When I waste time on Facebook and Quora I frequently see right-wing Americans who say things like “If the country goes to hell I’ll just move to Russia.” No, please don’t move to Russia. It’s not even that Russians don’t want you here, I don’t want you here.
I decided to write this post because earlier today I published an answer on Quora very critical of Biden’s policy of relocating Haitians to the USA and a guy claiming to be a Haitian immigrant posted an indignant comment. I just don’t understand this attitude. If I was a Haitian living in the USA, I would be very happy. But I would not be happy if all the other Haitians came to the USA and moved into my neighborhood. That would completely defeat the purpose of me moving in the first place.
At the language institute I met a black guy from Los Angeles, we were the only two Americans there. He was a very stereotypical west coast African American with dreadlocks and everything. To be honest I was a little confused about how he made money. But anyway, he liked being in Russia because Moscow is clean and safe and LA is a shithole (his words not mine). I can’t read the guy’s mind, but I doubt he would be happy if the rest of LA’s population moved to his Moscow apartment community.
My attitude toward Americans is exactly the same as his. The process of moving to Russia was extremely annoying and it’s not over yet. I don’t want to live in a Potemkin village of Americans. If I liked Americans that much, I would still be in America. If Russians took a stupid pill and allowed millions of Americans to come here I can already imagine the problems. “I saw a guy smoking next to the No Smoking sign and another guy drinking next to the No Drinking sign!” It’s Russia, dear, they’re like that. And don’t get me started about social media. “I saw swastika on VK and my feelings were hurt! There must be more aggressive moderation!” My point is that if massive numbers of Americans started coming to Russia, they would demand that Russia be more like America, which completely defeats the point of coming to Russia. I have some understanding that Russians tolerate my eccentricities because there is only one of me (no literally, I think I am the only American in this town). If dealing with eccentric Americans became a daily occurrence I think Russian patience would wear thin.
Not to say it is all roses. There are two cases of clear discrimination I can recall. The first happened when I toyed with the idea of renting a one-room close to the school to save myself the commute. In a text conversation with a prospective landlord he said, quite bluntly, that he only rents to Russians. Of course I was shocked by this, as it is illegal to even say such a thing in the USA. “I only work with Russians” or “I only work with Slavs” are discrimination, and I could sue him for causing me emotional distress or whatever. Oh, and that’s in part what I meant earlier by not wanting more Americans to immigrate to Russia. Russians seem to think Americans are all cool guys like John Wayne and Elvis Presley. If too many Americans came here then Russians would find out we’re actually sensitive crybullies who sue everybody who hurts our feelings and the dream would be ruined.
The second episode happened when a gun club I used to go to decided to change the rules and only allow customers with Russian passports. At this point I already had a Russian residency document which should have been good enough but it wasn’t. I found that to be extremely unfair but at the end of the day I cannot force people to like me or do business with me.
Bottom line, it should be understood that an immigrant is not a blessing to the receiving country. Russians are not blessed by how amazing and cool I am, and this applies to every other immigrant. When an immigrant takes a job, that is one less job for the locals. When an immigrant takes an apartment, that is one less apartment for the locals. When an immigrant uses healthcare or public transportation, that is longer the locals have to wait in line. The host country choosing to accept immigrants is an act of charity, not the other way around.
I think this is the most “normal” attitude of an immigrant. If you were escaping some genuine problem in your homeland then quite obviously you don’t want it following you to your new neighborhood. If you do want everybody in your homeland to relocate to this new country then you are not an immigrant at all but an invader.
The main problem with mass immigration is that it is inherently an act of aggression, even when the host country is asking for it. Yes, there are examples of immigrants being invited to build communities in empty territory, like the “wild fields” of the Ukraine, but this is the exception not the norm. For example, the newly-independent USA encouraged as much immigration as possible for the exact reason they needed more people for conquest. Manifest Destiny, “from sea to shining sea.” The Native Americans were not defeated by guns and horses, or even by disease. They were defeated by immigration. The hunter gatherers of North America were just no match demographically. Native Americans did win some tactical victories like Fetterman’s Massacre, but there was nothing they could do against wave after wave of Anglo settlers hungry for land.
So mass immigration always displaces somebody, it is just a question of who.
An immigrant who thinks he has the right to force everyone to cater to him does not sit well with me. It feels like a reverse holocaust. A minority comes to this country and forces the locals to dance for him, depriving those people of their freedom of association. Every person has the right to self determination, but without the right to choose who you associate with, then you do not have the right to self determination. If your own government says “These foreigners have the right to be here and you must give them everything they want or we’ll put you in prison,” then you’re not a free person, you’re a slave. That’s why when an immigrant comes to a second country and makes demands, I don’t trust him, and nobody should.
Ian Kummer
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Great points, sorry about the gun club though.
That’s my type of speech.
Well, you described very well the problem we have in Western Europe, specially with immigrants that are openly hostile to our culture and customs. Talk about shooting one’s foot.
Ian you banned me from Quora. I am sad. Have I hurt you?
I am not trolling you. Why did you ban me. I’m not interested in how many people follow me. I interested in debate. Yes I can be a little harsh. But convince me! that you are right! Banning me from asking questions or debating your point of view, makes me the winner. I don’t want to be the winner. Come back talk to me.
It seems to be relatively easy to game the asylum system in the West, but legitimately settling as a spouse or businessman is an arduous process taking many months… even if you are from another western country.