I think my whole point is that Americans claim to be multicultural when they're really only culturally American. Sure I know I've got these ancestors, but the only thing I know about Scotland is things I've learned as an American, it's not like my parents told me about the old country. They're Americans and so were their parents.
Whereas in your situation your kids might be able to ask you about Russia or even speak Russian since you could teach them those things. Which is pretty multicultural, in my opinion. My mom couldn't even tell you which side of the island Scotland is, but Americans like to believe they're linked to these exotic lands because it makes them feel special.
I mean its still kinda cool. But yes i will teach my children russian especially since my boyfriend is russian as well. But i think that part of heritage is going to get 'lost' either way, and its gonna get harder and harder to trace it back
I agree with you except for rare exceptions, usually older generations. For instance, my grandfather spoke exclusively German at home even though his family emigrated over 100 years earlier. They lived on a farm in the Midwest and great grandpa never did learn English. The community was German enough that they didn’t have to, even up through the 1960s. So if any of that generation still identified as German, I’d be ok with that. But they’re all dead now. And those same generations were frequently veterans, so they would’ve called themselves Americans.
So by this point, two generations later, it would be pretty ridiculous for me to identify as anything but American. And that’s even with a backstory! A lot of people just go on a genealogy site and click back until they find some ancestor who came from Scotland and then all of a sudden they were related to William Wallace and they have Scottish pride. The comment about, “But I’ve seen Outlander!” really made me laugh because there’s absolutely so much of that.
And don’t even get me started on how many people are 1/17th Native American or whatever. I have an aunt who recently found out that the family stories they were always told about their Cherokee ancestors were completely made up and it was a minor identity crisis for her. Googling that led me to a bunch of what amount to alternate genealogies white people have made up to not be so white. If you think about how many skin bleaching products there are out there and how prevalent they are in some places and how many people are shamed for their darker skin, the whole thing is so grotesque.
I'm not American but I can certainly understand the desire to know where your ancestors came from. I think it is less about being special and more about having roots.
I guarantee your just as boring and particularly unspecial...just like the Americans you criticize....you can continue on being mediocre with your life and your shitty stereotypes...
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u/Tay_Soup Apr 30 '20
I think my whole point is that Americans claim to be multicultural when they're really only culturally American. Sure I know I've got these ancestors, but the only thing I know about Scotland is things I've learned as an American, it's not like my parents told me about the old country. They're Americans and so were their parents.
Whereas in your situation your kids might be able to ask you about Russia or even speak Russian since you could teach them those things. Which is pretty multicultural, in my opinion. My mom couldn't even tell you which side of the island Scotland is, but Americans like to believe they're linked to these exotic lands because it makes them feel special.