--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Whenever we go through a period of…" description: "\"“Whenever we go through a period of de-Americanization like what is currently affecting South Asians, Arabs, and Muslim Americans, a whole generation o..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b8a/bill-ong-hing-54681_americans_whenever-we-go-through-a-period-of-de-am_2757436.jpg" --- # Whenever we go through a period of de-Americanization like… ![“Whenever we go through a period of de-Americanization like what is currently affecting South Asians, Arabs, and Muslim Americans, a whole generation of Americans sees the following: that exclusion and hate are acceptable, that the definition of who is an American can be narrow, and that they too…” quote by Bill Ong Hing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b8a/bill-ong-hing-54681_americans_whenever-we-go-through-a-period-of-de-am_2757436.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b8a/bill-ong-hing-54681_americans_whenever-we-go-through-a-period-of-de-am_2757436.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b8a/bill-ong-hing-54681_americans_whenever-we-go-through-a-period-of-de-am_2757436.jpg) > ““Whenever we go through a period of de-Americanization like what is currently affecting South Asians, Arabs, and Muslim Americans, a whole generation of Americans sees the following: that exclusion and hate are acceptable, that the definition of who is an American can be narrow, and that they too have a license to profile. Their license is issued when others around them engage in hate, and the government engages in its own profiling. This is one regrettable process of racism that haunts our country.”” [Bill Ong Hing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-ong-hing/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote warns that de‑Americanization narratives fuel exclusion, hate, and profiling, normalizing racism and narrowing national identity. **In simple terms:** De‑Americanization spreads hate and profiling. Key Takeaway Recognize and challenge exclusionary narratives. Themes racism identity social cohesion politics hate profiling Mood concerned critical urgent Type political social commentary cautionary When to use this quote - community forums - policy debates - media analysis - education curricula - activist organizing Key Concepts nationalism othering systemic bias social psychology Questions to Reflect On - How does language shape national identity? - What can individuals do to counter profiling? A Different Perspective It may overgeneralize and ignore individual agency or positive integration efforts. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Americans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/americans/) [Americans Sees](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/americans-sees-3145324/) [Definition American](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/definition-american-1628171/) [Exclusion Hate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/exclusion-hate-3145323/) [Muslim Americans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/muslim-americans-759681/) [Racism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/racism/) ## Related quotes > [As one digs deeper into the national character of the Americans, one sees that they have sought the value of everything in this world…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexis-de-tocqueville/as-one-digs-deeper-into-the-national-character-of-the-americans-one-2/) [Alexis de Tocqueville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexis-de-tocqueville/) > [People that are willing to fight for their rights is the real definition of the American Dream.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/merle-rutledge/people-that-are-willing-to-fight-for-their-rights-is-the-real/) [Merle Rutledge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/merle-rutledge/) > [I think we just have to be mindful of what that definition of an American dream is. I think we are faced with a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-isaac-chung/i-think-we-just-have-to-be-mindful-of-what-that-definition-of-an/) [Lee Isaac Chung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-isaac-chung/) > [“It’s almost like that’s the definition of being American: You love becoming Irish for a day, or becoming Italian… Or becoming a Negro for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josh-alan-friedman/it-s-almost-like-that-s-the-definition-of-being-american-you-love/) [Josh Alan Friedman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josh-alan-friedman/) > [“My definition of an American Idol is someone who is a great talent and who communicates well with the audience”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blake-lewis/my-definition-of-an-american-idol-is-someone-who-is-a-great-talent/) [Blake Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blake-lewis/) > [Multicultural is not a description of a category of American writing-it is a definition of all American writing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ishmael-reed/multicultural-is-not-a-description-of-a-category-of-american-writing/) [Ishmael Reed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ishmael-reed/) > [Those are values that help guide not just my family's Christian faith, but that of Jewish Americans, and Muslim Americans; nonbelievers and Americans of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/those-are-values-that-help-guide-not-just-my-family-s-christian-faith/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [“Google searches, however, reveal that there was one line that did trigger the type of response then-president Obama might have wanted. He said, “Muslim…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-stephens-davidowitz/google-searches-however-reveal-that-there-was-one-line-that-did/) [Seth