[realz]

> why move be an alien in US

I think you may have missed the whole point about USA. Nobody is an alien in this country, a lot of people would life to make you feel that way, but I know a lot of people from Sikkim regularly get asked where in China are they from.

[rogerbinns]

> Nobody is an alien in this country [USA] ...

There may be some terminology or crossed wires here. For example I have a US government issued card that literally says on it that I am a "resident alien", and is the reason I can be in the US. When filling out forms, such as employment related, or opening a bank account there will be somewhere that I have to say (again literally) that I am an alien. Also the government can revoke this at any point for any reason they deem fit, there is no right of appeal, nor do they even have to tell me why.

This is at least one way that someone is an alien in this country, using US government terminology.

[rayiner]

An immigrant will always be somewhat alien. I moved to the U.S. when I was five, and I'm pretty Americanized. But most of my family is still 10,000 miles away, and I never had much connection with my grandparents, aunts and uncles, or cousins. Indeed, I often feel anxious and self-conscious around them because of our significant differences in values and worldview. At the same time, I still don't really get some things Americans do (e.g. treating dogs like people).

Meanwhile, my wife's family came over to Oregon on the wagon trains. Almost all her grandparents, cousins, etc. live within a few hours' drive in Oregon and Washington. If you drive along the pacific coast highway, you'll pass a scenic overlook named after her family, marking where their homestead was before the government took it to build the highway. You can see the lighthouse where her ancestors were lighthouse keepers.

America is probably the most welcoming place in the world for immigrants, but that doesn't change the fact that immigrating means basically severing yourself from your roots to come live in a very different country. Many people would not make that sacrifice if they had adequate opportunities in their own homeland.

[Grishnakh]

>At the same time, I still don't really get some things Americans do (e.g. treating dogs like people).

Do you mean having pets at all? I'm pretty sure that's not at all unique to Americans; most dog breeds I've heard of came from Europe or Asia.

Personally, as an American, I don't understand why so many people love dogs so much either, but not all Americans are dog people. We're basically divided into a few different camps, the biggest two being "dog people" and "cat people" (I'm the latter). There's a few other weirdos out there: "bird people" are the strangest. And definitely stay far, far away from any "horse women" (trust me on this one: do NOT date a woman who loves horses!).

Anyway, in all seriousness, pet ownership is not a uniquely American phenomenon by any means. Having cats as revered pets goes back to ancient Egypt, after all. And to my knowledge, having dogs as pets goes back to the stone age.

[rayiner]

Not just pet ownership, but e.g. "bring your dog to work" policies. I also find it strange how highly dogs are valued relative to kids (at least among millennials), but also how over-the-top Americans are about how much effort they invest in both pet ownership and parenting.

[Grishnakh]

I have never personally seen a company with "bring your dog to work" policies, and I've worked at quite a few. I've never been to a business where it was normal for people to bring their pets in, except for pet stores and veterinarians. I've heard of "bring your dog to work" places, but I suspect it's just some hipster-run startups that are like this. It is not even remotely representative of American business culture.

I think you're been paying too much attention to some small group of Americans and assuming they represent them all. I can't really speak for Millenials and their dogs vs. kids attitudes, but a lot of people do have dogs, but again I don't think it's unusual; Europeans have kept dogs as pets for millennia.

The helicopter parenting, OTOH, is an epidemic in America these days. Now it seems kids under the age of 10 can't go anywhere alone without the cops being called and parents getting in trouble for "child abandonment". It certainly wasn't like that when I was that age in the 1980s.

[rayiner]

It's not just hipster startups, but also some major companies: http://www.mnn.com/family/pets/photos/10-companies-that-let-... (Google, Ben & Jerry's, Autodesk, Amazon).

And dogs are kept as pets everywhere (including Bangladesh, where I am from), but don't feature as prominently in peoples' lives. My Facebook feed is full of pictures and comments about peoples' dogs. People let their dogs sleep in their beds, favor restaurants with outdoor seating so they can bring their dog along, etc.

[Grishnakh]

Those companies are not even remotely representative of American workplaces. Especially Ben & Jerry's; WTF??

