I think one of the main thing is that they weren't really seen as white people yet

oh, yeah, it was an important point when i was reading about shirley polykoff. i've seen some writers make references to this and some slurs, but i think it's hard to really grasp the extent for a good chunk of contemporary audiences. especially in xmfc, because the movie never brings it up with adult erik. and he wasn't tied to a community when he was in the us, or by his name. he was tall handsome white brooding european gentleman.