I'm Only An American At Your Whim

Every time I point out that I'm a proud African American, I get pushback from elements of the white community that regurgitate that 'we're all Americans' and we need to stop considering ourselves as 'hyphenated Americans'

Easy for you to say.   

But the problem is you white Americans never give me, my people, Latino/a's, Asians or any person of color the opportunity to feel comfortable enough to simply be called an American.

You remind us every day that in your not so humble opinions the definition of American = white Anglo Saxon heterosexual fetishistic gun owning Republican voting male, and when you are inclined to do so, white Anglo Saxon heterosexual Republican voting female.

Foe the rest of us that don't fit your 'Real American' vision, there is disrespect and derision.

It's this dynamic that we're contemplating when and why we African-Americans get so pissed off about any disrespect aimed at President Obama.  Since you are always singing that song and dance about 'we're all Americans', show us by respecting the current occupant of the White House.

He's not just my president, he's yours as well.    Isn't that what you tried to spit at me about the last occupant of the Oval Office?   We had to accept the results and 'respect the office'.   

Why can't you 'respect the office' when the First Family occupying 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue don't look like you?

But this isn't just about the POTUS, although he is a prime example of what I'm talking about in this post.

You vanilla flavored people are not the only ones born to American parents (or parent) or inside the borders of the USA that are American citizens.   But yet you refuse to give us that respect of acknowledging that we POC's are also born here, raised here (or overseas), shed our blood in military service to this country and pay taxes on April 15 as well.

Am I an American only when I lock step agree with your conservative bull feces that run counter to the political and economic interests of my people?   Am I an American only when you need some bodies to put on a uniform and fight a war?    

Do you 'Real Americans' still believe as Justice Roger B. Taney did over 150 years ago that 'I have no rights a white man is bound to respect?'   You sure do act like it at times, especially those of you with (R)'s  behind your names.

I and other African Americans want to believe what my Houston homegirl, the late Rep. Barbara Jordan said when she stated 'I have finally been included in the 'We the People' that are the first three words of the preamble of the United States Constitution.  We have fought, marched, protested, written about, litigated, educated, shed blood, and voted our way into believing we'd finally achieved that status on November 4, 2008.

 Some of our people have even given up their lives to make that happen.  But yet this nation since that night is no closer to achieving Dr. King's dream than this nation is of achieving a manned space flight that will result in us planting the American flag on the surface of Mars.  In many cases we have regressed, not progressed. 

Am I an American only at your whim?   

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