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Reading through the "Royal Blood" thread it is refreshing to see honesty and differing opinion handled with such respect and care...what a great bunch of people we have !

It's got me thinking though, it seems that "WE" , as individuals, truly are what we choose to be. I mean, it really is a state of mind. I have seen people catagorize themselves by nation of birth, ancestry and DNA evidence...all valid, but all a personal CHOICE.

If I choose to clasify myself by country of origin, then I am an American from the Southwestern United States. If I choose my recent ancestors, then I am an Alteno, specifically from San Jose De Bazarte, in Los Altos...if I choose to go back a couple generations, then I am Asturiano, from Sama in Asturias, Espana.

What about DNA evidence ? My group E-V13 originated in Anatolia, then spread to northern Greece and the rest of the Balkans, should I then call myself a Thracian or Dacian ? Perhaps Pelagasian or Phrygian ? It boils down to choice, we are free to choose...all are valid choices, each one is a truth unto itself. I suppose we should rejoice that we a free to choose and BE what ever we want to be, even if it is as simple as "I am my fathers son".

Robert~

Re: "It boils down to choice, we are free to choose...all are valid choices, each one is a truth unto itself. I suppose we should rejoice that we a free to choose and BE what ever we want to be, even if it is as simple as "I am my fathers son"."

I agree with you for the most part. I also appreciated the thoughts of others regarding "being Mexican" or "being New Mexican." Good stories, all of them.

It reminds me of the book "The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse" by Vicente Blasco Ibanez, which had much to do with the same themes: immigrants, the stories of their struggles, their travel back to Europe, and their psychological identity problems with "mother" countries. (The book was originally in Spanish, "Los cuatro jinetes del apocalipsis."). The main character's family was originally French but wound up in Argentina, where they did very well and prospered. The main character eventually went back to France (long story) but his timing was bad: beginning of World War I. To make a long story short, he died a soldier in that gruesome war even though he hardly thought of himself as a French man, and a French soldier even less.

The family of the above dead soldier was beyond grief. Why did they go back to France? This was not their country. The family lost their only male heir. Horrible. The conclusion that the author made (or maybe it was me, as I read it) was that your country is where you raise children.

Yes, it is a state of mind, I suppose, but the Vicente Blasco Ibanez book suggests another possible way of looking at it. I was born in the US, as were my parents. I have traveled to Mexico (grandparents homeland) and Spain (Asturias/Basque homelands). My children were born and raised in America. I am an American.

Ed

I agree with you Ed, we need to stop identifying with our ancestors countries; that was them and

we are our own person. yes, my parents are from Mexico, I am not mexican I am "American" (from the US)

I was born in the US. We need to identify with our race instead of nationalities, which make things complicated.

I always hear something like "oh hes mexican and shes white" This does not make sense. Mexican is a nationality

not a race; mexicans can be of any race. I think the Mexican Government has been supressing european culture

and brainwashing people into believeing we are all mestizo. We need to recoginize Mexico is a nation where

all different types of cultures live together. Im not saying forget where your ancestors came from but rather

like Ed said we are where we are raised or born. I identify as a white american of Mexican descent. People should

label themselves like that instead of saying im German, Irish, Italian, Mexican, Colombian etc. It creates a

social issue like the terms: hispanic and latino. Instead of labeling Spanish speaking americans by their

race they just lump everyone together so they wont have to deal with it. Then Hispanic is treated as a race.

My two cents

Daniel

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The one thing that genealogical research should teach is that the farther back one goes the less important national identity, ethnicity and even race becomes.

I became interested in researching my family's ancestry not because I wanted to claim some illustrious ancestor as my own. That serves only a selfish purpose. To find ones forebears is to give them honor through remembrance. Who cares if they were white, black or brown; European, Asian, Amerindian or African; king, prince, or grandee. By bringing back their name and their story, we return to them their humanity.
------Original Message------
From: Daniel Mendez de Camino y Soto
Sender: general-bounces@lists.nuestrosranchos.org
To: general@nuestrosranchos.org
ReplyTo: general@nuestrosranchos.org
Subject: Re: [Nuestros Ranchos] State of Mind?
Sent: Dec 4, 2009 8:11 PM

I agree with you Ed, we need to stop identifying with our ancestors countries; that was them and

we are our own person. yes, my parents are from Mexico, I am not mexican I am "American" (from the US)

I was born in the US. We need to identify with our race instead of nationalities, which make things complicated.

