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« Richard on National Healthcare... | Main | Blogging about Blogging, and my life. »
white privilege and moving to canada
May 30, 2004
bigfatmama has some thoughts about moving to canada to escape our regime:
i hear someone write or say that if such and such does or does not happen they are moving to canada nearly everyday. i don't share the sentiment and as another person accused me, i am judgmental about it. i think it exhibits the same kind of imperialist mind that created this fucked up empire in the first place. so if you leave the US and move to canada you are no longer complicit in the photos, in the war, in the apartheid this country practices, you can just move to another mostly white, mostly english speaking country and leave it all behind.i do think that most of the people saying this are white. and that folks who have benefitted from this empire (white people) have an obligation, if they don't like it to fight to change it. the thing is, i think that what most people want is to alleviate their white american guilt and keep their privilege. move to canada!
Definitely a LOT to think about there. I am reluctant to move mostly because it just seems like it's a lot of work for what is probably very little difference. If the Bush Administration is really powerful enough to change elections, or if no one can stop this forward momentum, it doesn't seem like it would make much difference WHERE I lived. And I probably wouldn't want to live as close as Canada if I did happen to move.
Either way, I had never consciously considered the argument of privilege in this, and I'm thankful to Angela for pointing it out. It's very similar to the argument for keeping kids in school rather than homeschooling them, and we all know which way I lean on that one. But this, to me, is more compelling somehow.
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Comments
Even if you leave you still can't really escape being gringo. I haven't lived in the US for more than a few months at a time visiting folks in years. I've not quite come to the conclusion to never come back, but the idea has definitely crossed my mind.
Going to Canada is an attractive option, but really it's just going from the center of the empire to a privileged child of the empire. Europe's much nicer, but still if colonialism is any thing to go by, the only reason Europe isn't doing what America is doing is they don't have the power. Australia and New Zealand are pleasant, but kind of boring. Japan has a very xenophobic society which makes it difficult to integrate. Latin America is nice, it's where i've spent a lot of my time, but they'll always be somebody who thinks you're a CIA agent.
India and other parts of Asia are also attractive but again you'll always be seen as somebody coming from extreme privileged and as an outsider. Again depending on who you hang out with, the CIA agent thing might come up.
I've only spent a little time in Africa. Everybody was very nice and open. But it also seemed like i'd be a perpetual outsider.
Nobody faulted the German and Italian leftists for leaving after their far right governments scrapped civil rights. Many first went to Spain where they fought in the spanish civil war.
I guess my point is the American Empire is global. You can leave the territory of the US, but you can't leave it's implications. The consolidation of American power will only be stopped by active resistance. Every person needs to find where that is for them. I know some anarchists from latin america who have immigrated TO the USA despite their long and committed struggle against the american empire.
At some point the political environment in a country can get to the point where the risks of continuing to struggle are too great and you need to go in to Exile. It's happened in Europe, it's happened in most countries in the Americas. It hasn't happened in the US since the red scares of the 50's. Will it happen again, who knows...
hey mama, funny to be reading your blog and see my words! cool! i really liked what you wrote about this coming weekend and coley's affectionate nature. i'm feeling like mothering=work right now and it's not a good feeling.
thank you for linking me! that was sweet. good luck and enjoy this weekend. leroy will be with his grandparents so i can write my final papers, and i'm sure i will get some good naps in too.