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How Do You Feel When Strangers Ask , "Where Are You From?"

nowicanseethemoon

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Re: How Do You Feel When Strangers Ask , "Where Are You From

I live in Wyoming, which is likely the least ethnically diverse place you've ever been. I do however live in the only University town in the state. We get people from all over the world, which is one of the greatest things about living here. I rarely get asked based on my looks because I don't stand out here at all. I do however get asked on occasion based on my last name. Both my maiden name and my ex-husband's last names are very unique (maiden name is Danish and married name is Italian). I generally just tell them the origin and move on. I can't recall a time when anyone has been pushy or negative, just curious and happy to move on once I answer their question.
 

iLander

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Re: How Do You Feel When Strangers Ask , "Where Are You From

This question was a HUGE source of embarrassment to my family, especially my grandmother. She never lost her accent, so she just never talked much in front of people.

And when I came to this country, the other kids called me a Nazi because of my heavy accident. I worked to get rid of it, ASAP, now -when I talk- no one believes I'm German.

I have no accent at all, but because I spent so much time listening and adjusting my own speech, I can "do" all kinds of accents. Did you know there are really MANY Southern accents? Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, Kentucky/Tennessee (they're pretty close) and Texas all have distinctly different accents. At least to my involuntarily trained ears.

I chose a TV accent, from the people I saw on the news. It's worked well for me. :sun:
 

Kelinas

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Re: How Do You Feel When Strangers Ask , "Where Are You From

I wish people would just straight ask me where I'm from. Most people don't have the balls to just come up and ask if I'm just standing around, but by god, if they hear me speaking Korean, they will stand there and gawk at me until I just turn and stare at them.
Then the following conversation ensues:
"Are you Chinese? " - No. I'm actua----
"So you MUST be from Thailand. I can say a word in Thai- Sawadee, isn't that fabulous?" - Um, I'm not Thai either, Im Ko---
"You aren't Chinese or Thai? Are you Indian?"
By that point, I'm just over it. I just say Korean, which then means 99.98% of the time I am asked "OMFG YOU ARE FROM NORTH KOREA? WOW!! WHATS IT LIKE EATING DIRT AND STUFF??" A lot of times I just walk away.
Some people just come up to me and ask me "what ARE you?" Sometimes I reply "Homosapien", other times I say Martian and walk away.
 

dragonfly411

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Re: How Do You Feel When Strangers Ask , "Where Are You From

Kelinas|1379706326|3524328 said:
I wish people would just straight ask me where I'm from. Most people don't have the balls to just come up and ask if I'm just standing around, but by god, if they hear me speaking Korean, they will stand there and gawk at me until I just turn and stare at them.
Then the following conversation ensues:
"Are you Chinese? " - No. I'm actua----
"So you MUST be from Thailand. I can say a word in Thai- Sawadee, isn't that fabulous?" - Um, I'm not Thai either, Im Ko---
"You aren't Chinese or Thai? Are you Indian?"
By that point, I'm just over it. I just say Korean, which then means 99.98% of the time I am asked "OMFG YOU ARE FROM NORTH KOREA? WOW!! WHATS IT LIKE EATING DIRT AND STUFF??" A lot of times I just walk away.
Some people just come up to me and ask me "what ARE you?" Sometimes I reply "Homosapien", other times I say Martian and walk away.


HA! I love the martian one.

See, that to me is the point where it is rude, and assumptive, and yes, offensive. I just didn't know why someone would take offense to me saying "Where are you from?" Or "What ethnicity do you descend from?"
 

ruby59

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Re: How Do You Feel When Strangers Ask , "Where Are You From

missy|1379702109|3524290 said:
SB621|1379700070|3524266 said:
To sort of step onto Missy's point I don't mind when people ask where I'm from based off my looks or (lack of) accent. But i positively can't stand it when ppl tell me I look Jewish. Seriously how do I look like a religion. Then they usually go on to ask if someone in my family was Christian at one point because I have blue eyes. I have been told many times Jewish ppl are supposed to have brown eyes.

When my girls were in school, the teachers would be confused as to why the had an Italian last name, but one wore a Star of David, the other a Chai. In grade school, one teacher asked for a show of hands of who celebrated Hanukkah or Christmas. Mine raised her hand to both. Teacher told her she was mistaken. It took a note from Mom to set her straight.

