Discrimination...

[homesick_american 1]

Yup, looks wise I fit in fine here in the USA, but as soon as I open my mouth I can see my accent register on other American's faces. A few will say something like "I could listen to you talk all day" or "I just love your accent", but the majority - after a two second delay - will carry on the conversation as normal.

But has anyone ever said anything nasty to you just because you're English?

I still get people being rude to me, but that's cos they are just gits. It's nothing to do with my accent or race. People here tend to be polite in general, I've not had any untoward situations where people have been horrible to me.

Some people are just azzholes, true.

[Oath 0]

I've never had any problems with discrimination while in America, the closest was being asked where in England Scotland was, it may have to do with the fact not many people understand me, that I'm white and the fact that these days I look a little severe . America was built by immigrants with the exception of course of the native Americans I think people tend to forget this, and just ignore the history of the US when it suits them.

[akdiver 3]

America was built by immigrants with the exception of course of the native Americans I think people tend to forget this, and just ignore the history of the US when it suits them.

And what, the "native" Americans just magically appeared one day? All evidence suggest that they too immigrated here, just much earlier than "the white man". "These people, whose ancestors crossed the land bridge from Asia in what may be considered the first North American immigration" (http://memory.loc.gov/learn/features/immig/native_american.html).

Did ignoring this fact just suit you, or are you merely ignorant?

Cheers!

AKDiver

[Oath 0]

America was built by immigrants with the exception of course of the native Americans I think people tend to forget this, and just ignore the history of the US when it suits them.

And what, the "native" Americans just magically appeared one day? All evidence suggest that they too immigrated here, just much earlier than "the white man". "These people, whose ancestors crossed the land bridge from Asia in what may be considered the first North American immigration" (http://memory.loc.gov/learn/features/immig/native_american.html).

Did ignoring this fact just suit you, or are you merely ignorant?

Cheers!

AKDiver

Allow me to rephrase, MODERN AMERICA WAS BUILT BY IMMIGRANTS WITH THE EXCEPTION OF NAITVE AMERICANS WHO WERE ALREADY HERE (but did indeed make a large contribution to our culture).

Better?

So no, Not ignorant, nor am I ignoring facts, I guess just didn't word it properly.

Edited May 8, 2007 by Oath

[akdiver 3]

Allow me to rephrase, MODERN AMERICA WAS BUILT BY IMMIGRANTS WITH THE EXCEPTION OF NAITVE AMERICANS WHO WERE ALREADY HERE (but did indeed make a large contribution to our culture).

Just curious if you think there is any group that made only a small contribution to our culture, and if so, which groups might those be?

It's also worth pointing out that a good portion of MODERN AMERICA was also built by non-immigrants - people who were born here, even if they were not "already here" before the country was formed.

So no, Not ignorant, nor am I ignoring facts, I guess just didn't word it properly.

I dunno man - seems like the fact didn't suit you.

On another note - it is interesting how some people (not necessarily poster Oath) talk about "native" Americans as if they had one single overall culture and lived in peace and harmony and stuff. I bet a lot of people would be surprised to learn that "native" Americans consisted of many numerous tribes, had hundreds of languages, and in many cases, didn't get along at all. They had their own territories, and fought wars, and took territories from other tribes, inflicted their culture on other tribes, and so forth. In some respect, "what the white man did" was really no different from what the people here were already doing to themselves, other than maybe being more efficient about it. They can be thought of as just more tribes, that happened to ride in on boats rather than horses.

As far as I know, no one is still crying about the tribal wars in Europe, when the Vikings, and Saxons, Vandals, and other tribes were raiding and taking over new territory, or still complaining about the influence of incursions by the Romans or the Huns. So, one can only conclude that sensitivity to such issues is really a matter of timeliness and being relatively recent news. I guess if we just sit on our hands for 1000 years or whatever, than the whole notion of special rights for certain groups of people just because "they were here first" will slowly fade away.

Cheers!

AKDiver

[mawilson 2,133]

Oooh girl, don't get me started on some of the ugliness I've seen here as an American.

Just tell them,

"Would you like to know what you'd be without us, the good ol' U.S. of A. to protect you?

I'll tell you. The smallest ###### province in the Russian Empire, that's what. So don't

call me stupid, lady. Just thank me."

[Nancy2015 2]

I wouldn't say that the modern American culture is the continuation of the Native American civilization. Well, it isn't The United States as a civilization have been around for only over 200 years. It's not a long time, but there's absolutely nothing wrong with it, and there is no need to try to compete with each other. If a country has a shorter history, it doesn't mean it's inferior to European countries.

Actually, you can see aspects of various Native American culture in words we've adopted, foods we eat, and in some of our own rituals. Study up on it.

