What new name would you call citizens of the United States of America ?

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   Blond Logicposted 10 years ago

   What new name would you call citizens of the United States of America ?
   
   Recently I was in a discussion with a Brazilian friend who finds it arrogant that citizens of the United States call themselves Americans. They are of course Americans but so are Canadians, Mexicans, Brazilians etc. We all are in the Americas. So what name do you feel would better encapsulate the residents of the United States of America?
   photo courtesy wikimedia
   
   

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   Onusonusposted 10 years ago

   Isn't it arrogant to name two continents after one guy? regardless, my new name would be; Deal with it, we're Americans.

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      Blond Logicposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      Hmm, don't you think that it is this type of response that is considered 'arrogant' by other countries? In many countries America is not seen as a peace keeper but a bully.

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      Sarra Garrettposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      to Onusonus - Hazzah we are AMERICANS.  To Blond Logic AMERICAN SOLDIERS ARE NOT BULLIES.

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      Blond Logicposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      Hello Sarra,
      I never mentioned soldiers. The work they do is invaluable, and every citizen of the USA should be proud of them. As I am. The question  asked for suggestions for a new name to differentiate citizens of the US from other Americans.

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      Onusonusposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      Interestingly though, no other country refers to themselves as Americans. Venezuelans are called Venezuelans, the same with Canadians, Mexicans, Brazilians, etc. But everyone in the world knows where a man is from when he says he's an American.

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      MickSposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      I don't, American means native of a huge continent to the west that is so large it needs to be split into two continents.

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      Onusonusposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      So when you ask a Mexican what his nationality is, they usually respond with Mexican-American? Because where I come from they only hyphenate it when they are US Citizens.

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      MickSposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      So what, the Mexican, has fallen into the trap of beilving that there is such a country as America, there ain't.

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      Onusonusposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      And so have Canadians, and Argentinians, and Puerto Ricans, and Brazilians, and Chileans, and everybody else who comes to the US. to be a fill in the blank- American.

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      MickSposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      Oh dear, this is becoming so tedious,  I have relatives in Canada, they tell me Canadians have no desire to be associated with the USA, I would guess, that Canadians and other nationalities are refering to the continent.
      This belongs on the forum.

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       Onusonusposted 10 years agoin reply to this

       My Grandmother was a Canadian-American. She immigrated from Canada, otherwise she would just be a Canadian. That's okay though they can keep all our draft dodgers.

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   Georgie Loweryposted 10 years ago

   Would they prefer that we call ourselves Uniteds? LOL. Seriously, we are the United States of America. What else would we be?

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      Blond Logicposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      It was the term 'Americans' that some  find unsettling when all of North, Central  and South America are  the Americas hence they are all 'Americans'.

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      MickSposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      Yep, just like South Africa.  It would be just as wrong for them to call them selves African and presume they are the only African country that counts, and every one else in the world knows that they mean South Africa.

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      Georgie Loweryposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      I honestly think it's a perceived arrogance. Are there any other countries with the word "America" in their titles? I looked it up - American Samoa. I'd imagine they refer to themselves as Samoans, but I don't really know anything about them.

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   IDONOposted 10 years ago

   Well, then we would have to call American Indians, Native United Statesmen not from India Indians. Let me see you put that on a baseball uniform in Cleveland.

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      MickSposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      Afraid not, Native Americans, covers a multitude of sins, that covers all of the indigenous inhabitants before the European invaders stole the land mass from them,  If you wished to be more specific, you could use, Hurons, Incas, Comanche, et al.

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      IDONOposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      All kidding aside. Let's go with "Free America". That covers them all, doesn't it?

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      MickSposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      No, which country in the Americas are you refering, you could change the name of the Country to, Free America,  citizens become Free Americans.To refer to the USA as America,  is as wrong as refering to, say, Mexico, or Chile, as America

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   MickSposted 10 years ago

   How about, Usians, or, as recently been suggested by Old Empresario, Statsians, and yes it is arrogant for citizens of the USA to refer to themselves as Americans and then believe that the rest of the world should know they are from the USA, as if the rest off the countries in the two continents and indepedant offshore islands don't count.  Citizens of the USA, are no more or less Americans than citizens of Bermuda, Mexico, or Argentina, et al.

