Polish, American, Polish-American - what am I to you?

This is a subject that crosses my mind every now and then. I'm American born 75% Polish blooded. The other 25% is split up from other slavic countries. Most of my greatgrand parents were the Polish immigrants. And my grandparents are fluent with the language, while I only know few words and phrases.

So what am I considered to everyone living in Poland, or ones who are Polish born? Am I a Polish men, Polish-American, Polish decent, or just an American. Our family keeps Polish traditions on holidays. I'm told by others I have the Polish looks. I am recognized as being Polish by people in daily life when they here my last name, Libertowski.

All comments are welcome.

LMAO I find it so absurd and ridiculous when amercians attmept to define themselves by sectioning their alleged ethnicities into percentages. How do you know for certain you are 75% polish have you taking a dna test or have you mearly guessed this. even all poles would have mixed ethnicities like all other european nations. europeans have had their genes spread throught europea for hundreds of years. scientifically I have never heard of polish blood, has there been a groundbreaking scientific development or discovery that their is another type of blood, is polish blood purple or something I personally am O -

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dude, it is a figure of speech, not allways in a literal sense.


2 of my gp's are 100% or in your terms, full polish. my other 2 are half, both having 1 parent from Poland. Do the math. OF 8 greatgrandparents 6 are FROM POLAND. "I know this, because tyler knows this''. 6/8 divide by 2 = ? aaaa............uummmmmm......hmmmm.....lets see 3/4? and 3/4 into percentage can only be equal to? yeah 75% See that? Just like 3rd grade again. 5+5=????????10, very good

that wasnt quite the help I was looking for
NEXT PLEASE! ;-0

Hi JJ,

I was born in London England and have lived here all my life, but my parents, grandparents and great grandparents were born in Poland - I have always considered myself a Pole who was born in England ........ my family here in England maintains Polish traditions and also speaks the language; my surname is Polish and since childhood I have been recognised as a Polak :o)

Although I speak English better now than Polish, I still see myself more Polish than English in many respects - I believe this has much to do with my upbringing.

I am proud of my Polish background, and have supported the Polish national team in all sports ever since I can remember ..... in 1973 I was at Wembley with my grandfather and older brother cheering on Poland as they knocked England out of the World Cup qualifiers ! ..... and more recently have had to endure Poland lose to England in meetings between the two countries on English soil and in World Cup matches:o(

I suppose I could be referred to as an AngloPol, hence my choosing the nickname Polanglik for this forum -

As for the type of blood I have running through my veins ...... it's 100% Polish .... red and white :o)


I think what's important is how you see yourself ? ........ do you feel more American .... or more Polish ? Although as most in America are immigrants and have their roots in another country, I suppose you'd class yourself as Polish-American ?

dont let the troll bother ya.. its ok to say this because we all come from different
regions of the planet, and then our families mix and so people with larger IQ's
would know this and you wouldnt have to explain yourself..

you know what they say about small IQ"S and small Richards... eventually
it learns to grow :)) lmao...

I would say your leaning more to Polish American..

hey thanks Polanglik and Patrycja19, that is the way I basically feel, but how about other people born in Poland? am I recognized as a fellow Polishmen? I've met some people from the country and most seem to feel a bit of connection, but some don't. At the same time my brother has Ukrainian freinds and they think of us as Polish. Any thoughts?

Sure you are.

From a Polish standpoint, if you are mostly of Polish descent, born in a foreign country, but speak Polish, you will be viewed as Polish. If you are of Polish descent, born in a foreign country and don't speak Polish, you will be viewed as (in this case) an American of Polish descent. So you see, it all hinges on the language.

One fact that maybe Polish are not aware of, if your name is "ski' in USA most refer to you as Polish. It really does not matter what you speak. Many of the Polish that were born here after "Communist Poland" was born, have lived in another country that segregates them into this "Polish" grouping. To put it bluntly, we are not considered American and now that Poland is free it hurts to hear Poland say we are not Polish. I don't care if a person is deaf, dumb, and blind, it's what is your blood.

My Gradfather was born in Rzym, Polska yet my father and aunts were eastern Poland (now Ukraine) are we Ukrainian or Polish?

blood does not your nationality make

This is where you are wrong, dna is your past and your future. Why else can you explain the pull for children born in another country to there homeland?

thats actually where you are wrong

my blood isnt english, but i am - when i go to the country my blood is from i know i am different, my values are different, the way perceive things is different, the way i approach things are different because i was born and raised somewhere different.

the society you were born and raised in is what moulds you into the person you are... not the blood that happens to course thru your veins. people's pull to their homeland is a natural desire for something they think they have lost... most often seen amongst americans who more often than not get laughed at when they go back to their 'motherland' and try to be a local

I went to the Doctor last week and he said my Alcohol had 2% Blood in it...wtf?

talk to your barman... he'll tell you where your home really is

Now that's a proof that you're 100% Polish. lol

lmao Sledz... ya kook.. that must be some heavy motherland party you went to!!

he went to the motherland and found the motherload.. lmao.


you are right.. blood is blood and we all have it in our veins..
but she is right too cause they are linking DNA to certain areas of the world and
migration /tribes of people.. its science.. we didnt make this up its part of a ongoing
learning..

our ethnic background as far as we know is Polish..before that Cavewomen.. lol

Look at the studies with twins that are raised in differant area's and households, they come together and still are very much the same.

but originally your blood came from england anyway, no?

well, thats open for debate. if you consider england to be the whe whole of the british isles, which to all intent and purpose it is, then yes, it could be argued that my blood as well as my nationality is english. if, however, you believe that england should be divided to include the lesser counties of ireland, scotland and wales then no, my blood is not english... but i am... by the grace of good... although i am thinking of converting to islam allahu akbar

Are you really? If you're serious, then please let us know why and what led you to this decision. I AM NOT KNOKING YOUR CHOISE. I am just interested to know why and how.

