It has always bothered me when someone catergorizes themselves as Italian Americans or African Americans, etc. If you are born in this country, you are an American. Period. My ancestors are originally from Italy, but I was born in America. Therefore I am an American of Italian descent. I am not an Italian American. That title should be reserved for immigrants who were born and raised in other countries and migrate to America. Not for people who are born and raised in this country. I'm not saying anyone shouldn't be proud of their heritage, but I just wish people would be proud of the country they were born in more.

I prefer to be known as a German-Italian-Sweedish American.. Gotta have all bases covered.

I am very proud and blessed to have been born and raised in the U.S.A. However I am also proud of my heritage. When I was overseas a few years ago I just told people I was American. When someone here in America asks me what I am I say German, Italian etc.. I know so many Americans who have little or no knowledge of where their ancestors came from and that is unfortunate. Kind of like being adopted and not knowing where your family came from. Some people aren't bothered by it but I know it would bother me if I had no idea what was in my blood.

Originally posted by Brian Damage
It has always bothered me when someone catergorizes themselves as Italian Americans or African Americans, etc. If you are born in this country, you are an American. Period. My ancestors are originally from Italy, but I was born in America. Therefore I am an American of Italian descent. I am not an Italian American.

I agree with you. If you're born in America, you're an American - it makes no difference where your grandparents or great grandparents were from.
Americans seem to be the only people who have this stupid way of defining their nationality. I have loads of family members in Belgium but you never hear me saying "well, actually I'm Belgian/Scottish".
See how ridiculous it sounds when I say it?!

A bit off topic, but some countries don't even refer to Americans as Americans - they say something along the lines of "United Statesian." Haha Sounds horrible, I know, but it prevents some confusion since America is the name of the continent and not of the country. I'm used to saying "American," but I've played trivia games in other languages that ask for the name of an American city meaning a city in the American continent (North and South America). But I'm pretty sure the United Statesian fad has been dying down.

Originally posted by Mossopp
I agree with you. If you're born in America, you're an American - it makes no difference where your grandparents or great grandparents were from.
Americans seem to be the only people who have this stupid way of defining their nationality. I have loads of family members in Belgium but you never hear me saying "well, actually I'm Belgian/Scottish".
See how ridiculous it sounds when I say it?!

That's exactly my point. Thank you!

yeah, I tried to tell my mom, stepdad, and little brother that, none of them agreed with me.

Alot of people that refer to themselves as Italian American etc grew up in Italian communities though, which imo is a bit different than someone from the upper middle class and lives in suburbs or something.

But yeah, my ******** extended family gets excited when it is Saint Patricks Day because my mom's Grandpa immigrated from Ireland...and you're thinking "...jesus christ, that makes Grandma and her sisters the most Irish at half..." but then again, Saint Patricks Day is a stupid damn holiday


At any rate, my point was there are some very Italian communities in NYC and some very Irish communities in Boston (among other places), I just think that their ancestors obviously came here for a "better life" or whatever, and most likely didnt dream of their grandkids or whoever parading around saying "I'm Irish" instead of "i'm American"


Then again, I dont know much of my ancestors previous to their coming to America, and I hardly care

.

I'm not saying deny your heritage, but when someone says they are Italian American and they were born and raised in the United States, I think that is bogus. You are an American.

I am Puerto Rican but at the same time I'm American because the island is a US territory ; when anyone asks me I tell them I'm Puerto Rican not American...

When someone asks me what I am, I don't bother to say American, because it's quite obvious, as I was born in this country...

... yet if you have dual citizenship to another country (i.e. half of my family [not sure if I'm included in that half or not- I know my ma is] has dual citizenship to Ireland, and some of my other half to England) I suppose you could be considered an Irish-American or yadda yadda yadda... whatever. I say just call yourself American and keep it simple.

I'm proud to be an American.

According to my dad I am German! And that's that!:lol:

i hate being an american.

Originally posted by safety pin
i hate being an american.

I don't. I love this country.

I take more pride in being a human from Earth than I do in being an American, though.

