tdekeyser

Some fundies in Pakistan had published in a
newspaper an offer of a reward to anyone who killed an American, any American.
So I just thought I would write to let them know what an American is, so they would know when they found one.

An American is English, or French, or Italian, Irish, German, Spanish, Polish, Russian or Greek. An American may also be Mexican, African,
German, Indian, Chinese, Japanese, Australian, Iranian, Asian, or Arab, or Pakistani, or Afghan. An American may also be a Cherokee, Osage, Blackfoot, Navaho, Apache, or one of the many other tribes known as native Americans.

An American is Christian, or he could be Jewish, or Buddhist, or Muslim. In fact, there are more Muslims in America than in Afghanistan. The only
difference is that in America they are free to worship as each of them chooses.

An American is also free to believe in no religion.

An American is generous. Americans have helped out just about every other nation in the world in their time of need. When Afghanistan was overrun by the Soviet army 20 years ago, Americans came with arms and supplies to enable the people to win back their country. As of the morning of
September 11, Americans had given more than any other nation to the poor in Afghanistan. The best products, the best books, the best music, the best
food, the best athletes.

> So you can try to kill an American if you must. Hitler did. So did General Tojo, and Stalin, and Mao Tse-Tung, and every bloodthirsty tyrant in the history of the world. But, in doing so you would just be killing yourself. Because Americans are not a particular people from a particular place. They are the embodiment of the human spirit of freedom. Everyone who holds to that spirit, everywhere, is an American.
>
> So look around you. You may find more Americans in your land than you
> thought were there. One day they will rise up and overthrow the old,
> ignorant, tired tyrants that trouble too many lands. Then those lands,
too,
> will join the community of free and prosperous nations. And America will
> welcome them!

Jamie_L

Nice letter. Only problem: here's the likely response:

God will let us know which ones to kill.

*Sigh*

Jamie

Bree

Did you write this?

Funny - I got an email forward in my Junk Mail folder which was very similar to what you just posted.

PS: delete the carats &gt at the bottom - it looks more realistic that way.

[ May 30, 2002: Message edited by: Bree ]</p>

tdekeyser

Oops! No, I did not write this and am not trying to say I did. I also got this mail and thought it was good. I did take out some offensive god stuff though...here it is:

"For that he
&gt; will answer only to God, not to the government, or to armed thugs claiming
&gt; to speak for the government and for God.
&gt;
&gt; An American is from the most prosperous land in the history of the world.
&gt; The root of that prosperity can be found in the Declaration of
&gt; Independence, which recognizes the God given right of each man and woman
to
&gt; the pursuit of happiness."

Kosh

All I know is, it sure as hell IS NOT
the Indian who moved here and then sued McDonalds
for using beef products in it's french fries....

Arrowman

I don't normally get grumpy about this sort of thing, but the offensiveness of that e-mail does not lie only in the "god stuff".

...Because Americans are not a particular people from a particular place. They are the embodiment of the human spirit of freedom. Everyone who holds to that spirit, everywhere, is an American...

Bullshit.

Everyone who holds to that spirit, everywhere, is a decent human being. I heartily resent the author's jingoistic implication that the United States and its people are the only embodiment of all that is good on this planet.

Monkeybot

Yeah, as much as I appreciate the idea that we should "stand together against terror," or whatever, I'm also made quite uncomfortable by the section Arrowman quoted. I may be an American but I do not hold this view -- and frankly, arrogance like this makes it difficult for Americans abroad, who are often assumed to agree with such attitudes.

Just because I happen to have been born in a particular country, that says nothing about my personality either way.

I realize that the author probably just meant this email as a pep-talk or whatever, but it's really not doing a lot to dispel the arrogant-American stereotype.

Bree

Monkeybot - you have expressed my feelings exactly. I have a lot of friends overseas - many of them in England and Scotland - and I am constantly being "teased" about my American arrogance. I know it's just teasing and they really don't hold it against me, but I know that somewhere, deep down, they're right.

And you're right too - email forwards like this one do very little to dispel the myth.

Oxidizing Material

An American is one who has citizenship in America

DarkBronzePlant

Once again we turn to <a href="http://www.snopes.com/rumors/america2.htm" target="_blank">Snopes</a>...