Help me understand what is a 'white american

Okay I have some thoughts about this and I guess im curious because Im caucasian myself but the main reason was I dont know who is white american and im just worried or afraid I might hurt those obviously not on purpose who I may say their white american when their not - the whole thing puzzles me please help me understand because I dont know

1.) Are some americans white american because their classed by a term(they are one ) but choose not to be called white americans because they have mixed race which isnt white or say they had recent european acenstry like parents who are sweedish but prefer not to be classed as a white american because maybe white americans are from anglo saxon descent ?

more questions to follow

2) Is there confusion over what is a white american in the Usa? Some say you have to have recent anglo saxon descendants while others say if you european thats classed as white? Do people in the usa express their confusion or is it obvious who is a white american?

Or most of your descendants are anglo saxon even from way back like 100 years ago ?

And lets keep this positive this thread is not about racial issues thats for other threads im just curious about the 'white american definition'

Good questions Missy! I've met people who I thought were average white americans until they began to speak and I realized they were not from the US. Also, I've learned that there are a lot of people of spanish descent who look caucasian even with blonde hair and speak perfect english but if you ask them their natiionality you'll discover they are spanish or latin american.

The most "white American" country in the Western hemisphere is Uruguay. Anglos do not come close to being the majority there.

yes good points I wouldnt judge by looks its more when im getting to know them and they havent said that they are white american. Ultimately it comes down to respecting the person what they say they are rather than some classification or term

so youre saying there arent lots of anglos in usa ?

There are plenty. But my point is that all of the Western hemisphere is "American". The USA is comprised of the 50 states and territories. It does not constitute all of America.

this is just uggh confusing ! people should just say " im white american sort of..." ahha not like in NZ if your NZ european thats that. thanks for the answers guys

People in the US don't typically refer to themselves as 'white American'. Sounds like a term more used outside of the US.
Rarely is there a debate over what constitutes 'white', outside of something obvious. Like some of African decent calling themselves white would be debate. But a mixed individual often chooses which they want to be viewed as. Some people use the option to suit their purposes. Obama is a prime example. His is mixed, white and black. He identifies as black, most of the time. But not always.
For the purposes of classification, the government is usually more worried about it than day to day interactions between people. The government wants to know which ethnicity/race you are. This helps determine which benefits you are or are not available for. Schools and hiring companies can make issue of it as well.
But when i walk down the street, as a 'white' person i don't see other white people and think 'white person, white person, white person'. I am, however, more likely to notice other ethnicities. But at least part of that is that, in my personal experience, black people are the ones most likely to point out race and make distinctions, so i am most aware of them for this reason.
Of course this all comes down to the individual, and naturally this isn't a reflection on all blacks.
In this day and age it's impossible Not to offend someone, at least in the US. So i worry less about it now than i would have before.

We're all Americans. The US is a melting pot.

Frankly, I'm getting really tired of everyone trying to identify each other as a some race. I'm an immigrant mutt -- half Lithuanian, quarter Irish, quarter German. I guess that classifies me as "white." However, whenever I take a survey, I refuse to answer the race questions on them because it's simply not helpful. How does this constant classification of race help race relations?

I know folks who are part Asian, part Native American and part European. That makes it IMPOSSIBLE to put a moniker on their race. They are simply American. That is how I want to be identified.

Its a good question. But I highly doubt a definition is forthcoming.

According to most applications, you are white if you are not certain other ethnicities. Such as Native American, Eskimo, Asian, Latin, etc...

So if you can't check any of those then you are white...

Missy, you are a weirdo. I love that..

Jesus referred to people mostly by their geographical location, not their race.

JOB 19:26-27.
And though after my skin worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God:
Whom I shall see for myself, and mine eyes shall behold, and not another;
though my reins be consumed within me.

EZE 16:10.
I clothed thee also with broidered work, and shod thee with badgers' skin, and I girded thee
about with fine linen, and I covered thee with silk.

Yeh I wasnt trying to say in relation to usa white is always anglo I was just tryiing to understand I had no idea

interesting , sad how its not like that in israel today at least it reminds of the whole law of return/prove your jewishness thing

Good question Missy. When they ask what I am on a questionnaire I say, White, Caucasian . I am first and foremost an American I was born here. I have heritage fro. Sweden, Sicily, Germany and France. But if a foreigner were to ask me what my nationality is I'd say American.