This is a comment on the excellent lazatikia blog post of September 8th titled Choosing Ignorance. It would run too long posted there, so I've put it here and posted a link there. I would like to both add and detract from what zatikia said but not at all diminish its import or accuracy of her insight.

Both zatikia and I have advantage in understanding what she calls "Americans". We observe them both from perspectives of homeland lives but also now in too frequent encounters from vantage of extended expatriation. As have so many in similar circumstance, we see the delusory grandeur "America" attributes to itself that when viewed from the outside appears only as a sick joke.

"America's" all pervasive internal fog concocted of hiding history, deceptive propaganda, and willful ignorance is just too thick for truth's penetration. It is our realization gained elsewhere that allows honestly joining in how "Americans" are laughed at for unrecognized stupidity and hated for effects of its application.

I believe however that zatikia's term "American" deserves expansion. The characteristics are exhibited just as strongly and in some cases more so by those of other nations and cultures, including some who in pretense pride themselves in being above it all.

At the same time, it is necessary to subtract from zatikia's "Americans", especially by picking from those often talked of as Afro-Americans, Latino-Americans, Muslim-Americans, Native-Americans, and others commonly tattooed by hyphenated label.

It would appear on surface there are no Christo-Americans, Euro-Americans, or White-Americans. But, they are there. Oh yes, they are there, though not nearly in the majority they pretend. They are the regular "Americans", those who are granted no separation mark to denote difference from a preferred norm of color, language, religion, heritage, and relative access to wealth.

Even from within those regulars, there are a few we might separate out, the daring ones who go beyond merely voicing abhorrance at attitudes of their regular cousins but also risk reputation and welfare by devoting lives to fighting conditions of their own regularity.

For myself then, zatikia's "Americans" is both too small and too large a group to characterize our concern. If there must be a label for what remains after the additions and subractions, there should be one better fitting the ilk.

Geographic latitude of heritage origin seems related, but only loosely so. Skin pigmentation or lack thereof is clearly connected. So are religious expression and preferred language. However, none of those either alone or in combination mold a better definition, for they are all but symptoms artificially fixed to the problem's roots.

There is one I've picked up in the streets among straight talking people of many places who live on the hurting side of hyphenated fences. The specific words and phrasing vary with locale and language, but the intent is always clear, and it reaches to the root.

Try "Fucking Pigs".