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re: Your mind will wrap itself in knots if you ponder the term 'African American'
Posted on 3/3/17 at 1:16 pm to BigJim
Posted on 3/3/17 at 1:16 pm to BigJim
quote:
So while there is African-American, there is also Irish-American, Chinese-American, Swedish-American etc.
Recent immigrant privilege language. Most Southerners do not have ancestral records or any family stories about where they came from.
2
Posted on 3/3/17 at 1:17 pm to BigJim
quote:I can't recall ever hearing anyone actually use those terms. I know they exist in a book somewhere, but does anyone actually say that?
, there is also Irish-American, Chinese-American, Swedish-American etc.
Posted on 3/3/17 at 1:18 pm to BigJim
quote:
So while there is African-American, there is also Irish-American, Chinese-American, Swedish-American etc.
Those are equally absurd imo. It seems only in this country has that happened. I would doubt that if you asked a black Frenchman what he was, he would say "I'm African French"..he would most likely say "I'm a Frenchman." Same with other countries.
Posted on 3/3/17 at 1:19 pm to Dale51
quote:
Those are equally absurd imo. It seems only in this country has that happened. I would doubt that if you asked a black Frenchman what he was, he would say "I'm African French"..he would most likely say "I'm a Frenchman." Same with other countries.
I actually do think there is a particular term for the French of Algerian descent, but at the very least, they were actually under French rule for a while, so it makes some sense.
Posted on 3/3/17 at 1:21 pm to BigJim
I have never heard any of my family say we are Enlish-American.
Posted on 3/3/17 at 1:23 pm to HempHead
quote:
I can't recall ever hearing anyone actually use those terms. I know they exist in a book somewhere, but does anyone actually say that?
quote:
Recent immigrant privilege language. Most Southerners do not have ancestral records or any family stories about where they came from.
Sweet I discovered I have a new privilege today!
I think Hemp kinda answers the first question. A lot of people don't because of "the melting pot." White southerners are, for example, more Southern than Irish or
British.
But among groups that immigrated in the last 100ish years, yes that term gets used. Honestly the -American part often gets dropped in informal conversation, e.g. "kiss me I am Irish" but in more formal writing it gets added back.
Posted on 3/3/17 at 1:30 pm to weagle99
What most of y'all don't realize is that "African American" and "black" aren't the same. "Black" refers to subSaharan ancestry. "African American" refers to Americans with such ancestry.
It's as if years ago two longshoremen were talking about blacks. First guy says "I like Nigerians." Second guy says "I'm not too fond of Ethiopians." Then at the same time they say "But at least they're both better than the...." and then they realized that they didn't have a word for black people who are Americans, particularly those who can't trace their specific African ancestry.
There is a specific thing in a specific discussion that warrants the term. It wasn't just made up to placate angry blacks.
It's as if years ago two longshoremen were talking about blacks. First guy says "I like Nigerians." Second guy says "I'm not too fond of Ethiopians." Then at the same time they say "But at least they're both better than the...." and then they realized that they didn't have a word for black people who are Americans, particularly those who can't trace their specific African ancestry.
There is a specific thing in a specific discussion that warrants the term. It wasn't just made up to placate angry blacks.
Posted on 3/3/17 at 1:32 pm to BigJim
I think recent ancestry is used when someone is asked, "where is your family from?" but I have heard absolutely no white person who was born in America use any prefix to describe themselves. As you said, though, that's due to the melting pot. I think that's because it's easy for Europeans of any extraction to just simply become 'white' in America without any national affiliation, which that same effect is why minorities may keep their own heritage closer.
Posted on 3/3/17 at 1:33 pm to weagle99
Racist?
Posted on 3/3/17 at 1:35 pm to Dale51
quote:
Those are equally absurd imo. It seems only in this country has that happened. I would doubt that if you asked a black Frenchman what he was, he would say "I'm African French"..he would most likely say "I'm a Frenchman." Same with other countries.
So first of all- frick the French, I don't care what they do!
But yes you are right, this is something different about the US and I like it. We are an immigrant nation that is relatively new in the world.
Posted on 3/3/17 at 1:37 pm to L.A.
quote:Those terms were used often 100 or so years ago to differentiate from immigrants and first-generation Americans. For example:
I can't recall ever hearing anyone actually use those terms. I know they exist in a book somewhere, but does anyone actually say that?
Boris and Svetlana, born in Moscow, immigrate to New York. They are Russian.
Boris and Svetlana have a baby boy. Isaac is Russian-American.
Isaac married and has a son. Jaden is American.
Posted on 3/3/17 at 1:38 pm to ballscaster
quote:
Boris and Svetlana, born in Moscow, immigrate to New York. They are Russian.
Boris and Svetlana have a baby boy. Isaac is Russian-American.
Isaac married and has a son. Jaden is American.
That makes a lot of sense. You aren't so bad when you aren't being a willful contrarian.
Posted on 3/3/17 at 1:46 pm to HempHead
Thank you, thank you. And I think it was roadgator who marveled at how seldom, if ever, he hears the (European)-American labels, and that's ultimately because most people we all know are not first-generation Americans, but multi-generational mutt Americans. There isn't an ethnic ingredient in me that comprises of more than 25% of my blood, so I'm way far from saying "French-American" about myself.
This post was edited on 3/3/17 at 1:46 pm
Posted on 3/3/17 at 1:47 pm to ballscaster
quote:
I'm way far from saying "French-American" about myself.
You have any Native American in you?
Posted on 3/3/17 at 1:54 pm to ballscaster
quote:
Thank you, thank you. And I think it was roadgator who marveled at how seldom, if ever, he hears the (European)-American labels, and that's ultimately because most people we all know are not first-generation Americans, but multi-generational mutt Americans. There isn't an ethnic ingredient in me that comprises of more than 25% of my blood, so I'm way far from saying "French-American" about myself.
I am a third generation american (the Jaden in your example), but also a "mutt." Plenty of people I know still think of themselves as "Swedish" or "Italian" or "Irish."
But you are generally correct. That mindset slowly changes over time, as it should.
Posted on 3/3/17 at 1:56 pm to ballscaster
quote:I'm not so sure about that. 100 years ago Irish immigrants were called Irish, not Irish-Americans. Or they were called worse. It's one reason European immigrants from that era tried to assimilate ASAP. There was quite a bit of bigotry aimed at immigrants. The sooner one assimilated, the better it was for that person
Those terms were used often 100 or so years ago to differentiate from immigrants and first-generation Americans.
Posted on 3/3/17 at 1:57 pm to BigJim
I still think of myself as Anglo-Scottish in some regards, as my genealogical records and DNA testing back it up, but I am so far removed from any sense of those places that it is much more productive to think of myself as a Southerner - a region which I am very much not removed from, and very much in practice with its customs, mannerism, culture, cuisine, etc.,
Posted on 3/3/17 at 1:59 pm to weagle99
I see you read my comment.
Posted on 3/3/17 at 2:06 pm to BigJim
quote:
I kinda like the term 'African-American.' It reminds us that :
1. We are all American,
2. But we have different heritages.
The term African-American is dumb. We are all Americans.
I personally don't like the fact that we address our different heritages. Our ancestors moved away from their region of heritage for a reason.
Lets start celebrating our American heritage and move forward from there.
Posted on 3/3/17 at 2:13 pm to weagle99
quote:
African American'
What a stupid moniker. I can tell if a black person is black without him having to tell me he's African. It's pretty fricking evident. Besides, there are white African Americans in this country so if he wants to glorify his color with his heritage he should be called a Black African American, i.e., BAA.
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