Why do Americans insist on saying they're American-Italian, American-Irish, etc. - when 95% of them know nothing about being Italian, Irish, etc?

[SakuraBlossoms87]

As someone European born it's always been a curiosity.

Why do Americans insist on calling themselves American something when 95% or more of the time they don't know little or more often than not pretty much nothing about the culture, history, or even cuisine about the ethnicity they claim themselves as.

[DaveJord]

So, in the early 1900's lots of European immigrants came to this United States. They were not no longer Irish, Italian, or German... they were Americans, and they were not even sure what that meant. Then everyone was racist, Italians and Irish, the Sweds and the Germans. the protistans, Catholics and Jews.

But what Europe never had was large Black Population. An entire race of people uprooted against their will to come to America... fast forward 100 years. What do we have? A national identity cris. Black Americans want to be referred to as African Americans, when 75% if their family blood lines go back to slavery in which they were in in America long before the massive European immigration.

What do they really know about Africa? If you look at their family heritage, they are probably more American, then most white people.

Here is the difference though... most African Americans have no desire to go back to Africa. Whereas, if you gave white people the opportunity to return to their nation of origins and vastly large percentage of them would.

So, I am an Amercian. I claim America as my country, but I am also Italian. That is my family heritage. My great Grandmother and Father were from the old country. Sicily precisely. My grandfather was 100% Italian but born in America. My father was 50% and there for I am 25%.

But I did ancestry DNA test... turns out I am 33% Italian, 13% Sicilian, 8% Portugues, and 16% Southern French. So that makes me 70% Latin or Mediterranean... which who were the original Latins? The Romans, right? So, 70% of my DNA, comes from the conqueror Roman / Latin territories.

So genetically, if some space aliens came and pulled me off the planet and compared my blood to any Italian, they would not really be able to tell any genetic difference between me and any other Italian.

hell, I might be more Italian them most Italians, genetically speaking, but you are correct culturally I am an American. But I have been able to live in Italy, for 12 years... I can understand most of the langue, but I struggle speaking it. Growing up large family dinners, huge bowls of pasta with tomato's grown in my Nana's garden... the whole thing was authentic. But you can say I am not Italian, and that all good and true, because I am Amercian, and you definitely are not.

[DaveJord]

My Nana didn't even speak English... I was 10-year-old when she died. But she never once spoke English to me, and she was my Nana! You going to tell my Nana that I am not Italian?

[SakuraBlossoms87]

@DaveJord - what do you know about being Italian?

[DaveJord]

I lived in Italy for 12 years. So, you tell me what you think I know. I am you ask like I got something to prove to you. I was raised Catholic, that a big part of the Italian culture... you going to say only real Catholics come from Italy?

No, they do not, so I have a shared Culture with most Italians. I have a lot of passion for living life, Italians are some of the most passionate people on the planet. I can't even go to Italian Restaurant over here in America... like I want to go back to just have real authentic food again.

I can't help but use my hands when I talk, Italians are very expressive people. Like Italians by and large are not a reserved people, like the Swiss and Germans.

L’amore È Cieco

[SakuraBlossoms87]

@DaveJord - but you know nothing about being Italian.

Italians have manners. They act respectfully.

From the initial post you severely lack manners and you lack respectfulness. Rather you are immediately aggressive & self defensive for no reason. Typical of Americans, not of Europeans.

[DaveJord]

Dal mio cuore, in English it can translate to mean, "from my heart or by my heart. Italian bloods flows through these veins, yet I am an American and proud of it. But a piece of my heart will always be in Rome. And that is something you cannot take from me.

[SakuraBlossoms87]

@DaveJord - furthermore all you summarize about Italians is just sterotypes and means nothing about what I asked.

Not all Italians after all speak with their hands, it is specific to regions not the entire country but it is indeed an American sterotype all Italians speak with their hands.

As for Catholic - Catholic is a major religion in a lot of countries beyond Italy something you'd know if you've actually ever been to Italy.

[SakuraBlossoms87]

@DaveJord - I speak five languages. Most Europeans speak more than one language. Googling a few words doesn't make you Italian. That you google translated Italian was quite obvious with this

L’amore È Cieco

As the standard keyword doesn't possess accented letters.

