|
|
MagicSanta Inner circle Northern Nevada 5841 Posts |
Where do we draw the line with hyphens (sp)? I can let slide those obsessed with their ancestorial roots or race, such as Italian American or African American, but where does it end? I now see references to Hatian-Americans! Hatians are not a race nor a 'people' in the sense the Germans, English, and black folks are, they are a nationality! What next? Canadian-Americans? I mean, even Mexican-American is pushing it because it is also a nationality (though many who have never been there deny that) and a country settled much like the US and Canada and the rest of the Americas only with a bit more violence. Do I get to be an American-American? Are going to jump to Euro-Irish-German-Welsh-American for me? Enough already! Here, let me make it easy, you are whatever the name in front of the embassy you run to when the French start rioting that will let you in without begging. Got it? Stop the hyphenization of America!
|
rossmacrae Inner circle Arlington, Virginia 2475 Posts |
I move we substitute an ellipsis. You know, "Canadian ... Americans". Yeah, dot's the answer!
|
Whit Haydn V.I.P. 5449 Posts |
Excuse me...the English are a race? Germans are a race? French are a race?
|
MagicSanta Inner circle Northern Nevada 5841 Posts |
No, the are an ancestorial reference thus why I mentiontioned race AND ancestorial roots. Aussies, Canadians, Americans, etc are nationalities, Germans, Spaniards, Italians are ancestorial peoples that share a considered common race yet are also considered a nationality. Example, anyone can be British, but not everyone can be English, if someone moves from Istanbul to Munich and have kids they are German by nation by will never become Germans. It is like there are Asians yet there are also Chinese, Japanese, Korean, etc yet most Taiwanese would fall into the catagory of nationality. This is why calling someone born in the US an Australian-American would sound stupid. If I moved to China would I become an American Chinese? Heck no! Any further questions my children?
|
landmark Inner circle within a triangle 5194 Posts |
The hyphen only exists for the adjective, not the noun. Thus, one can write of Irish-American culture, but write of the culture of Irish Americans. So Santa, you need never have to worry about a hyphen again, okay? Just use the proper syntax.
Click here to get Gerald Deutsch's Perverse Magic: The First Sixteen Years
All proceeds to Open Heart Magic charity. |
MagicSanta Inner circle Northern Nevada 5841 Posts |
A syntax! Now you want to tax booze, smokes, and $@#$!
|
George Ledo Magic Café Columnist SF Bay Area 3042 Posts |
Does the term anal retentive have a hyphen?
That's our departed buddy Burt, aka The Great Burtini, doing his famous Cups and Mice routine
www.georgefledo.net Latest column: "Sorry about the photos in my posts here" |
abc Inner circle South African in Taiwan 1081 Posts |
Quote:
On 2010-01-13 22:37, George Ledo wrote: Only if used in this manner: Anal retentive Australian American. |
Magnus Eisengrim Inner circle Sulla placed heads on 1053 Posts |
Use all the hyphens I say! Be who you wanna be. E-pluribus-unum to you all!
John the Scottish-Danish-Canadian-North American-earthling
The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere
The ceremony of innocence is drowned; The best lack all conviction, while the worst Are full of passionate intensity.--Yeats |
Cliffg37 Inner circle Long Beach, CA 2491 Posts |
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Hyphens for everyone!
Magic is like Science,
Both are fun if you do it right! |
Tom Cutts Staff Northern CA 5925 Posts |
Quote: Welcome the Beligerant-American. Japanese are not Asians.
On 2010-01-13 22:14, MagicSanta wrote: |
S2000magician Inner circle Yorba Linda, CA 3465 Posts |
A few years ago there was a high school in, I believe, Kansas, that was having an election for African-American Student of the Year. A white student was suspended for putting up posters asking the students to vote for him.
The white student was born in South Africa, where his ancestors had lived for the last 400 years. If "African-American" means anything, it means that he's an American with African ancestry. I believe that 400 years qualifies as African ancestry. The problem, of course, is that the faculty were using the term "African-American" because they were too cowardly to use a term that accurately described what they really meant: black. |
S2000magician Inner circle Yorba Linda, CA 3465 Posts |
Quote:
On 2010-01-13 21:22, Whit Haydn wrote: I do recall a few years ago when people were making all sorts of jokes about the French; such people were frequently called "racist". |
stoneunhinged Inner circle 3067 Posts |
Sorry for being dense, but what's the difference between race and ancestry? And when did that distinction begin? And do we want to preserve it or adhere to it or make a political issue of it?
And what is American identity? Is it racial or ancestral? What is my son, for example: he possesses two passports and two languages and different ancestries. Is he an American-German, a German-American, a Deutsch-Amerikaner, or a Amerikanische-Deutscher? And what am I, since I've spent more than half my life living outside the USA--the formative years being in Taiwan. Am I half Chinese? WHOOPS! I mean, half Taiwanese? Is there a racial difference between the Chinese on Taiwan and the native Taiwanese? What constitutes a native Taiwanese, anyway? Can a native Taiwanese belong to the KMT? Is the difference racial, ethnic, religious, ancestral? Is Taiwan in Asia? Who decides what Asia is, anyway? The original term came from the Greeks. Were the Greeks in Asia? What did they mean by it? Everything to the east of Greece? What was Greece, back in the day? Was it an ethnic, racial, or ancestral distinction? What did the Asians call themselves? What do Japanese call themselves. What did the Greeks call the Japanese? Had Herodotus called the Japanese Asians, would he have been right or wrong? Does Tom Cutts have Greek ancestry? I'm so dense that I cannot even begin to debate these categories. There is just one question after the other. And none of the categories are important unless you reduce politics to "us" and "them" terms. All of you know exactly what I mean: yes, being a Muslim Serb is pretty darn important when you loathe the Christian Croats. Especially when certain power-hungry tyrants chooses to fan the flames of distinction rather than focus on community and common bonds. Oops! Sorry for the rant. I didn't plan it. It just sort of happened. |
MagicSanta Inner circle Northern Nevada 5841 Posts |
Let me try to explain all this to you Stonehedge.
