Posted by stateofmind on October 15, 2008 at 12:14 a.m. (Suggest removal)

Just-An-American. Oops does that count I mean it does have two of those little horizontal lines in it. Point well taken

Posted by cycloptic on October 15, 2008 at 12:36 a.m. (Suggest removal)

Absolutely right.

When they come here they need to leave all that behind.

Like when a Texan moves to New York or California. He's not a Texan anymore. All that is over. Doesn't matter how much time he spent in the West Texas shinnery. He gets a New York Drivers License, he's a New Yorker. And any kids he has in New York better forget about their family's Texas heritage too. Nothing worse than people trying to bring ridiculous pride and heritage with them.

Posted by irishman74 on October 15, 2008 at 1:40 a.m. (Suggest removal)

Give me a break cycloptic. at first I thought your comment was satire and then i remembered it is after all abilene, so you must be serious. I really hope that you are Native American, because everything else that has to do with your heritage doesn't come from Texas. I dare you to try and produce one! Name it and I will tell you where it comes from. Have they stopped using the word melting pot in Texas schools. I would rest assured saying the Adam wasnt expelled from the garden of Eden in into Texas. Except for July 4th and Thanksgiving, we don't have a holiday that wasn't imported in from another country. And Christmas and Easter, not even Christian holidays. Cattle, cowboys, oil, football, trucks, cowboy hats, racism, ignorance...all imported from somewhere else. So unless you are Native-American, you might want to hang up your hat and move to the reservation. You have a Texas Drivers license, so you must now be a Native-American. And lets be honest, even they came from some where else.

Posted by newguy062 on October 15, 2008 at 2:07 a.m. (Suggest removal)

"Give me a break cycloptic. at first I thought your comment was satire and then i remembered it is after all abilene, so you must be serious."

There's an old cliche they always use in game shows: "go with your gut instinct."

FYI cycloptic; freakin hilarious

Posted by tomg130 on October 15, 2008 at 5:18 a.m. (Suggest removal)

If people spent as much time and energy being proud of the American part maybe folks wouldn't have an issue with them "hyphenation"

Posted by hiloecho on October 15, 2008 at 6:30 a.m. (Suggest removal)

Hey Marjorie, have you examined where this anger comes from? Yes you can be a hyphenated American and still be a legal resident of the United States. Just what is an American in the first place? Are all of your ancestors from America?
From the Urban Dictionary;

As the United States is so large and comprised of so many various immigrants, people often refer to their heritage. Americans pride themselves on the "meting pot" culture, as it has always been a big part of the strength and adaptability of their country as a whole. So an American might say that they are Italian, Polish, Russian or Irish - they do not mean that they are those nationalities, this is usage within the context of America.

Hyphenated Americans tend to have cultures slightly different from mainstream American culture; habits and traditions brought over from the countries their family emmigrated from. Many retain the drinks, food, language, customs,and music of their heritage. They also tend to look like their cultural background...Italian, Irish, Indian, Polish etc... Some Europeans feel that they are aping the culture of European countries, but often they are just acting as they were brought up to act by their European born parents. Whether Irish-American, Russian-American, Italian-American etc...they all share some cultural characteristics with the countries their families left.It really is not such a big deal, all countries with heavy immigration do the same, such as Canada, England, Australia and New Zealand. Americans get the most flack for it though.

There are far more important issues to be angry about unless you live in a very small world of thoughts and ideas.

Posted by Tumbleweed on October 15, 2008 at 7:37 a.m. (Suggest removal)

All this would end if English was the official language. Resulting in all government and business conducted only in English. This would produce a true American common identity. Imagine!

Posted by junebug on October 15, 2008 at 7:42 a.m. (Suggest removal)

"All this would end if English was the official language. Resulting in all government and business conducted only in English. This would produce a true American common identity. Imagine!"

Really? What language do you suppose the first Americans spoke? I guarantee you it was NOT English. English is the language of immigrants. Oops!

Posted by xpez on October 15, 2008 at 8 a.m. (Suggest removal)

Hey Hilecho,

You have a very idealistic way of interpreting ethnic heritage. Too bad it doesnt really work that way.

Unless your parents just stepped off the boat...white skinned Americans are never questioned about their ethnicity. Somehow they get to be "mainstream Americans " as you put it so naively. Even though their bloodline traveled from another country to get here just like everyone else...although a lot of them have forgotten or misplaced their TRUE ethnic heritage. Even Indians who actually are from America are hyphenated - Native-Americans. They don't get to be just Americans even though they ARE.

