I'm going to write a very fucking long post about this issue, to end this discussion once and for all
I encourage everyone to read it, but keep in mind it will be fairly long
However, imo it will be worth it, given that it offers a resolution to this "problem"
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It’s time to motherfucking end this ridiculous discussion right here, right now
Before I get into the argument, lets delve into some NECESSARY terminology to understand
Tbh the majority of this forum lacks a fundamental understanding of the differences between ethnicity and race; race is not dependent on ethnicity, and vice versa
Race is simply a group of people or a population descended from a common ancestor; you could even argue it is the categorization of humans based on similar physical characteristics
Ethnicity, on the other hand, is the affiliation or identity with a group of people bound by culture, language, religion etc; the trend is that people sharing an ethnicity possess similar racial bonds, but it is not an absolute characteristic
Note that I’m not saying that people with similar ethnicity possess similar race, just that there is a relation; in a practical context, you don’t necessarily need to be Ashkenazi to become Jewish, learn Hebrew/Yiddish, and follow general cultural customs; however, the general trend is that most Jews are Ashkenazi
There is some more terminology to understand, in particular the meaning of a nation as well as the nation state
In the context of ethnic geography, a nation is a tightly knit group of people possessing bonds of language, ethnicity, religion, and other shared cultural attributes
A nation state on the other hand is a state, or a country, where the population consists of only one nation; in other words, the population is ethnically and culturally homogenous
The meaning of nationality in countries like Albania, Slovenia, Hungary, Serbia, and Croatia is different than, say, France, Canada, Spain, and Germany, strictly because the former are all nation states, and the latter are all multinational states
The Yugoslavian conflict was purely motivated by the will to create a nation state, hence the initiation of ethnic cleansing and ethnically targeted genocide. This explains why the Balkans contain a relatively high density of nation states compared to any other region of the world (considering the high ethnic diversity)
One more definition to remember: nationality is generally regarded as the allegiance to a nation state
My argument is that race has no bearing on ethnicity, and therefore it has no bearing on nationality; so in other words, nationality is not dependent on race, but rather upon association with the culture/ethnicity of the nation state in question.
However, an observer may point out that countries like Spain and France are NOT nation states, and would be inclined to question what nation or ethnicity an individual would be aligning himself (or herself) towards in a multinational state, and therefore what nationality means in state with more than one principal nation/ethnicity
First let’s understand that a stable multinational state resembles a cultural melting pot, while an unstable multinational state resembles a cultural mosaic. Note that my definition of stability in this statement is dependent on the lack of conflict between the existing ethnicities within the multinational state in question
Then I would argue that in a stable multinational state, especially with the rise of globalization, racial and ethnic bonds are diminished in comparison to the development of a new hybrid culture, a nationality based on the links of ALL the existent ethnicities to a state
This is what it means to have patriotism or even nationalism; this is why (eg.) Brazilian cuisine isn’t referred to as a hybrid of African and Portuguese cuisine, why the Italian language isn’t referred to as a Florentine derivative of Latin, why Normans and the Provencal speak French as well as their traditional dialects of Breton and Occitan respectively
So a player like Zinedine Zidane may have the racial composition of a Berber, but has the ethnicity of a French individual
And this brings us to the principle of autonomy, how an individual has the RIGHT to choose what language to speak, what religion to follow, what ethnicity to be part of, REGARDLESS of their race
Hence why Ribery is still considered French, regardless of his following Islam; he is NOT obliged to follow Christianity because of him being racially Caucasian
In many cases, the synthesis of a national identity is a very difficult process; France is an excellent example, where despite the vast heterogeneity of the country, several “centripetal forces” initiated the development of a national identity (e.g. the French educational system, mandatory military service, state linguistic/cultural policies, as well as historical events like the Franco Prussian war and the World Wars).
Race is a meaningless characteristic; its notion was popularized during colonization to promote the superiority of certain physical characteristics over others, and tbh it should be COMPLETELY forgotten
Imo the perfect example that demonstrates my argument is a comparison between Kevin Prince Boateng and Jerome Boateng
The former played for the Ghana National Team while the latter played for the Germany national team
Why?
Both brothers were both born in Germany, and yet one declared a dissimilar nationality than the other
For the former Milan midfielder, it's because he was raised in an economically impoverished neighborhood, which he felt was alienated by the German government; as a result there was a lack of patriotism towards a German nationality in this area
Therefore when it came to choosing what senior national team he would play for, Ghana was an obvious choice, especially for someone who is a practicing Muslim and fluently speaks Akan (language of the Akan lands in Ghana); being ethnically tied to Ghana rather than Germany
Jerome on the other hand was raised in a relatively wealthy, middle class neighborhood of Berlin, and doesn’t speak Akan or practice Islam, declaring for the Germany National Team, being ethnically tied to Germany rather than Ghana
Mario Balotelli is another example of an ethnic Ghanaian who does not feel aligned with Ghana, who associates himself with Italy; an ITALIAN family raised him in Brescia, and he naturally feels tied to Italy rather than the country of his race.
This explains why he dropped the surname Barwuah in favor of Balotelli
There are countless other footballers who are not ethnically and culturally aligned with their race, such as Henry, Benzema, Ozil, Khedira, Abidal, Sturridge, Sterling, Zaha etc,
Within the idiotic scope of a racial lens, Argentina and Brazil should not have national teams, given that most footballers are of European origin (in South America)
A more outrageous but valid exaggeration of that argument would be that the only national football team of existence should be that of Ethiopia, given the origin of humanity from the Great African Rift Valley.
But is the initial premise of the argument valid? Ofc not.
However, in my eyes the Diego Costa incident is isolated tbh
Imo in light of his recent performances, he opted to change his nationality in the hopes that Spain has a better chance at winning the World Cup
I don’t think he feels ESPECIALLY aligned with either Brazil or Spain, GIVEN that he has a few senior Brazil caps to his name
Diego Costa doesn't really feel Spanish though... He said that he hasn't given up on being Brazilian, that his Family lives in Brazil and that when he retires he'll return to Brazil..... So really Diego Costa is not a good example for anything. He's just playing for Spain because he thinks thats best for his career.
Spot on, Black Jesus.
Hopefully this post has ENDED this discussion, and provided some insight into the geographical mechanics of footballers declaring nationality dissimilar to their race.
And remember, we are all “brothers of the world,” and this is Internazionale
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