Frenemies
She: Looks strangely American.
He: Well, this whole quarter used to be all-American, US-American I mean. This place is the last remainder of that.
She: Yes, that is what I've meant, it looks US-American.
He: It was built before I was born, the G.I.s had built their own little town within the city here. With US shops, their own hospital, their own car dealers and so on.
She: Did you like having them around?
He: Hm, when I was a little boy I was told that they were our friends, protecting us from 'the Ivan', all that hogwash. My mum used to clean in their school, so I guess they put food on our table to an extent.
She: Sounds like there was an 'and then' moment...
He: There was, in the 80s, the NATO Double-Track Decision. All of a sudden Pershing IIs were hauled through our port. I was only 13, but I skipped school to demonstrate. It was then when I realised that the USA are not a force of good, but as selfish as any empire.
She: And today?
He: I try to be as unbiased as possible towards US citizens. I made friends among them, good friends. I cannot hold people accountable for the place in which they were born. Loosely based on Sting's old song, I'd like to say 'I hope the Americans love their children, too'.