On my great-grandfather's immigration papers it lists his home town as some place that doesn't exist anymore.
- Superior Mind
- (not macbeth)
- +1,755|6707
or has the name simply changed?Superior Mind wrote:
On my great-grandfather's immigration papers it lists his home town as some place that doesn't exist anymore.
- Superior Mind
- (not macbeth)
- +1,755|6707
Idk I remember looking it up and finding zero information on it. It was probably some village, somewhere near Odessa I think. The nazis raped the shit out of Ukraine. My family left at the turn of the century though.
Last edited by Superior Mind (2013-01-21 13:30:56)
My grandmothers birthplace was Ratzebuhr, Pommerania, Germany. It is now Okonek, Poland.Superior Mind wrote:
Idk I remember looking it up and finding zero information on it. It was probably some village, somewhere near Odessa I think. The nazis raped the shit out of Ukraine. My family left at the turn of the century though.
"Ah, you miserable creatures! You who think that you are so great! You who judge humanity to be so small! You who wish to reform everything! Why don't you reform yourselves? That task would be sufficient enough."
-Frederick Bastiat
-Frederick Bastiat
- Superior Mind
- (not macbeth)
- +1,755|6707
Yeah, it's not like that. It's more like the village was probably burnt down and every resident was executed.
(Mac, you worry me.)
(Mac, you worry me.)
Last edited by Superior Mind (2013-01-21 20:53:11)
what worries me is how americans fetishize and accessorize history like that, to better give themselves a sense of 'heritage' and 'worldliness' that they otherwise distinctly lack in the new world. americans constantly blather on about their racial-genetic make-up, and the history experienced by their fore-fathers. you talk about villages being burned down in europe without any trace of emotional impact - how could you possibly have one - but instead with a sort of voyeuristic awe: "aww, cool! history and shit, happening to me!". jay talks about a birthplace changing nationality in the course of 100 years - OH MY GOD! only thousands of square miles of europe did this in a three-decade period! why aren't you guys so excited about being born in texas, when it was still mexico? you always look back to the antique europe for a sense of gold-tinged 'heritage'. it's funny. nobody in europe, who has permanent roots here, mythologizes their past like that. but americans constantly compare backgrounds: italian-american; oh i'm ashkenazi-jew; i'm swedis-irish-madagascan, my great-grandfather fought in a bar in south africa once... yawn.
but cool bro! you're from a village where everyone was burnt down and executed. now you can move to israel, tell all your friends you're a direct victim of the shoah, and lobby to nuke palestine! history! happening to real americans!
but cool bro! you're from a village where everyone was burnt down and executed. now you can move to israel, tell all your friends you're a direct victim of the shoah, and lobby to nuke palestine! history! happening to real americans!
Last edited by aynrandroolz (2013-01-22 03:55:09)
Because we're all descended from immigrants while your own cultural makeup has remained relatively static?aynrandroolz wrote:
what worries me is how americans fetishize and accessorize history like that, to better give themselves a sense of 'heritage' and 'worldliness' that they otherwise distinctly lack in the new world. americans constantly blather on about their racial-genetic make-up, and the history experienced by their fore-fathers. you talk about villages being burned down in europe without any trace of emotional impact - how could you possibly have one - but instead with a sort of voyeuristic awe: "aww, cool! history and shit, happening to me!". jay talks about a birthplace changing nationality in the course of 100 years - OH MY GOD! only thousands of square miles of europe did this in a three-decade period! why aren't you guys so excited about being born in texas, when it was still mexico? you always look back to the antique europe for a sense of gold-tinged 'heritage'. it's funny. nobody in europe, who has permanent roots here, mythologizes their past like that. but americans constantly compare backgrounds: italian-american; oh i'm ashkenazi-jew; i'm swedis-irish-madagascan, my great-grandfather fought in a bar in south africa once... yawn.
but cool bro! you're from a village where everyone was burnt down and executed. now you can move to israel, tell all your friends you're a direct victim of the shoah, and lobby to nuke palestine! history! happening to real americans!
Here you go Uzi, I am 3/8 Swedish, 3/8 German, 1/8 Polish and 1/8 Lithuanian.
"Ah, you miserable creatures! You who think that you are so great! You who judge humanity to be so small! You who wish to reform everything! Why don't you reform yourselves? That task would be sufficient enough."