I always hear something like "oh hes mexican and shes white" This does not make sense. Mexican is a nationality

not a race; mexicans can be of any race. I think the Mexican Government has been supressing european culture

and brainwashing people into believeing we are all mestizo. We need to recoginize Mexico is a nation where

all different types of cultures live together. Im not saying forget where your ancestors came from but rather

like Ed said we are where we are raised or born. I identify as a white american of Mexican descent. People should

label themselves like that instead of saying im German, Irish, Italian, Mexican, Colombian etc. It creates a

social issue like the terms: hispanic and latino. Instead of labeling Spanish speaking americans by their

race they just lump everyone together so they wont have to deal with it. Then Hispanic is treated as a race.

My two cents

Daniel

_________________________________________________________________
Windows Live Hotmail gives you a free,exclusive gift.
http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windowslive/hotmail_bl1/hotmail_bl1.as…

ripped65@aol.com is right. I do my ancestor Family Tree research so that their memory won't die when I do.

Jose Carlos de Leon

EMAILING FOR THE GREATER GOOD
Join me

> To: general@nuestrosranchos.org
> From: ripped65@aol.com
> Date: Sat, 5 Dec 2009 02:28:03 +0000
> Subject: Re: [Nuestros Ranchos] State of Mind?

I agree. I once heard it said that no one really dies until the last person who knew their name dies, so our genealogy work passes that knowledge to future generations after we are gone.

Emilie
Port Orchard, WA
----- Original Message -----
From: Jose Carlos de Leon
To: general@nuestrosranchos.org
Sent: Friday, December 04, 2009 8:39 PM
Subject: Re: [Nuestros Ranchos] State of Mind?

ripped65@aol.com is right. I do my ancestor Family Tree research so that their memory won't die when I do.

Jose Carlos de Leon

EMAILING FOR THE GREATER GOOD
Join me

> To: general@nuestrosranchos.org
> From: ripped65@aol.com
> Date: Sat, 5 Dec 2009 02:28:03 +0000
> Subject: Re: [Nuestros Ranchos] State of Mind?

You're absolutely right, and spoken like a well-informed person living in the present, with only a desire to honor your ancestors, not live vicariously through them.
Unfortunately, in this day and age, the archaic idea of "limpieza de sangre" and its erroneous precepts still matter very much to many in this world. Whereas in reality, hybrid vigor is proven to be advantageous!
Alice BB

--- ripped65@aol.com wrote:

From: ripped65@aol.com
To: general@nuestrosranchos.org
Subject: Re: [Nuestros Ranchos] State of Mind?
Date: Sat, 5 Dec 2009 02:28:03 +0000

The one thing that genealogical research should teach is that the farther back one goes the less important national identity, ethnicity and even race becomes.

I became interested in researching my family's ancestry not because I wanted to claim some illustrious ancestor as my own. That serves only a selfish purpose. To find ones forebears is to give them honor through remembrance. Who cares if they were white, black or brown; European, Asian, Amerindian or African; king, prince, or grandee. By bringing back their name and their story, we return to them their humanity.
------Original Message------
From: Daniel Mendez de Camino y Soto
Sender: general-bounces@lists.nuestrosranchos.org
To: general@nuestrosranchos.org
ReplyTo: general@nuestrosranchos.org
Subject: Re: [Nuestros Ranchos] State of Mind?
Sent: Dec 4, 2009 8:11 PM

I agree with you Ed, we need to stop identifying with our ancestors countries; that was them and

we are our own person. yes, my parents are from Mexico, I am not mexican I am "American" (from the US)

I was born in the US. We need to identify with our race instead of nationalities, which make things complicated.

I always hear something like "oh hes mexican and shes white" This does not make sense. Mexican is a nationality

not a race; mexicans can be of any race. I think the Mexican Government has been supressing european culture

and brainwashing people into believeing we are all mestizo. We need to recoginize Mexico is a nation where

all different types of cultures live together. Im not saying forget where your ancestors came from but rather

like Ed said we are where we are raised or born. I identify as a white american of Mexican descent. People should

label themselves like that instead of saying im German, Irish, Italian, Mexican, Colombian etc. It creates a

social issue like the terms: hispanic and latino. Instead of labeling Spanish speaking americans by their

race they just lump everyone together so they wont have to deal with it. Then Hispanic is treated as a race.

My two cents

Daniel

_________________________________________________________________
Windows Live Hotmail gives you a free,exclusive gift.
http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windowslive/hotmail_bl1/hotmail_bl1.as…

History, Culture and General Discussion