Why do Americans not just refer to themselves as Americans and not with a European or African title before American?
2007-08-27 10:44:32 · 20 answers · asked by emperor_of_the_north_pole 2 in Society & Culture ➔ Cultures & Groups ➔ Other - Cultures & Groups
They refer to their heritage. They are proud of their heritage. But they are also proud to be American. By calling themselves Irish American, they are stating that they are American first, having come from Ireland.
Isn't that nice? As an American who could care less where I came from, I kind of envy those who have a heritage.
It's OK. It's a good thing.
2007-08-27 10:54:49 · answer #1 · answered by NY Buzz 4 · 0⤊ 1⤋
I don't have any problem calling myself, or being called, Euro American or European American and some people even call me Irish America which I am proud of. If you are black and are happy calling yourself African American then you should do so. Be aware that not all Africans are black. The Egyptians, Algerians, Tunisians, Libyans and Moroccans are predominantly Caucasian. It's probably a good time to remember that we are all Americans and we ALL had ancestors who came from somewhere else. Even the Native Americans' andcestors came from Asia.
2016-05-19 04:17:56 · answer #2 · answered by joye 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Still a young country, that heritage isn't far enough in the past to be forgotten yet, leaving American the only thing to rely on.
And at the present time "American" seems more like just a label then anything else, probably partly due to the whole "melting pot" thing.
2007-08-27 10:49:45 · answer #3 · answered by Indigo 7 · 3⤊ 0⤋
Because one of the many benefits of being an American is the diversity. In China, everyone is Chinese, Japan Japanese, Poland Polish etc. (not 100% of course). But here we all came from exciting differant parts of the world.
Different apprearance, languages, customs, and of course the vast varieties of food.
And each of us is proud of out ansestorial heritage (or should be). Yet we are all Americans.
2007-08-27 10:52:19 · answer #4 · answered by Mezmarelda 6 · 1⤊ 1⤋
Yes, we are all Americans, but America is a country that is reffered to as the melting pot. Our families immigrated here from other countries. I have never hyphenated and called myself Swedish-American, but I am still aware of my roots. It would be a travesty to just forget your family history. We are proud of our roots. This includes where our families originally came from AND being American.
2007-08-27 10:53:31 · answer #5 · answered by nursebekki82 4 · 2⤊ 1⤋
They do not want to lose sight of their ancestry. They are proud that at one time they were citizens of other countries and want people to know that. I agree, if you are now and American, you should be proud enough to leave the country of origin out of it.
2007-08-27 10:51:24 · answer #6 · answered by loufedalis 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Cause the only Real Americans live on reservations out west.
2007-08-27 10:50:01 · answer #7 · answered by St. Toad 4 · 8⤊ 1⤋
America is very mixed. They are just referring to where they get their looks from, not what country they used to live in.
2007-08-27 10:54:05 · answer #8 · answered by Sexxiii 5 · 0⤊ 1⤋
There are from all over the world.
2007-08-27 11:01:51 · answer #9 · answered by Bjorn 3 · 2⤊ 0⤋
People came to america all over the world and we are mix.
2007-08-27 10:49:39 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 3⤊ 0⤋