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This is a bit much. People from Mexico refer to themselves as Mexican, although they too are residents of North America.
People from Columbia are Columbian, although they reside in South America.
People from the United States of America are American, that's how it's been and will continue to be. Taking offense to that or calling us arrogant is just ridiculous.
It's accurate to say that I'm from the US.
I don't say that I'm from America because it's exclusive and it dismisses others from the same continent.
Or do what I do when asked where I'm from.... I tell them I'm from the greatest country in the world! Funny thing is no one has ever thought I meant Columbia or Canada
It's arrogant, albeit not unusual, for people from the US to think so highly of themselves that nothing else on the rest of the two continents matters.
Well, those people (in North America, anyhow) are either Mexican, or Canadian, and that's how they define themselves. They both call us Americans.
Far worse than using the shortened form "I am an American" is spending the hours you have on this planet looking for trivialities over which to start nonsensical arguments based on false presumptions.
I have lived in the U.S for many years and I love it. I have different insight into this topic. I am British and a native English speaker and fully understand the OP's questions because I experienced the same thing upon arriving in the US.
I was first baffled by the American phenomenon of identifying some potential ancestry. Immigration and migrations happen all over the world and has been occurring during the same time-frame as US immigration. You know, other places are multicultural too, not just the US. Yet I only hear this form of ancestral identification in the US.
I meet people and they ask where I am from. I tell them and they say, Oh well I am Irish (or whatever, this is a frequent example). I say "Oh, where were you born, are your parents from Ireland, how often are you there?" Then they say in a thick Southern accent, "oh well I think some great grand uncle or something was Irish".
You can understand why this strikes some as odd. I thought it was really weird at first. And yes, there is a difference with Nationality and ethnicity. But I think some people are unclear about the definition. If you grew up with ethnic Russian parents in Brighton Beach, you could certainly say I am American with Russian ethnicity. That is an ethnic enclave. If you grew up in Tennessee to parents from North Carolina and go around saying you are Scottish, European people will think you are weird.
I think that some people just say things without really thinking about it. All cultures are diverse. Someone from Naples and someone from Rome are both Italian by nationality and culture, but there are major cultural differences. Same with the US.
Someone from New Orleans is culturally different from someone from the Pacific Northwest, but hey you are both American with different cultural variations just like someone from Paris versus someone from Provence.
The rest of the world refers to people from the US as Americans. So I don't see the argument there. It is just how it is done. The US has a great culture with so many interesting things. Look at the food alone, Cajun, Tex-Mex, Philly Steals, Wings, Burgers, Southern Cooking, New England crab cakes. It is all around you. And it is delish!!!!! Culture is not just food, it is a similar way of thinking and similar values. I love the American focus on being independent and self sufficient. I also love how MANY Americans are open to being respectful of other cultures even when those cultures are not so accepting of American values. It is dignified.
I will be a citizen this year and will be happy to say I am American.
American culture is something to embrace. So quit worrying about if you MIGHT have had some Celtic ancestors a 1000 years ago and enjoy what you have and who you are now. :-)
Ah, another Anti-American thread disguised as intelligent discourse.
I don't know anybody who talks about themselves the way you claim they do. Most people I know call themselves Americans. If you ask specifically what their background is they'll be happy to give a rundown: Irish, French, Italian, African, etc.
The only time Americans might lie about being American is when they're traveling to Europe where the locals treat Americans badly because of their own ignorance, small-mindedness, and misconceptions they've been bred to believe.
Quote:
Do Americans know that people in the other countries they claim to be from are laughing at them thinking they are stupid for saying they are from there?
Americans don't care what small, irrelevant countries think of us. Sorry.
Maybe Europeans should focus on bettering your own countries instead of constantly obsessing about the US and what the Americans are doing, thinking, eating?
Quote:
Originally Posted by Mightyqueen801
Far worse than using the shortened form "I am an American" is spending the hours you have on this planet looking for trivialities over which to start nonsensical arguments based on false presumptions.
It's accurate to say that I'm from the US.
I don't say that I'm from America because it's exclusive and it dismisses others from the same continent.
Ok here is how the world works. Every place I have traveled when I have been questioned about my nationality I have, without exception, been asked if I am an American. I suppose in your hypersensitive condition, would say no, I am from the US. There are only a handful of pc crackpots who think as you do.
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Funny thing is no one has ever thought I meant Columbia or Canada
