While I don’t really care about Miss America and pageants, I do care about something that has happened recently involving Miss America.

Being American doesn’t mean you have to be white. At one point, most families had the first generation American born into their family, much like Nina Davuluri is herself?

The woman crowned Miss America doesn’t fit a lot of the guidelines Americans have to who exactly should be Miss America. Davuluri, who is Indian-American, has been on the receiving end of hatred and racism since winning the title.

The response from Davuluri’s win shows what a percentage of Americans think about other races and what exactly it means to be “American.”

But what is the difference between tweeting about Davuluri and an individual who is tweeting such insensitive things is because of skin color.

Can’t we as Americans put something aside that is so petty at times?

One race isn’t entitled to having the label of “American” given to them. While individuals who haven’t been born into the country are still given the title of their original countries, those who are born into America are given the hybrid nationality of both their parents’ country and where they are now. In this case, Davuluri is Indian-American. She’s first generation American in her family, giving her the same rights as all of the other American-born citizens in the country. She has all of the same rights as anyone else who has been born into the country,

This right is one of the principals founded in the Constitution. While some people believe it’s been abused in the past [see anchor-babies], they’re still given the chance of being an American through and through.

Davuluri was also called a terrorist because of her ancestry. Even the people who are stereotyping her aren’t getting the labels right. She’s Indian, not Muslim, nor are all Muslims terrorists. Can we put aside a decade old belief and move on?

What people did consider “all-American” was a veteran from Kansas, who likes guns, hunting and has tattoos. While it kind of is an American stereotype, not everyone in America likes guns, hunting and tattoos— as seen by the gun debates.

So, is that truly all-American? I honestly don’t think so. Being American means a lot more than the color of your skin, what you like or any of these things that people seem to think makes them American. It’s about the feeling of one’s pride in their country, a passion only one can have.