Ethnically/nationally diverse members of CFC

[nonconformist]

This stems from the "Soviet Union" thread, and is aimed pretty much exclusively, I guess, to:

-Dual nationals
-Emigrants/Ex-Pats
-People whose parents were born in a different state
-People born/whose parents were born in the same geographical area, but whose boundaries have changed geopolitically.

How do you identify?

As your old ethnicity/nationality?
As your new one?
Both?
Neither?

I'm really asking people who are first/second hand, I rather wouldn't have Americans posting they feel Irish cos some great-great grandfather called Fergal emigrated during the tater famine.

I'm half-French, half English, and I feel european, rather than any nationality, but I also feel 100% of either.

I have done my basic military induction for France, for my citizenship rights.
I have lived in the UK since birth, and I feel quite assimilated into the culture here, and I enjoy it.
However, I'm also very French on some levels culturally, and I certainly feel more French politically, as a lefty feller who happens to be republican and believe in the ideals of the Republic.

 

[Loppan Torkel]

I'm a Swede. Also a European and a Scandinavian, but no split loyalties, therefor I'm 100% Swede.

 

[Theige]

Americans don't "feel" Irish or German or Italian, really at all, but that is how we report our ethnicity, since very few people identify themselves as ethnically "American."

 

[RedRalph]

Americans don't "feel" Irish or German or Italian, really at all, but that is how we report our ethnicity, since very few people identify themselves as ethnically "American."

Then why does no one call themselves English American?

 

[downtown]

I'm technically a dual national...I have both American and Brazilian passports. I've lived in the US my whole life, but my mother is from Sao Paulo, as is most of the family I am close with.

I feel substantially more American than I do Brazilian, but I certainly identify with both...I'm actually wearing a Sao Paulo Football Club jersey right now. I fill in the "Latino" bubble on forms, cook Brazilian food, and play Samba music/listen to Brazilian hip hop.

 

[RedRalph]

I'm technically a dual national...I have both American and Brazilian passports. I've lived in the US my whole life, but my mother is from Sao Paulo, as is most of the family I am close with.

I feel substantially more American than I do Brazilian, but I certainly identify with both...I'm actually wearing a Sao Paulo Football Club jersey right now. I fill in the "Latino" bubble on forms, cook Brazilian food, and play Samba music/listen to Brazilian hip hop.

My bro-in-law is from near Sao Paulo. Sounds like a rough city, to say the least

 

[Red Door]

Then why does no one call themselves English American?

This is actually very common...A lot of people say they are Italian American, Irish American, etc.

 

[Cheetah]

Yes, we've all heard Italian-American and Irish-American.

But I've never heard English-American (nor German-American for that matter), even though English (and even more, German) descended people are the majority of people in the US.

Or perhaps precisely therefore.

 

[Loppan Torkel]

This is actually very common...A lot of people say they are Italian American, Irish American, etc.

I think that's his point. How many say "English American"? There doesn't seem to be many who see themselves as Swedish American either. They're just Americans, perhaps with a Swedish grandfather..

 

[Red Door]

Yes, we've all heard Italian-American and Irish-American.

But I've never heard English-American (nor German-American for that matter), even though English (and even more, German) descended people are the majority of people in the US. Or perhaps precisely therefore.

I should not have used those two examples, but was feeling selfish and only thinking of my own ethnicity. What I meant was that it is very, very common to put [European country of origin]-American as describing oneself.

 

[Cheetah]

Red Door: You've ever heard anyone refer to themselves/someone as English-American? Or German-American?

I can't say I've heard Swedish-American or Norwegian-American either for that matter, though it seems every second person in Minnesota claims to be "Norwegian too!" as they've had some Norwegian ancestor. Not that there was anything remotely Norwegian about them, except for parts of their DNA.

 

[Red Door]

Red Door: You've ever heard anyone refer to themselves/someone as English-American? Or German-American?

I can't say I've heard Swedish-American or Norwegian-American either for that matter, though it seems every second person in Minnesota claims to be "Norwegian too!" as they've had some Norwegian ancestor. Not that there was anything remotely Norwegian about them, except for parts of their DNA.

And for the third time, yes I have heard that many times. It's very, very common, for the third time.

 

[Mango Elephant]

OMG the Germans are so instantiate on shoving their ancestry down everyone's throats, Lord knows how you've never heard of German-Americans before! Same with the Irish and Italians and Scandinavians. If I had less patience I would snap with all the fools claiming to be the absolute Mitchell McKinney, or Eva Guggenheimer

English-Americans, I suppose I am sort of one, but they came over so long I wouldn't dream of associating myself with the English. The culture I grew up in is very Southern, so naturally I tell people I'm Southern, or more generally, American.

 

[Theige]

I call myself German-English-American-Irish, in order of importance, of course

 

[Mango Elephant]

Well, I suppose if I did trace my ancestry, I would be English, Native American, Scottish, Norwegian, French, among other things. As a francophile, currently if someone asks me what my ancestry is, I usually say French and leave it at that, even though if these things were genetic my Frenchness would be spread very thin.

 

[civver_764]

My heritage is Palestinian and Irish but I was born in America so it seems to silly to identify with anywhere else.

 

[SS-18 ICBM]

I identify more with being Canadian. Possibly because the opportunities and culture of the Philippines never did speak to me as much as Canada's.

 

[Ajidica]

American. German, Polish, Irish, Slovenian, and possibly French.
Not very exciting.

 

[Zelig]

I'm a black Chinese Jew.

 

[emzie]

American living in Canada, who considers Canada his home.

Mum was born in the UK, so I'm a dual national between the US and the UK. I don't hold Canadian citizenship.

Going back one more generation, my granny was born in Kenya. So if I'm feeling snarky I can say I'm a quarter African-American... but only since the claim contrasts so heavily with how deathly pale I am.