In Jewish Roots in Southern Soil, Diner discusses Jewish Peddlers. Although I do not have any Jewish ancestry, Jewish peddlers as Diner examines relates strongly to the story of my family’s immigration to the United States. Diner claims that as Jews immigrated to all corners of the world primarily as peddlers they encountered new languages, very different social norms, and complex racial dramas (Jewish Roots in Southern Soil, 86). My family and I immigrated to the United States Georgia, USA in 1999. In the novel Kentucky by Schwartz he describes the Jewish peddlers as hard working people attempting to make a living. Despite the fact that this was many years after the time Diner discusses the Jews as Peddlers, we also faced the challenge of learning a new language, social norms that were very different than those in Pakistan. Further, my parents were forced very quickly to learn the new language, as they had to provide a means of living for our family. Diner writes, “The reality that Jewish Peddlers spent most of their time, while peddling, with non-Jews forced them into a quick encounter and put them nearly immediately on the path toward learning new languages,” this situation was very similar to what my parents encountered. As I grew older, I came to realize that racism still existed, especially in the south. During the political scene this past year, it became very clear that the country was still immersed in complex and racial dramas, like those described by Diner. According to Diner, “Jewish peddlers were causing competition as their businesses grew, and local policies set out to define them as foreigners and Jews became politicized.” In modern time, it appears that many Americans still believe that foreigners are stealing American jobs. Diner ends her discussion by the assertion that despite the racism Jews faced; they were able to become successful. Diner states, “Jewish peddlers in their destination homes used peddling as a way to leave the occupation, and thus their kids did not pick up the trade.” This claim has a direct connection to me as my parents worked various jobs to establish a business so that my siblings and me would have an opportunistic life.
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