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Well yes, of course not everyone blurts that out, but I'm telling you, it seems quite common for say Italians and some other European groups to mention that upon meeting you. That's my experience.
Strange people you must meet. I've never had someone offer up their heritage upon meeting them. And by the looks of it, from this thread at least, no one else has either.
White people are seen as real Australians along with Aboriginies.
Well, I am an Asian and I don't have a problem with it. White people built Australia afterall (anyone who deny this are kidding themselves). They turned what used to be a useless desert in to a first world country.
Last edited by mrcricket300; 06-21-2014 at 03:43 AM..
Strange people you must meet. I've never had someone offer up their heritage upon meeting them. And by the looks of it, from this thread at least, no one else has either.
White people are seen as real Australians along with Aboriginies.
Well, I am an Asian and I don't have a problem with it. White people built Australia afterall (anyone who deny this are kidding themselves). They turned what used to be a useless desert in to a first world country.
Come on now, over 30% of Australia has good reliable rainfall, another 40% is marginal and then deserts.
Aboriginies are often associated with deserts because that is where they were forced into , or in the case of Tasmania- completely wiped out, ie complete genocide.
John Howard may have refused to say sorry, but history says these people were severely mistreated and displaced. They deserve recognition in Australia ahead of white peoples, and other subsequent immigrants.
Obviously not that like, but it comes up in casual conversation. I don't ask, there'll just be like, 'see I'm Italian...' or whatever. I'm not saying they all do of course, but I've noticed it enough.
I agree. If you're Anglo-Australian and you get asked what your ethnicity is (IN this country), it will be ridiculous to say "I'm Australian". I mean, no kidding, of course you are, just like the rest of us living here. People want to know your actual ROOTS - obviously it was from Europe. It is, though, understandable to say "I'm Australian" if you're overseas, because that's when your nationality matters to others.
Most of all, I get furious when someone says "oh, I'm half Italian, half Australian"...or just whatever half they are and say that the other half is "Australian". Goodness me...are Anglo Australians more 'Aussie' than the rest? Or are these people just plain ignorant? Because, uh, "Australian" is not an ethnicity.
My fellow Australians make fun of Americans for being racist and overly-patriotic, yet the yanks (those who are mixed) never refer to themselves as "half [insert ethnicity], half AMERICAN". If an American is half Spanish and Irish they'd say "half Spanish, half Irish" (NOT "half AMERICAN"). If anything, most Americans would say they're "Americans of German and Irish descent" (or whatever they're descended from). They would never say "I am just plain American", like what Anglo-Australians do (i.e. "I'm Australian", when asked their ethnicity).
So...If you're Australian who is Chinese, Italian, Greek or whatever on ONE side and Anglo (English) on the other side, you are, plainly speaking, "half [insert aforementioned nationalities] and half English". People should be proud of their roots - are you some of youse afraid of your Anglo-Saxon roots?
I agree. If you're Anglo-Australian and you get asked what your ethnicity is (IN this country), it will be ridiculous to say "I'm Australian". I mean, no kidding, of course you are, just like the rest of us living here. People want to know your actual ROOTS - obviously it was from Europe. It is, though, understandable to say "I'm Australian" if you're overseas, because that's when your nationality matters to others.
Most of all, I get furious when someone says "oh, I'm half Italian, half Australian"...or just whatever half they are and say that the other half is "Australian". Goodness me...are Anglo Australians more 'Aussie' than the rest? Or are these people just plain ignorant? Because, uh, "Australian" is not an ethnicity.
My fellow Australians make fun of Americans for being racist and overly-patriotic, yet the yanks (those who are mixed) never refer to themselves as "half [insert ethnicity], half AMERICAN". If an American is half Spanish and Irish they'd say "half Spanish, half Irish" (NOT "half AMERICAN"). If anything, most Americans would say they're "Americans of German and Irish descent" (or whatever they're descended from). They would never say "I am just plain American", like what Anglo-Australians do (i.e. "I'm Australian", when asked their ethnicity).
So...If you're Australian who is Chinese, Italian, Greek or whatever on ONE side and Anglo (English) on the other side, you are, plainly speaking, "half [insert aforementioned nationalities] and half English". People should be proud of their roots - are you some of youse afraid of your Anglo-Saxon roots?
