Aaron et al
Your piece is well written and I didn’t pick up any racism in it. You do raise some interesting issues and surprisingly enough other races/countries have grappled with these for a long time.
It is impossible to respond in full detail in a comment, and I hope to blog about this topic in the future.
I just wanted to reiterate the idea that citizenship is more than where you were born and belonging does not just come from a passport.
For example, the British “imported” thousands of Indian workers to both toil and administer their colonies in East Africa. Most learnt the (usually more than one) local language but were housed and schooled differently. Now, three or four generations later you still have a distinction between say a “Kenyan” (read: black African) and an “Indian” (read: African born and bred, but parentage and ancestry Indian), even though they carry the same passport. This is just one example.
I live in Australia which has, since WW2, allowed immigration from Southern Europe even though nobody could speak English – which used to be a migration requirement. (We also had the White only immigration policy on the books until 1975) Contrary to the comments above, many older Italians and Greeks (particularly ladies in the home) have existed in Australia for a generation or more without ever learning English. With the advent of satellites, they watch Italian/Greek TV and now have been allowed to vote at the last elections in those countries as well. Are these people citizens? Do they feel they belong here?
Citzenship, nationality, belonging and race are, in this globalised world, increasingly fluid concepts. I am sure you can find the opposite of Lanaro as well. “Jose” might have become “Joseph”, a proud American now but born in Mexico.
I am not claiming to be particularly qualified or a so-called “expert” but I think that each case must be assessed on its merits. Is it ok to be UK born and bred and want to overthrow the “state” because it is attempting to crush muslims? Of course not. But what about running on a “muslims first” political platform and attempting to get elected? Or reflexively, do we ban far right parties such as in Germany and Austria, driving them underground and breeding a deeper resentment of immigrants and non-whites?
Finally, the article talks about the “carpetbagger” title that Lanaro gets from Mexicans when he goes to compete. At the end of the day, he won’t be able to please the wider populations of either country, for the reasons you and other commenters highlight.
Perhaps he’s just got to please himself?
