elktown: 51st State Dept.

Friday, June 10, 2005

I was just talking to a guy on a bus. He says, "You are from Germany?" Me: America. Him: Which part America you are from? New York? Canada?

Anonymous said...: So I am reading this lengthy screed about Joan Felt in the Washington Post today, and I cannot help but shake the feeling that something is missing.

It is as though the reporter did extensive and copious amounts of research, but missed something that was right there.; 11:35 AM
Anonymous said...: The guy on the bus has picked up on the fact that
America is this.

Saying that this is America is equally accurate as saying that this is America. Both are somewhat short-sighted.; 4:03 AM
Eric said...: I'm not buying this, though I love the classy linking style.

The guy on the bus didn't say, "Which part of America are you from? New York? Uruguay? Tierra del Fuego?" He wasn't making a point about the universality of the name "America" in our hemisphere.

How do I know? Well, this guy wasn't exactly a fine connoisseur of the English language. This was the same guy who directed me to my seat on the bus by pointing at the numeral "8" on my ticket and saying the word "twelve."

Saying that Uruguay is just as much "America" as the U.S. is bullshit in every sense but the very most literal. It's like saying that the name "Batman" equally applies to this guy and THIS guy. He may be a "bat man," but he's not Batman.; 8:50 PM