Using the Word "American"

[Vohn_exel]

Sure, we believe Santa Anna was a badguy and the Alamo was full of heroes, but war is all perspective anyway.

Well, Santa Anna is a badguy everywhere; and I understand the illegal immigrants of the XIX century that did the war of independence, the central goverment was too far, too incompentent, too strange to their illegal alien culture; but... i am always hesitant to see it as an heroic war, especially since one of the main reasons for it was to preserve slavery.

It was a different time then. To them it wasn't so super wrong, and they would find our views on it just as strange as we find theirs. I believe with or without it, the war for our independence would've still taken place. It was a big deal then, so it was a big part of their lives. The world has matured since then, it just took a while.

 

[dcdude171]

Because when you say Americans it sounds like you are referring to the people of the entire continent and the people in at least México don't like to get associated with the gringos as we call them, we'll refute North American too since that includes Canada and México[footnote]Don't believe me? Look it up México is part of the North American region of the continent.[/footnote], it's for a lot of historical reasons, here in México the USA is very resented[footnote]By the people not the politicians and merchants they love the USA.[/footnote] for the fact that about half of that country used to be México and there is still a lot of hatred because in the USA Pancho Villa is recorded in history as a terrorist even though he is a hero here, doesn't help that the name of that country doesn't allow for a unique way of calling the people living in it since it's called United States of America, though the formal way that we call the inhabitants of that country is "Estadounidenses" which translates to Unitedstateians which sounds just weird, anyway it's mostly to do with the fact that people don't like to get associated with that country, I think, for what I've seen anyway.

YES they hate America sooo much ! thats why so many try to illegally come here !

 

[Ieyke]

Calling a Southerner a Yankee is basically like calling them a wuss.

Cause Yanks are wusses (jk my northern Americans)

Maybe it's not readily apparent to people elsewhere, but while the South has it's whole "The South Will Rise Again" notion of pride that the South could and should stand on its own separate from the USA, Texas goes beyond that since it is fully secure in the knowledge that Texas is the only State genuinely capable of surviving completely on its own. We've done it before and we can do it again. We're even the only state with our own military force, and the only state allowed to fly its State Flag at the same height as the American Flag. It's not hard to find Texans who will tell you they're from "The Republic Of Texas".

You...I...okay look first off having a flag flying the same or higher as the flag of the United States is ILLEGAL! I was in the Marines and am studying Criminal Justice, and that's one of the first things taught for both.

You were apparently taught wrong. You can drive down the street here and easily see that. You know, either that or no one here gives a damn and does it anyways, but they'll tell you the same thing I did.

Texas was also only it's own republic for a brief time, then accepted statehood due to the inability to properly defend itself. Not really "the only state genuinely capable of surviving completely on its own."

No. It joined the US because it had incurred a massive debt in war and the US offered to pay it off in exchange for becoming a state.

And what military force are you talking about? There isn't a Texan Army. If you're referring to the National Guard and State guard those are still under the United States military. They like to pretend they're separate, like if you say they take orders from the Governor, but he takes orders from the military first.

The Texas State Guard is a military force controlled solely by Texas and DOES NOT take orders from the US military (neither does the Governor). Whether or not they routinely cooperate with the US Military is a moot point, as it does not change what their actual chain of command is.

 

[DoPo]

Because when you say Americans it sounds like you are referring to the people of the entire continent and the people in at least México don't like to get associated with the gringos as we call them, we'll refute North American too since that includes Canada and México[footnote]Don't believe me? Look it up México is part of the North American region of the continent.[/footnote], it's for a lot of historical reasons, here in México the USA is very resented[footnote]By the people not the politicians and merchants they love the USA.[/footnote] for the fact that about half of that country used to be México and there is still a lot of hatred because in the USA Pancho Villa is recorded in history as a terrorist even though he is a hero here, doesn't help that the name of that country doesn't allow for a unique way of calling the people living in it since it's called United States of America, though the formal way that we call the inhabitants of that country is "Estadounidenses" which translates to Unitedstateians which sounds just weird, anyway it's mostly to do with the fact that people don't like to get associated with that country, I think, for what I've seen anyway.

YES they hate America sooo much ! thats why so many try to illegally come here !

Go back though the thread for a response to your response.

