Replies

Bravo. I am married to a Jamaican woman and her take has always been that in Jamaica there are only two kinds of people: Jamaicans and tourists. Jamaicans come in all shades... West Indian, Black, Chinese, German, Jewish, Indian (India), English, Irish, et cetera. However, they are not (---)-Jamaican. They are JAMAICANS, period. She has problems with American Blacks because she says they whine too much (not all, of course)... Her feelings largely reflect my own. Though MOST of my ancestors came from the U.K. (some came on the first boat over, Mayflower; the rest came later, I'm sure), I am a NATIVE American, born and bred for many generations. At the same time, I welcome non-NATIVE Americans of ALL shades and hues to the country we share and love like no other. All I ask is that we all meld together to become ONE PEOPLE. United. Forget the hyphens. Learn what we can from the past then let it go. Honor and uphold our Constitution, fight tooth and nail to ensure that it is upheld as the Supreme law of the land and continues to always GUARANTEE (but not GRANT) our liberties as Americans, native and by-choice.

Tell your parents, Welcome to the United States... and thanks for your post.

My mom is from Trinidad and Tobago. Yeah my mom had those same problems with the whining. I read Dinesh D'Souza's book What's So Great About America and he talks about the chief benefit of being immigrant is that you come in with 'outside enthusiasm'. My parents were together for 35 years. My dad had your attitude which was responsible for my mom staying here. I agree with you about unifying. I wish we could have 9-11 unity all the time.