No Escaping Your Citizenship

In the September 3 Maclean's, Julia McKinnell reports on a support group of American ex-pats in Vancouver. (The story isn't yet on the site, hence the lack of link and the extensive summary in the next couple of paragraphs.) The story describes the experience of a young American couple who moved to Vancouver and "always needed a disclaimer" when meeting new people. Disclaimer, as in "Hi, meet my friend, she's an American, but she's OK because she, like, totally hates Bush."

Kristin, the young American woman, says, "I thought Canadians would've travelled to the States and known more Americans, so they'd know that we are not all ignorant. But that hasn't been the case."

Tired of always answering questions about her politics and trying to make friends with those "unfriendly" Canadians, Kristin set up a support group for other Americans. Now some 60 people meet regularly for social activities. They also feel free, in the group, to be "loud," which is a way Vancouverites typically describe Americans, and to talk about real, substantive issues, like immigration and why Canadians expect visitors to remove their shoes when coming into a house. (I'm not making this up. Yes, many Canadians expect visitors to remove shoes. And yes, these Americans apparently feel a need to discuss it.)

On one hand, more power to these people. Immigrants of any type suffer from culture shock. Culture shock is culture shock, even if it's of the LP-blip variety. No one is immune. I, too, have felt as if I'm louder than the rest of a group--dare I say it, even boisterous--when I am thought to be anything but outgoing in the U.S. And yes, I still believe that sometimes the fact that culture shock shows up as a blip instead of an overwhelming desire to stay in bed gives it a special kind of poignancy. Many small straws, over time, can break a camel's back as surely as a large load of logs.

On the other hand, GROW UP, people. Welcome to the world. You're an American; you can't escape the consequences of the actions of your nation, especially if you vote in the U.S. Leaving the country doesn't let you off the hook. The only benefit to living elsewhere is that you have some distance from the insanity. For example, I haven't seen or heard an Ann Coulter story for many years now, and I am a better person for it.

As for expecting Canadians to have travelled more to the U.S. and known more Americans, some of whom are presumably not "ignorant"--why is that a reasonable expectation? Put the shoe on the other foot for a moment. How well do Americans travelling in Canada (all four of them--tourism has dropped dramatically in the past five years) know individual Canadians and their political views? I defy Americans traveling in Canada to name even one of the five major national political parties.

Canadians know that the elections in 2000 and 2004 were close; many even know that the Democrats control the House and that the Senate is about evenly split. In other words, they know at least as much as most Americans do about politics in the U.S. But how would Canadians be able to know, by looking, how any individual American voted? How else could they know except by asking or inferring from extended conversation?

Furthermore, in the course of a vacation to the Grand Canyon or New York City or the Everglades, exactly when do you think a Canadian would have a political discussion with Americans? Especially if the Canadian is actually polite, or at least trying to live up to her nation's reputation for politeness? Who wants to participate in a contentious debate on a holiday anyway?

Overall, I really don't understand the concept of any ex-pat group, but it seems to be a common human urge. There's an alumni group from my Arkansas undergraduate school in the greater Denver area. Snowbirds in Arizona and Florida form groups based on where they migrated from. I suppose support of a home tribe is important, even as you're experiencing a new culture. But I would be leery of the ex-pat group being the only, or primary, interaction with people--if you're not mixing with the locals, why leave your country? Where's the learning if you stay with what you know?

Late in the story, Kristin says that she wishes Vancouverites were more direct in conversation, less concerned about offending. I'd say Vancouverites have reason to be concerned about offending her. Their all-too-understandable curiosity about the biggest issues in her country of origin, which by the way affect her new home country, seems to be already too direct and forward for her.