 

[Xangba]

snip

The only "military" any state has is a state sponsored militia. And yes, the Texas Army National Guard and the Texas State Guard DO take orders from the U.S. military, your belief they don't is because they can act independently with orders from the Governor. If the military sends orders down, they do it. That is the part your seem to be missing. The "actual chain of command" is orders from the military > orders from the state.

And yes it IS against the United States flag code to fly any flag on U.S. soil at the same height or higher than the American flag. It is not penalized, which is why ignorant Texans do it, thinking they have special rights. Technically anyone can do it and get away with it, but most people actually realize what the flag code is. It's an embarrassment to put your state at the same level as the United States.

And hey, glad you know about your war debt too. But yes, it was also due to the inability to guard your own borders. Texas very poorly managed itself.

 

[Lieju]

I've also seen, on this site and elsewhere, people insist on using the phrase "USican" or "USian" and even "USAers".

In my experience, those words are used for the sake of clarity, so it's clear they are talking about people living in the USA, as 'American' could mean people living on the continent, as the word is sometimes used. Especially if the speaker is American, but not USican, Canadian, for example.

It is sort of annoying, because of the confusion.

 

[Dense_Electric]

So, when you call yourselves "Americans" and leave out everything else is like we don't exist, or more like you are the only people that count.

NO ONE in this country calls themselves an "American" because they think they're better than everyone else on the continent, we call ourselves "Americans" because that's a common name of our country. Let me break it down for you:

People's Republic of China = China
Commonwealth of Australia = Australia (which, again, is ALSO the name of the whole continent)
Russian Federation = Russia
Federal Republic of Germany = Germany
French Republic = France
Italian Republic = Italy
United Mexican States = Mexico
United States of America = America

Consistency.

I've also seen, on this site and elsewhere, people insist on using the phrase "USican" or "USian" and even "USAers".

In my experience, those words are used for the sake of clarity, so it's clear they are talking about people living in the USA, as 'American' could mean people living on the continent, as the word is sometimes used. Especially if the speaker is American, but not USican, Canadian, for example.

It is sort of annoying, because of the confusion.

Okay, really? Maybe it's just a North American thing, but in my experience online, I've never met ANYONE who didn't know what country I was referring to when I said "America." Unless the person you're talking to is intentionally being pretentious, they should be familiar with the common usage.

 

[Kae]

-Snip-

YES they hate America sooo much ! thats why so many try to illegally come here !

I don't get it, what's the point of this argument?
First off it's blatantly obvious that I'm not talking on behalf of every single person in México nor have I said the everybody in México hates the USA, I just stated some reasons why some people in México dislike or hate the USA, so again what does the illegal immigrant thing has to do with anything I've said?
Also explaining the reasons for illegal immigrants would be rather complicated given that every person has they're reasons but I can tell you this, not everyone that goes there does so because they want to or because they would like to, again comes back to each individual person.
So the lesson is please don't generalize there are no absolutes here so really there's no point to debunking my argument by saying pointless stuff like this, and I'm really getting sick of getting this in my inbox, seriously people think of what you've typed before you hit post.

 

[TomLikesGuitar]

Because people LOVE to get pissed off about semantics.

You can literally argue for days and get absolutely nowhere.

 

[Vrach]

Do they? I've never heard someone get upset at simply the word 'American'

^This. I mean I get the "US is one thing, America/North America are another", but it's just so widely used, I've never seen anyone have a problem with it.

Stop calling us all Europeans and we'll stop calling you all American

When you say someone is European, you're saying they're from Europe, that's the only definition. When you say someone is American, the "correct" usage would mean they could come from anywhere from both North and South America, but it's most widely used for the people from the US. So... completely different. People aren't annoyed about the generalisation, they're (allegedly) annoyed at the misuse of it.

 

[Lieju]

Okay, really? Maybe it's just a North American thing, but in my experience online, I've never met ANYONE who didn't know what country I was referring to when I said "America." Unless the person you're talking to is intentionally being pretentious, they should be familiar with the common usage.

Generally, when someone is called 'American', or the word 'America' is used, it's at least assumed it means USA. Although not always, but usually the context will make it clear what it's about.

But in a discussion where there is a lot of referring to the continents and countries, it might be useful to make sure people know what you mean with 'American' in this context. If you, for example, have a discussion about, lets say immigration around the world, and it's both referred to continents and countries. I have been a part of discussions where there was confusion over such things.

"In Americas, on the other hand, both Americans and Canadians think this, while most South-American countries have disagreed with America"

Personally, I just think it sounds silly (although I generally use 'American' and 'America' to refer to USA). South America is not a part of America?

And I know I'd be upset, if say, Germany would insist to be called 'Europe', but the America thing is so commonly used...

 

[Jegsimmons]

this is like the third fucking thread on this subject!

just call people what everyone else calls them! we figured this shit out already!

WHAT IS THE PROBLEM!?!?!?

 

[Ieyke]

snip

The only "military" any state has is a state sponsored militia. And yes, the Texas Army National Guard and the Texas State Guard DO take orders from the U.S. military, your belief they don't is because they can act independently with orders from the Governor. If the military sends orders down, they do it. That is the part your seem to be missing. The "actual chain of command" is orders from the military > orders from the state.

Uh...no.

And yes it IS against the United States flag code to fly any flag on U.S. soil at the same height or higher than the American flag.

Also, no.
"When flown with flags of states, communities or societies on separate flag poles which are of the same height and in a straight line, the flag of the United States is always placed in the position of honor?to its own right. The other flags may be the same size but none may be larger.
No other flag should be placed above it. The flag of the United States is always the first flag raised and the last to be lowered.
When flown with the national banner of other countries, each flag must be displayed from a separate pole of the same height. Each flag should be the same size. They should be raised and lowered simultaneously. The flag of one nation may not be displayed above that of another nation in time of peace."
Technically ANY flag can be flown at the same height.

And hey, glad you know about your war debt too. But yes, it was also due to the inability to guard your own borders. Texas very poorly managed itself.

Uh...no. Unless you think the US itself was threatening invasion, that doesn't begin to make sense. The enemy was Mexico, which we defeated. They weren't going to be coming back quicker than we could handle them. The debt was the actual problem and the USA just offered a convenient way to deal with it.

 

[Hatter]

My brother, sister and a group of my friends spent a summer at an orphanage in Guyana and were surprised to find that they all referred to the u.s. simply as America.

 

[Dense_Electric]

Okay, really? Maybe it's just a North American thing, but in my experience online, I've never met ANYONE who didn't know what country I was referring to when I said "America." Unless the person you're talking to is intentionally being pretentious, they should be familiar with the common usage.

Generally, when someone is called 'American', or the word 'America' is used, it's at least assumed it means USA. Although not always, but usually the context will make it clear what it's about.

But in a discussion where there is a lot of referring to the continents and countries, it might be useful to make sure people know what you mean with 'American' in this context. If you, for example, have a discussion about, lets say immigration around the world, and it's both referred to continents and countries. I have been a part of discussions where there was confusion over such things.

"In Americas, on the other hand, both Americans and Canadians think this, while most South-American countries have disagreed with America"

Personally, I just think it sounds silly (although I generally use 'American' and 'America' to refer to USA). South America is not a part of America?

And I know I'd be upset, if say, Germany would insist to be called 'Europe', but the America thing is so commonly used...

Alright, fair enough, though usually when speaking on an international scale I'd go more by region than strictly by continent (Canada and the US, for example, compose "North America," while Mexico, Honduras, Nicaragua, etc., are in "Central America"). If I were referring to the whole super-continent, I'd probably use the phrase "the Americas."

 

[Ieyke]

"America" (a shortening of "United states Of America") - The United States Of America

"North America" (a continent) - The USA, Canada, Mexico, Greenland, the Caribbean islands

"Latin America" (a cultural region) - Central America, South America, and the Caribbean islands.

"Central America" (geographic region) - Belize, Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, and Panama.

"Middle America" (region) - Everything from Mexico to Colombia and Venezuela.

"South America" (a continent) - Colombia, Ecuador, Chile, Peru, Argentina, etc etc etc etc.

"The Americas" (super continent) - All of North America and all of South America together (and thereby including "Latin America", "Central America", "Middle America", and "America" by extension)


It's dead simple to figure out which one "American" would apply to, because it's not "North American", "Latin American", South American", "Middle American", or "Central American".

 

[aba1]

I always got the impression it was because America includes two continents which is many more countries than the US

 

[Ieyke]

I always got the impression it was because America includes two continents which is many more countries than the US

Nope. That's "The Americas".
There is formally no such thing as "America". Informally, "America" is a short-form term for "The United States Of America".