ProZ.com Translation Forums

Does anyone else feel this way? | Thread locked as it drifted into political topics; thanks for contributing.

Agostina Menghini — Tue, 23 Sep 2025 15:34:00 +0000

Forum: Off topic
Topic: Does anyone else feel this way?
Poster: Agostina Menghini
Post title: Thread locked as it drifted into political topics; thanks for contributing.

Hi everyone,

I hope that you are all doing well.

I know this thread is in the "Off topic" section, but it’s been drifting more and more into political and controversial areas. Since those kinds of discussions fall outside the scope of the site, I’m going to lock the thread here.

Thanks to all of you who joined in and contributed in good faith —we appreciate the participation!

See you all at the International Translation Day 2025: [url removed]

Best,

Agostina Menghini

ProZ.com team

Does anyone else feel this way? | Oh well

ibz — Tue, 23 Sep 2025 15:33:00 +0000

Forum: Off topic
Topic: Does anyone else feel this way?
Poster: ibz
Post title: Oh well

[quote]Gerard Barry wrote:

[…]

PS: I'm not an economic migrant. I came to Germany because it was impossible to find salaried employment as a translator there. Earnings and standards of living are similar in Ireland and Germany. [/quote]

Seems to be the very definition of an economic migrant: Couldn't find work in A so went to B :roll:
So what applies to you does not apply to other people (of non-European background)? If they don't find work in their country they are for some strange reason not allowed to move to another country to make a living?

These days it really makes me wonder where humanity and comme sense has disappeared to...

Does anyone else feel this way? | Kettle, pot, black

Gerard Barry — Tue, 23 Sep 2025 15:09:00 +0000

Forum: Off topic
Topic: Does anyone else feel this way?
Poster: Gerard Barry
Post title: Kettle, pot, black

[quote]Maria Laura Curzi wrote:

[quote]P.L.F. Persio wrote:

[quote]Sarah Elizabeth wrote:

My point was that the embrace of migrants in this village has saved it, at least for now, opening up possibilities for locals as well that were otherwise unavailable. The local primary school was also saved, thanks to the influx of migrants.

I described the village as 'practically vibrant' because unemployment and underemployment are still painfully high and it remains to be seen whether this cultural shift and embrace will solve it. But the people of the village, locals and migrants together, are committed to trying.

They are striving to make it a model of successful integration, and it seems to be working. People and groups come there from all over to learn about it and study it, writing articles and making documentaries about it. [/quote]

Tom was mocking the trolls, clutching their pearls and shouting Won't somebody think of the children! What they're doing in your husband's village is an outstanding example of good will. You say they're committed to trying, and that's the spirit. United we stand! [/quote]

What this troll, who keeps vomiting his hate speech infested with revolting xenophobia every single time he participates in this topic (or in every topic at ProZ forums, as we have already seen), doesn't understand is that there's only one world for everybody to live in, one world for all, no matter the economic condition, skin color, gender identity, or any other BS bias.
It's just one world for all, and thus everybody has the right to search for better opportunities to live and thrive in any place in this only world.

The truly pathetic thing is that the troll himself is an economic migrant. He must struggle a lot not to hate his reflection when he sees that poor alien in the mirror.

[quote]Lieven Malaise wrote:

[quote]Gerard Barry wrote:
I wouldn't mind at all. But the German government doesn't deport anyone. [/quote]

You "literally cannot go back to Ireland because of the severe shortage of housing", but you wouldn't mind at all to be sent back to that same country.

You're so full of s**t that the toilet is jealous.

[Bijgewerkt op 2025-09-04 07:20 GMT] [/quote]

Oh yes! And by now, the repeated hate speech he keeps spewing is quite monotonous and boring. The troll seems like an AI chatbot.
[/quote]

You're fairly boring and repetitive yourself, you hysterical old Marxist I won't say what. Furthermore, you clearly have a deep hatred for Europe and its peoples if you think it's okay for use to be replaced by other peoples.

PS: I'm not an economic migrant. I came to Germany because it was impossible to find salaried employment as a translator there. Earnings and standards of living are similar in Ireland and Germany.

