It's funny how history repeats itself though.
I'm blessed with carrying memories of life here on the island that go back to the late 1800's. My grandfather used to tell me stories of what it was like back in the day when i was little. It used to be that granite quarrying was a major industry here. Stone cutting is much art as it is science and not many had the knowledge of how to do it. Many Italians immigrated here from the old country because the trade had passed from father to son for generations across the pond.
Both of my grandfathers worked the quarries while the industry was at it's peak and had similar complaints. The people didn't speak the language and were displacing locals from their jobs. In time ... it all smoothed out. The second and third generation Italians did learn to speak the language. They married and interbred with the locals and nowadays they're just like anybody else. It turned out to be a blessing because there was such a small gene pool here to begin with.
I totally get it regardless. It bugs me to see Hispanics displacing the natives in the construction trades. We've got Eastern Europeans working the shorefront and people of color working and making good money on the lobster fishing boats. Change is upsetting.
Still ... the right thing is to ride with the tide and go with the flow. Let the measure of the man be his work ethic and not his heritage or color of his skin. It's one of the principles that our country was built upon. Give em' chance to prove themselves worthy ?
Bookmarks