Lagat is NOT an American

George Washington wrote:

I was born in Europe. Am I not an American?

Uh, not if you are "the" George Washington.

regardless, if you want to be an American and you acquire citizenship , then it seems pretty simply: You are a citizen of the United States of America, commonly known as an American.

I say to any who want to be an American and gain citizenship: Glad to have ya.

Indians are true Americans,not white or black men.

All others are just permanent visitors of that wasteland.

Lagat is one of the greatest runner in the athletics history, who just have US passport.

Congratulations to Lagat and other US passport holders.

Kerron Clement is from Trinidad and Sanya Richards is from Jamaica.

What if Lagat's son becomes a world class miler? Will he be a true American? Because he'll have some "African" genes in him. And he'll have some "Asian" genes (Gladys, Lagat's wife, has Japanese parents? That's just a guess.).

For those of you who say no, then I hold out no hope for you. (There is undoubtedly some underlying racism inherent in some of these arguments; the idea that Webb somehow has true "American" genes, never mind the fact that his grandparents or great grandparents came from somewhere else. The gene pool in the last half of this century has grown more and more diverse. Very few pockets remain that have not been infiltrated, if you will, by genes from another pool.)

For those of you who say yes, you may argue that his son will be a product of the "American" system. I say, Lagat went to university here and applied for citizenship as a freshman. I say he is very much a product of our system. Maybe not from birth, but how much happens before college anyway? He was subjected to all the "cultural obstacles" of the American lifestyle--parties, drinking, et cetera) during his prime years of development. And he stayed with his college coach after graduating. So I don't see the validity in saying he is a product of the Kenyan system.

For those of you who say yes, because his son will only run for one country in the course of his career, I say, if the citizenship process in this country were faster, then there would be no question. As it stands, Lagat ran for the US as soon as he possibly could.

Lagat did not sell his services to the highest bidder. He came to the US, applied for citizenship, and rose to the top with a US coach while doing much of his training here in the US. That's good enough for me.

nativeamerican wrote:Fvck off you 3-4 gen european honkey. I'm Apache and feel like Lagat is EVERYTHING American. We let you come over here so don't bitch when we start letting better men come over!

You actually didn't let anyone come over. People with guns just showed up and told native Americans they were here, no real choice about it. In their defense America had no definitive borders to respect and just set up shop wherever they landed. On the other hand, forcing people to leave their homes with force is a terrible thing. It's sad to think that at the time of westward expansion a whole group of people, the true Americans, couldn't live the American dream. Sure this post is a tangent, but then again the subject of this thread is so absurd I really don't give a shit.

you're not a true american until you start drinking beer, watching nascar, and YOU have sex with your sister. USA! USA! USA!

I can't believe all the 'us' and 'them' crap on this thread. The native Americans are no more American than a newly naturalized citizen. 'indians' also came over from another geographic region. They didn't just pop up out of the soil and therefor have all the rights to the title of american. If you were born here and want to cheer for the home grown contestant, good for you. However, the providence of God has more to do with how you got here than with any specific act of your own will.

US Americans are a melting pot of people. none of us could enjoy our freedoms (including the Indian...and canadians for that matter) unless a melting pot of people laid down their lives. Be grateful and allow others to appreciate it as well

Lagat is American and the whole world recognizes his wins as being for America.

You dont listen, do you? We all know Lagat should and is an American. BUT it would be better for American Running if Webb got the gold. He (Lagat) ran for kenya for 10 years then asked to be an American. I think that is the point. We dont care is his passport says USA.

I would consider lagat a "true" american.....HAD HE NOT WORE THE KENYAN JERSEY 3 years ago....

Listen wrote:

We dont care is his passport says USA.

Who is this "we"?

How DARE you bring up something as inconvenient as that!

Lagat is Very grateful to be running for America and a good influence on American running...

stupid letsrunners wrote:

hehateme wrote:

his A sample and B sample are the same and one tested positive and one tested negative, from what i've learned that is about a 50/50 chance of being positive.

Wow, so you're uneducated, too. Maybe you should get Lagat, who is better educated than you, to tutor you. If you don't mind being schooled by a real American, that is.

I've wondered about this as well so if you really know maybe you can explain this. If an A sample says yes and a B sample says no why does the B sample determine what happens? It seems as though either has an equal chance of giving the correct information. Shouldn't there be a C sample to serve as a tiebreaker?

listen...you idiot. I listen fine. And I actually read pretty well too. You should try it some time. You say it would better for American running if Webb had won. Frankly, you're wrong! It would have been great if webb had won for a host of reasons not related to this topic. Lagat announces to the world that the american dream is alive and well for those who can reach for it.

I will admit I don't know every detail of Lagat's transition to American citizenship, but thankfully he is not being denied rights and opportunity by small minded people. I believe he did have to give a couple years of eligibility. He is not making up the rules...don't blame him.

You say you don't care if his passport says USA...but you do. That's what this whole thread is about. I do listen/read. You don't mind him being American as long as he doesnt get to run as an American which totally misses the point about the opportunity for self actualization in America. Let him run. Let him show the world that America still promises hope and blessing for diligence and honesty and hard work.

I believe it is you who needs to open your ears...and your eyes.

Tegenkamp finishing 4th means infinitely more for American distance running than Lagat's two titles do. Hell, Webb finishing 8th means infinitely more. And everyone on this thread knows it.

I notice that nobody has dared to respond to my powerful and original defense of Lagat. Abandon hope, all ye who enter here!

Lagat is our great warrior now.

dsfdsfd wrote:

. I say, Lagat went to university here and applied for citizenship as a freshman. .

Is this true? He applied for citizenship as a freshman? Or he just applied for permanent residency? I think he is a citizen (and a true American) regardless but I have not heard this before.

George Washington wrote:

I was born in Europe. Am I not an American?

Still Not American wrote:

Yes you are! But did he run for Kenya for the last 10 years? Did you wave the kenyan flag at the WC with the finger in the air only a few short years ago?

If he was so American, why did he wait so long to apply for citizenship?

No, but I did honor the British flag for quite some time. By the way, I've never applied for citizenship. Oops?