rootingforroots

Left me shivering.

> they are proper italians.

The unification of Italy happened in the 1860s, the concept of "proper italian" is quite new, as well the concept of a single language for the Italian land.

> Just because your grandparents came from italy doesn't make you italian.

Italian consitution says otherwise.

> the best meatballs and pasta I've ever had was in Phoenix

The inclusion of tomatoes in italian cuisine is quite recent, many italians emigrated to americas before mainland italians adopted tomatoes.

> I dislike the "my family has italian roots so I can claim that I'm italian" thing.

You dislike it, and you wish to spend your precious time focused on what you dislike and trying to convince other people to dislike it.

>I also understand that it describes a new culture, but by using the "old" names it puts a claim on something it just can't.

Italians from 2025 have as little to do with their Italian great grandparents from 1800 as Italians Americans with the same great grandparents. Clothes, habits, values, food, you name it.

>I'm very understanding of the issue that you want to cling to some roots.

Thank you for understanding but it is not clinging to roots, it is about recongizing existing roots. Humans do weird stuff all the time, many times that weird stuff can be understood by looking at who raise you, and who raised them, and so on.

>But this heritage is so far gone that it really doesn't matter anymore.

Kindly, that is not for you to say.

>But I don't like that it's becoming a "I vs them"

This saddens me too.