[SobiquYo]

At what point is ones genetic makeup/DNA/blood quantum/whatever other indicator considered diluted and non-existence or does it ever? For example, using the blood quantum method:

Full-blood 100% (great, great, great, great, great grandparent)
Half-blood 50% (great, great, great, great grandparent)
Quarter-blood 25% (great, great, great grandparent)
Eighth-blood 12.5% (great, great grandparent)
Sixteenth-blood 6.25% (great grandparent)
64th 3.125% (grandparent)
32th 1.5625% (parent)
164th 0.78125% (you)

At what point are you not considered this race/ethnicity if the only Full-blood in this line is the one at the top, all others were another race/ethnicity? Or, if you did descend from this Full-blood then you are still that race/ethnicity right, or does this type of thing get "washed out" over time, I mean can we keep going with blood quantum or is there an ending point? Can there even be an ending point or are you denying your roots?

[Helloheshess]

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

[sportsbettinge]

Firstly, it depends on whether you know about it or not. I have some Saami/Asian/"Siberian" genes myself, but I don't know how much since I haven't taken a test, and different tests seem to show different results. I'm likely loaded with some German drops as well, since I seem to descend from Kraut colonizers on both grandmothers sides. But I'm not sure how much that is either, so I can't really identify with it.

Most people are, like Ozrage said in another thread, very ignorant about their histories and have no idea about the "ancient" foreign influence they might have. Swedish people have probably at least 15 percent Finnish blood, but please give me the name of a random Swede who would know about it.

[gfkasjhfg]

I'd say if you are at least 50% of an ethnicity you can claim being part of it. But this doesn't apply in Finland. If you are 50% of another etnicity than Finnish you are seen as being a foreigner.

I have some Saami/Asian/"Siberian" genes myself, but I don't know how much since I haven't taken a test, and different tests seem to show different results.

How do you know what you have if you haven't taken any test?

[AdobebePhoto]

em guys, do not confused ethnicity with ancestry and with race, these are different things.
and ethnicity is not a thing of tests or numbers.

I'd say if you are at least 50% of an ethnicity you can claim being part of it. But this doesn't apply in Finland. If you are 50% of another etnicity than Finnish you are seen as being a foreigner.

so basicly one that chooses a wife-husband from a different nationality has kids are not finnish?
is it being finnish all about your parrent not being able to choose freely what he wants? :S

[EbrsaRynleot]

I'd say if you are at least 50% of an ethnicity you can claim being part of it. But this doesn't apply in Finland. If you are 50% of another etnicity than Finnish you are seen as being a foreigner.

I don't think that is true. My nieces are half Polish, but I don't think they are considered or will be considered foreign in Finland.

[Muramoursuard]

I don't. I embrace everything. :P But I don't go around saying I'm 1/100th cherokee, for example. (I'm not Cherokee, or at least idk). But if I did have some, I would just say "I have Cherokee ancestry".

[zbckFNlW]

Well genetically it takes about 5 generations for genetic evidence to disappear. So I would say it would probably be good to stop claiming it when it reaches that point.

[yWleIJm4]

I don't think that is true. My nieces are half Polish, but I don't think they are considered or will be considered foreign in Finland.

I have a friend who has a Danish mother and a Finnish father. Despite having fully Finnish names she has always felt being a foreigner and an outsider in Finland. She is now moving to Denmark, although her Danish (and Swedish) is really poor.

[secondmortgagek]

It is always hard to say with these sorts of things. It really depends on what culture you feel most attached to. Of course, if you are asked you should say you have ancestry from a certain place. You might say "Oh my great* grandfather was ___." But you might not say that about yourself. I have a Welsh great grandfather and an Irish great grandmother. But I don't really consider myself Welsh or Irish. I'm Jewish, I was raised in a Jewish culture, and thats the majority of my ethnic makeup. I have had contact with Welsh and Irish cultures, but actually less than I have had contact and enjoy the culture of my neighbors(India).

And there are other situations which could be considered. For instance, if a grandparent is adopted and you find out where they are from, you might get the "zeal of the convert" so to speak. And rightfully so, especially if you might feel your heritage was taken from you. I was lucky enough to find out that my grandfather was actually Jewish as well, so I really consider myself 100% Jewish, even though I'm only 3 quarters.

