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Why Don't You Go Back To Your Country?
Posted by Jeunelle • 11/25/08 • Subscribe to this Discussion [RSS] • Report This Topic
Topics: citizen, country, global citizen, nationalism, offensive statements, patriot, world
I find this statement or question to be offensive and ignorant.
I would like to consider myself a temporary citizen of the world until I leave it.
Though this offensive statement wasn't said to me, I got really pissed when I heard it.
What is your take on the question above.
Have you ever had that said to you and how did you feel about it?
Do you or would you like to be considered partial to everyone regardless of where the heck they came from?
As the world continues to become more global, I would hope to hear this above title question less,
how about you?
User Comments
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maybe they wont take you back?-
@AmyOops...too bad for them as I am here to stay
but seriously, this question wasn't told to me but I did hear someone say it to someone else while commuting today on the train and I got pissed off.
I was like "what the hell do you mean by that dirtbag, aren't most of us from somewhere else anyway"?
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Well, I live in Florida and this time of year I ask the question "why don't you go back to your State?" but, that's just because the "snow-birds" get in my way on the road.
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@sinuousscribe...well somehow yours doesn't sound as insultive as "Why don't you go back to your country".
I mean why don't we all go back to our country and give the land back to the Native Americans since they were here 1st?
I can go back to Africa and marry Shaka Zulu and swing on vines.
Italians can go back to Italy and stomp on grapes and the world will be a happier place again.
I mean is this guy for real? -
Haha! I'm half and half,Native American and "white"(and that includes scottish, Irish, English, and Spanish) so where would I go? That's what I'd like to know if someone ever said that to me. -
@hatingtherain...Exactly some of us do have lots of different ethic backgrounds in our family line so how does one tell someone like you where to go?
I find the whole thing to be ridiculous. -
Exactly.
I think probably the MAJORITY of people in the world are of mixed racial backgrounds. -
Yes I think the majority are too
and I am surprised to still hear this garbage about going back to one's country.
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Citizen of the world right here! Arbitrary boundaries mean nothing to me...I don't have any right to this bit of land because I was born here...
I ended up spending a long time arguing with people on a Facebook group called "If you don't like England then F--k off back to where you came from!" ...I was so offended by the group (as were many of the others who joined to argue with the idiots there) because most of the people in the group didn't know the first thing about their own heritage and had decided that all they needed to know about muslims and Eastern Europeans was what they read in racist tabloid newspapers...I did manage to get one girl to realise that she was being racist and bigoted and then she started criticising other people too!-
@SiuilARuin...Right on, I totally get what your saying.
Yes I did see that Facebook group but was too offended to join because I know I would ended up cussing everybody out.
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"A temporary citizen of the world till he leaves it." Hmmm....I think I'd want to read fruther to see what the context really was. I suppose I would be a temprorary citizen of the United States until I die, considering that I might incarnate in another country anyway and can't take my citizenship with me. But the world? I wonder what this person considers the "world" to be? I doubt if this person plans to get off the earth any time soon. And I wonder if this person is stating this with any sense of the responsibilities of citizenship.-
@LynneaUrania...Yes exactly a temporary citizen until passing.
I have to say that I too agree with this statement "temporary citizen of the world till passing".
Personally I don't consider myself a citizen of any 1 country.
I have American citizenship on paper so I can get around
and I am thinking about applying for dual citizenship of New Zealand
but I feel no special affiliation to any 1 country.
I go where the heck I want and live where I want. -
Get used to it, Jenelle. I was born here in California and I still get that from people here...and sometimes I'm even told to go back to my "own planet."
BTW...New Zealand is a great choice for dual citizenship!
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@LynneaUrania...Yes New Zealand is beautiful.
I mean this is 2008 going 2009 for peat sakes and I am still hearing this stupid ignorant crap. Isn't this planet being educated?
And yes I have also heard "Why don't you go back to your planet".
My eyes are rolling in my head each time I hear it. -
SIDETRACK:
I have got to say...I think that we're getting less educated as a whole...I mean, more people are learning to read etc, but we have less people who are highly educated, now everyone has a basic level of education but little above that! There was a series of documentaries on UK tv a few years ago where they got a class of 16 year-olds who had just done their GCSE exams (I don't know what the US equivalent is) and put them in a 50s-style school for the summer to see if they were at the same level of education as the 16 year-olds in the 50s...sufficed to say...they were not! Students getting an A in geography didn't know which country was which on a map of the UK! There are only 4 of them! ...we are headed down a bad road..
