And by the way AA people are not Africans. not even close to it for me

Then Mamput, in your own words, what are AA's?

While you are answering that question, what are white people in South Africa, if they are not Europeans? Who cares what they call their self, what do you think they are?

sista dnt be fooled by mamaput! the white in africa dnt see themsleves as africa well maybe dnt know but if thats the case i think they see themselves as superafricans then no wonder they get easy acess  across europe . even now they are cryin on top of their voice the blacks in power! so yea careful

superafricans

Superman, I love your humor. If no one can see how real and humorist you are, they must really have a stick shoved far up their ass. LMAO

@Sista

I must have a stick up my arse cos I don't think he is funny.

Sista "You people " have been away for too long to call yourselves Africans.
We have the same problem here with the Russian germans.
Some Russian will prove that his great great grand mother (or as the German says because the grandfather had a German shepad)was a deported German. And get residence for germany.And relocate.
But these people are not like germans do not act like germans and do not even look it.
Same gose for you people and the white south Africans,
The white south africans see themselves as the white south Africans.
For once it my life i will say it in Supermans words they think they are superafricans

@mamaput

Sista "You people " have been away for too long to call yourselves Africans.

Say's who? Also, have you heard of the term "The apple does not fall far from the tree?

We have the same problem here with the Russian germans.
Some Russian will prove that his great great grand mother (or as the German says because the grandfather had a German shepad)was a deported German. And get residence for germany.And relocate.
But these people are not like germans do not act like germans and do not even look it.

Do All Africans act alike? Do all Africans look alike?

Same gose for you people and the white south Africans,
The white south africans see themselves as the white south Africans.

White meaning European descent but South African residents.

African American meaning African descent but American residents

For once it my life i will say it in Supermans words they think they are superafricans

I love you so much for your humorist honesty but you still have not told me what you think Whites in Africa are? and what do you think AA's are, please in your won words, I would like to know what you think?

sista i will figure that one out soon!

love you so much for your humorist honesty but you still have not told me what you think Whites in Africa are? and what do you think AA's are, please in your won words, I would like to know what you think?

I've lived in America all of my life. (45 years). To be honest, I really don't want to go or even visit anywhere else. I certainly don't want to visit another country where I might be considered "prey" because I am an American, and therefore, "rich". I have to ask: If America is so bad, why are so many people immigrating to my country? And why aren't Americans leaving in droves? This is a wonderful place to live! Like anywhere else, America has its share of "isms". Racism, sexism, ageism, etc. I can't be convinced that other countries don't experience their version of prejudice. Many Blacks in America have come to view some Nigerians as "scammers" and elitists. When I have participated in Black art shows, it was often the Nigerians who were the most difficult to deal with. Right away, they asked you if you visited their stall to buy their wares, never letting you browse the merchandise! No sense of decorum, whatsoever - basically they were just like , "what do you want to buy?" I say scammers, because I visited a Nigerian store the other day, and I specifically told the merchant that I did not eat goat. I have tasted it once and thought it to be most vile. He wanted to sell off his extra food that night, and lo and behold, I ended up buying a container full of goat (gag!) And I saw a news special the other day which showed the extent of the Nigerian telephone/lottery scams. It's really scary. I say elitist because a few of my encounters with Nigerian artists weren't too pleasant - they were very condescending to the American Blacks, literally looking down their noses. Very clipped speech, don't have any time to really talk to you. And you walk away like, "exCUSE me for bothering you!" I know that not all Nigerians are like that, but enough of them are to make you start having a negative opnion about Nigeria. Back to the topic: America really is the most wonderful place to live - it's progressive and it was built by many, many diverse people. A lot of people on this thread have alluded to the oppression of Native Americans (and I suspect that these people aren't American). Even the Native Americans will concede that it was their forefathers' and mothers' ability and willingness to adapt and be complicit with change that helped shape America into what it is today. America was indeed built on subjugation, oppression, and violence, but it was also built on forward thinking, optimism and individualism. There is simply no other country that has risen to these heights, with a mix of good and bad, that has been this successful.

Linda.