And ethnic groups like jews that still go by hypodescendant tribal laws.. Such as matrilineality, patrilineality, or some variation of the one-drop-rule... you might never stop considering yourself that ethnicity.

[lYVgWWcP]

I have a friend who has a Danish mother and a Finnish father. Despite having fully Finnish names she has always felt being a foreigner and an outsider in Finland. She is now moving to Denmark, although her Danish (and Swedish) is really poor.

Maybe that has to do with having a Danish mother who never assimilated to Finland. My nieces have a Finnish mother (my sister), and although they have strong ties to Poland and speak Polish, they are being brought up as Finns.

[CoenceLomneedtrue]

Well, it really depends on the individual. For example, I'm 16-19% Black, yet I primarily identify as a Black man, and for good reason. If, say, fellow forumite Esther, who's similar amounts of Black, held the same identity I do, it might not be seen as equally appropriate by other people.

[DoctoNilsonDen]

I'd say if you are at least 50% of an ethnicity you can claim being part of it. But this doesn't apply in Finland. If you are 50% of another etnicity than Finnish you are seen as being a foreigner.

Motörhead Remember Me is half Finland-Swedish and he seems to be quite accepted among the Finnuits.

Mikael Granlund is an ethnic Finn (?) but has a Swedish name. Swedish journalists mocked Finland because of it, that's why the Finns teased back with Magnus Pääjärvi having a Finnish surname.

How do you know what you have if you haven't taken any test? Well, to quote alfieb, all Finns have "Eastern" ancestry. It may be possible that I belong to those with the very least, seeing as my Finnish ancestry comes out very Western, but I think it's still there. If it exists among Northern and Eastern Swedes, I believe it surely exists in me as well.

[hLabXZlK]

I don't do claim taino ancestry as much as before, I consider myself mulatto triracial for the same reason Caine have said, also I must be less than 1/6 taino.

[lasadeykar]

At least 50% with cultural assimilation but it also depends of the rest of their heritage imo.

[kathy]

Motörhead Remember Me is half Finland-Swedish and he seems to be quite accepted among the Finnuits.

I think it's very illuminating to us all that Finland-Swedes are being considered to be as alien to Finland as Danes and Poles.

[RemiVedia]

I think it's very illuminating to us all that Finland-Swedes are being considered to be as alien to Finland as Danes and Poles.

Shouldn't you consider that to be a good thing, though? But you didn't answer the second part in my post (that you didn't quote). Why is Mikael Granlund, with that name, considered Finnish by Finns but Swedish by Swedish journalists?

Finland har Mikael Granlund.
Målet mot Ryssland var snyggt, även om det inte var en straff i en OS-final.
Men ni läser väl namnet.
Mikael Granlund.
Hur finskt låter det?
http://hockey.expressen.se/elitserie...nor-vm-finalen. English translation:

Finland has Mikael Granlund.
The goal against Russia was nice, even though it wasn't a penalty in an OS-final.
But you read the name.
Mikael Granlund.
How Finnish does that sound?

[DownloadMan]

Well, it really depends on the individual. For example, I'm 16-19% Black, yet I primarily identify as a Black man, and for good reason. If, say, fellow forumite Esther, who's similar amounts of Black, held the same identity I do, it might not be seen as equally appropriate by other people.

Genetic expression is a crazy thing, cuz you look 50/50 and Esther looks like an Italian or something

[Soulofpostar]

But you didn't answer the second part in my post (that you didn't quote). Why is Mikael Granlund, with that name, considered Finnish by Finns but Swedish by Swedish journalists?

Mikael Granlund is as far as I know an ethnic Finn. E.g. he can't speak any Swedish. Swedish journalists wrongly think that having a Swedish name also means you're a Swede.

Many Finns have Swedish surnames, maybe from a Swedish ancestor five-six generations ago or a Finn who long ago changed his name to a Swedish one. This guy's first name, Mikael, also sounds Swedish, which is a bit odd, because both his parents' first names are Finnish. A guess would be that Mikael is a name that has run in the family from long ago. E.g. a Finn that I know who has a Swedish first name is named after his (Swedish) great-grandfather.

[Attaniuri]

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.