labels?

[FroDawgg]

at the risk of sounding stupid, i pose this question. i don't mean to offend anyone, so if i do, i sincerely apologize. but this is an honest question.

over here in america, non-caucasians are called americans but with their land of origin preceding it (ie. african-americans, asian-americans, etc etc). in other parts of the world how does that work?

say you are in england. would people be labeled "african-europeans" or "african-english"?

this is something that has been puzzling me.

thanks!

 

[Tha_Wood]

in Australia we pretty much just say: White, Black, Asian, Indian. at least thats how it is where i am from

 

[Prize Gotti]

at the risk of sounding stupid, i pose this question. i don't mean to offend anyone, so if i do, i sincerely apologize. but this is an honest question.

over here in america, non-caucasians are called americans but with their land of origin preceding it (ie. african-americans, asian-americans, etc etc). in other parts of the world how does that work?

say you are in england. would people be labeled "african-europeans" or "african-english"?

this is something that has been puzzling me.

thanks!

No one else uses that terminology, there is no such thing as an african-american or an asian-american, they are still african or asian. Its just an excuse to use the word 'american', the only exceptions are latin or native americans.

 

[ARon]

My friend visited Africa and told me real Africans get pissed when black people in America say they are African-American.

 

[Prize Gotti]

My friend visited Africa and told me real Africans get pissed when black people in America say they are African-American.

By calling themselves "American" they are disrespecting the struggle Africa went through with the American slave trade.

 

[Rukas]

No one else uses that terminology, there is no such thing as an african-american or an asian-american, they are still african or asian. Its just an excuse to use the word 'american', the only exceptions are latin or native americans.

One could argue there is no such thing as african-american or asian-american, they are still just American, and the use of their racial background is a means of segregation.

They also use the label Irish-American, Polish-American, Italian-American, etc etc. Those people are all just American, but have a different background.

Here in Australia, we dont say Asian-Australian or African-Australian, we just say Asian or African. When someone asks me what I am I do not say I am Australian I say I am Polish, as do most people with different backgrounds.

 

[Prize Gotti]

One could argue there is no such thing as african-american or asian-american, they are still just American, and the use of their racial background is a means of segregation.

They also use the label Irish-American, Polish-American, Italian-American, etc etc. Those people are all just American, but have a different background.

Here in Australia, we dont say Asian-Australian or African-Australian, we just say Asian or African. When someone asks me what I am I do not say I am Australian I say I am Polish, as do most people with different backgrounds.

They are American citizens, but what I meant is they not American by race.

 

[S O F I]

Usually, people who have been here a few generations already are described as "Polish-American", etc. So, if your family came here in the 1940s and you're like a 4th generation Polish, you're described as and usually wish to describe yourself as a Polish-American. If you were born in Poland, then you're just Polish...and you can add whether you have US citizenship or not lol.

They are American citizens, but what I meant is they not American by race.

Being Italian is not a race. It's a nationality.

 

[Prize Gotti]

Being Italian is not a race. It's a nationality.

They are European. Once again, there is no such thing as an Italian American, they are just Italians that live in America.

 

[S O F I]

They are European. Once again, there is no such thing as an Italian American, they are just Italians that live in America.

It's a socially construed label that's widely used in America. So, what is the problem?

 

[Prize Gotti]

It's a socially construed label that's widely used in America. So, what is the problem?

Its a label that is not necessary, every where else in the world, they are labelled correctly. Italians in the UK are Italians, not British-Italians. Italians in France are not French-Italians. My point is, there is no need to label them Italian-Americans because they are no different from any other Italian living in any other part of the world.

The only reason a label like that should be used is if some one is half (Country/Race) & half American.

 

[S O F I]

Its a label that is not necessary, every where else in the world, they are labelled correctly. Italians in the UK are Italians, not British-Italians. Italians in France are not French-Italians. My point is, there is no need to label them Italian-Americans because they are no different from any other Italian living in any other part of the world.

The only reason a label like that should be used is if some one is half (Country/Race) & half American.

What if it's a 4th gen Italian? He's surely different from other Italians if he wasn't born in Italy.

 

[Prize Gotti]

What if it's a 4th gen Italian? He's surely different from other Italians if he wasn't born in Italy.

If all his family members in his blood line were Italian then he is still Italian, if he has been mixed with non Italians then he is a mixture of nationalities. By the 4th Generation and he has non Italian blood in him, he is more likely to not be classified as Italian at all.

 

[AmerikazMost]

If all his family members in his blood line were Italian then he is still Italian, if he has been mixed with non Italians then he is a mixture of nationalities. By the 4th Generation and he has non Italian blood in him, he is more likely to not be classified as Italian at all.

This mindset is exactly why European states have been so unstable historically.

America is not like Europe. Almost all the states in Europe were shaped because of national and cultural differences. There are no Americans living in Canada whose sovereignty needs to be saved. An American President would never invade Mexico because there are Americans there and they should be reunited with the rest of their people.

America is represented in more ways by more nationalities, cultures, creeds, and religions than any other nation. There is no American like there is a French or Chinese.

In fact, being American is more about a state of mind than a state of DNA. In the end, if you have American citizenship, you are an American.


Race is a social construct, and it's a construct that has led to many of the worst atrocities in Europe. I mean, the term "genocide" wasn't coined in Rwanda.

Historically, America hasn't had the best track record on such issues either, but in general, we embrace cultural and ethnic differences. You'd never see America break up like Belgium is about to or Yugoslavia did. Europeans, who segregate nationalities across states, have no room to talk about any American self-segregation.