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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]No, that's racism applied to yourself. And worse, if you apply it to others, you would bar any current immigration as well.

As a French multiethnic national living in the US on a visa and hoping to get a green card and citizenship, I utterly reject your premise. Countries NEED immigration. Just not too much too fast, as it creates cultural integration tensions and shortages in public services. But immigration and mixing of cultures is a GOOD thing.

As I mentioned, I am multi-ethnic. What does your reasoning lead to concerning mixed-race people? Do you think they don't belong ANYWHERE?

So. Maybe think a little before you post.
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I think you are misreading my post. I’m not saying anyone should feel this way, only that I do.

I feel no connection to this country. I’m fourth generation on both sides, but have no sense of roots here. I know people who trace their family in the US to native tribes that predate colonization, to Spanish families who settled in the western US back when it still belonged to Spain, or when it was Mexico. I know people whose story of belonging in the US is traced to ancestors who were enslaved in the US, which I think makes them deserving of belonging in a way I am not.

I’m not anti-immigration. People should immigrate if the want or need to, I understand the value of immigration.

But I did not choose to immigrate to the US and don’t feel like I have a place here. I wonder if living somewhere that I have deeper roots might offer more belonging on some level, even if it meant learning a new (to me) language and culture.[/quote]

PP you replied to. I can't be very sympathetic, because I AM different from other people, and I've worked hard to belong. My parents hail from countries that are half a world apart. I spent my childhood living in different countries due to my father's job. I came to the USA as an adult. My kids were born here. We are an international family, with various relatives speaking different languages, and having different religions and cultures.

So this "not belonging" is a effort YOU have to make yourself, OP. It's like being happy. Sometimes that takes work too! Don't think that these things are supposed to be handed to you on a silver platter.

You clearly need a period of self-reflection and introspection. Maybe with the help of a therapist, although most of them are useless. But the point is: the answer you seek is not out there, in a different country. It's inside your head and was there all along.

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You feel belonging because you are a family if immigrants in a nation of immigrants. Your multiculturalness is PART of your belonging. That is the story of the US.

And yes, American mental health services are trash. On that we can agree.[/quote]

PP you replied to. Not at all. Please don't tell me what I should be experiencing. I am continually confronted with micro-aggressions and racial prejudices from well-meaning people who have no clue. It is actually NOT usual to be my sort of multi-ethnic and have the citizenship, language and culture that I have. I have faced prejudices in BOTH my parents' countries of origin. I need to explain my background to people otherwise they assume certain things that are not true.

This is why I told you it takes a continual, albeit low-key, effort to be understood here, and anywhere in the world. I'm OK with the effort because I would need to do it in any country in the world.

You would do well to stop with the hand-wringing and work on yourself. As I said before, happiness doesn't always come easy.
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I think you missed the point. It is celebrated and reaffirming to be multicultural in urban elite society these days. That in and of itself is more than what a boring “non” cultural person with white skin has available to explore and identify with if they do not relate to stereotypical white americans. [/quote]

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