Should white Americans be called "Indigenous Europeans?"

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What if you're Persian, for instance?

Persia does not exist. How can you be Persian?

People of Iranian (Persian--why is everyone so picky? Even Arabs call it the Persian Gulf and have ignored the government-sponsored movement to rename it the Arabian Gulf) and other Middle Eastern are considered white on census forms etc.

[Anonymous]

Explain Persian to me please and give me an example or analogy of another word people use to describe themselves similar to Persian that is no longer a country or place (don't say Jewish). Persian makes no sense to me. None. Like saying I'm from the Fertile Crescent.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We're not indigenous to here though. European American is fine with me. In another thread, pink skinned people are associated with being inbred, so I no longer like being described as white or pink as a skin color. You might need Eastern, Western, Southern, and Northern European American classifications, or multiracial European American.

Pink skin is considered inbred?

Read the thread about blondes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So incorrect use of Arab is ok and widely utilized but Persian can't be used? This whole discussion is ridiculous

Not if you are Saudi...

.

Which is why I noted incorrect use - it's often used as a blanket term rather than an accurate descriptor. If Arab is used incorrectly to denote a variety of people from a shared or similar linguistic, geographical, and cultural background why the beef with people choosing to continue using Persian to denote those same shared characteristics?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So incorrect use of Arab is ok and widely utilized but Persian can't be used? This whole discussion is ridiculous

Not if you are Saudi...

.

Which is why I noted incorrect use - it's often used as a blanket term rather than an accurate descriptor. If Arab is used incorrectly to denote a variety of people from a shared or similar linguistic, geographical, and cultural background why the beef with people choosing to continue using Persian to denote those same shared characteristics?

Because Persia DOES NOT EXIST. When a 23 year old tells me they are Persian I roll my eyes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Indigenous? Really? To Americas? Do you know what indigenous means? To originate from the land. I did not originate from here, and this would be an insult to real indigenous population of United States, now called Native Americans, but known by their own indigenous names for thousands of years. Do people just sit around thinking of nonsense? Look up the definition of a word before you make a statement. 400 years does not an indigenous make! For that matter I don't see any reason to have any classification at all, and I dislike it that at Dr. office they ask about it and at all other places as mandated by government, I think? How racist can this country get? I've lived in 8 countries and apart form US no "form" has ever asked me what was the color of my skin, or my ethnicity, never, ever!

Um, OP wrote "indigenous Europeans."

While we're at it, the preferred term is American Indian, not Native American.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What if you're Persian, for instance?

Persia does not exist. How can you be Persian?

People of Iranian (Persian--why is everyone so picky? Even Arabs call it the Persian Gulf and have ignored the government-sponsored movement to rename it the Arabian Gulf) and other Middle Eastern are considered white on census forms etc.

You are talking about a body of water or country?

[Anonymous]

Hispanic is a similar term - there is no Country of Hispania and the island which was known as Hispaniola is now known as The Dominican Republic and Haiti.

However Hispanic is a term used to denote people of a shared bond based in culture, geography, and language.

Persian is a term preferred by people of that background so it's their choice to use it and doesn't matter if you find it "accurate"

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:And another point - ancestry and culture can sometimes compete against each other in sense that people choose how to identify based on preference. A white skinned American whose family is from Argentina likely has German ancestry but may prefer to identify as Hispanic, Latino/a, or simply of Argentine or South American heritage.

This is so ridiculous

"White" is a race (which does not exist in biology, but does exist in society). "Hispanic" is an ethnicity. It is possible to be Hispanic AND white. Pope Francis, for example. There is no reason why anybody would have to pick one or the other, unless they wanted to.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Hispanic is a similar term - there is no Country of Hispania and the island which was known as Hispaniola is now known as The Dominican Republic and Haiti.

However Hispanic is a term used to denote people of a shared bond based in culture, geography, and language.

Persian is a term preferred by people of that background so it's their choice to use it and doesn't matter if you find it "accurate"

No, it is not the same and had nothing to do with Hispanola.


Look up Spanish vs Latino can Hispanic

They all encompass something very specific.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Hispanic is a similar term - there is no Country of Hispania and the island which was known as Hispaniola is now known as The Dominican Republic and Haiti.

However Hispanic is a term used to denote people of a shared bond based in culture, geography, and language.

Persian is a term preferred by people of that background so it's their choice to use it and doesn't matter if you find it "accurate"

No, it is not the same and had nothing to do with Hispanola.


Look up Spanish vs Latino can Hispanic

They all encompass something very specific.

* vs Hispanic

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I dislike the term "white" as it is not very descriptive. White people have Euro ancestry. Do you like the term "white" or would you prefer another term to refer to your skin color or ancestral background?

White Americans who live here now lived in Europe for thousands of years, and are thus indigenous to that continent. What would be a better term for them?

I'm fine with "white", thanks, but if you prefer "primarily European ancestry", I'm fine with that, too.

For what it's worth, I have not lived in Europe for thousands of years (I did live there for one year, though); and you're also erasing a whole lot of migration of people through Asia and Europe.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So incorrect use of Arab is ok and widely utilized but Persian can't be used? This whole discussion is ridiculous

Not if you are Saudi...

.

Which is why I noted incorrect use - it's often used as a blanket term rather than an accurate descriptor. If Arab is used incorrectly to denote a variety of people from a shared or similar linguistic, geographical, and cultural background why the beef with people choosing to continue using Persian to denote those same shared characteristics?

Because Persia DOES NOT EXIST. When a 23 year old tells me they are Persian I roll my eyes.

Persia was renamed Iran in 1935. Same place, just the name changed. Suppose you were born in Rhodesia and left before it was renamed Zimbabwe. Can you say you are Rhodesian, or do you have to say you are Zimbabwean? Same with Burma and Myanmar. According to your standard Burma no longer exists so no one can say they are Burmese. They must say they are Myanmarian. (I think that's how it goes.) Can someone not say they are Palestinian because there is no official state of Palestine? And think of the Congo. It was renamed Zaire for 25 years and then went back to Congo (Democratic Republic of).

And IMO Persia has a much better ring to it than Iran in English, especially when it is pronounced like I ran.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
Because Persia DOES NOT EXIST. When a 23 year old tells me they are Persian I roll my eyes.

America also DOES NOT EXIST. I hope that you tell everybody that you are UnitedStatesofAmerica-ian.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What if you're Persian, for instance?

Persia does not exist. How can you be Persian?

People of Iranian (Persian--why is everyone so picky? Even Arabs call it the Persian Gulf and have ignored the government-sponsored movement to rename it the Arabian Gulf) and other Middle Eastern are considered white on census forms etc.

You are talking about a body of water or country?

Body of water. If Iran attempted to get widespread acceptance for calling it the Iranian Gulf it would practically start a war.