Does anyone else feel this way? | Blimey

Baran Keki — Tue, 23 Sep 2025 09:45:00 +0000

Forum: Off topic
Topic: Does anyone else feel this way?
Poster: Baran Keki
Post title: Blimey

It appears that the person named 'mroed' not only left the discussion, but left Proz altogether!
Shame on you migrant-lovers/supporters!
Btw here is an interesting article:
[url removed]
This suggests that Barry et al. could be Trump's agents.

Does anyone else feel this way? | “Not far right. Just right.”

The Shredder — Tue, 23 Sep 2025 08:39:00 +0000

Forum: Off topic
Topic: Does anyone else feel this way?
Poster: The Shredder
Post title: “Not far right. Just right.”

[quote]Gudrun Wolfrath wrote:

There is good and bad in it for all of us (migrant or not). Obviously the side effects don't seem to matter to you. Then so be it.
I am off, too. [/quote]

Your sole contribution to the topic has been to lever in Pakistani grooming gangs and insinuate that those who believe in welcoming refugees are not bothered by such crimes.

I’ve seen better arguments on Facebook to be honest. It’s no better than the troll insinuating that we all support the murder of Kirk.

Do you not think we reach our position after giving it just a little thought? That we might be aware of the pressures that mass immigration brings? And reach a balanced opinion?

Meanwhile, we have the far right also now threatening to kick out a big chunk of the existing UK population. What process of logical thinking led to that?

Does anyone else feel this way? | Imaginary

Tom in London — Tue, 23 Sep 2025 07:40:00 +0000

Forum: Off topic
Topic: Does anyone else feel this way?
Poster: Tom in London
Post title: Imaginary

[quote]Philip Lees wrote:

... that statue of Boudica is of Roman design [/quote]

You need to make some allowances. The bronze sculpture was begun by Thomas Thornycroft in the 1850s but it wasn't was cast until after his death and was erected in 1902. The statue reflects the Victorians' famously vivid imagination more than historical certainty. However I did a little research: chariots were in fact used by Britons before the Romans arrived, as was noted by the Roman invaders:

Genus hoc est ex essedis pugnae. Primo per omnes partes perequitant et tela coniciunt atque ipso terrore equorum et strepitu rotarum ordines plerumque perturbant, et cum se inter equitum turmas insinuaverunt, ex essedis desiliunt et pedibus proeliantur. Aurigae interim paulatim ex proelio excedunt atque ita currus collocant, ut, si illi a multitudine hostium premantur, expeditum ad suos receptum habeant. Ita mobilitatem equitum, stabilitatem peditum in proeliis praestant, ac tantum usu cotidiano et exercitatione efficiunt, uti in declivi ac praecipiti loco incitatos equos sustinere et brevi moderari ac flectere et per temonem percurrere et in iugo insistere et se inde in currus citissime recipere consuerint.

Julius Caesar in Commentarii de Bello Gallico Book IV, chapters 33–34

[Edited at 2025-09-23 07:41 GMT]

Does anyone else feel this way? | Imported technology

Philip Lees — Tue, 23 Sep 2025 05:06:00 +0000

Forum: Off topic
Topic: Does anyone else feel this way?
Poster: Philip Lees
Post title: Imported technology

[quote]Tom in London wrote:
...The Brits are very proud of Boudica, Queen of the Iceni, because she resisted the Roman invaders
[/quote]
And quite right! Everybody loves an anti-establishment hero - Boudica, Robin Hood, Dick Turpin.

So it's perhaps ironic that the chariot in that statue of Boudica is of Roman design.

[url removed]

"The chariot is based on Roman models, not native British or Iceni models, and has a scythe blade attached to each wheel."

Also ironic is the fact that the only reason we know about Boudica is because Roman historians wrote about her.

[Edited to add historian reference]

[Edited at 2025-09-23 05:57 GMT]

Does anyone else feel this way? | the migrants who are the real heavy burden in my region (and beyond)...

Zea_Mays — Mon, 22 Sep 2025 12:12:00 +0000

Forum: Off topic
Topic: Does anyone else feel this way?
Poster: Zea_Mays
Post title: the migrants who are the real heavy burden in my region (and beyond)...