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I am not even going to touch this one, YOU KNOW WHAT I WILL AND WOULD SAY.-
@gmoney...no I don't, not until you say it, so please do say it.
I always like to hear what you have to say.
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I am with Siuilaruin - Citizen of the world right here! Arbitrary boundaries mean nothing to me... as a Nomad I assume that was predictable.-
@Nomadic..Hey girl what's happening.
Yes I soooo agree with you here and I am surprise we still have arbitary boundaries
today in this brave new global world.
I mean this arse actually thinks he was insulting that person he meant it for
but instead he insulted himself and showed everyone on the train
what an uneducated captain caveman he really was. I mean he was lucky I didn't throw a knife. -
You live in north America right Jeunelle? Of course human kind is a species of nomads and immigrants, but no more so than where you are. Makes the comment a little ironic.
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@Nomadic...exactly
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Usually the types that say it are ignorant and a waste of time.
Being an immigrant I have had is said to me a couple of times and I just told them too bad yer stuck with me, get over it.-
@jafabrit...hehehehe... exactly
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well I say it with a twinkle in me eye, coz you see I am a cheeky geordie lass
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I think people need to first understand we are part of something that is so big we cannot comprehend it.
There is no book, bible include that can tell us our place in the world.
We are the part of a cycle or system that is ever changing and can only be described as organized chaos.
People are delusional if they think being from a country or a place makes someone less or more of a person. Most people are a can of spam away from living in the slums.
I love because I can........ I can't go back to anywhere, because I belong to the earth, meaning I belong everywhere.-
Most people are a can of spam away from living in the slums....hehehehehehe
"I'm from the streets _itch"....lmao
I have got use this one for something else later. Good one.
Thanks gmoney....I am glad to hear what you just said.
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Today this is what we have to deal with on the Subway Trains...enjoy
www.youtube.com/watch?v=pYKtEJc30oI-
Remember now he is a street warrior and a super couper union man.
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Here's another one of my all time favorites during my daily commute. Oh Lord The Abuse.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=PJ_xSUs7BkI&NR=1 -
Here's the JIG....enjoy
www.youtube.com/watch?v=z4aWkv0rfVw&feature=related
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yeah, that's a dumb comment.
i figure it comes from fear of some sort.
oh well, it's right up there with that other beaut: "hey if you don't like your country why don't you leave"
seems like all these folks want to do is get rid of people.-
@cranelegs...ain't that the truth.
When they don't agree with you or how you look, they want you gone.
COWARDS
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Hi there. This is another citizen of the world checking in.
Like gmnoney said above:
I love because I can........ I can't go back to anywhere, because I belong to the earth, meaning I belong everywhere.
Therefore, I take the same position that jafabrit states above.
You are stuck with me until I choose to move on so get over it!-
@timethief...right on...how dare they think they can intimidate you.
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Many have tried and all have failed.
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@Jeunelle
I'm curious. When you overheard this assinine remark, what did the person that it was aimed at say back? -
The funny thing is she had on headphones/earphones
and I am not sure if she hear him or if she was just ignoring him or playing stupid or what.
I never wear headphone/earphone on the train.
I need to stay alert/aware of them rejects incase I have to go Xena the warrior princess
on their ass. He is sooo lucky my Father wasn't with me...he use to pick them up
and throw they right out of the train years ago when he lived in New York. -
Honey when this warrior princess takes off everybody dives for cover!
We would be a formidable duo.
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Usually the ones saying that offensive remark .. are the ones that aren't too patriotic (although they think they are); don't pay their fair share of income taxes; and never donate their time or money to local community efforts and charities.
Many many moons ago, I might think that "Why don't you go back to your trailer park" might be a suitable response, however my folks used to live in a trailer park down in Hemet California - like it so much they moved into a trailer park up here where they live now! There's some really nice trailers in 'dem trailer parks these days. But, I digress.-
@PetLvr...I totally get what your saying
Also I just saw a special on trailer parks on television briefly recently.
I can't remember the title of it but it showed some really state of the art trailers
harnessing solar and wind energy. Very cool.
I tell ya if that really comes about I may sell my condo, get one of them suckers,
load up the trailer and move to Beverly. -
I might have seen that TV special Where my folks lived, the park was about half as big as our city here .. and there were lots of double width trailers with double car garages and greenhouses attached, and of course, their "yards" looked quite real, although they were just painted stones and pebbles as there is not grass there.
