Far too many European Americans show that they don't respect African Americans...Other than being a paid day from work for them, Dr. King's birthday means nothing to them, because they have no history here other than the lies that their mothers and grandmothers have told them about having relatives on the Mayflower...Besides, what is an "American"?
In a book written two generations ago called The Study of Man, author Ralph Linton summed it up best when addressing the question, "What is an American?" He wrote:
"Our solid American citizen awakens in a bed built
on a pattern which originated in the Near East...throws
back the covers made from cotton, domesticated in India...goes to the bathroom, whose fixtures are a mixture of European and American inventions, both of recent date...washes with soap invented by the ancient Gauls...Returning to the bedroom - puts on garments
whose form originally derived from the skin clothing
of the nomads of the Asiatic steppes, puts on shoes
made from skins tanned by a process invented in ancient
Egypt...Before going out for breakfast - glances
Through the window, made of glass invented in
Egypt...stops to buy a paper, paying for it with coins,
an ancient Lydian invention...At the restaurant - (the)
plate is made of a form of pottery invented in
China...has coffee, an Abyssinian plant, with cream and
sugar. Both the domestication of cows and the idea of
milking them originated in the Near East, while sugar
was first made in India...finished eating - settles
back to smoke, an American Indian habit...while smoking
- reads the news of the day, imprinted in characters
- invented in Germany...and, if - a good conservative
citizen ,gives thanks to a Hebrew deity, in an Indo-European language, for being 100 percent American."
In a book written two generations ago called The Study of Man, author Ralph Linton summed it up best when addressing the question, "What is an American?" He wrote:
"Our solid American citizen awakens in a bed built
on a pattern which originated in the Near East...throws
back the covers made from cotton, domesticated in India...goes to the bathroom, whose fixtures are a mixture of European and American inventions, both of recent date...washes with soap invented by the ancient Gauls...Returning to the bedroom - puts on garments
whose form originally derived from the skin clothing
of the nomads of the Asiatic steppes, puts on shoes
made from skins tanned by a process invented in ancient
Egypt...Before going out for breakfast - glances
Through the window, made of glass invented in
Egypt...stops to buy a paper, paying for it with coins,
an ancient Lydian invention...At the restaurant - (the)
plate is made of a form of pottery invented in
China...has coffee, an Abyssinian plant, with cream and
sugar. Both the domestication of cows and the idea of
milking them originated in the Near East, while sugar
was first made in India...finished eating - settles
back to smoke, an American Indian habit...while smoking
- reads the news of the day, imprinted in characters
- invented in Germany...and, if - a good conservative
citizen ,gives thanks to a Hebrew deity, in an Indo-European language, for being 100 percent American."
G. Djata Bumpus
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