tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2424131704277823220.post6938837528511024850..comments2023-09-23T11:16:00.352+02:00Comments on The Franco-American Flophouse has moved: Americans Abroad: The Story of the CensusVictoria FERAUGEhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16319699673885400472noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2424131704277823220.post-71640571838157826592013-10-29T08:10:53.242+01:002013-10-29T08:10:53.242+01:00@Sauve: I had a very similar impression. It'...@Sauve: I had a very similar impression. It's as if they were trying to convince that the world was a really dangerous place. I thought this was funny coming from the Americans given the murder and mayhem statistics there.<br /><br />@Broken man: Absolutely and what we will see in the next installment is that the US gov is aware of all the problems. The testimony of the State department at the hearing is quite revealing.<br /><br />@Yasmin, Yes, never volunteer for anything. :-)<br />I think Europeans have a good take on it. They saw up front and person how data could be used to hurt people. They are very sensitive to issues around personal privacy and data protection. I think they're right to be concerned.<br /><br />As Americans abroad we are damned if we do and damned if we don't. The fact that they don't know much about us gives our detractors free rein to paint us in any way they like (and the picture is usually very ugly indeed). But if we come forward to be counted, who is to say that we would be better off?<br /><br />It's a terrible conundrum and alas we are all these days filled with a sinking feeling that the US gov really is out to get us.Victoria FERAUGEhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16319699673885400472noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2424131704277823220.post-88879940216187779942013-10-26T14:03:39.815+02:002013-10-26T14:03:39.815+02:00I'm an American living abroad in South Africa,...I'm an American living abroad in South Africa, and I have yet to register with the embassy here. I think that attitude comes from my having been the US Army - I learned quickly that anything "optional" should be avoided as it's usually a means to their ends (getting people to mow grass on Sunday, for example).<br /><br />Maybe I've read too much Heinlein but I honestly feel the less the government knows about me, the better off I am. That's a dangerous mindset to have as a practicing Muslim, however...Yasminhttp://tmihijabi.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2424131704277823220.post-39815122163149989452013-10-25T16:48:00.582+02:002013-10-25T16:48:00.582+02:00The first question is: who is an 'American abr...The first question is: who is an 'American abroad'? If the answer is something like: 'Whoever Congress defines as a US citizen, living outside the United States,' then we start to see the logistical problems in counting them. In practice there is a gradation of USCs abroad, ranging from people who were born in the US for some accidental reason and left as infants (who might be quite hostile to the idea that the US defined them as citizens, let alone that they have complex tax reporting obligations - there are lots of people like this in Canada) to real expatriates who think of themselves as Americans living in a foreign country. <br /><br />The Canadian census in 2006 turned up about 300,000 people who self-identified as US citizens (about half of whom were also Canadian citizens), while the State Department estimates there are about a million USCs in Canada. State's estimate is necessarily a bit wild, but it does get at the reality of the situation to some extent - many more people are legally USCs in Canada, and elsewhere, than are aware of the fact or willing to acknowledge it. US law doesn't allow for shades of grey in citizenship, but they very much exist in practice, which creates difficulties with a statistically plausible census.<br /><br />(One partial solution would be to use other countries' censuses - somewhere on the ACA's Web site is a paper that goes into what dozens of national censuses said about resident Americans.)<br /><br />Probably a more realistic goal would be to mine US passport data - holders of passports can be categorized as high-commitment Americans abroad, and data on them already exists. It's a bit problematic, in the sense that duals who are low-commitment on the US side of their two citizenships may have passports because they're required to use one to enter the US, but it might be the basis for an achievable exercise. A broken man on a Halifax piernoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2424131704277823220.post-74361933084742326492013-10-25T10:20:18.730+02:002013-10-25T10:20:18.730+02:00I absolutely agree with you regarding the US Embas...I absolutely agree with you regarding the US Embassy in Paris. I registered and was inundated with warnings about travel. Worse still, it seems that all I get is terrorist threats in my vicinity that recommend I do not travel at all, stay away from all public places and crowds, so on and so forth. I get the distinct impression I am under house arrest. I simply had them sent to my spam folder. What I can't figure out is why there are no travel warnings to the USA? I was there last year and astounded by the sheer number of people carrying handguns. As a matter of fact the only person who didn't have a concealed handgun was my daughter. When people came to the hospital to visit her after the birth of her baby they brought their handguns and it was restricted to no handguns. Maybe there have been travel advisories to the USA. I just wouldn't know. What I am 100% sure of is that I detest going to the embassy where I find I am treated more as a I imagine a criminal would be treated than as an upstanding citizen. I do know who is the US Ambassador to France, Charles Rivkin. But I have absolutely no idea what he does other than hobnob with other politically appointed wealthy people. What I do know is that no one in the USA government represents expats in the world. I have the distinct impression, and yes it comes from the occasional needs to go to the embassy, that the only persons the US government serves is its military personnel. But if you happen to be an ordinary citizen and are looking for some type of help, well good luck with that. Sauvehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01904505685103914256noreply@blogger.com