Mzungu mchagga
aimless wanderer
How important are national/ethnic looks to you?
Use the poll above and please comment where appropriate!
Use the poll above and please comment where appropriate!
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Cultural differences have big importance, large number of cultural differences in a society a direct way to trouble.
National & ethnic difference not so much important, i think it's good to be ethnically diverse. Ideally, to have basically monocultural society with wide mixing of minorities.
How do you define "ethnicity"? Is it genetic, racial or cultural?
If you take the latter, is a mono-culture comprised of many ethnicities possible?
Genetic don't looks much important for me, especially if it is European DNA groups. R1a or R1b? LOL who cares
Tsar Nicholas II mainly had R1b DNA but was a pan-slavist. Or for example Volga Germans, for me will be almost impossible to find differences from traditional Russians. I give to genetic aspect 10% of importance.
"Racial aspect" I think it play some role when racial differences catch the eye strongly (black & white people). Each person has programmed racial (white skin people for example) preferences inside by nature, there is nothing to do with it. So it around 20% of importance.
And third, the cultural differences. I think it's the most important and give to it 70% because culture determines human lifestyle. The biggest hatred between people growing from cultural differences, so blurring of these differences and cultural assimilation is very important for the state stability and prosperity. The more differences the greater the unreliability.
America is living example, Russia is living example, Australia is living example... Absolute 100% common culture is hardly possible to create but possible to construct a common add-in like in Russia. Also need to know the sense of limit. You can not swallow more than you can digest. Americans imported slaves from sub-Saharan Africa, now they still have some problems with black population in statistics of crime. Why that so? That's because these people came in too big numbers & were too much different culturally from European culture.
If I not mistaking Slavic DNA is basically R1a. So that kinda funny, Nicholas II was panslavist but did not even genetically related to this group .Is somebody with haplogroup R1b excluded from being a slav?
The European royal families often mixed with each other for the sake of political benefit, so that not surprising that Nicholas II and his family had mainly R1b DNA.Or if his autosomal DNA clusters more with Western Europe or Central Asia?
What about a black American who doesn't "act black" and doesn't associate himself with black culture?
Yes, but America have not much traditional culture. I see only rich mass-commercial culture: lady Gaga, McDonalds, Pepsi, Burger King & Baseball ...Yet it is easier in the USA to be accepted as an American, as the country is based on immigration and practically everyone can become American.
It is somewhat more difficult in the former colonial countries of Europe. A black person will have slightly more difficulties in assimilating into these countries, as he doesn't share the same history of Anglo-Saxons, Celts, Iberians etc... However, there is still a good chance of being accepted as a good Englishman, Frenchman, Spaniard as national identity is also based on confession to the British Crown and Parliament, French or Spanish Culture.
Black people simply very exotic in Russia, that's why they always will look "alien", Russia had not colonies in Africa. But in second-third generation descendants of that man will look like a white persons already :grin:A black person will never, never, never be accepted as a Russian, as the identity of Russians is on a much higher rate based on blood-line. And an African would be too far away from that blood-line.
On the place of Germany I would tried to "Germanise" all Turks which immigrated to Germany since 60s, to fully assimilation.Germany is on an intermediate position between Western post-colonial countries and Russia. Traditional German identity is based on blood, too, but only recently in the last decades, due to high immigration, things started to turn around a little.
No, USA, Russia and Australia is not totally mono-cultural of course, but such big countries can exist only if they have common culture as "common second floor for everyone" through unified system of education, common language for conversation etc... In America also probably play a role their "commercial" culture, basic laws of constitution; in Russia it's simply long history of coexistence and mentality probably, about Australia don't know.Would you describe the USA, Russia or Australia as mono-cultures? I mean you are contradicting yourself when you say that ethnicity equals culture, but on the other hand the ideal nation is a mono-culture comprised of many highly diverse ethnicities. .
Mono-culture is a uniform society:What do you mean with mono-culture? Is mono-culture a culture with a blend of cultures in every person (the melting-pot so to say), or is it a culture of many seperated sub-cultures (the salad-bowl).
I don't care at all. I make contact very easy with people from all over the world I come across. Contacts through internet, on forums (fora) like this are much more complicated.
What interests me most is the stories that people can tell. Their talents.
It's a pity I often see a struggle between religion and freedom.
Also a struggle between political propaganda and freedom.
