how much does your nationality / race means to you?

[AGR]

It matters a bit,its part of who I am.
My ancestrals were from Okinawa,I dont know my family here in Japan,after my grandmother and grandfather moved to brazil all ties were lost,but for sure I have distant relatives in Okinawa.
I never met my grandfather he was dead when I was born,only thing I know is that he was an alcoholic.
My grandmother was typical stubborn japanese of the early 1900 and something,all my close cousins and brother lived with her and some aunts,I lived separately with another aunt,she didnt accept me,maybe because I lived with my fathers side of the family,maybe they didnt accept them,I even had mixed cousins who were black + japanese and they were accepted.

My father's side were from northeastern brazil,really poor but beautiful region of brazil,they were all probably portuguese colonists,but my grandmother is light brown,dont know if she was full portuguese,probably mixed with amerindian,people from northeastern brazil have a reputation of being stubborn and hot headed,my father moved to são paulo to search for better oportunities as a lot of people from the northeastern region do,then met my mother and came to japan in the early 90's,I was born in 87 and was raised by my father's sister,right until I was 12,thats probably why my grandmother didnt like me right up until her death.
Its a realy interesting contrast I think,its like one stuborn,quiet and reserved side and one stubborn,outgoing and short tempered side.

 

[da_illest101]

I apologize in advance for the length and seriousness of my answer. It's just this is something I've been thinking about a lot lately.

I will use the words "race" and "ethnicity," so, before I continue, I want to mention that race and ethnicity are two different concepts. Race is a group of people who share the same socially defined biological characteristics. Members of different societies create different racial groups, but I would argue that Americans tend to pigeon-hole people into four racial groups: White, Black, Asian/Pacific Islander, and Native American. Needless to say, the concept of race is irrational and stupid. Race is biologically meaningless; there is nothing natural about the existence of race. Race is purely a social concept. An ethnic group, on the other hand, is a group of people who share the same socially defined subcultural characteristics, such as language, nationality, religion, holidays, food, community affiliation, etc. Irish American, English American, French American, African American, Cuban American, Korean American, Russian American, and Mexican American are all examples of ethnic groups.

My nationality is American. As an American, I am speaking from an American perspective. My race is white in the sense that I am perceived by most people as white; however, I have American Indian/Indigenous American ancestry as well. As far as ethnicity goes, I am Irish American, Cherokee Native American, and probably a bunch of other stuff that I am not immediately aware of.

In the past, I did not care about my racial and ethnic background at all. I even rejected it. I didn't want to think that my past had any impact on who I was in the present, so I rejected my heritage. Relatively recently, however, I have learned that I was wrong. My heritage does have an impact on who I am today. I realize that the opportunities, experiences, and resources available to my ancestors were influenced by their racial and ethnic status. The opportunities, experiences, and resources of each generation in turn influenced the opportunities, experiences, and resources that generation's children had available to them. This process continued with each subsequent generation. Thus, the experiences and opportunities I have today are influenced in some way by each generation before me.

But race and ethnicity do not only affect me from the past. The truth is that race socially matters in America. Racial inequality is a brutal reality in America; although, many Americans will deny it. For example, the unemployment rate is much higher for Black males in American than it is for White males because of racial discrimination. I realize that my whiteness grants me unfair and unjustified opportunities, privileges, and resources simply because of something as superficial and meaningless as the pigment of my skin. For example, many store clerks are more likely to treat me with politeness and courtesy than they would if I was a Black male. For the doubtful, there is a plethora of social research that supports my assertion.

Ethnicity matters in America today as well. Ethnic inequality is another brutal reality. Again each ethnic group has different access to resources and opportunities. For example, the rich are disproportionately made up of people with an English American background. Each ethnicity has stereotypes attached to them. For example, Mexican Americans are often stereotyped as criminals (Fun fact: the crime rate is actually much higher for native-born American whites than it is for first and second generation Mexican immigrants).

Obviously, my American nationality also influences who I am in the sense that I have been socialized into American culture.

I am not proud of my nationality, race, or ethnicity. There is absolutely no reason for me to feel pride, but there is a reason for me to be aware of my race, ethnicity, and nationality because these things influence who I am today, where I stand in the social structure, and how people will interact with me. They inform me about myself, and they inform me about the society I live in. It is for these reasons that my awareness of my nationality, ethnicity, and race is important to me. Again, just because these things are important to me does not mean that I am also proud of them.

