Agreed. "Crusade" was a bit over the top.
The US has much to answer for in the world,
and in Latin America in particular, but
"appropriating" the words "America" and
"American" is, in importance, not very high
on the list.
As for me, I like to think of USers as
Murricans.
Hal "Life is uncertain.
Eat the dessert first."
--Don Griffin
Halvard Johnson
================
email: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
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blogs: http://entropyandme.blogspot.com
http://imageswithoutwords.blogspot.com
On Sep 28, 2005, at 5:33 AM, Lawrence Upton wrote:
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
