Do You Mind That I'm Not American?

It worries me that the World's perception of Americans has become so bad that you feel the need to ask that question :(

S.:

Why on earth would anyone mind that you are not an American??!?!!

We have Canadians, Afghani's, Pakistani's, we are a rainbow - we are the pot of gold here!! Wealth of knowledge and experience!!!

I know you've been here for a while - but - really! WELCOME!!!

It about being a parent not where you are from. I think it is great that you are from another country. You can bring different experiences and views. A new look at how to do this or that. Or it can be exciting to see how close parenting is basically done even accross the ocean. Welcome.

Unless we're Native American, we're all "from" somewhere else, right?
Why would anyone mind?

of course not!
it's hard for americans NOT to be become a little US-centric. it's good for us on many levels to keep being reminded that american sentiments aren't the only valid ones<G>.
:) khairete
S.

No. Besides my husband and my own family, about 95% of my friends at this point are not "American...", at least, they aren't "United STATES of America(n)." They're all from Mexico. The mostly speak Spanish. They look different than me. Yet somehow, we manage to get along.

I don't know what your political take was that you removed, but if it had anything to do with citizenship, I'll address that too. None of my above mentioned friends are citizens. A few have work permits, but most don't. Do I care? No. They aren't "taking away jobs from Americans." I live in a small town with one of the BIGGEST food corporations in the world, and it's corporate office and plant are here. Also, it's meat rendering plant. All my friends work at the meat rendering plant, and I have NEVER heard a citizen say, "Gee, I wish I could go work there, but there's no jobs available."

(sigh) there is such a dichotomy between your original question & your SWH.

In one of your earlier posts, you asked our opinion of whether or not "is this all real?"....& for me, that's where your question today is falling. :)

You've been on here for some time. You've participated in the forum, & yet you're asking if we mind that you're not American. I get that this site seems somewhat insular....especially when it requires a zipcode from the USA. But as you've seen 1sthand, we are a diverse group. & we do have members from other countries....using USA zipcodes. Do I mind? Heck, no!

For me, being an American means bringing your heritage to the table.... sitting with it....& embracing it. My heritage is: German, Irish, Dutch, French....& who knows what else! I remember grandparents & neighbors speaking German thru my childhood. My husband's heritage is all German, & some of his elderly family still know a little bit of the language. To me, this is the norm. & I'm dang proud that some of the younger generation (my older son included) are learning German & hope to visit family later in life. To me, to be American is to be part of a well-homogenized mix of life. :)

1) You can SAY you are what ever.
I'll believe that YOU believe but I don't believe everything I read on the internet.

2) I don't care what/who you are as long as you are more or less polite and not terribly manipulative/drama-generating/trolling.

3) Why do I question? Your first post talks about manipulation of social media (and because you might delete it, I'll repeat what you said here):

"Is it all real?"
"Do you ever wonder about manipulation of social media sites such as this? Some people I've seen on sites, such as this, write such blood boilingly rude/stupid/flaming/ridiculous posts and responses that I wonder if they're not just there to keep us all coming back. We love to hate some people - that's what keeps the masses tuning into reality tv. Do you think there may be, hmmm, 'plants' on social media sites too? Are you one of the 'plants'? Just saying....."

So What Happened:
"Cheryl, maybe I am, maybe I'm not. How would you know? :). Actually I'm not that new to this site, but I have changed my name. I haven't been attacked, but I've seen others receive such outrageous responses to their questions that it got me wondering... We're not here because Mamapedia is such a kind and loving place. It's a commercial venture, and there's nothing wrong with that. But, just as I try to maximise my businesses potential, social media sites would too presumably, otherwise they would be doing a disservice to their shareholders. It was just a thought that crossed my mind."

So - I'll take what ever you say with a grain of salt.
If this site does not allow entry of different countries (they only let you enter a US zip code in order to determine location), then it's the SITE/database that assumes it's users are all United States based.
Every database has it's limits and parameters - this one just doesn't deal with non USA locations.
I'm fairly sure there are people who make the info up no matter where they really are.

There ARE some S. mother's sites:
http://www.family.org.sg
http://www.mummysg.com
http://singaporemotherhood.com
and they are certainly different but it seems to me that if you really were from there, then these other sites might appeal to you more than this one would.

Also - people work all sorts of shifts and have insomnia - so WHEN a post gets entered is not really an indication of where they are on the globe.

Heck no :)

I'm a fan of Star Trek - as Mr. Spock would say "Infinite Diversity in Infinite Combinations" - translated, the more the merrier :)

I would hope that no one minds. It's great having different perspectives from all over the world. Plus your English is great. :-)

EDIT: LMAO... that explains it! Nah, just kidding.

Even when we have non-native English speakers, I don't mind it at all because I know English isn't their native language. I'm doubly impressed when their English is better than half the people who post here.

No, I like diversity

I don't mind, I'm Canadian. I find that as moms we do have a lot of the same concerns, but we do have way more cultural differences than I was ever aware of. It is actually pretty fascinating.

Not an exclusive white American club.

Welcome..and I don't care where anyone is from.

Please don't take this site as a true representation of Americans. We are not all religious or prudish. I totally see how you would get that though. Anyway, I can't imagine anyone minding. That is what this country is supposed to be about...the melting pot! Cheers!

Happy to have you here!

How nice to have someone outside the states to discuss parenting issues with and get other cultural perspectives. Although people in the states already provide many different approaches.

Update...I currently live in Canada, and have to 'lie' about my whereabouts. I joined this site while living in Arizona, and was not allowed by the site to update my real locale.

We don't mind. Plenty of people here aren't. It would be nice if you didn't start the politics and gun arguments all over again. Please...

Dawn

Huh? No...why would I ?!!!!

Of course not! So happy to have you here! :)

Why would anyone mind? Personally, I like to see things from a broader perspective. After all, motherhood, child-rearing, and all the related conversations are not American - they are a part of the experience of people around the world.

United States of America. Its great isnt it?

The more the merrier!!

It might open people's eyes that there are more ways of doing things than the current American trends!! Whooooaaaaa!!!

Nope. I don't mind.

Nope not at all. It takes all kinds and as long as youre not a jerk and respect others - thats just fine with me.

I'm with Dawn! Please, no more politics! Seriously. There are plenty of people from all over. Doesn't matter.

Haven't read that many responses, but personally, I thought this site was for "mamas"; I know there are some pops on this site time to time, there point of view is interesting at times, but to me, I started because it's good to hear from other mothers, you don't know, and what they think. I've learned a LOT from the mamas, and some things I don't agree with, and some I do, and apply to my children and life. Also, a place to vent, we all need to do that time to time.

I'm not on this daily, but time to time, when I have time, I stop by see what's going on, come on, I'm still a woman...Ha

I just wish other countries would accept us (immigrating to their lands) as much as we accept others.

I do not think this is an honest question. I think you are seeking a fight...