Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Most Americans are not visibly mixed or even consider themselves as such. I'm guessing that the average white American is almost exclusively European. Meanwhile it is far less likely to find a slave descendant that is overwhelmingly African, and they certainly couldn't tell you what country their family lived in before coming here.
Doesn't matter, since any such objections would be rooted in racist ideals, thus illogical and not worth considering.
The US is not too new but rather too large and segregated to ever be a fully integrated society. The closest you'll get is people like myself that are walking melting pots of American genes and/or cultures.
While racial segregation is rooted in part racist ideals. I don't know that we can just dismiss race as an illogical social force not worth considering in the real world. Ethnicity is at some level exclusionary. If a person of European ancestry where to say I don't consider myself to be white, many people would accuse that person of being blind to his/her white privilege. The are many racial/ethnic affinity groups explicitly embrace the notion that their lived experiences are different from those of "whites", various ethnic groups have distinct identities that are worth celebrating, and cultural assimilation/colorblind ideologies are ultimately harmful.
My family is so called "inter-racial" I don't think of us that way and don't like the underlying implied meaning. But, most people would consider it (at best) wishcasting if I rejected the multiracial label.
While racial segregation is rooted in part racist ideals. I don't know that we can just dismiss race as an illogical social force not worth considering in the real world. Ethnicity is at some level exclusionary. If a person of European ancestry where to say I don't consider myself to be white, many people would accuse that person of being blind to his/her white privilege. The are many racial/ethnic affinity groups explicitly embrace the notion that their lived experiences are different from those of "whites", various ethnic groups have distinct identities that are worth celebrating, and cultural assimilation/colorblind ideologies are ultimately harmful.
My family is so called "inter-racial" I don't think of us that way and don't like the underlying implied meaning. But, most people would consider it (at best) wishcasting if I rejected the multiracial label.
We most certainly can. Not everything is a matter of opinion and it's just a fact that some know better while others do not. A first generation US citizen whose parents came here from Germany has zero rational basis to claim that they're more of a real American than I am; someone who's family has lived here since before this country was even established.
It's a mistake to consider "white American" as the benchmark. They're the majority in a very large and very populous country, but as others have already pointed out, just how American they are viewed by themselves and others varies greatly.
So who exactly gets to decide this? Less than 10% of the total U.S. population even identifies as a person of American ancestry
With the 2020 census only allowing one "origin" per race I think we'll see a significant uptick in this. I expect people will prefer to list "American" instead of just one of their 2, 3, 4+ ancestries.
Quote:
Originally Posted by jpdivola
It's become more of a symbolic family heritage than a true ethnicity.
Absolutely; well stated! It seems like many people just pick one and run with it. Maybe it's the one that has the strongest influence on them, or maybe it's the one that's popular in their social circles (Hello, Irish and Italians).
Quote:
But I'm not sure that "American" isn't better described as "white American."? Ethnicity is a squishy concept. But a key idea is that members of a group must accept others as a member of the group. I don't know if that is currently possible for a person of Asian or African ancestry to be fully accepted in an American ethnicity? Not in a patriotic we're all Americans sort of way. But in an actual social sense whereby the differences between a person of African ancestry are no greater than the difference a person of Hungarian or Scottish ancestry. It tend to think society will tend to view the former as black and the later two as white.
Perhaps there are multiple "American" ethnicities?
I'll also add that if a white american and black american meet by chance in say Japan or India, they're going to be temporary best friends even if they wouldn't have much in common at home.
It contains false statements that are dismissive of many groups of people.
I am not an immigrant. Nor were my pre-1776 ancestors. Thus claiming that the US is a “nation of immigrants†excludes and dismisses my ancestors, British people generally in the US and me.
To spin this yarn further - you are not a descendant of immigrants. Your ancestors moved within what was considered Great Britain. Taking away land and claiming it mine makes it mine thus I can populate it with mine who can claim to be part of mine. Never mind then came the Tea Party.
To spin this yarn further - you are not a descendant of immigrants. Your ancestors moved within what was considered Great Britain. Taking away land and claiming it mine makes it mine thus I can populate it with mine who can claim to be part of mine. Never mind then came the Tea Party.
Whatever.
Saying that the US consists of just one group of people (e.g., immigrants), was built by just one group of people (e.g., unions, immigrants, etc.) and the like is exclusionary and often racist.
Saying that the US consists of just one group of people (e.g., immigrants), was built by just one group of people (e.g., unions, immigrants, etc.) and the like is exclusionary and often racist.
We need to be inclusive and anti-racist.
Did I say one group? Have you looked into returning to the motherland :>)
Um...predominately Scots-Irish on the East Coast, along with African.
Predominately French from Canada along the Mississippi through Louisiana.
Iowa, Pennslyvania - German
The Dakotas - Native American and Scandinavian, Russian
California - Spanish, Anglo, Russian, Native American
South Western states - Native American, Spanish, Anglo, some German
Different peoples like different climates, and have differing and comingling ancestry. In the early days different Nationalities settled in different places. The Pennsylvania Dutch ( Deutch - German descent) and the Amana Colony in Iowa.
Rivers have always been thoroughfares for trade. The French were in this hemisphere mainly for trade and took advantage of portage as the best method to achieve trade. Creole and Acadian culture stems from those people comingled with African and living life along the Mississippi.
People from cold climates like Sweden and Norway had no problem adjusting to the harsh climates of Minnesota, and North & South Dakota.
Early settlers need to get along with Native populations, and many marriages between early settlers and Native people took place. Its just easier not to want to war with someone if they are your family.
Recent immigrants probably don't see themselves as "American" - at least not in the sense of when they talk about "my country" they might mean the country of their birth, and not the one they recently pledged allegiance to. This doesn't make them any less American.
Others may come from stock that settled here hundreds of years ago, and no body talks about coming from anywhere else. They might not speak a different language, or follow different customs anymore, and when asked what they are, will simply answer "American".
Its all relative to any given Americans situation. The culture is basically the same, just with regional differences.
American people mostly share the same culture, language, mentality and values. This makes "American" an ethnicity in my opinion. So, what kind of ethnicity American is? Germanic, Celtic, Slavic, Mediterranean, etc?
I have a German name, but I'm German, English, Scot, Welsh, Irish, French Huguenot, and God knows what else.
In truth, ethnicity won't likely matter in another 50 years in this country, given how everyone is intermarrying.
I have a German name, but I'm German, English, Scot, Welsh, Irish, French Huguenot, and God knows what else.
In truth, ethnicity won't likely matter in another 50 years in this country, given how everyone is intermarrying.
I have a Hungarian last name with all Hungarian grandparents. I'm mostly Eastern European and have a small percent of Italian.
My daughter is like me. She has a Polish last name and is mostly Eastern European
My son has a Scottish last name but he is mostly Eastern European with a small mix of Scottish/Irish plus some English.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
