A waitress of Honduran and Mexican descent who works at a restaurant in Harrisonburg, Virginia received an interesting note from the customers she waited on recently.
While she served them, the diners answered her with only nods and silent looks. When they departed, they left the phrase “We only tip citizens” on the receipt in place of a tip.
There is a lot to be said about this type of situation, but let me focus on one element in particular: the idea of what constitutes an “American.”
This discussion isn’t about citizenship, but rather national identity. It seems today that the only people who have the “America for Americans” attitude tend to fit the demographic of politically conservative Anglo-Saxon descent.
The problem arises when those who consider themselves “American” set their own definition of the term. Sadly, it seems anyone who is the color of the lightest of coffees does not qualify as American in their book.
This isn’t just about politics or economics. This is about ingrained ideas of racial superiority. This is about the fact that one particular group of people believes that it is their responsibility to “put up with” everyone else’s shenanigans, and that the rest of us are at their graces.
The truth is that they are simply renting a room in the apartment building that is the Western Hemisphere.
The human species originated in the southern portion of the African continent; in fact, one could even say with a degree of correctness that all of human civilization is just some extended form of an African colony.
If neither the fact that our entire species is a migrant breed or that people were here far before navigational ships existed humbles you, then perhaps you’ve a ready forgotten what I’ve said. But before you use the term “American” again, consider this: if we aren’t all American, then none of us are.
To those people who condone and applaud the prejudiced efforts of a select few who make life more difficult for others, remember that you are the ‘others’ as well.
The sad fact is some people simply think they own this nation including its tips, its waitresses, and they have the right to say or do nearly anything when it comes to dealing with people that are unlike them. Truly, they own just as much as everybody else, and this means that they do not own the right to determine who is and isn’t an American simply by glancing at them.
Jordan Marcell is a 19-year-old studio photography and linguistic anthropology sophomore from Geismar, Louisiana.