Are you? Think twice! Or, better said, what does it mean to be fully integrated? Speak the language, adopt the local customs, habits, superstitions, curse like the locals, participate in politics, legalize your status? Another question can be: Do you want to be fully integrated?
I am what I am, and I don't want to change that! If I want to change something, it is not in that direction, but to become a better me, with a higher understanding of things and places. I believe that a better me would have no problem living in any society. And I explain this by saying that a wiser me would have the capacity to educate those around me to accept me as I am! Education, here lies the biggest problem, not only to the situation exposed in this article, but to many other problems in any society! Why do i say that? Well, recently, I had a dispute in a parking lot, with a middle aged guy, who, in any other circumstance would look like an ordinary middle class man. The first thing he said (actually, he was shouting) when he realized I am a foreigner, was: "call the police, these illegals are criminals! I will send you back to where you belong! Why did you come here, to steal from our houses, and steal our jobs?". And that came after i tried to calm the man, speaking nicely, with respect, and not responding to his physical provocation. How do you respond to that? Well, first, a complaint to police needed proof, and witnesses! i cannot chase people on the street asking them to testify for me, i didn't even have the presence to think of it. Then, i searched for organizations that deal with this kind of discrimination, and all i could find was organizations that deal with discrimination against gay people or women! I understand those communities have problems too, but what about those that have been in my situation, where can they find advice and help? They can find help in the future, and that only if those minds in charge, realize that the world is going in a new direction, that mobility in this world of today has reached unprecedented new heights, and the only way to make a society work together is to have a clear understanding of the phenomenon and have clear policies against these manifestations. In this ever changing environment, it will always be a source of tension, maybe even conflict, as well as a source of radical speeches for "Hitler Wannabes" to distract attention from other problems. And politicians should not miss out reading Karl Von Clausewitz , not to study war, but how to stay away from conflict within one culture or society, or between different ones.
Coming back to an earlier question, if I want to be integrated, i say... Yes, but not at the expense of my dignity, not at the expense of my identity!
I am what I am, and I don't want to change that! If I want to change something, it is not in that direction, but to become a better me, with a higher understanding of things and places. I believe that a better me would have no problem living in any society. And I explain this by saying that a wiser me would have the capacity to educate those around me to accept me as I am! Education, here lies the biggest problem, not only to the situation exposed in this article, but to many other problems in any society! Why do i say that? Well, recently, I had a dispute in a parking lot, with a middle aged guy, who, in any other circumstance would look like an ordinary middle class man. The first thing he said (actually, he was shouting) when he realized I am a foreigner, was: "call the police, these illegals are criminals! I will send you back to where you belong! Why did you come here, to steal from our houses, and steal our jobs?". And that came after i tried to calm the man, speaking nicely, with respect, and not responding to his physical provocation. How do you respond to that? Well, first, a complaint to police needed proof, and witnesses! i cannot chase people on the street asking them to testify for me, i didn't even have the presence to think of it. Then, i searched for organizations that deal with this kind of discrimination, and all i could find was organizations that deal with discrimination against gay people or women! I understand those communities have problems too, but what about those that have been in my situation, where can they find advice and help? They can find help in the future, and that only if those minds in charge, realize that the world is going in a new direction, that mobility in this world of today has reached unprecedented new heights, and the only way to make a society work together is to have a clear understanding of the phenomenon and have clear policies against these manifestations. In this ever changing environment, it will always be a source of tension, maybe even conflict, as well as a source of radical speeches for "Hitler Wannabes" to distract attention from other problems. And politicians should not miss out reading Karl Von Clausewitz , not to study war, but how to stay away from conflict within one culture or society, or between different ones.
Coming back to an earlier question, if I want to be integrated, i say... Yes, but not at the expense of my dignity, not at the expense of my identity!
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