I'm bemused by the way some immigrants move to a place because it either offers opportunities that do not exist in the place they're leaving, or have benefits that do not exist in the homeland, then try to replicate the conditions they just left. Whether it's done to "protect ethnic identity" or simply resistence to change on the part of the immigrant, they seem not to realize that they are tending to make disappear that which was so appealing in the first place.

Assimilation is always a two-way street, but the receiving culture should have "dibs" on the interpretation.

What would you call what Lowell is doing? As far as I can tell, he's a racist nut case. But things like this give him a platform to foam at the mouth and get him on TV. He's using all the right neo-nazi buzzwords in that article, so his disclaimer is pretty unconvincing.

Point taken on maintaining an identity. But let's take history as a continuum, I would assume every group in its time has tried to maintain its identity, but over time things conspire to change it. The current Maltese identity wouldn't be what it is if it hadn't been influenced by migration patterns over the millenia. One could say those "accidents of history" were what made them who they are today.

That said, there is certainly something to be said for trying to maintain a currently identifiable Maltese culture and not letting it get diluted by accident of history.

Oh My!

However, as you say, the common theme is there for all to see.

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