Americans whenever somebody asks a question about another country: “I dont live there, but…” Americans when someone asks if someone from country X is on this site: “I’m not from country X, but…” Americans when they meet someone from another country: “Oh you’re from [other country]? Me too!”
Maybe I missed something but this seems like the exact instance in they'd say "Oh you're from *Insert European Country, My family is from there!" It's not an attempt to claim citizenship or anything. When Yanks say "I'm Irish/German" they don't mean it in the same an Irish or German person would. It's a cultural misunderstanding, like the difference between American "quite" and British "quite". It can cause friction because the same words mean different things to different people.
I hear that explanation often, but then they’ll turn around and speak authoritatively about that country, as though they’re “from there”.
Americans speak authoritatively about everything. It's not unique to places where their family is from. Almost every American could speak confidently on what is wrong in the middle east despite not claiming heritage or even reading a single book on the area. I think you're connecting two unrelated traits here.
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Maybe I missed something but this seems like the exact instance in they'd say "Oh you're from *Insert European Country, My family is from there!" It's not an attempt to claim citizenship or anything. When Yanks say "I'm Irish/German" they don't mean it in the same an Irish or German person would. It's a cultural misunderstanding, like the difference between American "quite" and British "quite". It can cause friction because the same words mean different things to different people.
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Americans speak authoritatively about everything. It's not unique to places where their family is from. Almost every American could speak confidently on what is wrong in the middle east despite not claiming heritage or even reading a single book on the area. I think you're connecting two unrelated traits here.
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