To be confused about my partner's nationality

[ForestryForever]

Good evening,
My partner's parents were both born in Wales. They both lived and grew up in Wales. As adults they both left Wales and lived in England, where they remained.
Whilst married and living in England, they had a baby - my partner. My partner was born, raised in and grew up in England, and still lives in England.
What nationality is my partner?

I understand why it matters to him. I don't understand why it matters so much to the OP. Based on what she has said the far bigger problem seems to be the way in which he thinks it is acceptable to speak to her.

No one is not saying you aren't Welsh? Think you need to read posts a bit more carefully.

It's not about me (they can say I'm not Welsh if they like because I'm not). People are saying that the Welsh ethnicity doesn't exist, the OP is saying that her husband with two Welsh parents is half English.

@Pollyputhekettleon A better example might be Russia and Estonia or Russia and Ukraine. Aboriginal example is not accurate as the aboriginals are a different race.

Hence why I'm struggling to understand the husband's overreaction.

Err because you're a different people with different ideas🤷‍♀️

It's complicated.

Like I said, I'm not a rugby person, or football. So hang me. I don't understand your point though. The point I was making is that Wales and Scotland are nations, not regions. I'm pretty sure I didn't even use the term country because people are really confused about what that means.

Yes, which is why this discussion has gone on as long as it has. If it was totally black and white or a case of right and wrong then there would have been no thread. I find the different perspectives interesting and some of them I struggle to understand 🤷

Disagree. Sounds like she was being very offensive about it which was what provoked his reaction. She's on here now still trying to be proved right so I doubt the conversation went down as she said it did.

I would laugh my head off if an English person was more Welsh than Polly.

"If a man is born in a stable that does not make him a horse."

I also don't get why OPs DH cares, as somebody with the same background )but Irish rather than Welsh) I am British. I couldn't care less either way. I do have relatives with the same heritage as me who identify as Irish and think its odd but its up to them ultimately.

That said, when you bring an ethnicity with visible markers into it things are different because the oppression and discrimination is much more active and (unlike me and OPs precious husband) you are much more likely to be identified as a specific ethnicity in a negative way regardless of your identity.

The reason there is a thread is because a lot of people are ignorant and offensive.

Peoples identities are important to them and if you struggle to understand why that might be then you should educate yourself instead of insisting that your offensive and ignorant view is right.

@DrMarshaFieldstone - totally agree. He sound like a right knob, regardless of whether he's Welsh or English.

I don't think you're at all familiar with the conversation about the term race as a classifier as opposed to ethnicity, or population, or ancestry, or whatever. It doesn't hugely matter, the same principles apply. But aren't you one of the people who deny the Welsh are an ethnicity? But you're happy with the concept of race? Really?!

And actually you could also deny aboriginal Australians their ethnic identity (or, if you want, racial identity) on the grounds that many of them have mixed with white Australians.

I think we can agree that we don't have the full picture, so I am responding only to what OP has told us. If he spoke to her the way she describes then that is an appalling way to treat another person. No-one speaks to me like that, least of all my husband, and I hope no-one speaks to you like that either.

You think I'm Welsh? You two are some of the oddest people I've ever come across, and I am going to stop responding to you now.

Yes, which is why this discussion has gone on as long as it has. If it was totally black and white or a case of right and wrong then there would have been no thread. I find the different perspectives interesting and some of them I struggle to understand 🤷

You didn't use the "it's not difficult " or talk about "fact"? .

You keep speaking like these aren't all contested and ambiguous terms.

You said earlier that ethnicity is objective yet have repeatedly refused to tell me how it's measured.

Visible markers of ethnicity make a huge difference because you can be outwardly identified as from a particular ethnicity and discriminated against because of it. That has a huge impact on people and their relationship to their ethnicity. Don't you agree?

I wouldn't actually deny that because they would be mixed raced, mixed ethnicity whereas you (sorry if I presume wrong) are no different to me as you are white. There is no comparison. Welsh only makes you different from me in language and other cultural things like your accent (or like rugby!). I don't deny you are Welsh though? If I heard your accent I would think "Welsh!" but comparing being Welsh to be an Aboriginals. Nah.

I think it's appalling to try to insist someone is wrong about their nationality, which is how I believe the conversation went down. So in that case I can understand why he spoke to her like that.

If my partner was being so obnoxious about my nationality I would think he was a dickhead and that he was the aggressor in the conversation, even if I ended up shouting him down.

I mean what's the point of the thread.....if the majority agreed was she going to go back and be like "In your face, you're English".

Legally, in the eyes of the law, he is British. Even if he doesn't like that, or you don't like that, "British" is the nationality that applies in a legal sphere.

That is different to describing someone as Welsh, or English, or a Lancastrian, or an East Anglian... Those are all descriptions of where someone is from, their background & therefore culture, their heritage/ancestry etc. It's not reasonable to say that is the same as nationality; but equally you wouldn't say "oh they're part Welsh", it's "Welsh but living & born in England" if it's really important (which I have to say, I am not sure it is) and that is going to be much more about feeling of identity, rather than strict legal definition.

However, he would qualify to play association football/rugby/cricket for Wales or for England. Perhaps that would be a more constructive conversation, "my partner is eligible to play for Wales, he's just waiting to be scouted"?

Then why the hell have you expanded so much energy if you aren't? Anyway cheerio.

Genuinely, why does it matter?

Are you Welsh?

You went to school with Rod Stewart?

And maybe he should respect his wife enough not to shout at her?