American Ethnicity - Is it possible to be ethnically American?

[Anonymous]

Not talking about Nationality, but ethnicity. Wiki reports that most of those who claim American ethnicity are actually of Scots-Irish or English ancestry ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_ethnicity) but of course Wikipedia is not the most reliable source.

[Anonymous]

Get out the popcorn. Troll show.

[Anonymous]

Op here, just a question that I thought of and googled. Why not get opinions?

[Anonymous]

I'll bite. Northern European mutt with ancestors who have been in the US a long time. As to your question - yes, I think we will get to the point where folks identify ethnically as American. Either because their ancestors have been here long enough and of unknown origin that they don't feel tied to a distinct ethnic group, or because they are such a mix of ethnic cultures (that have probably also been in the US a long time) that it's just easier to identify as American versus 1/8th each of A to H ethnic groups.

[Anonymous]

I honestly don't think so, unless you're referring to Native American ancestry. Everyone else is a descendent of an immigrant and their ethnicity comes from elsewhere.

[Anonymous]

Heritage is more about self-identification due to social circumstance than biology. It makes little sense to force people into buckets based on their genome. It doesn't work for Blacks, it doesn't work for American Indians, and it doesn't even work for European immigrants. For instance, I am probably 1/2 Italian, 3/8 German and 1/8 French. But I have no identification with that 1/8 French, and we have little connection to cultural traditions of Germans. I was raised by an Italian mother with an Italian grandmother who were closely connected to their immigrant history. So generally I identify as Italian-American.

[Anonymous]

No. Even the native americans came from somewhere else first.

But, we ALL came from somewhere else.... Human history is a history of migration. We're all African.

I guess the question is, how long does it take for a population to acquire its own ethnic identity? Not sure that's even possible nowadays because, what population evolves in isolation, giving a distinct ethnicity an opportunity to develop?

[Anonymous]

If you go anywhere outside the U.S. there is no question.

You're American.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If you go anywhere outside the U.S. there is no question.

You're American.

American nationality, of course. What about ethnicity?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:No. Even the native americans came from somewhere else first.

But, we ALL came from somewhere else.... Human history is a history of migration. We're all African.

I guess the question is, how long does it take for a population to acquire its own ethnic identity? Not sure that's even possible nowadays because, what population evolves in isolation, giving a distinct ethnicity an opportunity to develop?

Op here, good question.

[Anonymous]

It depends upon how long you've been in the US. My roots go back to 1947. I call myself a hybrid, being first generation.

In the future, my kids will be calling themselves "American," (if there IS an America, that is) especially if they marry outside of the culture.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:No. Even the native americans came from somewhere else first.

But, we ALL came from somewhere else.... Human history is a history of migration. We're all African.

I guess the question is, how long does it take for a population to acquire its own ethnic identity? Not sure that's even possible nowadays because, what population evolves in isolation, giving a distinct ethnicity an opportunity to develop?

Please, the white folks don't want to hear that "we're all African".

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If you go anywhere outside the U.S. there is no question.

You're American.

American nationality, of course. What about ethnicity?

Op here, I have the same question about this. I suppose people would view you as American by nationality but do other countries consider American both nationality and ethnicity?

[Anonymous]

Ethnicity encompaases cultural factors such as nationality, culture, language and beliefs. I consider myself to be ethnically American. Some may say I am Italian-American, but I don't. I don't identify with Italian culture (music, food, traditions) an more or less than other non-American cultures.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If you go anywhere outside the U.S. there is no question.

You're American.

American nationality, of course. What about ethnicity?

As long as you are a fan of the Jerry Springer show you will blend in