NEWSFLASH: America is not a country!!

[SHRED]

It's two continents.
North and South.

Sorry if I offended the United States' ego.

just sayin'
:silly:

hehehehe:bounce:

[Richard Steele]

1. Didn't they change it from a country to a "homeland" awhile back?

[SHRED]

2. DOH! I forgot!!!

:banghead: :banghead:

[shadowknows69]

3. absolutely right

and I'm guilty of it but I actually used to point this out to a lot of Canadians who I would get in my taxi that would refer to us as "Americans" as if we were the only ones. I always used to say "hey you're Americans too!" Thanks for pointing this out. The way it is said sometimes does have a vibe of ego and the last thing The United States needs right now is to throw more raw, stupid ego around.

[petronius]

4. Yeah, and people should stop using the word 'earth' for soil, dirt,etc.

It's the name of our planet, for God's sake!

[SHRED]

5. I hear ya! ;-)

[Marr]

6. Yeah, but Captain United States of America sounds stupid.

I can't imagine a villain would have time to shout that while being foiled.

[aikoaiko]

7. that's cute.

Some words have more than one reference.

American Heritage Dictionary
A·mer·i·ca (ə-měr'ĭ-kə)

1. The United States.
2. also the A·mer·i·cas (-kəz) The landmasses and islands of North America, Central America, and South America.

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
A·mer·i·ca /əˈmɛrɪkə/
1. United States.
2. North America.
3. South America.
4. Also called the Americas. North and South America, considered together.

[Double T]

8. It is ANYTHING BUT UNITED............

UnUnited States of America comprised of two continents; the hell with the inflated ego.

[Odin2005]

9. It's easier to say "American" then Unitedstatsian.

:dunce:

[IntravenousDemilo]

12. You ought to change the name of your country to Usana, as in "United States of North America",

and call yourselves Usanians, like "Canada" and "Canadians". Your founding fathers made a mistake in not coming up with a name that couldn't be adjectivized. Or maybe it was intentional. Perhaps it came as a result of the US being the first ethnically European independent country in the Americas, and the belief was that everyone else would join in -- or be taken over, Manifest-Destiny style -- to become one great big huge country. Sorry your plot was foiled, but this is what happens when you don't ask first.

[QueenOfCalifornia]

10. Been one of my pet peeves.

Yes -- I have been guilty of correcting people when they refer to The United States as "America."

It just bugs the crap out of me.

But other things bother me lots more... Like having a retardedmonkeysassmotherfucker in the WH who slings the word "Sacrifice" around like he understands what that word means.

[magellan]

11. And denial ain't just a river in Egypt

[Totallybushed]

13. Yes, indeedie. no

word can EVER have more than one defintion.

did you have a point? Just askin'

[QueenOfCalifornia]

15. ?

The word America refers to N. America, Central and S. America. If a Canadian or Mexican used the phrase, "I am an American." it would be correct... It is misleading only for us who assume that we are the only "American's"

[Totallybushed]

16. That would be

because the word "American", in the common usage, applies to citizens of the United States of America, a country, a nation. "America" is also part of the name of two different continents, North America and South America. The citizens of other countries on these continents have other names traditionaly associated with them, Mexican, Canadian, Panamanian, Columbian, Brazilian, etc.

No one, I mean no one, with two brain cells to rub together is ignorant of these facts. So it's not exactly like you have given us a great revelation here. Now, if citizens of other countries want to claim to be Americans, I guess they have every right to do so. Although I think it would be more accurate to say "North" or "South" American. Just like the word "Eurasian" gives an image totally different from either "European" or "Asian".

So, I ask again, do you have a point? "American" has traditionally referred only to citizens of the USA when describing one's nationality. Why would a Canadian, or a Mexican, or a Brazilian, want to claim to be an "American", especially given the current international situation where Americans overseas are claiming to be Canadians for their own safety?

Do you have a point?

[SHRED]

18. I said I was sorry...;

...in advance!



:smoke:

[Totallybushed]

19. You're not sorry

if you then go ahead and do it anyway.

Besides, I'm not offended. I don't care what people choose to call themselves. I don't even care if Americans call themselves Americans. I just want to know your point. Which seems to be to offend. But why? Surely you havd some reason?

[SHRED]

20. In reality...

...I had no idea this would stir anything up.

I thought maybe 2 or 3 responses max.
My intention was to get those who do not see America, in that way, to see another view.
That is all.

:shrug:

[Totallybushed]

23. OK,

fair enough.

[hedgehog]

21. A lot of Latin Americans make a big point about the fact that they

are American. I don't know about Canadians. I think it's because these countries are still so focused on Europe, especially Spain and Portugal that they feel a need to differentiate themselves as American, not European. U.S Citizens are so un-European that they don't need to make a big deal out of it.

[Totallybushed]

22. OK, I can see that. It's

just that it seems to me to be evidence of an unjustified inferiority complex. Why do they want to associate themselves with "Americans" when they have their own glorious histories and cultures??

I frankly don't understand it. The only way to stand up to the hegemony is not to give it pride of place, IMO. But m aybe I'm reading this wrong?

[QueenOfCalifornia]

27. I made my point

[Totallybushed]

28. OK, going back to your statement.

We are the only people who go only by the name of "Americans". Others who claim to do so, when they have perfectly good names of their own, seem to me to be indulging in a fit of an inferiority complex. Why?

[Der Blaue Engel]

14. Oh, geez, not this again

It's not the United State of nothing, it's the United States of America. Why does this make everyone so crazy? We named our country after a continent that was named after an explorer who arguably had no business putting his name on one, let alone two continents. I don't see the issue.

[tritsofme]

17. If I'm not an American, then what am I?

A usian?

No thanks.

[porphyrian]

24. Actually, we copyrighted the abbreviation, so it is ours.

We also own the phrase "North and South," and you'll be contacted by our lawyers soon to discuss royalties.
;)

[northzax]

25. Actually, seems to me that America is an actress

sorry if that offends anyone's ego...:)

[Nimrod2005]

26. Mexico IS in America!!! Don't tell Lou Dobbs or Pat Buchanan...The Dominican Republic has

the first university in America, I have seen it with my own eyes.