Also, the assumption that American culture somehow sprang up out of nowhere bothers me. American culture is the fusion of hundreds of cultures, languages, creeds, religious practices, etc. America's history is both its own and an offshoot from European history. To say that American culture "started" at some arbitrary date when the European conqueror of your choice arrived there is (to me) the height of arrogance.

Don't you tell me to study up. I have a B.A. in History, so I know a thing or two. Also, nowhere in my post did I imply that the American culture just appeared all of a sudden by the wave of a magic wand.

It bothers me when people make assumptions based on their wrong interpretations of sombedy else's words.

[akdiver 3]

when people make assumptions based on their wrong interpretations of sombedy else's words.

Isn't this more or less what history is? History is written by the victors ya know (:

In 1000 years, people will be learning a much different version of history than the one we know now (:

Cheers!

AKDiver

[Nancy2015 2]

when people make assumptions based on their wrong interpretations of sombedy else's words.

Isn't this more or less what history is? History is written by the victors ya know (:

In 1000 years, people will be learning a much different version of history than the one we know now (:

Cheers!

AKDiver

You're right. To tell you the truth, the biggest revelation I had in my life happened in my college days. That's when I learned that there's no right or wrong, no true or false, no good or bad - there's just facts and various interpretations of these facts. And all these interpretations have the right to exist, and people have the right to believe whatever suits them better. Back then it hit me hard and almost made me depressed - I had been an idealist before I started learning history, I thought there was good and bad, there had to be! So, learning history turned me into a skeptic, and I just accepted the fact that nothing's objective.

Back to the topic: I can't say I experienced any discrimination in the U.S. But if we ever had to move to some area with 0% immigrant population, I think I would be telling you a different story.

[homesick_american 1]

Oooh girl, don't get me started on some of the ugliness I've seen here as an American.

Just tell them,

"Would you like to know what you'd be without us, the good ol' U.S. of A. to protect you?

I'll tell you. The smallest ###### province in the Russian Empire, that's what. So don't

call me stupid, lady. Just thank me."

I love that movie.

I wouldn't say that the modern American culture is the continuation of the Native American civilization. Well, it isn't The United States as a civilization have been around for only over 200 years. It's not a long time, but there's absolutely nothing wrong with it, and there is no need to try to compete with each other. If a country has a shorter history, it doesn't mean it's inferior to European countries.

Actually, you can see aspects of various Native American culture in words we've adopted, foods we eat, and in some of our own rituals. Study up on it.

Also, the assumption that American culture somehow sprang up out of nowhere bothers me. American culture is the fusion of hundreds of cultures, languages, creeds, religious practices, etc. America's history is both its own and an offshoot from European history. To say that American culture "started" at some arbitrary date when the European conqueror of your choice arrived there is (to me) the height of arrogance.

Don't you tell me to study up. I have a B.A. in History, so I know a thing or two. Also, nowhere in my post did I imply that the American culture just appeared all of a sudden by the wave of a magic wand.

It bothers me when people make assumptions based on their wrong interpretations of sombedy else's words.

Ooooh, a BA. I have one too. It qualifies me to make sweeping yet inaccurate statements about applied linguistics in the French language.

[elmcitymaven 9,712]

I agree with you guys sometimes I feel special but sometimes people can be very rude, for example::: Once I went to Banana Republic and 2 guys (latinos) walked in front of me, as soon as they saw me walking next to them I had security people following me (and they were SO OBVIOUS)It was so uncomfortable that I had to leave the place. This is something that NEVER happened to me in my country, I know who I am and people say to me not to worry about it but it makes me feel really bad.

I'm half Mexican-American and half Heinz-57-American (mostly Irish, some Belgian, English and Scottish) and that sort of thing happened to me all the time when I was a kid in America. I've got very lightly tanned skin and green eyes, but all people saw was the colour. I got tailed by security staff, delayed in casualty at the hospital whilst waiting for an interpreter (someone assumed with my Hispanic last name I only spoke Spanish -- and I don't know a word beyond Geri Haliwell's "Mi Chico Latino"), asked for my green card at the Social Security office when getting a new card even though I presented my birth certificate which clearly stated I was born in Connecticut, asked if I had passed my GED before getting a job (I went to boarding school and an Ivy League university) and about eleventy billion times spoken to first in Spanish before English. I'm not embarrassed of my Hispanic heritage, but I was brought up amongst my raucous Irish-American side of the family, and since they are white, I self-identify as white. (My dad said he knew someone in college who was Korean-American who self-identified as Hispanic because he had grown up in a mostly Latino neighbourhood in LA.) I got pretty ticked off at all the presumption.