... are those temporary ones called "tourists".
They've led to housing shortage in most places here (South Tyrol, a mainly German-speaking province of Italy) thanks to the airbnb-ification of thousands of apartments.
The same tourism led to cities, towns and mountains becoming unattractive places, with hords of temporary migrants invading streets, lanes and trails 10 months out of 12, many of them just to make a selfie in front of the latest trending hotspot in the socials.
House prices are among the highest in Central Europe, competing with Munich and Monaco.
At the same time, there has been immigration from various countries around the world. These people do all the work that we indigenous don't want to do. So they're serving, cooking and cleaning in the restaurant, looking after our elderly relatives, cleaning the shopping malls we frequent, the offices we work in, and the toilets we use, reaping the apples you'd buy around the world, and so on. And of course they work in the hotels where the temporary migrants reside for some weeks (or rather days now).

I just forgot: They are contributing to our parents' pension.

[Bearbeitet am 2025-09-22 12:38 GMT]

Does anyone else feel this way? | Side Effects

Gudrun Wolfrath — Mon, 22 Sep 2025 11:31:00 +0000

Forum: Off topic
Topic: Does anyone else feel this way?
Poster: Gudrun Wolfrath
Post title: Side Effects

There is good and bad in it for all of us (migrant or not). Obviously the side effects don't seem to matter to you. Then so be it.
I am off, too.

Does anyone else feel this way? | Truths

The Shredder — Mon, 22 Sep 2025 11:10:00 +0000

Forum: Off topic
Topic: Does anyone else feel this way?
Poster: The Shredder
Post title: Truths

[quote]mroed wrote:
And since I have no desire to be called a liar by just anyone, I am leaving this discussion, in which one group thinks it can dominate the discourse. This is precisely what has been driving the division in our societies for years. A glance at the USA is enough to see this. [/quote]
Nobody has called you a liar. Even if it weren’t for the troll trolling, the discourse here was always going to be dominated by the tolerant, inclusive side, because so many of us here are ourselves migrants, and translators by definition help bring people of different nations together. Bowing out as some kind of bullied minority is cowardly; if you have a case to present, do so, convincingly, with evidence.

If migrants were solely a drain on resources, the West would have kicked them all out long ago. It’s basic economics, no?

Does anyone else feel this way? | On the lighter side...

Christel Zipfel — Mon, 22 Sep 2025 11:02:00 +0000

Forum: Off topic
Topic: Does anyone else feel this way?
Poster: Christel Zipfel
Post title: On the lighter side...

[quote]Philip Lees wrote:

In many cases, it was the immigrants who brought things (...) with them, when they came to establish themselves in a new territory.

[/quote]
Actually, we have got and known new foodstuffs for everyday life long before the internet came up. For example, since the first Italians came to Germany, more than 60 years ago, followed by Greeks, Spaniards, Turks, Moroccans and people from a few other countries, after a while, you could find much more than just potatoes and cabbage for months, unlike in the past. (At that time, those immigrants were called "Gastarbeiter" ("guest workers"). Without them, the German economic miracle would have been quite impossible. Initially, they were offered essential, poor housing (= dormitories and barracks) as they were expected to return soon to their countries. Many of them, however, didn't go back but continued to work, got better housing and started a family there. Today, exponents of their second and third generation are represented at universities and in politics, the press and on TV and so on.)
But thanks to the immigrants, Germans discovered kebab, baklava, tortilla and couscous, which can be found everywhere today, and mainly, several years before, ingredients and dishes introduced by the Italians like zucchini, broccoli, olive oil, durum wheat pasta, ossobuco, espresso, ciabatta, pizza, tiramisù and so on which since way back have become a regular part of life for most families and contributed to change the local food culture.
This probably applies to all countries in which immigrants have access, leading as a side effect to the development of a multiethnic and multicultural and (in the long term) hopefully more tolerant and open-minded society.

Does anyone else feel this way? | Blatant liar?

mroed (X) — Sun, 21 Sep 2025 16:47:00 +0000

Forum: Off topic
Topic: Does anyone else feel this way?
Poster: mroed (X)
Post title: Blatant liar?

Yes indeed, I referred to Germany.

And since I have no desire to be called a liar by just anyone, I am leaving this discussion, in which one group thinks it can dominate the discourse. This is precisely what has been driving the division in our societies for years. A glance at the USA is enough to see this.

