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Originally posted by Prolet
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Like I mentioned in my previous post, the majority of Macedonian-Americans are members of the Macedonian Orthodox Churches in their respective communities. These churches all fall under the American-Canadian Macedonian Orthodox Diocese (ACMOD). There are some MPO members that are members of both our churches and the MPO, but most MPO members are not members of our churches, but rather attend Orthodox churches that fall under the Orthodox Church of America, which also includes a Bulgarian Diocese. Fort Wayne, Indiana is home to MPO headquarters and to St. Nicholas Orthodox Church, which is under the Bulgarian Diocese of the OCA and where many MPO members call home. Many other churches attended by MPO members fall under the Bulgarian Diocese of the OCA as well. The ACMOD may have flaws, but it is still the leading representative of the majority of the Macedonians in America.
It is also true that some MPO members who have a strong Macedonian conscience have helped in building and supporting our churches and are involved in the Macedonian communities. ... but the MPO, as a national organization, has not.
The majority of MPO members are Americanized. One only has to look at their website to see what I mean. Some of my Macedonian friends who have attended their events found them to be very strange, Americanized, and not very Macedonian. If you speak to Macedonians who were in the US in the 60s and 70s, they'll tell you of the very Bulgarian nature of their conventions and dances - this is one of the reasons that led to the large amount of MOC churches being built in the USA in the 60s after the MOC declared autonomy from the SOC in 1959. This is also the reason why these churches have become cultural/community centers for the Macedonians in America. In my opinion, they saved the language, traditions, folklore, connection to Macedonia, and the religion. The rise of the ACMOD also led to the death of the MPO's power in the United States. Their membership has been dwindling and becoming more Americanized year after year....
What the MPO does have is political connections and old wealth. In my eyes though, that wealth and those connections will do the Macedonian cause no good when they have published so many documents that are anti-Macedonian. Documents that claim we are Bulgarian under the name "Macedonian" Patriotic Organization are very disturbing to read... especially when you are at your university library and you come across one that has been donated by the MPO. The fact is, even if they changed right now and completely turned into a Macedonian organization, it is far too late. They can't erase their past and the anti-Macedonian speech, actions, and writings they have been spewing for the last 100 years.
There was never a need to even try and get them to come over to the Macedonian side and see the light. They have a very small population of members and a strong Bulgarian element that is still strong and thriving. The only reason that I can think of why anyone would want to work with them is to receive money and connections from them. How does that help the Macedonian cause?? It doesn't. It only helps your own personal cause and at such a large scale it's very very very detrimental to the Macedonian cause.
Representatives of the UMD - please do not claim you were hopeful that they would change and you didn't know it would come to this because if that is the case you should not be leading an organization that represents the Macedonian-American community. If you don't know the history of your own part of the diaspora, then you have no business leading any of us.....someone needs to lead you.
Often times I wonder why members of the government of the Republic of Macedonia have attended their events and served as speakers at their conventions. Do they not care? Do they also agree with what the MPO promotes???
As far as how many Macedonians live in the USA....I don't think the census numbers for 2000 for Macedonian-Americans are accurate (38,051 Macedonians). The American Community Survey estimates our population to be 50,719. This year's census may also not accurately reflect our population because Macedonians will have to write in Macedonian next to Other Race. I imagine many will be confused and only check off White. The USA puts more emphasis on Race rather than Ethnicity like I've noticed is done in Australia. Ethnicity questions in the USA are now limited to responding with if you are Hispanic or non-Hispanic. The major hubs of our community are Detroit, Indiana/Chicago, Ohio, New York state, New Jersey, and LA/Florida/Arizona/Other areas. I think it would be safe to say that we have at least 100,000 Macedonians in the USA.
We all see it for what it is.
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