation. When your nation is performing Islamic marriage ceremonies for white lesbian converts I think you've crossed a line you can never come back from.

As for immigration, being an immigrant in my area myself, I wholly expect immigrants to assimilate local culture and language. I only speak my native tongue inside my house and with some friends who also immigrated, but never speak my language to storeowners because it is ridiculous for immigrants demands serve them in their language. If you're not interested in learning the language and culture of the place you moved to then frankly I don't want you as my neighbour and I won't respect you for not making the same efforts to assimilate I did. Where I live there are two official languages and zero excuse not to know them before you get here.

Besides if you let in all the people from a poorly performing nation then you're just going to bring all the problems to your nation instead. Teach a man to fish and contribute to solving problems in their home nations and those who aren't interested in assimilating other cultures will have no reason to leave in the first place.

[Zyphrus]

5 years in an electronics department. 5 years of being swarmed to add time to cell phones, even though it tells you how to do it in 5 sentences on the back of the card. 5 years of being pissed off.
Learn the god damned language.

Never added a single phone card.

[icausewipes]

Immigrants should not be encouraged.

[Underverse]

Yes, absolutely. Anything less encourages the formation of barriers between groups, and barriers can lead to lots of nasty things.

[Iphie]

Learning the language and respecting the laws are good things, as such encouraging integration is a very good idea. I would say that first-gen immigrants should try to integrate into society, second gen should be integrated and assimilated.

I would also say that it definately depends on the country you're going to, I went from The Netherlands to Finland, barring language, I did not really need to change my outlook on life much, but had I changed to Japan, China or the US I'm sure the way I've been raised would have clashed with local culture.

[Shaidlol]

Yes and culturally yes and no. It is ok to keep your culture but making your neighbourhood the same as your old country is just wrong. Why even move to a new country when you copy everything from your old one?

[Deleted]

Of course you don't - you're Swedish. Asking Sweden if it likes immigration is like asking a slut if she likes cocks. The Swedes pretty much have zero standards when it comes to immigration and now the country is filled with african and arab immigrants that are more interested violence than adapting to life in another nation. When your nation is performing Islamic marriage ceremonies for white lesbian converts I think you've crossed a line you can never come back from.

As for immigration, being an immigrant in my area myself, I wholly expect immigrants to assimilate local culture and language. I only speak my native tongue inside my house and with some friends who also immigrated, but never speak my language to storeowners because it is ridiculous for immigrants demands serve them in their language. If you're not interested in learning the language and culture of the place you moved to then frankly I don't want you as my neighbour and I won't respect you for not making the same efforts to assimilate I did. Where I live there are two official languages and zero excuse not to know them before you get here.

Besides if you let in all the people from a poorly performing nation then you're just going to bring all the problems to your nation instead. Teach a man to fish and contribute to solving problems in their home nations and those who aren't interested in assimilating other cultures will have no reason to leave in the first place.

You don't need to write such long posts, you can just say "I'm a racist".

[Grummgug]

Apparently, if we're talking about Russians in Ukraine, then yes they should assimilate or get out because they WILL eventually vote to join Russia. But if we're talking about latinos in the Southwest US, then no its perfectly ok to not assimilate and in fact if you don't respect their choice you are the problem, and any thought that more decades of immigrants coming from Mexico might lead to part of the US trying to leave the Union is crazy talk.

[Deleted]

I think that if you speak the country's language proficiently its enough.

Not that both are mutually exclusive, but doesnt cultural segregation drive back the pace in which language is learned? IE: If someone speaks turkish 80% of the time, and the new countries language 20% of the time, its gonna be very slow paced.

- - - Updated - - -

You don't need to write such long posts, you can just say "I'm a racist".

So even immigrants that think other immigrants should have some responsibility are racist huh.
Why not throw a godwin in there while ur at it.

[Shaidlol]

You don't need to write such long posts, you can just say "I'm a racist".

Lol he is a racist? Are you serious? He wrote what is wrong with asylum seeking and the negative points of immigration. You are just ignorant and like to spray other people as racists.

[ati87]

Yes, absolutely. Anything less encourages the formation of barriers between groups, and barriers can lead to lots of nasty things.

IN other words, if people don't accept your demands you will become nasty? Immigrants will not suddenly become nasty just because they don't assimilate so then it must be you and people that think like you.

Assimilation is evil, nothing will be gained from it where the strongest countries in the history always welcomed different cultures.