Lady Gaga’s Italian great grandfather came to USA in 1904

[LaLa 19,663]

43 minutes ago, Economy said:

Wow thats early. Would that make him among the first?

 

I know here in Canada South Europe Immigrants didnt really start immigrating in larger numbers until the 1960s which then lasted until about the 1980s

 

Portuguese, Italians, Greeks etc that came before were in small numbers 

there was definitely a steady wave of Italians immigrating to Canada in the late 1800s-early 1900s. I remember reading about a situation where recruiters were luring men for work promising great things but the conditions ended up being awful

edit: found some info!

https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/italian-canadians

 

 

[Economy 49,959]

3 minutes ago, LaLa said:

there was definitely a steady wave of Italians immigrating to Canada in the late 1800s-early 1900s. I remember reading about a situation where recruiters were luring men for work promising great things but the conditions ended up being awful

edit: found some info!

https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/italian-canadians

 

 

I thought that was in smaller numbers tho

 

I guess as a percentage of population and immigration. I could swear i heard the biggest wave for italians was in 50s to 70s but perhaps they were refering to total numbers

[HuffsAhoy 7,433]

So my family was in the US way before Gaga's. I had family who fought in the Civil War

[LaLa 19,663]

8 minutes ago, Economy said:

I thought that was in smaller numbers tho

 

I guess as a percentage of population and immigration. I could swear i heard the biggest wave for italians was in 50s to 70s but perhaps they were refering to total numbers

yes, I think you're right!

it says: Italian immigration to Canada occurred in two main waves, from 1900 to the First World War and from 1950 to 1970. During the first phase, 119,770 Italians entered Canada (primarily from the US), the greatest number in 1913, a year before the war interrupted immigration.

 post-WWII: Postwar immigrants, who numbered over half a million, came to comprise almost 70 per cent of the Italian Canadian population.

[AJRocketMan 2,684]

7 hours ago, NFRatwell said:

I mean she identifies as Italian American, which she clarifies a lot. Being Italian American means a lot more than being a person “assimilated into American culture” with heritage from Italy, it comes with a history of culture, tradition, and discrimination. 

My comment isn’t there anymore. Did you report it? And if so, did you claim it was “hateful” or “mean” or “bitchy”? It’s not “bitchy” or “mean” to say Gaga isn’t Italian. No Italian national would ever claim an Italian-American as one of their own, as their food, culture, social conditioning, and mannerisms are totally different, and that includes Gaga. Italians are super conservative, judgemental, and rather crass and blunt. Gaga is the opposite of these things, which is not surprising because Americans are not like Italians, or any kind of European for that matter. The exact same thing applies with Mexicans and Mexican-Americans. A Mexican National wouldn’t claim a Mexican-American as “one of their own” if they’ve become too detached from the culture of their ancestors or if their family has been in the US too long. Mexican-Americans are Americans, regardless of the history, culture, and discrimination. Why is it considered taboo to apply the same thing to Italians? It shouldn’t be. Doing this “others” Americans who are of an ethnicity that is divergent from the Anglo-Saxon norm, and will only confirm the biases of racists who say (Non-British)-Americans are “not really Americans”.

[OriginalMonster 80]

2 hours ago, AJRocketMan said:

My comment isn’t there anymore. Did you report it? And if so, did you claim it was “hateful” or “mean” or “bitchy”? It’s not “bitchy” or “mean” to say Gaga isn’t Italian. No Italian national would ever claim an Italian-American as one of their own, as their food, culture, social conditioning, and mannerisms are totally different, and that includes Gaga. Italians are super conservative, judgemental, and rather crass and blunt. Gaga is the opposite of these things, which is not surprising because Americans are not like Italians, or any kind of European for that matter. The exact same thing applies with Mexicans and Mexican-Americans. A Mexican National wouldn’t claim a Mexican-American as “one of their own” if they’ve become too detached from the culture of their ancestors or if their family has been in the US too long. Mexican-Americans are Americans, regardless of the history, culture, and discrimination. Why is it considered taboo to apply the same thing to Italians? It shouldn’t be. Doing this “others” Americans who are of an ethnicity that is divergent from the Anglo-Saxon norm, and will only confirm the biases of racists who say (Non-British)-Americans are “not really Americans”.

I don't know if you're from the US, but in my experience- at least in my area of the country, and I assume for Gaga as well- it is common to refer to yourself based on your heritage and is understood as being different than your nationality/citizenship. For instance, my family says that we are German, and other families I know say they are Irish, French, Swedish, etc, even though our families mostly immigrated in the late 1800s or early 1900s. Although it varies by family, we largely try to preserve our history and traditions and it matters to us where our families came from before they arrived in America. We generally discuss this among family or other Americans, so it is understood that we are all American as well but that we are talking about our heritage when we say we are Italian or German or French, etc. We know we are not the same as current citizens of those countries and don't expect to be seen that way; it is just referring to our family history, traditions, and genetics. I can see how it would be confusing for people from other countries, especially those not based largely on immigrants, but it is a normal thing in the US (in my experience) to talk about our heritage this way.