Are most British simply wannabe Americans?
I personally couldn't care less the exact makeup of my ethnic background but, being an American people care much more than I would like so I do know it.
I have Native-American ancestory on both sides, Irish on one, and either English or Welsh on the other side (there is some debate). To me it is even stupid to know it, I don't feel any closer to the natives or British than anyone else.
Unfortunately, I am of the small minority that feels this way. I know many other people who are like "OMG, my great-great-great grandfather was native American, since your great grandfater and great-great grandmother where then you should really feel the spirit in this dreamcather more then I do!"
The sad part is, the above is a paraphrase of something that was really said to me, as if ancestry gives you 'special powers' or something. I think that is pretty ingrained into the culture here in the United States. Some people genuinely believe that ethnicity determines ability, and that is just idiotic.
<<But English descent and blood is the common thread through most of the American leod.>>
Of the white Americans, I agree, even though most of them wouldn't identify that way. I have seldom heard an american claim to be of english ancestry, even though I'm sure they are of mostly english stock. What I think happens is that families develop generational amnesia, forget about their ancestors from centuries ago, and identify with only the most recent immigrant groups that are a part of their ancestry. For example a person with 3 centuries of colonial english roots in the u.s.a, but one German grandfather, will identify as German.
<< Take African Americans: on average, they are 60-70% African (genetically), the rest is made up mostly of white ENGLISH or British ancestry. So the American black represents to a certain extent the bloodline of Britain.>>
That's exaggerated. We are not nearly that mixed. There are some small groups who are historically of mixed race (notably "creoles", and some other groups), but by and large, black americans are almost exclusively of african ancestry. This is not latin america, we have a totally different history of race relations, there's almost no "mestizos/mulattos" here. Stories of "slave master" liaisons with black women are overblown.
I've read recent genetic studies and we have about 85-90% sub-saharan african ancesty on average.
<<While in the US with my Italian friends, they would get utterlly irritated because people would see they were italians and would come up to them:
American: "omg you are italian!? I am too!!!"
Italian: "insert italian words here"
American: "Huh??? I dont speak italian"
Italian: "But are you not Italian!?"
American: My great great grandparents were!!
Italian: "then you are not italian, you are american" >>
Yes. This phenomenon has linguistic ramifications too, because nobody here actually knows what the real definition of "nationality" is. People with 3-4 generation of roots in the U.S, go around claiming to be of foreign nationalities. The faux-"Italians", are notorious for this.
In colloquial American English, "nationality" doesn't actually mean nationality, and a question like "Where are you from?", doesn't actually mean 'where are you from?' Its complex.
When somebody asks "Where are you from?", they aren't talking about where you yourself were born and raised, they mean, "where were your ancestors from?"
It is really interesting the 4 most important groups nowadays in USA. Italian-Americans or English-Americans, etc is not so important yet.
1. Whites. In the next years, this group will be minoritary (all other minorities will be a majority). So, USA will change a lot in the next years.
2. Latinos. This group is growing very fast. Even this group is very strange because they are whites, blacks, mestizos, asians, etc. A majority in this group speak Spanish. Obama wants to legalize another 10 million Hispanics.
3. Afroamericans. This is an ethnic group. If we consider the language, they are "Anglos". I don't know if they are more comfortable considering themselves as "Anglos" than "blacks" because linguistically they are English-speakers.
4. Asians. This group is also growing very fast. In this group Chinese is the most important group, and the most important language (third in USA yet). There are also Filipinos, Vietnamese
There are 4 groups really in America. For example, thanks to the Hispanic-Afroamerican vote, we have Obama as President.
So, if the Hispanic-Black-Asian groups work together, the whites will be really a minority.
Whites will be a minority in the future in America...
So the majority of people in America would not even have European ancestry.
Good luck! (you certainly will need it)
Italian does not speak Italian is not Italian for me.
Italian wh
o does not speak Italian is not Italian for me.
<I've read recent genetic studies and we have about 85-90% sub-saharan african ancesty on average. >
This looks like a doubtful figure, ill-founded in either statistics or genetics.
What part of the human genome does your "85-90%" measure, for example?
(i.e. what exactly are you measuring, when you say "sub-Saharan African ancestry"?)
<<What part of the human genome does your "85-90%" measure, for example?>>
The ancestry specific markers.
Several scientific studies have been done on afro-european genetic admixture in the U.S. Google it, to find out more.
Long story short: We aren't mixed race.
I dissagree with Parisien
-- I guess many educated white Americans have at least some respect for the country their culture and language originate from.--
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you seem to be totally clueless about the United States......
American culture was influenced by British culture especially in the 18th century when the nation was first born, afterwards the American diaspora has absorbed via immigration just about every imaginable ethnic group on the face of this planet.
Going from Irish, to Colombians, to Polish, to Japanese, to Cubans, to Armenians; you name it!!! You will find a region in the USA where you will find AMERICANS who can easily trace their ancestry or at least part of it to these and many other countries around the world.
Americans are worried about America and about paying their bills and working and living their own lives just as any other nationality of people in this planet worry about themselves.... yes in fact most Americans are indifferent to Britain or Europe in general, why? Because most don't live in Europe, have never been to Europe and probably don't know any one in Europe either!
I live in Europe and I always find comical this european mentality where they think the world is constantly taking Europeans into consideration!!!! it's not just the USA, I've also lived in Canada, Latin America and went to Asia and the average person in these places don't care either about Europe just because some European country colonized them back in the day! People live for today!
About the British, yes I noticed that Brits like to feel this sense of camaraderie with Americans, they think they have such a special close relationship, in reality most Americans see Britain as just another country outta of the many that exist on this planet!
"black americans are almost exclusively of african ancestry...we have a totally different history of race relations, there's almost no "mestizos/mulattos" here. Stories of "slave master" liaisons with black women are overblown."
150 years of struggle and civil rights for this result...Harriet Stowe, Abraham Lincoln, where are you?
"in reality most Americans see Britain as just another country outta of the many that exist on this planet! "
This sentance summarizes all.