Does anyone else feel this way? | resistance

Tom in London — Sun, 21 Sep 2025 13:28:00 +0000

Forum: Off topic
Topic: Does anyone else feel this way?
Poster: Tom in London
Post title: resistance

[quote]Philip Lees wrote:

..... no European nation is anything but proud of its Roman heritage.... [/quote]

...The Brits are very proud of Boudica, Queen of the Iceni, because she resisted the Roman invaders

Does anyone else feel this way? | Things immigrants bring

Philip Lees — Sun, 21 Sep 2025 05:39:00 +0000

Forum: Off topic
Topic: Does anyone else feel this way?
Poster: Philip Lees
Post title: Things immigrants bring

[quote]mroed wrote:

there is one major difference between migration today and migration in past times: in the past, migrants had to start from scratch. There were no such things like financial support, free housing, language courses, or even free health insurance, etc.
As a rule, there was no solid social security system in the host country either.
[/quote]
In many cases, it was the immigrants who brought things like that with them, when they came to establish themselves in a new territory.

In Europe, it was most notably the Roman Empire, which spread from the Mediterranean through much of what is now Western Europe, bringing with it science, education, law, and what became the universal language of that and later eras.

Yes, this was colonialism, which in recent times has acquired a lot more negative connotations. But as far as I'm aware, no European nation is anything but proud of its Roman heritage, including preserving Roman architectural remains as tourist attractions.

And British law is still based on Roman law, and still uses many Latin phrases in its legislation.

Does anyone else feel this way? | six blind men and an elephant

Sarah Elizab (X) — Sat, 20 Sep 2025 19:18:00 +0000

Forum: Off topic
Topic: Does anyone else feel this way?
Poster: Sarah Elizab (X)
Post title: six blind men and an elephant

That parable seems to be at least a bit what's happening here. Some people are touching different parts of the elephant (which are quite different from one another -- think: ear, tusk, trunk, tail, etc.) and don't always realize it's just one part of the picture. At least that's how it seems to me, albeit just in part.

When the migrant program first started in my husband's village in southern Italy (sorry to keep mentioning it, but I'm trying to ground my comments in things I know about personally), each migrant was given 30 euros a day, indefinitely, along with clothes, cellphone, housing, language classes, etc. It was all free. This created a fair amount of frustration in the village because the 'going wage' for a lot of jobs is/was 30 or even 20 euros a day. It is an extremely economically depressed area and unemployment is very high. It was quite frustrating for unwillingly out of work locals to see the government giving something to migrants that was not being given to them (assistance). This was about twelve years ago. I don't know how it works now.

But in any case, I thought that is the type of (quite real) situation that mroed was referring to.

Needless to say, many (most?) of the migrants were (are?) none too pleased to find themselves in an economically depressed village. It's a place that works for the locals who've remained because they have very strong ties to the land and a rich tradition. But every single one of the first group (about twelve years ago) decided it would be better to ditch the program try their luck as illegals elsewhere in Europe with a healthier job market. They were mostly single men. These days, it seems more families are coming to the village, and far fewer singles.

[Edited at 2025-09-20 19:24 GMT]

Does anyone else feel this way? | Narrative, again

Maria Laura Curzi — Sat, 20 Sep 2025 17:17:00 +0000

Forum: Off topic
Topic: Does anyone else feel this way?
Poster: Maria Laura Curzi
Post title: Narrative, again

I'm going back to the narrative title.

Someone from a wealthy, elitist, powerful Northern Hemisphere country makes wrong assumptions about the whole world as if other people's realities were only in line with their limited sighted one.

That generalization was the narrowed narrative used by 20th-century dictators. It's a problematic narrative that creates tensions, so it's usually used by politicians who always gain something from conflicts.
It's the narrative spread by dominant leaders from their pulpits upon the rest. It's the narrative that imposes a unique vision on everybody, whether it fits everybody's situation or not.

