2minkey
bootlicker
okay. what rules would those be? how should they live?
african-american
- Thread starter kuulani
- Start date
okay. what rules would those be? how should they live?
MrBishop
Well-Known Member
YOu and a BF..MySpace. You seemed so happy..I figured the glow would be a nice touch
As Americans.
GrandCaravanSE
Active Member
American. My families heritage is piontless.
I really don't think that anybody now a days knows there heritage.
Gato_Solo
Out-freaking-standing OTC member
Guess the term Franco-American, Polish-American, German American, Irish-American, Russian-American, etc have never been noticed, spoken, written, or seen in her presence. I won't argue the point because its relatively pointless. We label ourselves when we feel we do not belong to the larger group...and the term for a person from Hawaii would be, and I kid you not...I've seen it...Pacific-Islander.
2minkey
bootlicker
so what does that mean? what are the rules for americans, gonz? please, we all want to know. how should we live?
BeardofPants
New Member
Pacific-Islander applies here, too. 
Anyone who comes from the islands.
Anyone who comes from the islands.
GrandCaravanSE
Active Member
What ever happened to family crests?
MrBishop
Well-Known Member
Most 'family crests' are fake. Real crests are given to individuals and aren't supposed to be passed down.
I completely agree, why can't people just call themselves by their nationality. I for one, feel insulted by the mexican-americans, make up your mind, you're either one, not both.
United, because divided we fall.
nalani
Well-Known Member
American. My families heritage is piontless.
Personally, I find that kind of sad .. but if it's pointless to you, it can mean nothing to me. I just hope I - and every single one of my descendents - never feel that way.
nalani
Well-Known Member
Yeah, we're known a lot to non-Pacific-Islanders as "Pacific Islanders", regardless of our Nationalities. Most of us will differentiate ourselves from one another because of our proud heritages and because we know and understand the difference. It's pretty much the same as "Asians" - they're clumped together under one heading but they (many of them) know who they are and will differentiate based on their heritage.
tonksy
New Member
Maybe it is sad but for those of us that grew up without an emphasis on culture it's not important.
I am curious about my father's family solely because the things I was told are seeming to unravel and I am curious about the big secret but no matter what I may uncover it won't change who I view myself as or who I have become.
I do wish that I was part of a culturally rich family. I think it may lend a great sense of belonging and...well, pride.
I am, by no means, culturally proud. I have been lucky enough to travel quite a bit and live in other countries. Enough to appreciate them and to kind of squash the (ever present in the US) "We're the greatest country in the world" mentality. The world has so much to offer, I'm happy to have had the chance to be nomadic in it.
2minkey
bootlicker
you're white. members of the dominant social group never really have an emphasis so much on culture (in a basic sense) in an overt way because their culture is simply the way things are. it's the other folks that need to assert identities through "culture," real or made-up. (oh, but it's all made up...)
GrandCaravanSE
Active Member
I remeber my brother had to do a project for school with our family crest,so we called up our grandparents, and guess what they didn't even know.
MrBishop
Well-Known Member
I worked for the Arch-deacon of Montreal, who was an official Heraldist. When we were redesigning the Archbishop's crest, he and I had long talks about not only the rules of crests, but their meanings and the significance of individual items on crests.
This is one of his pieces: http://www.heraldry.ca/top_en/top_rhsc_dvd.htm
This is one of his pieces: http://www.heraldry.ca/top_en/top_rhsc_dvd.htm
nalani
Well-Known Member
Hence adding "if it's pointless to you, it can mean nothing to me". Before the time of the "melting pot", families were culture-based. All I'm saying is as one who was lucky enough to grow up in an actual culture-based family, I find it sad on a personal level when others find it pointless - but I'm not going to lecture about how it's not pointless because that's not my life and if you're ok with it, that's great. But I truly hope my family never gets to the point where it's ok not to have that base - because it's the reason my ancestors existed in the first place.
nalani
Well-Known Member
Sorry, but I don't "need" to assert my identity through anything. I know who I am. I know who my ancestors were further back than you have fingers and toes to count as do my children.