I think I start to see the root of the misunderstanding here.
Over here, to be American means to be a legal citizen of the US, just as one would expect. But we're also considered to be the world's melting pot, with people coming from everywhere to become Americans. So people generally give a nod to their ancestry by calling themselves African American, Irish American, Mexican American, German American, Italian American and so on. Usually this is done by people whose families have strong traditions around their ancestral origins.

If you go to NYC, for instance, you'll find that the people in Little Italy may have a New Yawk accent but refer to themselves as Italian. As mentioned elsewhere, the people in south Boston take extreme pride in their Irish ancestry. I would say that the vast majority over here have a pretty good idea of where their ancestors came from, and identify somewhat with that group.

So for me, saying that I'm German/Irish means that I have ancestors who came relatively recently from those countries. It's a verbal shorthand of sorts. No, I have never been to, much less lived in, either country- I'm an American. But I acknowledge that some of my family's influences came from there, just as my friend Dan Ribuffo's family have a lot of Italian traditions despite having been generations removed from Europe.

It's not a longing for those places, it's a nod toward what influences run in our families.
( The Resident Loon Not a demographic. Do not measure., Tue 22 Mar 2011, 0:27, 1 reply, 15 years ago)

That actually makes a bit of sense
now I have a bit more context. It's differentiating between "I'm Irish" meaning I'm from Ireland and I'm obviously American, and not claiming otherwise, but with Irish roots.
( djtrialprice, Tue 22 Mar 2011, 2:04, Reply)