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@PetLvr...I would definatly get one of those trailer when they come out. It could prove to be quiet a good investment,
especially when you want travel abroad and see this beautiful county they call America.
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It is offensive and I have heard people say it. Usually my response is Native Americans were here first why don't you do us all a favor and go back to your own country.-
@Shiley...my sentiments exactly.
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Agreed. 'Why don't you go back to where you came from' became a verbal symbol of the narrow-minded, parochial chauvinist, at least forty years ago. Probably earlier - that's when I first started noticing it.
On the up side, it's given some of the people whose ancestors were around when the Vikings and (very likely) Brendan came across the Atlantic a chance to make wisecracks.
Like 'there goes the neighborhood,' referring to Dutch settlers on Manhattan Island.-
@Norski...Hey nice to see you again.
Yes Vikings passed through here too and I heard archeologist even discovered an tomb
with relics of some African King here to some time ago.
How the heck did they get here is my question?
However if the Vikings can get here why not these Africans or anyone for that matter.
It's good to know that it was only about 40-50 years ago that you started to hear this
"Why don't you go back to your country" crap. Interesting. -
About the Vikings: They didn't have GPS or airliners, but they did build some of the best wooden ships the world has seen. My opinion. I think they, and the Polynesian culture (sorry if I'm using the wrong name), are among the top - if not the top - pre-industrial mariners of human history.
And, the Vikings could get to Newfoundland by island-hopping across the north Atlantic: By way of Iceland and Greenland.
Good to be back, BTW. Whoops. There I go, off again. -
Indeed...The Vikings colonised Greenland and Iceland and did have remarkable ships so it wasn't too much of a stretch to get across to America.
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Yup it's ashamed to see their culture die off and the reasons why they eventually died off. I saw that documentary on WGBH.
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Jeunelle,
Don't tell anyone, but quite a few of us are alive and well and living in the heart of Darkest Minnesota.
And, thanks. -
AHHH HAAAA ODIN BE PRAISED.
Oh and I was speaking of the lost treasure of King Juba that was found here in America.
Evidence of Africans here in America way before Columbus.
How the heck did King Juba's stuff get here is beyond me but all is possible. -
Jeunelle, there is evidence Africans may have lived in the Americas even before the Native Americans. The Olmecs are a prime example. They may have been in S. Amereica way longer than anyone else, probably coming in boats from Africa.
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That is no surprise to me as I believe Africans stretched all over the globe
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@siuilARuin....Thanks for the Link, yes I have also heard the language thing too, I have also heard that we Americans should learn Spanish from Spanish speaking americans. I don't find it a bad idea to learn it if you have the time to learn it.
This year I am purchasing that pocket translator Lingo to help me start out, then I may later get the Rosetta stone to help improve on it.
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Another cosmopolite here! =)
I don't know what's worse: hearing "Why don't you go back to your country?", or hearing someone ask my hubby "What - German girls aren't good enough for you?", looking at me whilst they ask that. Grrrrr...-
@deunadiana....Welcome...now you just opened another can
of rotting worms. Sooo true...I do hear that a lot too.
I have heard it when a black and white couple date or marry.
I have heard stuff like "Why soil yourself by marrying a black man".
Heidi Klume and Seal married and they were even getting death threats because they married. I wish people would get over this white & black thing as the spirit inside you that leaves when we die knows cares nothing about color.
It simply returns to it's original source or at least that's what I'm hoping for. -
I'll have you know that my spirit is heliotrope...
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Hold on let me look up that word...hehehe
Oh Ok...it must be quiet brilliant like mine.
The sun behind the sun perhaps. -
Yes, I do find the statement offensive...
It's like asking the person to get lost and you're not welcome..
Geez!-
@cashmere...I know...how rude
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@ Jeunelle
"I am thinking about applying for dual citizenship of New Zealand"
Go for it!! I have dual citizenship of Australia and the US. It is a real privilege to have dual citizenship, not all countries allow it.
Also, if someone tells you to get out, you can tell 'em where to go!!-
@SpiritualBloggers...This is awesome news. I would love to be a citizen of Australia too
but I really feel in love with New Zealand after I saw the Movie "The Piano".
Of course I've seen more great sights of New Zealand but I always think of the Movie "the piano" when New Zealand comes to mind.
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In most cases those who tell people to get back where they came from are nothing but little people, unaware - scared even!!! - of the outside world, with strong sense of inferiority.
