spiderweb
Final Approach
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Ben
In another thread, I stated that I was 50% Jewish, which brought out some interesting responses. I thought I would start a new thread to talk about identity.
The concept of identity, I think, is more important than that of "race," which is not so much a scientific construct as a social one.
An example that comes to mind is my friend Susan (name changed, because she posts on this board), who is a Korean American. She doesn't speak a word of Korean, nor do her parents. Apart from liking Korean food, she says that she basically identifies as an America (and more so, as a Baltimore girl!). She identifies herself, then, in part by choice, how she was brought up, what is important to her, etc.
The same goes for me. For example, it is true, as Florida rightly pointed out, the tradition is if your Mother is Jewish, then you are Jewish. Of course, one can convert, even if one has no Jewish "blood." That means you see "racially" Jewish people who are religious and non-religious, and non-racially Jewish people who are religious, and who converted.
I have spent half a lifetime of going to Church, going to Temple, Shabbos with my Jewish family, Sunday dinner with my WASP family, having a Jewish first and last name with a Chinese middle name, looking like a rabbi, etc., My identity is my own choice, as is my religion. So, in case anyone has read this far and cares, I identify myself as a non-religious Jewish/New England WASP with a love of my traditions who practices Taoism, plays the cello, and loves to fly!
How about you?
The concept of identity, I think, is more important than that of "race," which is not so much a scientific construct as a social one.
An example that comes to mind is my friend Susan (name changed, because she posts on this board), who is a Korean American. She doesn't speak a word of Korean, nor do her parents. Apart from liking Korean food, she says that she basically identifies as an America (and more so, as a Baltimore girl!). She identifies herself, then, in part by choice, how she was brought up, what is important to her, etc.
The same goes for me. For example, it is true, as Florida rightly pointed out, the tradition is if your Mother is Jewish, then you are Jewish. Of course, one can convert, even if one has no Jewish "blood." That means you see "racially" Jewish people who are religious and non-religious, and non-racially Jewish people who are religious, and who converted.
I have spent half a lifetime of going to Church, going to Temple, Shabbos with my Jewish family, Sunday dinner with my WASP family, having a Jewish first and last name with a Chinese middle name, looking like a rabbi, etc., My identity is my own choice, as is my religion. So, in case anyone has read this far and cares, I identify myself as a non-religious Jewish/New England WASP with a love of my traditions who practices Taoism, plays the cello, and loves to fly!
How about you?
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