Sorry for the length. I need to stop treating everything so seriously.

That's a bit why I would never live in the US, discrimination exist everywhere, but over there a lot more. I also I don't get the whole patriotic thing, the american way. It feels like some brainwash when I see some commercials from that country.

 

[MrSunday]

My nationality is British but my ethnic origin is Pakistani. Both mean nothing to me. I have no control over my nationality/race, so I don't feel the need to be proud.

 

[KitKat2]

I'm half Italian/Portuguese. Glad I got to learn these languages, but I never got to know my grandparents on either side or much family. I like to think that I am part of the human race, even though sometimes I don't even feel human

 

[9407]

My parents are Jamaican (black) and my mom has stated before that she doesn't want me dating a white girl (she doesn't like white people). Race/nationality doesn't really matter to me either. I'm attracted to all races of women.

Also, when I was in school, I was never even excepted by other Jamaican kids anyway. Most of them just thought I was too "soft" and "whitewashed" (even though I'm not either of those things) to be Jamaican. I even got bullied by my Jamaican middle school principal in grade 6. For a short while I hate Jamaicans. I don't anymore though.

 

[A86]

Fortunately I grew up in a real multicultural part of Australia. Growing up besides Indonesian, Malaysian, Greek, Indian, PnG, Portuguese, Fijian, Tahitian, English, Vietnamese, Filipino, African and aboriginal... it was all just normal to me. Just people with different backgrounds.

It wasn't until I went to eastern Australian cities in my teens that the racism really hit me. Race/ethnic groups stuck to their "own" groups, I never saw any intermix and they often showed hostility towards the other groups. Completely different to what I was used to, and I did not understand it.
It was a real eye opener. I feel sorry and sad for these people as they do not get to experience what other cultures have to offer and are only really limiting their own life experiences.

It also made me aware of all the Star Trek "racial issues" they were embedding in their shows (until then I didn't even notice they were discussing a lot of real world racial issues in sub-context)

Anyways... considering the world is becoming smaller (more global), given enough time I can see that what is going to happen is what you can start to see already in the town I grew up in... after a good few generations of a multicultural society, everyone is just mixing into one giant combined race.

 

[bcsr]

Not much. I'm part german, part native american, part.. other stuff.

 

[recluse]

I'm Welsh but my grandfather on my dad's side was English which is why i have an English surname, and an uncommon one too. I enjoy having an uncommon surname especially here in Wales, and i love having my own language and culture.

 

[Qurion2]

it means nothing to me

becouse
i think we all/every human just wants one thing
and that is to be happy, no?
so basically we all are the same, no matter where we are from

 

[satstrn]

George Carlin:

I don't understand this notion of ethnic pride. "Proud to be Irish," "Puerto Rican pride," "Black pride." It seems to me that pride should be reserved for accomplishments; things you attain or achieve, not things that happen to you by chance. Being Irish isn't a skill; it's genetic. You wouldn't say. "I'm proud to have brown hair," or "I'm proud to be short and stocky." So why the **** would you say you're proud to be Irish? I'm Irish, but I'm not particularly proud of it. Just glad! Goddamn glad to be Irish!

I agree with most everyone on here...

 

[mezzoforte]

Well I'm black...I feel like my race adds to my anxiety. I'm afraid to talk to people sometimes because I figure they hate me because of my race. Most people view black people as loud, rude, ghetto, etc. And I'm not like that at all...

 

[coyote]

i really think that stereotypes relating to nationality or ethnicity are absurd and offensive

including the stereotype that all white americans are nationalistic racists - most of us are not

 

[MrJones]

George Carlin:

I don't understand this notion of ethnic pride. "Proud to be Irish," "Puerto Rican pride," "Black pride." It seems to me that pride should be reserved for accomplishments; things you attain or achieve, not things that happen to you by chance. Being Irish isn't a skill; it's genetic. You wouldn't say. "I'm proud to have brown hair," or "I'm proud to be short and stocky." So why the **** would you say you're proud to be Irish? I'm Irish, but I'm not particularly proud of it. Just glad! Goddamn glad to be Irish!

I agree with most everyone on here...

lol that monologue was the first thing that came to my mind when I first saw this thread ::

 

[thor01]

It doesn't mean much to me in that I think its a bit of an illusion in the way it seperates us.

I don't define myself as any particular thing haha. I'm just a person, and whatever I feel like at the time.

