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Expatriotism

Discussion in 'General Discussion' started by DrFrylock, Mar 14, 2011.

  1. DrFrylock

    DrFrylock
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    The White

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    Thursday of this week is St. Patrick's Day, where no matter what you actually are, you get to be Irish. Last week after the earthquake, the patron saint of Japan, George Takei, tweeted that "today, we are all Japanese." Your nationality is an accident of your birth, but as you learn more about the world, maybe you think that it would have been better if you were born somewhere else.

    Me, I think I would have made a fine British citizen. All the pleasantries and the erudite-sounding accents and the dreadful embarrassment about any body part ordinarily covered with clothing are sort of appealing to me in a weird way.

    FOCUS: What is your nationality, and, if you could not be that, what nationality would you want to be, and why?

    EDIT: To clarify, I do not care about your race or your heritage or your genetics. You may be half-Italian, one-quarter Irish, one eighth Polish, one sixteenth Slovenian and one sixteenth Cherokee, but if you were born and grew up in Naples, Florida your nationality is American for purposes of this thread. If you have flaming red hair and freckles, but grew up in Shanghai as a Chinese citizen, you're Chinese for the purposes of this thread.
     
  2. Solaris

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    I am a dual national as I am both a British and Irish citizen.

    I only really identify with my Irish nationality although I've never lived in the Republic of Ireland. In north Ireland, nationality is a big deal. Half the people identify as British and the other half Irish with a few inbetween calling themselves 'Northern Irish' whatever the fuck that means.

    I've been teaching myself a bit of the Irish language and listen to Irish music more than any other genre. When I get drunk I like to listen to IRA music and voice my support for so called 'dissident republicans'. Sober however I'm a bit more level headed and would support the peace process.

    If I could have another nationality it would be American just in case I ever wanted to work there.
     
  3. Poopourri

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    Might be in the minority here, but I'm pretty happy with where I landed (which is to say..."I'm a white guy, life is awesome!").

    Pops:
    -born in Germany
    -His father is full Irish, his mother full German
    -lived there off and on until his mid 20's before joining the US military

    Mom:
    -Whatever constitutes a normal person under the Mason Dixon line (I think the recipe is 1/2 English, 1/4 Irish, 1/8 mudbaby, 1/8 Mountain Dew)

    When people ask me where I'm from, I usually don't have a straight answer. I was born in Germany, went to school there, my Oma/Opa lived there until they died, it's a natural language for me, all of my family is still there, etc but I'm decidedly an American. I grew up in the south, and it shows.

    If I had to pick another nationality I definitely don't do Canadian, because....while I think it's probably an awesome place to grow up, I don't know how well I would deal with being impotent. Maybe Australian? Nah...I would get tired of having a foreskin. South African maybe... but that means I'd have to claim Durbanite as a neighbor, which not even Canada has to do.
     
  4. Kubla Kahn

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    Ive met a shit ton of expats from all over the globe since Ive been here in Shanghai. I think I'd probably have made a good Aussie. I can't fault anyone for thinking their nationality is the A-number-one-top shit, we all have it beaten into us from day one. That being said Aussies are a shit ton more laid back than any of the Europeans Ive met. While everyone might be by nature arrogant about their nationality being the shit, Europeans tend to be unquestionable assholes about it and just assholes in general. French and Italians particularly. Americans are arrogant about it, but there is a huge subset of our culture that has become so insanely PC who've shouted for so long, that I find on average more that more Americans are willing to question how righteous we can be about claiming our shit don't stink. Not most Europeans. Aussies Ive met have little to none of this righteous arrogance, they tend to be focused more on having a good time instead of worry about stupid shit.

    I don't know about a specific nationality but sometimes I wish I had a thick accent from a number of English speaking nations (Brits, Irish, Aussie). Those motherfuckers just need to open their mouth and the pussy just melts like butter, at least from the evidence Ive seen. Being an American, or any foreigner, lets you have the pick of the Chinese here. It's actually kind of funny watching how Western girls have to deal with the fact that they aren't guaranteed the same amount of attention as they are afforded buy guys as they are back home. When Chinese girls have an almost monopoly on guys western girls get desperate real fast, this is where accented guys can kill it if they want.

    I was born in the States as were my parents and most of my grandparents. Going back Im 1/4 German, 1/4 English, 1/4 Italian, and 1/4 either Irish or Scottish (we aren't totally sure were my grandpa on my mom's side hails from).

    USA all the fucking way baby!
     
  5. ssycko

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    I'm a bit of an odd one- half Irish, half Macedonian. Guess where the only place those two people could meet?

    [​IMG]

    I can't really think of anything that I oh so totally would like to be, anything in the first world at this point seems to generally be an okay place to live. There's idiots everywhere.
     
  6. fta09

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    My family never really tracked our history, but I have the following to go by:
    • 1. I have red hair.
    • 2. I have a terrible temper.
    • 3. I drink on days that end in y.

