American is not a race!

[benni...]

Discuss.

My and my friends were just doing what friends do (cheefing), and my friend asked me: Why do they call caucasions Americans? He also asked: Why do they call "them" Americans, and the Africans born in America are called African Americans?

Now, Im ususally sensitive when it comes to racial discussions, but I'm ready. What do you think?


Blame Europeans.

[Vermont Red]

As far as I'm concerned, American is a race. A race is a group of people having a common origin. It's true that American's may not have a common biological origin (other than Adam and Eve), but we do have a common intellectual origin. Unlike most other countries, American's are not bound by genes but by an idea. America is an idea and American's are defined by believing in that idea. Some of it is that all men (and women) are created equal, that our leaders serve at the pleasure of the people and that big is good but bigger is better.

Is it perfect? Of course not, but even with the poor choice of the current administration, America still is a beacon to the world. You can come here and all you have to do is believe in the idea of America and it doesn't matter if you are from Kenya or Brazil or Portugal.

I think John Winger said it best.

"We're all very different people. We're not Watusi, we're not Spartans, we're Americans. With a capital "A", huh? And you know what that means? Do you? That means that our forefathers were kicked out of every decent country in the world. We are the wretched refuse. We're the underdog. We're mutts."

God bless America, and everybody else.

[SirManchester]

Cool, I wanna be an American too!

[Vermont Red]

Cool, I wanna be an American too!

No problem. Place your left hand on this ipod and raise your right hand and repeat after me.

I pledge allegience to the idea that it doesn't matter where I'm from, what I believe or what I look like, I can still be an American. I also acknowledge that this pledge can apply to anyone and I accept any and all believers in the idea as fellow Americans.

[benni...]

Nice post VR. Is it possible that you can answer the question that one of my friends asked me?

The way I see it, being American is just an artificial tag. Its all about blood to me. Just like being Native Americans. Why cant they just be American?

Also, VR, the forefathers mentioned in that quote...Wasnt it those same fore fathers who booted the REAL Americans?

[FIFARay007]

I personally am not a fan of the prefix-Americans. By prefix, I mean the African-, Asian-, Italian-, etc prefixes. Now before you go crazy, I'm not talking about the people themselves, I just mean the prefix. If you are an American citizen, then you're an American, plain and simple.

Now while I'm not a fan of PC, I'll stand by people's RIGHT to identify themselves in this manner. Only in the US could people actually get away with it tho. Move to any other country, and see what type of reception you'd get if you wanted to start an American-Italian club or demand that public schools teach in English.

American used to not be a race, but over the years, as VR said, there has been an idea developed that has bought us together under the American dream. This defined the American race.

[SirManchester]

And ideally, everyone on the planet is American.

[United Pumps]

Blood has no relation to where you live (apart from altitude). If you think of yourself as an American then you are an American.

Also, race in general is pointless as it just leads to wars, intolerance and hatred, which gets us nowhere.

I have an American passport, btw.

[Bluto11]

interesting question.

i'm going to say yes. Is French, English, Swedish, etc. a race? why can that be a race and not American? is it because France, England, Sweden etc. has been around for a lot longer?

[benni...]

Blood has no relation to where you live (apart from altitude). If you think of yourself as an American then you are an American.

Also, race in general is pointless as it just leads to wars, intolerance and hatred, which gets us nowhere.

I have an American passport, btw.

So what if you were born over the red sea?

[United Pumps]

So what if you were born over the red sea?
Elaborate.

[Leto]

interesting question.

i'm going to say yes. Is French, English, Swedish, etc. a race? why can that be a race and not American? is it because France, England, Sweden etc. has been around for a lot longer?

Do you consider French, English, or Swede to be racial descriptions? I'd call them nationalities.

I'm going to pre-emptively say that I know that could come across as snide on a reading - it's not meant to be.

[FIFARay007]

So what if you were born over the red sea?

Is that some sort of menstruation joke? :p

[benni...]

interesting question.

i'm going to say yes. Is French, English, Swedish, etc. a race? why can that be a race and not American? is it because France, England, Sweden etc. has been around for a lot longer?

