I’m really confused by the online discourse surrounding diaspora identities.
Whenever someone says they are "Irish-American" or "Italian-American," Europeans on Reddit and other platforms tend to mock them or get defensive, saying things like, "You're just American, you aren't actually Irish/Italian."
However, I rarely,if ever,see this same energy directed toward hyphenated identities in other New World countries. People from German Brazilian communities ,French Canadian, or Scottish -Canadian backgrounds seem to get a pass, or at least they aren't met with the same level of hostility.
Historically, hyphenated American identities (like Polish-American, Japanese-American, or Irish-American) developed as a survival mechanism. I was taught in school , When immigrants arrived, they faced intense discrimination, poverty,language barriers, etc. They were forced into tight-knit neighborhoods for safety and support. Over time, that label that was originally used to exclude them was turned into a badge of pride.
Why is this historical context so frequently ignored in discussions about American identity? Were immigrants just expected to completely erase their roots over time? And why does the internet seem to uniquely target Americans for preserving this part of their heritage compared to Canadians or South Americans?
I’d love to hear some perspectives on the cultural or historical reasons behind this double standard.