Cara, your perspective on Jon viewing himself as American and not a different ethnicity is understood. I have met a few people who genuinely thought of themselves as only American and they disregard their ethnicities. Some said that they do this to avoid stereotypes and a few truly do not know what their actual ethnicity is. Additionally, I agree that Jon has been objectified to cultural stereotyping of African Americans that leaves him with negative feelings about culture. Stereotypes can be damaging to a person’s self-esteem, which could result in individuals wanting to avoid drawing attention to their ethnicity/culture.