Stephens-Davidowitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-stephens-davidowitz/) > [The bottom line is this. When it comes to preventing violent extremism and terrorism in the United States, Muslim Americans are not part of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denis-mcdonough/the-bottom-line-is-this-when-it-comes-to-preventing-violent-extremism/) [Denis McDonough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denis-mcdonough/) > [Inflammatory, anti-Muslim rhetoric and threatening to ban the families and friends of Muslim Americans as well as millions of Muslim business people and tourists…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hillary-clinton/inflammatory-anti-muslim-rhetoric-and-threatening-to-ban-the-families/) [Hillary Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hillary-clinton/) > [I've always said I'm the worst representative of Muslim-Americans that's ever existed, because I've been inside more bars than mosques.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aasif-mandvi/i-ve-always-said-i-m-the-worst-representative-of-muslim-americans/) [Aasif Mandvi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aasif-mandvi/) > [We are going to be able to defeat ISIS on the ground there, as well as in this world, because of the Muslim Americans…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-o-malley/we-are-going-to-be-able-to-defeat-isis-on-the-ground-there-as-well-as/) [Martin O'Malley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-o-malley/) > [The United States has been enriched by Muslim Americans. Many other Americans have Muslims in their families or have lived in a Muslim-majority country…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/the-united-states-has-been-enriched-by-muslim-americans-many-other/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [I don't know what the average income of Muslim-Americans is, but Muslim-American immigrants of recent vintage, I bet they have a very above-average representation…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-friedman/i-don-t-know-what-the-average-income-of-muslim-americans-is-but/) [Thomas Friedman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-friedman/) > [European countries simply do not have the ideological framework the United States has in the shape of the 'American dream' that has helped to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-bergen/european-countries-simply-do-not-have-the-ideological-framework-the/) [Peter Bergen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-bergen/) ## More by Bill Ong Hing > [“A careful analysis of the September 11th attacks reveals that deficiencies in U.S. intelligence collection and information sharing, not immigration laws, prevented the terrorists’…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-ong-hing/a-careful-analysis-of-the-september-11th-attacks-reveals-that/) [Bill Ong Hing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-ong-hing/) > [“Once demonized, the immigrant can be dehumanized. Dehumanization commodifies the immigrants. The immigrant-as-commodity is not precious. Rather, the immigrants-as-commodities are likened to “hazardous waste…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-ong-hing/once-demonized-the-immigrant-can-be-dehumanized-dehumanization/) [Bill Ong Hing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-ong-hing/) > [“Doing the right thing requires us to humanize the guestworker upon whom we have come to rely. Thus, establishing a worker program must be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-ong-hing/doing-the-right-thing-requires-us-to-humanize-the-guestworker-upon/) [Bill Ong Hing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-ong-hing/) > [“The experiment that we call America is a test of our character and our willingness to believe that we can have a strong country…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-ong-hing/the-experiment-that-we-call-america-is-a-test-of-our-character-and/) [Bill Ong Hing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-ong-hing/) > [“Reaching out to immigrants promotes national security. Following the July 7, 2005, London subway suicide bombings by British-born Muslim terrorists, Boris Johnson, a member…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-ong-hing/reaching-out-to-immigrants-promotes-national-security-following-the/) [Bill Ong Hing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-ong-hing/) [Explore all 6 Bill Ong Hing quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-ong-hing/) ## More Americans quotes > [“People – Americans, mostly – realise how attached they are to material comforts when they arrive in India.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-william-roberts/people-americans-mostly-realise-how-attached-they-are-to-material/) [Paul William Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-william-roberts/) > [Music has an intrinsic value that touches Americans - they love their music, and want more.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilary-rosen/music-has-an-intrinsic-value-that-touches-americans-they-love-their/) [Hilary Rosen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilary-rosen/) > [Americans are very friendly and very suspicious, that is what Americans are and that is what always upsets the foreigner, who deals with them,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gertrude-stein/americans-are-very-friendly-and-very-suspicious-that-is-what/) [Gertrude Stein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gertrude-stein/) > [“Medical studies have shown that cursing reduces levels of stress and pain. Repressing your anger is not healthy. It's much better to verbalize it,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-markus-malloy/medical-studies-have-shown-that-cursing-reduces-levels-of-stress-and/) [Oliver Markus Malloy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-markus-malloy/) > [Just because the Americans are so good at rattling out accessible and cheap junk food, nobody looks twice when it comes to their food.