I don't think that regional identity disparity is exclusive to the US.

I have lived most of life in the Southern US. There is still a pretty pronounced racial divide- a sort of self-segregation. That isn't to say that there aren't friendships and relationships between people of different races, but rather if you went to a church on Sunday morning, most of the congregants will be of one race or another depending which church or part of town you are in. There are still communities where you could draw a line on a city map and there are a majority white, black, or hispanic neighborhoods.

I think the South is behind on the whole "melting pot" ideal. The town I live in shamefully had a lot of protests when a group sought to build a mosque.

These things are what cause the most disconnect for me and probably those 40 and under. I grew up in the South, but I don't share the attitudes and prejudices of the region. I am not religious (which is very pervasive here). The over all political and social attitudes make me feel more connected to other parts of the country where people are more liberal, progressive, and secular.

There are even deeper divides among people who have lived here for generations or moved here later, or what part of the state they are from. It's a very strange place.

That's my experience.

Many thanks, Darby Campbell . " It's a very strange place. " sums it all up, doesn't it?! I can feel the warmth and honesty in your words so thanks again.

A year ago I had a 10 weeks experience of staying in Texas, Austin, which was a great experience through which I learned a lot.

However, I still remember the wideness of your streets guys, your fondness of everything big, and the overwhelming cultural and ethnic diversity that made me frequently ask the question "What is an American, then?!" and "What on earth is keeping them all together?!"; you can call it a monologue to reflect on the situation of my own setting rather than yours! Does that make sense?!

I think the American identity is much like the American English. It's a blend of a lot of languages, that has become it's own thing.

Dr. Mohammmedali, your question is a good question, but you frame it as a binary question--either you identify with (i.e. belong) or you disconnect (i.e. don't feel that you belong). Of course there are degrees of belonging depending on who you are, where you are, and what you think entails "belonging". The US, I imagine is like many other "diverse" countries with multi-ethnic, multi-racial populations and there are degrees or spectra of belonging that are based not on experience or emotion, but also on power. Citizenship after all is as much about exclusion as it is about inclusion. That is true historically and that is true currently. For example, to be considered "white" was a precondition in order to be considered eligible for citizenship in the US in the past. Likewise, currently some people are consIdered ineligible for citizenship even before they arrive, such as the asylum seekers currently making their way in caravans from Central America to the US. Also, in such diverse countries as the US, nation-building depends on narratives, myths and discourses that create national identities that support their exceptionalist stances. While the "melting pot" myth has been used to invoke that the US is a country of immigrants where all (i.e. cultures, races, ethnicities) "mix" into the pot and harmoniously become "Americans", that is not a universal experience or expectation for all. In fact it is a very violent idea first and foremost because it erases the genocide of Native Americans from the national consciousness. Nation of immigrants discourses invoke "terra nullius" or the idea that the land was/is vacant and available to immigrants who are seeking better lives and fortunes (i.e. American Dreams). Settler colonialism has been/is normalized as fair, just, and part of a civilizing mission toward modernity (for some). Settlers, white settlers in particular appropriate "nativeness" for themselves and then claim to be the "true Americans"; thus, American is normalized to white Americans. The melting pot myth is also violent to People of Color because People of Color (non-whites) are not meant to be included in the pot and even though the discourse is meant to encourage assimilation, for some People of Color, no matter how much they try to assimilate, they will never be considered "true Americans." African Americans, for example, have been excluded historically as sub-human (i.e. 3/5 compromise, property) and continue to be excluded today through the legal system, economically, police violence, etc. This is true for other communities of color as well. Third, the melting pot myth is also violent toward whites, because they had to give up their European heritage cultures and languages in exchange for the full citizenship, for inclusion into whiteness. To become white they had to give up being Polish, Dutch, German, etc. Whiteness is powerful and it is protected by structures and institutional power in the US. Even poor whites are more invested in whiteness than in their own potential economic and political political alliances with People of Color for social justice. So, bottom line, yes some people feel they belong, but many do and don't simultaneously depending on who they are, how historically informed they are, their critical "read" of the world, etc. I apologize if this is not the kind of answer you sought, but the issue is so complicated, historical, political, social, cultual, etc. that there is no easy answer.

Dear Luis Lurrieta, Jr,

Thanks for your detailed feedback. This is very interesting and complicated, isn't it? Just one question: You said that people had to give up their European identities to be included in whiteness, if I'm quoting correctly, you mean European people of color, right? Is there another way other than skin color that could exclude Europeans from being categorized as white?

Muthana Makki Mohammedali RE: "Is there another way other than skin color that could exclude Europeans from being categorized as white?"

Yes, "white" is being used as a figure of speech, and the idea is that you also have to speak, act, and dress white in order to be counted fully white. Whiteness here signifies that you are neither of a visible minority nor culturally or otherwise identifiably "foreign". The latter is what is meant when Luis Urrieta, Jr. says " To become white they had to give up being Polish, Dutch, German, etc." In the case of Poles especially, the actual skin-color non-whites would be a negligible minority. The terms "black" and its derogatory counterpart "nigger" are also sometimes used to denote an inferior social status rather than actual skin-color. I put "foreign" in quotation marks above because the relevant sense of foreign does not exclude citizens.

Karl Pfeifer , Thank you for this very important addition. So "White" has become "American" or vice versa. I think it is a negative and dangerous concept to embrace by people or institutions. I'm just curious, Karl, why did you mention the Poles specifically as an example?

If I understand your question. Yes, I have experienced disconnects with tolerance within my own county, but that is the beauty or what is unique. We can immerse within our own country and feel as if we are in the motherland of another. I disagree that America is NOW considered white. It was always a misperception.

RE: "I disagree that America is NOW considered white. It was always a misperception. "

Obed Figueroa, I hope you're right, my friend.

In a more diverse society, subjected to processes of change and migration, more heterogeneous and more disparate, it is evident that the issue of identity becomes complex, likewise, those same conditions of diversity make the actors and groups -circles as Simmel called them-, constitute elements of insecurity, instability and bewilderment, as well as tensions, which in turn would reconfigure loyalties and affinities, in short, the identities that become more fluid, but also more spontaneous and uncertain, which explains in part the issues of nationalism, at least in Latin America.

Muthana Makki Mohammedali

RE: "So "White" has become "American" or vice versa."

No, some Canadians may be included too, in the minds of people who talk that way. "White" and "black" are often used in sarcastic and jocular idioms. E.g. someone who is not being served properly or quickly enough in a restaurant might quip "Hey, am I black or something?"

RE: "why did you mention the Poles specifically as an example? "

My limited knowledge of demographics. I happened to know that there are almost no blacks in Poland, and the largest non-white community, which at 30,000 isn't very large, is Vietnamese. I don't know about the demographics of the other countries mentioned, but there are surely more blacks and other non-whites than in Poland.