I understand the use of the word when people use it with heritage or bloodline as a means of saying they are not ashamed of their lineage or wanting to identify with it, but that's pretty much the end of it for me. They say, "I'm proud of my Italian 'roots'," thinking that Italy was made up of people like Galileo Galilei, Leonardo Da Vinci and Marco Polo, while displaying total amnesia for Nero, Caligula, and Benito Mussolini. But I'm all right with that. I don't do it, but they don't bother me.

Otherwise, "I'm proud of..." had better be connected to some accomplishment or achievement, personal or in relation to someone else. I have better things to do with my time, and I'm proud of that.

I can see that if the person believes it gives them special credit

Most annoying thing on TV is listening to Trump continually proud or honoring the police and troops oversea.

From a Holocaust war on drugs and authorities killing more people in the world than the public do. I am most ashamed of these psychopaths and criminals.

Having pride in one's heritage can be a good thing if it inspires you to continue doing good things to inspire your descendants.

I think your right about that. Your dna is not a source of pride since you had no hand in its designation. Only thing you have to be proud of are your own accomplishments.thanks for pointing that out . I hadn’t thought about it from that perspective before.

I am proud of my parents. They gave me a great upbringing. When I was 5yo i skipped sunday school and took off on my scooter, never had to go again

If I say I am not proud of being Canadain. Many would say, why don't you move to Iraq or North Korea?

That is why I am not proud of being Canadain because US says we have to fight Iraq or middle east or US will harm our trade deals. Proud is overrated.

An Australian comedian Paul Hogan summed this up for me once in an interview.
He was asked "Are you proud to be an Australian?"
And he said to paraphrase as it was a long time ago" I am an Australian, once you start having to say you're proud of what you are it is if you think other people have a problem with it or you are secretly ashamed of it."

This is annoying to me, because I feel you can't

It makes no sense to me. It's like saying "I'm proud I was born." Where, when, to whom we were born are merely facts.

George Carlin had something to say on this topic.

Oh, do we ever agree on this one! My guess is that you acquired the awareness because of being a person with a nice appearance by popular standards. Mine came about earlier in adult life while working as a professional model, among other models who were almost all females.

Being told by others that we're beautiful/handsome etc. can be so beguiling. Discomfort from it seems almost ungrateful on the surface. After all, isn't it better than being told you're ugly? Don't we all work on optimal grooming, adornment and attire with the sole purpose of appearing attractive? So the reward for such dedicated service to superficialities is welcomed on one hand but still feels undeserved if we're honest with ourselves.

Saying thank you in response to praises by others for how we look sometimes feels like taking a bow for somebody else's song; a bit like stealing. I think it becomes clearer when we are applauded for our own song or other creation. There isn't discomfort at all! We can do a happy dance in the open or all alone, savoring the fulfillment.

This seems to be prima facie evidence supporting the notion that 'we are what we do'. It is tragic to see the growing sense of desperation in those clinging to false belief that they are what is superficial and diminishing in the eyes of others.

The greater part of beauty cannot be perceived by the eyes alone.

I'm gonna quote Robert A. Heinlein here. If a lizard tells me that his great grand daddy was a T.Rex. I'll let him think I believe him. It does me no harm, and it's probably the only thing he has to be proud of. Heinlein probably stole it from someone else anyway.

Yup, I'm with you. The idea of pride in being from a particular place is crazy. I can get my head around loving the place - it's very beautiful here and I enjoy being here

Kind of like saying your proud to be gay. Might tick some people off, but think about it. I’m not proud to be streight, just am.

Erm... It annoys me when someone proclaims to be proud of them-self, full stop, be proud of others, not yourself you self-centred...

Quite right @GoldenDoll. Being born in NW Lancashire I often was disparaged by southerners ... The Yorkshire lot were another matter.

However I never used the expression "proud".

Oh no, I was not ashamed to have been born in NW Lancashire and never will be.

My wife and I are going to get tested for our genetic markers to find in generic sense of who our extended kin are. I know I am part Cherokee, and who knows what European lineage I have, and my wife is half German. I think I might be a tiny bit proud of that DNA.

Are you contributing to the body/life of your community? That little bit adds up to your heritage, team etc so to some extent it is good in that it fosters team and sense of belonging. It is so easy to take it to the extreme and to forget the bad that your country or others in your group have done.

I think it is part of what helps us to be successful social animals.

I agree and understand a lot of what George Carlin goes on about in the video and have felt that for a long time.

It is a big problem. I spent time in Rome and got the feeling many Romans were hanging on to their ancestors coat tails. We are great because we were once great. My family is mostly French (from the Perigord region). They are famous for Truffles and torturing Geese (Foi Gras).

BTW I love England. I lived in Germany for 15 years and often went to England to get Cider and Bangers and traveled extensively. I had a friend whose brother was a professor in Newcastle (he specialized in Roman history and Hadrian wall is there). We traveled there several times. An former partner's heritage was Apple Cross Scotland. We made a trip there once and it was scary (the roads) and great. My closest friends on my (sort of English shaped) island are from Norwich. And no one makes historical documentaries like the Brits. The Crown, Victoria (My late wife and I were mesmerized by the "Larkrise to Candleford series" ) and others are my favorite things to watch.

If guilt by ancestry is a logical fallacy than so is merit.

I think that's noddy talks. I think we have to be proud of what our energy can offer us with the support of our intelligent, but not what has already taken place without my individual effort.

As an Italian I am very proud to be one. Sure we had some bad spots in History but name me one nation or country that doesn't. We should be proud of where we came from and never apologize. shit happens move the F on. This guilt trip shit will not fly with me.

You should what George Carlin he says the exact same thing!

Good point. Ex: me saying I'm proud of you makes more sense than saying I'm proud of your blond hair.
The one thing that annoys me is when a person says."everybody" believes or said something or agrees with in defense of something.