Well I am the first to admit it would be an almost hopeless task, though crusade is an inappropriate word; and I think I detect a sneer in it. I hope not. I just wanted to make a point
I think that, in part, what USAmericans are called outside of USA is a reflection of what they call themselves. It's very difficult not to be aware of the fact of your country. Often this awareness is extremely benign in origin - I'm typing on a us computer, using us software. The coffee I am drinking, though, while American, is not US American Certainly, the very name of the country suggests a certain founding arrogance in seeing themselves / itself as what is there, all that is there. Though if it was arrogant, we are all clearly stuck with it. & it's no more than many others have done in naming themselves with a term that translates as The People I don't see the contextual use of gringo etc alters anything in terms of what I was saying. I tend to call myself a Brit when abroad, with an apparent irony or objectivity or bluff - it's defensive also because it's unclear how and what it means in terms of intention "American" shifts meaning according to audience and context of course. But, note that when we here refer to ourselves as Europeans it is to underline what we have in common with other Europeans - often unfortunately to distinguish all of ourselves from USAmericans - and not to say or imply that what we do here is what all Europeans do. It isn't. I am not sure that I am trying to change the word used so much as to occasionally draw attention to the original grandiose claim, a poetic act I like to think, and one that I had allowed to lapse until yesterday It can only work as a slight shock and with good will. I think youre unfair to Mexicans. I think referring to those north of their border as North Americans may be an awareness that they are in the *south. But they are substantively stuffed really given that their northern neighbour has long appropriated the name of the whole continent. In general, there isn't much you can do about it, short of changing the country's name to The Empire; but what would you call yourselves? Ems might be misinterpreted. Maybe the federal state should be broken up to create competition and then people could be known by their state name Whatever, what I wrote wasn't meant as an attack on Americans or on you individually. Some of my best friends etc and I am about to phone one as soon as I have sent this. But there is - if not a problem - a significance to this naming all best L ----- Original Message ----- From: "Halvard Johnson" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <[email protected]> Sent: Wednesday, September 28, 2005 1:05 AM Subject: Re: aarggh
