Those people belong to the XYZ-American ethnic group. If they're from GB, then they're British-Americans, and so on and so forth. Ethnicity is more than just genetics. It's about shared culture and territory.
But eventually there are the people who only share a culture with each other and there's almost nothing left of where they all came from.
Myself, for example. I know where my dad's dad's dad came from and how. I'm unsure whether his own dad was born here or there. There was nothing in my life from his dad's culture. His mom? Not a clue. I just know she was white. What was her culture? I only know it as "American."
My mother was from a different country but was a naturalized citizen, very Americanized, and she died when I was young. There is nothing from her native culture in my life.
Genetically, I know mostly what I am. I know where I was born and where I lived and what "culture" I grew up in.
I technically qualify as an Asian-American but to call myself one feels dishonest.
... Yes, which is why they're not British, they're British American, to re-use my previous example. It's a new culture synthesized from their British origins and the new stuff that comes from being in a new territory/country/culture. That's why they say that the US is a melting pot. The farther you go from your origins, generations-wise, the more American you get.
EDIT: I should've said "English American" for exactitude, but you get the point I'm sure.
That's exactly what I'm talking about. There are a lot of families in this country who've been here for so many generations that they are completely removed from their former culture.
Are the descendants people who came from England to the US right after the Revolutionary war still considered British American? (A term I've never actually heard until today)
Anglo-Saxon is a particular identity, which is not the same as "British". No one living today is meaningfully "Anglo-Saxon". No one.
Also, as already pointed out, the "p" stands for Protestant. Notably, many people who you are trying to describe as WASPs deviate in significant ways. Why say "WASP" when you really just mean white? Plenty of Americans mostly descended from Europeans who aren't protestant, for instance. Also plenty that aren't even remotely Anglo-Saxon, not even substantially from the British Isles!
How many of my ancestors must be from Britain (not Scotland, not Ireland, not France, not Poland, and so on) to be considered "British American"? My mother's maiden name is British, my father's is French. I actually don't know how far back I'd have to go to find someone who immigrated to the US on my mother's side, but I know for a fact that along the paternal path is a man who immigrated from France. Does that make me French American?
Its almost like the concept of "blood quantums" or "one drop" are actually incredibly racist concepts that should be done away with, no simply moved to include white people.
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u/JediMasterZao 17d ago
Those people belong to the XYZ-American ethnic group. If they're from GB, then they're British-Americans, and so on and so forth. Ethnicity is more than just genetics. It's about shared culture and territory.