-Caveat Lector- >>>Seems like I wasn't the only one ... <<< From http://www.worldnetdaily.com/frame/direct.asp?SITE=oregonlive.com/news/or egonian/index.ssf?/xml/story.ssf/html_standard.xsl?/base/news/99710101227 40828.xml }}>Begin More people list themselves as just 'American' on census 08/06/01 ANGIE CHUANG and STEVE SUO Mark Wiltgen, a fifth-generation German American, has researched his genealogy back to the early 18th century and traveled to Germany to stand on the land where his ancestors lived. His father was a volunteer bartender at the Mount Angel Oktoberfest. So when the Census Bureau asked Wiltgen, now president of the German American Society of Portland, what his ancestry was, he didn't hesitate to write "German." Yet Wiltgen, 45, is one of a dying breed. Census Bureau data released today show nearly 19 million fewer Americans last year identified their ancestry as English, Irish, German or French than in 1990. Meanwhile, 14 million more Americans last year than in 1990 either failed to list an ancestry or simply called themselves "American." Oregon showed similar signs. Although people listing German or English as their primary ancestry remain the largest groups in the state, they declined by 145,000 and 41,000 respectively. People listing "American" rose 87,000; blanks increased 182,000. To some degree, the numbers represent actual losses of people. In Oregon, immigration from Germany and England peaked from 1900 to 1930. Those earlier arrivals are now dying. But experts said the figures, compiled from a survey of 700,000 households nationally, also reflect the assimilation of Western European immigrants and their descendants and how quickly people's perceptions of their own heritage can change. "If a person is strongly interested in their ancestry like I am, they're going to write down the country they're from," Wiltgen said. "But if you're the typical American who's been here four or five generations, you're Heinz 57. Which one do you pick? German? English? Italian?" Barry Edmonston, director of the Portland State University Center for Population Research, put it another way. "It's the last stage of assimilation," he said, "when you've been here so long in Alabama or wherever, you no longer remember where you came from." The Census Bureau began asking the ancestry question in 1980, to replace parents' birthplace. The questionnaire doesn't provide a complete list but gives examples, such as Jamaican, African American, Cambodian, Cape Verdean, Norwegian, Dominican and French Canadian. The results have fluctuated wildly. World events such as the Gulf War can decrease the numbers of those answering "Iraqi." Pop culture fads like "The Sopranos" television show can inflate those answering "Italian." Even the bureau's choice of examples can influence people's. In 1990, when the use of "Cajun" as an example for the first time brought the number of people answering "Cajun" to 700,000. The preceding decade the number was too small to count. Jeffrey Passel, a demographer at the Washington, D.C.-based Urban Institute, said a similar phenomenon could have caused the deep drop in people reporting German ancestry since 1990: "German" was the first example listed on the 1990 form -- but didn't appear at all on the 2000 questionnaire. If anything, the numbers tell us that ethnic identity is ever-changing for many people, according to Harvard University sociologist Mary Waters. "There's a real blurring of boundaries," said Waters, whose research has focused on the ancestry question. "It occurs most with the groups that have been in the country the longest. It also has to do with intermarriage and how different groups are treated in America. With social acceptance comes the blurring." Misinterpretations of the question also can play a role, demographers say. In other surveys, people from the Southern U.S. have sometimes answered "South American." And certain responses become more or less in vogue at different times. When Waters researched responses to the 1980 census, she said people told her, "It's boring to be English, and Italian is exciting. They have good food and nice family. English is just vanilla." But beyond mere passing fancies, experts say there is also a long term shift toward a more generic "American" identity. "The intermarriage rate of today's new immigrant groups is much higher than it was 100 years ago with the newcomers of that time," said Mark Krikorian, executive director of the Center for Immigration Studies. If that continues, "people of Asian and Latin ancestry will increasingly be melding," he said. "There will be less distinction between whites and so- called non-whites." You can reach Steve Suo at 503-221-8288 or by e-mail at [EMAIL PROTECTED] Angie Chuang can be reached by phone at 503-221-8219 and by e-mail at [EMAIL PROTECTED] Copyright 2001 Oregon Live. All Rights Reserved. End<{{ <A HREF="http://www.ctrl.org/";>www.ctrl.org</A> DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion & informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic screeds are unwelcomed. Substance—not soap-boxing—please! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory'—with its many half-truths, mis- directions and outright frauds—is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRLgives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply. Let us please be civil and as always, Caveat Lector. ======================================================================== Archives Available at: http://peach.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ctrl.html <A HREF="http://peach.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ctrl.html";>Archives of [EMAIL PROTECTED]</A> http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/ <A HREF="http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/";>ctrl</A> ======================================================================== To subscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SUBSCRIBE CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] To UNsubscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SIGNOFF CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] Om