I love this country. Freedom doesn't come easy and shouldn't be taken for granted which unfortunately too many people do today. :(

It's good to be proud of your heritage to some extent, but not if you stop considering yourself an American because of it. My father is Italian and that's it. But he was born in this country so I always tell him "You're American. You were born here." then he says "Be proud of your heritage" and all that. Now he would be considered an Italian American if he was born in Italy and immigrated to here. I am Italian, Portuguese, and Lithuanian decent, but doesn't it sound weird to go around calling yourself an "Italian-Portuguese-Lithuanian American"? If you were born in this country you are American.

i'm a german-irish-british-belarusian-american. i'm gonna call myself that from now on since it pisses you all off.

I love being American and everything, but theres really nothing wrong with keeping close to your own heritage.

Originally posted by safety pin
i'm a german-irish-british-belarusian-american. i'm gonna call myself that from now on since it pisses you all off. Well now, there's something to look forward to.;)

Originally posted by safety pin
i'm a german-irish-british-belarusian-american. i'm gonna call myself that from now on since it pisses you all off. so can we call you GIBBA for short ?



'nuff of this gibba-jabba

I think people are proud of their heritage so they include something before it so when the put for example "Italian-American" your only stating your ethnicity and nationality. plus American is a culture it self that sometimes differs from others. African Americans differ from African culture and the same with other ethnic groups. some people also don't want to lose their roots. but American is what brings everybody together and good.

Originally posted by Brian Damage
It has always bothered me when someone catergorizes themselves as Italian Americans or African Americans, etc. If you are born in this country, you are an American. Period. My ancestors are originally from Italy, but I was born in America. Therefore I am an American of Italian descent. I am not an Italian American. That title should be reserved for immigrants who were born and raised in other countries and migrate to America. Not for people who are born and raised in this country. I'm not saying anyone shouldn't be proud of their heritage, but I just wish people would be proud of the country they were born in more.

I agree! My ancestors came from England...I think. But as for me...and my entire family, we've never even been to England. So I'm not very English.

Originally posted by Chambers
A bit off topic, but some countries don't even refer to Americans as Americans - they say something along the lines of "United Statesian." Haha Sounds horrible, I know, but it prevents some confusion since America is the name of the continent and not of the country. I'm used to saying "American," but I've played trivia games in other languages that ask for the name of an American city meaning a city in the American continent (North and South America). But I'm pretty sure the United Statesian fad has been dying down.

Well, the country is called The United States of America, so we are American. Besides, I never heard many people define themselves by their continent. Maybe they do in South America, I don't know.

Originally posted by robyrob
so can we call you GIBBA for short ?



'nuff of this gibba-jabba
that's a brilliant idea! of course.

GIBBA PRIDE!

Originally posted by dawsongirl
Well, the country is called The United States of America, so we are American. Besides, I never heard many people define themselves by their continent. Maybe they do in South America, I don't know.

No, all I meant is that the country is named after the continent. So it can get confusing when you're refering to the American continent and not just America (the U.S.). It's like South Africa - if they just started omitting the "South" part, then they'd be confused with the whole continent....does that make sense? I'm not just talking about what people call themselves - I'm talking about everything from geography to culture. While the continent was being settled (both North and South), if you talked about American geography you were talking about the entire continent. Now it's no longer a problem, but for a while people outside of the US also considered themselves to be American, just as people from Nigeria consider themselves to be African and people from France consider themselves to be European.

Originally posted by Chambers
No, all I meant is that the country is named after the continent. So it can get confusing when you're refering to the American continent and not just America (the U.S.). It's like South Africa - if they just started omitting the "South" part, then they'd be confused with the whole continent....does that make sense? I'm not just talking about what people call themselves - I'm talking about everything from geography to culture. While the continent was being settled (both North and South), if you talked about American geography you were talking about the entire continent. Now it's no longer a problem, but for a while people outside of the US also considered themselves to be American, just as people from Nigeria consider themselves to be African and people from France consider themselves to be European.

oh...okay.

Can I just ask a quick question to all you Irish-Americans, Italian-Americans, German-Americans who are all oh-so proud of your heritage....?
Have any of you ever actually been to Ireland, Italy, Germany or whatever country it happens to be that you are so proud to have originated from?

