Oliver’s ‘immigrant crush’

Ok, the only reason I mention John Oliver is that I have a 2nd great grandmother with the name Oliver... And I have been researching that family name. It's the family I have been researching in New Orleans. (No luck so far, I'm disappointed to report.) Actually, as I write this, I realized I was surprised to find another female Oliver in my tree the other day, on a different branch... I need to do some research, but both women are far enough back that finding them is difficult.Makes me wonder how big the Oliver 'clan' is. Hmmm.

I'm interested in his statement about his son growing up with an American accent... He expresses his concern in a funny way, but I understand his concern that his son is not of the place where he is from. Silly concern, but true. It's like my nieces... they are westerners, not from New England, like their fathers. But, I suppose it'll help them get in to college on the East Coast....

John Oliver is obsessed with America, said David Marchese in New York magazine. The British comedian moved to the U.S. almost 10 years ago, and since then has forged a career out of pillorying America’s worst political excesses and weaknesses. Yet Oliver has developed a deep affection for the country—even if it’s the kind of fondness he once compared to falling in love with a girl while you’re holding her hair back as she’s vomiting. “When you’re not from here, America has an iconic, mysterious allure, and you want to know what it’s like. Then you get here and you realize it is slightly misplaced but that it’s also a more complicated country than anyone gives it credit for.” But he still has an “immigrant’s crush,” admits Oliver. “This is hard for a British person to say, but the principles by which the British were kicked out of this country are the best principles. Freedom of speech is still the best idea. I can call people chicken f---ers on television. I don’t take that for granted.” Oliver has mixed feelings, though, about his newborn son growing up with an American accent. “He’ll belong here, whereas one of the things that I like the most is that I don’t really fit in. There’s a kind of comfort in that.”

Taken from the March 4th edition of the Week Magazine. Man, this week's edition has been a treasure trove of food for thought for me.