As a European immigrant to America, I feel “entitled” to such basic human rights as, oh, I don’t know, health care, a living wage, a good retirement, and other such craziness.
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All writing on this site is copyright of Karolina Stepkowski.
eurobrat 
10/27/2011 at 7:56 pm
You and me both, Karolina! I just dropped by to read a couple of your posts. I like your writing style. It’s really, really good. Blue Girl in Paradise is very clever. I shall be back.
10/27/2011 at 9:53 pm
Many thanks, I’m glad you enjoyed my writing! I posted a link to your Rapture blog on my Facebook page, hope you don’t mind 🙂
11/25/2013 at 6:34 am
I got here through your last satirical post on Miley Cyrus. I truly admire your wit and love your writing voice! It must be interesting viewing America and all her goofs and shenanigans through a European perspective. For a Singaporean, this country sure is amusing, though mostly just downright befuddling.
11/25/2013 at 5:10 pm
karenzai, I’ve lived here in the States for a long time now, and I’m still befuddled by this place. That’s the beauty of being an immigrant! But the nice thing about it is that you’re able to view things from a different perspective, which is interesting to say the least 🙂
Thank you for visiting and reading my blog! I love meeting other bloggers and writers on here, it’s so much fun.
12/05/2013 at 3:02 pm
Thank you so much for your encouraging comments on my pro-life post. 🙂 It’s always great to meet other awesome likeminded folks online! I’d like to invite to answer this question I posted on Quora: “In just one sentence, why are you pro-life/pro-choice?” (http://www.quora.com/Abortion/In-just-one-sentence-why-are-you-pro-life-pro-choice)
Thank you so much and shine on 🙂
12/06/2013 at 7:57 pm
Hmmmm, while I’m sure I’ve really enjoyed your posts, I don’t recall leaving a comment on the pro-life one. We might disagree when it comes to the abortion issue, which is fine 😉
12/06/2013 at 8:18 pm
Haha, I was referring to the post about how “life is what you make it” is false. The post was inspired by pro-life reflections (in particular arguments that abortion is better than letting the kid live a miserable life), though I intentionally kept it vague so it can apply to other stuff, and would be relevant even to people who don’t identify as pro-life, such as yourself! 🙂
12/06/2013 at 8:31 pm
Ohhhh, I see. Yes, I did enjoy that post quite a bit…sneaky sneaky 😉
> Date: Sat, 7 Dec 2013 04:18:51 +0000 > To: missvixiev@hotmail.com >
11/25/2013 at 8:00 pm
Eurobrat. Thanks so much for visiting my blog, Blackbutterfly7. It’s nice meeting you and I hope to catch up with your blog.
11/26/2013 at 7:19 pm
Thanks for welcoming me to your blog, Xena. I will definitely be dropping in 🙂
01/24/2015 at 2:18 am
In the U.S., that’s revolutionary talk.
I’m an American living in the U.K., and I just posted a piece about nationality and culture. If it sparks off a response and you want to post something on the topic, I’ll be happy to link to it. It’s at http://notesfromtheuk.com/2015/01/23/looking-american-on-culture-nationality-and-immigration/.
01/24/2015 at 2:12 pm
I know! To me, these are basic ideas, but when I talk to some Americans, they perceive it as totalitarian Communist thinking…huh?
Yes, I’ve read your blog and Liked it after nananoyz reposted it 🙂 It sums up the immigrant experience very well. There’s no way for me to blend into American society perfectly without erasing an entire portion of my past life…which isn’t going to happen.
02/07/2015 at 5:41 pm
Thanks for visiting my blog!
02/08/2015 at 8:13 pm
And thank you for visiting mine as well 🙂
02/18/2015 at 6:58 am
As a ‘Euro’ born myself, I couldn’t agree with you more! While many things here are fantastic, there are a lot of things that could be improved upon. 🙂
02/18/2015 at 7:29 pm
Yep…and my philosophy is, keep working at it!
11/15/2020 at 9:28 am
Czesc Karolina, I am also Eurobrat – at night – when I stop being a Eurocrat.
I chose my alias back in 2008 – when starting on Facebook on behalf of the European Schools (special multilingual schools for Eurocrats’ Eurokids, allowing them to move parents to move seamlessly across Europe, whilst their kids just switch language). As a second generation Eurocrat, I can only be… Eurobrat – in English.
Then, in 2016, came Brexit and the Eurobrat pun. I poked Brexiters on Twitter both as Eurobrat and Eurobrit, telling them how much they were “little englanders”. They taunted me back, about bragging being a brat – I replied my alias was in Polish (like yours I suppose) and that I was the Brother/Brat of all Europeans.
I discovered your blog early this morning when looking for other Eurobrats – and spent the last 2 hours (it’s 8 am in Brussels) reading your life. We have a lot in common. Starting with a Polish grand-mother. And reasons to celebrate: both Trump (almost) and Dominic Cummings (The guy who invented Brexit) are on their way out. And the vaccineS (there are more coming, I work in Health research) are coming to end the Covid-19 terror… next year.
I recently started learning Polish. Do you want to be my Polish pen pal from over the Pond?