Also, I am Jewish and have blue eyes and light colored hair like my father. My husband has dark hair and eyes. My children are different combinations of the two of us.

People think I am from the South, until my strong Brooklyn accent comes out.
 

Circe

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Re: How Do You Feel When Strangers Ask , "Where Are You From

Heh, my dad got asked where his horns were, too, by a little old lady from Kiev, back in the 1960s.

This is why you should never trust literature in translation, folks - that one doesn't come (originally, anyway) from any ill beliefs concerning the Jews ... No devil meant here! It comes from an early mistranslation concerning Moses. What it said was "halo." What they heard/read was "horns." So many renaissance statues of Moses show him with cute little horns, looking like Pan's Israeli cousin.

I kind of wish they'd gotten it right and people kept asking us where we kept our halos.
 

Sky56

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Re: How Do You Feel When Strangers Ask , "Where Are You From

I'm OK with it. I live far away from where I grew up and lived in many places and my accent reflects all of this.

I speak the standard English of where I live now but several words I pronounce from where I grew up.
 

missy

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Re: How Do You Feel When Strangers Ask , "Where Are You From

Circe|1379712973|3524405 said:
Heh, my dad got asked where his horns were, too, by a little old lady from Kiev, back in the 1960s.

This is why you should never trust literature in translation, folks - that one doesn't come (originally, anyway) from any ill beliefs concerning the Jews ... No devil meant here! It comes from an early mistranslation concerning Moses. What it said was "halo." What they heard/read was "horns." So many renaissance statues of Moses show him with cute little horns, looking like Pan's Israeli cousin.

I kind of wish they'd gotten it right and people kept asking us where we kept our halos.

Haha, yes that would have been better. But ofc the answer is obvious. We keep them on our rings. :cheeky:
 

Asscherhalo_lover

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Re: How Do You Feel When Strangers Ask , "Where Are You From

I tell them I'm from New York, if they ask where I say Long Island. If they ask what my heritage is I will tell them, I don't really care. I will also ask them right back and expect an answer of course, lol. I actually want to do the 23andme DNA test for more info on my ancestry, I find it an interesting topic not an offensive one.
 

missy

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Re: How Do You Feel When Strangers Ask , "Where Are You From

Asscherhalo_lover|1379722063|3524472 said:
I tell them I'm from New York, if they ask where I say Long Island. If they ask what my heritage is I will tell them, I don't really care. I will also ask them right back and expect an answer of course, lol. I actually want to do the 23andme DNA test for more info on my ancestry, I find it an interesting topic not an offensive one.

It's not an offensive topic Asscherhalo. It's all about who and how and why people are asking. The topic isn't offensive but sometimes the behavior of the people asking is. It's all about context. I think finding out more about one's ancestry is a worthwhile interest to explore.
 

Asscherhalo_lover

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Re: How Do You Feel When Strangers Ask , "Where Are You From

missy|1379722280|3524475 said:
Asscherhalo_lover|1379722063|3524472 said:
I tell them I'm from New York, if they ask where I say Long Island. If they ask what my heritage is I will tell them, I don't really care. I will also ask them right back and expect an answer of course, lol. I actually want to do the 23andme DNA test for more info on my ancestry, I find it an interesting topic not an offensive one.

It's not an offensive topic Asscherhalo. It's all about who and how and why people are asking. The topic isn't offensive but sometimes the behavior of the people asking is. It's all about context. I think finding out more about one's ancestry is a worthwhile interest to explore.

I understand that, but even people who ask me in a mean way, that's their problem, not mine. I was picked on often as a child for various reasons and people who are mean are only reflecting on themselves, not on me.
 

missy

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Re: How Do You Feel When Strangers Ask , "Where Are You From

Asscherhalo_lover|1379723558|3524492 said:
missy|1379722280|3524475 said:
Asscherhalo_lover|1379722063|3524472 said:
I tell them I'm from New York, if they ask where I say Long Island. If they ask what my heritage is I will tell them, I don't really care. I will also ask them right back and expect an answer of course, lol. I actually want to do the 23andme DNA test for more info on my ancestry, I find it an interesting topic not an offensive one.

