P C Three

Today, I have some questions and few answers. As I was pondering the unfortunate sobriquet "African-American," it struck me that there don't seem to be any African-Frenchmen, African-Englishmen, African-Dutchmen, or any other such hyphenated names. Now, I know there are black people in those, and many other countries, so why is the hyphenation only used in the United States?

A goodly number of early Africans were brought here involuntary as slaves, but not so with many later ones. Unless, in the unlikely event that all Africans are related to each other, not all are descendants of slaves, but most are citizens, and are privileged to be called "Americans," What more could a person want or need?

Around the world, Americans are honored, feared, envied, loved, and/or respected, and persons we encounter in foreign lands react to us appropriately. Someone calling himself an "African" will probably be met with blank stares. On occasion, the question, "Which country?" may be heard.

EXTRA: "The Mentalist" premiere was tightly crafted and quite entertaining, but can they keep it up?