Giorgio – Brussels -Aka Eurobrat
11/15/2020 at 11:25 am
Hi Giorgio! How funny…I actually didn’t realize there was a “Eurobrat” pun or nickname in connection with Brexit. Probably shows you how long I’ve been here over the pond, as you say, and away from European politics. My alias was actually very much created with English in mind, not Polish–although I can see it now that you point it out! Since I’m female, using the Polish version of “Eurobrat” might have been a little odd. I sometimes feel like I’m very bratty for insisting on parts of the social contract which are considered basic in Europe–public health care available for everyone, good wages and retirement–but which many Americans don’t think need to be part of the equation…at least not for other people!
Yes, I’m very much celebrating Trump’s defeat. I can try to be your pen pal, but I have to warn you that I’m not always the best pen pal in the world…I tend to get very busy and distracted 🙂
Some of my attempts to be a pen pal in the past have ended in shameful failure…..
05/03/2023 at 5:16 am
Hi, eurobrat. You recently left a comment on my “No Labels” post that I liked a lot. From what I’ve read, your opinions are very much in sync with mine: I, too, seek a U.S. that has a much stronger safety net than we do now.
Are you planning to blog more frequently now? If so, I’ll be happy to follow your blog.
Cheers,
Annie (annieasksyou)
05/03/2023 at 8:23 pm
I wish I could honestly say that I’m planning to blog more often, but I doubt that will be the case. The happy problem I have is that I’m actually very politically active, and am the communications chair for my county Democratic party…which ironically means I have a lot less time to communicate on my personal blog!! I do appreciate you reaching out to me 🙂
05/03/2023 at 8:35 pm
That’s great: very important work!
10/16/2023 at 3:42 am
Howdy Karolina!
The returns out of Poland look good so far. Here’s hoping that the tide has turned.
Huzzah!
Jack
10/17/2023 at 8:35 pm
Yes! I agree, this has been very exciting news! At least some of the right-wing religious fanatics have been sent packing. I was also very happy to see record turnout of women and young people. As you like to say, huzzah!
10/19/2023 at 5:23 am
The authoritarian’s worst nightmare come to life, record turnout among women and young people. Really, authoritarian kryptonite. It’s too bad that young people are such a fickle voting bloc, but it is an age thing. Of course, threats to the rights they grew up with or dreamed of coupled with the deteriorating climate will motivate just about any fickle voter to the polls. Here’s hoping for more of it around the world.
Huzzah!
Jack
10/19/2023 at 6:08 pm
Oh, for sure. For years now, I have been frustrated with how disengaged young Polish women have been when it comes to politics, considering with how that religious regime has been trampling on their rights. It seems that they have finally realized they need to come out and vote (and, much like young people here, that the alternative they will be voting for will not always be their ideal choice). I’m relieved.
10/20/2023 at 6:08 pm
Abortion has been in the news a lot in Poland in the last ten years, if I remember correctly with protests, proposed stricter legislation, and court rulings tightening requirements. Right? Sometimes it is hard to keep the facts straight. But, I think the fight over abortion specifically has been brewing for some time.
Abortion and birth control pills have long been political tender. I’ve always thought it was because conservatives feared the pill, especially, would allow women to have sex like men do, you know, without fear of consequences. They see pregnancy as just being an extension of the “punishment” that freewheeling sex will have and thus want to force women to endure it.
I’m glad to see Polish people galvanizing around women’s issues and voting for them. Perhaps the recent legalization of abortion in other conservative Catholic countries like Mexico and Ireland has inspired them.
Huzzah!
Jack
PS I would point out that I posted an article about the effects of #COVID19, Poland’s attacks on the rights of women, and the long slow slide towards rejection of the authoritarian populace party, https://wp.me/p7vabV-99t
10/22/2023 at 12:27 pm
Thank you! Yes, the restrictions around abortion have become quite draconian in Poland, so much so that they have led to the deaths of Polish women.
Of course…the same has happened in some American states!
And I agree about the right-wing fear of women’s sexual freedom…how many times do right-wingers respond to the abortion issue with “Well, you should have just kept your legs closed”? Of course, they don’t want women to be able to keep their legs closed when THEY want something…it’s all about power.
10/22/2023 at 10:53 pm
Howdy Karolina!
What is the definition of a conservative? The quiet certitude that someone somewhere is doing something they ought not to be doing? Something like that.
At its heart is distrust of instinctual behavior and the need to control. Of course, when you distrust everyone’s instinctual behavior, you want everyone to follow your instruction. It is inherently narcissistic.
Huzzah!
Jack
10/26/2023 at 9:20 pm
I love that definition of a conservative, and how appropriate now that we have Mike Johnson in a position of greater power. I know there are looooots of things he believes people ought not to be doing….
10/27/2023 at 3:12 am
His list of legislation limiting those things is long; his list of things to stop people from doing is longer. He’s one of those end-of-days Christians who are trying to speed the second coming along by making things super terrible here on earth like the omniscient all-powerful god that they profess to believe in can be so easily manipulated.
Anywho, don’t get me started or I’ll have another blog post to right.
We can find comfort, though, in the Polish and Argentinian elections, though.
Huzzah!
Jack