The post, “This is Gaining Popularity: Do Not Ruin State By Voting For Policies That You’re Escaping,” brought out the fact that if you come from somewhere else because you hated it “there”, don’t keep doing the same dang things “here.” Commenter OldNHMan, like many others, picked up on that same theme.
But from a slightly different aspect(emphasis mine, slightly reformatted):
As I have commented elsewhere on a related post, people do not seem to understand the concept that the US is not a homogeneous culture. There are at least 50 distinct cultures just as there 50 sovereign states. (Actually, I would have to say there are many more than 50 distinct cultures because some states ‘host’ more than one.) There is some common culture among the states as it is what helps bind us together as a nation. But there are differences in culture across the nation, something that makes the various states interesting. But some visitors/new residents see the differences here, and rather than embracing them, try to eliminate them.
There is an old term that defines these types of folks: Ugly American.
The original definition generally applies to Americans visiting foreign lands, that definition being:
” An American citizen that visits a foreign country and views everything from an American standard, refusing to acknowledge local culture and standards. Because of this ethnocentric viewpoint, the American is often ignorant to or dismissive of the foreign culture and is perceived as rude.”
However, that definition can be applied to those from away who come here to visit or to live.
They expect New Hampshire to be just like wherever it is they came from, but feel uncomfortable because of the differences, so they try to make “here” more like “there”. It isn’t necessarily a conscious decision, but unless brought to their attention they won’t make the connection.
Perhaps not a conscious decision but sometimes it is, like Dem NH State Rep Cynthia Chase’ outburst a few years ago when the Free State Project announced that it was time to do The Move to NH:
“What we can do is to make the environment here so unwelcoming that some will choose not to come, and some may actually leave. One way is to pass measures that will restrict freedoms that they think they will find here.”
And her sidekick Zandra Rice-Hawkins of Granite State Progress at the time; both have worked to turn a formerly Red Conservatarian State whose residents just wanted to be left alone to a Collectivized monoculture Blue one.
THESE are the kind of folks who rightly can be called Ugly Americans.
