In many places where diaspora Rusyns live, a desire remains to preserve both the lifestyle and beliefs of ancestors. This is especially common in small, isolated towns, most of which are left virtually unchanged since the mid 20th century. One such place lies in the Allegheny Mountains of western Pennsylvania, where many Rusyns immigrated to work in lumber camps, mines, and oil rigs. Here, they established a village-like structure in their neighborhood, oftentimes having entire families living on one street. To this day, people raise chickens and peacocks in their own backyards, and in some cases, inside their own homes. Church services are still held in Rusyn, Ukrainian, and other Slavic languages, with children being raised by grandparents and extended family in addition to their parents.
This traditional village structure makes concepts like nuclear family and individualist society seem very distant, if not entirely foreign. Most argue that Americans are focused on the needs of the individual before those of the family and community. That it is easy for a young adult to move out immediately at eighteen and be devoid of all obligations to the family if they so wish. However, this is where the Rusyn-American community often differs. My experience in returning to western Pennsylvania time and time again is that assimilation is neither fixed nor a given. Assimilation is instead dependent upon factors such as geographic isolation, work ethic, spirituality, and the overall desire to be self-reliant.
For those with lifelong exposure to this environment, we recognize our separation from the cultural mainstream. For an American person raised with a direct connection to their ancestry, there is a dual sense of awareness which is both positive and negative. On the one hand, I was raised in a culture that normalized emotions running freely so that people can speak expressively or loudly without having to be labeled overdramatic. Yet, on the other hand, this is not the view of the society around me. Rather, what I view as a logical approach towards emotion is not necessarily taken into consideration and is more often seen as an ethnic stereotype. In other words, what is sacred to us as Rusyns are disposable for others, if not a complete object of ridicule.
Our mainstream culture is so focused on regulating emotions, as opposed to expressing them in their pure form. We see this even with how people speak, with such phrases as “good vibes only” coming to my mind. When personality traits or behaviors diverge from conventional American etiquette, they tend to be viewed in extremes, whether it be a psychological issue or the result of being raised poorly. In other words, something defective that must be altered to fit a subjective, western-centric mold. Take for example my great-aunts in Pennsylvania, shouting openly at their husbands outside, loud enough for the entire neighborhood to hear. The average American, upon encountering this type of situation, might remark to themselves, “Those Slavic people are always shouting in public.” With such a comment, less is actually more. Beneath the surface, this person is likely questioning why someone would find it socially acceptable to fight in public and who raised them to act in this manner. It is this self-righteous behavior that gradually perpetuates the false notion of civilized and uncivilized diaspora groups in the United States.
For as long as people have immigrated to America, government policies and media coverage have had the most lasting effect on the social perception of various ethnic groups. In 1924, the Quota Act was put in place to prevent Eastern European, Southern European, and Asian immigrants from entering the United States on the basis that they had not assimilated sufficiently. Accusations were openly made that these immigrant groups were “inferior races and nations.” Policies were then formed to favor immigrants from Northern and Western Europe whilst claiming that it was for the sake of preserving ethnic homogeneity. For the already assimilated groups of the time, the us versus them was not only evident but passed on generationally.
This is one reason why a significant number of Americans equate Eastern European descent with alcoholism, domestic violence, and coldness or outright abuse towards children. It is so culturally ingrained that I have even observed people placing the blame on their own ethnic upbringing when faced with these issues. However, I do not actually believe it is the fault of these individuals, but the wider society as a whole which does not discourage this view, but rather takes amusement from it.
Take for example those who speak Rusyn or another second language may have been told, “This is America, we speak English,” whether in a serious tone or not. While actual repercussions are given when said seriously, it remains somehow socially acceptable to repeat jokingly. Yet, it subtly implies to the bilingual person that their language is secondary and need not be used to educate others but should remain a house language. The same goes for when a Rusyn person is expected to take amusement from comments about personality traits such as “You’re so short-tempered, probably because you’re Rusyn.” rather than take accountability and acknowledge the actual root of the problem. Ethnic background is consistently blamed for complex and, more frequently, internal problems, with the false claim that this is acceptable because the individual can still embrace and romanticize the folk culture whenever they wish.
It is because of these broad definitions that I discourage our community from falling into the trap of groupthink concepts, presented both in person and on social media. Most are unnecessarily self-deprecating comments such as, “White Americans don’t have a culture.” The weakness in these statements is that they presume one homogenous white culture instead of a multitude of European diaspora groups. It is likely that a Sicilian-American from New Jersey would have very few cultural similarities to an Appalachian person of Scotch-Irish origin, despite both being European-Americans. That being said, this is also a regional concern as well. There are, in fact, significant portions of the midwestern United States where European-Americans identify only with the American mainstream. However, we should not debate whether or not someone belongs to a culture– the matter itself is actually dependent upon how a culture manifests itself and what it is influenced by. Whereas the European influence is strong in some cases, for others, consumerism and popular culture may be the main factors of defining one’s identity.
Those of us who were raised culturally Rusyn likely understand the difference between familiarity and practice. That is, we are not isolated from, the beliefs and standards of the American mainstream, but what we practice within our own families and community is entirely different. More so, there is also the clear separation between respecting and holding deeper understanding. For example, I am not critical of Americans who prefer not to cook often, but culturally, I do not hold the same reasoning. Whereas one person might have been taught that cooking is optional, in my upbringing, it was not a matter of “options”; we simply did it without thinking. We should not assume that these are questions of superiority or even “what is preferable.” Let us instead view these variations in a more mathematical sense – all of the probable outcomes that can exist in a culturally diverse climate.
Our situation is not comparable to that of a recent immigrant who is experiencing culture shock, and it should not be understood as such. Rather, the Rusyn diaspora consists of those who have made the conscious decision whether or not to fully assimilate. In many cases, the choice is one of generational influence – continuing the habits of our parents and their parents. Others may have chosen to adopt the Rusyn identity later in life, due to discovering their origins more recently. Or perhaps they made the choice after recognizing that the nature of mainstream American culture is now largely consumerist, lacking both Old World charm and connection to the natural world. Perhaps some of us are still caught between genuine admiration for our Rusyn identity, whilst being taught to blame our personal defects on it. These attributes are what encompasses the diaspora currently, moving far beyond the debate of assimilated versus unassimilated.