I think the reason it's so prevalent here in the US is because the vast majority of the population ended up here at least in part due to immigration. So identifying as ethnically originating from elsewhere is a part of that self identity.

The disparity however, is knowing that while traveling through Europe, this style of self identification falls flat because simply being ethnically from a place doesn't mean you can claim to be born and raised from there. And that meaning is what's different between the US and Europe.

[–] LilB0kChoy@midwest.social 3 points 1 day ago* (last edited 23 hours ago) (1 children)

I wonder if some of it doesn't come from the people who came to America through forced immigration (I.e. the slave trade).

I think it makes sense for people brought unwillingly to America to hold on to that ethnic heritage and culture work hard to instill it in their children, even if they were born in America.

[–] zaphod@sopuli.xyz 5 points 22 hours ago (1 children)

Very unlikely, the people who claim to have some european origin are generally not the descendants of slaves. Descendants of slaves generally have very little knowledge about the origin of their ancestors. Slaves in America came mostly from Africa, most likely even displaced within Africa. Very little records were kept of individual slaves origins, because why would anyone do that, they're slaves. These people identify as "just" African Americans.

[–] LilB0kChoy@midwest.social 1 points 22 hours ago (1 children)

I think you misunderstood. I wasn't talking about the people who claim to have some European origin but the practice in general in the US of acknowledging ancestral ethnic heritage as part of where you're from.

Descendants of slaves generally have very little knowledge about the origin of their ancestors.

This might be true now, but 200 years ago people were brought here from other countries unwillingly and had children here. If we're were forcefully taken to another country and then had children at some point I would talk to them about the people left behind and where I came from.

[–] Soup@lemmy.world 1 points 7 hours ago

If we're were forcefully taken to another country and then had children at some point I would talk to them about the people left behind and where I came from.

That’s not how that works, especially when their cultures were specifically purged by the slavers. Your comment reads like the equivalent of saying “I would have just roundhouse kicked the gun away and saved the day” as if it’s the slaves’ fault for not giving their kids rich lessons on their history. It’s amazing that even some of it survived at all.