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Is American an Ethnicity?

Is American an Ethnicity?

  • Yes

    Votes: 9 19.1%
  • No

    Votes: 38 80.9%

  • Total voters
    47
but the fact is that many primates have white skin under their dark hair, rendering such an argument void.

facepalm.jpg


You don't think the loss of hair while evolving in Africa had anything to do with needing melanin in the skin?
 
Reading all of this I still have a question. Say I moved to a European country and became a citizen there. I walked around wearing my arait cowboy boots, blue jeans, white t shirt, listened to country music, and talked like however people from Colorado talk, I think I would be known as "American" despite being a citizen of a different country. What would the group, "American", be called that people would be associating me with if not ethnicity?
 
Reading all of this I still have a question. Say I moved to a European country and became a citizen there. I walked around wearing my arait cowboy boots, blue jeans, white t shirt, listened to country music, and talked like however people from Colorado talk, I think I would be known as "American" despite being a citizen of a different country. What would the group, "American", be called that people would be associating me with if not ethnicity?

National stereotype.

I could go to Europe, do all that and they'd call me American, despite my not being so.
 
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National stereotype.

I could go to Europe, do all that and they'd call me American, despite my not being so.

But if first generation immigrant moved to another country after being an American citizen for 2 years most people would not give them this stereotype, so it obviously has more than just nationality to do with it.
 
Reading all of this I still have a question. Say I moved to a European country and became a citizen there. I walked around wearing my arait cowboy boots, blue jeans, white t shirt, listened to country music, and talked like however people from Colorado talk, I think I would be known as "American" despite being a citizen of a different country. What would the group, "American", be called that people would be associating me with if not ethnicity?

That would be because of your cultural identity, not your ethnicity
 
"ethnic group" suggests a common origin, culture, customs, language, dress, history, etc etc.

American citizens are clearly not one single ethnic group. We have a VAST array of origins.

secondly, American citizens who are born in another country, are just as American as someone who's ancestors came off the Nina, the Pinta, and the Santa Maria.

This is certainly true. I was thinking one could be an American citizen but not ethnically american, while just the opposite could be true. Kind of like people in Turkey can be Turkish citizens but also be part of the Turkish ethnicity.
 
Reading all of this I still have a question. Say I moved to a European country and became a citizen there. I walked around wearing my arait cowboy boots, blue jeans, white t shirt, listened to country music, and talked like however people from Colorado talk, I think I would be known as "American" despite being a citizen of a different country. What would the group, "American", be called that people would be associating me with if not ethnicity?

But if first generation immigrant moved to another country after being an American citizen for 2 years most people would not give them this stereotype, so it obviously has more than just nationality to do with it.



And if instead of talking and acting like an American from Collorado you spoke, dressed and behaved generally like a person from the european country that you became a citizen of, you would most likely be considered to be of that country ( provided your physical features were generally similar. A tall natural blond is unlikely to pass as a southern Italian, but could as an Italian from northern Italy
 
Obviously American is a nationality that everyone is a part of, but is American an ethnicity?

I had to take a poly sci class as part of the core curriculum and this was one of the debates in the class. The prof asked us what our ethnicity was. Basically I could not think of any group of people I was aligned with so I put American. For example, you could be part of a German ethnic group, but also there is simply German as in you are a citizen of the country. I thought that this could also be true of Americans, but the professor disagreed. I don't really understand why. My heritage in the US/North America goes back to 1741, they immigrated from Germany. I don't really have any other common heritage but what is in this country. I guess my family was originally part of the German heritage, but I have absolutely no idea what that would even mean or how I could possibly feel connected to that group of people. What is your opinion?

Astute observation.
I do believe that it could be an ethnicity.

Seems to fit the definition in many ways, as well.

Ethnic group - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 
That would be because of your cultural identity, not your ethnicity

That is true, it is a cultural identity. And you often hear of people, or groups of people becoming "Americanized". However, this honestly sounds very close to the definition of ethnicity since it is a common culture passed down by a heritage in the US.
 
That is true, it is a cultural identity. And you often hear of people, or groups of people becoming "Americanized". However, this honestly sounds very close to the definition of ethnicity since it is a common culture passed down by a heritage in the US.

I would expect that most definitions of ethnic group include some genetic or at the very least physical features aspect. I could move to China, learn manadrin, behave as the majority of Chinese (han) do, but I would never be considered to be ethnically Han Chinese.

The US does not have the genetic or common physical features that would make it an "ethnic group". Certainly not in the same fashion as ethnic germans do, or french, or han chinese. Yes the US does have the majority of its people being of european ancestry, and as such the world will tend to associate being american with being from europe.
 
I would expect that most definitions of ethnic group include some genetic or at the very least physical features aspect. I could move to China, learn manadrin, behave as the majority of Chinese (han) do, but I would never be considered to be ethnically Han Chinese.

The US does not have the genetic or common physical features that would make it an "ethnic group". Certainly not in the same fashion as ethnic germans do, or french, or han chinese. Yes the US does have the majority of its people being of european ancestry, and as such the world will tend to associate being american with being from europe.

That's not entirely true though.

