Friday, May 23, 2008

Cultural identity and personal identity

Chatting on final approach, Graham explains to the flight captain, that he has problems identifying himself.
...
Chuck: Where you say you were from?

Graham: Auckland, originally.


Chuck: Oakland? I flown in there. California, right?


Graham: Auckland, New Zealand. Auck, as in awk!


Chuck: So you're a New Zealander?


Graham: I have difficulty with that. I can identify myself, someone asks me, "What do you do?" and I can answer, "I fly, I'm a pilot." That's part of my personal identity. But I don't think of myself as a New Zealander. I left 30 years ago. I'm not ethnically or culturally Maori. My father was English but I've never lived there so I'm not British.


Chuck: So what are you? Culturally, I mean?


Graham: Been asking myself that for years. Sort of mid-Pacific?


Chuck: Easter Island?


Graham: Closer to Pitcairn.

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