It's not an offensive topic Asscherhalo. It's all about who and how and why people are asking. The topic isn't offensive but sometimes the behavior of the people asking is. It's all about context. I think finding out more about one's ancestry is a worthwhile interest to explore.

I understand that, but even people who ask me in a mean way, that's their problem, not mine. I was picked on often as a child for various reasons and people who are mean are only reflecting on themselves, not on me.

That's an excellent point and very true. Thanks for that perspective Asscherhalo!
 

FrekeChild

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Re: How Do You Feel When Strangers Ask , "Where Are You From

I'm half Mexican and half white. So is my husband. But where I have light hair, skin and blue eyes, he's got dark hair, skin and brown eyes. His last name is German. When in Hawaii, he was mistaken for being Samoan. Which is so weird to me because he's relatively small of stature.

We live in California now, but we are from New Mexico. The population of New Mexico is at any given time half white and half Hispanic (there are other races, but the percentages are very small, so the vast majority of the population is halved with white and Hispanic). For my entire life, I'd go traveling outside of NM, and people would assume I was from Mexico. They wanted to know how my English was so good. They wanted to know about my passport. What was customs like? Why did I have blue eyes and light hair? Now, it's one thing when it's a kid from the Midwest, South or East Coast...

When we bought a house here in California, I handed over my New Mexican drivers license to the notary public to have her verify I was who I said I was. She told me she couldn't accept anything from Mexico. I snapped, "It's not MEXICO. It's NEW MEXICO. It's a STATE. In the UNITED STATES." She got really flustered. WELL NO BLEEP. SHE SHOULDN'T HAVE PASSED 3RD GRADE. She tried to defend herself. We both just rolled our eyes and got out of there ASAP.

Luckily we're in a city where the population is divided similarly to New Mexico. Now what's fun is for my husband, he doesn't look Hispanic enough for Hispanics to accept him and he doesn't look white enough for white people to accept him. And people don't believe him when he explains his ethnicity (it comes up as part of his job, and he's perfectly ok with discussing it at length). You can imagine what growing up in rural Pennsylvania was like. The other little kids called him "dirty".

Melting pot, my @$$.
 

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Re: How Do You Feel When Strangers Ask , "Where Are You From

DH's last name is very very Dutch, impossible to pronounce unless you know Dutch. He's asked all the time what nationality he is. Everywhere -- U.S. & other European countries, especially in Asia. I think it's interest, not disdain. He answers, they say, "Oh." That's it.

In Europe I was often asked if I was English & I never felt offended. It's natural to be curious about other people. DH & I, both with int'l backgrounds & interests, often discuss names -- like of people we see on tv: "What nationality do you think that name is?" There's nothing pejorative intended at all.

Acknowledging that all humans are not alike, in these horrendously PC days, seems to be a sin. It isn't! It's merely reality. Usually it springs from friendly interest -- take advantage of it; educate people about your country of origin, or your ancestors' country. They'll be fascinated.

--- Laurie
 

AGBF

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Re: How Do You Feel When Strangers Ask , "Where Are You From

FrekeChild|1379753727|3524665 said:
I'm half Mexican and half white. So is my husband. But where I have light hair, skin and blue eyes, he's got dark hair, skin and brown eyes.

Using "white" to refer to non-Hispanic Caucasians and not to Hispanic Caucasians bothers me. I do not know if you are doing that, Freke. You have been saying that your husband has darker skin than his neighbors in Pennsylvania did. My friend's son, adopted from Bolivia, is obviously of completely Quechua background. He is extremely tall and well built with handsome features; he has very brown skin, brown eyes, and straight black hair. He looks like the epitome of an indigenous South American. My daughter, however, has taken to dividing the world into "whites" and Hispanics...no matter how white the Hispanics are by race. To me that is crazy. Hispanic isn't, in my opinion, a race. It's a (very loose) ethnic classification based solely on sharing the same language and perhaps some of the same history, food, and customs. The latter three vary a lot from region to region.

AGBF
:read:
 

Circe

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Re: How Do You Feel When Strangers Ask , "Where Are You From

JewelFreak said:

Laurie, the thing about that is that there are few to no negative stereotypes about the British. And when you say, no, actually, Dutch by way of American ... again, we're talking first world nations who've had the power to make the stereotypes, not to suffer from them. As an American who gets mistaken for a Brit (I have that ESL accent, where my English accent sort of comes from Mike Wallace), it really feels completely different from when people start picking at my being Jewish or Russian.
 

