Why have we allowed ourselves to become the hyphenated society? African-Americans, Asian-Americans, Irish-Americans, Mexican-Americans blah blah blah. Why do we not identify ourselves first as Americans (if we must be hyphenated)? American-African, American-Irish, etc. I believe a lack of interest in being "American" is causing many of today's 'issues,' whether they be racial or otherwise. Am I the only person who believes this?
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Name : Andrew C., Gender : M, Race : White/Caucasian, Age : 30, City : Dallas-Ft. Worth, State : TX Country : United States, Occupation : Educator, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, Yes, you ARE the only person who believes this because it's an obsession, it seems. It's not reality. I would love to think of myself as an American, but when I walk into the boardroom or an interview, I become a black man. How do I know this for sure? Here is one of many examples: #1) I live in Wisconsin and I had a GREAT business relationship with people in our Atlanta office for 5 years before we had actually seen each other. We spoke on the phone all that time, or email. My Atlanta reps finally came to Wisconsin to meet with me and have drinks after work, and when I met them at the receptioinist desk, they looked at me as a child would look if they were expecting a playstation and instead got a box of coal. Every good thought they had about me went out the window, and when they returned to Atlanta the next day, and their secretary called me, she said that all they talked about was they fact that all this time, they thought they were talking to a white guy. My being black made a difference from then on. They've been cold to me ever since. So, long story short, society forces the hyphens on us.
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Name : Darnell, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Gay, Race : Black/African American, Religion : Christian, Age : 39, City : Milwaukee, State : WI Country : United States, Occupation : Attorney, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Upper class, Oh, lord, not ANOTHER white person trying to tell grown ass people what to call themselves. Who are YOU to tell anyone what to call themselves? I happen to be an AFRICAN AMERICAN woman...a BLACK woman of AFRICAN descent. I am far from being 'just an American'. My African/Southern heritage is important to me, and I will proudly acknowledge that part of myself, whether anyone, white, black or otherwise, likes it or not. As for my 'interest' in America, this is my home, with all it's flaws. Trust me, if I didn't want to be here, I wouldn't be. Lastly, this is America...land of the free, home of the brave...where a man or woman is FREE to refer to him or herself any way he or she damn well pleases.
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Name : Rhonda-P-Outlaw29981, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : Black/African American, Religion : Lutheran, Age : 43, City : Laurelton, State : NY Country : United States, Occupation : Account Representative, Education level : 2 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, We have become a 'hyphenated society' because American society has hyphenated us. It partial stems from the implementations of Affirmative action. Only in America is you race 'attached' to your country. You would not hear of an African-Asian, or Hispanic-Asian, or for that matter...African-African. There are many 'black- British', however, you never hear them claim to be 'Black-British'...They clearly state that they are just British. This should be a clear indication that we still have a long way to go before we can become 'One nation'
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Name : Audrey, Gender : F, Race : Black/African American, Religion : Christian, Age : 36, City : Tampa, State : FL Country : United States, Occupation : Diversity Consultant, Education level : 4 Years of College, Social class : Upper middle class, Yeah, I agree. Sometimes I want to ask people, 'Were you born in______?, Have you ever been to ________? If so, didn't they think you were an American?' Well, be happy with that. If you're like most of us, even a handy portion of recent immigrants, you've probably got a nice healthy mix of ethnicities in your background. I know I do.
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Name : Vail, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : Mutt, Religion : Atheist, Age : 40, City : Philly, State : PA Country : United States, Education level : 2 Years of College, Social class : Lower middle class, There isn't even a rule to this. People born here are hyphenated. People who immigrate here are hyphenated. People who are 1st generation or 5th are hyphenated. Since not everyone is seen as one and the same in America, this will hyphenation will continue until we all are.
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Name : Dena, Gender : F, Race : Black/African American, City : Chantilly, State : VA Country : United States, I too feel the same way. You are not alone.. I too am an American first. From there, I'm a Jewish, Polish mixture... So that makes me American-Polock-Jew.
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Name : Novak T., Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Christian, Age : 35, City : Morrow, State : GA Country : United States, Occupation : Ramp Agent / Ramp Rat, Education level : 2 Years of College, Social class : Lower middle class, You aren't the only one to hold that opinion, but I would like to offer a different perspective. When you see they hyphens, you assume that people are trying to categorize themselves as something other than plain old Americans. When I see the hyphens, I see people trying to categorize themselves as Americans in a country that has a long history of categorizing non-WASPs as something other than Americans. For example - until recently Mexican-Americans were commonly refered to as Mexican or Spanish. They weren't called Americans. By hyphenating Mexican-American, people were standing up to proclain their American-ness.
