Am I wrong for thinking who Americans are?

Question

I hear people saying that when they become citizens they are Americans, Its confusing to me since I believe that for somebody to be American they have to be born here and their family has to be American. Even if you are born here but your parent are hispanic when you are filling out an application you have to mark hispanic as your race so even if you are an American citizen you are not American. I hope this makes sense and you guys can tell me why people say Im wrong

I wasnt born here, Im a legal resident and applied for citizenship they told me dont loose my Dominican citizenship when I become American citizen. There is no need to be rude Im just asking a simple question, Im not saying Im right I clearly asked why am I wrong because I do learn from people that know more than I do

Answer 1

In my opinion, you become an Citizen of the United States... you become an American !!

I understand some folks hyphenating their "status" for cultural reasons: Mexican-American, Korean-American, Chinese-American, German-American, Polish-American... BUT

I think you should only hyphenate your American status for the first two generations... then immigrant and their offspring. After that... you are AMERICAN !!

I also feel that the race thing is just getting out of hand... the government should NOT be basing funding, contracts, or jobs on race quotas. Merit only.

I check "OTHER" on the race block (I'm of German, Scots, Israeli, Russian, Persian and Turkish Ancestory) and write in NONE.

Answer 2

Hispanic is not a race it is an ethnic designation certain Hispanics wanted so they would get 'minority' benefits in loans, employment and education opportunities. We whites didn't come up with it, the Chicano movement of the 60's-70's did.

Many Hispanics are white, which makes it seem a bit silly to some of us.

If you are a citizen, you are an American. If you call yourself 'Hispanic' I will call you that to be polite, but it is your issue, not mine. I hope you think of yourself as an American if you are an American citizen. You do NOT have to be born here.

In my mind it is in your loyalty, but that is hard to test. Some naturalized citizens have been better Americans than born citizens, however.

Answer 3

You're simply confusing race or racial identity with nationality or citizenship. It's actually not an uncommon occurrence. And a term like "American" can mean or imply different things depending on how it is used. I can understand how someone who wasn't born here might get them confused. But they are actually two different things. "American" does not imply race any more than "Hispanic" implies nationality.

Please don't be confused on this point. If someone is a legal citizen of this country, then they are also an American (citizen).

Answer 4

If you become naturalized, you ARE an American - don't let anyone tell you otherwise.

Also, when you take your test and the oath, you must swear to give up allegiance to any foreign power - you will not be Dominican any more. You are not entitled to 'dual nationality' - the American government doesn't recognize this status, except in the case where American citizens give birth while abroad; in that case, that child has dual nationality.

You do not have to be born here to be an American, but you do have to pass the tests and swear your oath of allegiance at a Naturalization ceremony.

Answer 5

If you are an American citizen then you are "American" it doesn't matter where your family came from.. if you don't want to be considered an American then you need to stay in the country you feel you are a part of - because as an American I only want people here that feel they are Americans regardless of their race or nationality. I want my fellow Americans to feel they are a part of this country and not just here to make their lives better without any pride for this country.. so yes I feel you are wrong for thinking that and if you want to be here then you need to be a part of this country and be proud of it.... Americans are mixed so just because you fill out Native American, Hispanic, White, or whatever on a race card you are still considered American...

Answer 6

American is not a race its a country that calls its legal citizens Americans.If you are a legal and /or a native born here you are an American,your race is another thing all together.I personally don't fill in the forms that ask for race,I don't like the classifications.So I don't check any box and if asked to do so I refuse.I have that right as do you as am American.

Spastic good video with intelligence thank you for sharing it.

Answer 7

If you are naturalized, you are an American. If you are born here, you are an American. Regardless of race. Just because you mark your race on a sheet of paper does not mean you are not American. That's just demographics. However, I think some people use the 14th amendment to get citizenship or avoid deportation and I think this is wrong. Children are gifts, not leverage. We should not allow children to be used in any capacity. For this reason, I feel we should seriously consider revising the 14th amendment.

Answer 8

"Even if you are born here but your parent are hispanic when you are filling out an application you have to mark hispanic as your race so even if you are an American citizen you are not American."

LoL...Are you trying to say that someone who is hispanic can't be American? I think you are just confusing race and nationality...i hope so anyway. Otherwise you are kind of racist...

Answer 9

Um, there's also another box on all those stupid little forms that says 'don't want to say' etc. Also, there's a difference between ethnicity, and nationality. That line's been intentionally blurred by the pro-illegal rhetoriticians who are all about sneaking as many people as they can across 'la linea'. You could be polish-american, apache-american, mexican-american, martian-american(not too many of those running around, just 2 robots ON mars,( can robots be citizens? Hey what about rights for artificial lifeforms?LOL) Bottom line though, we've got too many fancy names for US citizens. Everyone's got this extra-special feel-good hyphenated-american thing going on, they're soooo full of themselves and their ethnic heritage, and think they're 'all that', meanwhile the taskmasters in Bangladesh whip their child slaves into submission and 4,000 sets of sneakers per hour, is it ANY wonder industrial production is moving to Asia? LOL

Yessir, we've become the ethnicity-based Land Of Perpetual Entitlement, while in reality, tomorrow's guaranteed to no one. Nor is a fortune, nor is an education something that's guaranteed to anyone. Politicians make lots of promises, the moral of the immigration story is that the best way to tell when a politician is lying is to observe the facial area...if the lips are moving, keep one hand on your wallet...

Support the US Border Patrol!

Answer 10

You don't have to be born here to be an American, you just have to be a legal citizen..and if you are legal then you are an American..and welcome to America..

Americans are, black, white, Indians, Mexicans, Chinese, Americans are many colors and races..American is a title they give you to show that you are a citizen of the united states of America..