I am by no means talking about anyone in this forum.  I think all of you are a great group of people who share the love of the typewriter in common.  May all of you find that one typewriter you've always been looking for--dirt cheap and in mint condition.

Well the funny thing is that he clearly neglected to read my post about how I, too, am actually (still, kind of) American. With all due modesty, I feel that if anyone on this forum has a sense of how 'Americans' are viewed by the rest of the world, it might be me... 

I do love that this forum brings us all together from all over the place, and what ztyper was saying about different machines in different places is one of the interesting things about it. If I find an affordable example of something interesting that you don't usually see in London I'll always try and snap at it. Paradoxically, the really (comparatively) rare ones around here are the Underwoods. Though lately there's been a little rash of Champions and Universals, but being v short of cash at the moment I just haven't been inspired. (That tactic paid off when my little Rheinmetall came along! I guess it's priorities...)

As an Englishman, I get the impression that many Americans are fiercely patriotic.  There is nothing wrong in loving one's country and I applaud it.  Here in England we are almost told that being patriotic is 'racist' or 'anti-European' when it is neither.  I understand that every American school classroom and law court has an American flag in the corner.  It wouldn't be a bad idea at all if other countries followed that lead.

And he is fated to walk through novice errors until the end of his days, for yea, I did not read the entire thread before replying to the last post.

But it looks to me like several, having made the expected cautionary remarks about "This is a minefield, and we should not walk there", looked at each other with bright shining eyes, pulled off their confining garments and went running through the field with rippling trills of laughter and freedom! I hope there were no casualties.

As others have stated, this is a very interesting but nonetheless probably dangerous topic in a forum. However, it really doesn't have to be political at all. I trust the maturity of the members here in a discussion like this. Now, here's my two cents...

From my perspective, we seem to live in a society that is very dependent on labeling to define themselves - "Hipster", "Rebel", "Patriot", "Gamer", and of course "American" are a few random examples. Many - at least in my age group - seek out to be under one of these labels to distinguish themselves from the "Mainstream" crowd, when in reality they have just forced themselves into a slightly smaller conformist group, where they follow an unspoken code to fit in.

Obviously, a label like "American" is not one of those. If you're born in America, live in America, used to live in America etc. you are American. What confuses me is why people make such a big deal about it all. While it is true that others may view Americans as one thing or another, it's all based on generalization anyways. Not all Americans are proud, boastful and ignorant like the stereotypes mandate. "American" is a term that has taken on connotations, both good and bad. But look closely, and you may see it's really a meaningless term in these contexts. "American" shouldn't define a person's political views, attitudes, language, or race. It should define location, or residence, present or maybe past.

Am I proud to be an American? No, because the geographic location of where I live isn't a thing to be proud of. Am I ashamed to be an American? No, for the same reasons. I like to focus on what I really am - myself. I don't fit under any labels. I'm a high school student that fixes and collects typewriters, listens to lots of rock music, and runs in cross country. Labels are irrelevant because I do what I like because I like it; not because I will fit in by doing it. I suppose the same can go for a term like "American" - one isn't American because of the way you think, look, or act. One is American because that's where they live, used to live, etc. Any other stereotypical connotation is irrelevant.

In a nutshell, my point is that I think labels in general should not be used to define a person. As Uwe pointed out, it can be difficult to interpret someone's feelings through text on a digital screen. I'm not trying to call anyone out, just sharing my thoughts on this subject with some like-minded typewriter folk