Ethnicity, How Important Is It To You?

[Paladin D]

I wondered about this for a while, and was curious if you guys would like to share your thoughts on this topic.

I understand we have Phatmassers who aren't from the States, so you can add to the discussion if need be. As time goes on, more Americans are becoming integrated. In the late 19th/early 20th centuries, many of our ancestors came over from Europe (mine included) from countries such as Britian, France, Italy, Germany, Poland, Greece, Lithuania, Norway, Sweden, Spain, Portugal, Ireland, Ukraine, etc. Many of these immigrants had children born into this country, thus making them <insert>-American (example: Polish-American). Right now, many of the immigrants that are coming into this country (legally or illegally) are hispanic*.

[size=1]*[b]Question:[/b] His "hispanic" a derogatory word? I heard from one guy it was, and suggested using "Spanish" or "Latino". Doesn't make any sense, but if anyone could elaborate I would appreciate it.[/size]


[b][i]Your ethnicity, how important is it to you?[/b][/i]


Present day, it's not uncommon for people from various backgrounds to get married. You may have someone who is Irish/Italian getting married to a German/Hungarian, thus the kids will be a mixture of Irish/Italian/German/Hungarian. My heritage and identity as a predominately Polish-American is important to me.

I love the fact that I'm 3/4 Polish and 1/4 Italian/French/Lithuanian (to make things simplier, I usually just list Polish). I wear it with pride, and it fascinates me how my ancestorial lineage can be traced to these countries. None of my ancestors planned this to happen, they were simply living their lives, and it's amazing how they all came together in which my existance eventually came into being. Some people (especially those in my age group) tend to find it weird that I'm fascinated by this since many of them never gave it much thought, which brings up another point.

There are millions of Americans who have no clue on their ethnicial makeup, which is becoming commonplace these days. It's a side effect of generations marrying each other. It's impossible to prevent, it's inevitable, even if there were strict regulations put in place by the government (which would be insane).

Unfortunately in my case, even though love is the most important factor when it comes to marriage, another part of me would want to marry someone who has a similar ethnicial background as me. This may sound crazy, and I would never prevent myself from marrying my future "special someone" (if I do have one) if they weren't the same makeup, but it would still bother me to some extent. I'm not sure if any of you can relate to this feeling, or have thought about it before, but that's how I am. I guess the reason I'm like this is because I want to pass down my identity (or heritage?) to my kids, and it'll become increasingly difficult if they're 1/100th of everything.

I don't look down on anyone who could care less about this stuff, those who truely are a mix of 1/100th, or those who simply don't know. In the end, it's more important who we are and what our identity is in Christ, and that we share His love to one another.

[tojo]

In my opinion, this is more of an issue amongst Catholics, who largely stem from later immigrant groups than many Protestants. In many parishes, you have large communities of Poles and Germans and Irish and Italian. There are even parishes oriented towards these groups. There are two Polish parishes in my hometown!

I'm a convert, and my family has been here a long time. I'm 12th generation on one side. Through some research, my best guess is that I am roughly:

1/2 English
1/8 Irish
1/8 German/Dutch
1/8 Scottish/Welsh
1/8 Miscellaneous (includes some of the former, Cherokee, and unknown)

I'm the type of person who would very proud of an ethnic background, but my family has been here so long, and my background is pretty mixed, and my major ethnicity is English, which I find hard to be excited about, though I try.

[Sojourner]

Tomasio my story is much like yours ... My family has been here for many generations; in fact I had a relative do the research recently to prove that she (and therefore I) could be a member of the Daughters of the American Revolution. We've been around for a while, so it's hard for me to identify too closely with any culture other than American. I'm roughly 80 percent English, with a little Irish and Scottish thrown in the remaining 20 percent, along with a smidge of Cherokee, and while I appreciate those cultures and many of the things that came from them, I don't feel like I'm tied to them in any way other than some sense of appreciation and/or nostalgia, if that makes sense.

Edited August 2, 2007 by Terra Firma

[Noel's angel]

Can I just make a side note? There are only a few things that should be referred to as 'Scotch', namely whiskey and a few other food-stuffs.

I'm pretty much completely made-up of Celtic blood. My dad's family are Irish and my mum's are half Irish, half Scottish. At the end of the day though, it's not really that important I suppose-we don't choose where we come from.

I think it's important to have a sense of national identity but I wouldn't care if my possible future husband was from a different background. I don't care if my children's blood is 100th of something. We all have 'impurities' in our blood. No ones blood line is 100% from one country. I think it's more important for children to grow up knowing where THEY come from and to be proud of that, rather than trying to be part of a country that their great-great grandfather came from and a culture thay have never experienced. I'm with Paul Simon on this one- we're all 'Citizens of the Planet'

[Sojourner]

[quote name='Noel's angel' post='1347563' date='Aug 2 2007, 03:23 PM']Can I just make a side note? There are only a few things that should be referred to as 'Scotch', namely whiskey and a few other food-stuffs.[/quote]


yeah, like I said I don't have very close ties to my countries of origin ...

[tojo]

[quote name='Noel's angel' post='1347563' date='Aug 2 2007, 04:23 PM']I think it's more important for children to grow up knowing where THEY come from and to be proud of that, rather than trying to be part of a country that their great-great grandfather came from and a culture thay have never experienced. I'm with Paul Simon on this one- we're all 'Citizens of the Planet' [/quote]

I hear ya, but you're from a country with a real culture.

[Noel's angel]

[quote name='Terra Firma' post='1347566' date='Aug 2 2007, 10:25 PM']

yeah, like I said I don't have very close ties to my countries of origin ...

[/quote]

'Tis okay, I wasn't being intentionally mean or anything. My mum always tells people off for saying 'Scotch' and I think it's rubbed off on me lol.