Yes I have heard this a few times, but never paid too much attention to it. I kept doing things my way, and eventually it all paid off.-
@jerryadams....Exactly just ignore them stupid jerks.
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Wise men say: never fight with a pig. You'll get shit all over you while the pig will enjoy it.
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EGAD....lmao
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According to a recent vice presidential candidate, I'm not a "real American," so, apparently, I don't have a country to go back to....-
drjay1966...I think I have heard that statement
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I have no problem with a person coming to this country providing they are here legally and become a citizen in a timely manner. As for you being a citizen of "The World," that I don't agree on. If you are living on U.S. soil, you should be a "Citizen of The United States." The members of our Armed Forces put their lives on the line every day and night protecting your freedom from the evil of many other countries in "This World" therefore your loyalty belongs here and here only! I see that one of your tags for this post is "Patriot" and one that considers themself a "Citizen of the World" is not a patriot.-
@bangorphoto..."If you are living on U.S. soil,
you should be a "Citizen of The United States."
I already am a citizen of the United States although there are thousands of illegal immigrants here to and that's a fact.
"The members of our Armed Forces put their lives on the line every day and night protecting your freedom from the evil of many other countries in "This World" therefore your loyalty belongs here and here only! "
Did I ask them to go fight fruitless wars on my behave?
I'm sure the Us Government goes to war for their own critera and gives a damn about what it's citizens think about this matter and I am sure that there are those in this country that would consider what I said as unpatriotic and would call me a traitor and want to hang me
because of "My Views and Opinions". Do I Care?.. NO. My views are my own.
"This World" therefore your loyalty belongs here and here only!"
SAYS WHO??? I just love how others insist that we should be put in a box and labeled.
I just love how others insist on telling us how we should behave and who our loyalty should belong to.
MY LOYATLTY BELONG TO ME AND ONLY ME. YOU MISSED THE BOAT ON THIS ONE BUDDY.
"I see that one of your tags for this post is "Patriot"
and one that considers themself a "Citizen of the World" is not a patriot".
Says who??? The word Patriot wasn't mean that way anyways.
I am disappointed in your comments and must say that I disagree with your comments
but to each his own.
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I think context is important in something like this. I once worked in a company where we had a lot of employees from another country. Training them was difficult because whenever something was demonstrated or a procedure explained, somebody would pipe up with "Well, in MY country, we do it this way..." I'm sorry, but after receiving instructions on how to bribe customs officials and off-load your work onto subordinates so you could go have your nails done and fudge paperwork so you could take reams of paper home and a whole bunch of "different" ways to accomplish the job, I learned to quickly interrupt and say, "Yes, well, this is the way we do it here."
Others in the same situation were not so diplomatic and one morning I heard, over the cube wall, "If the way you did it in your country was so much better than the way we do things here, why don't you just go back?"
This stood me in good stead when I changed countries. I am the foreigner now, and I am careful, whenever things about America comes up, not to speak in such a way that I am implying criticism of my new homeland, its ways, or its people, or that America is superior...I emphasize that it is just different. I don't want to be the person saying "Well, in MY country..." and motivating people to think, "Well, if America's so great, why don't you just go back there?"
Context is everything.-
@SweetViolet...I understand exactly what you're saying
but one may also have another view on this an simply listen to what they said...it could be that how they do it in their country may be a better model for improvement here.
I almost never rule a statement like this out because they may simply be saying
"take a look at the way we do it, it saves us time and produces more and it's more reliable".
However if they meant it to be a smart ass than I would just ignore the comment as it holds no real value or sway here in the USA. I would hate to think that it would cause people to hate them more and it may cause more resentments & hatreds of immigrants. -
Jeunelle, when you work in a corporation with standardized procedures, that is not an option; when you have limited time to teach a procedure, like how to place an order for office supplies, you can't listen to a dozen different ways to do it...there is a standardized procedure and it's not open for debate or modification...and we have 25 other things to learn before lunch. When you've politely listened to a few "suggestions" and they are...em...not within the bounds of good business practices (I was not kidding about the bribing a Custom's official! a woman suggested it to me when I was trying to teach her how to do pro forma invoices and international shipping documentation!), you just learn to tell people to submit their suggestions in writing after the training.
