Hyphenated-Americans

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Replies

  • CorvusCorax77
    CorvusCorax77 Posts: 2,536 Member
    Identity is a multifaceted thing entrenched in a long history of evolving thought. It is ethnic, cultural, religious, familial, tribal, and nationalist.... It is intensely personal and political and historical and evolving.

    Not a great topic for MFP forums.

    its actually a great topic. if its not for you dont click.

    Great topic, yes. Not for MFP tho.
  • forgtmenot
    forgtmenot Posts: 860 Member
    I'm half Ukrainian Jew, 1/4 Irish, 1/8 Cherokee, 1/8 English and I'm also American. It makes people feel better to call me "white" because of my skin color which I think is silly. I'm not any more white than a Hispanic person. I get rather dark in the sun and have an olive tone to my skin. I also don't call myself Ukrainian-Irish-Cherokee-English-American either Haha. I think being American most people realize you are a mixture of sorts. American is the only title I need. If someone asks me my ethnicity or ancestry then I will tell them, but for all intents and purposes I'm American.
  • forgtmenot
    forgtmenot Posts: 860 Member
    Identity is a multifaceted thing entrenched in a long history of evolving thought. It is ethnic, cultural, religious, familial, tribal, and nationalist.... It is intensely personal and political and historical and evolving.

    Not a great topic for MFP forums.

    its actually a great topic. if its not for you dont click.

    Great topic, yes. Not for MFP tho.


    This is the chit chat, fun and games section of the forums. None of these topics have much to do with weightloss so I don't see anything wrong with the topic being posted here.
  • Laces_0ut
    Laces_0ut Posts: 3,750 Member
    Identity is a multifaceted thing entrenched in a long history of evolving thought. It is ethnic, cultural, religious, familial, tribal, and nationalist.... It is intensely personal and political and historical and evolving.

    Not a great topic for MFP forums.

    its actually a great topic. if its not for you dont click.

    Great topic, yes. Not for MFP tho.

    of course it is. everyone is being civil here. since you cant handle it just dont click the thread. :)
  • KelleyGirl74
    KelleyGirl74 Posts: 182 Member
    Omg, my first topic that got such a phenomenal response. I'm reading and taking notes of all of your information (not names and such lol) but information sources you're leaving for me. I really love that there are so many people that have such great opinions on this. I've been searching the net for what would normally be a vast with information on this and yet, just as here (but I love this response) it's all really a matter of personal preference. But isn't that with anything in life? Well, for me it is. Anyway, 8 pages and growing. Thank you all again for sharing you wealth of knowledge and your personal opinions. Keep it going. I'm still writing.

    Nika
  • CorvusCorax77
    CorvusCorax77 Posts: 2,536 Member
    Identity is a multifaceted thing entrenched in a long history of evolving thought. It is ethnic, cultural, religious, familial, tribal, and nationalist.... It is intensely personal and political and historical and evolving.

    Not a great topic for MFP forums.

    its actually a great topic. if its not for you dont click.

    Great topic, yes. Not for MFP tho.

    of course it is. everyone is being civil here. since you cant handle it just dont click the thread. :)

    You seem to be taking my comment personally.

    I wonder why that could be?

    ;)
  • Laces_0ut
    Laces_0ut Posts: 3,750 Member
    Identity is a multifaceted thing entrenched in a long history of evolving thought. It is ethnic, cultural, religious, familial, tribal, and nationalist.... It is intensely personal and political and historical and evolving.

    Not a great topic for MFP forums.

    its actually a great topic. if its not for you dont click.

    Great topic, yes. Not for MFP tho.

    of course it is. everyone is being civil here. since you cant handle it just dont click the thread. :)

    You seem to be taking my comment personally.

    I wonder why that could be?

    ;)

    its because i hate all the "lick the person above" threads. and when we finally have a real thread here id like it to stay. :)
  • lj8576
    lj8576 Posts: 156
    I think if you live in America and are an American citizen then your just American. IMHO I think this country is divided way too much. It would be nice to just agree we are Americans.
  • CorvusCorax77
    CorvusCorax77 Posts: 2,536 Member
    Identity is a multifaceted thing entrenched in a long history of evolving thought. It is ethnic, cultural, religious, familial, tribal, and nationalist.... It is intensely personal and political and historical and evolving.

    Not a great topic for MFP forums.

    its actually a great topic. if its not for you dont click.

    Great topic, yes. Not for MFP tho.

    of course it is. everyone is being civil here. since you cant handle it just dont click the thread. :)

    You seem to be taking my comment personally.