All others - that look different than white skinned Americans whether they are of African descent, Asian descent, or Indian descent have been categorized by the US census this way.

For many of us that have accepted this hyphenation without question haven't really considered the hyphenation and why it is UNFAIR and STUPID and how it represents how a dominant part of American society has psychologically undermined the minorities of this country by tagging their identity with a hyphen and another country. It's as if these hyphenated Americans can never just be Americans even though their families may have been here for many generations. How long does it take to shed your originating ethnicity and just be American? According to white Americans immediately. For everyone else NEVER.

That's crap. And I will spit in anyone's face if they question my ethnicity as being not entirely - American.

I get infuriated by some who assume, because of my darker skin, that I must be from another country, but my family has lived in Texas for over a 150 years, half of my family is of European descent (spanish) and the other half is of native American descent (darker skin)...plus both of my grandfathers fought in World War 2...

In terms of being a " A REAL AMERICAN" my ethnicity covers two dominant categories to qualify as American...european caucasian descent (like all white people) and Native American descent.

This fact actually makes me MORE American than most "mainstream Americans" because they typically aren't related to people that are actually from AMERICA they are from Europe.

I AM MORE AMERICAN than most "mainstream Americans."

Most IGNORANT Americans would try to call me a Mexican-American because of my dark skin ...but I am not since my family's ancestors were never Mexican nationalists.

Posted by drummerboy on October 15, 2008 at 8:35 a.m. (Suggest removal)

War, famine, pestilence, thievery, child molesters, gang warfare, over crowded prisons, drugs, healthcare abuse, welfare abuse, Obama. Yeah, hyphen american is really something to worry about.

Posted by abileneres on October 15, 2008 at 9:15 a.m. (Suggest removal)

Exactly drummerboy.
Some people are so shallow. What does that matter in the great scheme of things? Really.
Did it matter that CPL Fernandez, who died in Iraq this past weekend, was a hispanic- american or whatever you want to call it?

marjorie andrews needs to get a life!

Posted by lifeson1 on October 15, 2008 at 9:43 a.m. (Suggest removal)

People choose to be identified by their hyphentated name when they want to take "pride" in NOT being a white boy.

Posted by hiloecho on October 15, 2008 at 9:51 a.m. (Suggest removal)

xpez
That's crap. And I will spit in anyone's face if they question my ethnicity as being not entirely - American.

It's hard to argue with ignorance and anger such as yours but have fun living in your arrogant and isolated world of being better than everyone else.

Posted by mizthang on October 15, 2008 at 9:52 a.m. (Suggest removal)

I was wondering who would put politics in this blog.Drummerboy, you need to check some stats before you start typing. I know who you are referring to, but read before you write. You put war, child molesters, drugs, etc. in your statement. Who do you mean? What is your TRUE background? Way to go Abileneres. I'grateful for the things MOST AMERICANS have contributed to the UNITED STATES OF AMERICA!!!

Posted by drummerboy on October 15, 2008 at 9:54 a.m. (Suggest removal)

O.K., so I'm a white Irish-American. Who gives a crap? I never say that. I'm American. Plain and simple. Read my above comment.

Posted by drummerboy on October 15, 2008 at 10 a.m. (Suggest removal)

Wake up and look around you mizthang. Do you really think I was talking about ONE person or ONE country? You're worried about stats when all the things I mentioned are in the news every day. Sounds like you have your head in the sand. You cannot deny what's going on in the world today.

Posted by ropers40 on October 15, 2008 at 10:25 a.m. (Suggest removal)

SO If I included all my heritages to American then I would be a Native American,German,English,Polish ETC ETC.
So actually I am an American-57

I will stick with what I really am, an AMERICAN

Posted by Beforeuask on October 15, 2008 at 10:59 a.m. (Suggest removal)

All hyphens are important when marketing companies want to target certain demographics.

Posted by lifeson1 on October 15, 2008 at 11:52 a.m. (Suggest removal)

Being different, and from different cultures is great. I love Chinese buffet, and salsa. Its just when we start thinking we're better than everybody else, or in Abilene's case, "holier-than-thou", is when we start warring. And yeah, it's a govt. label for demographics. Oh yeah, since we're on race, I was just sitting watching "Boomerang" a Cartoon Network spin-off. A carton was on with that sophisticated tiger,kind of talks like vanity Smurf, real old, dont remember the name. Anyway he was sorting different kinds of greens to cook. He had some collard greens and some other kind. He said "Hmm...guess we'll have collard greens AND greens without the "coll-ard" people". I was like...What? I am dead serious. Did he just make a reference to colored people? I haven't heard that in years. I'm glad my son wasn't paying too much attention. In my house, there are no differences in people. We're all equal humans. Although I was raised in a household where racial comments were made daily, I refuse to have that in my house. I may be screening some of these cartoons from the 40's and 50's for racial content from now on.

