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Definition of ethnic group.
People of the same race or nationality who share a distinctive culture
But White Americans of largely British Isles descent from the South are quite culturally different from a mixed Italian-Irish descended American from the Northeast, who is also different from a German/Scandanavian descended American from the Midwest. Various parts of the US have different immigrant sources and histories which contribute to the different culture.
People of the same race or nationality who share a distinctive culture
But White Americans of largely British Isles descent from the South are quite culturally different from a mixed Italian-Irish descended American from the Northeast, who is also different from a German/Scandanavian descended American from the Midwest. Various parts of the US have different immigrant sources and histories which contribute to the different culture.
So are White Americans a real ethnic group.
By your own defintion whites are not an ethnic group because they don't share a distinctive culture. What's culturally common about the fair-skinned Cuban in Miami, the Boston Brahmin on Beacon Hill, the lutefisk-loving Swede in Minneapolis, an the surfer-boy blonde in Malibu? Nothing but their skin color. White is their race (at least as it's usually defined here in the U.S.), not their ethnicity, which varies all over the map.
But is there one White American ethnic group? Or is just many seperate ethnic groups placed under one "race" in the US?
The Polish are different ethnically from the English, from the Italians and from the French....yadda, yadda, yadda. They are not one ethnicity. Now, if all that is tossed aside in favor of one "American" ethnicity, then American becomes its own ethnic group. However, and "American" ethnicity doesn't limit itself to one race. This is similar to the Latin American ethnicities where you'll find, for example, White Cubans, Black Cubans, Asian Cubans, mixed race Cubans, etc. They are all ethically Cuban but not necessarily of the same race.
So, I would not say that there is a "White American" ethnic group. I'd say that one can argue that there is an American ethnic group which contains a wide variety of races. There are plenty of people of all races in America that have basically eschewed their bloodline ethnicity in favor of one that is culturally American. To suggest that it's a "white" thing comes off as very racist to me. This is especially true given that any sort of American ethnicity is constantly evolving and is influenced by a multitude of races, religions, viewpoints, etc.
But is there one White American ethnic group? Or is just many seperate ethnic groups placed under one "race" in the US?
White is a race (Caucasian). Within that race, there are many ethnicities of white people. Italian, Irish, German, Swedish, Polish, Spanish, French, etc. Mostly European ancestry. This is no different than black being a race with many different ethnicities. We may call black people 'African-Americans', making it seem as they all are one ethnicity (even Africa is diverse with numerous ethnicities though) but they aren't. It's simply the current politically correct term. Not all black Americans are even of African ancestry. They can trace their family roots to the Caribbean, so African-American doesn't even technically describe them. I know someone who is Haitian-American (her parents came here from Haiti then she and her siblings were born) and she hates being called 'African-American' in the general term because she and her family are not from Africa.
Race and ethnicity aren't the same thing. Most scientists and anthropologists accept that there are 3 races - white (caucasoid), black (negroid), and Asian (mongoloid). Within those 3 classes of race are many, many different ethnicities (probably about 5000). Most white Americans are European-American, tracing their roots back to one or more specific European country. Technically, no race is also an ethnic group. But an ethnic group is part of a race. Hope this makes sense.
America is actually a huge mix of ethnic groups. We don't really have an American "race " per se, and you will see different racesbeing more dominant in some parts of the country than others.
We are the most mixed race country on the planet. And that is what makes us great.
I think it depends on class. College educated whites in the US tend to be very mobile and homogenized. Blue collar whites are more likely to remain closer to where they have roots, and as a result the working class white populations tends to have a regional feel based on the immigrant mix that came to specific areas.
There are quite a lot of journal articles written on White identity. Class plays a major factor in how White identity is perceived.
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