@_dmhIt's another strike day so let's do another personal iteration of #WhatHashtagsMeanToMe. Let's talk about being an #Immigrant, and I guess it might accidentally be strike related in the end.
When I was a wee child we moved from South Africa to the US, so that Dad could pursue a career opportunity. That short-term contract turned into a decision to move for good and I grew up in Florida.
It's strange growing up in a place and feeling like you aren't really of the place
@_dmhI remember at some point in primary school realizing that i had to stop trusting my #Immigrant parents linguistic judgements or I would get points off for using SAfrican English spellings, etc, instead of US English spellings.
I also fully participated in our school's patriotic indoctrination (pledging allegiance to the flag, singing patriotic and often religious songs every morning at school) while still feeling not fully "American"-- why would we take pride in a geographic accident?
@_dmh(That's kind of similar to how I think about #religion and being #Catholic as well-- whatever religion I practice, I think what matters to God is that I'm seeking a relationship with them, not the details of the faith i happened to be born into or discover and integrate with in my life. But that's another hashtag for another day)
@_dmhSo I grew up with this odd mindset. I was from an English speaking background and family, but one which recognized the oddness of "American exceptionalism" and the USA's desire to play World Police. And I recognized myself as Other, setting aside any otherness related to being a weird kid who liked getting along with adults and their praise and was into like... #aliens and #paranormal shit.
@_dmhI didn't really realize all the ways that US culture had shaped me until my first solo trips abroad as a young adult. Seeing the emphasis I placed on individualism and the US version of religious freedom and freedom of speech. This affected my self image as an #immigrant and led me to understand that as much as i might identify as a "global citizen", i was still a product of the culture I was brought up in.
@_dmhAnother aspect of being an #Immigrant for me has been a weird relationship to family and an acceptance of moving far away quite easily. In some ways family has been a definitional thing: I love you because we are family, even if we've only seen each other twice in twenty years, etc. Growing up without cousins, aunts, uncles, and grandparents around means that I missed out on truly wonderful relationships with family in South Africa and Australia.
@_dmh@tech.lgbtIn a way, looking back at Thanksgivings and Christmases and Fourth of July celebrations with other close families my family was friends with, I can see the chosen family paradigm in a distinctly non-queer setting. A couple of #Immigrant families bonding with close neighbors and building a new kind of extended family together. Pretty special.
@_dmhAs an adult, then, I've migrated two more times: first moving to Germany for my PhD and then moving to Edinburgh to take up a postdoc. Now I'm an #immigrant 3 times over and feel strong connections to the US, Germany, and Scotland. And i don't know what the future holds. Will I stay in Scotland or move back to Germany or the US? Or some secret fourth thing?
@_dmhThe one thing I have decided is that I am sick of moving to pursue career opportunities. I might move again for a job, but not *only* for a job.
This is tricky, though, because we don't have #OpenBorders so you're not generally allowed to move first and find work later. Indeed, my very existence in Scotland is contingent on having an employer willing to sponsor me, even though this is now my home.
@_dmhI'm lucky. I'm used to an international life and big moves, and I've been able to save some money. I also know that I have family and friends that I could move in with if I were forced to leave my adoptive home.
Not all #immigrant academics are so lucky. The #precarity of short-term contracts is exacerbated by knowing that your life (and the life of any dependents with you) can be uprooted if your employer cuts you loose and your visa is canceled. That makes it harder to plan the future
@_dmhHow do you figure out what to do next when your whole life is contingent on your employer and, in the case of the #UKpol, an openly #HostileEnvironment to #Immigrants? Do you focus on the short-term? Prepare an exit strategy? Pretend everything is okay and just hope for the best?
I don't talk about it very often, but being an #immigrant is a big part of my identity and shapes my life a lot. Thanks for taking the time to listen to me talk about it for a bit <3