FrekeChild

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Re: How Do You Feel When Strangers Ask , "Where Are You From

AGBF|1379763903|3524693 said:
FrekeChild|1379753727|3524665 said:
I'm half Mexican and half white. So is my husband. But where I have light hair, skin and blue eyes, he's got dark hair, skin and brown eyes.

Using "white" to refer to non-Hispanic Caucasians and not to Hispanic Caucasians bothers me. I do not know if you are doing that, Freke. You have been saying that your husband has darker skin than his neighbors in Pennsylvania did. My friend's son, adopted from Bolivia, is obviously of completely Quechua background. He is extremely tall and well built with handsome features; he has very brown skin, brown eyes, and straight black hair. He looks like the epitome of an indigenous South American. My daughter, however, has taken to dividing the world into "whites" and Hispanics...no matter how white the Hispanics are by race. To me that is crazy. Hispanic isn't, in my opinion, a race. It's a (very loose) ethnic classification based solely on sharing the same language and perhaps some of the same history, food, and customs. The latter three vary a lot from region to region.

AGBF
:read:
I'm using "white" to denote that I don't know what particular European country of origin my "white" half came from because I was adopted and I have very little information about my heritage. I only recently learned that I am half Mexican. I blend in very well with people of European descent (English, Irish, etc) because of my fair coloring.

My husband has the distinguishing "color" characteristics of someone of Mexican heritage. But not the more typical facial features that go with that coloring.

I use Hispanic in it's more loose/general definition. In New Mexico, there is a lot of "Latino/a" and "Hispanic" usage as terms of "not being white" or of European descent. Albuquerque, where I am from, was formed by Spanish settlers. A vast majority of people of non-white heritage in New Mexico call themselves "Latino/a" and "Hispanic", but if you delve closer into their personal past, they note that they are Mexican or Spanish, both or from some other country of origin entirely - that typically speaks Spanish. I'm not sure if this would translate well to someone who is not from or spent time in the area?

New Mexicans, while we complain a lot about our state (I don't particularly feel any permanent attachment to California), there is a lot of pride for it. And New Mexico has it's own culture that comes from it's varied population and the different cultures that have come together to build one unique New Mexican culture. Which is probably the most strongly influenced by Mexican and Spanish.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albuquerque,_New_Mexico

Have I gone off topic enough?
 

kenny

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Re: How Do You Feel When Strangers Ask , "Where Are You From

My 4 grandparents are from Europe and I have light skin so I don't catch any negative vibes about my ancestry unless I'm hanging out with my SO's extended family in the ghetto.

All four of my SO's grandparents were born in Mexico.
He is stopped by cops for just looking wrong, especially since he recently started sporting a buzz-cut.

His best friend is from Guatemala.
Often when we 3 are out people will assume he also is of Mexican descent.
He gets livid!!!!! LIIIIIVID!!!
He growls, "I'M NOT MEXICAN!!!" :angryfire: :angryfire: :angryfire:
 

momhappy

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Re: How Do You Feel When Strangers Ask , "Where Are You From

I have no issues if strangers ask where I'm from, nor do I have issues if they make assumptions about where I'm from.
 

kenny

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Re: How Do You Feel When Strangers Ask , "Where Are You From

momhappy|1379796550|3524902 said:
I have no issues if strangers ask where I'm from, nor do I have issues if they make assumptions about where I'm from.

But are you in a discriminated-against ethnicity/creed/ancestry/heritage/race/group?

That is the whole point of this thread, but you failed to mention it.
 

KaeKae

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Re: How Do You Feel When Strangers Ask , "Where Are You From

Growing up, I didn't get many questions other than the other kids asking everyone "what 'nationality' are you?" My grandparents were children of Irish (3) and Polish (1) immigrants and I seem to match the expected coloring, etc.

When I married, I took DH's last name, and there is where we get some questioning. DH's last name is considered to be Jewish, and indeed, his paternal grandfather was Jewish, in heritage and faith. His grandmother was Christian. DH's father was raised without religion, later married a Christian girl and joined the church, so DH is Christian. Still, many people assume us to be Jewish based on our name, and supposedly, how DH 'looks' as some one addressed up thread. Me, I've had a couple people actually say to me 'You're not Jewish, but your husband it, right?"