Truly, after weeks and weeks and WEEKS of hearing "well, in MY country" as a preface to some complaint about how things are done, the temptation to say something like "if everything is so much better there, why are you here?" can be very, very strong. But my city absorbed the largest number of Vietnamese immigrants in the whole US, and remembering that they did not come willingly helped to give me perspective in dealing with ALL immigrants, regardless of their origins or reason for being displaced.
Now I am the immigrant and I am careful not to say things about MY country that locals can misconstrue as criticisms of their country, their customs, or themselves. The empathy has to come from both sides. -
@SweetViolet..."When you work in a corporation with standardized procedures, that is not an option; when you have limited time to teach a procedure, like how to place an order for office supplies, you can't listen to a dozen different ways to do it...there is a standardized procedure and it's not open for debate or modification".
Sounds a lot like the way our Politicians listen to its citizens.
Not an option...You opinion doesn't matter...lmao
"It's not an option"...Well tell that to them
I cannot fight some corporation's procedure and don't care to
but I do take pleasure in watching when the corporation failed to listen
to it's employees and the corporation later files for bankruptcy. -
Jeunelle, the kinds of procedures I am talking about were generally either standardized office procedures (who calls for the next box of copier paper to be delivered and when to do it) or cost-containment methods (how to buy office supplies and from whom for the best prices), how to get documentation signed off, or invoices through accounting for payment, etc. These procedures MUST be standardized because if everybody did it however they wanted, time and money get wasted, and necessary work (like paying invoices) doesn't get done. You cannot run a large corporation by the seat of your pants: an invoice that gets kicked back because the proper authorization signatures are not on it is an invoice that doesn't get paid on time.
In Silicon Valley I worked in a number of companies, from little start-ups to huge multinationals. ALL of them had procedures for getting routine work done. Each company I worked in had its own systems and in each company I learned them. Once I had mastered them, if I had suggestions for improving them, I submitted them in writing to the person who could make the change.
When someone continually prefaces remarks with "In MY country..." what comes out next sounds like a criticism. People do not like to be criticized, they especially do not like to be criticized by people they do not know well (like new employees or strangers on a train), and they most particularly do not like to be criticized regularly about things over which they have no control.
Truth is, in certain contexts, it can be a valid question. If the place you came from is so superior to the place you are now in that you are constantly saying "in MY country that would never happen..." or "in MY country we have a better way..." or "in MY country we do this better..." then it is natural to wonder that, if that country is so superior, why on earth would you want to leave it?
As I have said, I am now the foreigner and I learned from the inadvertent insults delivered by those immigrants I used to work with: don't say things that sound like criticisms of you new host country...people WILL wonder why you left what you believe is a better place and came to such an inferior location for your new home. -
@SweetViolet... I understand exactly what you're saying
and I hope that they are told to "submitted their suggestions in writing to the person who could make the change". If they failed to understand that then it may be a language barrier
or they just want to be a smart ass and that will just make things worst for them I suppose.
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I heard it from my mother-in-law when she asked if I was missing my country and family. I replied in the affirmative and got that response. Talk about traps!-
I get asked that by my in-laws as well. They cannot believe I don't miss America terribly. But when I remind them that in America only the very richest people have maids, they understand!
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@rainst22...Wow that sucks, hang in there.
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My husband was asked this question in a form or another a lot when he was back in Finland, but not because people thought he wasn't welcome there. They just thought that he would be CRAZY staying in a place like Finland if he has family in Australia. And I bloody well agree. -
@Sebastyne...Wow that is crazy.
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I am am Aussie living in The Netherlands and I do not stick out until I open my mouth, My ex husband has turned very racist since I left him and the village we use to live in together turns their nose up at me, the other week when I was there I had some freak walk up to me and started Nazi saluting me and calling me a jew and I should go back to where I come from and he was going to kill me and ran his finger across his throat. I laughed maybe it was shock and I answered him with "well buddy Germany is 30minutes that way" pointing to the border. He is German I am Australian and he tells me to go back to where I come from.
Some people are so narrow minded it makes me ill.-
@Shy...Not only are they ill but dangerous.
Keep a close eye on them bastards girl.
I'll say a pray for ya, hang in there -
That is just plain odd. Obviously he hadn't been introduced to Mr. Logic yet, but still...
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it's offensive alright but good for me I am in my own country, hopefully nobody would tell me those words ever because that would mean those people who will tell that to me are simply ignorant and plain rude... if I was indeed away from my country when that will be told I wouldn't think twice and leave no use staying in such a place.-
@earthlingorgeous....Ain't that the truth.
