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Being White In America

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In response to the student’s question, where she asked about the strategies white people use to cope with the issues they face in America, I agree with the responses provided by Professor Fouron and Professor Ruth Frankenberg. I believe that the United States it structured to look out for the best interest of white Americans and immigrants alike. Being white in America means that your concerns will be heard and addressed by elected officials and our society in general. As Professor Frankenburg states, I believed that the ideas of “whiteness” and “Americanness” are closely connected; a white immigrants’ legitimacy in America, even marked with an accent, will not be questioned, whereas the same has never been said for other immigrants. In fact, …show more content…

While Donald Trump has stood against immigration reform, accepting refugees from predominantly Muslim nations, and immigrants from Mexico and South America, he has not considered the national origin of his wives. To be clear, during the Trump campaign, Trump’s promises to build a wall on the southern border, that would separate Mexico and the U.S. physically as well as his promise to, according to CNN in 2015, “overturn a law [14th Amendment] that grants citizenship to people born in the U.S.” he does not consider the contradiction he poses. President Trump’s first wife, Ivana Marie Zelnickova Trump, was born in Czechoslovakia and had three children with President Trump: Donald Jr., Ivanka, and Eric. Ivana is an immigrant to the United States and her children share her ethnic background. In addition, Donald Trump’s current wife, Melania, was born in Slovenia, immigrated to America in 1996, married Trump, and had one child with him: Barron. Barron also shares his mother’s Slovenian background. The children and wives of Donald Trump are deemed legitimate Americans because of their white skin. Both Ivana and Melania legitimacy will not be questioned, nor will their children’s be. This is apparent because President Trump does not hesitate to state that birthright should be abolished and immigration should be severely curbed. This contradiction illustrates that even within American institutions and the highest office in the nation, whiteness guarantees your ownership of

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