Antek_Stalich:
Not to say I do not have PolAm friends, specifically those who expatriated in 1980's. Not to say I do not have Romanian friends immigrating to the United States in 2000's. These real-life contacts can be divided into two groups:
A. People grateful to the new country that has given them new opportunities but new challenges, too. At the same time these people are:
1. Trying to totally melt in the new society, why not, this is what inhabitants of almost all countries expect from immigrants;
2. Trying to maintain the link with the Old Country.
3. Ambassadors for Poland, Polish culture, the Polish cause, trying to reflect the Poland's matters in the positive light
B. People who believe they were blessed by God by their immigration to US/Canada and who:
1. Feel superior to compatriots left in the Old Country
2. Despise Poland and Poland's Poles
3. Describe Poland as a hopeless, poor, backwards, and failed country
4. Live in dreams based on what Poland was when they were leaving her
5. Express the darked political/social views with total lack of understanding what has happened to Poland while they were staying in the new country.
6. Are the smartest and most successful people in the world, while Poland's Poles are dumb jackasses.
A classical phrase for the type (B) is this exclamation of a RomAm on his stay in Poland:
-- You call it HEAVY RAINING? Come to Houston, you will see what HEAVY RAINING means!
Because of course, everything is biggest in the United States, including natural disasters... (I wonder why he failed to mention Californian earthquakes... ah, he was a Houstonite, why didn't he mention floods? Certainly, floods in the region are far more dramatic than we have in Poland! ;-))
Whatever, type (A) or (B), many PolAms (I'd say, most of them) live in their own world completely torn off the Poland's reality. Yes, they subscribe to the Polish press, they watch satellite TV, they listen to Polish radio on the Internet and read Polish Internet portals. This, however, gives them about the same understanding as a Poland's Pole could gather on internal American affairs... Every American can perfectly understand that a Poland's Pole does not know anything on the US/Canada real specifics. PolAms, however, seem to be the ultimate experts in the Polish internal affairs. More! The can vote in the internal Poland's matters!
Now, let me say something. I live in Poland and am myself happy with the progress here, even if Poland cannot become economic or political superpower, at least not instantly. "Nie od razu Kraków zbudowano". Still, as for a country ruined by WWII and 44 for years of Soviet supremacy here, Poland does fine. Not all Poland's Poles agree to that! Still, Poland's Poles live here, and it is their right to decide how Poles will make our living better, together. Yes, there are enough Left-thinking, Right-thinking, Church-thinking, Centrist-thinking and any other -thinking people in Poland to stir the ideas and make Poland better or worse place to live.
Having said the above, I join the Polish Forums and see what? The "screaming" majority of PolAms behaves as if they were Type B. Is it representative or is it a false mirror in which Polams are seen?
Discuss.
Or bin this thread and ban me. I've seen enough to think that it would be a valid option.
