Surely it’s a misunderstanding and it has nothing to do with his politics? He’s MAGA in case anyone was wondering, a huge Trump defender. Anyway, whenever I tell Grandpa (who I live with) that I want to see the world or go to Germany or Norway on a school trip, or see Norway when I get older with my dad perhaps, he says “Why can’t you just stay here?” or “Why can’t you visit this country first?”
Then he goes on about how people speak English in America and in Germany and Norway, they speak other languages when I want to learn another language. I want to be fluent in my second and heritage language Norwegian and in German, which I will hopefully become a polyglot in English, Spanish, German, Norwegian and Toki Pona by 2029.
Also, I’ve told him that I know several monolingual English speakers who went to other non-English speaking countries like Mexico, but he still won’t listen and help me save up. (I don’t have a job yet and I’m only 15).
Not only this, as much as I love him due to him being family, I don’t love his views. He doesn’t really like immigrants due to his thinking they all can’t speak English. If they speak accented English, he still tells them to “speak English”. Maybe he doesn’t want to “BECOME the immigrant” (in quotes, because well… we’re not Native). Also, I will forever not understand people’s hatred towards immigrants and their desire to embrace their home culture in a better country.
As a monolingual English speaking American with Norwegian heritage… You MUST go and visit.
I’ve been 4 times in 10 years. I’ve connected with my distant cousins.
Tell Gramps to “get bent”.
That’s amazing! And Norwegians speak excellent English, I’ve heard!
Yes, of course.
Maybe he doesn’t want to BECOME the immigrant
Is he Native American, by chance?
If not, I’ve got some news for him.
You’re right, this should be in quotes
They don’t understand this point unfortunately.
deleted by creator
Your grandfather is a useless mouth breather. Sorry.
Is that really necessary?
Yes it is. Pretending like Maga are human just ignores the last 10 years. They should be isolated and shunned.
MAGA or not, I think it is distasteful to say something so horrible about somebody’s grandfather, especially to a kid
I disagree. Holding back your hatred emboldens them. They need to be made aware they are hated and treated as such. The sooner he becomes 18 and goes no contact with this child raping mouth breather the better.
I’m sorry the kid is related to him.
I still think of it as excessive but it’s your country after all, it’s your business
I share your sentiment about MAGA people in general. But in this situation you’re also saying it to a 15 year old kid about their Grandpa. I think it’s a situation that calls for more tact.
I’d prefer he realizes his grandfather deserves to choke on a sandwich now then later.
He’s scared of everything he doesn’t know.
It’s likely not that this attitude results from his politics, but that his politics result from the same views that result in this attitude. It’s a narrow world view, perpetuated by propaganda and the american civil religion (not that this is exclusive to the US, but it sure seems prevalent there).
Ignore him best you can, and do what makes you happy. Not sure if there’s a way to convince him to help you save for it, but if he thinks that murica is the greatest country on earth, it seems unlikely he’d ever support you wanting to leave that - temporarily or permanently.
He’s probably racist and it has to do with his politics
¿Qué?
Surely it’s a misunderstanding and it has nothing to do with his politics? He’s MAGA in case anyone was wondering, a huge Trump defender
You’ve answered your own question, and don’t call me Shirley.
Assuming the Grandpa watches Fox News / OAN / Newsmax, they’ve sold him the lie that immigrants are taking their jobs and going to ruin the middle class, meanwhile it’s they who are having the middle class vote against their interests, gutting healthcare, breaking up families, dissuading workers to unionize, etc. Basically this politically cartoon:
More accurate version:
Some people and especially old people have a lot of experience in not doing anything. They like to reaffirm their decision.
If he suddenly changed his mind, he’d also have to acknowledge that he had lived most of his life with a narrow mind in all the situations where he chose not to take a chance. It’s the sunken cost fallacy.
It’s not just old people. It happens all the time in all kinds of ways when someone doesn’t want to rigorously investigate their options in a situation and simply go with what they already have. They’ll make up excuses for their (lack of) choice afterwards. It could be chosing a restaurant, buying a car, settling in a certain neighborhood or anything really.
To sum it up - Americans are cowards.
Sadly, current events just reinforce that reality even more.
Reasonably well traveled American here. 10 countries over 5 continents as of this comment.
You should go and see the world. It’s an amazing experience! I think wanting to learn more languages is commendable and I hope you do. But even if you don’t, don’t let that stop you from traveling. English is widely spoken, especially in the service industry. And translation apps, while clunky, work well enough.
Your Grandpa doesn’t sound like he wants his mind changed. I say that partly from what you said, and partly because I know the type. And it’s hard to convince anyone who isn’t interested in changing their preconceived notions. Which is sad, being stuck in a box of his own making. I can understand you wanting him to see it the way you do. But if you can’t, that’s not your fault. And he can’t hold you back unless you let him.
The speak English to those that speak with an accent can come about because some people have a very hard time with accents. Especially as they get older. My mom has a very hard time understanding a someone from the Middle East who is speaking English. It’s not that she is racist it’s that’s she older and her ears are wearing out. My dad is the same way. My mom is more patient when dealing with people who have a strong accent. My dad… less so.
I worked with my dad and got him to understand that it’s not that they aren’t speaking English… it’s that they have a strong accent. I at least got him to stop saying “speak English “ . It’s a small step.
My point is: talk to your grandpa and see if he has a hard time understanding the accent.
The rest of it, ask why he doesn’t like travel. Is he afraid of crime or what is it. Maybe you can show him the truth
Travel is annoying and everywhere has a weird smell.
Also when you come back home after being gone a while, it smells weird there too until you go nose blind to it again.
Right? Going somewhere is bad and it ruins coming home.
Conservatives often have two key defining characteristics that they build their entire belief system around:
A lack of empathy, and a fear of “other” individuals and cultures.
These lead to a whole host of outcomes, and vary by individual. When it comes to travel I often see it expressed in how vacation is viewed.
Many conservatives I know view vacation as being 100% about them - relaxing, eating their favorite food, seeing their favorite sights, doing their favorite things. They do not care about leaning about someone else’s experience or culture because they cannot empathize with them, and the xenophobia means they’re scared of how to even broach the subject.