People seem to describe their ethnicity as "Australian" if they don't know with any certainly where their ancestors came from. Who really does beyond one or two generations? Or if they feel that their ancestors' origins are irrelevant in defining who they are, influencing how they view the world, or in shaping their attitudes on social issues. The latter reason is why I ticked "Australian" at the last census.
If your identity is entirely shaped by the Australian context and experience, it's very appropriate to describe your ethnicity as "Australian". Ethnicity is just affiliation with a cultural group.
Last edited by Richard1098; 06-22-2014 at 12:46 AM..
I agree. If you're Anglo-Australian and you get asked what your ethnicity is (IN this country), it will be ridiculous to say "I'm Australian". I mean, no kidding, of course you are, just like the rest of us living here. People want to know your actual ROOTS - obviously it was from Europe. It is, though, understandable to say "I'm Australian" if you're overseas, because that's when your nationality matters to others.
Most of all, I get furious when someone says "oh, I'm half Italian, half Australian"...or just whatever half they are and say that the other half is "Australian". Goodness me...are Anglo Australians more 'Aussie' than the rest? Or are these people just plain ignorant? Because, uh, "Australian" is not an ethnicity.
My fellow Australians make fun of Americans for being racist and overly-patriotic, yet the yanks (those who are mixed) never refer to themselves as "half [insert ethnicity], half AMERICAN". If an American is half Spanish and Irish they'd say "half Spanish, half Irish" (NOT "half AMERICAN"). If anything, most Americans would say they're "Americans of German and Irish descent" (or whatever they're descended from). They would never say "I am just plain American", like what Anglo-Australians do (i.e. "I'm Australian", when asked their ethnicity).
So...If you're Australian who is Chinese, Italian, Greek or whatever on ONE side and Anglo (English) on the other side, you are, plainly speaking, "half [insert aforementioned nationalities] and half English". People should be proud of their roots - are you some of youse afraid of your Anglo-Saxon roots?
At least somebody seems to get what I'm talking about...
When asked 'where i'm from', I'm just say Australian. I'm not ashamed of my roots but it's really the most relevant answer. If they ask my background, I just tell them my parents are from Singapore/Malaysia, and I was born in Singapore, came here as a baby. Most Australians have at least a foreign born grandparent.
People seem to describe their ethnicity as "Australian" if they don't know with any certainly where their ancestors came from. Who really does beyond one or two generations? Or if they feel that their ancestors' origins are irrelevant in defining who they are, influencing how they view the world, or in shaping their attitudes on social issues. The latter reason is why I ticked "Australian" at the last census.
If your identity is entirely shaped by the Australian context and experience, it's very appropriate to describe your ethnicity as "Australian". Ethnicity is just affiliation with a cultural group.
Well often they do, and it's mostly Britain and Ireland. I mean even Tony Abbott or Julia Gillard, who weren't even BORN in this country, are just considered Australian. How come they're never called 'British Australians' or Welsh/English Australians? If birth is so important, I'm more of a real Aussie than they. Either way, I consider anyone who grew up here equally Australian as anybody else. We're not a monocultural Anglo culture anymore, even though it's still had an influence.
Ethnicity isn't precisely the same as ancestry, however. In the Australian census, I've noticed, Singaporeans are often apt to tick their ancestry as 'Chinese', 'Malaysian' or 'Indian', as if 'Singaporean' isn't a real ethnicity or something. Singapore is older than Sydney, and is more of a 'real' ethnicity as Australian. After Australian I'm Singaporean.
At least somebody seems to get what I'm talking about...
When asked 'where i'm from', I'm just say Australian. I'm not ashamed of my roots but it's really the most relevant answer. If they ask my background, I just tell them my parents are from Singapore/Malaysia, and I was born in Singapore, came here as a baby. Most Australians have at least a foreign born grandparent.
I don't know about "most" Australians having a foreign born grandparent, I think that's far off the mark.
If you are talking white Australians, it might be normal to regularly hear thick British accents in somewhere like Perth or Southwest WA, but not elsewhere.
I'd never come across so many people as over there in the west that could work in the UK or EU, because they had at the very least a British born grandparent. It is not the norm here.
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