I Am Proud to Be an American....Maybe

I was sitting in Mugg & Bean the other day next to two men and a woman who were having a discussion about how to expand their art business.  They drank tons of coffee while they hashed out their master plan, and somehow the conversation turned to America (I believe it was after one of them made the comment that Americans hate Muslims more than anyone).  Unbeknownst to them that I was American, (I'll get back to people thinking I'm "African"), they decided to state their opinion on Americans.  One gentleman said that Americans fall into two categories, the LA types (I guess that meant materialistic) and the Jerry Springer type (those who are "ghetto" I suppose).  Is Jerry Springer still on t.v.?  He went on to say that because Americans never travel, they don't allow others to form a better opinion of them.  The funny part is when I sat down near them, they greeted me and held a conversation for a few minutes. My accent is clearly not South African, but they never bothered to inquire where I was from.  I almost interjected to offer a correction to their generalization, but thought it was not worth my time (plus I had work to do).


I later had drinks with two colleagues and one of them said that I was one of the nicest Americans he had ever met.  Before getting defensive, I asked him to explain what his statement meant.  He had no qualms in explaining to me his disdain for Americans.  He is a white South African and sees America as the country whose actions constantly have a negative impact on his own country.  He also could not understand why America is insistent on building up a military that is already one of the strongest in the world.  I was taken aback by his comment and partly defensive that others would continue to view America as a big mean country after we voted Barack into power.  His opinion of Americans is that we are ignorant and have no respect for other countries or cultures and believe that our way is the best way.  I tried to explain to both men that their opinion of my country might be marred by the 8 years of George Bush's rein.  But they associated their opinions of the U.S. dating back since the Vietnam War and Reagan. I tried to explain to him that not all Americans adopt the views of the sitting government, but just like the current state of South Africa, sometimes some views are not enough to override who gets into power.  I didn't even bother to get into explaining to him about our electoral college and how someone could receive more of the popular vote but still lose because they did not win in the right states.  


It's tragic that others have such a deplorable view of Americans, then again, I do find that there is an arrogance that stems from ignorance when it comes to most Americans.  We grow up in a nation where we feel like we have the most power and our way is the normal way, while our dollar continues to weaken against the euro, more and more outsourcing of work is being done, and we are lagging behind in our educational system.  Yet, we come to certain developing countries and feel pity for them and expect that our only role is to help them out of their "hardships."


Although most black South Africans are seemingly friendly toward me, many think I'm from somewhere in Africa.  I constantly have to tell people that I only speak English.  A few people have told me that based on the way I look, I could be mistaken for being an African.  In my opinion, I am an African even though I don't speak a tribal language (aren't all black people African?).  It isn't until I say enough sentences in English, and ask the person who I am speaking with to repeat themselves a couple times, that people recognize that I am not African.  Still, most blacks embrace me when I tell them that I am American, then they usually have a funny quip as a retort.  However, I have had a few experiences where a person's demeanor changes once I tell them I am American.  Those are the times that I make an extra effort to warm myself up to that person in hopes that I could change their mind about the way that they judge at least one American.