Your Ancestry

[rnoldh]

Originally Posted by Joel_Cairo

my mom is from Germany, my dad is from the top of Norway (half my gene pool has spent the last 10,000 years 400 miles above the arctic circle, hence my deep bronze skin-tone).

???

I thought that German and Scandinavian people are particularly fair skinned.

 

[tiecollector]

Originally Posted by SoCal2NYC

To me it just seems like a phony excuse for people to make themselves seem more interesting.

+1, in this country your family coming over does not give you a gold star, especially these days when we have record numbers of people coming over. Knowing where you came from is something you should know though. It is kind of bullshit though because the whole planet is conquered land, so why would you want to refer to yourself by anything other than the country that raised you? Even more annoying is when I hear, oh you're X... I'm Y... really?! Wow they aren't the same, and we only speak English, but at least we aren't blonde hair blue eyes!

Originally Posted by amerikajinda

Grand (National) President Saykin Foo sent a letter to Mr. Kerr to express the displeasure of all the members of the Chinese American Citizens Alliance at his use of the derogatory term on national television.

This would make them, CACA, sounds about right....

Originally Posted by rnoldh

???

I thought that German and Scandinavian people are particularly fair skinned.

I think he was being facetious, maybe you're just black from the waist down?

In any case, I'm 50% German, 25% British, rest Cajun French/American Indian.

 

[amerikajinda]

Originally Posted by emptym

I thought you were Korean.
I get that a lot! Maybe in a past life I was...

I'm 1/2 Italian, 1/4 German, 1/4 Irish (Mother's Italian, father's half German, half Irish).

 

[neyus]

I don't know how someone can say they 100% pure anything. Its just not possible.

There's far too many movements within populations and mixing to be pure anything.

I notice there are number of internet sites where you can get DNA analysed. Not sure how accurate they are. But if they were done properly you would get some interesting if not suprising results.

 

[Gav]

Originally Posted by amerikajinda

I get that a lot! Maybe in a past life I was...

I'm 1/2 Italian, 1/4 German, 1/4 Irish (Mother's Italian, father's half German, half Irish).

I love the way Americans look at this, a quarter this and a quarter that.

From my viewpoint if your Mum is Italian(From birth) and, for sake of argument your Dad is German(Again from birth) then you are half Italian and half German, that's it. For me it's irrelevant about grandparents.

I mean how far do you go with it all, a eighth Russian and so on...

We don't seem to quantify our history like that over here.

 

[tiecollector]

Originally Posted by Gav

I love the way Americans look at this, a quarter this and a quarter that.

From my viewpoint if your Mum is Italian(From birth) and, for sake of argument your Dad is German(Again from birth) then you are half Italian and half German, that's it. For me it's irrelevant about grandparents.

I mean how far do you go with it all, a eighth Russian and so on...

We don't seem to quantify our history like that over here.

Yeah, it is silly, but accurate. I always say I'm American unless someone asks for the ethnic break down, which I usually just say German, even though I associate much more with the English since I actually live with those fools.

 

[life_interrupts]

African (Ibo more than likely), Irish, and Creek on my mother's side; African (Akan, Yoruba?), English, Cherokee on my father's side.

 

[SoCal2NYC]

I know it's been brought up before in some huge thread; but, why is it that Jews feel their faith can be used for their nationality/ancestry/lineage?

 

[Violinist]

Originally Posted by SoCal2NYC

I know it's been brought up before in some huge thread; but, why is it that Jews feel their faith can be used for their nationality/ancestry/lineage?

Because "jewish" unlike other faiths is actually an ethnicity, as in, part of your DNA. If you are born of a mother with jewish blood, then you are a Jew.

 

[SoCal2NYC]

Originally Posted by Violinist

Because "jewish" unlike other faiths is actually an ethnicity, as in, part of your DNA. If you are born of a mother with jewish blood, then you are a Jew.

So what about that whole thing of converting to Judiasm and becoming a Jew....?

 

[Violinist]

Originally Posted by SoCal2NYC

So what about that whole thing of converting to Judiasm and becoming a Jew....?

Then you'd be a Jew by faith, not an ethnic one. I think many/most european jews and most Israelis are ethnically jewish, including the many Russian/Soviet immigrants.

However if you have converted to judaism by faith and now walk around saying you're jewish, then that's a little weird (but more just really sad). That goes for anyone who walks around saying that they are something they really aren't, or are at least tenuously connected with. I just love when clearly middle class people talk about how just a few generations ago, their family was from X royal family.

 

[amerikajinda]

Originally Posted by Gav

I love the way Americans look at this, a quarter this and a quarter that. From my viewpoint if your Mum is Italian(From birth) and, for sake of argument your Dad is German(Again from birth) then you are half Italian and half German, that's it. For me it's irrelevant about grandparents. I mean how far do you go with it all, a eighth Russian and so on... We don't seem to quantify our history like that over here.
No no I mean my dad isn't German -- he's only half German, and the other half Irish, so I'm 1/4 German, 1/4 Irish, and half Italian. And if we were to extrapolate it further, we'd see that I'm also 1/8 Norwegian, 1/8 Flemish, 1/16th Korean and 1/16th Japanese. Although you couldn't tell by looking at me.

 

[Gav]

Originally Posted by amerikajinda

No no I mean my dad isn't German -- he's only half German, and the other half Irish, so I'm 1/4 German, 1/4 Irish, and half Italian. And if we were to extrapolate it further, we'd see that I'm also 1/8 Norwegian, 1/8 Flemish, 1/16th Korean and 1/16th Japanese. Although you couldn't tell by looking at me.

That post was for the sake of the discussion mate, i know your dad's not German.

What i mean is for me you can only be two halves, not quarter this and quarter that.

I take it your dad was born in the USA? Regardless of his parents, and in relation to you I'd say he's American. Thus making you half American half Italian, hmm, like a gangster of some sort.

Drift my catch now?

 

[Gav]

Oh, a cool song about your culture and ancestry...

The words at the start are a great answer as to why we should be proud of our heritage...

One Giant Leap - My Culture



Class song, i doubt you've heard of it over the pond.

 

[Piobaire]

Originally Posted by Gav

I love the way Americans look at this, a quarter this and a quarter that. From my viewpoint if your Mum is Italian(From birth) and, for sake of argument your Dad is German(Again from birth) then you are half Italian and half German, that's it. For me it's irrelevant about grandparents. I mean how far do you go with it all, a eighth Russian and so on... We don't seem to quantify our history like that over here.
Go to some place like Aquitibuie though and try to run your fishing boat on a Sunday. When you go to sell your catch, you'll quickly learn how history gets quantified there

Or maybe a little chorus of "A Nation Once Again" amongst the Celtic fans at a Celtics vs. Rangers match in Glasgow?