YES I like to be in my own neck of the woods too, it's very quiet there
and I can actually hear myself think sometimes there too. Ain't that a surprise....me think?
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Well, I'd love to but the airport is closed...
www.farangrakthai.com/frt/FarangrakthaiBlogs/tabid/64/BlogID/2/Default.aspx-
hey how is Thailand?
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Starting to forget they're buddhist, I think (not a critic of other religions).
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At least these crazy stupid PAD people...
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@farangrakthai...What't the meaning of PAD, sorry I missed it?
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People Alliance for Democracy. This is the official name of the party.
Their goal, removing the elected government and having a government appointed by the Thailand elite.
The reason, Thai people from the provinces are too stupid to elect a government (the present one).
I'm a foreigner in Thailand so I'd better leave it at that...-
@farangrakthai...Oh I see...well thanks for the info
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@Jeunelle Just remember, it was us that fought for your freedom providing you with the option to be "Loyal To You And Only You!"
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@bangorphoto...yes thank you...I am reminded of that everyday by people with similar views like yourself. Thank you so much for the reminder again.
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Opps wrong placement
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We need to embrace people from all ethnic backgrounds. There is so much to learn from others who come from different cultures. Anyone who would tell another to go back to their own country for no apparent reason is full of horse pucky.
There is a big HOWEVER I'm going to throw in here. If someone from another country continually bad-mouths the country they're in, then I say "...go live somewhere else if you don't like it here."
Our US soldiers fight long and hard for our freedom. Appreciate it.-
@HorsePucky...I understand what you saying but sure hope you are not referring to me and what my appreciation is of this country.
My appreciation is my own and is my personal view.
So what if a Citizen bad mouth's their own country?
When that becomes a major crime let me know.
This discussion is not about US Soldiers and their looonnng hhharrrrd fight for freeeddddommmm. My questions are....
Have you been told to go back to your country?
Have you ever had that said to you and how did you feel about it?
Please let's stay on the path to these questions asked here, thank you. -
This one is to all...I would also like to add
"Is any Country so great that they cannot accept criticism
or badmouthing"?
Well if that's the case I have a real issue with that as it is showing me that the county may becoming intolerant of the views of its citizens, it may go as far as civil ethnic cleansing
or civil war to shut the mouths of its citizens.
It is dangerous ground and I do remember when our current President Bush said
"If your not for us, your against us".
Oh really??? Lot's of American citizens and American protesters became afraid to challenge Bush's statement and his going into this War because they didn't want to be labeled as unpatriotic. They failed to even act as to weather or not they should impeach him.
There was a real fear here and lack of freedom of speech
and Bush knew exactly what he was saying and how to say it so he could go off to war.
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Glad you asked: "Why don't you go back to your country?"
Because I do not really know what you mean by your country.
I lived in Europe, Africa, Singapore and Thailand.
And they were all my countries when I was living there.-
@farangrakthai...Exactly...thank you farangrakthai
and would you also say that you were a good citizen of all those countries in which you once lived in, yet held your own views?
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Indeed, I respect the local laws and follow them even if I did/do not always agree with them.
Same as in my own country actually.-
@farangrakthai...exactly thank you for answering this question
because this is my view exactly too. I can be a dual citizen or a citizen of many countries
and be an actual good citizen and respect most of their laws and follow them if you so choose and actually have a brain in which you can form your own views and opinions as to where you live, what you like and dislike about the place in which you live and what may need some changing or spring cleaning too. We as a people are constantly changing and so do our laws and sometimes our views. I see nothing wrong with that but obviously some do.
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I hear that sentiment a lot, usually people talking about Latino immigrants. If I were dirt poor living in some country like Mexico, barely able to provide for my family, you'd better believe I would be crossing that border legally or illegally to find work.-
@calais50...Exactly thank you
I too live in a Spanish speaking side of Boston.
People have said to me "them damn spanish people are all over the place now
and all they do is make a lot of babies, get all the welfare & wick benefits
and most of them don't even pay taxes".
This may be true and it may not be true but I do see a lot of Spanish speaking people commuting on the trains along with me in the morning rushing to go to work.
All they really want is opportunity and most find the worst low paying jobs to fill and continue to work to support their families so I don't have an issue with Spanish speaking hard working individuals period. -
How would you feel if you were at a sporting event in your city and the man sitting behind you stood up and cheered as the Mexican flag came by in the opening parade, then sat down and loudly hissed and booed at the American flag came by?
