I was in a country recently where, in the middle of my presentation, somebody (not an American) whom I know to be a nice person raised the irrelevant subject of Americans wearing shoes in the home. his point was that Americans are uncivilized. I explained that America is a country of immigrants and some of us wear shoes in the house, and some don't. Personally, I don't. But it's interesting how people use customs to denigrate and exclude.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I only use the hyphenated version when someone has recently immigrated. It recognizes their culture and is polite, IMO.

And the children and grandchildren of immigrants should ignore their ethnicity?

Ethnicity and nationality are not the same thing.

and your point is?

We're having a conversation about nationality not being just one race. Please reference the thread title.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I only use the hyphenated version when someone has recently immigrated. It recognizes their culture and is polite, IMO.

And the children and grandchildren of immigrants should ignore their ethnicity?

Ethnicity and nationality are not the same thing.

and your point is?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I only use the hyphenated version when someone has recently immigrated. It recognizes their culture and is polite, IMO.

And the children and grandchildren of immigrants should ignore their ethnicity?

Ethnicity and nationality are not the same thing.

Anonymous wrote:I only use the hyphenated version when someone has recently immigrated. It recognizes their culture and is polite, IMO.

And the children and grandchildren of immigrants should ignore their ethnicity?

Many Asians say American to refer to whites and Asians to refer to other Asians, whether or not they are American. Is that like black people using the N word among themselves but non-Asians cannot say Asian?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Wait. You mean Americans can be something other than white???

Who knew. Here I am living and working in the District of Columbia and I truly had no idea.

Most white and black Americans in DC see an Asian person, and they do not think "American," they think "Asian." That is a problem, IMO.

That is because of hyphenated Americanism. Stop saying African, or Asian American ad just call yourself an American. Same thing with other cultures.

So nice of you, as a white person, to tell people of color how they should identify themselves!

I only use the hyphenated version when someone has recently immigrated. It recognizes their culture and is polite, IMO.

I am white and DH is Asian and we are strictly no-shoes. We do so for health, not cultural reasons; however, both he and I grew up this way.

I think it's a little silly to categorize "shoes on in the house" as "American." It's really more that people see people on TV wearing shoes in the house, and so they assume that's the norm, when in reality, plenty of Americans (of all ethniticities) are shoes-off. I liken this to the way that the midwestern accent has become much more entrenched in the last 50 years, and is considered the "standard" American accent now, due to TV popularizing it and making it seem "normal."

Sadly, it seems like some people who think they are "normal" get really indignant whenever they come across someone who they deem isn't -- I think it's more authentically American to realize we all come from different backgrounds, and to tolerate (and maybe even learn from) people with different habits than us.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Wait. You mean Americans can be something other than white???

Who knew. Here I am living and working in the District of Columbia and I truly had no idea.

Most white and black Americans in DC see an Asian person, and they do not think "American," they think "Asian." That is a problem, IMO.

What a ridiculous generalization. What do you know about what most whites and blacks are thinking? How do you know what any one of us is thinking? As you fight against racism, look in the mirror.

PP nailed it re the difference between acknowledging a cultural trend and suggesting that nonconformists don't belong to the culture.

Personally, I think the cultural trend is irrelevant anyway. As a guest, I respect the host's preference.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Wait. You mean Americans can be something other than white???

Who knew. Here I am living and working in the District of Columbia and I truly had no idea.

Most white and black Americans in DC see an Asian person, and they do not think "American," they think "Asian." That is a problem, IMO.

That is because of hyphenated Americanism. Stop saying African, or Asian American ad just call yourself an American. Same thing with other cultures.

Where is the shoe thread? I couldn't find it. Can someone lnk?

I know my history. Do you know your manners? Again, we're talking about shoes here right?