Posted by blah_blah on October 15, 2008 at 12:51 p.m. (Suggest removal)

I am American. I was born in America. I have lived in America all my life. Whether i am white, black, brown, green, purple, or yellow, i am American. My ancestors are from Ireland, Scotland, Germany, and many other places, but i am still American. After that I am Texan!!!!

Posted by txldyeagle87 on October 15, 2008 at 12:52 p.m. (Suggest removal)

I totally agreed with Marjorie Andrews and I have felt the same way for years. I have always felt that there was 1 race "Human." And I have always thought that if you consider yourself American, whether you were born American or became a citizen, then you are American. There will always be a split in the U.S.A as long as we ask for race on applications and everything comes multilingual. Most of my ancestry is Native American but I still call myself American. I also have Spanish, French, Irish and German in my ancestry but I still call myself American. I am proud of my ancestry and proud of where my family came from and what they went through to live a life here in the U.S.A. But I am still an American. To call myself anything else would be an insult to my ancestors.
What really bothers me about African-Americans is them calling themselves that. Not all slaves came from Africa, in fact, if you read into the slave history most didn't. They came from other places like Jamaca and Haiti. Records weren't kept very well to know which slaves originally came from where. So how do all the African-Americans know that their ancestors came from Africa?
What is wrong in just being American? You are a citizen of this country, you are American. Why is it so wrong to be just American? I am not ashamed of my heritage, even though one of my ancestors is the man that shot Abraham Lincoln. I am proud to be American. I am proud everytime i see a flag waving. No matter where my ancestors came from originally it doesn't make me less American. That makes me diverse and unique. An individual. I am not prejudice or racist and I didn't raise my kids to be either. I taught my children to be proud of where they came from and to be proud to be American.

Posted by abilene1 on October 15, 2008 at 2:55 p.m. (Suggest removal)

lifeson1 I am with you. I was appalled at some of the cartoons I watched as a child and did not perceive the racial inference, but watching them as an adult was a completely different reality. It is not just the old cartoons either, there all kinds of disturbing, not necessarily racial images and inuuendos in the the modern ones as well. Even the ones that come on in the early evening.

Posted by blahblah on October 15, 2008 at 3:56 p.m. (Suggest removal)

blah_blah---your name is awfully close to mine...weird!

Anyway, mizthang...I did not see anywhere in "drummerboy's" comment where he was singling out any one thing or person. Why so paranoid?

All they were saying is with all the other stuff going on in this world...like rape, murder, gangs, slain troops, kids being molested, elders committing suicide...and on and on, This is what we are worried about? A -hyphen- ?

Geeez!

Posted by dr__dawggy on October 15, 2008 at 4:10 p.m. (Suggest removal)

ah I sense a new group in the making

blahblah-Americans.

Posted by blahblah on October 15, 2008 at 4:27 p.m. (Suggest removal)

funny dr_dawggy...this has been my name since last year I think...LOL

Posted by roberttlaird on October 15, 2008 at 5:09 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Most all Americans are mutts, kicked out of all the other countries. Of course mutts are best
Bill Murry "Stripes"

Posted by wild_bill on October 15, 2008 at 5:24 p.m. (Suggest removal)

According to Manuel Perez, anyone born in the Western Hemisphere has the right to call themselves an American. I guess I can agree with his logic. To me though a hyphen is used to seperate two words implying in some cases a negative prefixor becoming a derivitive of something. Few people in the United States or Canada call themselves "North-Americans". I don't know about folks in Brazil but I doubt they identify themselves as "South-Americans" either.

As far as I am concerned, if you need a hyphenated name to indicate your ethnicity, then you are NOT an American as I see it. Sort of like getting married and keeping your patronymic, but hyphenating it to show your legal linkage to your spouse never made any sense to me either.