They arent in the same category because [from what I understand, correct me if im wrong] Americans, are what people call native Ameicans. What people think Americans are today, have roots to European nations by blood. The real Americans, do they have roots to other countries apart from Africa and West Indies?

note: If im missing sometihng, please let me know..

[Leto]

Some of it is that all men (and women) are created equal, that our leaders serve at the pleasure of the people and that big is good but bigger is better.

And ideally, everyone on the planet is American.

Assuming that belief in 'big is good, bigger is better' isn't strictly necessary (;)), does that make me, and the rest of Western society, American?

Of course, everybody isn't created equal, but that's another discussion. In its fuzzy form, as above, it's a useful proposition.

[Bluto11]

Do you consider French, English, or Swede to be racial descriptions? I'd call them nationalities.

I'm going to pre-emptively say that I know that could come across as snide on a reading - it's not meant to be.

i see what you are saying, but if someone commits a crime against a French person it is called "racist". definition is a tricky one I think (nationality and race)

They arent in the same category because [from what I understand, correct me if im wrong] Americans, are what people call native Ameicans. What people think Americans are today, have roots to European nations by blood. The real Americans, do they have roots to other countries apart from Africa and West Indies?

note: If im missing sometihng, please let me know..


I'm American. I have roots in European blood (half polish and half irish). evfen europeans have roots in different cultures or areas, it was just a lot longer ago then for Americans.

real Americans as in "American Indians" or "Native Americans"? they came over from Siberia or heck maybe even Europe thousands of years ago.

[Vermont Red]

Nice post VR. Is it possible that you can answer the question that one of my friends asked me?

The way I see it, being American is just an artificial tag. Its all about blood to me. Just like being Native Americans. Why cant they just be American?

Also, VR, the forefathers mentioned in that quote...Wasnt it those same fore fathers who booted the REAL Americans?

I'm not a historian, but I'm pretty sure that there were inhabitants of present-day America prior to 1507 (the earliest reference to this landmass as America). As such, I'm not really certain how the people that are now commonly referred to as Native Americans could properly be referred to as Americans. I'm not an anthopologist, but I would bet that those people had their own terms to refer to themselves as a group. It seems appropriate to me that those people determine for themselves what they are called.

The problem with taking any of this to its logical extreme is that all definitions are arbitrary. Do we really want to go back to the days of quadroon and octaroon? Do we really need to quantify our percentages in order to determine our race. Is Henry Louis Gates, Jr. less black because he discovered that his ancestry is half European?

Should caucasians be called Americans? Only if they are Americans. Anyone who thinks that Americans can only be causcasians is an idiot, and is not really an American to my mind.

As for the forefathers in the quote from the great John Winger, I'm not certain to whom, exactly, he was referring. Certainly the genocide of the indigenous people of this continent is a shameful part of the history of this country. (At least this hasn't been forgotten and the government has allowed those people to build casinos.) There is no justification for the genocide, other than might makes right, the typical means used to establish any country. Seen from space, country borders other than coastlines are not visible. It's all arbitrary. (Except, of course, for Israel, which was granted by G-d.)

Finally, words only mean what they mean by common agreement. Unlike in Earthsea, there is no true name of everything and everyone. Is it really possible for a word to be technically incorrect if there is a general agreement on what it means?

[Bluto11]

if anyone is interested in America Pre-Columbus read this:

http://static.flickr.com/29/67343853_315f3f61fe_o.jpg

don't really agree with all his theories, but it is a good starting point!

[benni...]

I'm American. I have roots in European blood (half polish and half irish). evfen europeans have roots in different cultures or areas, it was just a lot longer ago then for Americans.

real Americans as in "American Indians" or "Native Americans"? they came over from Siberia or heck maybe even Europe thousands of years ago.

That last paragraph, is that fact? That wuold be a trip.

[United Pumps]

Well the first humans were in Africa and they spread by land to everywhere they could and then ended up in completely unconnected landmasses.