If you are of European descent…

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The US isn’t the only country built on slavery and imperialism. Most borders today are the result of many contentious centuries of land battles. I mean look at Russia still trying to invade Ukraine, China trying to claim Hong Kong, Pakistan and Israel fighting over Palestine, and so on. I’m not really sure where you can go that is some sort of moral utopia. You can’t let the weight of history’s ugliness weigh on you because the color of your skin. That isn’t helpful for anyone.


It’s better to stay in the US, acknowledge how our country has been set up to systemically favor the dominant white culture (which will soon be the minority), and be a part of the voting class that helps reshape policies to help POC. Also, the US is becoming increasingly more mixed-race. Just be supportive of this and embrace diversity instead of running back to Europe.

Mask off moment

Why should a country that was predominantly white and allowed politicians to radically change our demographics embrace even further diversity and reshape policies to help people who mostly weren't even here 50 years ago?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:No, my great grandparents were forced out of Lithuania based on religion. I don't think I'd be particularly welcome there today - even now only .1% of the population is Jewish. I don't speak the language and even my grandparents didn't speak the language or identify as being Lithuanian so there is no cultural connection at all.

Other than the occasional anti-semitic comment I don't feel unwelcome in the US.

This. My great grandparents were persecuted for being Jewish in Russia and Hungary ( because of shifting borders, both towns are now in Ukraine). The Christian side of my family comes from Germany. I’m just glad all of them had the foresight to get the hell out of Europe well before World War 2. I can’t imagine wanting to immigrate to any of those countries.

[Anonymous]

No. You should talk to a therapist about this sort of obsession

[Anonymous]

Please say you know world history. Other countries are guilty of inhumane atrocities towards other countries in the name of power, greed, and sometimes just a madman as their leader.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:… do you ever think you should move to Europe to “go back where you came from”?

I have started to feel this way. I feel like no matter how much I work to be inclusive and tolerant, there’s no getting around the fact that my presence as a white person in North America is the result of colonization, slavery, and racism. All things I fundamentally oppose.

Sometimes I think it would be better for everyone, including me, if I returned with my family to my ancestral roots (Germany or Norway). Not just because I feel the US really belongs to Native people and the descendants of enslaved people who built the country, but because I wonder if living where my family lived for thousands of years before immigrating to the US in the early 20th century would make me feel like I belonged more.

I just feel like I’m not supposed to be here. It wasn’t my choice to come but maybe it could be my choice to leave.

Does anyone else feel this way?

Absolutely not. I am a first generation immigrant and I never felt like this applies to me or my children. I still have foreign passport and can go back if I won't to, but I love it here! My family on mother's side come from slaves too, so I understand the hardship.

OP, can you just go to your homecountry for extended vacation to see if you belong there?

Op is fourth-generation with a very mixed background. There is no “home country”.

[Anonymous]

I’m first generation and the only one in the US. It would be super easy for me but not for my DH or kids. I would not uproot them. I’ve lived in another European country before and it was not that great despite all the hype. My family in Europe are not better off than me in a number of ways. The grass is not greener once you really pull back the curtain. I’ll continue to visit and maybe have extended stays in retirement but won’t move.

[Anonymous]

I actually would love to move to Europe, mainly because European countries have a far superior social safety net to the US. Unfortunately countries outside of the US tend to have extremely strict guidelines as to who can immigrate there. It’s funny that Europeans moved here to the US for a “better life”, and in doing so their descendants don’t have the right to healthcare and have to deal with horrible working conditions.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I actually would love to move to Europe, mainly because European countries have a far superior social safety net to the US. Unfortunately countries outside of the US tend to have extremely strict guidelines as to who can immigrate there. It’s funny that Europeans moved here to the US for a “better life”, and in doing so their descendants don’t have the right to healthcare and have to deal with horrible working conditions.

Do you know the kinds of things many Europeans were fleeing, though? War, massacres, religious persecution, famine? Many of them might have even had descendants had they not fled. And Europe isn’t some utopia.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I actually would love to move to Europe, mainly because European countries have a far superior social safety net to the US. Unfortunately countries outside of the US tend to have extremely strict guidelines as to who can immigrate there. It’s funny that Europeans moved here to the US for a “better life”, and in doing so their descendants don’t have the right to healthcare and have to deal with horrible working conditions.

UK healthcare is dramatically crumbling right now.

[Anonymous]

I kinda can’t get over the fact that op thinks her ancestors came over “on a whim”. They got on a boat for a journey that took weeks, knowing they’d most likely never see their parents ever again, not to mention their other relations and childhood friends. All to seek out a better life. There’s no “whim” in that decision.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I actually would love to move to Europe, mainly because European countries have a far superior social safety net to the US. Unfortunately countries outside of the US tend to have extremely strict guidelines as to who can immigrate there. It’s funny that Europeans moved here to the US for a “better life”, and in doing so their descendants don’t have the right to healthcare and have to deal with horrible working conditions.

UK healthcare is dramatically crumbling right now.

My UK relatives would not agree with that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:… do you ever think you should move to Europe to “go back where you came from”?

I have started to feel this way. I feel like no matter how much I work to be inclusive and tolerant, there’s no getting around the fact that my presence as a white person in North America is the result of colonization, slavery, and racism. All things I fundamentally oppose.

Sometimes I think it would be better for everyone, including me, if I returned with my family to my ancestral roots (Germany or Norway). Not just because I feel the US really belongs to Native people and the descendants of enslaved people who built the country, but because I wonder if living where my family lived for thousands of years before immigrating to the US in the early 20th century would make me feel like I belonged more.

I just feel like I’m not supposed to be here. It wasn’t my choice to come but maybe it could be my choice to leave.

Does anyone else feel this way?

Your white guilt complex is stunning.

And sad. How did you become so guilt-ridden?

This. OP it sounds like you need therapy if this is generally your line of thinking. People are literally dying to get into the US and you are worried about what some white Europeans you aren't related to did generations ago. This is not healthy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I actually would love to move to Europe, mainly because European countries have a far superior social safety net to the US. Unfortunately countries outside of the US tend to have extremely strict guidelines as to who can immigrate there. It’s funny that Europeans moved here to the US for a “better life”, and in doing so their descendants don’t have the right to healthcare and have to deal with horrible working conditions.

UK healthcare is dramatically crumbling right now.

My UK relatives would not agree with that.

My UK relatives would agree with that.

[Anonymous]

I was chased off my native land by Americans so if anything I feel more at home here than I consider the Anglos to be.

[Anonymous]

Sorry, I do not share the sentiment. My ancestors all came here in the very late 1800s or maybe even the early 1900s.

I've lived overseas in two different countries. My spouse has lived in several more. America really is great, OP, compared to many options out there. You're missing the forest for the trees.