    When I get in "discussions" with my in-laws (who have a known Irish background), the loudest wins the "discussion". We all have tempers and we all drink a lot. It's even custom to take a shot (or more) of whiskey at a family member's funeral. I knew I married in to this family for a reason.

    I might have an Irish background. Or I could just be a typical American drunk. To be determined...
     
  7. dubyu tee eff

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    Thinks he has a chance with Christina Hendricks...

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    I was born and lived in Pakistan until the age of 8, when my family immigrated to the US. Racially, I'm fully South Asian, but culturally, there isn't much Paki left in me. I lost my accent years ago. I do listen to a good bit of classical Indian music (none of that bollywood trash), but that only happened when I started exploring music later on in life. In fact, chances are, if I remained in Pakistan, I wouldn't be listening to much classical Indian music anyway. The food from the region, I'm still in love with. I grew up with it and honestly can't live without it. I love trying new food, but if I have non-paki food a few days in a row, I start getting curry cravings. This has served me nicely in that it forced me to learn how to cook as soon as I moved out, and the white wimminz seem to love it when I tell them to come over for some home made paki food.

    As a whole, I have no problem with my race or cultural composition or whatever. Being a bit taller would be nice, but it is also nice being good at math and shit, so I guess it all sort of evens out.

    I do have one thing that always pisses me off. Why does the Indian/Paki accent have to be a joke. Women cream their god damn pants over Spanish, French, British, etc. accents; WHY NOT OURS? Why does ours exist only for comedic purposes? If the Indian accent had the same effect on women as some of the aforementioned accents do, you'd better believe I'd play that shit up. It's not fair.
     
  8. Frank

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    FOCUS: Red white an blue all the way, I'm also white, six feet tall (which sounds short compared to the basketball team we have on this board) and male, doesn't get much better than that.

    If I weren't American I feel like I'd make a good Irishman. I drink a lot, I'm social and I'm pale as a ghost. They would have to have air conditioners for me though, I run hot.
     
  9. rei

    rei
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    I'm Canadian



    Just about sums it up
     
    #9 rei, Mar 14, 2011
    Last edited by a moderator: Mar 27, 2015
  10. lust4life

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    And you have the added benefit of seeing a relative whenever you walk into a 7-11.

    I'm a second-generation American with the following heritage* (they all emigrated to the US in the 1920s):

    Paternal grandfather: Irish
    Paternal grandmother: British
    Maternal grandfather: Slavic (Hungarian)
    Maternal grandmother: Slavic (Polish)

    *Given the time and place where I grew up, ethnicity/heritage is how one was identified in the community by the immigrant generation of our families. You were a Mick, Pollock, Dego/Wop/Guinea, Jew/Kike/Shinny/Hebe, Spic (all-encompassing), Chink (all-encompassing) or the "N-word." Middle-Easterners really didn't have a presence until the 70s, and they were mainly doctors (though this population exploded in the late 80s-early 90s).

    My Polish grandmother who lived with us (along with her two spinster sisters, none of whom had more than an 8th grade education, and even that was only on paper) maintained and perpetuated this myopic cultural view in our house. You could tell her opinion about a person by the label she used: Jew-good, Kike-not good; Guinea-good, Wop-not good. Before I got engaged, she said to me, "You're pretty serious with that guinea!" To which one of her sister's added, "Thank God he didn't bring home a spic!"

    The majority of my hometown was Catholic, and certain parishes were ethnically-based regardless of your geography in the town (i.e., Assumption was the Italian church, Mount Carmel was the Polish church, etc.), and the population was predominantly Irish, Polish and Italian. Blacks, for the most part, lived in federal housing called "The Projects" which the city planners strategically placed at the northern and southern edges of town. The majority of the local merchants (in a time before malls and big box stores) were Jewish (as were the doctors) and we also had ethnic butcher shops, bakeries & small grocery stores, and to a lesser extent, the bars tended to cater to specific ethnicities (and there were a lot of bars). That's just the way it was.

    It was interesting when we moved to Texas and I became friends with natives whose families have been in America for so long, they really don't know their ethnic background (except for the native Americans) or have lost any sense of the culture of that heritage. When I would explain the paragraph above, they had a hard time identifying with it because here, there's only two types of people: Native Texans, and the rest of us.

    I'm happy being an American and with my heritage and keep many of the traditions (most of which deal with food, especially around the holidays) alive in our house. And I'm grateful I was intelligent enough to see the prejudicial environment I grew up in for what it was and approached life differently.

    Blond hair, blue eyes, fair skin and a propensity for drink, I definitely identify more with my Irish heritage than the others (except when it comes to the food--this Mick loves his pierogies).
     
  11. ghettoastronaut

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    This is a point I have been trying to make for a long time. Where I live, it's pretty much common practice that you aren't "Canadian", you're whatever passport your parents (or in some cases, grandparents) held. People walk around wearing kappa jackets and greased hair and they're approximately as Italian as those fuckers from the Jersey Shore. And don't get me started about those Tibet-hating fuckers whose only connection to China is that they were born in Hong Kong under British rule and moved to Canada before Hong Kong was transferred to the Chinese (for the blatantly obvious reason that their parents didn't want to liver under Chinese rule).