>>>>what's the difference between race and ancestry? And when did that distinction begin? And do we want to preserve it or adhere to it or make a political issue of it? <<<< There are the basic race groups, those being caucasian, asian, negroid, and for the sake of argument Hispanic (I use caps cuz those be my people). There are sub races as well, austriod, bushmen, trible, etc. These races are further broken down into major ancestorial families, for example Germanic, Egyptian, Japanese, Korean, Chinese, Limeys, so forth. So while they may be classified as the same race they are very much culturally different. This also has other groups like Nordic, French, Spanish, and hippies. The distinction has always existed, this is called cultural ethnocentricism, unless directed at Americans then it is called 'racism'. As for preserving etc we call that 'cherry picking'. >>>And what is American identity? Is it racial or ancestral? <<<< Neither, it is more generational. The United States along with countries like Canada, Brazil, Australia, and the ilk, are the only countries that one can move to and become citizens and if they become of that society they are viewed as members of that nation. I can move to France, have kids, and they can have kids, and they will never be considered French by the French though they may be French by citizenship. >>>What is my son, for example: he possesses two passports and two languages and different ancestries. Is he an American-German, a German-American, a Deutsch-Amerikaner, or a Amerikanische-Deutscher? <<<< He's a German, I have no idea what your ancenstory is but I can pretty much it has no influence on you. Being an American is a sociatel (I made that word up) condition and he has made, per your previous posts, one visit to the US and that does not make him American. >>>And what am I, since I've spent more than half my life living outside the USA--the formative years being in Taiwan. Am I half Chinese? WHOOPS! I mean, half Taiwanese? Is there a racial difference between the Chinese on Taiwan and the native Taiwanese? What constitutes a native Taiwanese, anyway? Can a native Taiwanese belong to the KMT? Is the difference racial, ethnic, religious, ancestral? Is Taiwan in Asia? <<< You will never be Chinese even if you were born and raised in Beijing on rice water. You were an American living in Taiwan. There are ethnic Taiwanese but the bulk of the Taiwanese are Chinese and many, if not the vast majority, identify themselves as such and hope some day to be reunited with the mainland, you of course know this but are mearly having fun. The Chinese in Taiwan are Asian, the Taiwanese are of Polynesian ancenstory, so they are of different racial, ethnic, etc.. the KMT is the group that split out from China to what was then Formosa and thus it is unlikely that the ethnic Taiwanese would join. Taiwan is in Asia. Taiwan is the Republic of China but out of respect for Chiang Kai-shek who asked that it be refered to as Taiwan at least once then we can call it the ROC. >>>Who decides what Asia is, anyway? The original term came from the Greeks. Were the Greeks in Asia? What did they mean by it? Everything to the east of Greece? What was Greece, back in the day? Was it an ethnic, racial, or ancestral distinction? What did the Asians call themselves? What do Japanese call themselves. What did the Greeks call the Japanese? Had Herodotus called the Japanese Asians, would he have been right or wrong? Does Tom Cutts have Greek ancestry? <<<< I have no clue who decided what, if you say the Greeks then so be it. Greece is one of those people who are ancestorial and are a mix of races, look at their geography. The Japanese are interesting, the ones who consider themselves the true Japanese are perhaps not and they consider themselves a seperate race, a superior one, to the Asians, but the Koreans also consider themselves superior as to the Chinese etc. Tom Cutts is an Oakland dude, thus he is a rapper. I hope I've been of some help. |
stoneunhinged Inner circle 3067 Posts |
Quote:
On 2010-01-14 05:39, MagicSanta wrote: Indeed. Thank you, sir. Have a beer: |
kid iowa Loyal user Oklahoma 300 Posts |
Santa rocks!
Any man who may be asked in this century what he did to make his life worthwhile...can respond with a good deal of pride and satisfaction, "I served in the United States Navy." J.F.K.
|
Jimeh Inner circle Ottawa, Ontario 1399 Posts |
Indeed!
|
Magnus Eisengrim Inner circle Sulla placed heads on 1053 Posts |
To put the issue in Stone-ese:
Race and ethnicity are not natural kinds. Ethnicity is probably what Ian Hacking would call an "interactive kind". As if you didn't know John
The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere
The ceremony of innocence is drowned; The best lack all conviction, while the worst Are full of passionate intensity.--Yeats |
The Magic Cafe Forum Index » » Not very magical, still... » » What da hyphen? (0 Likes) |
[ Top of Page ] |
All content & postings Copyright © 2001-2024 Steve Brooks. All Rights Reserved. This page was created in 0.06 seconds requiring 5 database queries. |
The views and comments expressed on The Magic Café are not necessarily those of The Magic Café, Steve Brooks, or Steve Brooks Magic. > Privacy Statement < |