Subject: Voice of the People letter: Salad Society

EDITOR:                             5/28/95

The May 25 letter from Eva Jackson & John Bayley refers to the
"salad bowl" metaphor of American society. But from its beginning
the United States has been a "melting pot" of peoples, unlike
Europe, or Africa which are better described by the "salad"
model.  When different metallic elements are melted in a pot,
alloys are formed which have different properties from the
original elements. In a salad, a tomato slice doesn't marry a
radish to produce hybrid offspring.

But wide spread inter-marriage between English, German, Irish,
Italians, Scandinavians, and other European immigrants to America
have created a blend not found in Europe: what are commonly
called "White People". (Of course they are not white in color,
but various shades of pink.)  The Autobiography of Malcolm X
laments the fact that African slaves brought to the Americas lost
their tribal identity to create a new blend, not only of many
different African peoples, but also including Europeans, that
were then called Negroes (a term that has since fallen out of
favor). Malcolm X had a "white" grandfather.

Current trends in America have seen increasing inter-marriage
between all of the various groups here.  (Past incorporation of
European genes into  Negroes was by male slave owners and female
slaves).  The segregationists of the 1950's were correct on one
point: only segregation and anti-miscegenation laws can preserve
separate "pure" ethnic groups in America. In much of the rest of
the world different language and customs keep people apart.

America is not the only "melting pot" society.  In the 5th
century Angles and Saxons were two different ethnic groups in
England, but by the time of the Norman conquest they had blended
to become Anglo-saxons.  In modern Israel, Ashkenazi and Sphardic
Jews, two distinct groups only 30 years ago, are rapidly blending
into a common culture.


The "salad society" is really just ninetyspeak for "separate-but-
equal". It was a bad idea that seems to be making a comeback.



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Jim Blair (jeblair@facstaff.wisc.edu) University of Wisconsin, Madison
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