For 1, 2 or more genetic groups can merge, combine common cultural practices from both groups while becoming a separate ethnicity.
An example would be Hispanics, that are a combination of native Indian (Mayan, Aztec, Navajo, etc.) culture and European Spanish culture.

and 2, there are definitely genetic concentrations in many parts of the U.S.
Irish in New England states, like Maine and as well as English/Irish concentrations in the South.
Germans in the mid west, you get the drift, each having their own subtle cultural differences, that would create a different ethnic group.
 
That is true, it is a cultural identity. And you often hear of people, or groups of people becoming "Americanized". However, this honestly sounds very close to the definition of ethnicity since it is a common culture passed down by a heritage in the US.

Overall I would say one of the best things about the US and Canada over that of Europe is that to be Canadian or to be American (and be considered to be truely part of the country/nation) is that their is not a Canadian or American ethnic group. To be Canadian means to be generally part of the of the diverse Canadian culture, to accept its laws, the rights that that we have, and the obligations as well. The same goes for the US. For American to be considered an ethnicity, significant numbers of Americans would be excluded from being "truely American" as they would not share the same physical features or genetic background.

To be Canadian or American means the cultural and national identities, not ethnic (at least not yet)
 
Overall I would say one of the best things about the US and Canada over that of Europe is that to be Canadian or to be American (and be considered to be truely part of the country/nation) is that their is not a Canadian or American ethnic group. To be Canadian means to be generally part of the of the diverse Canadian culture, to accept its laws, the rights that that we have, and the obligations as well. The same goes for the US. For American to be considered an ethnicity, significant numbers of Americans would be excluded from being "truely American" as they would not share the same physical features or genetic background.

To be Canadian or American means the cultural and national identities, not ethnic (at least not yet)

Doesn't Quebec kinda disprove that some.
They define themselves as French-Canadian, with their own common language.
 
That's not entirely true though.

For 1, 2 or more genetic groups can merge, combine common cultural practices from both groups while becoming a separate ethnicity.
An example would be Hispanics, that are a combination of native Indian (Mayan, Aztec, Navajo, etc.) culture and European Spanish culture.
They can merge and do so fairly often. The Han chinese are the result of centuries of various ethnic groupings merging into the Han ethnic group. Within the han ethnic group of course their are physical difference as a result of the various mergings. Southern Chinese (han) have some different facial features then northern Chinese (han) ( most noticable different nose). The ethnic groups may merge or be assimilated into an existing one through decades of marriage between the different ethnic groups
and 2, there are definitely genetic concentrations in many parts of the U.S.
Irish in New England states, like Maine and as well as English/Irish concentrations in the South.
Germans in the mid west, you get the drift, each having their own subtle cultural differences, that would create a different ethnic group.
And it is the various different genetic concentrations within the US that in my opinion prevents being American from being an "ethnic group". An Amerindian living in Montana is not of the same ethnic group as an ethnically Irish person living in Boston. Both are American, both may follow American culture to various degrees, but they are not of the same American ethnic group
 
Doesn't Quebec kinda disprove that some.
They define themselves as French-Canadian, with their own common language.

And the French Canadian generally share the same genetic/physical features ( being of french ancestry) Ie they are generally of the french ethnic group, they are still Canadian however (despite what some french Canadians want). The largest issue with the french Canadians would have been when to be Canadian generally meant to be of British ancestry or at the vey least being fully assimilated into English Canadian culture. Which exclude french Canadians from being "canadian"
 
. An example

Lets say 10 000 ethnically Han Chinese move to Ireland. They adopt all Irish cultural traditions, however they only marry and have childern with genetically Han Chinese, and so do their childern, generation after generation. Would anyone identify them as being ethnically Irish?​
 
I don't know, where are your ancestors from?

Its not my fault that folks in much of the USA have forgotten their roots, while those of us in the Northeast know exactly where we are from. :)

.......the ironic thing is that we are one of the first parts of the nation to be settled.

I know exactly where I came from.... New Britain, CT. Anything prior to that is MEANINGLESS. I am an AMERICAN. Nothing more. Nothing less. Where my ancestors came from means NOTHING. I hold no allegiance to any place other than the UNITED STATES of AMERICA.
 
I know exactly where I came from.... New Britain, CT. Anything prior to that is MEANINGLESS. I am an AMERICAN. Nothing more. Nothing less....

that doesn't prove that "American" is an ethnicity, nor that only natural-born citizens are "true" Americans.
 
that doesn't prove that "American" is an ethnicity, nor that only natural-born citizens are "true" Americans.

Maybe not to you, but to many of us that's the only acceptable way of looking at things. That viewpoint has been handed down for generations in certain parts of my family.
 
Maybe not to you, but to many of us that's the only acceptable way of looking at things. That viewpoint has been handed down for generations in certain parts of my family.

what your family believes is irrelevent to this country, let alone this thread.
 
what your family believes is irrelevent to this country, let alone this thread.

As some of the people who helped FOUND this nation a couple hundred years ago, I'd tend to disagree.

Then again I doubt that surprises you very much. The more we exchange information the more I wonder if you and I could even agree on the time of day or the color of the sky.
 
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