In this modern AI world, that narrowed narrative has influenced LLMs, filling them with all kinds of biases.
In my POV, it's ominous to read translators using this narrative without noticing its problem, and it sends me back to that feeling of:

[quote]
“something wicked this way comes,” (..) something terrible is lurking just beyond our sight, drawing steadily closer. [/quote]

Does anyone else feel this way? | Not everywhere

Maria Laura Curzi — Sat, 20 Sep 2025 16:41:00 +0000

Forum: Off topic
Topic: Does anyone else feel this way?
Poster: Maria Laura Curzi
Post title: Not everywhere

[quote]mroed wrote:

there is one major difference between migration today and migration in past times: in the past, migrants had to start from scratch. There were no such things like financial support, free housing,, language courses, or even free health insurance, etc.
As a rule, there was no solid social security system in the host country either.
Today, however, in the worst case scenario, someone can come to the country and then have the rest of their life financed.
That's why I find it very difficult to compare these times.
Western countries have built up sustainable social security systems over the past decades. However, these are not intended to support people coming from outside the country in the long term.

[/quote]

Wrong assumptions made.

I live in a Western country, and I don't know if we have any national state program or "system" to settle immigrants, as everybody knows that we are a third-world country.

However, that doesn't matter as we keep on receiving immigrants in the same way as it was throughout the 20th and 19th centuries. In this century, migrants came from Africa's French-speaking countries, Venezuela, and Colombia (many walking on foot for months!), and lately Ukraine and Russia.
They all know they will reach a country with a poor economy, but without war/conflicts, and, perhaps the big difference from elitist European countries, our health care system and education system are universal and **free for all** (immigrants and native citizens).
So, if they decide to stay, they are able to ask for working permissions and residence without any restrictions. Usually, embassies/consulates guide them to get their legal documents ASAP, but I don't know if they get any financial support.

Does anyone else feel this way? | Housing problems

Matthias Brombach — Sat, 20 Sep 2025 16:00:00 +0000

Forum: Off topic
Topic: Does anyone else feel this way?
Poster: Matthias Brombach
Post title: Housing problems

Nobody so far mentioned that the housing problem (at least in Germany) mainly is caused by the rising number of single households many freelancers also contribute to (like the poster of the above post).

Does anyone else feel this way? | Germany

Gudrun Wolfrath — Sat, 20 Sep 2025 14:19:00 +0000

Forum: Off topic
Topic: Does anyone else feel this way?
Poster: Gudrun Wolfrath
Post title: Germany

" I'm extremely upset by this display of self-righteous ignorance and blatant disregard of truth."

Maybe mroed (located in Munich) had Germany in mind.

Does anyone else feel this way? | The Life of Riley

P.L.F. Persi (X) — Sat, 20 Sep 2025 13:26:00 +0000

Forum: Off topic
Topic: Does anyone else feel this way?
Poster: P.L.F. Persi (X)
Post title: The Life of Riley

[quote]mroed wrote:

Today, however, in the worst case scenario, someone can come to the country and then have the rest of their life financed.

[/quote]

We've never got a free single thing from the Dutch government. We first rented a flat, then bought a house with our own money.
The other migrants who attended the Dutch language course with us (which was in part financed, but not entirely free) came from Turkey, Poland, Russia, Morocco, China, Afghanistan, Sri Lanka, Ghana and they all worked in factories, or as cleaners, carpenters, carers in elder people homes. Most of them were overqualified for the jobs they were doing. We all paid and still pay taxes through our nose, plus a substantial amount of dosh every month for health insurance, thank you very much.

I'm extremely upset by this display of self-righteous ignorance and blatant disregard of truth.

Does anyone else feel this way? | Yes but

Lingua 5B — Sat, 20 Sep 2025 12:08:00 +0000

Forum: Off topic
Topic: Does anyone else feel this way?
Poster: Lingua 5B
Post title: Yes but

[quote]mroed wrote:

there is one major difference between migration today and migration in past times: in the past, migrants had to start from scratch. There were no such things like financial support, free housing,, language courses, or even free health insurance, etc.
As a rule, there was no solid social security system in the host country either.
Today, however, in the worst case scenario, someone can come to the country and then have the rest of their life financed.
That's why I find it very difficult to compare these times.
Western countries have built up sustainable social security systems over the past decades. However, these are not intended to support people coming from outside the country in the long term.

[/quote]

Host countries collect a lot of taxes from migrants and make them do degrading jobs nobody else wants to do. So, the benefits are mutual.