Posted by texasblackhawk84 on October 15, 2008 at 5:25 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Too bad it was the "leaders" of the black race who pushed the African-American title onto their people (marking the start of the hyphen American) while at the same time force-fed that same people the word and attitude of victim. I see all the time where people of other races have screamed and hollered for "equality" and to be treated exactly the same as whites, but they insist on using a hyphenated identifier to separate themselves from the rest of us. So answer me this, what in the hell do you want? Are you an American, proud and patriotic, or are you a "something" American, just living here bcause you were taken from your true land? Do you dislike America so much that you have to identify with another country to feel as though you are a part of something special? I have ancestors that go back hundreds of years, my gran was a full blood Powhatan, my great grandfather worked in the British government before coming to America, I can go into 5 other nationalities before I run out of places that could be hyphenated onto American, but the fact would still remain, my ancestors were either born here or came here and made a life for themselves, they all had to learn a new language and way of life, well all but the Brit. I don't consider myself anything BUT American and i'm damn thankful that I am. SO for this Native American-British-Scottish-German-Russian-Italian American, I say to hell with all the hyphens, if it walks like a duck, swims like a duck and quacks like a duck, well it's an American, cause you know we'll take anyone!

Posted by texasblackhawk84 on October 15, 2008 at 5:33 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Hey Wild Bill, I'm one of those people who hyphenates my last name, see my Dad adopted me when I was 13 and gave me his wonderful last name. It was very expensive, so when I got married, I decided that my Daddy would get his moneys worth. I kept the name he paid to give me and added my married name, and then when my daughter was born, I gave her his name too. Now who said a dollar wont go very far?

Posted by wild_bill on October 15, 2008 at 8:58 p.m. (Suggest removal)

texasblackhawk84, I applaud you wanting to acknowledge your pride in your father by using a hypenated name. I was just brought up in a different tradition. We tended to have double first names, not double last names.

Posted by dr__dawggy on October 15, 2008 at 10:19 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Wild Bill : "We tended to have double first names, not double last names."
-----

Billy Bob?

Posted by texasblackhawk84 on October 15, 2008 at 11:50 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Well, I certainly doubled up on BOTH ends of the name thing with my daughter, She has two first names, a middle name and a hyphenated last name. Needless to say, the hospital had a doozy of a time getting all 30 letters on that little bitty line on her birth certificate. Never mind the comments from my mother stating that my daughter would literally hate me when she had to learn to write her name in school. Well, she's 21 now and I guess she got over it, LOL!

Posted by checkingn on October 16, 2008 at 1:05 p.m. (Suggest removal)

texasblackhawk84

"Too bad it was the "leaders" of the black race who pushed the African-American title onto their people (marking the start of the hyphen American) while at the same time force-fed that same people the word and attitude of victim. I see all the time where people of other races have screamed and hollered for "equality" and to be treated exactly the same as whites, but they insist on using a hyphenated identifier to separate themselves from the rest of us. So answer me this, what in the hell do you want? Are you an American, proud and patriotic, or are you a "something" American, just living here bcause you were taken from your true land? "

Where did you get your information from? Our leaders did not chose a title to defind our enthic background. Please show me where the GARBAGE you spew comes from, I would really like to be enlightened. Please dont use youtube or someother off the wall source as a reference.

You act like we all stand around and look for handouts. Yes, I am gainfully employed, served my country 24 years and retired from the USAF 6 years ago.

My 3 children went/are going to college, because my husband and I saved for them to.

When you believe that all people of a certain race are the same, that is called prejudice.

I did not seek out the hyphen, it just appeared one day....You are no longer Black, you are African American....Bull, the only hyphen I will accept is Christian-Texan-American!

blah_blah

"I am American. I was born in America. I have lived in America all my life. Whether i am white, black, brown, green, purple, or yellow, i am American. "