Happened to me. At a rodeo in Salinas. -
@SweetViolet...I may respond in many different ways.
I may boo him back and tell him to do that on his own time.
I may just watch him make a fool out of himself.
I may call 911 for him as a good citizen as he may get his arse kicked
by others who may become offended and it goes on and on.
Hard to say what my response would be unless I was actually there to experience it for myself.
That must of ruined your day or did it...I don't know?
How did you respond...did you respond? -
I lived in the "Mexican part" of a Silicon Valley city for 26 years. Great place to live, especially if you like Mexican food as much as I do...taquerias and panaderias everyplace you looked! I very intentionally bought into that area when my kids were in school so they wouldn't grow up in an all-white enclave. I loved the area and my neighbours were great.
As far as the guy at the rodeo, I'm not stupid...it was the beginning of the rodeo and I didn't want to start something that could have ended in bloodshed. I ignored him for the boor that he was. But not everyone who sneaks across the border appreciates the opportunities...or the country that offers those opportunities...that they find on the other side. -
@SweetViolet..."many people do not appreciate the oppotunities or the country that offers those opportunities that they find on the other side".
YES this may be very true for some, yet it's hard to say what people may appreciate even today.
One thing is certain...I don't have the time to dwell on weather or not they are but sometimes I may say things hastily that I may later come to regret too as I am not perfect obviously
but I try to keep aware of what is going on in my neck of the woods and abroad.
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It happens everywhere in some form, sometimes subtle. In fact subtle is even worse when you don't see it coming. Since when did people 'own' bits of the world. It's just another snobbery and shows ignorance of the highest degree. All races do it which doesn't make it any better. Live and let live - for goodness sake!-
@myriadlife....I know exactly what you mean by subtle here too.
This is can quiet dangerous as you may never see it coming or from where it's coming from.
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No it's horrible. I remember many years ago I used to sit next to a Polish lady on the bus. She was always nice and friendly until one day she hissed something unpleasant into my ear about 'black' people. I was so horrified I just avoided her from then on. I was very young back then and I didn't know what to do, these days I would have had a go about it.
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@myriadlife....It's the way of the evil serpent....very vile and poisonous
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'Shudder!'
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myriadlife..I know it's almost always when you least expect it.
They are getting soo good at it...subtle I mean.
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Oh I've been told that a few times...but the kids on the playground that made that mistake did not make it twice. ;o)~
(Yes, I was a tomboy).
P.S. As everyone here has already said...we are ALL immigrants whether first or second or upteenth generation. Ironic part most of the people that say this are not born here themselves.-
@Arabella22..thanks for playing
Does it even matter if they are from somewhere else?
Does that make them less of an American citizen or any citizen?
Do you think there may be some subtle prejustices as to Americans that are born here naturally and those are Naturalized American Citizens?
Oh boy a whole bunch of questions are coming up for me here too. -
Does it even matter if they are from somewhere else? Not really...if you were born in the US but you are ethnic looking, you'll get it.
Does that make them less of an American citizen or any citizen? it does to people who are so inclined.
Do you think there may be some subtle prejustices as to Americans that are born here naturally and those are Naturalized American Citizens? Not if they are "ethnic."
People are hardwired to be suspicious of anything different...it's part of our survival mechanisms. You don't just find this behaviour in America, you know. But unfortunately, there are a lot of people who never grow beyond that primitive fear of the unknown: they turn it into bias and bigotry. -
@SweetViolet...Well said they do turn it into bias and bigotry.
Ain't that the truth. It always becomes so personal then.(to the bias & bigoted)
Suspicions and fear can almost always create bias & bigotry.
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What is even more stupid about this statement when it is said in the US is we need an additional 3 to 5 million immigrants a year for the next couple of decades if we are ever to fix our failing economy. Of course the good old boys don't want to become minorities so it won't ever happen and we will continue to slide into washed up former super power status.-
@bradhart...oh my God I just thinking the same thing
Yes we need more immigrants because after all the good old boys don't want to actually
have to do some work and get their hands dirty. Bye the way I do know MeMe. hehehe
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I am a French living in Ireland but I could argue that I am a European; my kids being half French and half Irish don't really have a country to go back to; I could bring them to live in France but I don't think that their Irish father would appreciate that.
A lot of people arounfd here come from Nigeria and other countries that suffer from political unrest and I don't think i would be fair to expect them to go back to their country were they would face hunger/death/atrocities everyday.