Countries accept migrants:
- so the migrants can pay taxes
- do uncomfortable jobs
- also UN gives better positions to the countries who accept migrants (hush, hush)

Now that we concluded it’s not about altruism, let’s go further.

Barry doesn’t need to worry as quantity doesn’t always mean dominance and power. Tell me how many migrants or people from migrant families do you know in Germany that are company CEOs, members of Parliament, hold executive positions in Academia? That’s right, not many, if any, despite their size.

Also, mroed, I believe migration in the past was often called colonization.

@Barry, if quantity is power, why did Belgium (11 million) colonize Congo (112 million)? Can you explain?

[Edited at 2025-09-21 07:59 GMT]

Does anyone else feel this way? | Bad Guy

Gudrun Wolfrath — Sat, 20 Sep 2025 11:09:00 +0000

Forum: Off topic
Topic: Does anyone else feel this way?
Poster: Gudrun Wolfrath
Post title: Bad Guy

So Gerard has to play the role of the bad guy, right? Maybe he is just more realistic than those goody-two-shoes.

In the end, reality always wins.

[Bearbeitet am 2025-09-20 11:11 GMT]

Does anyone else feel this way? | Migration today is different

mroed (X) — Sat, 20 Sep 2025 10:44:00 +0000

Forum: Off topic
Topic: Does anyone else feel this way?
Poster: mroed (X)
Post title: Migration today is different

there is one major difference between migration today and migration in past times: in the past, migrants had to start from scratch. There were no such things like financial support, free housing,, language courses, or even free health insurance, etc.
As a rule, there was no solid social security system in the host country either.
Today, however, in the worst case scenario, someone can come to the country and then have the rest of their life financed.
That's why I find it very difficult to compare these times.
Western countries have built up sustainable social security systems over the past decades. However, these are not intended to support people coming from outside the country in the long term.

Does anyone else feel this way? | Barry's little manifesto

Baran Keki — Sat, 20 Sep 2025 10:32:00 +0000

Forum: Off topic
Topic: Does anyone else feel this way?
Poster: Baran Keki
Post title: Barry's little manifesto

Barry's pathetic little manifesto here kind of reminded me of the one that Anders Breivik wrote before going off to decimate Norway's population. Only, if memory serves, he didn't mention about the migrants staying in Airbnbs and thereby contributing to the 'housing crisis' in Europe.
Let's us hope that young Barry doesn't take a similar action to make his point (that would be very bad PR for the translation community to say the least), but if he does Germany will have stricter laws against committing massacre and more appropriate prison facilities (complete with Aryan Brotherhood, Bikers, Muslims, Turks etc.) unlike the 'Club Med'-like accommodation arrangement that's currently housing Breivik in Norway, who will soon be released on good behaviour and join the society as a model citizen. Though after seeing how the 'housing crisis' has deteriorated in his absence, he'll be dying to go back to the comforts of the Norwegian jail. He'll probably kill 400 white kids this time to secure 30 years sentence, and get set up for life!

[Edited at 2025-09-20 10:35 GMT]

Does anyone else feel this way? | Underestimate

Philip Lees — Sat, 20 Sep 2025 05:57:00 +0000

Forum: Off topic
Topic: Does anyone else feel this way?
Poster: Philip Lees
Post title: Underestimate

[quote]Maria Laura Curzi wrote:
I'm not an immigrant myself, but I'm a descendant - as are 95% of the American people - of immigrants.
[/quote]
I think that 95% is an underestimate. Wherever you live in the world - apart from a relatively small region of central Africa - you are either an immigrant, or a descendant of immigrants. It's just a matter of how many centuries you have to go back.

That's true of my birth country, the UK, and the whole of Europe. All nations of immigrants, discovered by immigrants and built by immigrants.

The Americas, too, so that 95% should really be 100%.

Does anyone else feel this way? | Thank you, Philip

Maria Laura Curzi — Fri, 19 Sep 2025 19:41:00 +0000

Forum: Off topic
Topic: Does anyone else feel this way?
Poster: Maria Laura Curzi
Post title: Thank you, Philip

[quote]Philip Lees wrote:

As this thread has now been well and truly hijacked, let me try and steer it back towards a more linguistic perspective.

For example: A British person who lives in Greece is called an "expatriate", but a Greek who lives in Britain is called an "immigrant"? Why?

