DiscussWorldIssues - Socio-Economic Religion and Political Uncensored Debate - View Single Post - At what point do you stop claiming or do you?

**Attaniuri** · 06-06-2011, 01:19 AM

If I tried to claim all my roots, I'd be dizzy with confusion!

I consider myself an American, because that's my culture. Even though I had a German last name growing up, I couldn't say I was a German American, because: I can't speak German, never been to Germany, my family did not keep any of the German traditions and didn't even educate me on what they were. Also, I'm a mix of so many other things that I'd feel weird observing my German ancestry, because I'd be leaving out everything else

So I identify as an American, because that's what I am. I won't deny where my family came from, it's really fun to think about in fact, but I'm not gonna walk around calling myself a German or an English or a Native or whatever....

I think if you can walk into a crowd of people of a particular culture and feel like a foreigner, then you can effectively abandon that culture as your own.... JMO

I agree with a lot of this. I can relate too. I have such a varied ancestry that it would be ridiculous if I tried to claim any one origin over the others, and I was not raised with a particular ethnic culture anyway. I was raised as an average white kid in America. I respect all of my ancestors and have an interest in each of their cultures from an anthropological stand-point. Both sides of my family have Jewish roots, but neither have practicing Jews in the tree for many generations. We have proven Native American roots, but I am not a member of any tribe nor have I been raised in that tradition or with Middle Eastern or African traditions. The association is purely genetic. These are all very interesting things to research however, which is why I am a member of the forum. I was raised with Atari and cable TV, and we were not religious-at least in my immediate family. This may be why I like to read about other cultures- mine was pretty dull.

All I can do is respect where my ancestors came from and learn about them. People ask me about my race/ethnicity all the time. I'm mostly white, but I look enough like other ethnicities to cause some confusion/curiosity. That is when I actually "claim" anything. I can't count on my fingers and toes how many times an Hispanic has greeted me in Spanish and tried to start a conversation. Honestly, I was not "white" enough for the whites in my home town where I grew up, but I do not identify with anyone else. I check the "Caucasian" box and just be me, mixed up me.

06-06-2011, 01:19 AM	#20
Attaniuri Join Date Oct 2005 Posts 555 Senior Member	If I tried to claim all my roots, I'd be dizzy with confusion! I consider myself an American, because that's my culture. Even though I had a German last name growing up, I couldn't say I was a German American, because: I can't speak German, never been to Germany, my family did not keep any of the German traditions and didn't even educate me on what they were. Also, I'm a mix of so many other things that I'd feel weird observing my German ancestry, because I'd be leaving out everything else So I identify as an American, because that's what I am. I won't deny where my family came from, it's really fun to think about in fact, but I'm not gonna walk around calling myself a German or an English or a Native or whatever.... I think if you can walk into a crowd of people of a particular culture and feel like a foreigner, then you can effectively abandon that culture as your own.... JMO I agree with a lot of this. I can relate too. I have such a varied ancestry that it would be ridiculous if I tried to claim any one origin over the others, and I was not raised with a particular ethnic culture anyway. I was raised as an average white kid in America. I respect all of my ancestors and have an interest in each of their cultures from an anthropological stand-point. Both sides of my family have Jewish roots, but neither have practicing Jews in the tree for many generations. We have proven Native American roots, but I am not a member of any tribe nor have I been raised in that tradition or with Middle Eastern or African traditions. The association is purely genetic. These are all very interesting things to research however, which is why I am a member of the forum. I was raised with Atari and cable TV, and we were not religious-at least in my immediate family. This may be why I like to read about other cultures- mine was pretty dull. All I can do is respect where my ancestors came from and learn about them. People ask me about my race/ethnicity all the time. I'm mostly white, but I look enough like other ethnicities to cause some confusion/curiosity. That is when I actually "claim" anything. I can't count on my fingers and toes how many times an Hispanic has greeted me in Spanish and tried to start a conversation. Honestly, I was not "white" enough for the whites in my home town where I grew up, but I do not identify with anyone else. I check the "Caucasian" box and just be me, mixed up me.
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