4 ms·

> why move be an alien in US I think you may have missed the whole point about USA. Nobody is an alien in this country, a lot of people would life to make you

by realz 10y ago

> why move be an alien in US I think you may have missed the whole point about USA. Nobody is an alien in this country, a lot of people would life to make you feel that way, but I know a lot of people from Sikkim regularly get asked where in China are they from.

rogerbinns 10y ago
> Nobody is an alien in this country [USA] ... There may be some terminology or crossed wires here. For example I have a US government issued card that literally says on it that I am a "resident alien", and is the reason I can be in the US. When filling out forms, such as employment related, or opening a bank account there will be somewhere that I have to say (again literally) that I am an alien. Also the government can revoke this at any point for any reason they deem fit, there is no right of appeal, nor do they even have to tell me why. This is at least one way that someone is an alien in this country, using US government terminology.
option_greek 10y ago
I guess most of it has to do with education. I genuinely had no idea that there people in Inda who look different than what I see around me till I was in my late teens. I guess its lot better now with the internet but diversity education won't hurt.
dragonwriter 10y ago
> Nobody is an alien in this country Legally, any person who is not a citizen (including a legal immigrant who has not yet been naturalized) is an alien in this country.
- turar 10y ago
  And continues to be an alien for years, and sometimes decades. You only stop being an "alien" after naturalization ceremony. "Alien" terminology is not some emotional made up word, it's a real term that America calls any non-citizen.
rayiner 10y ago
An immigrant will always be somewhat alien. I moved to the U.S. when I was five, and I'm pretty Americanized. But most of my family is still 10,000 miles away, and I never had much connection with my grandparents, aunts and uncles, or cousins. Indeed, I often feel anxious and self-conscious around them because of our significant differences in values and worldview. At the same time, I still don't really get some things Americans do (e.g. treating dogs like people). Meanwhile, my wife's family came over to Oregon on the wagon trains. Almost all her grandparents, cousins, etc. live within a few hours' drive in Oregon and Washington. If you drive along the pacific coast highway, you'll pass a scenic overlook named after her family, marking where their homestead was before the government took it to build the highway. You can see the lighthouse where her ancestors were lighthouse keepers. America is probably the most welcoming place in the world for immigrants, but that doesn't change the fact that immigrating means basically severing yourself from your roots to come live in a very different country. Many people would not make that sacrifice if they had adequate opportunities in their own homeland.
- Grishnakh 10y ago
  >At the same time, I still don't really get some things Americans do (e.g. treating dogs like people). Do you mean having pets at all? I'm pretty sure that's not at all unique to Americans; most dog breeds I've heard of came from Europe or Asia. Personally, as an American, I don't understand why so many people love dogs so much either, but not all Americans are dog people. We're basically divided into a few different camps, the biggest two being "dog people" and "cat people" (I'm the latter). There's a few other weirdos out there: "bird people" are the strangest. And definitely stay far, far away from any "horse women" (trust me on this one: do NOT date a woman who loves horses!). Anyway, in all seriousness, pet ownership is not a uniquely American phenomenon by any means. Having cats as revered pets goes back to ancient Egypt, after all. And to my knowledge, having dogs as pets goes back to the stone age.
  - rayiner 10y ago
    Not just pet ownership, but e.g. "bring your dog to work" policies. I also find it strange how highly dogs are valued relative to kids (at least among millennials), but also how over-the-top Americans are about how much effort they invest in both pet ownership and parenting.
kamaal 10y ago
>>I know a lot of people from Sikkim regularly get asked where in China are they from. Every one has their own axe to grind based on what they want out of life. But this is plain ridiculous. Discrimination exists on every country on earth. Every one who is following US elections and speeches from a particular candidate knows what is happening there. Racism has and may be will always exist due to identity consciousness among humans. On an average US probably has the same levels of this sort of racism as much as there is in India.
deleted 10y ago
[deleted]

by realz 10y ago

rogerbinns 10y ago

> Nobody is an alien in this country [USA] ... There may be some terminology or crossed wires here. For example I have a US government issued card that literally says on it that I am a "resident alien", and is the reason I can be in the US. When filling out forms, such as employment related, or opening a bank account there will be somewhere that I have to say (again literally) that I am an alien. Also the government can revoke this at any point for any reason they deem fit, there is no right of appeal, nor do they even have to tell me why. This is at least one way that someone is an alien in this country, using US government terminology.

option_greek 10y ago

I guess most of it has to do with education. I genuinely had no idea that there people in Inda who look different than what I see around me till I was in my late teens. I guess its lot better now with the internet but diversity education won't hurt.

dragonwriter 10y ago

> Nobody is an alien in this country Legally, any person who is not a citizen (including a legal immigrant who has not yet been naturalized) is an alien in this country.

turar 10y ago
And continues to be an alien for years, and sometimes decades. You only stop being an "alien" after naturalization ceremony. "Alien" terminology is not some emotional made up word, it's a real term that America calls any non-citizen.

rayiner 10y ago

An immigrant will always be somewhat alien. I moved to the U.S. when I was five, and I'm pretty Americanized. But most of my family is still 10,000 miles away, and I never had much connection with my grandparents, aunts and uncles, or cousins. Indeed, I often feel anxious and self-conscious around them because of our significant differences in values and worldview. At the same time, I still don't really get some things Americans do (e.g. treating dogs like people). Meanwhile, my wife's family came over to Oregon on the wagon trains. Almost all her grandparents, cousins, etc. live within a few hours' drive in Oregon and Washington. If you drive along the pacific coast highway, you'll pass a scenic overlook named after her family, marking where their homestead was before the government took it to build the highway. You can see the lighthouse where her ancestors were lighthouse keepers. America is probably the most welcoming place in the world for immigrants, but that doesn't change the fact that immigrating means basically severing yourself from your roots to come live in a very different country. Many people would not make that sacrifice if they had adequate opportunities in their own homeland.

Grishnakh 10y ago
>At the same time, I still don't really get some things Americans do (e.g. treating dogs like people). Do you mean having pets at all? I'm pretty sure that's not at all unique to Americans; most dog breeds I've heard of came from Europe or Asia. Personally, as an American, I don't understand why so many people love dogs so much either, but not all Americans are dog people. We're basically divided into a few different camps, the biggest two being "dog people" and "cat people" (I'm the latter). There's a few other weirdos out there: "bird people" are the strangest. And definitely stay far, far away from any "horse women" (trust me on this one: do NOT date a woman who loves horses!). Anyway, in all seriousness, pet ownership is not a uniquely American phenomenon by any means. Having cats as revered pets goes back to ancient Egypt, after all. And to my knowledge, having dogs as pets goes back to the stone age.
- rayiner 10y ago
  Not just pet ownership, but e.g. "bring your dog to work" policies. I also find it strange how highly dogs are valued relative to kids (at least among millennials), but also how over-the-top Americans are about how much effort they invest in both pet ownership and parenting.

kamaal 10y ago

>>I know a lot of people from Sikkim regularly get asked where in China are they from. Every one has their own axe to grind based on what they want out of life. But this is plain ridiculous. Discrimination exists on every country on earth. Every one who is following US elections and speeches from a particular candidate knows what is happening there. Racism has and may be will always exist due to identity consciousness among humans. On an average US probably has the same levels of this sort of racism as much as there is in India.

deleted 10y ago

[deleted]