David Lammy on LBC

Chestnut, there is no Chinese ethnicity. Some of the hundreds of ethnicities that exist in China are Han, Manchu, Zhuang, Yao, Bai.
You are just trying to wriggle out of the question. Whichever one they were, they grew up with two different nationalities (USA and Norway). So if 'ethnicity is an unscientific concept' are you denying their ethnicity? They were twins, they both had the same ethnicity, even though one was American and the other Norwegian in nationality.

They both had the same genes, not ethnicity.

I'm not wriggling out of anything.

The girls are Asian in origin and originally had Chinese nationality. I teach a girl like this. She was originally Chinese but is now American.

Why are you SO focused on identifying an ethnicity? The British are known for being mongrels.

We even have a royal family, prime minister, chancellor and home secretary, none of whom would count as "ethnically British", if such a thing existed.

growstuff

They both had the same genes, not ethnicity.

Genes are ethnicity! Two people may be born in England, both are British by nationality but have completely different ethnicity. If you can't accept that then you are denying people their heritage.

I feel mainly Scottish although half my ancestors were not.?

The bottom line is that for “Jean” I can call myself English because I have white skin but David Lammy can’t. I won’t tell her that according to my DNA I am mostly Irish and Scottish with a dash of Scandinavian as she will tell me that I am polluting her pure Englishness. Being so passionate about your heritage to the point that you deny others their choice of belonging is shameful.

growstuff

We even have a royal family, prime minister, chancellor and home secretary, none of whom would count as "ethnically British", if such a thing existed.

And your point is?

But Chestnut, as I said earlier, if you want to be specific, you aren't English if you claim anglo saxon roots, you are Danish and German.

And who knows if the adopted Chinese girls were Han, Kam Yao or Bai.

What does it matter? So you have Danish and German DNA. You're not Danish or German, are you?

What you are referring to is that you have white skin. Good for you if you're proud of it. I am not proud of being white. It's a stupid thing to be proud of an accident of birth, AND also stupid to think that one colour is better than another.

It's like being 'proud' of having brown eyes, instead of blue. Why?

GagaJo

But Chestnut, as I said earlier, if you want to be specific, you aren't English if you claim anglo saxon roots, you are Danish and German.

And who knows if the adopted Chinese girls were Han, Kam Yao or Bai.

What does it matter? So you have Danish and German DNA. You're not Danish or German, are you?

What you are referring to is that you have white skin. Good for you if you're proud of it. I am not proud of being white. It's a stupid thing to be proud of an accident of birth, AND also stupid to think that one colour is better than another.

It's like being 'proud' of having brown eyes, instead of blue. Why?

This has gone off on a wild rant with some irrelevant comments. I think you'll find a lot of people are proud of their heritage and proud of their ancestors, hence the number of TV programmes. This applies to all nationalities, not just white as you seem to think. If people want to find out their genetic ethnicity and be proud of it, whatever it is, why should you deny them that?

NotSpaghetti

There is plenty of this out there it seems.
My son sent me this:

youtu.be/epi6-zDCwIg

Bloody hell. I cannot believe I heard that. And I can't unhear it.

Depressing to hear these racist, ignorant white people

The concept of the aryan race is it written all over Jean’s “whiteness”

Actually we all originated from the African continent. My neighbour’s ancestors are Bantu meaning “original people” so I guess if anyone can feel superior he can as everyone else is a hybrids.

OK Chestnut, you crack on being proud of being German and Danish. Have you been to German or Denmark?

Chestnut

growstuff

They both had the same genes, not ethnicity.

Genes are ethnicity! Two people may be born in England, both are British by nationality but have completely different ethnicity. If you can't accept that then you are denying people their heritage.

No they're not.

To be fair, Chestnut is not the only person on this site that believes this. She's just the only one that so far has dared to have a contrary viewpoint about this issue.

I could easily name others (I won't, I'd get banned) on here that would agree with her.

GagaJo

OK Chestnut, you crack on being proud of being German and Danish. Have you been to German or Denmark?

Sorry, no idea what you're talking about.

As I have said TWICE. The 'English' / anglo Saxon DNA you are so proud of actually comes from the Danish and German tribes that CAME TO the UK. So not English at all.

So no English ethnicity at all. Such a shame.

Ethnicity is a social construct, based largely on how people define themselves.

It is a construct often based on cultural heritage. Therefore those sharing a British culture can be classed as ethnically British.

Science does not recognise ethnicity as a concept as it has no basis in inherent physical or biological meaning.

What is a gene?

medlineplus.gov/genetics/understanding/basics/gene/

That makes sense WWM. I am English but am not specifically proud of it, due to our colonial past. I certainly have zero pride about my skin colour. That would be like being proud that I have arms and legs. Daft.

Whitewavemark2

Ethnicity is a social construct, based largely on how people define themselves.

It is a construct often based on cultural heritage. Therefore those sharing a British culture can be classed as ethnically British.

Science does not recognise ethnicity as a concept as it has no basis in inherent physical or biological meaning.

Exactly! We all belong to one species called homosapiens sapiens. The vast majority of our genes are identical. A tiny handful of genes have mutated and account for physical differences. Genes can be mapped and exist. Ethnicity is a social construct not recognised by science.

GagaJo

To be fair, Chestnut is not the only person on this site that believes this. She's just the only one that so far has dared to have a contrary viewpoint about this issue.

I could easily name others (I won't, I'd get banned) on here that would agree with her.

I can't believe you're denying people their heritage and finger wagging at anyone who suggests people have different genetic identity! You also seem to be implying racism if anyone disagrees with you, which is absolute nonsense. As you pointed out we are all a mixture, but I believe everyone has the right to feel proud of their genes and their ethnic ancestry, whatever mixture that is. If they want to celebrate their heritage then who are you to judge?

GagaJo

That makes sense WWM. I am English but am not specifically proud of it, due to our colonial past. I certainly have zero pride about my skin colour. That would be like being proud that I have arms and legs. Daft.

That is your choice. There are people from all ethnicities in the world who are proud of who they are. They don't need you finger wagging at them or making them feel they are in the wrong.