Post by karinothing on Mar 19, 2020 9:40:09 GMT -5
We did ours already. I get so annoyed at the Hispanic questions (and had this same complaint 10 years ago). DH is Hispanic. He has no other ethnic history other than the US. His family has never lived in Mexico. They were likely native but no tribal connections. I just get annoyed that nothing ever seems to account for this (not just a fault of the US Census, but pretty much every demographics thing ever)
For what it is worth he entered Hispanic and then American.
I did it yesterday. It took all of 5 mins online. I think the official docs looked a little bit informal for what it was. But was legit and I made sure it wasn't a scam.
I wasn't 100% certain what to do for the race/ethnicity questions. We're white, but then it forces you to add more details (i.e. Irish, German, English, etc). Both H and I are a big mess of many things in Europe, so I just answered the things that I *think* we're most of? But I have no real genealogy or anything to back it up other than "Your grandpa was all Irish except for 1/8th French" and all of those family stories.
I wasn't 100% certain what to do for the race/ethnicity questions. We're white, but then it forces you to add more details (i.e. Irish, German, English, etc). Both H and I are a big mess of many things in Europe, so I just answered the things that I *think* we're most of? But I have no real genealogy or anything to back it up other than "Your grandpa was all Irish except for 1/8th French" and all of those family stories.
Not just you.
We were surprised by it and had no idea what to put. We are all a mix of various European countries, presumably, but don't really know. The ones we do know are down to like 1/16 so not very meaningful anyway.
Post by aprilsails on Mar 19, 2020 11:20:12 GMT -5
I’m Canadian so obviously not filling this out but the more precise origination questions drive me bonkers when they come up. My family, on both sides, have been in Eastern Ontario for over 7 generations. I am a mash of Western European countries as well as some Adriatic, and I generally refer to myself as mutt Canadian. Technically my last name is Scottish, but that branch has been in Canada ten generations and don’t even spell or pronounce it the same way they do in Scotland. Such a pointless question as the world becomes a melting pot.
Did ours last week because I’m a nerd about this stuff. Historical censuses usually just used one (maaaaybe two) qualifiers for the origins piece so I wouldn’t overthink it. I had no idea how to capture my particular mix of European and Jewish roots so I just erred on the side of being vague.
Post by Velar Fricative on Mar 19, 2020 12:01:17 GMT -5
Our origins are easy since my parents and all of H’s grandparents were immigrants. I did wonder how that question would work for white people who don’t have recent immigrant histories and/or can trace back to lots of places.
Our origins are easy since my parents and all of H’s grandparents were immigrants. I did wonder how that question would work for white people who don’t have recent immigrant histories and/or can trace back to lots of places.
I just said not answering. I actually do know my origins but H is from a large mix and isn’t entirely sure of all the various groups on either side of the family.
I also didn't know what to put for origin. Dh is adopted, so he really doesn't know.
Op I think I get what you mean and also felt a little weird doing it. We always tell people not to give out their info or fall for letters or random phone calls, but here we are begging people to do it. I love that you can do it online and know it's so important, but there was that little moment of being like this feels odd.