11: Do You Have Your Green Card?

In SEINFELD (1989-1998), the writers have frequently written an episode with a topic that is very controversial in American society. Race, a rather heated issue in my own mixed race home and background, brings out a particular instance in mind. In the Chinese Woman, George's phone line is crossed with a particular woman, Donna Chang, who Jerry assumes she is of Asian descent. When they end up going on a date, they end up going to a Chinese restaurant. Elaine mentions that just because she is Chinese, doesn't mean that she likes Chinese food, and all four of the primary characters are surprised when Donna Chang is a white woman!

Americans perceive race very differently than Argentines do. In Argentina, it does not matter what your background is. Here, even on our very own campus, do we find huge divisions among race. The "white" kids sit in one side of the Main, the "black" kids in another, and furthermore, the "Africans," who rarely mix with the "black" kids, in another section. Why does this happen? Particularly, in the country that was founded for freedom? Is America truly the melting pot it advertises to be?