Do you feel nowadays with the large influx of immigrants to our great country that a lot of citizens are ashamed of where they come from? They want to cut all ties from their cultural roots in order to fit in better or are ashamed of the the stereotypes that their ethnicity presents? I do realize that obviously not all are like this but are even cases where some immigrants will lie about even being born here?
Ethnic Heritage and Culture
- Thread starter EntertainmentMan2000
- Start date
"Ashamed?" I don't think that is the right word. It is healthy for immigrants to leave behind all the ethnic strifes and other BS and become Canadians. It is not healthy to wallow in the past. They came here to start a new life and it's great that they think of temselves as Canadians. They should be encnouraged in that!
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Hmm, while I don't doubt that there are people like this, my observation is almost 180 degrees the opposite that many immigrants want to hold onto their Ethnic Heritage and Culture so much so that it is almost to the exclusion of becoming a Canadian, Briton, or American.
None of the above is to say that one shouldn't retain a pride and knowledge of their background, or that being able to speak an ancestral language isn't a positive.
Somewhat related to this: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...le-understand-basic-instructions-English.html
I don't watch soccer but every time there is a World Cup you see Canadians from various ethnic backgrounds waving flags of countries other than Canada. What does that tell you?
Canada is a nice currently functioning almagamation. But one wonders if its heart and soul is a unified one.
Canada is a nice currently functioning almagamation. But one wonders if its heart and soul is a unified one.
Don't even ask that question, if it is a soccer game. (We are excused, I think, because Canada never will have a world class team)
To the issue of integration, holding on to old tradition, I must remind you, that the honourable minister of immigration wrote the following to me:
You have chosen to make Canada your new home and in doing so have enriched our nation with your energies , talents and cultural traditions.
I do think that it is important to enrich ones self in Canadian talents and traditions..but one should not have to lie about where they come from in order to make themselves feel more "Canadian"
Have you personally encountered anyone who feel ashamed of their ethnic origin? I ask because this has never occurred yet in my personal experience.
There is a significant difference between the above, and second generation immigrants not being fluent in either English or French (or both) or not placing Canadian (or a Province) as their first source of identity and loyalty.
I know my great grandfather did this (and a few lied about their religion - no one wanted Irish Catholics). It wasn't shame but an attempt to fit in and get work. I would hope it's not needed now but comments I've seen seem to suggest otherwise.
I have known a few people that chose to claim ethnicity on their mothers side or fathers side of the family because they were ashamed of the other half. The worse case I know of a person ashamed of his background is a polish guy. He has an unusual last name, when asked about the origins he would claim it was French ( from France - not Quebec ) I know for a fact that he is Polish. When he would drink he would get loud and put down Polish people and call them low class uneducated drunks.
Would I be correct in presuming that there was a background of domestic violence in his childhood?
There is a reason that some people do not identify strongly with Canada. Canada is not a natural ethnic country. It was created by drawing lines on a map, instead of through history as an ethnic homeland for a people, like the way sweden, switzeland, france and most other countries that have a strong ethnioc identity. Canada, Iraq, and Belgium and some other countries are conglomerates.
What I disagree with is immigrants who bring their illegal and misogynistic rituals to Canada and still intend to live the same way they did in their original homeland. A prime example of this is honour killings of female relatives. This enrages me and should be automatically investigated by anyone attempting to immigrate to a western country.
)I can not tell you that there was domestic violence in his childhood, but I can tell you that he inflicted violence on his children. This can be an indication that he too was a victim of domestic violence.
This guy has also made claims that he was descended from nobility, he was a lower manager of a department in his company. He would also make disparaging remarks about people that had money or were better off than he was. There were many signs of self loathing with this guy.