    I wonder why that could be?

    ;)

    its because i hate all the "lick the person above" threads. and when we finally have a real thread here id like it to stay. :)

    If MFP is the only place where you are engaging in conversations like these, it might be advisable to branch out in your real life.
  • rodneyderrick
    rodneyderrick Posts: 483 Member
    I didn't recognized myself as an American at all until I left the country for a few years. I'm hyphenated, and will die that way.
  • PapaverSomniferum
    PapaverSomniferum Posts: 2,670 Member
    I had a class in college with an immigrant student who called himself "African-American". He was white, of Dutch ancestry, from South Africa, and his English was poor enough that he didn't quite get why people were so weirded out by him telling them he was African-American. He was, technically.
  • ElyseL1
    ElyseL1 Posts: 504 Member
    The one that really ticks me off is when they ask you your ethnicity, are you hispanic or non hispanic and then they ask you your race?! its like wth so i have to mark that my ethnicity is hispanic but my race is white bc i'm a mutt. Really ticks me the hell off. How abt i'm american bc i was born here and if you really want to know what my RACE is its mexican and white.
  • PapaverSomniferum
    PapaverSomniferum Posts: 2,670 Member
    Identity is a multifaceted thing entrenched in a long history of evolving thought. It is ethnic, cultural, religious, familial, tribal, and nationalist.... It is intensely personal and political and historical and evolving.

    Not a great topic for MFP forums.

    its actually a great topic. if its not for you dont click.

    Great topic, yes. Not for MFP tho.

    of course it is. everyone is being civil here. since you cant handle it just dont click the thread. :)

    You seem to be taking my comment personally.

    I wonder why that could be?

    ;)

    its because i hate all the "lick the person above" threads. and when we finally have a real thread here id like it to stay. :)

    If MFP is the only place where you are engaging in conversations like these, it might be advisable to branch out in your real life.

    yes,

    however,

    the real-life "lick the person above you" conversations are a bit different from the ones online...
  • Laces_0ut
    Laces_0ut Posts: 3,750 Member
    Identity is a multifaceted thing entrenched in a long history of evolving thought. It is ethnic, cultural, religious, familial, tribal, and nationalist.... It is intensely personal and political and historical and evolving.

    Not a great topic for MFP forums.

    its actually a great topic. if its not for you dont click.

    Great topic, yes. Not for MFP tho.

    of course it is. everyone is being civil here. since you cant handle it just dont click the thread. :)

    You seem to be taking my comment personally.

    I wonder why that could be?

    ;)

    its because i hate all the "lick the person above" threads. and when we finally have a real thread here id like it to stay. :)

    If MFP is the only place where you are engaging in conversations like these, it might be advisable to branch out in your real life.

    did i say that? since having an adult conversation is upsetting to you maybe you should go "lick the person above". :)
  • UsedToBeHusky
    UsedToBeHusky Posts: 15,228 Member
    yes,

    however,

    the real-life "lick the person above you" conversations are a bit different from the ones online...

    You... I like you!

    You should come around more!
  • HarrietSabre
    HarrietSabre Posts: 186 Member
    For me, this is the MOST FRUSTRATING THING about Americans for a biologist like me. Yes, appreciate your genes and yes, discuss it in detail with people that care. However, you can't be "Italian-American". You can be Caucasian-American, and you can hold dual citizenship in Italy and the States. Unless you're one of those two things, you're not "Italian-American", particularly if your family moved here 6 generations ago. I think the thing that annoys me most is that Americans seem to be extremely patriotic, so I don't get why they say "USA baby!" and then describe themselves as these weird hyphenated things that barely make sense. African-American does make more sense (a common genetics term for this population is Afro-Caribbean, actually), but it does seem to be a catch-all that's quite difficult to understand...I mean, we're ALL African if we go back far enough.

    I'm British, European, whatever. Don't mind what you call me.
  • AEMW8
    AEMW8 Posts: 94 Member
    I don't see a reason to hyphenate unless you're an immigrant. Like my boyfriend would be Sinhalese/Tamil/Vedda-American as he's originally from Sri Lanka and I'm not sure which group his family from.

    If we hyphenate me, it'd be British-Irish-German-French-Choctaw -Chickasaw-Cherokee-American and that's just going off of what I know of my family history. Why would I go around calling myself that long hyphenated name when I can simply say Southern American or American.
  • Daisychain65
    Daisychain65 Posts: 161 Member
    I think I'll start describing myself as Roman-British, I quite fancy the hyphen idea :wink:
  • HarrietSabre
    HarrietSabre Posts: 186 Member

    But to be snarky, on the demographic questionaires if it says "caucasian" I will check other and put "European-American" as I am a European Mutt (but mostly Anglo-Saxon-Jute) born and raised in American (5th generation).

