Talk:James Van Der Beek

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OK, before this revert war goes any further, both sides please consider this: can you cite to any published evidence that James Van Der Beek is Dutch? And don't say "look at his name"; that's not enough on Wikipedia. --Mareino 19:50, 23 January 2006 (UTC)

That's why I reverted it. His name has been mentioned as being Dutch, but there are no actual reliable sources (like an interview, etc.) that mention that he has even recent Dutch ancestry. I.e. nothing like a grandparent or parent, even (and the IMDB is not a particularly trustworthy source in any of these matters). I'll take it out again until someone shows me something. In my personal opinion I find it highly unlikely that he's even "half Dutch" or something, but I could be wrong. JackO'Lantern 19:54, 23 January 2006 (UTC)

[edit] response

Normally I dont add people to lists unless I have 100 percent evidence that they are something. But Van Der Beek is obviously a dutch name which is the name of his father. I am sure he is atleast half dutch. This case is an exception. If his name was something like Walker (Which is shared my multiple European countries I wouldnt dare add it but his name only belongs to the dutch people.

JJstroker 06:51, 6 February 2006 (UTC)

Oh, unquestionably it is 100% a Dutch name, and has been described as such. The problem is, it may well be his great-great-great-great-great grandfather who was Dutch, and everyone since could be Irish-British-Greek-German-Jewish-etc. I personally doubt his Dutch ancestry is recent. I went over all the interviews on the linked site, and it wasn't mentioned. But maybe someone else knows for sure? JackO'Lantern 10:24, 6 February 2006 (UTC)

If I am not mistaken his parents where immigrants so his name is fairly recent. I dont think there is any question that he has some dutch blood in him. You are right he could have a ton of other stuff in him but the what we are concentrating on is whether or not he is of specifically dutch descent. I believe that he is from the dutch name (Not sure but I think atleast his father is full dutch not sure about it though)

JJstroker 21:14, 7 February 2006 (UTC)

His parents were immigrants? Are you sure? But in any case, we need some kind of reliable source (like an interview where he says "my father's Dutch" or "I'm Dutch" or whatever"). I went over the interviews on the linked site and checked out the two searchable bios [1] on Amazon, but I couldn't find anything at all on his ancestry. It may not be out there. And I really don't think his parents were immigrants, because it certainly wasn't mentioned anywhere. Obviously, if they're immigrants, they are most likely from Holland, but again, I'm 99% sure that most of his recent ancestors were US-born. JackO'Lantern 21:26, 7 February 2006 (UTC)

JackO'Lantern - Your "contributions" to this site are irritating and not required. I have come across no less than a dozen pages where you remove obviously accurate information pertaining to the ethnic origin of notable people. You continue doing this even when it is considered unanimously correct by other users. -- 207.210.19.189

I have to agree that the category should stay. It doesn't matter if he's an immigrant or not. He's still of that ethnicity no matter what the status. And if he's of other ethnicities, then we'll add those as we get more info. -- LGagnon 01:42, 18 June 2006 (UTC)

If you have a reliable source that describes him as Dutch-American (and no, not the IMDB), it can stay. We don't list people in ethnicity categories based on last names. See Wikipedia:Verifiability and Wikipedia:No Original Research. I don't know or care what the anonymous user, whose edits mostly consist of putting people in ethnicity categories, is talking about. You oughta try going to an article and actually improving it, rather than flagging these ethnicity categories around based on dubious sources or distant connections. Mad Jack 08:41, 22 June 2006 (UTC)

I believe it is an attempt at improving it. Many disagree with your policy and find the ethnicity category violation that you cite to not actually be a violation due to certain conditions surrounding the situation in question. You may be trying to improve it, but many disagree with you. Like you, they, too, are trying to improve it. Michael 19:46, 19 July 2006 (UTC)

Nonono. In this case, we don't have any reputable sources that say he has any Dutch ancestry at all. This isn't even a case of "half Dutch" or whatever. The only reliable details are something like "last name means By the Creek in Dutch". Mad Jack 23:20, 19 July 2006 (UTC)

May I add, that "van" is also common in the dutch speaking parts of Belgium and probably also in parts of Africa, where afrikaans is spoken. So he might very well be of Belgian ancestry.