Discrimination

During the three phases of immigration to the United States, the Polish people faced many prejudices upon their arrival, especially during the first wave.   The first wave came in the late 1800’s mainly for political and religious reasons.   The second wave took place after World War II and the third group in the 1980’s.   The Polish population had become acclimated to the disrespect they received from those in the existing community.   The majority of the Polish people arriving here did not speak English, were Roman Catholic, and dressed differently from the current population of Anglo-Saxon Protestants.   They lived in diverse neighborhoods that were residentially integrated by ethnicity, but tended to be socially segregated. I believe that the Polish immigrants also suffered from segregation that they brought on themselves till they assimilated to the way of life here in the United States.   These ethnic groups developed their own churches, schools, and other institutions around which their social lives revolved.   Some people in the community were suspicious or hostile due to their inability to communicate effectively with the immigrants, while there were others that were welcoming.   Jokes were constantly made up and rumors continually heard of how the Polish are dumb, lazy drunks.   Job competition was another way the Polish faced prejudice and segregation.   Employers sometimes recruited particular ethnic groups thus assigning characteristics to those particular groups. This type of discrimination, based on perceived characteristics of an entire ethnic group, often limited their opportunities, though in some cases it provided an advantage for the person seeking a job in a field considered appropriate by the employer.   The kind of work that the new Polish Americans received was quite undesirable such as, working with dead animal bodies, steel mills, and in the slaughterhouses.   They would work for little money but worked hard for it.
One could determine that the...