Entering the white race was a chosen competitive strategy

Evidence

The outcome was not the inevitable consequence of blind historic forces, still less of biology, but the result of choices made, by the Irish and others, from among available alternatives. To enter the white race was a strategy to secure an advantage in a competitive society. — Noel Ignatiev, How the Irish Became White, 35

Categorization

• XREF: Core to the reader’s comparative interest: reclassification advanced by an instrumental choice, against the notion of inevitable historical forces. — connects to: Imported European racial views rationalized white control at the Cape — David Theo Goldberg, The Threat of Race: Reflections on…, 1353; Irish ascension to whiteness resulted from strategic choice, not inevitability — Noel Ignatiev, How the Irish Became White, 35; Groups become White by renouncing cultural difference and proving state loyalty (+2 more)

Broader Connections

• Irish ascension to whiteness resulted from strategic choice, not inevitability #corroborates (0.95) — Noel Ignatiev, How the Irish Became White, 35
• European immigrants held an intermediate racial status and were induced to become white #expands (0.90) — Michael Omi, Howard Winant, Racial Formation in the United States, 40
• Whiteness operates as property that can be strategically claimed or disguised. #corroborates (0.88) — Davis, Angela Y, Are Prisons Obsolete, 73
• Groups become White by renouncing cultural difference and proving state loyalty #expands (0.85)
• Imported European racial views rationalized white control at the Cape #expands (0.75) — David Theo Goldberg, The Threat of Race, 1353