Well.. I like a woman with a pretty face, and a smile.
But she has to be intellectually challenging.
I am married with one like that.
I totally agree with you, my friend! If all people thought like you, this would be a better world, for sure!
Anyhow peoples around the world are in constant evolution, the concept of "nationality" is a human invention. No one can be defined "pure" in a national way, it is ridicolous. We live in an open world, nowdays it is no sense talking about boaders. The importance of meeting other cultures (this is the best way to think about differences!) and to know other point of views is something that make all us so rich in an intellectual sense. That's why I'm in this forum, I want to compare my heritage with other people from different backgrounds. So we shouldn't give so much important to the "ethnic look". As Reinaert says, just in case of a woman with a pretty face, a smile and a clever brain! Eheh!
An interesting question would be, democratically speaking in regards to the concept of nationality - would you allow a people to ceced from a nation if they overwhelmingly voted for it ( say over 85%) .....example, would you let piedmont secede to form its own nation or would you support the Italian army to smash these people and keep them under Italy. The answer will dictate if someone is truly democratic or not.
Might be interesting to see peoples opinion on this
Mono-culture is a uniform society:
standardized education
standardized language
standardized values
standardized laws
standardized code of conduct
standardized historical heroes
standardized traditions
standardized religion or lack of it
standardized ideology
standardized ...
More united things = better, but impossible to have everything united. Deviations are possible, but rod should be shared.
"Multiculturalism" have a right on existing in sense that minorities build a common culture or attached to one of "basic" nation. "Multiculturalism" where everything is different and everyone for themselves is utopia, united state simply can't exist in such terms.
@Anton
I agree with you on most points!
I wouldn't see the USA as less cultured than other European countries. Mass-production and commercial culture is -as the name already says- also culture and has it's roots in business-minded Calvinist/Baptist/Puritan thoughts, which got started in Europe and were further developed in America.
I've been to the US three times as a teen, and I experienced a lot more culture than what I've ever seen in Germany. Even though a lot was commercialized (e.g. Thanksgiving, Halloween, Prom-Night, Rodeos, Sportgames, Fast Food diners), Germany doesn't even have a distinct culture as such. The reason is also partly strategical deconstruction of German culture after WWII due to it's bad reputation.
Back to the main question, which was what is ethnicity?
You said, ethnicity is comprised of 10% DNA, 20% race and 70% culture. Well, I don't walk around with a mobile laboratory, cranial ruler and nursery rhyme questionaire when asking about the ethnicity of my conversation partner.
Last year we had an incident on German media when a woman from East Germany got a job refusal in West Germany because of her origin and wanted to sue the potential employer of 'ethnic discrimination', which would mean after 40 years of division East Germans have become an own ethnicity. Some posters in this forum would argue that she would still belong to a distinct German ethnicity, if her father carries haplogroup R1b or R1a or I1. My (German) dictionary says, an ethnicity is a group of people in which a certain culture is practiced in... mmh
It get's even more confusing when the same people start to loose their own consistency. I always remember Samual Huntington with his book "The Clash of Cultures" in which he devided the World cultures into "Western Culture", "Islamic Culture", "Japanese Culture" or "African Culture" etc.... It would be like saying:
He is black, has thick lips and curly hair ---> therefore he is of African ethnicity
He looks Asian and speaks Japanese ---> therefore he is of Japanese ethnicity
He believes in Allah and is darker skinned ---> therefore he is of Arab ethnicity
He has Ashkenazi ancestors and haplogroup J1 ---> therefore he is of Jewish ethnicity
He was born and raised in Brazil and speaks Portuguese ---> therefore he is of LatAm ethnicity
As you can see, all those comparisons make no sense and it's like asking for apples and getting pears as reply.
My own conclusion is that most people have their very own constructions and categorize people after many criteria. These are partly conscious, partly unconscious emotional and kognitive constructs to simplify the vast flood of imformation we are receiving daily. If these categories apply to a huge number of people, like groups of populations, we simply call them: ethnicities!
have ever abroad germany?
THAT IS SOMETHINK YOU NEVER LIVE WITH OUT ETHNICITY
the laws of our father
No ethnicity it is like Munchen October fest with cola and burgers
no beer no wurst
they even make tourism an industry and many times I travel with agency I wonder if I really met the other people;s ethnicity,
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