Originally posted by Mossopp
Can I just ask a quick question to all you Irish-Americans, Italian-Americans, German-Americans who are all oh-so proud of your heritage....?


Or in Sarah's case, GIBBA's :D

Originally posted by Mossopp
Can I just ask a quick question to all you Irish-Americans, Italian-Americans, German-Americans who are all oh-so proud of your heritage....?
Have any of you ever actually been to Ireland, Italy, Germany or whatever country it happens to be that you are so proud to have originated from?

I've been to Germany. It's really a beautiful country. I don't think there is anything wrong with being proud of the country my grandparents came from as well as being proud of the country I was born in.

Originally posted by Mijada
I don't think there is anything wrong with being proud of the country my grandparents came from as well as being proud of the country I was born in.

I'm not saying there's anything wrong with it. My point is that the majority of Americans who claim to be so proud of their heritage have never actually bothered to visit the country their family originally came from, or even know much about it.

Originally posted by Mossopp
I'm not saying there's anything wrong with it. My point is that the majority of Americans who claim to be so proud of their heritage have never actually bothered to visit the country their family originally came from, or even know much about it.

That's very true. I personally though have always been fascinated by geneology and try to learn as much as I can about my family tree. I'm sure that a couple hundred years from now when the U.S. has more of a history of its own more and more people here will refer to themselves as just Americans and not Italian-Americans etc.

Yeah, what's the deal with this whole "African-American" thing? Is it because you're not allowed to say that someone is "black" anymore because it's not deemed politically correct?
In Britain, if someone is black then we say they're black and noone takes offence from it.
It's like I said previously - it's just Americans who define themselves in such a way. "African-American" is a term you hear all the time. But when was the last time you heard someone say they were "African-English" or "African-Scottish"? It never happens........because it's bloody stupid!

Originally posted by Mossopp
Yeah, what's the deal with this whole "African-American" thing? Is it because you're not allowed to say that someone is "black" anymore because it's not deemed politically correct?


That's pretty much the reason I think. When someone of another race refers to me as "White" instead of "Caucasean" I don't get offended at all so I don't see why they should be offended by being called Black.

I don't know if it is still going on right now, but I remember a few years ago Canada was divided in two. There were Canadians and then there were French Canadians. The French Canadians wanted to seceed from the rest of the country, because they had their own language and own culture.

Originally posted by Mossopp
I'm not saying there's anything wrong with it. My point is that the majority of Americans who claim to be so proud of their heritage have never actually bothered to visit the country their family originally came from, or even know much about it. Mossopp, you're right about the second part of your post. Many folks don't have enough curiosity about their country of origin to take time to learn about it.

Your other knock, though, about people not having visited the country in question is a cheap shot. I wouldn't hold a lack of funds, or opportunity, against the non-visitors. Plus many of the people replying to this thread are kids who would need to talk their parents into sending them off to Ireland, Scotland, Africa, Germany, etc.

In reply to the question on this thread: I've rarely ever been subjected to people calling themselves some form of hyphonated Americans, unless they actually did come from another country. People enjoy mentioning the origins of their ancestory. There's nothing wrong with or obnoxious about that.

My ancestory is Irish and German. I don't call myself an Irish-German-American if and when someone happens to ask unless they are asking what my ancestory is.

There is one glaring exception, though: the term, "African American". That term is so grossly overused. I don't know why "Black" became 'old school' but that seems to be part of the reason why "African American" has virtually replaced "Black". For one thing, many of the black people in America don't have an African ancestory to begin with.

Sadly many blacks do not know their ancestory because of slavery.

Originally posted by Brian Damage
Sadly many blacks do not know their ancestory because of slavery. The vast majority of slaves were owned by very wealthy plantation owners. Most of them kept extremely precise records of the origins, birth dates, father/mother, etc. of their slaves.

What I was getting at, though, is that some blacks who assume that they originate from Africa actually originated from perhaps, Jamaica or somewhere else other than Africa.

