Are you me? My mom does this and I find it kind of annoying. My mom’s never even been to Ireland!
A lot of people have already made good points, but I just want to add that the reason this is prevalent in North America and not much in Europe is that such a huge percentage of the population of the US (~98%) and Canada (probably a little lower than in the US) are descendents of people from other continents that this continually reinforces itself. So asbo604 maybe never gave a shit about where his ancestors were from before, but if he came to the US, I can pretty much guarantee that the topic would come up some time among friends (or coworkers) and you’d think about it a little. I know the ancestries of all of my good friends, because it’s a pretty normal topic of conversation in the US.
I think that maybe as Europe becomes more and more diverse, you’ll see it more there. Or maybe not, since it’s not really a subject of discussion to much here. (Of course right here, in Bulgaria, they see ethnicity and nationality very differently than Americans…there are people here whose families have been here for hundreds of years, have Bulgarian citizenship, speak Bulgarian, etc., but would still call themselves Turkish.)
Oh, and btw? I don’t have an Indian princess. I’m only a third generation American! Not enough time to acquire a very interesting background.
In my neighborhood growing up every single kid’s parents came from somewhere else. It was a major point of entry city with lots of post war factory jobs. Many of their parents had come from different countries and met here, so that was their story to tell.
What better icebreaker when you meet new people?
Well, just to chime in from another perspective (not that you asked), I was adopted and don’t know my ethnic origins. My birth mother was caucasion and beyond that we don’t know her background. No one knows about my biological father, and I was raised by caucasians, but one can’t necessarily tell my ethnicity by looking at me. When I was younger and thus people felt more comfortable asking, my nationality was a constant source of questioning by strangers. My answer depended on my mood at the moment. Perhaps it’s because I’ll likely never know where my ancestors came from and therefore is futile to worry about it, but I have never cared about nor understood things such as “ethnic pride”. I truly am happy to say simply that I’m American (and Jewish in the right circumstances) and don’t feel the need to connect to any other place but where I was born and raised.
That is not meant to put down those that that enjoy their connecion to their roots. Just giving another take on it.
You know your right, the times i was in the States the topic has come up and it always causes big interest (as this forum shows). For the record my Grandma is Irish, my Nana was English, 1 great Grandfather was Dutch another Norwegian and 1 Great Grandmother was French. We are made aware of our routes in Britain but thats where it ends.
In a way its more important where you were born (or your adopted county if you are an immigrant) and this plays a bigger part in conversation as there is huge county rivalries and a even bigger North/South devide.
I think it might have something to do with the American ideal of individualism. Our culture puts such a premium on being unique and standing out from the crowd. Ethnic background is something that makes us different from other Americans, so we emphasize it.
Your ethnic background can give you something in common with someone you’ve just met, and provides a nice non-controversial conversational opener. It’s not likely to be controversial like talking about your religious or political views might be. It’s something that many Americans find interesting, and that isn’t controversial- perfect conversational opener.
Among ourselves, we do sometimes talk about coming from different states or regions. We don’t really expect non-Americans to know much about the regions or states of the US, though.
And don’t forget, there are a lot of 3rd/4th generation descendants of European immigrants around in the US these days. We didn’t really start restricting European immigration until the 1920s. There are lots of grandchildren and great-grandchildren of immigrants here.
A common pattern is that the children of the immigrants want to forget all that weird ethnic stuff that their parents did or made them do, and just want to be Americans like everybody else. Then their children rebel against their parents’ blandness, and one way to do that is to show an interest in your grandparents’ ethnic heritage. I’ve seen it said as “what the son wants to forget, the grandson wants to remember”.
Changing attitudes toward race have something to do with it, too:
In my parents’ generation, especially in certain parts of the country, admitting to non-white ancestry was strictly taboo. My parents didn’t tell me that I’m 1/32 Cherokee until I was 28. I have since gone around mentioning it when the subject comes up, because I don’t see non-white ancestry as anything shameful (it’s seen as kind of cool these days). That’s a big change from attitudes 40 years ago.
A friend of mine heard about a stereotypical Southern lady somehow finding out she had some small amount of black ancestry, and being devastated at the news. He, and most of the other people our age that he discussed it with, were shocked that she would be upset at this. For them, the only implication of having black ancestry would be that you might be eligible for affirmative action programs that a pure white person wouldn’t be eligible for. Again, a huge attitude change.
There’s been something like this change with regard to certain European ethnicities, too. I read about Italian Americans being teased about their ethnicity years ago, and that was a total shock to me- it’s cool to have Italian or Irish heritage these days, and it’s been cool for as long as I (born 1975) can remember.
I dispute this. It’s true that some people are, and some people have very strong local connections to a single place for many generations. But I’d suggest that the majority cannot really claim to have any knowledge (correct or not) of their background much before 1900. Certainly very few indeed can confidently go back enough to be ‘1/32’ of anything or anyone. More recent local identity has been of overriding importance.
Very true and in my statment i didnt inten fr anyone to be so thorough but in my xperience people do tend to be aware of anything up to great and sometimes great great grandfathers/mothers.
As you have picked up on and as i already stated previously local identity to a county/region or city is of more importance.
Sorry about the long quote, here, tried to C/p it to a shorter form, but my own quote did not appear within that quote in that, so had to retype it within Anna Neville’s. Had to do that to specifically address this point:
I did not make myself very clear, there, by that response. I honor my Cherokee blood, and my Iroquois(?) blood, and have always felt a better part of that than the culture at large, since a very small child. I wholeheartedly welcomed the family lore that Great Grand married outside his race, continued to move West in an effort to find a new life. From what I’m told, I am part Native American. I am very proud of that, and have been told by Cherokee here in NC that they see it in me. It is very much in my heart, and I wish I could say that I deserve to be welcomed in that tribe.
Yep, everyone hid the mixed blood : my grandmother did not have a birth certificate because my stubborn great Grandmother just refused to get one so my grandmother didn’t get a mixed blood label, so I’m told. I do know that when my G’ma had to get a passport later, it was some work because of that.
It’s not a dismissal or embarrassment at all; in fact, I’ve always attuned more to Native American culture,even as a kid. I am very proud of that blood. But, I will not check the Nat Am box on forms to take the place of people who deserve it more. My folks intermarried, carried on with their blue eyes, and have thrived in the dominant culture., with all benefits. I’m not at all denying my rights as a 32nd blood, but choosing to delegate that to people who have stayed the course as a tribe, and who really need the help.
