As a descendent of German migrants, I’m officially dropping the “American” from “German-American.” I no longer want to be associated with this level of stupidity.
I always find this kind of silly. You were born and raised in the USA, so you’re American, whether you like it or not. There’s people saying they’re Irish American despite 3 generations having passed, so when does it end? Am I Dutch-Norwegian because my great grandmother was Norwegian and came to The Netherlands?
No, I’m Dutch, I was born and raised here without influence of the Norwegian culture.
But in the US it is a cultural thing. Like Italian-Americans have a different culture from other Americans and from current day Italians. The US is a big place, with many different cultures and people like Europe. It’s like if I said to you that you are European so stop calling yourself Dutch.
Your comparison between “European vs Dutch” and “American vs Irish-American” is fundamentally flawed.
Nationality vs ancestry are different concepts. Dutch is my current nationality, defined by citizenship, language, culture, and shared social experience. Being “Dutch-Norwegian” would mean I hold dual citizenship or were raised in both cultural contexts simultaneously. Most Americans claiming to be “Irish-American” have no citizenship, language fluency, or authentic cultural immersion in Ireland.
The cultural disconnect is stark. What Americans call “Italian-American culture” has diverged dramatically from actual Italian culture over generations. It’s become a distinctly American phenomenon with superficial cultural markers rather than authentic representation. When Irish-Americans visit Ireland, locals often view them as simply American tourists because the cultural gap is so evident.
With each generation, the cultural connection weakens substantially. By the third or fourth generation, what remains is often reduced to stereotypical elements like celebrating St. Patrick’s Day or eating pasta on Sundays. This selective cultural picking isn’t equivalent to genuine cultural identity.
European identity framework differs fundamentally. In Europe, identity is primarily based on where you were born and raised, your language, and your lived experience – not distant ancestry.
Many Americans who claim hyphenated identities have minimal knowledge of their ancestral country’s modern culture, politics, or social realities. They cling to outdated or stereotypical notions that no longer reflect the actual country.
Comparing a continental identity (European) to a national one (Dutch) is not the same as comparing a national identity (American) to a hyphenated ancestral one (Irish-American). The Netherlands exists within Europe; “Irish-American” does not represent a legitimate political or cultural subset of America in the same way.
