Assimilation

[Mos]

Guide to Assimilation:

I've attempted here to write a short guide on one of the biggest problems and threats to the Armenian people, and more specifically Armenian Diaspora: Western assimilation. This is a topic that should be discussed more and given more attention. I hope this message can be spread.

Some Steps to Assimilation:

• Not speaking Armenian, preferring a foreign tongue
• Sacrificing family values and responsibilities
• Embracing the identity of the foreign land
• Being uninterested of the situation in Armenia
• Becoming more distant from the Armenian Community
• Becoming more enveloped in and identified with the Western contemporary culture/mindset
• Being uninterested in the world-wide Armenian issues
• Becoming "embarrassed" or "reclusive" regarding your Armenian identity, esp in public
• If used, using Armenian identity to show something that is not (e.g. international festivals)

and such folks will then raise their kids accordingly; thus ending the Armenian line right there.

Some Steps to being Raised into Assimilation

• Not being taught Armenian language
• Being raised with 'Armenian' identity being secondary or even not that
• Being raised and surrounded by primary Western culture and influences
• Not exposing child to Armenian history, culture, politics, etc
• Allegiance to the foreign country first

this can also transcend very easily into harming the interests of Armenians.

Degradation

• Being a "rebel" against ones traditional family
• Using the label "Armenian" to promote oneself or put oneself differently from others
• Degrade oneself sexually but still use the Armenian label, which they have no right to, to advance their evil intentions
• Throwing down the name of Armenians via cultural, historical, and other means of harassment

Some Steps to Avoid Assimilation

• Promote, speak, and emphasise Armenian language
• Always stay connected to the Republic of Armenia
• Be active in your Armenian community/church
• Promote Armenian culture, history, and values
• Always identify yourself as just 'Armenian'
• Visit Armenia as often as you can
• Surround yourself with Armenians, and hopefully Armenian family

For ethnicities with large diasporas, assimilation is one of the greatest threats as it can very easily abolish a large quantity of those people living abroad. The "blood" and "name" factor is not at all indicative if one is Armenian or not, but much more importantly their mindset, their values, and general relationship with Armenia. A person who has full Armenian blood and great Armenians names, but knows nothing about Armenia, language, culture, and does not feel connected to Armenians, is a useless person to the interests of Armenians. They can be viewed just like any other foreigner - there is not tangible difference.

Assimilation remains a bigger problem in the West, than in Armenian communities in Russia for example. The Western "pop" or "contemporary culture is of course a degrading alternative that only can harm Armenian interests with its corrosive assimilation abilities. People cannot be weak and must stand up, and more importantly see it that their family and friends are not taken by this force. Many Armenians (or more accurately former ones) will not take these steps, maybe shoot them down as 'nationalistic' or 'over-the-top' - and thus naturally many Armenians will be lost. My goal is that there at least be a sizeable minority of Armenians who can fight the assimilation forces, so that the White Genocide or the Second Genocide of the Armenians is not completed, and thus the Turks' final desires not accomplished. Hopefully this can be talked about more frequently; the messages spread more, in order to secure the Armenian communities and secure the future of the Armenian nation.

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Ես ուզում եմ շեշտեմ այս թեմայի կարեվորությունը ու հուսով եմ որ հայերը կըմբռնեն այս ողբերգական ու մռայլ իրավիճակը: Մենք պետք է կարողանանք արտասահմանում մեր հարուստ ազգությունը պահպանենք, որով մենք մնում ենք հայ: Այսօրվա ժամանակակից արևմտյան արժեքները տեղ չունեն մեր հասարակության մեջ, դրանք միայն քայքայելու են մեր մշակույթը ու մեր ազգի համբավը:

անկեղծորեն

Մոս

[Armanen]

Re: Assimilation

A good outline Mos jan!

[Mher]

Re: Assimilation

"There exists no Armenian ‘race.’ There is only an Armenian people, an Armenian nation. This is why we need to fight. The Armenian people in the diaspora are losing their identity as a cultural-national entity, succumbing to the centrifugal effects of cultural assimilation. If Armenians of the diaspora do not claim their right to live in their homeland they will gradually lose their common cultural identity. And if this happens, the white massacre of our nation will have succeeded.”-Monte Melkonian

Great post
Western Assimilation is truly the biggest threat to the Armenian people. When I arrived in America ten years ago, it shocked me how Armenian kids here spoke English to each other. I cannot understand how Armenians who have kept their cultures for centuries, through genocide, massacre, suppression, and foreign rule, can move to the west and completely forget their culture. It is depressing that the parents have simply allowed their kids to come here and lose their culture. Unless something drastic happens, once the current youth grows up and raises their own family, I am afraid most of the western diaspora will have lost their identity.

[Eddo211]

Re: Assimilation

Armenians in the US are not "White Genocide"......Nakichevan was White Genocide.

This is close to what I see here in USA.

Sociologist Anny Bakalian observes that across generations, U.S. Armenians move from a more central "being Armenian" to a more surface "feeling Armenian," expressing nostalgic pride in their heritage while acting fully American. The U.S. Armenian community is best viewed as the product of two sets of intense, opposing forces—centripetal pressures binding Armenians closer together, and centrifugal pressures pushing them apart.

Centripetal forces among Armenians are clear. More than most U.S. nationalities, diaspora Armenian youth and adults feel like the proud guardians charged with protecting their ancient, highly-evolved culture—its distinctive language, alphabet, architecture, music, and art—from extinction. This sense of duty makes them resist assimilation. They tenaciously maintain their own schools, churches, associations, language, local hantesses (festivals) and networks of intramarriage and friendship. Today's U.S. Armenian community is bound together by a network of Armenian groups including, for example, some 170 church congregations, 33 day schools, 20 national newspapers, 36 radio or television programs, 58 student scholarship programs, and 26 professional associations.

Anthropologist Margaret Mead suggested that over the centuries, diaspora Armenians (like J3ws) have developed a tight-knit family structure to serve as a bulwark against extinction and assimilation