Dear Negroes of America

I, on behalf of the rest of my brethren, want to take this opportunity to acknowledge an unspoken but well-known truth; it is thanks to you and your people that I can be white. Like many others who have come to this country, I was less than nothing in the eyes of other Europeans, but here I can be as privileged as anyone else because my skin is lighter than yours. I am writing to implore you to accept your status and to be thankful for the fact that you can even be here with us.

Yes, I know this is an unfair proposition and in the eyes of other Americans, there is not much that separates us. I know the pain that comes with the scorn and disdain of those in power, To be treated as animal or brute because of one's origin, and not their character. Regardless, I have the chance to ascend to the ranks of a true "White American" if only by reminding those blue-bloods the savagery of your kind. Sometimes I wonder what my life would be like without you and your people, and I can only imagine the struggles I would face to be treated with any respect.

Negroes, know that if anyone understands what you are going through, it is me, the foreigner. I treat you as I do because it is the only way that I can become successful in this peculiar land called America. White will and always equals right, and I must do what is necessary to support my family. But I know that if you were in my position, you would do the same. Please try to remember that as I insult you, degrade you and run you out of business, I am not doing this out of spite, but survival. Forgiveness is not something I will ask for, I am not sure if I am in need of it and if I were, if I were to even deserve it. Yet, I will ask for understanding. To want to succeed in America is not a new dream, it is just that I have discovered that the dream is only achievable through being white and that is only possible through you. So I will say thank you, Negroes, it is thanks to you that I can be the white man I've want to be.

Sincerely,
Stavros

Questions:

1) How much does the appearance of a person, especially eastern and southern European immigrants configure into the way they are treated by "white" Americans?

2) Does socio-economic status complicate or enforce the burgeoning new system of race? if so, how does it and what does it change in terms of who is the most control? Does money trump race and ethnicity then or now?