CAN WE ALL GET ALONG?

[law-prawnik]

POLISH AMERICANS AND POLISH IMMIGRANTS: CAN WE ALL GET ALONG?
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John Radzilowski

Within Polonia, Polish Americans whose families arrived here more than one
generation ago, and more recent Polish immigrants, form two distinct groups.
Although there are many examples of cooperation, often they do not see eye to
eye. The two groups have their own organizations and interests. This results
in a well-known situation: hundreds of small Polish organizations, each
competing for potential supporters and members and for the attention of
society at large. Our efforts are divided and the result is frustration.

\This division is fueled by stereotypes and misinformation on both sides.
Polish immigrants who are often well educated frequently view Polish
Americans as uneducated peasants. They sneer at the "hobby Poles" who are not
really Polish, who don't speak the language properly, and who engage in low-
brow activities like polka or folk dancing. The feeling is one of contempt,
as shown by the public remarks of prominent immigrants like Czeslaw Milosz.
Polish-Americans also have stereotypes: they often see Polish immigrants as
ungrateful and miserly people who fail to support Polish parishes, who are
rude, interested only in money, snobbish, and uncaring.
One Polish-American couple I spoke with remembered how they helped some
Solidarity-era refugees, giving them clothes, shoes, furniture, and dishes,
and finding them places to live when they came to America with very little.
Once the new arrivals got settled, they never called, never said ìthank you,î
and refused to join the local Polish club. The hurt in their voices cannot be
expressed in words.

It should be painfully obvious that each side has much to learn about the
other. Polish immigrants need to learn about the history of Polish Americans,
about their long struggle to rise up out of poverty, about the staggering and
painful sacrifices Polish Americans made to build churches and communities,
and to support the cause of Poland in America.
The vision of Poland held by Polish Americans expressed in crafts like folk
dancing, egg decorating, wycinanki was formed here in America and it
represents a strong ethnic heritage. Polish Americans have an abiding love
for things Polish and are deeply hurt by criticism from Poles.

By the same token, Polish Americans must understand that the Poland of today
is not the same Poland their grandparents left. It is a modern nation, and
Polish immigrants bring with them a rich, modern culture of which they are
justly proud. Polish Americans need to understand that Polish immigrants may
not want to speak English or dance the polka, and that there is nothing wrong
with this. They must remember the difficult adjustments their own families
had to make when they came to America and to realize that today's immigrants
from all nations face many of the same challenges.
Above all, each group must be patient and make an effort to reach out to the
other. Polish Americans, however, have a special obligation toour new
immigrant brethren. We were here first and must take the first step: it our
job to welcome the newer immigrants and make them feel at home in America.
Each side has a tremendous amount to learn from the other. Polish Americans
have found a way to be Polish in America. We have the battle scars to prove
it. Whether new Polish immigrants like it or not, they will, sooner or later,
become Polish Americans. Their children and grandchildren will speak English.
No matter how good international communication is, no matter how low airfares
to Poland may fall, they will live in America. In the past 125 years Polish
Americans have created structures to preserve and develop their heritage:
parishes, fraternals, cultural groups, newspapers.
Polish immigrants need to take advantage of these institutions built up with
so much love and sacrifice, if not for themselves then for their children.

Polish immigrants also have a lot to teach Polish Americans. Many Polish
Americans have lost touch with modern Polish culture, or even a sense of
Polish identity. This has been caused by America's destructive consumer
culture, the vicious stereotypes of Poles that appear in the media, and a
long separation from the motherland due to wars, partitions, and foreign
domination. Polish immigrants can revitalize Polish-American cultural life,
bringing new blood and new ideas.
Although there is much that separates us, there is even more that unites us.
Even those Polish Americans who know nothing of their heritage often act and
react to different situations in ways that Poles would find very familiar.
There is something deeply embedded in our psyche, passed on unconsciously
through families, that gives us a similar outlook on life. We also share a
love of our motherland, and a desire to see Poland become a happy, prosperous
nation. We have a strong attachment to American values, which have proven so
compatible with the best of the Polish spirit. We want to preserve a Polish
culture and a Polish heritage here in America, for ourselves and our
children.

After World War II a wave of immigrants and DPs came to America. Then, as
now, the new arrivals didn't get along very well with the old timers. Today,
however, those conflicts are largely forgotten as both groups have found
common ground. It took too long to overcome those differences. We can learn
from the past and we can do better. In each community it is time to reach out
and welcome our fellow Polish Americans whether they speak Polish or English,
whether they have just arrived in America or belong to families that have
been here for 100 years. The time to start is now together we have much to
learn and much to do.
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