What's your cultural background?
 

Thought this would be an interesting thread, as we're all such a diverse bunch! And I know we've got a few Irish lads and lassies here, so I'm wondering exactly how many there are. :P

I'll kick off - my heritage is Irish/Italian... not sure about my father's side of the family but my great-grandparents on my mother's side emigrated to Australia from Ireland.

Baltic (Latvian) and Nordic (Swedish).

Going from what my dad told me.

Irish
Native American
British
French

Prolly other cultures too. I'm a half breed. Proud of it all.

My mom's family is Pennsylvania Dutch, and I believe my dad's family is of British decent.

Heinz 57 but mostly Finnish, Swedish, German, Scottish, Irish, and Swiss with a pinch of Dutch.

Like alot of people I grew up with the "We got native ancestors!" story. Im gonna be taking a genealogy DNA test later this year (can't afford it right now) to see if I indeed do or not.

100% murrican

Colombian. Though I recently found out I could pass off as black, I guess.

100% Lusitanian as far as I know.

Another Heinz 57, mostly of the mixed European variety (off the top of my head Scottish, English, prob Irish, German, Welsh, god knows what else) with a touch of American Indian on either side thrown in for good measure. I believe Scottish and English make up the larger amounts, but it's so cobbled together from bits and pieces across generations, I'm not entirely sure the percentages of each and none of it is exactly in sizable quarantines. (Though my maternal grandmother was born a Boyd and was rather proud of her Scottish heritage, though she was undoubtedly a mix herself, even if she wouldn't admit it.) My family, at least the larger European part, has been in the U.S. since at least the 1600s if not longer, so there's been plenty of time to mix it up. A little of this, little of that, a lot of not caring to pass down genealogy info.


Edit: Although the thread title technically asks for cultural background, so in that case... just plain old American, east coast/mid-Atlantic to be precise.

Throw five or six darts at a map of western Europe and that'll be me, most likely. Just a boring ol white boy.

This....plus a smidge of Native American that doesn't show.

I heard there's some German in there but as far as I know, I'm just Finnish.

German/Irish/English/Dutch & prolly all kinds of madness wayyyy down the line that nobody is alive to know about, like everybody else.

Heinz 57 as well. My last name is German (and 10 letters long!), but I'm mostly Scotch-Irish on my dad's side. On my mom's side, I've got French, and my great grandfather was Scandinavian by way of Sweden, I believe. For all I know, there's more I don't know about.

Half Creek half white. Probably have some Black back in my Creek ancestry. Where my ancestors lived was Melungeon territory.

My white ancestors are from Canada and migrated to Washington state and Alaska during the gold rush.

Good scholarship money from that brown card too.

Hm, as a black in America, don't know much about my ancestry for obvious reasons...but was born in the US.

Going back to all 4 of my grandparents they were all born in the U.S. as standard white Americans. Going further back to great grandparents they hail from a mix of Russia, Spain, Turkey and god knows where else.

But since I am a third generation American with no distinguishing features other than being white...I am just a white boy. Going further back than grandparents would obviously yield a whole mix of countries for anyone.

I'm a bit of Heinz 57 as well... Several European countries and either Puerto Rican or Portugese, based on my grandmother's story of her father being a motorcycle cop in Nova Scotia... I'm sure there's some Irish in there somewhere, too.

I've got Korean (South, if it makes any difference) from my grandma, then from what mom has told me I'm part Irish, German, Italian,, and well I can't really remember what else. Basically 3rd generation Korean with some European. Oh and a little bit of Native American from Dad's side.

hmmm. Neat topic. From my mom's side, I've got Irish, Scottish, and French (Granddad) and German (grandmother) as well as a bit of "Black Dutch" (aka mixed German Gypsy/Native American) most likely from my granddad.

From my (alleged) dad's side, I apparently have Apache and I'm not sure what else. But my last name is Irish, and one of my uncles (adopted) did a family geneology search that traced the Irish roots back to three brothers in 1849, and I've searched the family heraldry and origins back as far as 1100's in Ulster. Supposedly, there's even a castle with our name on it!! Have yet to confirm this, however....

