I haven't thought about this in a long time, but as we were leaving Guyana, I remember my paternal grandfather warning me to stay away from the Guyanese in America: "they will just try to pull you down to their level."
I've heard similar sentiments, but I've always felt like there's something pernicious about this attitude, similar to self-internalized racism. "Down to their level" == the same "disadvantaged" state of affairs that we come from.