When I came to Britain, I was an American (or f'ing Yank, depending on the eye of the beholder) and my skin colour stopped being an issue. I used to be worried when I would go back to the States that I would get the same treatment but it just hasn't happened. Maybe it's because now that I'm older, I tend to carry myself with more confidence and authority and give off a vaguely entitled vibe with accompanying withering glare. Maybe it's because when I open my mouth out comes the most appalling East Coast prep school twang instead of a Mexican accent. I don't know, but as I approach re-entry to Planet America I am prepared that race might play a role in my life again. And I'll just face down those bigots with that withering glare!

[DakotaK1 1]

Agreed.... I have been told I should go back to Scotland and stop taking good jobs from American people.... I was also asked how long it took me to learn English after I arrived!!!!!!

Kez

OMG, some people just amaze me with their ignorance. I recently was asked if Germany isn't that country in Africa right next to Egypt and why I was white then?!?!

lol I have to say some ppl over there should think before they open their mouths,alot of the Americans from over there(if not native American)actually did origionate from Europe etc...so they should think twice over there before saying something.

I would of told them I learnd English real fast it is in my gen´s...lol

Yeah I myself am from Germany and I was asked if Hilter is still alive and if he is friendy now,I just said back yeah he is a cool dude and lives a few blocks away from me.I figured it was a joke or they where being a smartass...nope it was the true fact of them wanting to figure that out,very sad indeed.

Someone thought that Germany was a part of Russia. All I can say is alot of people over there are

[rob&ana 0]

It sickens my stomach to read about discrimination and about racism, I hate stories about how people (Americans, Germans, Mexicans, etc) made someone feel this way or that way, and that it is always about racism. I have been in the US for almost two years now, and I have not felt once that I have been segregated or discriminated because of race. I know, I might be the minority of the minority, but I am not blond (or black) and I speak English with an accent, so I know I am not blending in, and for God’s sake, any time I can speak Spanish to someone (anyone for that matter) I will.

Frankly I feel pity for these people that seek pleasure by humiliating another person, because the truth is, they are SO ignorant that they don’t know any better way to feel important. I don’t think it has to do much with being traveled; I think it has more to do with respect and with personality. I will not let any one, neither American, Cambodian, British or from any nationality affect me by making me feel discriminated. Stand your ground, if someone confuses an Egyptian with a Mexican, by simply saying, I am don’t speak Spanish I am from Egypt, a lot could be avoided; if someone confuses you for a nanny, simply smile and say no I’m a doctor/lawyer/architect/ teacher and keep on talking as if nothing happened.

The problem of racism in the US amazes me, its almost like people WANT to be segregated, I’ve seen Venezuelans (who in Venezuela would totally embrace anything American) behave and dress different to ‘represent’ the Latino community (by dressing like say Mexicans) when in Venezuela they would be completely dress like the kids on the OC normally (as in totally preppy), or I’ve seen black people talk completely normal English to me, and when a white person joins the conversation they start talking like what in the movies you’d call ‘the hood’. Why? What’s the point?

But I guess we can’t help that, but what we can really help is setting an example and not feeling less (or more) than anyone because the truth is, that you are no different from the person you were back home (where possibly you were never segregated or discriminated). I know that in my family alone there are all colors invented by nature, we have from dark black skinned people to blond and blue eyes and all the shades between, because Venezuela (like the other South American countries and the US) has an incredible mix of races coming from all over the world, so if I didn’t feel different at home NO ONE is going to make me feel different here.

A little attitude people… but of the good one… and I completely agree with Elmcitymaven… just stand your ground, glare back with the most ‘as if’ look that you can give them and keep on with your life. No one (specially people you don’t care about) can make you feel less or different because of your skin color.

[Laura_and_IanM 0]

Is it just me or did we get off this topic slightly???? History is just that...HISTORY. Lets leave it at that. No matter how much college education you have on the subject, it still doesnt make one more of an expert on the subject because frankly...NONE of us were there so we don't know the WHOLE truth. We are talking about the here and now discrimination. No matter where you go in the world, there will always be discrimination. I personally never had to deal with it until I went to the UK. For the most part everyone there made me feel real welcome. There were only a few that made me feel like I was nothing.

I have a degree in BULLSHITE...does that make me an expert????

LJ

[homesick_american 1]

Yeah I myself am from Germany and I was asked if Hilter is still alive and if he is friendy now,I just said back yeah he is a cool dude and lives a few blocks away from me.I figured it was a joke or they where being a smartass...nope it was the true fact of them wanting to figure that out,very sad indeed.

Someone thought that Germany was a part of Russia. All I can say is alot of people over there are

I hate to burst your bubble, but they were teasing you.