Your parents, wanting to escape the poverty and the war in Eritrea, moved you to the USA at age 12!
In your teenage and early adulthood, you were trained in American long distance running programs at the youth, college and professional levels.
You also became a US citizen!
You won a silver medal for the US in 2004! You became the 1st US citizen to win the New York Marathon since 1982!
However, some didn't celebrate your accomplishment! They claimed you're "not a real American".
The ironic thing is, those critics themselves are NOT Native Americans. Those critics just happen to descendants of Europeans who came to the US!
That is the story of Meb Keflezighi, and you can read it at http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/03/sports/03runner.html?_r=1
And the ironic thing is those same critics are the ones who whine about Latin American immigrants coming to the US!
Nevermind that the ancestors of many Latin American immigrants were in this hemisphere LONGER than those European-descendants who go around judging who's a "real American!"
Another irony is that many immigrants have been voluntarily putting their lives on their line to defend America overseas!
Who are the Real Americans? All those who take pride in being American! Regardless of where they were born!
Like Rodney King said "can we all just get along?"
