[Leanne]

i dont think our culture is mature enough in its opinions/thoughts/and ability to discuss race and culture, to be willing to call every one just plain Americans. Also many people dont want to loose their connection to their family history, their culture’s strengths and triumphs and the hyphen is a way not to loose sight of an important part of ourselves, a part that gets ignored by the word ‘American’ The lable American has not expanded to include the diverse population that America is made up of. The ‘all american’ image does not include many of us. Being ‘American’ seems to mean assimilating into mainstream white culture which is not what it truly means to be an american and would require many of us to deny parts of who we are. I think as America matures (hopefully we will) we will be able to see ourselves as one united group, as for now i dont believe we have the courage and humility to do that. I too get frustrated by the hyphens and i do what i can to help America be inclusive to ALL its members. I am not sure what you mean when you say ‘a lack of interest in being ‘American’ is causing many of today’s issues. Explain? Leanne 100% Bi-racial!!!!

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Name : Leanne, Gender : F, Race : I'm a mutt!!, Religion : Christian, Age : 22, City : pleasant hill, State : CA, Country : United States, Occupation : artist, Education level : 2 Years of College, Social class : Lower middle class, 

[Dar]

I just read your comment and I’m surprized you have not heard from anyone yet. But I think it’s a matter of being proud of your heritage, when it comes to individuals. However, as a group, using hyphenation just divides us. A person born in Sweden is Swedish, in Africa – African, in America – American.

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Name : Dar, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : Black/African American, Religion : Catholic, City : Detroit, State : MI, Country : United States, Education level : 4 Years of College, 

[Ruth R]

I agree with you; however, since I can fight ’em, I’ve joined them. On all forms when asked my race I enter European-American… At least I get to annoy the person trying to input the information!

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Name : Ruth R, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : European-American, Religion : It's my own sense of human wholeness, Age : 64, City : Long Beach, State : CA, Country : United States, Occupation : Self-employed Bookkeeper, Education level : 2 Years of College, Social class : Upper middle class, 

[Sara]

I completely agree with you. I tried to figure out once how I would have to hyphen my nationality/ethnicity, and ooooohhhhh my! Italian-Irish-Rusian-Native American. That’s fun huh? I prefer to be called American and proud to be called so.

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[kal]

No, you’re probably not the only one that thinks this way, but this belief may have something to do with ‘today’s issues’ (?). The growth of our hyphenated society may derived from the fact that in many parts of this country people still have, lets say, a homogenous view of what an American is. Where you see division, I see a commonality, as shown by how we felt immediately after 9/11. It’s still there. The hyphenation reminds us that in spite of our differences we are all Americans based on ideals (see Declaration of Independence). Still a work in progress.

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Name : kal, Gender : M, Race : Asian, Age : 40, City : hoboken, State : NJ, Country : United States, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, 

[Rene Mesa]

You probably could discover the answer to your question yourself, by researching topics such as ethnicity in society or the history of ethnic groups in America such as Asian, black or Mexican-Americans. There are many text books on the subject especially in the field of Social Work. I know because I am a Social Worker, and it was a major part of the curriculum when I was in graduate school. Furthermore, it’s interesting that I came across your question, because this girl that I am sleeping with has the very same position as you, ‘Love it or leave it’. Man that’s one old school white boy way of thinking (just look back to the 60’s during the Vietnam war), and in fact is the very reason people have the need to identify their ethnic origin first. It’s complicated and cannot be explained very easily to someone with such extreme opinions. What I can tell you, is that the answer lays in having an understanding and a general concept of: ethnic minority and majority populations; racism, discrimination, oppression, including those groups that experienced these things and at what points in American history. On a very practical level it’s also about pride and identity. I would say that someone who had no interest in identifying themselves beyond just American or white either #1 probably has no clue as to their own personal make-up, or #2believes that the only real Americans are white people. Well that’s all I have for now . Get back to me. ~~peace~~

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[Raquel]

I agree that the country has gone too ‘slash happy’ (meaning the slash in between the hyphenated ethnicities with ‘American’). I believe we should just all be Americans, but then people feel as if they aren’t identifying with their ethnicity (as if appearance alone isn’t indicative of their nationality). But, then, again, if we went simply on appearance, all Asians would be Chinese’ instead of ‘Japanese’ or ‘Korean’ because our small-thinking ‘racial-concentrated’ minds won’t bother to differentiate people’s need to belong to a group of people. All Hispanics would be Mexican and not Spanish or Cuban or Dominican. All blacks would be Black instead of African or Aborigine, etc. I guess the hyphens have a purpose, but I’m tired of them. We’re humans who happen to live in America, so I think we should all be AMERICANS.

