tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2424131704277823220.post7117801633696051591..comments2023-09-23T11:16:00.352+02:00Comments on The Franco-American Flophouse has moved: American Political Expatriates in MexicoVictoria FERAUGEhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16319699673885400472noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2424131704277823220.post-75903672789183907702014-06-07T23:03:38.144+02:002014-06-07T23:03:38.144+02:00Thank you, Victoria. I just saw this-
5 months lat...Thank you, Victoria. I just saw this-<br />5 months later and was delighted to discover someone actually read "A Gathering of Fugitives..."<br />Diana AnhaltAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2424131704277823220.post-47178057838829113842014-01-07T05:06:13.158+01:002014-01-07T05:06:13.158+01:00Well, they maybe COULD leave, but they feel they c...Well, they maybe COULD leave, but they feel they can't because of a combination of a) family responsibilities, b) money woes, c) don't think they can apply for permanent residency abroad due to not qualifying for such a visa.<br /><br />I should say that a few older friends of mine, a married couple, are also expatriates, though they still haven't finally relinquished the blue passport for the German citizenship they are now eligible to attain if they want it. They also left because of politics and general cultural alienation. They were targeted during the so-called Satanic Panic of the late 80s and so already knew that America has a dark paranoid underbelly of persecution ready to emerge against the Other at all times. <br /><br />Truth be told, I wanted to follow them to Berlin at first, before I also worried about legal status there and making it as a freelancer, and so even though I loved visiting Europe I figured out that common sense dictated the British Commonwealth as THE obvious choice for a Yankee wanting to emigrate. <br /><br /><br />As to why others can't go, or won't try to, well, one woman I know has two young adult kids whom she is trying to help immigrate to Canada and Australia, respectively, for a better quality of life and to avoid the scary growing US police state, the crime, and generally toxic culture. They are young enough and also single with no kids, so now would be the time to do such an adventure. (I advised that a student visa to Canada is the easiest thing, since you can even get US student loans for it.)<br /><br />Mind you, myself and these people are not from your own native state, which from what I hear is a pretty progressive area--we are all from Red State territory. <br /><br />But then, if you really haven't spent much time there since circa 1991 or so, you may nevertheless find the country as a whole increasingly alien to the one you and I grew up in...<br /><br />I should be in Montreal in late May, incidentally. I would be happy to meet with you and yours if you happen to come to see your daughters there at school. I love Montreal and Quebec, the more so as I can't always afford Europe.<br /><br />Michael Putmannoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2424131704277823220.post-6842663299842443532014-01-05T14:29:12.424+01:002014-01-05T14:29:12.424+01:00@Anonymous & Catherine, Absolutely. The sear...@Anonymous & Catherine, Absolutely. The search for the guilty is never ending....<br /><br />@Patrick, Very good point. Yes, emigration is perceived much more positively in other countries. I speculate that the US has always been a bit nervous about emigration. The idea that the US might be just a way station for further migration or simply a place to earn enough money to back home and retire doesn't sit well with homeland Americans. There is a "debt" they say that these serial or return migrants must pay - the basis for including Green Card holders in the US worldwide taxation scheme.<br /><br />@Michael, Thank you. I suspect there are many who are not pleased by the state of things in the US. I am one who is losing heart after watching the bloody and utimately futile fight over the debt ceiling. You say that you know some who want to emigrate but can't? Why can't they leave? Victoria FERAUGEhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16319699673885400472noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2424131704277823220.post-80133268635914890242014-01-04T02:09:44.276+01:002014-01-04T02:09:44.276+01:00" In a post-911 world were there Americans wh..." In a post-911 world were there Americans who left the country for political reasons but did so with such discretion that we will never know them or their motivations? "<br /><br />The country was always a bit parochial and neurotic for me, but the whole 'let's tear up the Bill of Rights and also the Geneva Convention, and cap it off with an aggressive and illegal war' shtick was enough to finish alienating me for good. Of course, after a while I stopped feeling alienated and started feeling naturalized in my new country, and that was a welcome relief. After returning the passport I was just glad it was over.<br /><br />I know of several people who also quietly left for similar reasons (e.g. fear of the new police state, not recognizing the country they grew up in, etc.), and still know of several stuck back in the states who would like to emigrate if they could, but can't.Michael Putmannoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2424131704277823220.post-55470102157489255282014-01-03T10:53:36.955+01:002014-01-03T10:53:36.955+01:00Fascinating. I don't know too much about that ...Fascinating. I don't know too much about that part of US's history, except that I can see it today when people accuse one another of being communist. That fear of the 'other' or the 'outsider' doesn't go away, it just seems to change with the times. <br /><br />Thanks for this little peek into a period I don't know too much about. (Being from Canada)<br />Catherinehttp://www.facingcancer.canoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2424131704277823220.post-81582644287004092712014-01-02T00:15:14.615+01:002014-01-02T00:15:14.615+01:00Extremely interesting post. Many thanks Victoria. ...Extremely interesting post. Many thanks Victoria. The US ‘homeland’ viewpoint of emigrants appears to be very much in contrast to that of the UK viewpoint of British emigrants. Possibly this is due to an established pattern of emigration from Britain to Canada, Australia and New Zealand (and the US) largely dating back to the 19th century which was actively encouraged by the government and poverty charities. There also seemed to be national trends, with Scots emigrating to Canada and New Zealand, whilst Irish emigrating to Australia and the US and the English and Welsh emigrating everywhere. Post WWII this was also encouraged by the Canadian, Australian, and New Zealand governments to boost population (e.g., “£10 poms”, which my wife’s parent’s almost became). Many people go abroad to work for a few years and then return. In relatively recent years, many people have relocated (emigrated?) to other EU member states. I find it amusing that when a cast-member leaves ‘Eastenders’, the character played has summarily moved to the costa del sol in Spain. My neighbours are moving to New Zealand. Most here would not think ill of them for doing so. Some (many?) would be envious. Perhaps because the US is a ‘final destination’ or generally sees itself as such, it has difficulty understanding us ‘emigrants’?Patricknoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2424131704277823220.post-73073706951179377972013-12-31T17:48:56.687+01:002013-12-31T17:48:56.687+01:00for every generation of us politicians there is a ...for every generation of us politicians there is a new fashion of hysterical paranoia.<br />in the 50's it was communists under every bed and hiding in every closet, then it was stock manipulator and now it is terrorists and tax-evaders. <br />every form of government uses threats to its continuance in power as reasons to limit the freedoms of citizensAnonymousnoreply@blogger.com