Thx, Bubba!

duerinck.com/migrate.html

Bubba, read about chedder man :) hes a Briton I tell ya. :)

Bubba does LOVE cheese;)

lol ranj.. I seen that and had to post it.. reading about genetics ...

maybe he is decendant of chedder man..lol

This is silly. If you look at it in terms of bloodline descent we're all originally African, anyway. :P

I would define someone's nationality as a function of how they grew up - what culture they were most affected by. So if someone grows up in America, raised by Polish parents, eating Polish food, and speaking Polish, then I'd call them Polish. However, if they're more influenced by American culture, and speak English, then they're American.

The issue in America is that it has such a short history, and a lot of people find it romantic to consider themselves as belonging to a European country, when really, the way they act, speak and think is thoroughly American. Just because you eat kielbasa for breakfast and know dziekuje and kurwa from your Polish parents doesn't make you Polish.

everyone has to have ethnic background of some sort.. some will be mixed
and if people want to identify with it whats the problem?? its truth not lies..
it isnt like they are taking anything from anyone they own the right. whats the
big deal to make people feel like they dont belong..

our history is Polish.. not african.. asian.. although I know that they migrated
from Africa some time or another.. my KNOWN family roots are all from Polish decent.
and therefore I am 2nd generation American of polish decent ..

PS I dont eat Kielbasa for breakfast.. we eat eggs and oatmeal and fruit and tea..what
ever sounds good at the moment.

I agree, and it's certainly a lot more genuine than some white kid of English/Polish/Irish/whatever decent going around saying "wassup bredrin, safe blud" in some kind of ridiculous sub-Jamaican accent when they've never been outside the M25, never mind dared step into a Kingston slum.

And I don't think there's anything wrong with calling yourself that. But you wouldn't call yourself Polish, would you? Some Americans I've met have identified themselves as Scottish even though they were born and raised surrounded in American culture. It's fine to say something like African-American, or Polish-American, because in common usage that just indicates your ethnic background.

Anyway, I still don't understand the distinctly American fascination with identifying oneself with a different culture. Americans are constantly going on about patriotism and pride for their country, yet so many seem to leap at the chance to distance themselves from it. I'm of 1/4 Irish descent, but I don't mention to everyone I meet, or feel that I have a connection to Ireland because of it.


It's not about making people feel like they don't belong - it's about being accurate in your definitions. If you were flown to your "homeland" and weren't able to understand the locals' language, or didn't know what the food was, could you really justify identifying yourself with that country?


Sounds nice. Fail to see the relevance though.

Yes I do as my ethnic background as my friends also identify with their background
as either german, English. etc.. we already know the American part.. why would we
say that to each other.. lol.

my children are born in America.. but they are Polish, English, French. the list goes on
because they have other grandparents who came from other countries..

both of my parents are Polish..all four of my grandparents born in poland..one never
became a citizen of the US.all of theirs were polish..born ,raised, lived and died Poland
and all the way to my 4th great grandfather that I have sole proof of is all Polish.

ok if you came to America.. and decided to stay.. would you no longer consider yourself
Polish? would you just say if you were granted american citizenship that you are not
Polish anymore? even though you were born and raised there?


yes ethnically I could.. I cant say im english? even though I know the language now
can I ?? that would be a false statement.. and can the Polish who are learning english say they are english even though they live in poland and know fluent english?

and those Polish who went to the UK to work and live, will they now call themselfs
English?? no, I think they will stick with * IM POLISH* and do the English who
are so Angry at these Poles for taking their jobs.. do they call them English? even
those who came and are living, but still do not understand english?

nope.. you dont stop identifying yourself just because you changed a country..
the only true Americans are the American Indians.. we are all Americans, but they
were here from the very start of its life..before Christopher discovered it.. so
if anything is Americas Culture its the American Indian, to which we dont practice their
cultures because it doesnt identify with mine.


I was commenting back on your comment about kielbasa..

America love it or leave it!

That was a common bumper sticker back in the 80`s

We welcome all creeds then you make your handfull of money return home

and then bash us

Agree!!! You don't change just because you changed a county...
I was born in Poland and I grew up in Germany. My family is a polish/jewish/german/lithuanian mixture and indeed we all still live in all this different countries. I have a German and Polish passport. Even if I spent many of years in Germany I still feel Polish, but I feel home in Poland and in Germany. For the Polish (in Poland) I have some German attributes and for the Germans I have some Polish ones...

But in the end, who cares? Does it really make a difference? I feel European and I love it! Everybody who wants to pigeonhole me... feel free!