Being "American" is a legal status layered on top of a ton of different cultures. Being born in the U.S. or its territories makes you American in the boring legal sense, regardless of whether you like the government or not, and criticizing the country has always been a very American thing to do someone can be a citizen and still feel culturally different or critical. Saying someone isn’t American because they criticize the U.S. turns it into gatekeeping instead of an actual argument 😭✌
