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PaperclipPerfector  3mo ago (text post)   32892 thread views

Culture War Roundup for the week of August 5, 2024

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Sorry, should've explained this more: basically, you're asking for people to shoulder an additional burden for the sole reason of where they happened to be born, something that was completely out of their control. Furthermore, this burden isn't some temporary thing, but forever---the skilled immigrant always has a responsibility to feel grateful and not believe they deserve things natives do and nothing they do over their entire life can change this.

I don't like this unegalitarian implication.

You're asking for people to shoulder an additional burden for the sole reason of where they happened to be born, something that was completely out of their control ... the skilled immigrant always has a responsibility to feel grateful and not believe they deserve things natives do and nothing they do over their entire life can change this.

I do not believe that gratitude is a burden. Also, the immigrant by virtue of their citizenship is entitled to the full rights that that citizenship affords. I don't think its fair to say that conservatives or self_made_human don't believe that lawful immigrants don't deserve things that natives do, given that they've followed the appropriate pathway and contribute to the native's land.

I don't like this unegalitarian implication.

My expectation for anyone who lives in western countries is to be grateful for that privilege, native or immigrant. As far as I am concerned, I am being egalitarian when I expect immigrants to feel grateful; I have the same expectations of them that I do for natives.

Broadly speaking, I think you're seeing a deference or obeisance from self_made_human that simply is not there. His gratitude (or any immigrants gratitude) does not preclude him from enjoying the fruits of western society. He explicitly states that he wants to move to western society to enjoy its benefits. I'd even say that many immigrants (professional ones at least) do not particularly care if they are welcomed or not; they just care about living and enjoying western society itself. The sense of immigrants deserving something is in my opinion non-sensical. Immigrants immigrate to better themselves, not to bless the natives with their contributions; expecting natives to be deferential to immigrants just foments division and resentment.

My expectation for anyone who lives in western countries is to be grateful for that privilege, native or immigrant. As far as I am concerned, I am being egalitarian when I expect immigrants to feel grateful; I have the same expectations of them that I do for natives.

This is fair, as long as someone can reasonably earn the right to be treated the same as natives, I don't have any discomfort. For whatever reason, I was reading something different in the original post that on second thought might not have actually been there.

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