 

[Lea]

George Carlin:

I don't understand this notion of ethnic pride. "Proud to be Irish," "Puerto Rican pride," "Black pride." It seems to me that pride should be reserved for accomplishments; things you attain or achieve, not things that happen to you by chance. Being Irish isn't a skill; it's genetic. You wouldn't say. "I'm proud to have brown hair," or "I'm proud to be short and stocky." So why the **** would you say you're proud to be Irish? I'm Irish, but I'm not particularly proud of it. Just glad! Goddamn glad to be Irish!

I agree with most everyone on here...

True, that´s what I think as well, I could never understand when people say they´re proud of something which they didn´t achieve but simply were given, or it happened to them by chance. Or there are people who say they´re proud to eat meat etc. - what a bs.

 

[Flanscho]

I'm 75% german and 25% russian. I don't know much about my russian side, since my russian grandma died before I was born, and I have no connection to the other russians of the family. My father is still hurt by her early death, and doesn't want to talk about it.

I don't feel national pride, I guess. I think you should feel pride for something you did. Whether I was born in Germany or Chile or whatever is not my achievement. So when some people say stuff like "I'm proud on the german forest", then I just wonder: "why? Did you do anything about it? If you are a ranger and thus care about the forest, then you can say that, because you directly contribute. But like this?"

I can't remember ever having sung the national anthem either. Borders are temporary anyway. In one decade they're there, in another they're somewhere else. You are born in the same place, but should feel pride for a different country? It makes no sense.

Not to mention that especially in countries like Germany, that are surrounded by other countries, there are no "real Germans", because the DNA of everyone is mixed up anyway, by all the people who travel through this area since thousands of years.

A pity that our current technology ain't good enough, to have us determine how related we are too each other by a blood sample. Like, if you'd take a blood sample from me, and one from you, that the results would be that 564 generations ago, we had the same mother, or something like that.

 

[Lea]

I'm 75% german and 25% russian. I don't know much about my russian side, since my russian grandma died before I was born, and I have no connection to the other russians of the family. My father is still hurt by her early death, and doesn't want to talk about it.

I don't feel national pride, I guess. I think you should feel pride for something you did. Whether I was born in Germany or Chile or whatever is not my achievement. So when some people say stuff like "I'm proud on the german forest", then I just wonder: "why? Did you do anything about it? If you are a ranger and thus care about the forest, then you can say that, because you directly contribute. But like this?"

I can't remember ever having sung the national anthem either. Borders are temporary anyway. In one decade they're there, in another they're somewhere else. You are born in the same place, but should feel pride for a different country? It makes no sense.

Not to mention that especially in countries like Germany, that are surrounded by other countries, there are no "real Germans", because the DNA of everyone is mixed up anyway, by all the people who travel through this area since thousands of years.

A pity that our current technology ain't good enough, to have us determine how related we are too each other by a blood sample. Like, if you'd take a blood sample from me, and one from you, that the results would be that 564 generations ago, we had the same mother, or something like that.

There is actually..

GenoGraphic Test - DNA test of genetic origin - GenoGraf - Genomac International

you can have this kind of test for example. Then according to the haplogroup and markers you get, you can find out people on the whole planet who have most similar ones (of course only of those who had the test done as well).

 

[Nanita]

I don´t give a damn about race or nationality.
I´m not proud of the stuff that people from my country feel proud of.
My boyfriend is greek and he is tired of hearing greeks being proud of the greek culture and history.
I think it´s stupid to identify with a nation or race.

I think the only good nation is imagiNATION.

 

[Section_31]

I like being canadian. That said i wouldnt necesarily confuse that with being PROUD of it. But i associate with it....but that value on the same note to me is similair to an old formality which no longer holds true meaning. I try to think of humanity as a whole.

I know my families history. We came from scotland. Settled in canada. I love my families personal history. National history? meh.

 

[laure15]

I have recently started to explore my own roots and start learning the language and the culture. It feels embarassing when people try to speak with me in my native language but I can't really do it because I'm not fluent.

What I love about being bilingual/bicultural is that I get to think in different perspectives and get exposed to different types of music, philosophies, etc. When I only spoke English, I felt so limited, mentally and physically speaking. I listen to the same English songs over and over again, read only English books, watch only English speaking shows, etc. But when I learn/immerse myself in another language, I was able to expose myself to different types of music, philosophies, ideas, etc. My mind expanded and it felt great. I wasn't as close-minded as before. And I get to appreciate other cultures too.