Melting Pot

The idea of a melting pot as an analogy for the United States has been with us for a long time. The US is an ideal of ethnic convergence. Other cultures come to our shores and are taken into our society. They say.

I was watching a Dr. Phil show on racism. There were several guests and audience participation was encouraged. Dr. Phil mentioned the African-Americans, the Hispanics, the Asian-Americans, and the white people. What? Everyone gets to be capitalized, but the white people. Why aren't they Caucasians?

I find it annoying to have to continually type out African-American, so I don't. I have it hot-keyed into my computer so it pops up easily. I belong to a worldwide forum for writers and one nitwit, so unclear on the concept, berated another writer for calling someone 'black' and insisted they were African-American. The writer, a British citizen, replied icily but civilly, they were not American anything, they were British.

Why am I not European-American. More than that, since my ancestry is not from the Mediterranean Sea region, why am I not Northern European-American? My blond heritage comes from the Celts and the Germans. Why do I only get to be lower-cased white?

What about blacks whose immediate ancestors aren't from Africa, but come to America from some other part of the globe? Are they African-American still? Why am I a color, and a poorly named color at that, while no one else is?

And furthering the semantic problem …

Oprah had a show with half the audience men and half women and the show discussed health issues concerning one half of the audience or another. She had an expert in the field of neurology and brain study, who said over and over. "Men's brains" did this or that and then, "female brains" did something else. The counterpart to men, madam doctor, is women. The counterpart to female, is male. The terms are not complete synonyms, hence the need for different words. Women are human, females can be anything.

If we need to pussyfoot around and be all politically correct for everyone else, why does no one have to worry about my poor little feelings either as a Caucasian or as a woman? I understand the ERA did not pass, but really.

I am WOMAN, hear me roar.
Not I am FEMALE, hear me roar.

If everyone else gets a capital letter, may I please have one, too?

Thank you.