Charlie Chaplin’s statement of renunciation
“It is not easy to uproot myself and my family from a country where I have lived for 40 years without a feeling of sadness. Since the end of the last world war, I have been the object of lies and vicious propaganda by powerful reactionary groups who by their influence and by the aid of America’s yellow press have created an unhealthy atmosphere in which liberal-minded individuals can be singled out and persecuted.”
Williamson Daily News – April 22, 1953
Charlie’s statement after being bei banished from America
“Whether I re-entered that unhappy country or not was of little consequence to me. I would like to have told them that the sooner I was rid of that hate-beleaguered atmosphere the better, that I was fed up of America’s insults and moral pomposity.”
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Looking at the newspaper clipping, I didn’t have to read between the lines to see who was being vitriolic with their commentary, and who was just explaining his intentions. Of course, this was all just about smack dab in the middle of McCarthyism, and Charlie Chaplin wasn’t the only victim of this kind of persecution.
Seems the more things change, the more they stay the same.
@mjh49783, amazing, isn’t it. So much has changed and yet the article could just as well have been written today!
And from Chaplin’s reaction to the new that the US has revoked his re-entry permit:
“Whether I re-entered that unhappy country or not was of little consequence to me. I would like to have told them that the sooner I was rid of that hate-beleaguered atmosphere the better, that I was fed up of America’s insults and moral pomposity.”
Well, quite. As a “covered expatriate”, I empathise completely. Plus ça change…
I can be named and shamed for leaving the US to return to ageing family. I have to wear an IRS form-8854 ankle-bracelet for ten years after leaving. I receive worse tax treatment on US investments than other ordinary non-resident aliens. I cannot use several articles of the US tax treaty with my country. I am technically (but maybe not actually) excludable from the US under the Reed act. If Ex-PATRIOT passes will be permanently excluded.
This is the sort of treatment one might expect if a criminal. I get it because I studied, worked hard to be successful, saved diligently for retirement, and followed US tax law to the letter while doing so.
Another thing about the clipping was that Mr. Morfit made the claim that Charlie Chaplin ‘took’ America’s money…..What? Did the famous Charlie Chaplin just sit on his duff and was showered by America’s money and generosity? Or, did he work for his money, just to be shit on by the system, all because he had an opinion that was not ‘acceptable’?
I guess the one thing that Charlie Chaplin had going for him was that he could just go home as a British subject, and leave that craziness behind. Meanwhile, I cannot truly ‘leave’ that system of insanity in every way that matters until I renounce at a US consulate, and that is simply because of where I was born.
And to just think….all that time I was growing up, thinking that the US was ‘the place to be’. Shoot! All I’ve learned here is that they can shelter us from the truth pretty well at that young an age, and that looking at things through rose coloured glasses is just another way of burying our heads in the sand, instead of recognizing the monster for what it truly is.
….or, is the money is question supposed to be America’s money, and Charlie was merely being given permission to spend it?
If so, then I have one word to say to that: Yuck!
To be clear, Charlie Chaplin never acquired (naturalized to) U.S. citizenship, which is one of the reasons why he was accused of being a communist during the unfortunate McCarthy period of American history.
@Eido INOUE, yes, and that’s why the US press also accused him of “renouncing America” instead of attacking him for renouncing citizenship.
@Watcher, I’ve had been thinking about including the banishment part, so I just included it as well as adjusting the title to show the part which I took from the text.
I still find it unbelievable that he was banished. That’s just so unreal! Yet, it shows me that not much has changed in America and that America has a dark side that I was unaware of while living there.
Julius Dassin was an American film director who was blacklisted by Hollywood in the McCarthy era and consequently moved to France. Prior to his banishment from the US, some of his films included: Brute Force, The Naked City, and Thieves’ Highway:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jules_Dassin
As a result of the family’s exile to France, the children grew up in Paris and a son, Joe Dassin, became a popular French singer. Here is one of his hits, still well-known in parts of Europe:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bHUH8cP7p90
Moral of the story: life is what you make of it, including in exile.
Geraldine Chaplin, the actress and daughter of Charlie Chaplin, was born in the US and moved to Switzerland at age eight. She may still be an American citizen. The Swiss tabloid “Blick” published an interview with her in today’s edition. Below is a translation concerning her desire to obtain Swiss citizenship:
Blick: “You grew up in Vevey and live today still in the French area. Is Switzerland your home?”
Geraldine Chaplin: “Oh yes, it feels here something like home – even if I still only have a foreigner’s ID with permanent residence. Give me finally a Swiss passport, the Chaplins belong here! Since my parents were thrown out of the USA, Switzerland is our home.”
http://www.blick.ch/people-tv/international/geraldine-chaplin-70-fuehlt-sich-hier-zuhause-schenkt-mir-endlich-den-schweizer-pass-id3608510.html
I wonder what kinds of problems she might be having with the US government, at age 70.
LIKE HIM OR HATE HIM ,HE DID TAKE AMERICAN MONEY AND LOT’S OF IT . BUT NON CAN TAKE AWAY THE FACT THAT HE WAS A GREAT ACTOR. . GOD BLESS HIM