Tuesday, I brought Lexi to the office dressed in jeans. Two of the girls (one from Puerto Rico and one from Nicaragua) mentioned that she looks like a real American. I laughed and said, "She is." I know they meant she is an all American/jean wearing type girl.
That brought me back to something I think about often. Why do people refer to Caucasian Americans as "Americans" and others by their ancestral origins? There are Cuban Americans, African Americans, Asian Americans, Mexican Americans, even Native Americans, and many others.
I don't really mind all the distinctions, because I think people naturally want to categorize things. If it isn't origins or race it is by sex, age group, fashion tendencies, hair color, etc. The problem for me is referring to Caucasians as Americans. The US should be all about integrating all the different types of people. When we say Americans, we should mean everyone who is a US citizen. If we are talking about Caucasians, we can call them European Americans or something. I guess I just feel weird about it.
Tags: nationality, American
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