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      Blond Logicposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      Thank you for explaining perfectly.

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   Ghost32posted 10 years ago

   I couldn't care less what people from other countries think of us calling ourselves Americans.  However, if enough citizens of these United States want to come up with a different name to accommodate the whiners, let's call THOSE former Americans "APPEASERS". 
   
   That ought to do it, a la Neville Chamberlain....

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      Blond Logicposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      I think I hit a nerve with this question! Thanks for your response Ghost32.

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      Mitch Alanposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      well said Ghost32...

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   ChristinSposted 10 years ago

   How about "human" or "world citizen" - honestly I don't understand why we get so wrapped up in country names as our identity.  When I see a person my first thought isn't "what country are they from" it's, I wonder if this person is nice, or are they interesting?
   
   People that get so upset and emotional over things like this I think are kind of tripping over the trivial - we're all human after all.

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      MickSposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      It is the nature of mankind to pigeon hole. Whether it is correct or desirable to do so matters not, we do it. Also, there are many questions on here that run along the lines - 'in our great country of America...?' Arrogant, where? No such country.

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      Onusonusposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      If you are a world citizen, why do you need a passport to go to different parts of the world, and why do you need to apply for citizenship to each part of the world to live there? Everywhere apparently except the United States.

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      ChristinSposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      I live in the US is my typical response not I AM American. I am a lot of things... but I live in the US.

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   mintinfoposted 10 years ago

   Property of the state or a stock certificate..

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   Mitch Alanposted 10 years ago

   We are the United States of AMERICA...people from Germany call themselves Germans...people from Russia call themselves Russians...from Mexico, Mexicans...from Brazil, Brazilians...from France, Surrenderers (a little humor)...Why would it offend anyone that we call ourselves Americans? But, more importantly, why should we care if something that petty offends someone?

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      MickSposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      The country is the USA. America, is a continent with many countries.Many people from the USA, call themselves Americans and expect the world to know they mean USA.  Germans don't call themselves Europeans and expect the world to know they mean German

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      Blond Logicposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      Calling yourselves Americans is the equivalent of Germans calling themselves Europeans. They are of course but they don't refer to themselves as such.

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      Georgie Loweryposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      Your example is not an equivalent. This isn't even apples and oranges, it's apples and elephants. Germany is not the United German States of Europe. I live in the United States of America and I am an American whether you like it or not.

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      Mitch Alanposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      Blond it is not the equivalent...America in in our official name. Europe is not in Germany's name. If our country was named The United States of X we would call ourselves Xians or Xites...
      And, again, why should we care what other people think.

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      Georgie Loweryposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      Also, Blond Logic, I see on your profile you say you are from America. Which one do you mean? North, South or Central? Since you live in Brazil, aren't you still living in America?

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      Blond Logicposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      Are we all agreed that from the Northern most point in North America to the Southern most point in South America that EVERYONE is an American?

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      Georgie Loweryposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      So, then, Blond, you are ambigiously from one of three different continents?

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      Blond Logicposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      Let's go over our continents shall we? Asia, Africa, North America, South America, Antarctica, Europe and Australia. I have lived on 3 of these.

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      Georgie Loweryposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      Well, let's go over the fact that I'm not arrogant enough to presume I have a right to decide how other people define themsleves.

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       MickSposted 10 years agoin reply to this

       So, because Africa is in the Name, South Africa, it is fine for citizens of South Africa to use Africans,and expect the world to know that they mean South Africa, I think not.

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       Mitch Alanposted 10 years agoin reply to this

       MickS, so then black people in the United States of America should not call themselves African Americans, correct?  I believe those from South Africa refer to themselves as South Africans, not merely African...

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       MickSposted 10 years agoin reply to this

       That is probably correct, especially if they are the term as US citizens, how is any one to know what country they come from. If they are using the general term of American, it doesn't really matter. Is there any need to refer to race?

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    CalebSparksposted 10 years ago

    How unnecessary this concern is. We ought to be working to preserve what liberties we have left (that have made us great in the past) rather than worrying whether other nations like our name or not.

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    Blond Logicposted 10 years ago

    Thank you all for your answers and input.

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