Originally posted by Mossopp
Can I just ask a quick question to all you Irish-Americans, Italian-Americans, German-Americans who are all oh-so proud of your heritage....?
Have any of you ever actually been to Ireland, Italy, Germany or whatever country it happens to be that you are so proud to have originated from?
that's a really good question. :lol: i'm not particularly "proud" of my heritage (except for one for reasons everyone would lash out at me for) since i dont even know about most of them. GIBBA pride anyway!

Originally posted by barwars
Europeans, Asians, Africans.... nope, never heard it.

Well, yeah...okay. But North Americans don't do it. :lol:

Originally posted by barwars
I agree Brian, if you're American -- you're American.


I also hate when people classify anyone who's black as being African Americans.
There isn't anything African about being Jamaican.

Or Cuban. Watching the Olympics, you'll see many Cubans are black, not Latino/a.

It is kind of stupid, but you have to remember...the US is the immigrant country, is it not? Many people here don't go as far back as their great grandparents, like myself...they were the first in my family here on both sides. It's not like other countries where people were almost...as far back as we know, always there and heavily populated. America is a relatively new country, so you can't really classify it as a nationality because there's no specific thing about it because so many people but so many different places are here, so we classify ourselves by what's in our blood and where our family is from. I probably worded all of that really ****ty so people won't get what I'm saying, but I hope at least one person who can word it better does.

Originally posted by *A TV People*
It is kind of stupid, but you have to remember...the US is the immigrant country, is it not? Many people here don't go as far back as their great grandparents, like myself...they were the first in my family here on both sides. It's not like other countries where people were almost...as far back as we know, always there and heavily populated. America is a relatively new country, so you can't really classify it as a nationality because there's no specific thing about it because so many people but so many different places are here, so we classify ourselves by what's in our blood and where our family is from. I probably worded all of that really ****ty so people won't get what I'm saying, but I hope at least one person who can word it better does.

You're pretty much saying that people in our generation, for the most part, are the first in our families born in the United States. Meanwhile, our parents, grandparents, etc. were born in other countries. And for this reason, we claim to be whatever nationality that our family members claim to be. And since there really isn't one, solid group of the same type of people here, no one really says they're American. The United States is made up of so many different kinds of people from so many places that it's easier to classify ourselves by what country our family came from.

That's pretty much what you said, right? :)

Originally posted by consentida
You're pretty much saying that people in our generation, for the most part, are the first in our families born in the United States. Meanwhile, our parents, grandparents, etc. were born in other countries. And for this reason, we claim to be whatever nationality that our family members claim to be. And since there really isn't one, solid group of the same type of people here, no one really says they're American. The United States is made up of so many different kinds of people from so many places that it's easier to classify ourselves by what country our family came from.

That's pretty much what you said, right? :) Basically :lol:

Originally posted by Kitt
The vast majority of slaves were owned by very wealthy plantation owners. Most of them kept extremely precise records of the origins, birth dates, father/mother, etc. of their slaves.

What I was getting at, though, is that some blacks who assume that they originate from Africa actually originated from perhaps, Jamaica or somewhere else other than Africa. Actually Jamaican ancestry originates from slavery from Africa. most black ancestry in the western hemisphere is traced back to slavery.

Originally posted by King Forrester
Actually Jamaican ancestry originates from slavery from Africa. most black ancestry in the western hemisphere is traced back to slavery. So then, I guess, Bob Marley just doesn't know his roots?

I don't understand how it is that you think that your post undermines the fact that many so called "African Americans" aren't from, and have no connection to, Africa.

Originally posted by Kitt
So then, I guess, Bob Marley just doesn't know his roots?

I don't understand how it is that you think that your post undermines the fact that many so called "African Americans" aren't from, and have no connection to, Africa.

From what I remember learning, they wanted to avoid terms denoting color because most of society used them in a pejorative sense. African-American is perceived as a more dignified label. Afterall, white society wasn't even willing to have them be part of their communities much less recognize them as "Americans." These labels are only a byproduct of the way certain immigrant communities were treated when they arrived in the US. It happens in almost every country.

Originally posted by Janice
I'm proud to be an American.

