Hyphenated-Americans have GOT to go!

Viewing 15 posts - 61 through 75 (of 89 total)
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  • #30384

    Jim30713
    Participant
    Ask the Nixon Administration.

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    Name : Jim30713, City : East Los Angeles, State : CA Country : United States, 
    #18903
    I had never thought of the American first language but it only makes sense. I completely agree with you that by intentionally and so frequently segregating ourselves it seems to further the divide.

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    Name : Kristina Krueger, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Baptist, Age : 24, City : Muscatine, State : IA Country : United States, Occupation : Social Work, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, 
    #18672

    Joseph-C29101
    Participant
    Andrew, I'm an Asian-American, born and raised in the US. I don't even speak my ancestral language. While growing up, I had a hard time understanding why people approached me in a differently from my caucasian friends. At that point, I was just a child and I didn't see the difference. Everyday I would be reminded, not always in a negative way, that I was different ethnically from caucasians. But the point is, different is different. People are always asking me what country I'm from, and America is not good enough. Isn't it funny using sticks to eat? 'Joe, I love those 'chink' bitches, know any I could meet?' Have you ever been the focus of a racial joke? Even if it's not focused on you but on a racially similar group, it's isolating. It makes you feel like you're different somehow. I'm not chinese or japanese but the words 'chink' or 'jap' make me cringe, my parent's birthland is awful close to those countries. The hyphenated designator gives minorities a group to fall into. It provides a comfort zone for the hyphenated person. Until there is blind quality in this country and I no longer feel like a 'jap' or a 'chink', I feel that hyphenation is a necessity. I AM different, but even if I'm different, the hyphenation tells me that I'm not alone. It tells me that there's more similar people than just me here.

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    Name : Joseph-C29101, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : Asian, Religion : Catholic, Age : 29, City : Killeen, State : TX Country : United States, Occupation : Soldier, Education level : 2 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, 
    #18952

    Pax
    Participant
    When you allow people to remove the hyphen, you're doing so in a patronizing way at the expense of others. You're saying 'It's OK with me if you abandon your culture and take mine.' and that's not what's wanted. Also, I'd be clinging to whatever heritage I can with amerika being so bigoted and agressive. Whatever keeps me from saying I'm an amerikan and taking responsibility for the blunder this government has gotten itself into.

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    Name : Pax, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Bisexual, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Agnostic, Age : 18, City : Portland, State : OR Country : United States, Occupation : Student, Education level : 2 Years of College, Social class : Lower middle class, 
    #14925

    Ajeet Mehra
    Participant
    I agree with you on this subject , unfortunately it is not restricted to the USA . I think this happens when people confuse Race and Nationality. I personally do not think people who are too obsessed with their race to be good citizens. Frankly one should do away with this hyphenated garbage. One could say -I am American of xxxxx ancestry.

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    Name : Ajeet Mehra, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : Asian, Religion : Agnostic, Age : 49, City : Taipei, State : NA Country : Taiwan, Occupation : Businessman, Education level : High School Diploma, Social class : Middle class, 
    #19038

    Andy
    Participant
    I agree with you all the way. If these so called 'Americans' want to live here in our great country, they need to drop the other titles. People can tell their culture (ie Irish, African, Mexican) just by looking at them or talking to them, they dont need to identify themselves by these titles. It is a privilage to be called an American and time to call yourself one. Millions have died so that you may do this, and millions have migrated here so that they can have a chance at a better life.

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    Name : Andy, Gender : M, Race : White/Caucasian, Age : 25, City : Houston, State : TX Country : United States, Occupation : engineer, Education level : 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, 
    #19840

    David25869
    Participant
    I think it was FDR that said 'The biggest danger to our society is the hyphenated-americain.'. But i might be misquoting.

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    Name : David25869, City : Cullowhee, State : NC Country : United States, 
    #14014

    Samit29436
    Participant
    The only ones who can put 'American' as the first part of the hyphenated names are American-Indians. Native americans are American-Indians, south east Indians are Indian-Americans.

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    Name : Samit29436, Gender : M, Race : South Asian, Religion : Hindu, Age : 31, City : Redmond, State : WA Country : United States, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, 
    #36805

    Jamasiel
    Member
    The first word acts as an adjective, a modifier, to the subject of 'American.' This appropriately means that 'American' is the primary point of the statement. The identifiers have to do with the fact that these people do come from varied backgrounds and cultures, and differences should be celebrated. However, it does go overboard when the hyphen becomes everything.

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    Name : Jamasiel, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Bisexual, Race : Mixed mongrel., Religion : Taoist, Age : 32, City : Atlanta, State : GA Country : United States, Occupation : Web Developer, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, 
    #17364

    Constance
    Member
    A northerner most of my life, I currently reside in the southeast. While the south has many attributes I appreciate, I miss the ethnic diversity of the north. As one whose 4 grandparents passed through Ellis Island, when I identify myself as a hyphenated-American, I proudly identify myself with my family and ethnic traditions as well as the fact that I am American (which seems rather obvious). I don't believe one ethnic or racial group to be better than another.'Issues' are caused by intolerance and lack of understanding, not by a label.