-Frederick Bastiat
-Frederick Bastiat
yep, i always wandered about this shit, uzi. i mean i'm as russian as it gets and it doesn't fucking matter that one of my grand parents was latvian and at least two of grand-grand patents were tatar. i've no connection with that part of my heritage and it has no real meaning for me - much like galt, who comes as pretty much perfect mix of usual stereotypes associated with american people - arrogant self indulgent individualistic prick, who thinks the earth revolves around his buttocks. yet, he keeps bringing up that dubious heritage of his. i dunno, maybe it's a kind of inferiority complex - for lack of real history and culture of their own these people try to associate themselves with those, who actually have one.aynrandroolz wrote:
what worries me is how americans fetishize and accessorize history like that, to better give themselves a sense of 'heritage' and 'worldliness' that they otherwise distinctly lack in the new world. americans constantly blather on about their racial-genetic make-up, and the history experienced by their fore-fathers. you talk about villages being burned down in europe without any trace of emotional impact - how could you possibly have one - but instead with a sort of voyeuristic awe: "aww, cool! history and shit, happening to me!". jay talks about a birthplace changing nationality in the course of 100 years - OH MY GOD! only thousands of square miles of europe did this in a three-decade period! why aren't you guys so excited about being born in texas, when it was still mexico? you always look back to the antique europe for a sense of gold-tinged 'heritage'. it's funny. nobody in europe, who has permanent roots here, mythologizes their past like that. but americans constantly compare backgrounds: italian-american; oh i'm ashkenazi-jew; i'm swedis-irish-madagascan, my great-grandfather fought in a bar in south africa once... yawn.
but cool bro! you're from a village where everyone was burnt down and executed. now you can move to israel, tell all your friends you're a direct victim of the shoah, and lobby to nuke palestine! history! happening to real americans!
if you open your mind too much your brain will fall out.
As I explained to uzi in a PM, Americans track their heritage because it provides a bit of a roadmap as to who we are. We aren't born in a vacuum, our families and family traditions have a huge impact on who we grow up to be as people. Traditions like family stories, or political beliefs, or religion, or the food that we cook at home all comes down to us from our ancestors. Little things, like the fact that I celebrate Christmas on Christmas Eve because it's a tradition in Northern Germany to do so, are interesting.
America has no unifying, overarching, culture of its own. We're a mixture of a whole lot of other cultures so it's interesting to see where peoples families came from. Also, many times, it's just an overly complicated way of asking 'why does this person look different than I do?' which is an interesting question in it's own right. And yes, many of us keep track of this kind of thing because we feel it somehow makes us unique. So what?
America has no unifying, overarching, culture of its own. We're a mixture of a whole lot of other cultures so it's interesting to see where peoples families came from. Also, many times, it's just an overly complicated way of asking 'why does this person look different than I do?' which is an interesting question in it's own right. And yes, many of us keep track of this kind of thing because we feel it somehow makes us unique. So what?
"Ah, you miserable creatures! You who think that you are so great! You who judge humanity to be so small! You who wish to reform everything! Why don't you reform yourselves? That task would be sufficient enough."
-Frederick Bastiat
-Frederick Bastiat
yep, jay's post "i'm 3/8 german, 3/8 swedish..." makes out that it's an impossibility or rarity in europe. like trans-national or cross-cultural relationships don't happen all. the. fucking. time (i'm in a committed 2 year relationship with a danish girl - gasp! - who speaks danish, and has danish genes and traditions and everything!). half of my family, traced back to the 1800's, come from the french upper classes (a defected napoleonic officer in fact, how's THAT for dinner-party heritage talk). half my family in the 1950's moved to south africa, where they have put down their own roots. know the one commonality we do share? we don't give a flying fuck about the genetic make-up of our ancestors, or some cutesy-folkish notion of 'heritage'. it never comes up in conversations with others, because we never make a big deal out of someone looking, speaking, or being culturally different in europe. jesus.
europeans really find it funny when americans fuss and make such a big deal out of 'heritage', or the 'history' in their family. oh wow your family are from a village that no longer exists! jesus christ. certain countries in europe don't even exist anymore. entire ways of life have been dismantled and destroyed in europe in the last century. heaven forbid you find an american with prussian roots, or with great-grandparents from the height of the austro-hungarian empire. they'd never shut the fuck up.
europeans really find it funny when americans fuss and make such a big deal out of 'heritage', or the 'history' in their family. oh wow your family are from a village that no longer exists! jesus christ. certain countries in europe don't even exist anymore. entire ways of life have been dismantled and destroyed in europe in the last century. heaven forbid you find an american with prussian roots, or with great-grandparents from the height of the austro-hungarian empire. they'd never shut the fuck up.
Last edited by aynrandroolz (2013-01-22 07:52:22)
lol you guys
getting worked up over the most trite shit
getting worked up over the most trite shit
inane little opines
- globefish23
- sophisticated slacker
- +334|6338|Graz, Austria
Ehrm, Europe is the least static continent in terms of cultural makeup.Jay wrote:
Because we're all descended from immigrants while your own cultural makeup has remained relatively static?
Here you go Uzi, I am 3/8 Swedish, 3/8 German, 1/8 Polish and 1/8 Lithuanian.
There has been migration, mixing and assimilation across the continent all the way to Asia for thousands of years.
I bet even the gene pool is less diverse in America.