Everyone should have the right to freedom and peace wherever they live and wherever they come from. Hassling people and telling them to go back to wherever they are from is a breach to a person's rights.-
@sophielc...Thank you so much for taking the time to freely speak your mind. So true that we have different groups of people coming to America everyday escaping some really tough living environments and atrocities.
On the atrocities side to it they cannot go back as they can be killed...very true.
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I don't think Ireland has any use for me right now.-
@carrieburrows...Awwwww bummer
Let's hope it's their loss
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The bottom line is under the surface all humans are the same. Being respectful is essential according to another cultures.
Although, from my experience within the last year from traveling—each country with their own culture, their one religion would be happy on their own planet, unfortunately.-
@Enlight...hahaha yes I just love how other people on this planet fail to realize that other people from different cultures actually reside on it too.
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I've heard it said to others and to myself (when I was in elementry school no less...) I agree, the statement is very ignorant, especially considering the United States and most of the world consists and was created by explorers who sought out different lands, and nomads. I dont even beleive in countries, it's imaginary boundries for people who need to feel like they own something. America is just a word, and "country" is just an ideal.-
@lotusb... "I dont even beleive in countries, it's imaginary boundries for people who need to feel like they own something. America is just a word, and "country" is just an ideal".
Very well put... and America does seem to be a major culprit in grabbing everything all over the world doesn't it? It sure doesn't make us well liked in the view of those other countries does it?
Do most American Citizens care about how we are viewed in this world today?
Yes I think there is a becoming large majority who does care.
What do you all think...Do most American Citizens care about how we are viewed in this world today?
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Everyone is welcome to stay. I am simply tired of rudeness from people who either do not care and act badly, or by those who believe themselves better than others. Enough.
Take up the garment of common sense, kindness, courtesy and caring for one another. People will view you with respect.
As we all try to be better we will uplift the world.
Happy Thanksgiving to one and all. Feed someone or an animal (water too) that is hungry. Share your wealth and do not waste food. There are those who fill their stomachs with dirt to stop the pain of hunger. Be gracious. We are indeed rich. Our giving makes us so. -
@Theresa111..Excellent words of wisdom here..thank you for participating and speaking your mind/heart.
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SO THERE YOU HAVE IT PEOPLE
WHO SAYS I WASN'T CAPABLE OF PRODUCING A DAMN FINE BC DISCUSSION?
I JUST DID AND I DID IT IN YOUR FACE.-
Here's a hug for you Juenelle. Thanks for the fine discussion and helping us remember to be more accepting.
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Am sure no one said that - look forward to the next damn fine discussion from you
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@Theresa111 & myriadlife...thank you both ...thank you all...hugs.
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I am in my own country itself.-
@blossom...that's a good way of looking at it.
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I am often in my own world and that can be a scary place to be. Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!
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@bangorphoto...Happy Thanksgiving to you.
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Shhh... I am back in my country. If they new, they'd probably kick me out though =-D. Happy Thanksgiving Day!-
@CrisRo....Happy Thanksgiving to you too.
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(I never ask people that) although they ask me all of the time LOL -
CrankyChick....amazing
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Me: American born - descended from Germany and Wales.
Wife: Venezuelan born - descended from Spain and Cuba.
Only time we were told "... back to your country." was in Georgia! LOL
And yet, america is the "melting pot" of the world!-
@creemos...I am shaking my head in utter disappointment
They are everywhere, like a nasty virus.
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I heard that all the time. I just want to stay away from these people. Crazy nuts-
@roentarre...I know me too
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I do not know the answer of this question because I do not leave my country.
But I think that only you know what is your country. Your country is just the place where you born and you live in your childhood. When you grow up, you go out for work and make firends in other country. Don't you think it is your another country? Do not mind where is your country, only mind where you live happily. That is ok. Happy is the most important thing in life!!-
@GizmoGrabber...Agreed.
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So that that most of us are in our own Country...Happy Thanksgiving
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i get that alot even though i was born in the usa. i dont mind it because it reflects on the people saying it are usually beat down and tough to hate. instead of realize that all of the social ills stem from the unequal distribution of income. when people divorce them selves from the fact that it is just a competition for money and feel that when their 'community' is not met they go hating on the 'minorities.' that is why i avoid certains parts of the country because i dont like going to jail for being above ground-
@josephgelb...I hear you loud and clear.
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