When asked to categorize yourself, do you think the term,
“euroamerican” is preferable to the term “white” - which is inaccurate for many reasons?
“Euroamerican”–that’s a good trick. A one-word oxymoron.
I’m as white as negroes are black and red hair is red. The colors don’t necessarily match up with the terms being used to describe them, but that’s what we’re used to.
I don’t care what you call me as long as it isn’t “late for dinner.” har har.
Seriously though, I don’t see the usefulness nor desirability of labelling someone by color, unless you are actually describing the person’s appearance to someone. If that’s what is going on, then any non-insulting label will do, as long as it’s understood by the listener. If someone wants to describe anything deeper than my appearance, I’d hope they would be forced to use more than a single word or phrase to do it.
Euroamerican is no better than white. I’m sure that some of the white people have been born in Africa and Asia, and that some white people live in Australia as well. All we need is a scientist of pale skin to declare residency in Antarctica and you’d have to encompass all the continents in a single title. Additionally, there are people who aren’t pink colored who live in Europe and the Americas. This makes the title even less descriptive than the poor approximation “white”.
What’s the matter with “Caucasian”?
Sometimes, when “white” seems too boring and “Caucasian” too inaccurate, I have been known to refer to myself as a “Visigoth-American”.
Caucasian is inaccurate in the same way that calling Native Americans “Indians” is inaccurate. Native Americans did not come from India, and melanin-deficient people did not come from the Caucases.
(Not that I am offended by being called Caucasian, just sometimes I don’t feel like using it myself)
[Tallulah Bankhead voice]
Puh-leeze, darling, white is so over! I like to think of myself as more of an ecru, or possibly a taupe.
[/Tallu]
America is a mosaic of colors, a big ol’ stew of contrasting flavors that make a wholly original flavor. Defining your self by your phenotype is really narrow and one-dimensional. I’m an American, full stop.
As part of White History Month…
Any number of white persons can, in fact, dance with considerable verve and rythymn…
A majority of the high jump records are, in fact, held by white persons…
Many scientific advances were discovered by white persons, for instance, Einstein. (Well, he was Jewish, which is pretty much white.)
We should embrace our ethnic heritages. There isn’t anything wrong with being white, except, maybe, that its kinda boring. OK, really boring.
Peckerwood and Proud! Say it loud! And then spit!
Then try and give a shit.
Spooje prefers words with fewer syllables, because he cannot spell.
If I’m Euroamerican, do I have to go to Eurodisney?
I’ve always called myself “Heinz 57”. My maternal grandmother was terribly proud of her father’s German ancestry. My father has always been proud of our ancestral connection to the local Monican Indians. I also believe there is a little French and certainly English on my father’s side of the family tree. Now we aren’t completely certain that there wasn’t some European Jewish ancestry mixed in with the rest of this stew.
I sometimes think that it would be nice to be able to identify my heritage more strongly with one particular culture, but that just wouldn’t be true. (My mother likes to call herself German. I don’t think she’s even terribly interested in the paternal side of her family. Of course being German fits in better with her bigoted attitude about non-whites.) If I had my choice I’ve always enjoyed Irish history and legend. I’ve also always been facinated with Russia. But I don’t think I have either anywhere in my background. And I think it’s just a little to fashionable these days to play up my tad of Native American blood. (Even though a few years ago I met the chief of one of the local reservations and he claimed to recognize the “blood” in my features. He was also a big old flirt!)
I know by most people’s standards that I’m white, but I also know that being “white” isn’t always exactly what we are.
Needs2know
Euro! Euro and Proud!
Nah.
Well, okay, if you want to nit-pick, “Caucasian” does mean, technically, “someone from the Caucasus”. However, it’s also a useful term that’s been around for a long time, to mean a person with “white” skin, as opposed to “black” skin or “red” skin or “yellow” skin.
InfoPlease gives the breakdown of “Ethnicity and Race by Country” using the term “Caucasian”. However, their data comes from the countries themselves; some countries use “white”, some use “European”, some use “Caucasian”.
Some countries break down “white” into further categories.
Some countries make up their own categories and avoid any of these terms.
And BTW, here we are.
So, the point of the OP is to make up yet another category, that of “Euroamerican”? Looks like you’re in good company, then.
And P.S. This one’s my favorite.
(bolding mine) 
And, of course, if you’re using “Euroamerican” to mean “white”, it would be even more inaccurate, because what about all the non-white Europeans and Americans?
Or would “Euroamericans” of color have to find a different word to describe themselves, or a qualifying adjective? “Non-white euroamerican”? Sounds like “non-white Caucasian”, and makes about as much sense.
Cassius Clay et hoc genus omne, can claim Euro-American status as well as African-American status, however one would be hard pressed to describe him as white.
… what bugs me is when people use “Anglo” as a synonym for white. I may be white, but I ain’t no Anglo!
What about the guy from Britain. He has the choice of descending just as likely from the Celts, Picts, Saxons, Frisians, Jutes, the Danes and finally the Normans. The Angles couldn’t have made that big an impact on the genetics of the British.
I’ve been to Europe. It’s weird. I aint no euroamerican.