    Haha.. ME TOO! I'm not from Caucasia!

    I don't understand that at all. Caucasian by definition means:
    Cau·ca·sian
    adjective /kôˈkāZHən/ 

    Of or relating to one of the traditional divisions of humankind, covering a broad group of peoples from Europe, western Asia, and parts of India and North Africa

    White-skinned; of European origin

    in terms of those demographic questions.

    This definition of Caucasian is cultural to the Americas. It actually means a person from the Caucasus Region, a very specific place. In Russia, Caucasians are considered "Black."

    It's not, it's a biology term. In population genetics, our databases are Caucasian, Afro-Caribbean, Somali (very unique genetic structure), South Asian, East Asian and some places will have very small databases for things like Native American or Maori etc. In science, it's not a "social term".
  • HarrietSabre
    HarrietSabre Posts: 186 Member
    I don't see a reason to hyphenate unless you're an immigrant. Like my boyfriend would be Sinhalese/Tamil/Vedda-American as he's originally from Sri Lanka and I'm not sure which group his family from.

    If we hyphenate me, it'd be British-Irish-German-French-Choctaw -Chickasaw-Cherokee-American and that's just going off of what I know of my family history. Why would I go around calling myself that long hyphenated name when I can simply say Southern American or American.

    This is what I don't get. I agree with most of your points, but the Americans do seem to always have a lot of knowledge about specifics of their family. That's great, in a way, but separating out British, Irish, German and French in that way is a pretty nonsense way of looking at things.
  • CorvusCorax77
    CorvusCorax77 Posts: 2,536 Member
    Identity is a multifaceted thing entrenched in a long history of evolving thought. It is ethnic, cultural, religious, familial, tribal, and nationalist.... It is intensely personal and political and historical and evolving.

    Not a great topic for MFP forums.

    its actually a great topic. if its not for you dont click.

    Great topic, yes. Not for MFP tho.

    of course it is. everyone is being civil here. since you cant handle it just dont click the thread. :)

    You seem to be taking my comment personally.

    I wonder why that could be?

    ;)

    its because i hate all the "lick the person above" threads. and when we finally have a real thread here id like it to stay. :)

    If MFP is the only place where you are engaging in conversations like these, it might be advisable to branch out in your real life.

    did i say that? since having an adult conversation is upsetting to you maybe you should go "lick the person above". :)

    what i find upsetting are your comments which evidence a lack of experience communicating with diverse groups of people on the subject of identity or having participated in extending your education on the subject beyond your own personal realm. I wasn't suggesting it is a bad topic for MFP because it is not about fitness, but rather because many people lack the education or experience to speak on such a personal and intense issue respectfully. It requires more than having aged to 18 years to have meaningful contributions to the conversation. Like I said, not a good subject for MFP.
  • HarrietSabre
    HarrietSabre Posts: 186 Member
    I think my favourite example of this is a blog I read once about an Irish guy who went to stay in the States. He mentioned how he said he was Irish, and a bunch of the Americans he was with said "ooh, me too! on which side?" and he was like no...I'm actually from Ireland.
  • CorvusCorax77
    CorvusCorax77 Posts: 2,536 Member

    But to be snarky, on the demographic questionaires if it says "caucasian" I will check other and put "European-American" as I am a European Mutt (but mostly Anglo-Saxon-Jute) born and raised in American (5th generation).

    Haha.. ME TOO! I'm not from Caucasia!

    I don't understand that at all. Caucasian by definition means:
    Cau·ca·sian
    adjective /kôˈkāZHən/ 

    Of or relating to one of the traditional divisions of humankind, covering a broad group of peoples from Europe, western Asia, and parts of India and North Africa

    White-skinned; of European origin

    in terms of those demographic questions.

    This definition of Caucasian is cultural to the Americas. It actually means a person from the Caucasus Region, a very specific place. In Russia, Caucasians are considered "Black."

    It's not, it's a biology term. In population genetics, our databases are Caucasian, Afro-Caribbean, Somali (very unique genetic structure), South Asian, East Asian and some places will have very small databases for things like Native American or Maori etc. In science, it's not a "social term".

    Caucasoid may be science.