My father's family was Prussianaynrandroolz wrote:
yep, jay's post "i'm 3/8 german, 3/8 swedish..." makes out that it's an impossibility or rarity in europe. like trans-national or cross-cultural relationships don't happen all. the. fucking. time (i'm in a committed 2 year relationship with a danish girl - gasp! - who speaks danish, and has danish genes and traditions and everything!). half of my family, traced back to the 1800's, come from the french upper classes (a defected napoleonic officer in fact, how's THAT for dinner-party heritage talk). half my family in the 1950's moved to south africa, where they have put down their own roots. know the one commonality we do share? we don't give a flying fuck about the genetic make-up of our ancestors, or some cutesy-folkish notion of 'heritage'. it never comes up in conversations with others, because we never make a big deal out of someone looking, speaking, or being culturally different in europe. jesus.
europeans really find it funny when americans fuss and make such a big deal out of 'heritage', or the 'history' in their family. oh wow your family are from a village that no longer exists! jesus christ. certain countries in europe don't even exist anymore. entire ways of life have been dismantled and destroyed in europe in the last century. heaven forbid you find an american with prussian roots, or with great-grandparents from the height of the austro-hungarian empire. they'd never shut the fuck up.
"Ah, you miserable creatures! You who think that you are so great! You who judge humanity to be so small! You who wish to reform everything! Why don't you reform yourselves? That task would be sufficient enough."
-Frederick Bastiat
-Frederick Bastiat
European boarders are closed, and the population density is far less, leading to less interaction between cultures and countries.
I take it you never heard of the EU
inane little opines
I've no idea where my family came from. Nobody in my family seems to know either so I'll just say we fell out of the sky Bean style.
I think a lot of us have a romanticized view of pre-industrial Europe where people lived in small towns with a sense of permanence given to them by the use of stone buildings being passed down from generation to generation rather than the clapboard construction we use here. Nevermind that in our own society, we view those same small towns where people are born, live and die as being cultural backwaters full of rednecks. Americans have had a very transient lifestyle throughout our history because we were settled by immigrants, and because the industrial revolution came very early in our nations history along with all of the movement of people that went with it. I think it provides an anchor point for many people to grasp on to whether it is real or not. So, feel free to look on the practice as quaint, because it is, but I think it's also rooted in a psychological need to understand beginnings and what made us who we are today.
"Ah, you miserable creatures! You who think that you are so great! You who judge humanity to be so small! You who wish to reform everything! Why don't you reform yourselves? That task would be sufficient enough."
-Frederick Bastiat
-Frederick Bastiat
dude, according to jay it's very interesting to know that kinda stuff, even when you've no real connection with any of it - just so you can compare yours with other people, like baseball card collections or magnets on the fridges. you know, kewl stuffz.M.O.A.B wrote:
I've no idea where my family came from. Nobody in my family seems to know either so I'll just say we fell out of the sky Bean style.
if you open your mind too much your brain will fall out.
Just a way for people to set themselves apart from each other.
to "segregate" themselves.
- Superior Mind
- (not macbeth)
- +1,755|6707
I describe one eighth of my family history. (He emigrated because of the Cossaks, not the Nazi btw)
You faggits think I'm trying to segregate myself, for telling a Your thoughts, insights, and musings on this matter intrigue me?
I'll say again, D&ST is a fucking joke.
It's all long winded trolling.
You faggits think I'm trying to segregate myself, for telling a Your thoughts, insights, and musings on this matter intrigue me?
I'll say again, D&ST is a fucking joke.
It's all long winded trolling.
Last edited by Superior Mind (2013-01-22 10:26:20)
cool stuff like antigay billsShahter wrote:
dude, according to jay it's very interesting to know that kinda stuff, even when you've no real connection with any of it - just so you can compare yours with other people, like baseball card collections or magnets on the fridges. you know, kewl stuffz.M.O.A.B wrote:
I've no idea where my family came from. Nobody in my family seems to know either so I'll just say we fell out of the sky Bean style.
- Superior Mind
- (not macbeth)
- +1,755|6707
LoL
relax little persecuted cossack-slayer, i was commenting on american's focus on their history, not your individual comment, specifically. although the fact you even know a village got burned down, 5,000 miles away, is pretty funny. europeans are generally surrounded with their culture and heritage everyday, whereas americans view it through a looking glass.Superior Mind wrote:
I describe one eighth of my family history. (He emigrated because of the Cossaks, not the Nazi btw)
You faggits think I'm trying to segregate myself, for telling a Your thoughts, insights, and musings on this matter intrigue me?
I'll say again, D&ST is a fucking joke.
It's all long winded trolling.
Last edited by aynrandroolz (2013-01-22 10:32:54)
Could have something to do with everything here being temporary, our buildings for example, we don't seem to build things to last... European things seem more permanent, something that can always be related back to.aynrandroolz wrote:
relax little persecuted cossack-slayer, i was commenting on american's focus on their history, not your individual comment, specifically. although the fact you even know a village got burned down, 5,000 miles away, is pretty funny. europeans are generally surrounded with their culture and heritage everyday, whereas americans view it through a looking glass.Superior Mind wrote:
I describe one eighth of my family history. (He emigrated because of the Cossaks, not the Nazi btw)
You faggits think I'm trying to segregate myself, for telling a Your thoughts, insights, and musings on this matter intrigue me?
I'll say again, D&ST is a fucking joke.
It's all long winded trolling.