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Name : Raquel, Gender : F, Age : 31, City : Houston, State : TX, Country : United States, 

[Ray T.]

Other Americans will not let me be a non-hyphenated American. When I meet white or black Americans, they usually ask me: ‘Where are you from?’ I answer, ‘Los Angeles.’ Then they ask, ‘No, I mean, where are you originally from?’ Having been born in Los Angeles, I reply again, ‘Los Angeles.’ Then they ask, ‘I mean, where are your parents originally from?’ They don’t let me call myself ‘American,’ even though my family has been in the U.S. for almost a 150 years.

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Name : Ray T., City : Los Angeles, State : CA, Country : United States, 

[Katherine M.]

I think you’re absolutely right. Everyone is always worrying about their nationality and trying to get more rights b/c they are a minority. People are way too focused on dividing themselves up. It promotes racism + discrimination. I think we all should focus on forgetting these ridiculous difference, quit being stupid + just unite as one nation. America. If you immigrate, there is nothing wrong with being proud of your homeland, that is a good thing + provides our culture with diversity, but you still need to accept this American culture and be part of it, not create these huge division in our society based on nothing but a country.

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Name : Katherine M., Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Atheist, Age : 14, City : Greenwich, State : CT, Country : United States, Occupation : Student, Education level : High School Diploma, Social class : Upper middle class, 

[Mark-S]

Many people get a sense of pride and belonging from their heritage, and would like that recognized in life. There is a definate culture in being Irish, Hispanic, Black, or Native American, but there is not a definate culture in being American. America is a great big melting pot, but there are different ingredients put into the pot to make it what it is. We need to learn to be proud of our heritage while respecting the heritage of others.

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[Hughbe]

I just discovered ‘yforum’ today, and your question is the first one that got my attention. Andrew, I couldn’t agree with you any more! It just burns my butt to hear people refer to — Americans. I may be wrong, but I think that Teddy Roosevelt said that there is no such thing as Irish Americans, German Americans, etc. Either you’re an American or you’re not!

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[Dianni St. V.]

I believe it is good to embrace our hetitage, and yes, a large part of that is that we are Americans. I don’t think we will have a color-blind or culture-blind society until we stop all the talk about it and stop labeling and dividing ourselves into groups of one sort or another, though we should maintain our individuality and our heritage is part of that.

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Name : Dianni St. V., Gender : F, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Catholic, Age : 54, City : Crescent City,, State : CA, Country : United States, Education level : 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, 

[Justin]

Hey I’m with you I came from a middle class family and we did ok financially but when it came to colleg being a average white male I got jacked when it came to scholarships. Because the only thing I had was being white and they don’t have white scholaships as far as I know. Another thing I don’t like is being treated differently from whatever race you want to choose, I work around different people from all walks of life every day and I try to treat everyone equally. Being treated equal is the only way to have a completly unified America, and all this hyphenated crap just keeps us even more seperated, let alone the tv channels such as BET black entertainment television. If whites had a channel named that what would that be???? I believe the only real racism that I see in my corner of the U.S. is either reverse racism or people walking on ice because they are afraid to offend someone let alone the law suits generated from all this.

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[Darren]

So many forums indicate that many white Americans feel as you do. The black Miami Herald columnist Leonard Pitts has made interesting observations on this issue. You may want to e-mail him at lpitts@herald.com or seek his articles on this issue in the archives at http://www.Miami.com. I’ll try to shed light on this issue within the 150-word limit. Race/ethnic labels are often needed for surveys and other purposes. For example, try physically describing someone of another race or ethnicity without referring to the same. It can’t be done. Also, race labels are an effect of racism, not the cause. People choosing labels for themselves such as ‘African-American,’ ‘Chinese-American,’ ‘Mexican-American’ or whatever–which, by the way, is their God-given right–does not cause racial hostility or separation anymore than smoke causes fire. Consider the racial labels(slurs)long in use before the hyphenated ones, the ones ‘nice’ bigots never use–at least not publicly. Again, bigots’ choice labels for blacks, whites, Jews, nonblack Hispanics, Asians, etc., are a product–not a cause–of racial or ethnic hostility.

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[Amy31570]

Personally, I call myself Asian. My own family refers me to as an ‘Asian-American’ simply because I was born in the States. I also believe most of the Caucasians in America are completely and utterly ignorant of everyone else but themselves. The larger percentage of your kind knows nothing about suffering as a minority. You all get paid more, have better jobs, etc. The list goes on and on. I know you are shaking your head now in disagreement, but that’s fine too. It’s expected. You can learn and understand everything you read until you lived it yourself. I am proud to be an American but will not deny and am prouder to be Asian.

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Name : Amy31570, Race : Asian, City : New York, State : NY, Country : United States, Education level : 4 Years of College, 

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