One of the biggest problems newcomers must face when they arrive in this country is discrimination. Some Americans look at anyone who is different as a threat, so outsiders are therefore treated harshly and looked down upon as unequal. Despite the efforts made to stop these hateful attitudes, discrimination remains among people all over the world. It is especially evident in America, where so many differing races and ethnicities exist. Jeanne Wakatsuki Houston found this to be true during World War II, when she and her family were forced into a concentration camp at Manzanar. Even though the family was American-born, they were still looked at as outsiders. In her essay, A Tapestry of Hope, Houston writes of the family's experience of leaving the camp and starting a new life in San Jose: " we arrived at this luscious valley like new immigrants, refugees from another world (Houston 124)." American-born citizens looked at the Houston family as a threat, thus putting them in the concentration camp. Once released from the camp, the family was forced to start a new life from scratch. Houston goes on to write in her essay that .
" growing up in the "50's, being "American" and acceptable to mainstream society meant one had to assimilate, melt into one great pot where the broth was predominantly Anglo-European flavored. -Real Americans" were white. People of color had to think and act "white" to prove their "Americanness" (Houston 124)." .
We discriminate against those that are different. Whether it is their skin color, religion, or traditional beliefs, some people still feel that anyone who does not fit into the all white American "model" is not truly American. Despite her completely American background, Houston was treated as an unequal person, not considered American because she was different. If Americans can't even accept a fellow American, how can it be that we are so willing to accept those that are not native to this country? .