I have never heard the term Heinz 57 be used for mixed people before this thread. Now I know.

Thanks, thread.

German on me Mothers side, and Irish & Scottish on me Fathers side.

Guess that explains my love for booze! :lol:

Indeed, Canadian. I'm the same way- I can drink most folks under the table in three languages, LOL! Or maybe it's four? (Irish- check. German- ya, check. French- oui check. Scottish- aye, check!)

Haha well I'd be up for a challenge! Aren't Texans notorious drinkers any way? :D

Some of us are, yes. Not bragging, but I've been known to go through an entire fifth of vodka by myself. And still be standing (and vaulting over sofas, if memory serves) afterward. Drunk as a skunk, of course, but.... And NO hangovers. Never had one.

I put so much thought into this and I still continue to struggle with it because it’s difficult to find identity in my situation. This is something that I, and many other minorities in my country, struggle with. I can describe my displaced ethnic background. My parents' home country was occupied by the United States (US), for strategic military purposes (now for economic purposes), thus, increasing the US’s influence within their home country; ultimately, it led my parents to join the US military and they became US citizens. I was born in the US.

But, my cultural background is not very easy to understand. I’m not confronted with my identity on a daily basis because my country has raised me to acknowledge the social construct of race. On television, movies, fashion, advertisements, and many other things that are a part of where I’m raised, I’m not confronted with people that look like me, yet, I’m told that we’re the same. When your country raises you to acknowledge racial differences, like skin color, and maintains those social constructs through its history and the lasting effects from that history, it’s hard to identify with the people that I’m confronted with on television, magazines, advertisements, movies, and many other people that represent my country that don't share those qualities that I'm raised to acknowledge...and, it gets more difficult where there's lack of equal representation of all displaced races in my country.

So, yeah, I’m still learning about my cultural background.

I am Norwegian.

But, my grandfather on my mother's side was Danish, and from my father's side I have Scottish ancestor that had to flee Scotland in 1605 due to the failed Gunpowder Plot. Although we're not sharing the family name, we are allowed to use the Wright family crest, which is pretty cool.

Old answer would have been my dad is Indian(Native American). His dad from one tribe, mom from another. Then my last name is Scottish, so there's that.

I'm mostly Irish. As in, most of my outward genetic features and personality traits are predominantly Irish.

In truth I'm 50% Irish and 50% Polish but I never claim it. My last name is Polish, or rather, an Anglicized version of a Polish name, but otherwise I reject it. I mean, I love and appreciate my family members individually but that's it.

Basically, in real life I'm ashamed of it. I'm sorry but I think I've met ONE Polish person who wasn't a complete moron. I'm sure they're out there and I just haven't met them, but between my family and my wife's family, and just being around Polish people all my life, I kind of can't stand them. SO many of the stereotypes are true about how thick they are upstairs. And racist! Some of the most unashamedly racist people you'd ever meet are people with full Polish blood.

So yeah, since we're being honest in here, that's that, but I'm ashamed of it and never claim my Polish side. My family name on my mother's side is Mahoney, about as Irish as it gets, so I think things more or less "corrected" themselves cosmically. People can always guess I'm Irish right away, and they'd never guess I was anything else unless I said so, so whenever anyone asks I just say Irish and leave it there.

Sorry to offend any Polish people. I'm sure you're one of the "good" ones.

Ah, you're alright be me, Leo- the Irish blood overrides the other side, obviously. Cosmetically speaking, I'm one of those "golden girls" Hitler would have loved to be part of his "Master Race" in everything but height. (Please, no griping, folks- this is NOT intended to be racist. It's just an observation of what my heritage is like.) In other words, blonde, blue-eyed, whiter than bread, intelligent, and (relatively) attractive.

