Surely you see the irony in an American going to a third world country and declaring "refugee status". Even if America is doing poorly, going to the countries OP mentioned (China and Vietnam), the ones that literally make everything for Americans and the rest of world, countries that are only catching up to US life expectancy now, countries where your average person only got a refrigerator and only achieved full electrification in the last decade, (I think 1/4 Vietnamese households still did not have a fridge by 2018), and claiming to be a refugee will not go far or well.
Working a shit job with no way to retire or to stop having to work 60 hours a week when your body is killing you... Makes you a fucking refugee
How do you think people work in the global south? How do you think your average Chinese or Vietnamese factory worker, that likely made the shoes you are wearing and the electronic device you are typing on, works? If that makes you a refugee, then 99% of the world's population are refugees, and by that standard, what does that make the average person in the countries people want to move to? A slave? Why do you think so many people flee their countries to try move to the US and Europe? Why do so many global south countries struggle with brain drain to the west?
If you want to move to another country for a cheaper cost of living do it, but don't claim to be a refugee, that's just ignorant. Words actually have meanings.
Ahh, but haven't you considered that if a first worlder hasn't received their fair share of plunder from the Global South, that makes them the real victim?
Almost every expat I know is usually some tech worker (recently remote work is becoming more popular) or a teacher, and a couple of entertainers. The teacher is likely more valuable and “fairer” as your salary is usually more in line with what the citizen teachers make, and you’re teaching others a valuable skill. I don’t think I’ve ever heard of an expat integrate into the more common jobs like day laborer, farmer, construction worker, etc.
Not saying you should just worship poverty and perseverance porn, but calling yourself a refugee while you’re likely getting paid $60,000 remote coding job from the country you escaped from might make you seem out of touch
but calling yourself a refugee while you’re likely getting paid $60,000 remote coding job from the country you escaped from might make you seem out of touch
Yeah but if you're working a low-paying teaching position in the US and China or Vietnam offers you something better, I have no problem calling yourself a refugee. You may not be the same as some diamond mine worker from Africa, but you're still escaping a shitty situation. Either way, I get what HexbearGPT was trying to say. It fucking sucks in the west and if that means "fleeing" it then call yourself whatever you want.
Lol here comes the language prescriptivist. Actually, if you wanna get all :shapiro-gavel: about it a refugee is : one that flees (especially: a person who flees to a foreign country or power to escape danger or persecution) (https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/refugee). And living in the US is full of dangers like not having health insurance or having to pay high bills even if you do. QED, checkmate lib!
But all jokes aside, I see what HexbearGPT is saying. I get it. You do too. The west, especially the US, fucking sucks. I don't mind calling myself a refugee if try to escape this hellhole. If anything it adds more validity to how fucked up it is here. Maybe we're not as "dire" of refugees as those from the global south, but I have absolutely no problem using that term for fleeing this shitty place.
Surely you see the irony in an American going to a third world country and declaring "refugee status". Even if America is doing poorly, going to the countries OP mentioned (China and Vietnam), the ones that literally make everything for Americans and the rest of world, countries that are only catching up to US life expectancy now, countries where your average person only got a refrigerator and only achieved full electrification in the last decade, (I think 1/4 Vietnamese households still did not have a fridge by 2018), and claiming to be a refugee will not go far or well.
How do you think people work in the global south? How do you think your average Chinese or Vietnamese factory worker, that likely made the shoes you are wearing and the electronic device you are typing on, works? If that makes you a refugee, then 99% of the world's population are refugees, and by that standard, what does that make the average person in the countries people want to move to? A slave? Why do you think so many people flee their countries to try move to the US and Europe? Why do so many global south countries struggle with brain drain to the west?
If you want to move to another country for a cheaper cost of living do it, but don't claim to be a refugee, that's just ignorant. Words actually have meanings.
Ahh, but haven't you considered that if a first worlder hasn't received their fair share of plunder from the Global South, that makes them the real victim?
Almost every expat I know is usually some tech worker (recently remote work is becoming more popular) or a teacher, and a couple of entertainers. The teacher is likely more valuable and “fairer” as your salary is usually more in line with what the citizen teachers make, and you’re teaching others a valuable skill. I don’t think I’ve ever heard of an expat integrate into the more common jobs like day laborer, farmer, construction worker, etc.
Not saying you should just worship poverty and perseverance porn, but calling yourself a refugee while you’re likely getting paid $60,000 remote coding job from the country you escaped from might make you seem out of touch
Yeah but if you're working a low-paying teaching position in the US and China or Vietnam offers you something better, I have no problem calling yourself a refugee. You may not be the same as some diamond mine worker from Africa, but you're still escaping a shitty situation. Either way, I get what HexbearGPT was trying to say. It fucking sucks in the west and if that means "fleeing" it then call yourself whatever you want.
Lol here comes the language prescriptivist. Actually, if you wanna get all :shapiro-gavel: about it a refugee is : one that flees (especially: a person who flees to a foreign country or power to escape danger or persecution) (https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/refugee). And living in the US is full of dangers like not having health insurance or having to pay high bills even if you do. QED, checkmate lib!
But all jokes aside, I see what HexbearGPT is saying. I get it. You do too. The west, especially the US, fucking sucks. I don't mind calling myself a refugee if try to escape this hellhole. If anything it adds more validity to how fucked up it is here. Maybe we're not as "dire" of refugees as those from the global south, but I have absolutely no problem using that term for fleeing this shitty place.
I met a guy who called himself a refugee from China because they took his landlord investment business