Linda, I am not disputing the fact that America is one of the greatest countries in the world. At the same time, I had to point out the ironies that has shaped the development in this country. The subjugation/destruction of the Native Americans, while the leaders of this country are advocating for an equality in today's world. I would not sit back and condemn America, for all its cause, it has been a wonderful experience living in this country, so far, and for those may have some negative feelings about the country, an alternative suggestion would be to relocate to another country.

Your experiences with Nigerians is very unfortunate, and I can assure you, there are Nigerians who are nice people.

americans are cowboys just like us soldiers! selvish arrogant untrained people!

no wonder they kill like chicken and goat in iraq! they even kill themselves, oh yea friendly fire u re right

god bless american

god bless nigeria god own country!

@ linda

WELL SAID, BUT HAVE YOU VISITED ANY OTHER COUNTRY IN THIS WHOLE WIDE WORLD? THE PROBLEM IS THAT PEOPLE THINK THE LITTLE CORNER THEY OCCUPY IN THE WORLD IS WHERE THE WORLD ENDS! WHAT A SHAME TO THINK SO. THE AMERICANS THINK THE WORLD STARTS AND ENDS IN AMERICA, MOST OF THEM HAVE NOT EVEN STEPPED OUTSIDE THEIR COUNTY OR EVEN STATE TO SEE WHATS GOING ON WORLWIDE? THEY ONLY GET FED WITH NEGATIVE NEWS ABOUT GOING ONS IN OTHER COUNTRIES, ESPECIALLY AFRICA, AND THEY BELEIVE WHAT THEY SEE AS THE TRUTH. THEY JUDGE OTHER COUNTRIES BY THE FEW THEY HAVE RELATED WITH AND THE UNFORTUNATE FEW WHO BELEIVE IN SCAMMING AS A WAY OF LIFE, THE UNFORTUNATE 419ers WHO DOESNT BELEIVE IN HARD WORK TO SUCCEED, AND THE UNFORTUNATE FEW WHO HAVE FAILED TO CONTRIBUTE TO THEIR COUNTRY WHAT THEY HAVE CONTRIBUTED TO A FOREIGN LAND.

AMERICA IS GREAT, SO ALSO SO MANY OTHER GREAT COUNTRIES. THE WORLD DOESNT END IN AMERICA, OTHER COUNTRIES EXISITS WITH RIGHTS IN THIS WORLD.

you lot r jobless

@ twinkledew

What about you? What has made us jobless for talking serious matter? You are hurt?

i have read through all u guys have to say and have come to the conclusion that yes, america is great but the main reason being that people from other countries immigrate there for whatever reason and help build it
also americans or most of them are ignorant and arrogrant thinking that they are better than the worldsure they are good darn good, but definitely not better than the world and the only reason why people go to america is that it presents an image of a kind,gentle,loving country ready and willing to accept anyone why they plan new ways of keeping countries subjugated to them. I wanted to go there yes, i got my visa everything but the fact remains its another guys country one that thrives due to the inequality and poverty it has helped create and helps propagate indirectly but knowingly

Well Said JaKumo, I think what you have put here is quite a complete perspective.

From All The Posts So Far I Think It Wouldnt Be Wrong To Conclude That America Is An Icon.

America is A Topic of Importance. I Believe America Signifies and Typifies Where Mankind Hopes To Be but Hasnt Quite Achieved at Least for Now. What Mankind Desires But is Yet to Grasp. America Tries to Live Out The Ideal.

America is the "Almost There". Our "Eldorado". Its an Heteregenous Mixture of Cultures & Races that appears to Be Working.

A kind of Return to Pre-Babel, but Not Quite Yet.

But We Must Give it to Them. There Never has been a better Nation since the Fall of Rome.

That at least accounts wide rush for US Visas, such as it was in the Hey Days of Rome.

Innately of Outwardly, We All Love America. Even The Arabs Secretly Love The Freedom and Its Way of Life!!!

Most African Nations Would Be Better off  If Theyfahion their Policies in line with the Positive Models of America and Ignore the Negatives.

After all, We All Have Our Shortcomings.

What Matters Most is If the Positives Outweigh the Negatives. At least with that we can still Maintain a Positive Balance!

Alabiyemmy (and I apologize if I have misspelled your name). You have an EXCELLENT point. No, I haven't visited other countries to have instilled in myself a broader view of life. That's actually a major flaw in Americans. Many of us don't travel, yet we think we have a broad view of what happens worldwide. What an excellent response from you.

