Archive for June 3rd, 2008
Thoughts on Ethnicity
Tuesday, June 3rd, 2008I’m going to ask you a question. Before you answer it, I want you to read the rest of this blog while thinking about it.
The question is this: What is your ethnicity?
It might seem like a simple enough question. I bet an answer popped into your head as soon as you finsihed reading it. It may be the correct answer. However, I want you to think about it for a moment.
What defines ethnicity? Is it the color of your skin? Is it where you live? Is it what language you speak? Is it where your ancestors are from? Is it something else?
It could be any of those. I guess it is really up to the individual to define the term for his or herself. I’ve been thinking about this question since I was involved in a discussion yesterday evening about this very topic.
My great-grandparents came over to the United States from Poland. They continued to speak the language when they arrived, and had children who spoke Polish. But those children also learned English which became their primary language.
As time went on, and generations were born to my family, the use of Polish diminished as did the Polish customs that the family had brought with them from their homeland. Soon, my generation was born any trace of the “old country” was all but gone. I suppose you can say that the family was “Americanized.”
So, here’s my second question: Am I Polish? Am I Polish-American? Or am I just American?
At what point does “American” become an ethnicity?
Those who come from Italy are italian. Those from France are French. Germans come from Germany. But, who are the people that come from America? Why do we put our ancestors’ ethnicities in front of “American” when we say who we are?
If I were to move to Italy and become a citizen, would I be considered American-Italian? Or Polish-Italian?
Where do we draw the line?
If I were to go back to Poland I would realize just how Polish I’m not. The same for an African-American who’s never been to Africa (not to mention that Africa’s aa continent, not a country so I’ve never understood the term African-American as it seems to apply to all blacks. Not every black person in America has roots in Africa.) How about an Asian American who’s never left the continental United States? Are they of the American ethnicity? Keep in mind, I’m talking ethnicity and not race.
It’s a good question to ask yourself, and I’m curious to hear opinions on this.
It Ends Tonight
Tuesday, June 3rd, 2008Or at least it should but who knows if Clinton is even properly attached to reality anymore. She has been living the last few months in a land of unicorns and rainbows. Funnily enough that land of make believe is right next door to the “permanent war is good” land of make believe that McBush is living in.
This just in: Clinton to ride a candy coated unicorn to deliver a speech tonight where, according to her campaign, she will not concede but she will acknowledge that Obama has enough delegates to win the nomination. I am actually getting quite sick of Clinton moving the goalposts.
I don’t know how Clinton and her rabid supporters can overlook what has been obvious to the rest of the planet: It is over. It has been over for a long time now. Pack up, go home, the game is over.
One thing that you probably won’t hear all that much tonight is that there is a Republican primary in New Mexico too. Pay attention to that one and see what percentage of the vote John W. McBush actually gets. The Republican party is hardly unified behind him. Hell, even just today Cheney was criticizing McBush and his plan to cut the gas tax for the summer.
Obama has been playing this one well. While Clinton still takes shots at him while trying to stay relevant he has started acting like the Democratic nominee. He has been ignoring her and focusing his attacks directly at Old Man Warmonger.
A question I have to any McCain supporters that read this:
Why didn’t McCain support the new G.I. bill? Why didn’t he even bother to show up to vote on it?
As a veteran he should be appalled by the way this administration has treated the troops. Inadequate supplies of body armor, inadequate care when they come home. And that is just the tip of this bloody iceberg. How can you, John McCain, in good conscience say you support our troops when you are not willing to even give them better college benefits when they come home. If they come home.
Our soldiers fight and die every day, every minute of every god damned day for this bullshit war that you want so badly to inherit and you aren’t willing to even help them better their lives when they come home.
The act is, you don’t support our troops. The fact is, you are just using them for your own political gain.
I have two more words for you McCain:
Fuck You.
