Dr. Ines Poza advises Tom Brokaw, "Assimilation no longer a thing"

SANTA MONICA, Calif., Jan. 31, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- According to consumer reseach specialist Dr. Ines Poza, Tom Brokaw's comments "are more dated than offensive. He hasn't tracked how society has evolved." Poza contends that while the term assimilation may describe how immigrants in the first half of last century had to blend into mainstream culture, "It's no longer a thing." 

"Often used interchangeably with the term aculturation, assimilation is used to try to explain what happens to immigrants when they move to a new country. Through the mid 20^th century, immigrants moving to the U.S. experienced tremendous pressure to shed their cultural identity. Archived photos of signs reading 'Irish Not Wanted' and the corporal punishment of children in schools for speaking languages other than English attest to this," Poza explains. "But things have changed."

Poza says in the post civil rights era there is no longer the same pressure to shed cultural identity. Even in the current social climate, there is strong public pushback to anti-immigrant sentiment. One recent example is Under the Moon Cafe manager Santiago Orosco's facebook shaming of clients who wrote "Don't tip immigrants!" on their bill.

"I discourage clients from using the terms 'assimilated' and 'acculturated' because they don't meaningfully describe cultural identification and worse, suggest it exists on a continuum. I remember once seeing a survey intended to determine levels of acculturation in Hispanics," Poza says. "It included things like Spanish fluency, frequency eating Mexican food, frequency going to church and family size. According to that survey, a Chinese friend of mine scored as an unaculturated Hispanic."

Poza says this points to another problem with these terms. "My friend's love of Mexican food doesn't mean she's trying to be Mexican, any more than the popularity of sushi and yoga in the U.S. means that as a nation we're trying to assimilate to Asian culture. These changes in our tastes are not about assimilation. They're about getting to pick and choose what we like from an increasing range of items and services. The same holds for immigrants. New habits are more a function of being in a new and what is for many, a richer consumer envirnoment, than about trying to fit in. Assimilation in the way Tom Brokaw thinks it works no longer exists."

In another nod to Mr. Brokaw's comments, Poza adds, "And cultures don't conflict, people do. Cultures impact and enrich each other. The continuting evolution of U.S. tastes in music, TV, movies and food speaks to this. Changing social norms, proliferation of entertainment content and the internet in general have only greased the wheels of this process." She concludes, "It's the products, programming and services that understand and engage this dynamic that will thrive moving forward."

Contact Ines Poza, Ph.D.
310.430.4637
www.pozaconsulting.com

SOURCE Poza Consulting Services

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