[DaveJord]

Like I said I do not speak it write it as well as I understand it. But I got it, you are where you are on it... so, nothing more to add. I just said about 20 times and in different ways I am American, but my blood is Italian. My culture is American, my heritage is Italian. So, your just cherry picking. I answered your question, if you do not like the answer that is your problem.

[SakuraBlossoms87]

@DaveJord - oh I've no issue with your response except for the fact you're not Italian, you're American. One grandmother doesn't make you Italian. DNA doesn't make you Italian.

You're American of Italian ancestry but you don't what it means to be Italian except sterotypes and like all sterotypes they're often wrong.

[DaveJord]

I lived there for 12 years, so don't pretend I am clueless please.

[ODC2112]

Protestant societies, such as the American one, are sectarian and restrictive. Some groups were marginalized more than others. Aside from blacks, citizens from Catholic nations are the most marginalized.
In America, there is a misconception about what is white and what is not. When you resemble the Anglo-American ethnicity, you are white in America. In reality, the archetypal qualities of white Americans are those of the English Calvinist.
The United States is the only nation in the world where the blondest people, the Finns, are not white. Many other peoples were non-white, including the Germans (with the exception of the Saxons), Russians, Poles, and Red Irish, as well as Nordic tribes like the Norse and Swedes.
Initially, there was mention of "free white" alluding to the Protestant landowner. The anti-Catholic/anti-Orthodox viewpoint predominated in determining whether Americans are white or non-white in the United States based on religion. With the War of Independence, the political weight of the Anglo-Saxon Protestant (Calvinist) component increased, with the goal of considering only Anglo-Saxon Protestants to be white. As a result, all non-Protestant Europeans were deemed non-white by Americans.
Historically, the Polish, Irish, and Italian communities were the most marginalized. Italians, in particular, have suffered the most from segregation, which has lasted on average three generations. However, unlike the blacks, there was no formal segregation.
With the required exclusions, the integration of certain groups into American culture started in the 1950s. These groups were typically the so-called American groups with something.
The identity created in these groups is that of people with one foot in two shoes, one being the American shoe, which tightens and causes blisters, and the other being the shoe from the country of origin of the parents or ancestors, because they were not accepted by white Protestant American society, but were considered almost white (and generally still are, except when there is no gain to be taken).
It emphasizes that they are not like the other white Americans who have constantly ostracized them and treated them as outcasts. They also have a tendency to promote their nation of origin's identity when it has anything that makes them "cool."

[SakuraBlossoms87]

@odc2112 - a lot of blubbering when you don't know anything about any of the cultures you mentioned

[4ngelic]

dont really get that either. like yea your great nan was italian but you dont know anything about italy and you dont have an italian passport or anything

[SakuraBlossoms87]

Exactly. They're Americans with some distant Italian ancestry. Not Italian.

[LazerBean]

A lot of people just want to be quirky and different, and giving themselves these labels somewhat relieved that sad and desperate desire.

[jshm2]

Because deep down they know they are nothing but a mongrel people, and a parasitic nation.

They like to delude themselves that they are "White". but we know why Hitler courted the Japanese rather than the Muricans. He just couldn't sell the Americans as being "superior" - even to a thrall following like he had!

[SakuraBlossoms87]

As it is, that is quite an interesting concept. If Americans were indeed a superior country, as they claim themselves to be, you'd think the most predominant "seller" of "superiority" in Hitler would've sought them as allies.

[DryGermanGuy]

It's even funnier when they try to lecture the people of the country they claim heritage from, because they had an Irish/German/Italian... grandmother. I mean if anything, it's a good icebreaker, but if you want to talk with me about Germany, have more to say than Autobahn, Lederhosen, Oktoberfest, please.

[SakuraBlossoms87]

Oh... that is amusing. It's like a European going to America & talking to the locals about nothing but guns & booze.

[Dargil]

They want to belong somewhere instead of being amorphous blobs.

[SakuraBlossoms87]

But they don't belong

[Dargil]

Well, we "Irish Americans" do cultural appropriation evert St Paddy's Day.
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[In_Trance]

people are struggling for identity and will cling to any and every ridiculous narritative that could help define them. Or so they think

[Anonymous]

You mean like African Americans?

[SakuraBlossoms87]

African American is merely a governmental dub. African Americans almost never refer to themselves as such. They don't say American Conolese, American Nigerian.

Whereas Americans of European ancestry consistently call themselves Irish American, German American, Italian American, etc but know nothing about that culture, food, cuisine, etc.