As somebody who has spent most of his adult life as an immigrant (coming up to 50 years), I find this curious. Also, having spent so many years as an immigrant, when I see that word I think of "someone like me". Someone, that is, who has tried to build a life in a country different from the one where they were born.

Whereas the word "expatriate", for me at least, has connotations of a person taking their culture with them and trying to impose it on a different place, rather than adapting to the culture where they find themselves. For example, I have met "expatriates" who lived in Greece for decades without learning to speak the language properly. They still expect to find Greek people who can speak English to help them - and of course they do!

So perhaps we should be making a distinction between "immigrants" and "expatriates", but a different kind of distinction than the historical one. Perhaps immigrants should be welcomed, but expatriates shunned.

I think some of the immigrants on this forum who have already contributed to the discussion would probably agree with me; others, probably not.

All I can say is that I am grateful for the fact that during all the years I have lived here, most of the time I have felt welcomed, and not shunned. [/quote]

Thank you for this opportunity to think about how words reflect our different ways of seeing the world.

I'm not an immigrant myself, but I'm a descendant - as are 95% of the American people - of immigrants. In Argentina, we have this idea/myth: “los argentinos descendemos de los barcos” because we all have ancestors (and many still have families and double nationality) coming from Europe in the XIX and XX centuries.

At home, we still have old photos of my great-grandparents (from both sides, maternal from Catalunya and French Basque, paternal from Marche, Italy) wearing top hats and peinetones.
And so, since I was little, my idea of immigrants was always connected with brave, courageous people. I think anyone needs to have a lot of courage to decide (for whatever the reasons) to leave your place, your customs, and your memories (besides your friends and relatives) to go live somewhere else searching for better opportunities.

For me, migrant people are like the old Portuguese sailors, or like astronauts; they depart toward unknown places with the hope of having a better life. In my honest opinion, that requires a lot of courage.
So I simply can't understand short-minded people (like the POTUS or the troll here) who don't recognize/see that and treat people (whether they are migrants or refugees) like sh*t just because they were born someplace else.
Those are the ones that I would shun, toxic, moronic people who have no respect for other humans.

Does anyone else feel this way? | Hmmm....

Jennifer Levey — Fri, 19 Sep 2025 16:52:00 +0000

Forum: Off topic
Topic: Does anyone else feel this way?
Poster: Jennifer Levey
Post title: Hmmm....

[quote]The Shredder wrote:
Just a bit of anti-trans rhetoric left for a full house.
[/quote]

I was wondering who'd be the first to bring us transgender folk into this 'discusssion'.
Pity it had to be you, Shredder!

Does anyone else feel this way? | Lazy white women

The Shredder — Fri, 19 Sep 2025 16:23:00 +0000

Forum: Off topic
Topic: Does anyone else feel this way?
Poster: The Shredder
Post title: Lazy white women

Shame on you, the lot of you. You’re letting your entire race down with your selfishness. Now get back in the kitchen and expect a good seeing to when us menfolk get home now that Gerard has shown us the light.

Fair play, top trolling to now somehow lever misogyny and abortion into the equation. We are in the presence of a master. Just a bit of anti-trans rhetoric left for a full house.

Does anyone else feel this way? | Another perspective

Lingua 5B — Fri, 19 Sep 2025 09:08:00 +0000

Forum: Off topic
Topic: Does anyone else feel this way?
Poster: Lingua 5B
Post title: Another perspective

Immigrant = leaves for higher salaries
Expat = leaves for cheaper prices

: d

Does anyone else feel this way? | a matter of perspective

Zea_Mays — Fri, 19 Sep 2025 07:12:00 +0000

Forum: Off topic
Topic: Does anyone else feel this way?
Poster: Zea_Mays
Post title: a matter of perspective

[quote]Philip Lees wrote:

A British person who lives in Greece is called an "expatriate", but a Greek who lives in Britain is called an "immigrant"? [/quote]

I think it's because the perspective is from an internal point of view: who leaves the country is an expatriate (ex = out), who comes to the country is an immigrant (im = in).
In the past, "expatriates" were called "emigrants", and who imposes their own culture a "colonialist".

[Bearbeitet am 2025-09-19 11:02 GMT]