SUPER Rant WAY OT: You Americans...

[haygood at myway.com (Brian Haygood)]

OK, I'll jump into the fire on this one.  



I personally find it a little short-sighted when anyone uses the term "American" to try and label someone as being from the United States.  This was kinda drilled into me when I started travelling to Central America and South America.  If you go anywhere South of Mexico and say, "I'm from America", you had better have your running shoes on.  Claiming to be "North American" will generally be understood and forgiven, though I have never really seen how people in Mexico react to this (though Carlos Mencia informs me that the only people left in Mexico are Central Americans working their way up).  For my part, I try to say, "I'm from the United States", or the translation thereof.  That is greeted, at worst, with a reaction along the lines of, "The U.S. sucks, but at least he wasn't so arrogant as to claim the whole hemisphere is part of it".  ...and here is a secret for you... Many people down there actually LIKE us!  ...albeit too few.



So, all this talk of being "American" kinda seems odd to me.  Canadians get offended by being accused of it and Central and South Americans get offended by being left out of it.  In reality, we all are "it".  Either one is a sign that our (US) foreign relations are pretty darn bad.  Rave was right about one thing.  The US is getting weaker and worse by the day, and history dictates that it will have to fall soon.  Heck, the average lifespan of a major democracy is well under 200 years, isn't it?  However, having lived in Chile, I'll tell you that I won't be watching the US crumble from there.  I hear Prague is nice this time of year, perish the thought.  Maybe I should brush up on my Vietnamese, since my family is half that anyway.



BH









 --- On Thu 12/21, raveracer77 < raveracer77@yahoo.ca > wrote:

From: raveracer77 [mailto: raveracer77@yahoo.ca]

To: scirocco16vr32@gmail.com, type53@gmail.com

     Cc: Scirocco-l@scirocco.org

Date: Thu, 21 Dec 2006 14:01:57 -0700

Subject: SUPER Rant WAY OT: You Americans...