So, yes, I'm the woman with the Jewish name, often wearing a cross, Claddagh ring or Irish Trinity pendant. It occasionally starts a conversation about it, but mostly it's out of curiosity and isn't stressful. DH however, tells me that sometimes he feels that people are upset or disappointed when he tells them his own story.

Oh, and I almost forgot, I do sometimes get the question of where I'm from, because I have a distinct NJ accent. Living in Ca, it's probably fairly evident that I'm not a Valley Girl. It was quite obvious when we lived in Ohio. But the best was the lovely lady there who thought I was from England. Can you imagine? Well, she definitely knew I wasn't a native of the midwest ;-)
 

Brown.Eyed.Girl

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Re: How Do You Feel When Strangers Ask , "Where Are You From

I think it's hilarious. Just as a reference point, I'm Asian and I grew up in a predominantly white, Rocky Mountain flyover state ;-) I get it ALL the time - once, a girl at Walgreens asked my mom and I, and I said, well my family is of Korean descent, and she asked, "Oh, North or South?"

More often than not, I get: "Oh wow, your English is SO good." B.E.G.'s inner monologue: No sh!t Sherlock. I was born here, grew up here, have been in the Amer. school system from K-12, got perfect scores in AP English and SAT Verbal and Writing, majored in English, went to law school, and now I teach English. :roll: I give the older folks a pass (generational and all), though I find that kind of unintentional ignorance to be far less excusable among Gen Y'ers.

Funny story - one of my exes is white and lived in China for several years and speaks Mandarin well. I don't speak Mandarin at all. We'd go to Chinese restaurants and the server would come over and just start speaking to me in Mandarin. This happened multiple times. I'd look at her, smile, shake my head, and point to my ex, who would start replying in Mandarin.

Ooh another story. I was in a small town in CA a few months ago, stopped for gas, and had the Middle Eastern gas attendant tell me my English was great, then ask if I was a nurse. I said no, but why did he ask? And he said, "Well, your people usually go into the medical field."

I have many, many more stories along these lines, and I usually just laugh it off - if I got offended over every one of them, well, I'd be unhappy a lot more. Now, I'm just amused all the time ;-)
 

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Re: How Do You Feel When Strangers Ask , "Where Are You From

B.E.G.|1379816218|3525067 said:
I have many, many more stories along these lines, and I usually just laugh it off - if I got offended over every one of them, well, I'd be unhappy a lot more. Now, I'm just amused all the time ;-)

I've tried to be like this until I found out that if there are to many Asians in area of work, people will say things that they would never say about a group of Caucasian people. I'm glad that you can be upbeat about discrimination, but I've learned that having a name that does not give away my ethnicity on a resume has opened a lot of doors, and has allowed me to get places before someone can prejudge me based on my perceived ethnicity.
 

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Re: How Do You Feel When Strangers Ask , "Where Are You From

pregcurious|1379822811|3525112 said:
B.E.G.|1379816218|3525067 said:
I have many, many more stories along these lines, and I usually just laugh it off - if I got offended over every one of them, well, I'd be unhappy a lot more. Now, I'm just amused all the time ;-)

I've tried to be like this until I found out that if there are to many Asians in area of work, people will say things that they would never say about a group of Caucasian people. I'm glad that you can be upbeat about discrimination, but I've learned that having a name that does not give away my ethnicity on a resume has opened a lot of doors, and has allowed me to get places before someone can prejudge me based on my perceived ethnicity.

Upbeat? No. But you can't control how others react to you; however, you can control how you react to them. It's a mindset issue.

I am curious - are you Asian? During my Masters course in education, I came across a really interesting reading about cultural stereotypes, and how one such stereotype for Asians is that of the "model minority" (briefly, that Asians are expected to be hardworking, smart, successful, etc.). As with many stereotypes, this isn't always accurate and though less pejorative than stereotypes towards other races, it is still harmful. That said, it also makes me surprised that you feel prejudgment about your ethnicity has prevented doors from being opened jobwise. Of course, if you aren't Asian, never mind - we'll let my model minority comment above just be an interesting but non-relevant tidbit ;-)
 

pregcurious

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Re: How Do You Feel When Strangers Ask , "Where Are You From

Yes, I am Asian. I think your question is an example of how not to ask because of what followed. I know you are Asian also, however, and therefore I assume you won't discriminate against me because I am Asian. I think you are being genuine.

