User:Laddiebuck/Nationalism

Nationalism as a systematic bias in biographies

According to the Wikipedia Manual of Style: Biographies, the introductory paragraph on persons should contain info on their nationality: "Nationality (In the normal case this will mean the country of which the person is a citizen or national, or was a citizen when the person became notable. Ethnicity should generally not be emphasized in the opening unless it is relevant to the subject's notability.)" This is not to be confused with ethnicity. Thus, when writing about a person born within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, the correct adjective to apply is "British". (Some exceptions are understandable for people born in Northern Ireland but living in the Republic of Ireland.) The terms "Scottish", "Welsh", "English" or Basque are ethnic terms, in that they describe an ethnic group and not the inhabitants of a sovereign country. For example, we do not say that Jesse Owens was a "black athlete" but an "American athlete".

If you are unhappy about this state of affairs, there are several recourses. Lobby to have the Manual of Style changed. Or vote for a separatist party in the such as the SNP, Plaid Cymru, Sinn Fein, English Democrats, Partido Nacionalista Vasco, etc. If separation of your ethnic group occurs, in 20-30 years or so, when the first breed of celebrities born within your new country begin to be recognized, you can start labelling them with the name of your new country. In any case, editing articles to reflect your nationalism (or your sincerely mistaken views) is not the correct recourse.

Exceptions can be made if the subject's ethnicity was clearly very important to his/her life and work. For instance, Robert Burns would be a good example, as he wrote primarily in Scots and lived in Scotland, despite being born in the Kingdom of Great Britain. Sean Connery, who worked mostly in England and did not speak Scots, would not be a good example. Members of the national football teams of England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland, could also be reasonably argued to be exceptions.

laddiebuck 21:25, 19 February 2007 (UTC)


 * great clarification...i've been confused about this for a while, thus choosing to stay out of ethnic designations altogether. i would add, however, the gravity and authority of your words would be more forceful without the gratuitous sarcasm....i'm just saying. --emerson7 | Talk 02:13, 20 February 2007 (UTC)
 * Thanks; sorry about the sarcasm. It's become somewhat of a habit, albeit one I should curb. laddiebuck 02:30, 20 February 2007 (UTC)