Category Archives: Cultural Studies

Pithy and perceptive comments on American culture and on others. Pop-Ethnography.

Authoritarianism in Tiny Steps

Posted on April 10, 2020 by Jacques Delacroix

  All the power in both the County and the City of Santa Cruz (where I live) now resides in the hands of a County health official. Yesterday, she just closed all parks and all beaches in the county for … Continue reading →

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Master’s in Welding

Posted on December 28, 2019 by Jacques Delacroix

I am kind of absent from my blog these days for two reasons. First, the shortest days of the year make me uneasy, even at the fairly southern latitude of central California. I respond by hibernating, spending long nights in … Continue reading →

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Madness Entitlement

Posted on November 14, 2019 by Jacques Delacroix

Most American undergraduates in four-year colleges want to study abroad for a while. (I think this is probably true. I would bet 75/25 for.) In 2019 (or 2018, not clear) 20% of American students were diagnosed with or treated for … Continue reading →

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Muslim Gangs: A Facebook Exchange

Posted on June 19, 2019 by Jacques Delacroix

Once in a while I try to communicate to my conservative friends the complexity of the situation created by the existence of many Muslims in western Europe. Here is another vignette. This is transcript of a Facebook exchange over two … Continue reading →

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Legal Immigration Into the United States (Part 35): Merit-Based Immigration and Other Solutions

Posted on January 2, 2019 by Jacques Delacroix

Note: here is Part 34. The long-established numerical prominence of immigration into the US via family relations makes it difficult to distinguish conceptually between legal immigration responding to matters of the heart and immigration that corresponds to hard economic, and … Continue reading →

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Legal Immigration Into the United States (Part 32): Immigration and Politics

Posted on December 30, 2018 by Jacques Delacroix

Note: here is Part 31. Left-Wing Immigrants Immigration is seldom politically neutral. Large-scale immigration as experienced by the wealthy Western countries changes the balance of power between domestic parties.  Immigrants seem to never divide their loyalties evenly between existing parties. … Continue reading →

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Legal Immigration Into the United States (Part 31): The California Hourglass Class Figure

Posted on December 29, 2018 by Jacques Delacroix

Note: here is Part 30. Discussions of the impact of immigration on native labor often have a 19th century, quasi-Marxist flavor. Implicitly, they seem to posit a large undifferentiated working class, on top of which sits a small middle, or professional … Continue reading →

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Legal Immigration Into the United States (Part 28): Culture Dilution (or Erosion)

Posted on December 24, 2018 by Jacques Delacroix

Note: here is Part 27. There is also the fear without a name, or without much of a name, that lurks in the background of many animated discussions of immigration. Much of it is taking place on-line. It’s the fear … Continue reading →

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Legal Immigration Into the United States (Part 26): Immigration and the Host Culture: Two Sources of Rejection

Posted on December 22, 2018 by Jacques Delacroix

Note: here is Part 25. Those who know that they stand to benefit by immigration in the forms of cheaper goods and more affordable services may still oppose immigration on broad cultural grounds. Many think the nation is endangered by … Continue reading →

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Legal Immigration Into the United States (Part 25): Non-Economic Objections to Immigration; Assimilation and Stubborn Language Facts

Posted on December 21, 2018 by Jacques Delacroix

Note: here is Part 24. In my area of central California, there are many people with ascendants from Mexico. You are normally in daily contact with some of them. As is the case with most immigrations (plural) of long standing … Continue reading →

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