your expatriate status shouldn't have anyting to do with the validity of expressing your opinion
What I mean is that it matters more to me -- because in the US I'm not primarily an American. People are Californians, or New Englanders, or Texans, or whatever. But here "Californian" or "San Franciscan" aren't meaningful terms except among other American expatriates, so to most of the people I meet I'm an American. I actually thing that as a person more likely to be called "American" on a day to day basis, my opinion should bear more weight.
no subject
What I mean is that it matters more to me -- because in the US I'm not primarily an American. People are Californians, or New Englanders, or Texans, or whatever. But here "Californian" or "San Franciscan" aren't meaningful terms except among other American expatriates, so to most of the people I meet I'm an American. I actually thing that as a person more likely to be called "American" on a day to day basis, my opinion should bear more weight.