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    Name : Constance, Gender : F, Age : 47, City : Jacksonville area, State : FL Country : United States, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, 
    #18778

    Dana-B
    Participant
    I am writing from my own perspective and the culmination of my experiences thus far. I do not claim to speak for any particular group or class of people. Identifying oneself as 'Asian-American' or 'African-American' etc. can be a matter of pride in a country where your traditions and culture are not necessarily shared with those of mainstream American culture. Additionally, I think there are more traditional and divisive reason for the identifications. It would be nice to simply identify all U.S. citizens as Americans. I sincerely hope that in our lifetime this becomes the norm. However, the reality is that race, ethnicity and cultural background affects the even most of the mundane details of life in this country. For example, school performance, employment and economic performance, crime statistics, religious beliefs etc. are tracked by race. Since discrimination has played a major role in America even before the nation's inception, we still feel the repercussions today. Because there are still inequalities, racial descriptions exist. Unfortunately, racism is a daily reality. One?s race can potentially have an effect on whether an individual is denied or given employment, receives preferential or substandard treatment, is denied civil rights, and is adversely affected stereotypical assumptions. Discrimination can make one feel less than human, let alone a less than full fledged citizen. Yes, I have witnessed discrimination against Caucasian-Americans as well. This may sound cliché, but until we are willing as a nation to have an honest and rational discussion about racial and cultural issues, (I doubt this will ever happen), discourage stereotyping (which can be foolish and in many cases harmful) and attempt to educate all children to embrace people based on the character content and not their race, many people will not identify themselves as American first and foremost.

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    Name : Dana-B, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : Black/African American, Religion : Baptist, Age : 26, City : Copperas Cove, State : TX Country : United States, Occupation : student, Education level : 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, 
    #31531

    Steve
    Participant
    As seems to be the case with most labels used in our country, hyphenated American branding was started and is propogated by whites, plain and simple. For some reason unknown to me, white people appear to go to great lengths to categorize people and have been doing this for quitre some time. My guess could be the goal of word playing others down. Here's what I mean. To be an American is the highest in honor one can have as a resident of our country. If you are in a class of say Indian-American or African-American, you aren't all American and thus less than a full American (White). I have never heard the expression White-American or Anglo-American outside of some of the history books I have read. I guess some folks have an agenda and want to push word play in the way PC pushes word play in our educational institutions. I personally get a little pissed when someone refers to me as an African-American. My ancestors were forced here from Africa five generations ago but I have never been there nor do I have plans to visit. As far as I am concerned as well as many of my 'Black' friends and family, we are Americans plain and simple.

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    Name : Steve, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Age : 29, City : Omaha, State : NE Country : United States, Education level : 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, 
    #27288

    Maude
    Participant
    I have asked the same question. I have roots in Ireland, England and Germany, but I refer to myself as an American. It's that simple. Others should try it, they find that it makes their lives a lot easier.

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    Name : Maude, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Age : 45, City : Fort Worth, State : TX Country : United States, Occupation : Sales, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, 
    #27237

    Darby27265
    Participant
    I agree with you. These labels so annoy me. I am 'white' (there we go, another label) but my heritage is so mixed (each grandparent is from a different area of Europe) that I do not identify with one ethnicity or background. Part of me thinks it is a sense of belonging that has folks identifying with their heritage in this way. I dislike many labels because of the way they exclude others. For example, my husband, who some would call African-American (he refers to himself as black)has been known to use the label 'person of color' or 'people of color'. So, since I'm 'white', does this then make me a 'person of no color'??? We've got to draw the line somewhere and just accept that we all have similarities and differences, and we're all people living here in this country. That's my two cents.

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    Name : Darby27265, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Christian, Age : 33, City : upstate, State : NY Country : United States, Occupation : Higher Education, Education level : 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, 
    #25428

    W-Ricks
    Participant
    You seem to want one title, one way of categorizing, and one way of thinking but america doesnt have one people. The hyphen is the least of your problems considering the history of a country you so desperately seek to preserve. It took the blood of all of the races you mentioned, (and a few you didn't) to build this country. Should the people used to build it forget who they are simply because their here, even if by force? What about the people that were here when (Americans) got here? What about the people that this land is supposed to be an oppertunity for? Your laws, policies, and amendments clearly state that this place is for anyone that wants a better life, hyphen or not. i guess the real question is this. when you say 'we' and'ourselves' do you mean white americans exclusively?

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    Name : W-Ricks, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : Black/African American, Religion : Christian, Age : 28, City : college park, State : GA Country : United States, Education level : High School Diploma, 
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