We have witnessed the birther attacks on President Obama and the lunacy of questioning family heritage in Massachusetts. I would like to talk of how it could apply to me if I was ever crazy enough to run for office.
Republican opponent [RO]: "Alessandra, that must be Italian?"
Me: "No, I was named after my great grandmother".
RO: "So you are related to Mussolini?"
Me: "Pardon?"
RO; "Alessandra Mussolini daughter of Benito Mussolini, this would explain your wish to bring fascism to America."
Me: "Her family emigrated from Norway, and she was born here."
RO. "Can you prove this, and I notice you didn't deny the inherent fascism of your policies"
Me "No, and I'm not a fascist"
RO: "You are not Norwegian either"
Me: "I'm American".
RO: "You said you were Norwegian, you now deny that, how are we to believe anything you say?"
Me: "Like most Americans I have complicated roots, I wouldn't call myself Norwegian, I wouldn't call myself anything but American, my family has has been here too long."
RO: " Why did you live in France?"
Me: "Oh for god's sake my mother's a registered DAR".
RO: "Can you prove she is your mother, and wasn't Alessandra your paternal grand-mother anyway?"
Me: "Dad served during Vietnam"
RO: "Oh yes he was based in Bangkok, no doubt working closely with the Thai Patriotic Front against America"
Debate ends as I try and scratch out his eyes.
Next day they air a TV ad
Alessandra A, a baguette wielding viking related to Benito Mussolini, with a communist father; do you really want this type of foreign heritage representing you?
Phew. Good job that I didn't mention either the Irish connection n
or the Scottish and English education then.
;-)
This is why talking about your own family roots as Americans can be complicated, we all have our own personal stories and for a great deal of the time most of it has been passed on by word of mouth.
Bringing it up as a slur, smacks of racialism.