I am an AMERICAN GIRL. I tip my hat to my heritage always: Irish and 1/4 PURE BRIT.

Originally posted by safety pin
i hate being an american.

Tell us why? Would you rather be in

Iraq?

Afganistan?

Any country where you could not be on a message board?

Any country where you were subjected to female castration?

Let's hear it!

Originally posted by Chambers
From what I remember learning, they wanted to avoid terms denoting color because most of society used them in a pejorative sense. African-American is perceived as a more dignified label. Afterall, white society wasn't even willing to have them be part of their communities much less recognize them as "Americans." These labels are only a byproduct of the way certain immigrant communities were treated when they arrived in the US. It happens in almost every country. First, you're missing the point, but nevermind. Second, it was blacks who brought the term BLACK POWER to the fore.

To my knowledge, most blacks are, to this day, quite fine with being refered to as blacks

Originally posted by Kitt
First, you're missing the point, but nevermind. Second, it was blacks who brought the term BLACK POWER to the fore.

To my knowledge, most blacks are, to this day, quite fine with being refered to as blacks

I know what you were trying to say. I was just offering a different take on all the hyphenated names (how they're a reflection of how most immigrant communities weren't integrated into US society for a long time). Most immigrants wouldn't have left their home countries if they had a choice, so they wanted to keep their cultural heritage and identity alive. That's something descendants of African slaves didn't get a chance to do - they weren't allowed to engage in their cultural practices when they reached the plantations in the US. That's why exploring African culture became so popular. The terms serves as a symbolic way for them to reclaim a right they lost centuries ago. Basically what I'm trying to say is that the term African-American does make some sense (regardless of a concrete connection to Africa).

Originally posted by Chambers
I know what you were trying to say. I was just offering a different take on all the hyphenated names .

Basically what I'm trying to say is that the term African-American does make some sense (regardless of a concrete connection to Africa). Okay... :)

Originally posted by Shanda Lear
Tell us why? Would you rather be in

Iraq?

Afganistan?

Any country where you could not be on a message board?

Any country where you were subjected to female castration?

Let's hear it!
:rotflmao:

I find it funny when people bitch at me for not being proud to be american. it's my opinion so **** off and stop questioning it.

But to answer you-

no

no

dont care

no

America pisses me off. I didn't say i wanted to live anywhere else. I hate the entire world, to be honest. If you don't like it, that's just a problem. So next time,

http://www.sitcomsonline.com/boards/attachment.php?s=&postid=1673479

Well, when someone asks what I am I dont say American. IMO, if you live here you are American. Then again, if I moved to France I wouldnt be French O_O. But yeah.. America to me is more of a 'group' or 'society' compared to say an ethnicity or heritage. But yeah, Im English, Italian, and a few other things, but if someone asks I just say English with a little bit Italian. Most people say I have an English accent anyways. But I dont do any of that -American stuff because I am American and I didnt come here from some other country trying to start a new life so maybe thats why. I dunno. If someone asks where I come from though, then I just say America. Or New Hampshire -.-

The term "african-american" has been so overused, that many don't even think about it when they say it. A few years ago, on TV, a black american was interviewing a black englishman (as in born and raised in England). The black american actually asked the guy "How it felt to grow up as an "african-american" in Britain"...

Well, this is how I personally see it.

Out of all the members of my family, only five have been born in the states. My great-grandmother (1905), me (1985), my brother (1989) and two cousins (1993, 2003). My great-grandmother and her parents moved back when she was 7 after her two older brothers had died. The rest of us were raised (or are being raised) in Chicago.....and Chicago is the second most populous Polish city on the globe, after Warsaw. You can walk down a street in Chicago and swear you're in a city in Poland. Ive, been back and forth between the two countries about six times now. I didn't even know English until I was about 6 or 7.....I didn't need to. Every aspect of my life (church, restaurants, shopping, family get togethers, dinners, holidays) never needed English to function....I think you get my point. And THAT's why I call myself Polish-American....or simply just Polish (Since it's pretty obvious I'm an American if I'm in this country and can speak perfect American English...) and vice versa. When I'm in Poland, I always say I'm just an American.