Also, I'd sincerely like to know how they deal with employees who are allergic to dogs. Not to mention dogs shitting in the office, barking, getting in fights with other dogs, etc. Pit bulls in particular are infamous for attacking and killing other (smaller) dogs, and of course some "pit bull advocate" is going to insist on bringing her pit bull to work to prove to everyone how "sweet" he his, and then act shocked when it kills her coworker's Chihuahua, and worse she'll blame the Chihuahua owner somehow. Honestly, letting people bring dogs to work is one of the stupidest company policies I've ever heard of.

You're not going to get much of an argument from me about dogs; I honestly don't know why people like them so much. But as I said before, I'm one of those "cat people", so of course I'm not going to understand why people want to have a big, smelly, slobbering animal around that can't even figure out how to take a shit in a relatively clean and hygienic manner. Cats are far more sensible pets: they're smart enough to always crap in a litter box where it's easily managed, they're small (even the rare huge breeds aren't over 20 pounds or so), they don't smell (because of their fanatical cleaning habits and the chemistry of their saliva), and the only downside is the dander is an allergen to some people. You can even get automatic litter boxes these days which make the bathroom part really, really easy.

But I do think you're overblowing things a lot. As I said, I've never seen a workplace myself that allowed dogs (I never worked at Google, just like most of the nation; their ridiculous interview process keeps most qualified people out anyway), and I very rarely see a restaurant that allows them at all, in or out, or where people have them. In fact, I can't even remember the last time I saw someone with a dog at a restaurant, except for one time about 6 months ago inside a Panera where a guy had his service animal (which is something entirely different; very few people get those; I'm pretty sure this guy was visually impaired IIRC). The main places I see these dog-lovers out in public with their dogs is on hiking trails, at parks, etc.

Don't forget that Facebook is not a good way to judge peoples' lives. FB is infamous for having people post all kinds of crap on there trying to show how wonderful their lives are and one-up their friends, and it's driven a lot of people into depression because they see all these happy, smiling pictures. Real life isn't like that; what you see on FB is a tiny non-random snapshot or worse an act, or the shameless self-promotion of a vocal minority. Of course, all the dog proponents who can't spend 30 seconds without thinking about their dog are going to post a bunch of crap about dogs and their dog and how wonderful dogs are and "look! here we are going somewhere with our dog!" and "this restaurant sucks!! they wouldn't let us bring our dog in!!", and you see this and now you're thinking the whole country is like that. My advice: figure out who all these idiot dog-loving people on your FB feed are, and de-friend them, for the sake of your own sanity. Do you really want to see all kinds of dog-related posts on there every time you log in?

[icantdrive55]

My pets are literally treated as family members. I treated my dogs like they were my brothers, or sisters.

I am one of those people who think animals should have rights. I know it's crazy, but it just how I feel.

I had a girlfriend move out because she didn't like my Bull Mastiff's period. She told me to get rid of the dog, or I'm leaving. I literally packed her bags. She had her own apartment, so she wasen't homeless. You would not believe the words she yelled at me. "You love that dog more than me--you a-hole!" Me, "Maybe?"

I didn't think it was an American thing. I guess I just didn't think about it.

(I will say this; I sometimes think family bonds are tighter in other countries. I don't know? I've seen some nasty immoral acts--akways over money in the United States. I loved animals way before I realized how immoral certain family members were though.)

[dragonwriter]

> Nobody is an alien in this country

Legally, any person who is not a citizen (including a legal immigrant who has not yet been naturalized) is an alien in this country.

[turar]

And continues to be an alien for years, and sometimes decades. You only stop being an "alien" after naturalization ceremony. "Alien" terminology is not some emotional made up word, it's a real term that America calls any non-citizen.

[kamaal]

>>I know a lot of people from Sikkim regularly get asked where in China are they from.

Every one has their own axe to grind based on what they want out of life. But this is plain ridiculous. Discrimination exists on every country on earth.

Every one who is following US elections and speeches from a particular candidate knows what is happening there. Racism has and may be will always exist due to identity consciousness among humans.

On an average US probably has the same levels of this sort of racism as much as there is in India.

[option_greek]

I guess most of it has to do with education. I genuinely had no idea that there people in Inda who look different than what I see around me till I was in my late teens. I guess its lot better now with the internet but diversity education won't hurt.