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jamie-oliver/just-because-the-americans-are-so-good-at-rattling-out-accessible-and/) [Jamie Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jamie-oliver/) > [My parents don't care what Americans think of us; we just care what the other Indian people in our community think of us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/himanshu-suri/my-parents-don-t-care-what-americans-think-of-us-we-just-care-what/) [Himanshu Suri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/himanshu-suri/) > [When Americans, who have no idea who I am, laugh at my jokes, it's exactly the same if someone loves you even if you're…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gad-elmaleh/when-americans-who-have-no-idea-who-i-am-laugh-at-my-jokes-it-s/) [Gad Elmaleh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gad-elmaleh/) > [So Americans understand the costs of war. Yet as a country, we will never tolerate our security being threatened, nor stand idly by when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/so-americans-understand-the-costs-of-war-yet-as-a-country-we-will/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [We Americans tend to be a prodigal lot. We are as careless with our personal resources as we are with the resources of nature,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherine-crook-de-camp/we-americans-tend-to-be-a-prodigal-lot-we-are-as-careless-with-our/) [Catherine Crook de Camp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherine-crook-de-camp/) > [Americans will put up with anything provided it doesn't block traffic.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-rather/americans-will-put-up-with-anything-provided-it-doesn-t-block-traffic/) [Dan Rather](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-rather/) > [Most Americans believe in fairness; we believe that people should work hard but there should be a safety net. We believe in saving the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-maclean/most-americans-believe-in-fairness-we-believe-that-people-should-work/) [Nancy MacLean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-maclean/) > [“Using a wide variety of media, we could demonstrate for our fellow Americans their anxieties, desires, insufficiencies, and frustrations--and how to assuage them all.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-ferris/using-a-wide-variety-of-media-we-could-demonstrate-for-our-fellow/) [Joshua Ferris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-ferris/) > [The Americans say that we are ungrateful-but I ask them for heaven's sake, what should we be grateful to them for-for murdering our fathers…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-walker/the-americans-say-that-we-are-ungrateful-but-i-ask-them-for-heaven-s/) [David Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-walker/) > [So many Korean Americans like me came to this country with the hope of achieving their own American Dream.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-steel/so-many-korean-americans-like-me-came-to-this-country-with-the-hope/) [Michelle Steel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-steel/) > [You are Americans. You love this country. Together we are entrusted with the principles that represent mankind's greatest political and social achievement.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-tsongas/you-are-americans-you-love-this-country-together-we-are-entrusted/) [Paul Tsongas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-tsongas/) [Browse all 1,536 Americans quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/americans/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Whenever we go through a period of de-Americanization like what is currently affecting South Asians, Arabs, and Muslim Americans, a whole generation of Americans sees the following: that exclusion and hate are acceptable, that the definition of who is an American can be narrow, and that they too have a license to profile. Their license is issued when others around them engage in hate, and the government engages in its own profiling. This is one regrettable process of racism that haunts our country.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Bill Ong Hing" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-ong-hing/whenever-we-go-through-a-period-of-de-americanization-like-what-is/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Americans" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-ong-hing/whenever-we-go-through-a-period-of-de-americanization-like-what-is/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b8a/bill-ong-hing-54681_americans_whenever-we-go-through-a-period-of-de-am_2757436.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b8a/bill-ong-hing-54681_americans_whenever-we-go-through-a-period-of-de-am_2757436.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b8a/bill-ong-hing-54681_americans_whenever-we-go-through-a-period-of-de-am_2757436.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Whenever we go through a period of de-Americanization like what is currently affecting South Asians, Arabs…” — Bill Ong Hing", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Bill Ong Hing", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-ong-hing/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Whenever we go through a period...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-ong-hing/whenever-we-go-through-a-period-of-de-americanization-like-what-is/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-ong-hing/whenever-we-go-through-a-period-of-de-americanization-like-what-is/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```