But my Irish roots show in quite a few ways- like, I don't tan. I burn, and then turn a half-shade darker, and that's it. I'm also (as you already know) very short, being 5' flat. In fact my entire family on my mom's side is/was short. My granddad was only 5'2", and my grandmother is 5'5"-ish. My mom is even shorter than me, ad a whopping 4'9"! I like to tell people it's because we have leprechauns in our family tree. Given the predominance of Irish blood (I think my grandmother had some, too), it's quite possible, and the "leprechaun" genes go back a long way- to my great-grandmother, at LEAST. And my granddad was one of thirteen siblings- ALL short. And of course, I have the typical "Irish" sense of humor. (A bit off-beat, sometimes dark, and self-deprecating)

One more Euromutt here. I'm part English, Belgian, Welsh, and Ukrainian (which is where my last name comes from). Apparently there may be a tiny bit of Polish in there too, or so I was told at one point? No idea, though. (Don't really care too much either, honestly.)

I've always heard that Polish people have kind of a bad reputation in the USA. Also heard that Polish immigrants don't have the best reputation in many European countries either.

I understand how bad experiences can make you being weary of them, but try not to generalize. Not judging you or anything, since we all generalize at some point. I mean, by that logic, I'd hate Portuguese people since I've met more morons of my nationality than of any other. And I'd hate Americans as well, since most morons I've talked to on the internet were Americans.

It's always inaccurate to mistake a country's immigrants for its people, since immigrants tend to come from specific regions(rural mostly). Per example, we like to joke about Portuguese immigrants here and call them "hacks".

EDIT: And lastly, don't be ashamed or hate yourself for being something you had no influence in. Even if most poles were like the ones you've described, that doesn't automatically make you like them as well. Collective guilt mentality is BS.

HAHA! cheers mate :lol:

I'm actually part Turkish.

Alrighty just asked mom and she says I've also got French, Swedish, Norwegian, Austrian, and some Finnish in me as well.

Edit: so I just found out what Heinz 57 is. haha so I guess I'm also a Heinz 57

Buncha' mutts. I suppose in this day and age it's hard to be anything but. lol :)

Heinz 57, if not a term widely known in some places, also stems from a food product company; their ketchup being one of the more common products.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heinz_57


Now I did know one awesome Polish guy in my life, or so it's what he claimed to be. My graphic arts teacher from high school who I was lucky enough to have as a teacher for three years as he headed this shop class for 10th, 11th, and 12th grades. He was pretty self depreciating though, rather quick with a "Polish joke" on a whim. Great older guy, reminded me a bit of an older version of my father in personality. One of the few I wonder what's become of him, he's probably really getting up there in age at this point.

Prowler: I guess. :ohwell:

I will say with no hesitation though that they're a hard-working people. The "one guy" that I mentioned before was my old supervisor and he's definitely one of the people I most admire, as he's one of the sharpest and hardest-working people I've ever met. And even the biggest numbskulls in my family are pretty good at working hard. Then there's my grandmother, who still worked in her garden until just about 90. They tend to live pretty long, too, when they take care of themselves; my grandmother was I think 97 (hard to tell because her Birthday was Feb. 29 and nobody kept exact track), and her mother was about 105, maybe a little older. Pretty amazing.

Some of them are just SO bad, though. I'll try and be better about not letting my personal experiences color my general opinions of people. But I can't promise anything. I can't even promise I'll try. But I'll TRY to try.

And the secret to not getting a hangover is stupid easy. You just drink equal amounts of water for every drink of alcohol. You keep a nice 1:1 ratio and keep a cheeseburger handy and you should be able to weather damn near anything.

MIGHT not always work if Jack is there, though. Jack don't f*ckin' play nice.

I'm Dutch on my mom's side and German and Russian on my dad's side.

English, with a touch of Welsh. Nothing too fancy about my ancestry really heh. Go back lots of centuries and you'll probably find my ancestors came over with the early Norman conquests, given my surname is of French origin, but now Anglicised.

I've never had a hangover, and the only time I've ever thrown up due to alcohol was the one time I had a blackout was should have been at the hospital. But the people at the party didn't want any trouble so they just drove me home. Didn't have a hangover then either.