Why Russian emigrants are so intolerant of former compatriots in the US - ForumDaily
The article has been automatically translated into English by Google Translate from Russian and has not been edited.
Переклад цього матеріалу українською мовою з російської було автоматично здійснено сервісом Google Translate, без подальшого редагування тексту.
Bu məqalə Google Translate servisi vasitəsi ilə avtomatik olaraq rus dilindən azərbaycan dilinə tərcümə olunmuşdur. Bundan sonra mətn redaktə edilməmişdir.

Why Russian emigrants are so intolerant to former compatriots in the United States

If you have been living in the United States for several years now, and you have experience of communicating with both Americans and former compatriots in the Diaspora, you probably noticed how much more tolerant Americans are of the opinion of others than immigrants from the post-Soviet space. Of course, the difference in views always exists in any society, and to defend one’s point of view is a natural need for a person of any culture. But the special "Soviet" intolerance affects not only ideology and political preferences. Its main distinguishing feature is a radical rejection and disrespect of others' experience.

Фото: Depositphotos

But this experience may differ for different emigrants from different waves "to the exact opposite." If you arrived, for example, in Soviet times or at the dawn of 90, in the wake of the so-called “Jewish” emigration, most likely, you immediately received refugee status and necessary assistance, and America became a long-awaited salvation from the agonizing Soviet reality. If you are a young specialist who arrived on a work visa today, you may be faced with an unexpectedly competitive environment of large corporations, huge loads, high housing prices and you realized that it was much easier to get through and build a career at home than here. . It is therefore not surprising that some immigrants today prefer go back home.

If you won a green card, you may not be able to imagine the American bureaucracy until the end, even after living in this country for ten years. But if you have to wait for the necessary documents 5-7 for years, most likely you have a completely different impression of the work of the American system. By the way, a familiar immigrant from California told me that after she had successfully stolen a certificate of naturalization from her, even if she had documents certified by the police about the theft, she had to wait for two years to replace the document!

If you live in a small American town, most likely, you are pleasantly surprised by the simplicity and hospitality of the locals, but are annoyed by their excessive "familiarity" in communication. But if you live in the metropolis, it is possible that you are annoyed by beggars on the sidewalks, the eternal bustle, filth and indifference of the “stone jungle” - again, if you do not live in some quiet and comfortable area of ​​this “jungle”.

However, it is not so easy to accept the fact of such a diversity for visitors from post-Soviet countries. Not so long ago, the editors of ForumDaily gathered three stories of women who married Americans at different times. One out of them out of luck right away, another was lucky only on the second attemptAnd the third marriage immediately very happy. How many frankly boorish comments from Russian-speaking immigrants had to listen (or rather read) those unfortunate who happened to face violence and tyranny in the family! They were accused of lies and propaganda, mocked at their sufferings and put forward versions of who, and with whose money "comes up with such nonsense." And such comments did not come from the “Olginsky trolls”, but, on the contrary, from those who consider themselves liberals, “progressives” and patriots of America.

By the way, all three of these women, despite their experience, are very fond of America, and have done for her more than many "sofa patriots." One of them heads a large organization that promotes democracy in Russia, the second has been helping the Democratic Party and Russian dissidents in the US for decades, and the third, even though it had to go home, still misses this country and its American friends, who turned out to be much better than her not quite mentally stable ex-spouse.

Almost every time I conduct a survey in an immigrant environment, some survey participants literally pounce on other participants who dare to share their negative experiences and, at best, begin to explain to them how wrong they are. An elementary understanding that the past cannot be changed, and experience can only be what it is already is, just does not occur to them.

Фото: Depositphotos

Yes, propaganda and lies, of course, can and must be fought. Of course, there are things in which there is only one, absolute truth, and “relativity” is unacceptable here. There is only one truth in the fact that he started the war. There is one legally proven truth about whether a crime was committed and who committed it. In the case when we are faced with defamation, intends to distorted conclusions, false facts and accusations, it is very important to refute the lie and defend the truth. However, it is also important to feel the line between absolute and personal truth. Personal feelings, experiences, sufferings, sacrifices and personal tragedy are things sacred to most people in Western culture, and completely depreciated by many people from the post-Soviet space.

However, unfortunately, even some emigrants who have lived in the US 20 for years and more have retained the purely Soviet habit of demanding from everyone full compliance not only with their views, but even with their own ideas about what feelings, impressions and personal life you should have! Regardless of their political views, they introduce “political sectarianism” familiar to Russia into emigration, and are ready to brand a person as an enemy and a liar just because his personal story is different from what they would like to hear. Those of them who do not love America are not ready to accept a single positive word about it. Many of the people who declare themselves “American patriots”, with hatred, even attack those who only dare to mention their personal negative experience - in the best traditions of Russian “hurray-patriotism”. Unfortunately, immigrants from the post-Soviet space are often unable to understand that rudeness is not only a rude answer or unwillingness to communicate, but also attempts to impose on another person how to live and what to feel.

Yes, of course, a person can make wrong conclusions and generalizations from his experience, and one could argue with these conclusions. However, the attitude of rejection often extends not only to conclusions, but also to the slightest criticism of the realities that a person has actually encountered. It turns out that the victims of domestic violence should not even mention that any man born in America is capable of beating his wife, since “there is no bad American”. Is it not true that such a formulation is very familiar to those who lived in a totalitarian state?

Фото: Depositphotos

Many Americans, of course, have another extreme: they are too anxious about someone else’s point of view, and often miss the moment when they begin to abuse their political correctness, and under the guise of their opinion inspire them a real lie. It is really difficult for them to distinguish personal truth from propaganda. However, even these misconceptions are based on a fundamentally positive principle: respecting someone else’s story, sympathizing with the pain of others, and giving people the right to live and feel as they see fit. Americans for the most part will not allow themselves to devalue the experience of others and give unsolicited advice, and this compares favorably with the "Soviet emigrants" coming to America.

Read also on ForumDaily:

The American Dream: How the Russian is running for the US Congress

How wives brought to the USA become victims of domestic violence

Revelation of the immigrant: why our women are better than American women

Why did I win the green card, but two months later I returned home

Why are our in the US always unhappy with everything

"Once my husband pushed me out of a moving car": how marriage with an American turned Russian life into hell 

Ours in the USA: as an inventor from Ukraine, earned on the love of Americans for animals

Miscellanea Our in the USA loudspeakers
Subscribe to ForumDaily on Google News

Do you want more important and interesting news about life in the USA and immigration to America? — support us donate! Also subscribe to our page Facebook. Select the “Priority in display” option and read us first. Also, don't forget to subscribe to our РєР ° РЅР ° Р »РІ Telegram  and Instagram- there is a lot of interesting things there. And join thousands of readers ForumDaily New York — there you will find a lot of interesting and positive information about life in the metropolis. 



 
1088 requests in 1,312 seconds.