You took the words right out of my mouth! Even the Texan part. God Bless lol

Posted by texasblackhawk84 on October 16, 2008 at 2:36 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Checkingn: I certainly meant no disrespect to any racial group, I did not say everything I wanted to say and therefore missed a great chance to clairify my position.
In the 1980's, Jesse Jackson started referring to the black population as African-American, that is what I was talking about. I also didn't mean to infer that all African-Americans or any other minority group, were poor deadbeats that just waited for a handout, but in rereading my original post, I can see how someone would feel that that was my opinion. Mr. Jacksons position stems from the historical circumstances surrounding the capture, enslavement and systematic attempts to de-Africanize blacks in the United States under slavery, most African Americans are unable to trace their ancestry to a specific African nation; hence, the entire continent serves as a geographic marker. IE: African-American. I personally feel that we should all consider ourselves as American, with no other Nation hyphenated or overshadowing the American part. I have long been a defender of other races and feel that everyone should work together for the betterment of all. My original post also left out my opinion that in this day and age, more than a few black leaders are doing a disservice to their people by not encouraging them to do better for themselves, and I feel that there have been times when the leaders of black society have worked AGAINST their people. Not that I like Obama, but I watched and heard Jesse Jackson refer to Obama as a N****R, on TV no less. How does he look his people in the eye and tell them that they can rise above, but still use such a disrespectful and hatefilled word for a man who is likely to hold a position in the U.S. that 50 years ago was unheard of? I have in the past and still do have many friends who are African-American and I see them work day and night to be successful. There are way too many people, white, black, hispanic and such, who feel that being a victim of the man is a reason to be kept down. There are so many successful black members of society that are setting an example for what can be achieved for anyone of any race to maintain that they "can't get anywhere". Colin Powell, Condy Rice, Robert L. Johnson, George Washington Carver, George Crum, Norbert Rillieux, Garrett Morgan and many others have fought and some have lost their lives to bring the black population to the front of society, and for them to be able to accomplish whatever they wanted to accomplish. Unfortunately, there are those in society of ALL races, who look for excuses to fail and wait for the government to maintain them. I sincerely apologize for offending you, and I didn't mean to sound like I was casting my net over just the black population, my comments meant to include all races.
God Bless.

Posted by fred_face on October 16, 2008 at 3:19 p.m. (Suggest removal)

This Hyphenated American habit is peculiar only to America..My daughter in law is from the UK you don't have African-English or Pakistan-English there...just English...Her kids have said ..We are English-American ...or Half_English...I had to laugh...she tells them .."Get over it..you're American ..Worse you're TEXAN...."..(SHe means it as a joke..she is raising proud Texans...)

Posted by wagamama on October 16, 2008 at 7:36 p.m. (Suggest removal)

txldyeagle87, When I was applying for college back in 1979, I didn't like the choices on the college application for race, so I checked "OTHER" and wrote Human. Yep, I was called by the admissions office and they asked me to be more specific. I said my mother is Japanese and my father is Heinz 57 American, you don't have that choice on there, so I just picked the Human Race.
Hahaha- she didn't think that was very funny. :)

Posted by cmnchaz on October 16, 2008 at 8:42 p.m. (Suggest removal)

I prefer American Mexican

Posted by stateofmind on October 17, 2008 at 4:24 a.m. (Suggest removal)

Oh I am in agreement with you all unless your name happens to be Obama!

Posted by xpez on October 17, 2008 at 6:10 a.m. (Suggest removal)

drummerboy, abilerene, hilaecho...

This is a blog about the meaning of using hyphenation to determine the identity of a particular group of Americans. If someone has an opinion about the subject I think they probably would want to place it here...if they had a comment about War, famine, pestilence, thievery, child molesters, gang warfare, over crowded prisons, there are blogs for those subjects somewhere else.

This subject is important to people if they have had to endure a lifetime of being unduly treated like a foreigner. It may seem petty to those who have never had to deal with ignornant people, bigots, racists and people who dont even know they are racists. But this kind of inequality that is found in our everyday language needs to go away.

Lifeson1..its not about being proud about being different. This is not about self esteem issues....its about having enough pride and knowing the truth about your history to demand that you are considered AMERICAN just as much as the "white boy" since you were born here as your family's generations before you were!!!!

If you were born in America you are American.

If you are a citizen of Mexico you are Mexican.

If you are a naturalized citizen of the USA you are American.

I have to educate people with this issue one by one.

Posted by checkingn on October 17, 2008 at 6:51 a.m. (Suggest removal)

texasblackhawk84

"more than a few black leaders are doing a disservice to their people by not encouraging them to do better for themselves, and I feel that there have been times when the leaders of black society have worked AGAINST their people."

As I have posted before, Jackson, Sharpton, and any other so called "leader of my race" dont speak for me. We dont have the same experiences nor do we see life through the same eyes. I also dont remember voting them the leaders.

Nothing angers me more than when the media put mikes in front of these two shysters and ask them "what a whole race thinks". As I stated before, they did not ask me what I thought, they dont represent me and never will. Number one, I think the question is dumb. I think the time has long passed when anyone person can feel they know the thoughts and conditions of the majority of one race. Again, they just dont speak for me.

