#Ich mein was meinst du mit 'I'm German'

[queen-of-wisdom]

As a European (German), it kinda feels strange when someone claims to be German when it's just...blood. When you have no living family from here, no cultural ties, then no, most people here, in Europe, wouldn't consider you German/Irish/Italian etc.

I can't speak for other countries or even for other Germans but I think to wich country you 'belong' doesn't define the place you were born or where you're parents are from. It's where you're defining culture is from, what culture is yours.

My father is Polish (refugee) , my mother is from Indonesia (just here for a better life lmao) . Does that mean that I am Polish? Does that mean that I am Indonesian? Both no.

I'm a German with Polish & Indonesian cultural influences and background but I am neither Polish nor Indonesian. Because I didn't grew up in neither of those countries. I can't speak their languages. I don't know any Polish fairytales or how to make nasi goreng.

But that's okay. Because although I grew up eating pirogie and listining to Indonesian lullabies, I live in Germany. I ate center shocks, watched KiKa before going to bed and sang Helene Fischer songs at parties.

So yes, even though both of my parents are from another countries doesn't mean that I am from them, that I'm a part of them. Because I'm not and it would be ignorant to say so.

I don't know what part of my lizard brain is triggered when USamericans say such things but it just feels...weird. Like, you say you're German but what does that even mean?

Could you communicate in 'your' language? What channel did you watch as a kid? KiKa, Toggo, RTL? What's your favorite center shock? Gebrüder Grimm? Merkel-Ferkel? Lochis? What's your family story of the Mauerfall? Wir Kinder vom Bahnhof Zoo? Are you a Ossi or a Wessi? Aldi Süd or Aldi Nord? Mark Forster? Guuuu-ten Moooo-rrrr-gen Frau/Herr...? Struwelpeter? Rezo, der alte Zerstörer?

When none of those words tell you anything, then this would mean that you don't know ANYTHING about Germany since WW2 (I tried to include some history as well as new and old culture, so if there's anything big left, tell me!). And when that's the case, what is even the point in exclaiming that you're 'it'?

Something I’ve seen a lot recently is other countries (mainly European) dunking on Americans for saying they’re “Irish” or “German” or whatever and saying “you’re not X nationality, you’re American”. But the thing they don’t realize is that for an American, it’s the same thing. Since America was made of mostly immigrants (save for the native population whose land we stole). When we say “I’m Irish/German/etc��, we’re saying that’s our ethnicity, not our nationality. Cuz save for native Americans, being “American” itself isn’t an ethnicity.

Idk, it just annoys me when someone says “oh you’re not X” when like. Literally most of my ancestry is, and the only reason I live here is cuz they needed to escape British genocide