Linda.

Ndipe - you said it all - America was founded on discrepancies - and it makes for a very confused society. However, we live with what we know. I am glad you put it as blunt as you did.
Real.
Linda.

;DStill, America is a wonderful place to live. My mother went from seven kids in a one bedroom, to a 4 bedroom/2 bath, 14x25 ft swimming pool, vegetable/flower garden, 1-bedroom shed, six-car driveway, hot tub, and many extras, I could go on. My point is that America really is the land of opportunity. We DO have our problems here, as a nation, but I think overall it's not a bad place to live.

Linda

you are right but sometimes americans don't put their money where there mouth is

America is ok, but CANADA ROCKS !

I will concede that many of you are right in that Americans need to focus less on material gains, and conquests; and maybe more on our legacy and responsibility to the world, as well as some sense of humility. Thank you everyone, for helping me to grow, and I wish you a prosperous, healthy, and blessed New Year. May we continue to share our ideas and insights on this wonderful website.
Godspeed,
Linda M.

America needs to focus less on material acquisition? Says who? What would the poster say about Nigeria, where people are so preoccupied with money that they engage in fraudulent deals to satisfy their avarice? Please, lets not even go there. As much as America may be regarded as a materialistic society, one of the aspects that I admire about this country is the citizen's penchant for charity. Check out the charitable foundation that people have established, either for their loved ones. Imagine the holidays, when ordinary citizens, go out of their way to reputable charitable organizations to feed the homeless and the underprivileged in the society. Who does that in Nigeria? Give it a break. I am from Nigeria, and if it is not as materialistic as America, there is no way one can write that the Nigerian society is more generous than the American society.

America is the land of the omo ajebotas

Ndipe - please don't be fooled. America has a long tradition of throwing away its unwanted goods in the guise of "charity". Fifteen or twenty years ago a major athletic shoe company "donated" its products to a starving African country. Curious that the inhabitants had never worn shoes, (and were still starving and couldn't EAT them, ) When the war in Afghanistan began, Americans "donated" tons of peanut butter to the people, who didn't have a clue what to do with it. I was startled by pictures of Afghanis feeding "Jiffy", "Peter Pan" and "Skippy" to donkeys, because the Afghanis didn't identify this product as "food". America doesn't always do the right thing - there are even worse stories of major American firms donating Bandaids, tampons, and sunscreen (yes, sunscreen!) to poor African countries in exhange for a tax write-off.

I love being an American, but I willl always acknowledge its problems
Linda M.

Linda M.:

Ndipe - please don't be fooled. America has a long tradition of throwing away its unwanted goods in the guise of "charity". Fifteen or twenty years ago a major athletic shoe company "donated" its products to a starving African country. Curious that the inhabitants had never worn shoes, (and were still starving and couldn't EAT them, ) When the war in Afghanistan began, Americans "donated" tons of peanut butter to the people, who didn't have a clue what to do with it. I was startled by pictures of Afghanis feeding "Jiffy", "Peter Pan" and "Skippy" to donkeys, because the Afghanis didn't identify this product as "food". America doesn't always do the right thing - there are even worse stories of major American firms donating Bandaids, tampons, and sunscreen (yes, sunscreen!) to poor African countries in exhange for a tax write-off.

I love being an American, but I willl always acknowledge its problems
Linda M.

damn damn again LMAO

Well, some individuals/corporations may harbor some ulterior motives behind their charitable deeds (in exchange for a tax write up), which I don't approve of it. Let it come from the heart. However, it is different from Naija's case. Out here, we have reputable charitable organizations that seem genuinely interested in advancing for the causes of the common man. Back in Naija, it is the rich who gets richer, while the underprivileged are stuck in the cycle of poverty. In America, it is not that difficult to get a full ride to college, whereas in Naija, you are on your own. If your parents are not connected in the society, forget it.

d us is da bomb

@ Linda M.

Woman, don't be like the dog that bites the hands that feeds it.

Men, American Embassy 4 Naija, I just dont know. I am going for my 5th interview soon after 4 denials. Can anyone tell how they are now- I think students can walk-in under their revalidation program

I think America is a well developed country, but with a lot of restrictions and rules,
I'ts also a busy country, of busy people.