> I wonder if this african-american/mexican american/etc. is a strictly American phenomenon. Do black people living in London demand to be called African-English? Are Chinese people who move to Russia angry at not being labeled as Chinese-Russian? I tend to think that this kind of silliness could only be created in the United States.

I've only heard of it happening here. Which leads me to another rant. It seems to me that these various "Whatever-American" names, besides the trivial nuisance of being much too many syllables, may be hurting our national identity. The American dream was always that we'd be the melting pot -- a country whose singular people is comprised of many different races. I don't think it's a good idea to start thinking of ourselves as a skillion different varieties of Something-American. We're *Americans*, plain and simple. That said, Issachar's response to mine makes perfect sense, and if I was speaking to someone who wanted to be referred to as Something-American, I would certainly do so.