Ahh…I see we have a new bigot on the board
I don’t see what the big fucking deal is about being called something besides an American. United Statesian is perfectly accurate, as is USer.
Oh no! I was called something other than an American! My great pride is mortally wounded an my penis has shrunk!
Yeah, both sides have people like Michael Moore and Rush Limbaugh who have made names for themselves in an over top vilification of the other side that is far from, and probably destructive to, any reasoned discourse. They exagerate, and fluster to my great annoyance, but neither Moore or Rush or any of their ilk bother me half as much as Coulter. Both Moore and Rush both have actual interesting ideas, they both actually seem to belive in (most) of what they say and their both fairly amusing. None of which I can say for Coulter (I’ve never read her books, just some of her columns and what I’ve caught on the TV, so I apoligize if “How to Talk to a Liberal (If You Must)” has some actual interesting insights). She’s distilled what was worst about the political blowhards of the world and taken out what made them at least somewhat interesting.
No, it’s not problematic at all. People the world over (except for Canadians with a chip on their shoulder, apparently) understand the difference between Americans and Canadians. To suggest otherwise is silly.
I have to say that I’m a little startled that it seems to be conservative posters who are complaining most strongly about these nomenclature issues. I thought that conservatives scorned this sort of PC nitpickiness over who’s allowed to be called what (black people insisting that the only correct term is “African-American”, Asians who say that nobody’s allowed to use “Oriental”, etc.)
Certainly, the most common and generally accepted usage holds that citizens of the United States are “Americans”, and Canadians are not. I think everybody here knows that. However, since different terms and different uses of the terms certainly are occasionally attested (“Americans” for any inhabitants of the Americas, “United Statesians” for Americans, etc.), and since the terms and usages are obviously non-derogatory, why on earth is anybody getting their knickers all twisty about them?
In short: cool it on the patriotic PC, fellers. If a few Canadians sometimes choose to use a less usual definition of “American” and apply the term to themselves, what does it really matter?
It doesn’t matter much, bet then neither does Canada.
As long as no one starts calling me an American or other such pejorative name, I really don’t care what anyone calls citizens of the USA. Since they and the rest of the world have been calling citizens of the USA Americans for a very long time, then I see no point is disputing it.
What it comes down to is that the social, economic, political and international direction that the USA has taken, and the popular jingoism of those such as Coulter, would remain regardless of whatever term is used to describe people from the USA.
I’ll go one better. From now on I’ll refer to citizens of Moscow as Asians. Also Asian are residents of Saudi Arabia, Iraq and Iran. I’ll refer to New Zealanders as Australian. And to top it off, the Eqyptian family I know will be called African-Americans.
Anyone using the argument that Canada being in North America means they’re “American” is twisting definitions that make even me stare in awe.
Yeah, but what if she was wearing a leather bustier and wielding a riding crop to try to change your mind? 
duffer: I’ll go one better. From now on I’ll refer to citizens of Moscow as Asians. Also Asian are residents of Saudi Arabia, Iraq and Iran. I’ll refer to New Zealanders as Australian. And to top it off, the Eqyptian family I know will be called African-Americans.
Well, as petulant PC hissy-fits go, that wasn’t bad. I’d give it about a 7.5.
Where the hell does PC come into this? I’m just following the rule where anyone living in NA can be called American.
You are a shining example of why I am glad I am not American. Enjoy Coulter as much as you want.
Believe you me, we are equally, if not more, glad.
What you seem to be failing to understand is that there are times when one might want to refer to the people of a given continent. So, at times, one wants to say things like “between 1939 and 1945 Europeans received a first-hand lesson in the horrors of war” or “the makeup of American populations changed dramatically between 1600 and 1700 due to the large influx of Old World emigres” or “the effects of colonization are still felt by Africans”. At such times, the use of ‘American’ to include Argentines and Salvadorans and Canadians is entirely appropriate.
This has got to be the dumbest discussion I’ve ever got into on this board.
duffer: I’m just following the rule where anyone living in NA can be called American.
How do you get “Egyptian” = “African-American” as an analogy to that rule?
And I’m calling it “PC” because it seems exactly similar to the sort of disproportionate fussiness and hostility about using “wrong” nomenclatures that PC is often accused of. I guess there’s conservative PC as well as liberal PC.
What you’re failing to understand in this post is that there is no country in and of itself recognized as being “Europe”. When someone says they’re European, most people know it could mean English, French, Spanish, Greek, Czech, etc. “American” is recognized (by most) as a citizen of the US.
I agree the discussion is getting pretty dumb, so I’m probably going to bow out of it. But first…
I suppose we could call them “our southern colonies” . . . nah, let’s just call them Americans and discuss substantive issues rather than needlessly poke then with a stick. Rudeness won’t accomplish anything.
Well, because Egypt is in Africa. And unless you’ve been in a cave, you mightknow that American blacks are often referred to as African-American. So with Eqypt being in Africa, any Eqyptian that lives in the US is African-American.
duffer: So with Eqypt being in Africa, any Eqyptian that lives in the US is African-American.
Oh, I see. I didn’t realize your Egyptian friends were living in the US.
(Now I’m kind of wondering why you spell “Egypt” with a “q” instead of a “g”, or whether it’s just my browser.)
And just who are you exactly ? The boards resident hypocrite, and kneejerk, liberal moron ?
I’m not the one making up silly names for other groups of people in this thread.
I bet if you saw a black kid getting beaten up by a KKK person, you’d probably blame the black kid, judging by who you choose to place the blame on in this thread.
:eek: