Americans outside USA!?

Are there any people on this forum from the Americas OUTSIDE the US who mind the way US citizens have monopolised the word "Americans"?

The way their president talks to his "fellow Americans" but he is in fact just talking to his fellow US citizens?

Curious...

Come on all you Canadians, Mexicans, Brasilians, have your say!
Why not come up with a better name for them than "US citizens"?

 

Quit startin' trouble, you.

 

Perhaps it's because the name of our country is the United States of America. Canada is not the Canada of America, Mexico not Mexico of America. When people contract the name they call us Americans. I suppose you could call us United Statesians or something but it really doesn't roll off the tongue. No one else seemed to think the term America was important enough to add it to their name. I can't argue with them as I am not too sure what the importance of Mr. Vespuci (sp?) really was.

 

Well, most other countries have names that are defining in and of themselves - Scotland is full Scots, Finland is full of Finns, for example (though the Gauls and Bavarians get the shaft). IMO the US was such a polyglot culture that one size didn't necessarily fit all (though the founding fathers appear to ALL have been of English stock).

Mexico and Canada could have been "the United States" or "United Provinces" themselves, but I guess the US of A called firsties on that, since we were the first independent nations on the continent. Well, aside from all the Indian nations that were doing just fine, thank you, before the Europeans showed up.

I might be wrong, but Vespucci didn't really discover or explore anything; Vespucci was a mapmaker who was the first guy to really map out the Americas' coastline.

...or I could read the read the Wikipedia entry and find out how wrong I am....

 

As far as what to call us, I think most other Americans would prefer instead of saying "I'm an American" we would initially identify ourselves as being "from the United States."

Noted liberal writer Gore Vidal pointedly refers to what most would call "Americans" as "United States citizens" which is pretty unwieldy. "U.S.ers" or "staters" just don't have that good a ring to them.

I'll stick with Americans and apologize to my brethren from other countries as needed.

 

We'll just call youse seppos then,ay?

 

Hi Chavez,

Yes, I don't mind stirring the pot a bit at times.
At least you have an open mind on this issue.

Come on everyone from non-US, American countries, I want some answers from YOU!

Nomad

 

I certainly don't mind the pot being stirred; you seem able to do so without being an insufferable twat (as oh-too-many internet "pot stirrers" seem to be).

 

No problem, ya ocker.

 

I can remember some "weenie" reacting in contempt when I identified my self as being from "The United States of America" while in Asia some years ago. The implication was that I was puffing out my chest, wraping myself in the stars and stripes, although I had always done so in an attempt to be accurate, for the reasons you have suggested. I took out my passport and showed the jerk what was printed on the cover, which closed the subject.

As you know the Americas, are 2 whole continents, yet in my travels in both, I have found little inclination for citizens of the other countries (EG. the Argentines and Bolivians) to lay claim to also being "Americans" for fear of being thought to be members of ours! In the 1970's it was common in fact to encounter Canadian travelers with their flag sewn on their back packs, to dismiss any confusion non English speakers would have with their very similar spoken English and cultural demeanor.

Your agitation is kind of a non event.