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Name : Jennifer31044, Gender : F, Race : White/Caucasian, Age : 30, City : San Jose, State : CA Country : United States, Occupation : Enginner, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, No, you aren't the only one who feels that way. I personally hate when people refer to me as African-American. That is not to say that I am ashamed of my African heritage or my English or Cherokee heritage for that matter. I am an American first, foremost and only. Now, my heritage may be a mix of races, however, I pay taxes for this country which means this place is mine. I'll be damned if anyone hyphenates my citizenship!
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Name : Monika, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : Black/African American, Religion : Christian, Age : 27, City : Houston, State : TX Country : United States, Occupation : Computer Programmer, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, Andrew, why include a continental origination at all? Many folks originating from Asia look more like Europeans. Many 'arabs,' as that term is often loosely used, actually originate in Africa and are not considered African-Americans. I am often referred to as 'caucasian;' I assure you that you cannot trace my heritage to the Caucasus region. Point is, you cannot acurately use the above terms. Why not call a spade a spade? We are Americans. There's no need to use racial/regional terms at all.
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Name : Derrick-H, City : Memphis, State : TN Country : United States, I agree with you. 'African American' my butt. Unless you are BORN in Africa and move to America.... you should not be called AFRICAN American. I have a friend who calls herself German-American because a grandfather 5 generations ago was born in Germany and moved to America. I dont go aroung calling myself English-American. But for some reason.. people always have to have something special.
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Name : Anna, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Christian, Age : 17, City : Memphis, State : TN Country : United States, Occupation : student, Education level : Less than High School Diploma, Social class : Upper middle class, According to what I learned in my psych and sociology classes, we start to notice our ethnicity when we notice that other people treat us differently. Therefore, the first step is to stop labeling others and making them label themselves - as through the census, check a box forms, etc. However, putting American last in the hyphenation actually emphasizes their Americanness. In typical English word order, adjectives come before nouns. Here the noun is American and adjective is Irish, African, etc. In other words, the person IS identifying themself as an American first and foremost.
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Name : Meg, City : Gainesville, State : FL Country : United States, Hyphenation isn't required- it's not a big deal one way or another around here, and so nobody minds. When we say we're 'something-American' (and it's not all the time!) it's just because in the given situation it might seem important to let somebody know your heritage. I think if you aren't around it all the time you might just think it's weird or not be used to it. Also, the word order in this case matters. In most cases 'American' *should* come second. If you say you're an 'Irish American', it's emphasizing the 'American' part. You're saying what *kind* of American you are. If instead you said you're 'American Irish', you'd be saying what kind of Irishman you are. This is my understanding having been around it all the time. If you say I'm an 'Irish American person', it's like saying 'chunky peanut butter sandwich'. You wouldn't say 'peanut butter chunky sandwich'. Chunky is just the *type* of peanut butter, but peanut butter is the type of sandwich. It's just a language thing. It doen't seem to make sense to put 'American' first unless you're an American living in another country. Most of the time if you say you're 'American' (just the single word), it can mean a couple different things. Maybe you're 1st generation, maybe you're multiracial, maybe you have roots to the Revolutionary war, maybe you don't know your immigrant roots, etc.. So it's just about being clear and wat you want to say.
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Name : Paul-W, Gender : M, Age : 21, City : Chicago, State : IL Country : United States, Social class : Middle class, I don't think the use of hyphens in people describing themselves is causing many of today's issues, rather it is those issues that cause people to use the hyphens. America is a country of immigrants, with the exception of Native Americans (although even they immigrated from Asia and the South Pacific). People have emotional ties to their pre-American heritage that cannot, and should not, in my opinion be denied. America has a diverse, multi-cultural heritage that is unparalleled in the world. This could be our greatest asset, if we choose to make it such. But in order to do that, we have to be willing to accept and respect our differences, as well as appreciate the positive aspects of our many different cultures. In my opinion, much of the racial tension in this country results from attempts throughout American history to exclude differences and the historical lack of respect that is given to other cultures. Basically, only when all Americans truly feel unequivocally American, will the hyphens disappear.
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Name : Alicia, Gender : F, Race : Black/African American, Age : 30, City : Raleigh, State : NC Country : United States, Occupation : IT Manager, Education level : 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, It is white mainstream America that keeps pointing out how different everyone is, especially people of color. When is the last time you heard a statistic that wasn't broken down by race, ethnicity, or nationality? It almost always is, unless of course it's a problem that affects mainstream white America more... then I suppose the 'hyphenation' isn't necessary. And let's not even go into the area of racical profiling, where it is clear only a certain group gets pulled over, not ANY American.
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Name : Kristina26253, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : Black/African American, Age : 23, City : DC, State : DC Country : United States, Occupation : Homemaker, Education level : 2 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, 
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