My ethnic background is Caucasian, three fourths Norwegian and one forth German. My dad’s parents are one hundred percent Norwegian and lived in Glenwood, MN their entire lives. My grandpa’s parents were from Norway; he came to America first and she followed later with the children. She was supposed to be on the titanic, but thankfully one of the children was ill. I don’t know much about my grandma’s parents, but they were also from Norway.
My mom’s father was one hundred percent Norwegian and my mom’s mother was one hundred percent German and spoke German as a young girl in the United States. My mother’s parents lived in River Falls, WI for most of their lives.
My mother’s side has been Catholics for many generations and my father’s side has been Lutherans. I was exposed to both religions growing up.
I don’t feel my ethnic background has influenced me; I had to ask my parents about the information above since I was somewhat unaware of my ethnic background. This fact is embarrassing to me. I think it’s shameful that I am the age that I am and wasn’t certain of what my relatives were and therefore what it makes me. However, at the same time I think it’s a good thing. Although I know it’s important to know where we came from, I think it’s more important to move on from such details and labels. I look at a person and I don’t see an ethnicity, I see a human being. I think that’s all that a person needs to see and to love one another because we all may have come from different backgrounds, but we’re all headed in the same direction together (hopefully, working together for a common good).
Rather than my ethnic background, I think, what has influenced me more is the family that I was raised in, the place I was born and grew up, the teachers I had throughout my entire education, and the community I was a part of. The biggest influence on my life has been the fact I was born to parents who worked hard to provide a stable and healthy environment for me. I didn’t know anything about drugs, hunger, or fear as a child. My parents were both teachers and instilled in me the importance of education. I grew up in a neighborhood that was like a big family that included everyone and judged no one.
I’m afraid that this may be a an ignorant statement, but the truth is that I think people are generally unaware of my ethnic background, especially because I live in a community made up of primarily Caucasian people. However, I think if I was a minority in a primarily Hispanic or African American community, people would be more aware of my ethnicity. I want to know what you guys think about the importance of knowing your own ethnicity and if it’s something you think about when meeting someone new.
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Knowing your own ethnicity, is good for knowing your history heritage and culture. It isn't all important but it gives you a background and knowing helps understanding it's importance and having a ties to you own ethnicity can help you developing an interest in understanding other cultures.
ReplyDeleteI hate to say this, but where I was raised and where I went to school, Racism was a big factor. I do admit that I was very racist throughout high school. When I meet someone new, I don't think what ethnicity they are exactly as I already have an opinion about them by the way they look. Now I am doing better and growing out of this bad habit. It did not help that we did not have any African Americans, Asians, or Mexican’s in my school. Breaking out into the world has opened my eyes. Now I have many friends of different races and ethnicities.
ReplyDeleteI think knowing your ethnicity is another thing that strengthens family ties. I love how tight-knit the families are when they first come to America, be it 50 years ago or in the last decade. I don't often think about someone's ethnicity when I meet them unless they have a unique name. In that case, I usually inquire about when the time is right because I love learning about other cultures.
ReplyDeleteTo me, knowing my own ethnicity has become important after I started studying in the US because it's been a big finding that I see so many different cultural norms depending on ethnicity. Before, I didn't think of it at all, but now I've come to be pround of my country and want to cherish it.
ReplyDeleteWhen meeting someone new, I don't think their ethnicity is all about them, but I still ask them where they are from if they don't mind. That's because I think ethnicity is a part of who they are and I enjoy learning their culture. At the same time, I always try not to think it's not all about them and try to see the individuals.
I think knowing your ethnicity is important and it also is very interesting. Finding out where you came from and what your family is all about is pretty cool. I dont really think about it when meeting a new person, I mostly think about the person and their personality first and then worry about the other stuff later. Though ethnicity is never a issue to me, if someone is completely different from you it will at some point be brought up!
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