I know I stand on many shoulders of those who came before me. But, if I am contstantly looking at what my forefathers (foremothers) suffered, then my life passes me by, bitter and ignorant. I got over it a long time ago when I read the true stories of how they got here.

In the 30 years I've left Abilene, I see our country as a beautiful quilt of diversity. Yes, I have been called "uncle tom" and been accused of "raising my children white" from crab mentality people of my race. But, on my Happiness to do list, the first item is Choose to ignore an insult, because I will not be consumed by negative energy.

Thank you for clarifying, and God Bless...

Posted by exresident on October 17, 2008 at 7:22 a.m. (Suggest removal)

Mexican American? American Mexican?
I thought Mexico was in America...unless my globe is wrong.

Posted by thislittlepig73 on October 17, 2008 at 8:13 a.m. (Suggest removal)

I don't have a problem with just calling us all Americans, or with using the hyphenated versions to indicate other origins if they are fairly recent. There are people who feel strongly about having an identity of African-American or Native American (or others), and that is legitimate. If I moved to China I would not immediately become Chinese and it would not be unreasonable for me to maintain some of my roots by speaking English at home and eating American food. I'd be an American Chinese person. Why do people get so freaked out at those who are legally living in this country, weren't born here, and maintain their roots? On the other hand, there are people like xpez who get referred to as Mexican American, but are more rightly American. Could people just start wearing signs that say how they want to be called? I think both sides are totally legitimate and my biggest problem with this issue is knowing people's preferences so I won't offend them. People who have a heritage in this country are Americans. People who have moved here recently or don't want to forget their roots should be allowed to have a designation for that. They're NOT "just Americans" and maybe they don't want to be. Is that so crazy? Try putting yourself in the other person's shoes, whichever side you're on.

Posted by checkingn on October 17, 2008 at 10:02 a.m. (Suggest removal)

I think the "spokesman for a race" started when my granny (great-grandmother) was young. She was 1st generation non-slave, could not read or write.

She signed her name with an "X". Yes, I knew her, I remember my sister, my cousin, and I going to her house to read the Bible to her everyday. She died in 1983 at the age of 99.

So the time has long passed since any race or human American need someone to speak for them.

Posted by earl on October 17, 2008 at 2:23 p.m. (Suggest removal)

i just go with two descriptions when questioned about my lineage or were from "Heinz 37" and "Texas-American" or maybe one more ,no never mind just the two!

Posted by earl on October 17, 2008 at 2:29 p.m. (Suggest removal)

i will say when i worked in colorado for 2 yrs they really hate Texicans as they call us but they love our money ,they use to raze us Texans pretty hard so one day i asked them "boys ,do ya'll know what colorado is ?" and they said "A darn fine State to live in !" and then i said "Nope ,a piece of Texas we did not want anymore !" man what a ruckus that started !lol

Posted by nmdad on October 17, 2008 at 3:34 p.m. (Suggest removal)

I always consider myself an American because it takes too long to say German-Irish-Scottish-Native American-American.

Posted by cmnchaz on October 18, 2008 at 8:38 a.m. (Suggest removal)

HISPANOPHOBIA

Posted by wild_bill on October 18, 2008 at 6:33 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Why is it that some minorities choose to hypenate their national/racial identity? With some people, it depends on the calendar. I always hear more Italian-Americans around Columbus day or Irish-Americans around St Patrick's day. But EVERY day I hear "African-Americans" and "Hispanic-Americans". It seems to me like all that does is highlight their lack of integration into, and rejection of, mainstream society in the United States of America.

A hypen seperates. Perhaps that IS why some people choose it. Perhaps what they are trying to communicate is the fact that although they may live here; been born here; heck, their ancestors may have been here for hundreds or even thousands of years, they STILL don't see themselves as completely Americans but something else; something different. Better? Worse? I don't know. I'm not sure they do either.

Originally the Jews in Medeval Europe chose to seperate themselves from the mainstream society in their Ghettos to maintain their "purity". Later on they were forced to live in ghettos to enforce their seperation from "society". That turned out well for them, didn't it?

Posted by cmnchaz on October 19, 2008 at 10:34 a.m. (Suggest removal)

It wouldn't matter to me if there weren't any boxes at all to check. Its more of the government than anything. It seams only right to have "American" and "Other".

Posted by wild_bill on October 19, 2008 at 9:48 p.m. (Suggest removal)

If you really feel that way cmnchaz, you can always check "Other" and write in "American".