My neighbors are Pakistanis and Muslims.  I have no problem with that.  The problem is that they live above me and are extremely noisy and disruptive.  I have attempted to communicate with them nicely about the noise that they and their child make, all to no avail.  My request for a toning down of the cacophony from above me is met with hostility and an increase in the noise, and the building's owner and management, being of the same type of people, do nothing.  I see it the situation as a failure on their part to assimilate to American culture norms, our way of life.  But failure to be civil and considerate is by no means limited to Pakistanis; it is a universal problem.

My neighbors are attempting to live the lives of their people, understandably, but they are in this country.  Here, people are expected to be considerate of others, recognizing that one person's floor is another's ceiling, but this concept is lost on my neighbors.  First, they admitted to having come from a poor area of Pakistan.  They are, therefore, excited by running water so high above the ground and the amount of living space; they are mostly used to walking on the ground, so when they walk on the floors above me, they literally pound the floors.  They have also subdivided their large bedroom, of which there is only one, into partitions so that they can sleep up to four people besides the husband, wife and child that supposedly were to be the only occupants.  I do not doubt that the partitioning goes against some occupancy rule, but it is being allowed nonetheless by the owner and manager.

I respect my neighbors for keeping their culture, but not when it infringes on my right to have the "quiet enjoyment" stated in my and their lease.  This is an instance where assimilation to the culture into which one has transplanted oneself comes into play.  There seems to be a failure on their part to understand this, to assimilate in ways that contribute to peace and civility, especially when one is living in a multi-dwelling unit. 

Adapting to behavior that those born and raised here neither diminishes nor threatens their culture, but they have made a choice to live here, where in all likelihood they have considerably more freedom than the country they left.  Living the same way they did in their country can be frowned on and perhaps prohibited by law enforcement here.  For example, since they are Muslim, the man is king.  The mother of the child who runs around the house with shoes on day and night and never walks is disallowed from disciplining the child, who is a boy.  If she does and her husband finds out, she will be beaten when he arrives home.  Even though, because of their culture, Muslim women may not press charges when their husbands abuse them, it would not stop an American who sees a woman being beaten by any man, regardless of what culture he hails from, from calling the police.  Taliban culture in the heart of Brooklyn is rather difficult to take.

The husband/father, who stomps around the house while laughing sardonically and fails to discipline his little prince continues to respond hostilely to taps on the ceiling for the noise to cease.  Even after police have visited them, they have not improved their behavior.  He is doing a terrible disservice to his son, who, if he goes to a regular public school, rather than a madrasah, will be a disciplinary nightmare for teachers who already have their hands full with American-born and raised children who are ill-trained at home as well.  Failure on the part of immigrants to teach their child the cultural norms of this society at home, knowingly, or out of ignorance, ill-affects the larger American society.  Right in our midst, such children born of parents from other cultures are not being assimilated to co-exist here, which begets all sorts of social problems.  My neighbors are a microcosm of many immigrants who are not even attempting to assimilate in ways that they should that are beneficial and do not detract from their heritage or ethnic pride, and they should do so, as they are no longer living in the countries from whence they came.  People who are not willing to assimilate when it comes to civility, which should be universal, should not emigrate.

For clarity, one more example is warranted.  Take the Swine Flu problem.  Suppose one who comes from a culture where people do not cover their mouths when they sneeze, where people do not or cannot wash their hands well or regularly.  Imagine a crowded subway in New York on which such an immigrant is a passenger.  Suppose, out of habit, he sneezes but does not cover his mouth.  He may well learn the hard way; he might even be shot if he does not learn that here, no one takes kindly to other people's germ-carrying spit and phlegm!  A little assimilation in a country not of one’s birth, if one wishes to call keeping one’s germs to oneself assimilation, can even save a life!