    Caucasian is relative to region. Ask anyone from Chechnya.
  • AnDiallo
    AnDiallo Posts: 131 Member
    Black people over here in the UK are officially recognised as 'Black-British' and its subsets, but I (and many others) personally generally refer to myself by my country of origin (e.g. Ivory Coast for me) or just as British.
  • Laces_0ut
    Laces_0ut Posts: 3,750 Member
    Identity is a multifaceted thing entrenched in a long history of evolving thought. It is ethnic, cultural, religious, familial, tribal, and nationalist.... It is intensely personal and political and historical and evolving.

    Not a great topic for MFP forums.

    its actually a great topic. if its not for you dont click.

    Great topic, yes. Not for MFP tho.

    of course it is. everyone is being civil here. since you cant handle it just dont click the thread. :)

    You seem to be taking my comment personally.

    I wonder why that could be?

    ;)

    its because i hate all the "lick the person above" threads. and when we finally have a real thread here id like it to stay. :)

    If MFP is the only place where you are engaging in conversations like these, it might be advisable to branch out in your real life.

    did i say that? since having an adult conversation is upsetting to you maybe you should go "lick the person above". :)

    what i find upsetting are your comments which evidence a lack of experience communicating with diverse groups of people on the subject of identity or having participated in extending your education on the subject beyond your own personal realm. I wasn't suggesting it is a bad topic for MFP because it is not about fitness, but rather because many people lack the education or experience to speak on such a personal and intense issue respectfully. It requires more than having aged to 18 years to have meaningful contributions to the conversation. Like I said, not a good subject for MFP.

    obviously we'll never know but i am going to guess that i grew up with people from a wider range of nationalities, religions and ethnicities that you did. on top of that i have traveled to many countries and have interacted with people on their home turf.

    just because you lack the ability(tact, knowledge, etc..) to discuss this in a civil manner here doesnt mean the rest of us can't.
  • CorvusCorax77
    CorvusCorax77 Posts: 2,536 Member
    I'm gonna bow out of this absurd interaction and commend those who could contribute meaningfully!

    Black! Blanc! Beur! (Et al!)
  • liesevanlingen
    liesevanlingen Posts: 508 Member
    I'm Canadian, eh? (My mother's family is from England but MANY generations back, my father immigrated from the Netherlands as a child.) But personally, I think hyphenation is kind of silly. Maybe we should just identify ourselves as "human" and be done with it. It's pretty much all-inclusive. :bigsmile:
  • Laces_0ut
    Laces_0ut Posts: 3,750 Member
    lets not let the debbie downer derail this thread!
  • HarrietSabre
    HarrietSabre Posts: 186 Member

    But to be snarky, on the demographic questionaires if it says "caucasian" I will check other and put "European-American" as I am a European Mutt (but mostly Anglo-Saxon-Jute) born and raised in American (5th generation).

    Haha.. ME TOO! I'm not from Caucasia!

    I don't understand that at all. Caucasian by definition means:
    Cau·ca·sian
    adjective /kôˈkāZHən/ 

    Of or relating to one of the traditional divisions of humankind, covering a broad group of peoples from Europe, western Asia, and parts of India and North Africa

    White-skinned; of European origin

    in terms of those demographic questions.

    This definition of Caucasian is cultural to the Americas. It actually means a person from the Caucasus Region, a very specific place. In Russia, Caucasians are considered "Black."

    It's not, it's a biology term. In population genetics, our databases are Caucasian, Afro-Caribbean, Somali (very unique genetic structure), South Asian, East Asian and some places will have very small databases for things like Native American or Maori etc. In science, it's not a "social term".

    Caucasoid may be science.

    Caucasian is relative to region. Ask anyone from Chechnya.

    Nah. We use Caucasoid to avoid having to use Mongoloid, so science has just adopted Caucasian. Words can have two different meanings, for a start, and I've never heard anyone from Russia or the Ukraine (where I worked) use the term Caucasian anyway. Plus, the "people of the Caucasus" involve about 40 different ethnic (or cultural) groups, so it's not really that relevant to any discussion of hyphenation, even if you were using it to mean that specific region. You would be Lezgic-American, for example...

    I do agree that the people of Chechnya have suffered a lot at the hands of these old-style "groupings", but it doesn't mean that it's logically correct (people in power love to segregate people based on useless regions) and it doesn't mean that that's how they see themselves.
  • UsedToBeHusky
    UsedToBeHusky Posts: 15,228 Member
    I'm gonna bow out of this absurd interaction and commend those who could contribute meaningfully!

    Black! Blanc! Beur! (Et al!)

    go have fun in one of your lick, slap, bite threads since you cant handle it here. :)

    You know... tact is missing here... but its not her lack of it.