I just think that to the dozens of us on the internet who aren’t US born and bred it seems massively incongruous
That might be true, but every country likely has similar language quirks for historical, cultural reasons that may seem odd or hypocritical to outsiders.
Yeah, maybe so. I suppose having racism / segregation hard-baked in to your language would be a great way to maintain the status quo and keep the little people against each other. For a nation actually born out of genocide, slavery and apartheid I almost want to shoot myself in the face when its citizens still use words and phrases like “African American”, “Native American” and “American”. The inequity is staggering and not even implicit. I hope that practice dies before I do - but I doubt it will.
That might be true, but every country likely has similar language quirks for historical, cultural reasons that may seem odd or hypocritical to outsiders.
Yeah, maybe so. I suppose having racism / segregation hard-baked in to your language would be a great way to maintain the status quo and keep the little people against each other. For a nation actually born out of genocide, slavery and apartheid I almost want to shoot myself in the face when its citizens still use words and phrases like “African American”, “Native American” and “American”. The inequity is staggering and not even implicit. I hope that practice dies before I do - but I doubt it will.