    Nationalism is always strongest at its periphery. Hitler, for example, wasn't even German.

    If I couldn't be Canadian, I think I'd still want to be born under the sun of what used to be the British Empire. At least I wouldn't have to suffer the indignity of spelling "colour" without a u. To be clear, I mean one of the white countries. Plus, having any one of their accents will get you laid, big time.
     
  12. BL1Y

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    I'm from Alabama, does LA count as a foreign country?

    I'd probably pick Jersey, the little tax haven island off the coast of France. Pretty much anywhere in Western Europe would be decent, since if you don't really like the culture there, you can drive for 20 minutes and be in a different country. Jersey just interests me because I'd have to imagine the culture of a tax haven nation being very different from other places.
     
  13. lostalldoubt86

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    I'm American by a considerable generational degree. My parents were born here, as were my grandparents, my great grandparents, and my great-great-grandparents. I'm not sure what generation of my family came to America, but it's considerable.
     
  14. Disgustipated

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    I give you your new role model: Kamahl. He's of Tamil Indian heritage, and a little bit Tom Jones and a little bit Barry White.



    FOCUS: I was born in New Zealand, of 1/4 English, 1/4 Australia, 1/2 who the fuck knows. I don't generally suit the New Zealand demeanour. A lot of people would say I fit being an Aussie, and can't believe I'm not born and bred here. I think I fit here better than anywhere else, but I don't particularly fit in anywhere particularly well.
     
    #14 Disgustipated, Mar 14, 2011
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  15. Nom Chompsky

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    Honorary TiBette

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    #15 Nom Chompsky, Mar 14, 2011
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  16. Racer-X

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    I'm a Texan. I grew up in far west Texas so I don't have much of an accent though I can fake it well enough to fool just about anybody.

    My background is a fairly typical American mix of English, Irish, Polish and not quite enough Native American to get me any college scholarships.
    If I was going to be another nationality I think I'd like to be Australian. I've visited a couple of times and the people are a pretty good mix of the outgoing friendliness of Americans and the manners of the English. Also, the accent is almost as good as us Texans.
     
  17. TX.

    TX.
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    FOCUS: What is your nationality, and, if you could not be that, what nationality would you want to be, and why?

    American. My grandpa was the first generation born in the States.

    If I weren't American I'd like to be Dutch or German. I have several friends from the Netherlands and Germany, and they're all really awesome people. Plus, the cultures are pretty cool, and who doesn't like lederhosen?
     
  18. Juice

    Juice
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    Moderately Gender Fluid

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    I'm 3rd-generation American, with Polish (25%), Italian (25%), and Irish (50%) heritage. I grew up speaking Polish and Italian as second languages as my father speaks both due his parents and grandparents. although I can't speak either as well I used too.

    If I could be from any other nation besides the states, it would be Australia. I went there once and I really enjoyed the people and the culture I encountered. I love the fact that the continent is isolated from others and feel like it would an amazing place to live.
     
  19. Rush-O-Matic

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    American by birth, Southern by the grace of God.

    Yeehaw.
     
  20. Luke 217

    Luke 217
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    Disturbed

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    If I could live anywhere I'd pick the middle east. It'd be great not to get dirty looks anymore when I tell Jew jokes.

    Other upsides to this plan:
    I dig hummus
    I can finally get some work done on my tan
    I can tell the Fiance to shut the fuck up, and she has to.
    I can totally change my name to something cool, like Yusaf Islam, or Gary. Something hasidic sounding. Maybe not Gary then.
    I can finally see this Garden of Eden that all these Christians are talking about. It must be magnificent.
    They got a bunch of Korans over there, so I'm sure there will be plenty of green grocers. Looking forward to fresh pomegranates and pears.
    I'm guessing the dollar is strong to,,to,,,,, whatever mish mash currency they have over there. What is it? Shekels? Darics? Goats?
    I'm great at making sandcastles. So there's that.
    I'll save tons of money on clothes. I'll just shop at Pizza Hut and Bed Bath and Beyond. Table cloths and bedsheets can't be that expensive. Can they? (note to self. Check prices on table cloths and bedsheets)
    I'll open a Salon that the Fiance can run. Have you seen Indian porn? Those ladies over there are in serious need of a waxing. Oh yeah, Market Cornered bitches.
    I've always wanted to fire an Kalashnikov up in the air while screaming something incomprehensible. I can't think of a more acceptable place to do this.
    I guessing that you don't have to negotiate vacation time with your boss over there right? Automatic two weeks built in for the annual trip to Mecca right? Mecca's like our Las Vegas right? I wonder who their version of Wayne Newton and Penn Gillette is?
    I'm already pro capitol punishment. So, no need to change my thought process on that one.
    I currently have a hankering for a falafel and shwarma plate. Fifty fifty chicken, and steak,,, that's how I usually roll.


    Goddamn, the transition would be seamless.