Bushisms make university's banned list

CNN ^

[Chemist_Geek]

Those who write "Marshall Law" ought to be shot after a court-martial...

[DaughterOfAnIwoJimaVet]

Thank you for the clarification, Maceman.

Believe me, I'm no advocate of Hyphenated-American Syndrome. I have two primary objections to it: The names do little more than divide us, and some of the names suggest an allegiance to places other than the United States of America.

Maybe something has gone over my head (always a distinct possibility), but speaking strictly for myself, I never interpreted the term "Native American" that way. That one just never bothered me. I don't feel the slightest bit demeaned by someone else's use of it.

I can acknowledge your point, and I hope you will give mine some thought. You said you didn't want to be excluded. You might consider what it must have been like not to have been granted citizenship or voting rights in your own home until 1924 - or what it feels like when someone won't sell you a jug of water because you're an American Indian (an anecdote I read about here on FR that someone witnessed in the Southwest in recent years).

I can't help but see a bit of irony in your post. Exclusion, indeed.

Please consider what it must have been like to have been punished - chained to a radiator for days - for speaking the Navajo language, then being called upon to speak it with precision in combat situations in defense of your country - particularly after (while?) being treated like a dog by ignorant individuals around you.

So, for me, if a Navajo Code Talker wishes to be referred to as "Native American" (I'm not at all certain that would be their preference - I'm just illustrating a point), I think I can dig deep and find the emotional generosity to show him that much respect. In fact, in part because I am the daughter of a veteran of Iwo Jima, it would be a privilege for me to call him anything he wants to be called.

We all pick our battles, and this one is apparently yours. It's not mine, but, I'm glad we got some things cleared up.

Thanks. (And yes, if you use the term "injun" again, please do include the sarcasm tag...that would have helped me understand what you were getting at before.)

[Maceman]

Of course, your examples of inhumanity shown to aboriginal Americans are horrible and inexcusable, and I hope you understand that I find them morally offensive.

But as for the term "Native American" not necessary being exclusionary, I have an anecdote of my own for you.

My wife (also of Eastern European Jewish extraction) is dark and very exotic looking, and she and I are both asked frequently where we're "from" (i.e. not the Boston area, but what country).

Last when I was on a cruise with my family, an American black lady in a deck chair asked where we were "from." I gave her my typical answer (native American), and she asked what tribe. I told her about my 4 Jewish grandparents and she said to me: "That doesn't count as native American."

Of course, being a gentleman, I didn't continue to press the point, since I had already stated my peace and an argument would not have been appropriate in that circumstance. But her response is typical of what I hear whenever I identify myself in this way. I suppose she would have been happier if I identified myself as a European American, but of course, I would find such a description highly inaccurate and misleading -- especially since I have only been to Europe once in my life for a few weeks.

You are right about choosing one's battles. But IMHO, taking back the language from the PC tyrants is absolutely critical if we are to regain our American heritage. It is one of my pet issues, and I make it a point to speak out against it whenever I can, in what ever manner is appropriate for the given social situation I am in.

It is often not appropriate to get into an argument in socual situations, but I feel it my moral obligation to at least state my disagreemnt in order that no one will ever infer my tacit agreement to the underlying premises of the PC lexicon.

It is part of my effort to do what I can to help raise America's consciousness on a grass roots level.