It's so wrong; so far from true. In secret I'm just like you

One of the most prominent things, to me, in the second chapter of Takaki's book was that, throughout his whole emphasis on the building of the railroad, not once does he mention the Irish in particular, the Native Americans, or the African Americans that worked alongside the Asian immigrants. He just lumps them all together as "white laborers."

Not to be racist, but realistically - Native Americans and African Americans are not "white." They have their own identity and they were a part of the history of the transcontinental railroad too. Furthermore, Takaki also says, himself and through quotes, that Asians took the job because white laborers wouldn't stoop that low - and at the same time mentions white laborers next to the Asians! To the uneducated reader, this wouldn't make any sense - there either are white laborers there, or there are not. Even the educated reader would say that these statements don't fit together. And it's because Takaki does not distinguish between the Irish Catholic white who suffered from prejudice as well and were banned from working in many of the industries in the Northeast, and other "white" laborers such as the English. I'm sure there were other white laborers on the railroad from eastern Europe, too, but many of those immigrants from Russia, Hungary, Poland, et cetera were able to find jobs in the various mills and processing plants while the Irish as a whole entity were barred. There's my own history being omitted.

Take this message in two parts, and take it to heart. I reiterate, everyone has an agenda, and Takaki's is solely to represent Asian American history - even if, just as the white historian, he omits the history of others. Also, for other indignant Irish descendents out there, now you know what it feels like to the Asian Americans to be continually forgotten or seen as foreigners when they've been here for generations.