I suppose my views will be different to many on this board because Ireland does have such a strong culture.

[hoosieranna]

[quote name='Paladin D' post='1347523' date='Aug 2 2007, 02:48 PM'][size=1]*[b]Question:[/b] His "hispanic" a derogatory word? I heard from one guy it was, and suggested using "Spanish" or "Latino". Doesn't make any sense, but if anyone could elaborate I would appreciate it.[/size][/quote]

I've always heard or used Latino. My Latin friends usually used it too. One said Chicano, but Latino seems okay.


I fall into the "we've been here for a while" category. My mom's side is Swiss, but has been in the US for over 300 years. My dad's side is predominantly German, and the best guess I have for length of time is 150 years. I think it is interesting to see where my family comes from, but I'm American. I don't call myself Swiss-American, German-American, or Dutch-American. I can claim a little Mohawk as well, but it's just a smaller part of the whole.

It doesn't make sense (to me) to keep calling oneself a Whatever-American after such a long time. I understand it with immigrants and first-generation Americans, and frankly think it is pretty cool. I only call myself American. My background interests me, but not enough that I feel the need "protect" it or to limit my potential partners to specific backgrounds. My kids (if any) will learn about both sides. They can do what they want with the information.

(sorry, posted pretty slow)

Edited August 2, 2007 by Nadezhda

[Archaeology cat]

I personally don't identify strongly with my family's background. My dad's side is actually Norman, if you go back far enough (I think my brother traced them to 1066, so far), and then they came to the US in the 1780s or something like that. And my mom's side is basically English, with some Irish thrown in, I think. Anyway, they also came to the US pretty early. And now I've gone to the UK.

My husband's family is more attuned to their heritage. He's 4th-generation German-American, and they still do the German dinners. His grandmother is incredibly German - she's adorable.

[tojo]

[quote name='Archaeology cat' post='1347589' date='Aug 2 2007, 04:43 PM']My husband's family is more attuned to their heritage. He's 4th-generation German-American, and they still do the German dinners. His grandmother is incredibly German - she's adorable.[/quote]

My gf's mom is 100% German, but her family has been a few generations. They are all obsessed with the Polka.

[dUSt]

[quote name='Paladin D' post='1347523' date='Aug 2 2007, 03:48 PM']There are millions of Americans who have no clue on their ethnicial makeup, which is becoming commonplace these days. It's a side effect of generations marrying each other.[/quote]
Don't forget about the almost entire black population of the United States being stripped of their ethnic background because of slavery.

[quote]Unfortunately in my case, even though love is the most important factor when it comes to marriage, another part of me would want to marry someone who has a similar ethnicial background as me.
...
I love the fact that I'm 3/4 Polish and 1/4 Italian/French/Lithuanian ...[/quote]
Yeah, good luck finding a girl with that combo.

[quote]I guess the reason I'm like this is because I want to pass down my identity (or heritage?) to my kids, and it'll become increasingly difficult if they're 1/100th of everything.[/quote]
It would be impossible for your kids to be 1/100 of something unless you find a wife who is 1/50th of something.

Anyway, even if you say you are 75% Polish, how do you know? Is it impossible that somewhere down the line one of your Polish ancestors went across the border into Germany and found a spouse? Are you positive that your 75% Polishness is truly 100% purebred Polish?

I guess what I'm getting at is, it's too late to worry about all that.
We're all muts.
Emb[b]race[/b] it.

[Resurrexi]

It's true. We are all muts.

I am 50% "pureblood" French. But that's not really pure French blood. That's a bunch of Frankish and Germanic and Celtic tribes who intermarried and conquered other Frankish and Germanic and Celtic and possibly Visgothic tribes. It's really confusing and we are all truly mutts.

[Paladin D]

It's true, unless your parents came directly from another country (and that their parents were natives of their home country), you're a "mut". In a way that's what makes America special, it's a melting pot filled with different backgrounds mixing together. In the end, I am American (aka, "mut"). American pretty much sums everything into one identity (unless you're refering to Native Americans). Though if one was to get more historical, I would be mostly "Polish-American".

[b]DUSt[/b], I can understand your perspective (I agree with pretty much everything you stated). Just want to make two clarifications:

1) I didn't imply that I must have a spouse with the "exact" ethnic background as myself, but would prefer at least some similarity (example, part Italian). As I stated in my original post, if that person is the one for me, I will still marry her no matter what. Just as someone has a preference for a certain type of hair color, body type, race, etc, I have one for ethnicity as well. There are individuals who completely rule-out a certain demographic who do not meet their "criteria", which is sad.

2) For those who have the ability to trace their heritage, shouldn't be discouraged from doing so just because there are others who cannot. Most of my family came over from Europe in the late 19th/early 20th century, it's relatively easier to trace back compared to someone who has had family in the States since the Colonies. I do not know for certain if my Polish identity is scientifically "75%", it's a rough estimate. My four grandparents all had Polish in them, some more than others. 1 out of the 4 confirmed ethnicities documentated, Polish is strong in all 4 families. Someday I may go the Genelogy capital of the world (Salt Lake City) and find out for certain.

[tojo]

[quote name='Paladin D' post='1347832' date='Aug 2 2007, 06:45 PM']Someday I may go the Genelogy capital of the world (Salt Lake City) and find out for certain. [/quote]

Careful, you'll end up getting baptized a Mormon against your will after death.

[Maggyie]

So much of Europe is basically mutt-dom... except for maybe the Irish or the English; being on islands tends to keep the blood "pure" so to speak.

Case in point: My father's family is Romanian on the paternal side and Austrian on the maternal side. But Austria was once a part of the Hapsburg empire, and plenty of my relatives were born in Germany, Hungary, and Alsace-Lorraine, France. Perfect example of a ethnicity that seems clear but actually isn't.