Immigrants

How long does a person need to be established in a place before they are no longer considered a newcomer? In some jobs it only takes a short three months, in some states it takes two years to establish residency, in some countries you need to be born there. If the human race were to venture onto another planet, how long before they felt established?

Humans move around- crossing rivers, mountain ranges, oceans, and eventually space. Yet we have all kinds of biases about newcomers. We distrust new arrivals at work, in our neighborhoods, in our states, and our countries. Yet we admire those who venture into the unknown, who travel outside of the comfort zone.

Humans are strange! Currently we have anti immigrant agendas, we have countries intent on defending their borders, building walls, and imprisoning anyone who attempts to cross. On the other hand we are inviting wealthy, corrupt, and simply interested visitors to spend their money and time to admire what we have and offer.

The saddest part is that we are all one short shift in government from being a refugee. All it takes to lose your place in home and country is to have your government turn on people like you; legislate against your kind, and allow criminals to victimize you without penalty. It can be for what you are, how you look, who your relatives are, or something you posted, something you have, or something you don’t have.

If you had to run for your life, taking only what you can carry, leaving behind every bit of everything you had worked for. Where would you go? Would you go to another state? Would you choose a different country? Or would you buy or finagle your way onto another planet? No matter where you choose, would you tell the new people about your past? Would you give a new group of people that looked at you with more suspicion than welcome, the information that you were running for your life? That your own government had turned on you?

Historically immigrants are motivated by three things; survival, acquisition of wealth, and freedom. My relatives were immigrants, were yours?