American Woman
American woman, stay away from me
American woman, mama let me be
Don’t come hangin’ around my door
I don’t wanna see your face no more
I got more important things to do
Than spend my time growin’ old with you
Now woman, I said stay away,
American woman, listen what I say.
An ever popular sentiment, courtesy of “The Guess Who”
Nothing in particular against the Guess Who and their classic, but don’t you just love being stereotyped, being reduced to a caricature of yourself? Race, religion, and politics what is going on when someone chooses to refer to you as a class rather than speaking directly to you, responding to you as the unique individual that you are. It is a power play then, a way to trivialize what you are trying to say. After all, if you can be reduced to a stereotype, then clearly you have nothing new to contribute, nothing to say that might require a thoughtful response. The same old knee-jerk reaction will suffice. Out of anger or fear, it is an easy response, but it doesn’t serve particularly well as a means of communication.