<br>    Oy, why do you say such things.  You do it on purpose don't you.  Keep your flame suit on just a little longer because this might sting a little.  <br>        Ok, I've been a Dual citizen from Birth but raised in Canada and I can tell you, NO true green blooded Canadian will ever call himself American for a number of reason but the biggest being the stigma surrounding that so called elustrious "American" title with other countries.  "Americans" are known worldwide and with good reason for being a number of undesirable things.  This is not to say that every American everywhere will be hated all the time once he leaves his own country, but the differences are there.  Every Canadian I have ever met would rather call themselves Colonists then American.  I've even heard us referred to as part of the Commonwealth which implies the UK.  Now as an American who's wife was refused entry at the border simply because of the change of the status of our relationship I can tell you, 
she will never call herself an American and she would punch anyone in the mouth who would insist she is.  She's a tough girl, I wouldn't have married anyone else, but bless her heart, she wants to come anyway just because she loves me.  If on a crazy chance I manage to save some time off and have a mobile street legal Dub to drive up to Cincy, be warned, she's not an American.  She is most definately Canadian, Hungarian Second, German third, Eastern European fourth.  If you're going to call her American you might as well call her Nazi, that's how she feels.<br><br>    Never tell a Canadian what he / she is, you never know what baggage they may carry from living next door to the border, but they may smile and turn the other cheek and resent you for it quietly until it boils over in a massive attack verbal or otherwise on one poor singled out ignoramus (Anne Coulter looks like a prime target).  But you don't know, there's a good chance that you'll meet an immigrant who's 
working to make his life better (same as here) but he still considers himself to be a countrymen of his homeland first, then Canadian (not quite the same as here). <br><br>    I accept the title of North American for myself.  Having spent significant time in all three countries that make up 90% of this continent as well as the dozen or so other countries that own territories off the coast, BUT!!!!  When I travel to Europe, I am Canadian.  In the spirit of the argument I'll say something as ignorant as I'm allowed to say as an American:  Australians can tell the difference, a Canadian will walk up and say, may I have a Fosters and will be handed a beer.  An American will walk up and say "SO!  YOU'RE FROM AUSTRALIA, HA, LET'S PUT ANOTHER SHRIMP ON THE BARBIE!!!   GET IT?  GET IT?  HAHAHA!".<br><br>    Canadians are not without their own stigma either.  Having lived in Florida deep within Snow Bird territory I can tell you that Florida does not all have a good opinion of 
Canadians, but Snow Birds are that part of us who come from one group.  Elderly, wealthy, snotty, cheap.  If in your entire life you've only ever met Texans and that was your impression of America, it wouldn't be accurate, but somehow one type of people all go to the same place and that's how Florida thinks of Canadians.<br><br>    Again I'll say that not every time and American leaves his country will he / she encounter an angry mob, but unless you have had the unique opportunity to be both Canadian or American in these situations repeatedly no one can tell you what it's like to be the other with an objective point of view.  Don't be fooled though, we might all be North Americans, but not all of us are allowed across this entire continent, not very North American of us now is it.  Other Countries make the distinction and that is what makes the titles different.  In Glasgow you tell them you're Canadian, they'll welcome you.  London, welcomed.  Paris, very welcomed.  St 
Maarten, Antigua, Guadeloupe, Bahamas, Turks and Caicos, Barbados, Dominica, Australia, England, Scottland, France, all welcome Canadians.  On return visits to these places with an "American" Passport, not so welcomed.  Telling people face to face that I'm an American, their eyes don't light up the same way if at all as when I tell them I'm Canadian.  Truly, I feel sorry for those who are forced to claim the title of American and have no other title they can use.  I predict in the near future when this world turns upside down Americans may fear for their lives the same way Jews did during the Nazi reign and the same way the Nazis did when they fell.  Nazis, Napolean, Rome, Greece, Gauls, Ming dynasty, all great empires ended with severe bloodshed, America is this eras greatest empire and indeed the greatest empire this planet has ever seen in all it's history.<br>    Should I stand on a street corner with a sign "The End is Near"?  No, China never felt the fall of the Roman 
Empire, The Norse never even noticed the fall of China, and I don't plan to be here when it happens.  I'll watch in horror, but from afar.  I'll stand on a mountain in Chile with a sign, "Their End is Near".<br><br>    Good Luck with that.<br><br>I have no flame suit as I face the fire with enough ferocity to scare the flame from my skin.  I dare someone with as much knowledge to contradict my opinion of the world view of the term "American".  I live it, breath it, and claim it with shame.<br><br>      Rave Racer<br>Currently:<br>NEW!!  91 Jetta GLI 2.0L 16V<br>'81 Scirocco Mk1 1.8L 8V Digifant 2<br><br>'89 Jetta GTX 1.8L 16V<br>'87 Audi 4000 Quattro <br> http://www.audifans.com/registry/view.php?action=viewCar&carid=110<br>'72 Triumph GT6<br> http://www.triumphowners.com/uploaded/34/50-50-111014_20raveracer-gt6-1.jpg<br> <br>http://spaces.msn.com/raveracer77/photos/ <br>http://www.myspace.com/rave_racer<br>___________________________________________<br><br><br>Drew, my 
friend, my brother, my co-conspirator when it comes to all<br>things Scirocco...<br><br>I disagree with you sir.<br><br>It would be correct to call us Citizens of the United States of<br>America--that is if you wish to disassociate your country from the US<br>in contrasting differences.  Although it is wildly popular to call<br>persons from the US, Americans... it is only a half truth.<br><br>Allow me to don my flame suit and explain.  I believe we all live in a<br>continent called North America.  So by definition persons from Mexico<br>and Canada are also Americans.  North Americans but Americans none the<br>less. Same goes for South America.  The people that live in that<br>continent are also technically Americans.<br><br>What this term has evolved into is the rough equivilent to an Italian<br>looking at a someone from Spain and saying "You Europeans..."<br><br>Don't get me wrong.  I love you guys--although I think you should<br>rename the country "CATHYLAND" because she 
rules, and put in a good<br>word with the border guards... I hate sitting in customs for four<br>hours.  Maybe I should stop pointing out that they are Americans as<br>well.<br><br>Likewise I have a problem with the accent thing...  I think it is<br>horribly inappropriate to label an entire country or people with a<br>sterotype.  "Eh" is a perfect example of this.  Everywhere in the<br>world there are dialects and local "ism's"  There are many dialects in<br>the United States, not everyone here says "Y'all", not everyone says<br>"Cars" like a Bostonian (God Love 'EM), nor do I speak "Jersey"... My<br>wife does and I have been with her 8 years and I still trying to<br>figure out the difference between "water" and "wooter".  Apparently<br>you "warsh" with water and drink wooter but God that confuses the shit<br>out of me.  And what is this UNHOLY alliance with Jersey and WAWA?<br><br>My best example of all; anyone that has seen Fargo knows that at least<br>in the movies people 
in Fargo, North Dakota say "eh" way more than<br>anyone in Canada does.<br><br>On the other hand I have heard (and read) the news in Canada several<br>times refer to someone as having a "soft american accent"--even in<br>print I have never seen the A capitolized.  It may have been a typo or<br>two I don't read the news when I am there all that often although I<br>should.  I am not sure that there is an American accent... I don't<br>think one accent or dialect wins out over any other in the United<br>States.  It certainly falls in the "different than the way I speak"<br>catagory from the general point of view of the average Canadian.  It<br>would boring to read if the news read: "Speaking in a Non-Canadian<br>Accent, possibly a dialect from the Southwestern United States..."<br>Again calling it an American accent has the same pitfalls of calling<br>US Citizens simply Americans.  French Canadians by definition have a<br>(North) American accent.<br><br>Most reactions to this 
arguement at least from the Canadians I have<br>shared my OPINION with is similar to "I slapped your momma on the way<br>in the room" reaction.  Why is this almost an insult?  I don't think<br>we as a people are terribly different.  I would like to think that we<br>have similar values and belief systems as we do have somewhat common<br>origins and have been allies for so long.  We fought together in World<br>War II... you gave us "Scotty".<br><br>I consider you brothers.  Alas I know that siblings need to carve out<br>their own identity.  Even twins can be polar opposites in personality.<br> It's ok to be different.<br><br>Just a peeve of mine... sorry man.  Hope I didn't burn any bridges.  I<br>will still answer to "Americans..." although I disagree with it's<br>usage.  It has become universally accepted even though I feel it is a<br>misnomer.<br><br>This was written tongue in cheek as I am sure your reply was as well.<br><br>I told you that every couple of days I have to 
debug the two brain<br>cells that I have.<br><br>Group hug?  LOL<br><br>Chris<br>Citizen of Tacoma (would that be a Tacoma-manian?)<br>Citizen of the State of Washington (Washingtonian)<br>Citizen of the United States of American (This one is a bit awkward)<br>Citizen of North American (American ;)<br>Citizen of Planet Earth (Earthling or Terran)<br><br>(still sporting the flame suit)<br><br><br>_______________________________________________<br>Scirocco-l mailing list<br>Scirocco-l@scirocco.org<br>http://neubayern.net/mailman/listinfo/scirocco-l<br>

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