Nationality is Dumb.

  When I was a kid most of the other kids in my neighborhood were Italian, Irish, and Jewish. I mean they weren't "really"...they were told they were because their grandparents or great grandparents were. This was a little different for the Jewish kids, because Jewish is really a religion and NOT a nationality, but when you would ask, "What nationality are you?"...they'd reply "Jewish."...They'd never reply, "Eastern European...or Russian...or Romanian." I wasn't any of these. My Mom's mom was born in Germany...so some kids called me a Nazi. 

   Sometimes Italian kids would call me a Nazi, too. When I responded by telling'em the Italians were nothing more than Hitler's bitches in World War 2, they looked confused and usually punched me in the gut...thus knocking the wind outta me and not allowing me to explain the international divisions, Allies and Axis, etc....(There were no Japanese kids living in my neighborhood in the 70's, just a couple of Chinese, a few Korean, and one Filipino. However, they were all blamed for the war in Vietnam, by the same kids that called me a Nazi and they got beat up regularly.)

  My Mom's dad was of Dutch decent with the bloodline going back pre-Revolutionary. No one cared.

My Great Great Grandfather: John Hone
New York City Late 1860's
He was from my Mom's side.
This is the oldest photo I have of any relative.

  My Dad's dad was born in Barbados. THIS confused everyone....especially me and my cousins. Our last name is Jemmott, pronounced Jem-Mott. However, people don't hear it that way...or spell it that way, for that matter. I still get mail for David Jermott and some people that only really know me through Facebook have referred to me as "Dave Gem-it" in person.

  I've heard Jermount, Gemmount, Jew-mont, Germ-ott. I still mess with phone solicitors everytime they mispronounce my name. Anyway, I'm of Bajun decent, via my grandfather on my Dad's side. (Although my Dad told me we were "Barbadian" and I accepted this, until I traveled to Barbados and a hotel clerk schooled me. There is no such thing as Barbadian, only Bajun.)...now back to the neighborhood.

  Nationality was a huge part of all the kids I grew up with. They were always bragging.."I'm Italian."..or "We're Irish."...the Jewish kids didn't really brag. They just casually reminded my classmates and me, that the Jews were responsible for all the days off from school in the beginning of every school year. "Mazel Tov" to them, I said and still say to this very day.

  However, being we were Americans...we were mutts...mixed blood, mixed decent, mixed nationalities....and this is when I really started having a problem with the other kids in my neighborhood and their claims of heritage. 

  Every so often somebody would claim to be Indian. That's right, Indian. Not from India, but pure Christopher Columbus ignorant: Indian. This happened a lot more than you'd think...but 11 year old boys thought that was cool...so many claimed they were "Red Skin". When I would ask them what tribe they belonged to, some would say, "Apache or Mohawk."...most, however, would say, "Fuck you, Nazi!!" ...and punch me in the gut, thus knocking the wind outta me and not allowing me to explain the diversity of indigenous people and the aspects of geography on any one specific group of people....and, of course, the relocating of said people, by the US Army of the mid to late 1800's.

  One kid that lived across the street from me, went on and on about being a Viking. That's right, a fucking Viking. I asked him what he meant and he said, his dad was Swedish and the "Swedish" people were Vikings, therefore he had Viking blood. I told him that was dumb and before I had the chance to explain, that not everybody that lived in the area, that eventually became Sweden, hopped on ships and headed out to sea to plunder and pillage...he punched me in the gut, thus knocking the wind outta me. (This same kid became upset in class one time, when our teacher went around the room asking each of us 5th grade kids to name a food of our heritage. He said, "Swiss cheese." When the teacher explained that's from Switzerland and not from Sweden...he was so flustered...he couldn't even come up with "meatballs"....dumbass.)

   Anyway, knowing your roots is cool, but I think nationality is dumb. I thought that in 5th grade and I still think that now.