The Arizona story is true.  As one reviewer describes it, Professor Gordon's book [The Great Arizona Orphan Abduction] chronicles the journey of those little Irish orphans "not just from New York to Arizona, but from 'non-white' to 'white.'"  It was a journey of transformation, although from the point of view of the Church, who had planned the whole enterprise, collecting and shipping these children west to ensure and protect their Catholic souls, the end result was failure.  Maybe not eternal damnation, but certainly not what the Sisters of Mercy had had in mind. 

Of course you could also say the journey was a form of assimilation.  What is remarkable about American society is its ability to absorb what it likes, assimilate the marketable and saleable and leave the rest.  It is important to keep in mind, however, that assimilation is not necessarily the same thing as acceptance.  I was saying to E. the other day at the gym, how nice it was that straight men don't let themselves go anymore like they did in the old days, that they take care of themselves and now just because a guy is in perfect physical shape doesn't automatically mean he's gay. 

E. suggested that I was working from a very narrow definition of masculine beauty.  "You're here for the Gun Show," he said and flexed his arms to demonstrate.  He had a point.  The size of one's biceps is not an indicator of sexual orientation -- at least not in L.A.  Nor are tattoos or military haircuts or workout fashions.  There's a particular look -- and it's a great look -- but it is not exactly all-encompassing, nor is society all-embracing either.  12000 Americans have been discharged from the armed services under the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy.

In other words, appearances can be deceiving.  You can look like a JarHead and act like one and want to be one of the Few and the Proud, but that just isn't enough. 

Or, you could be a little red-haired lad or lassie stepping off a train in 1904 and folks take a look at you and say, "He ain't no Mexican."

And how confusing would that be.