I guess that touches on the crux of the issue here. When you are a different ethnicity than the other person, one does not know the intention of a question, except for what follows (i.e. context, which multiple people have pointed out already.) That's why there is an okay way to ask this question, and a way to ask that will offend.

To me, it's about learning about a person as an individual, not about them as a representative of their race/creed/whatever.

I wonder if people who pry, are pushy, etc about ethnicity, are also this way about other traits. One thing that strikes me is that with some of our examples about being pushy, they also include loss of boundaries and or awkwardness when asking further about our family, what we eat, our general way of living, etc. I find the attitude reflected by "I have a right to ask to satisfy my curiosity, you are strange for being offended" to be selfish.

At the end of the day though, I don't really stress unless this person can affect my life (e.g. my boss, in-law).

For example, I remember when I was a kid, my mom was driving home, and some high school kids started tailing us, passing us, driving right next to us, and making "Asian eyes" at us. I thought we were going to get into an accident and get hurt. If it had just been some people making fun of the way I looked, I would not remember it today.

My friend who is Muslim, and shows it in the way he dresses. I realize this is a religion, not an ethnicity, but he experienced an even worse version of the drive by, which is why I bring it up. Someone actually tried to drive him off the road in rural PA. He was in a mini-van with his wife and 5 kids. After 9/11, one of our coworkers would not talk to him. He was born in the US, and served in the Army. Ever since 9/11, dressing the way he does has had different consequences than before 9/11. This is why it is important to this discussion to realize that this is a different type of question for those who have been discriminated against in a severe way. This all started from a thread about an beautiful woman who people decided was not American enough, and may be Muslim.
 

FrekeChild

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Re: How Do You Feel When Strangers Ask , "Where Are You From

Hmmm...I have a friend who is Muslim. His father is Moroccan and his mom is Spanish (from Spain!). He travels internationally a lot for personal reasons and for business (about once every couple weeks), and every single time he gets pulled out for security. This man would not hurt a fly, and yet, because of how he looks, his name and other people's ignorance about the Middle East and Muslims after 9/11, he gets to spend an extra hour going through security. :roll:
 

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Re: How Do You Feel When Strangers Ask , "Where Are You From

pregcurious|1379827307|3525132 said:
Yes, I am Asian. I think your question is an example of how not to ask because of what followed. I know you are Asian also, however, and therefore I assume you won't discriminate against me because I am Asian. I think you are being genuine.

I guess that touches on the crux of the issue here. When you are a different ethnicity than the other person, one does not know the intention of a question, except for what follows (i.e. context, which multiple people have pointed out already.) That's why there is an okay way to ask this question, and a way to ask that will offend.


I'm not entirely clear on what you're saying. Was it my phrasing, "Are you Asian?" because it was a blunt question? Would "What ethnicity are you?" have worked better? Or would you prefer I not have asked? If it offended you, I apologize. Since you made a comment about a group of Asians receiving comments that a group of Caucasians would not, and in reference to my post, I used that as a context clue to get more specific info to put my response in context, and to not automatically assume that you're Asian or not Asian.

To be honest, I think anyone has a right to ask but as I said in my last post, it's up to the person being asked whether they choose to be offended. If they choose not to answer because they're offended, I have a right to feel however I want about that, but I never have a right to demand an answer or to expect one. As intrusive as people can be, and some are cluelessly pushy, when it comes to questions like this, I never rely on someone else to respect my boundaries; I create my boundaries, and enforce them, whether that's through polite deflection of a question or a refusal to answer or making a humorous comment out of it.

On a sidenote - I always find it interesting the dual complaints that often come up in discussions like these. One complaint says, "people don't try to get to know ME as an individual." Alongside that is the complaint, "people are too intrusive with personal questions." Obviously there are people at extreme ends of the spectrum who are too pushy about it and may not be asking those kinds of questions because they truly want to get to know someone, but I always kind of wonder, don't you want people to ask you questions if you want them to get to know you as a person and not just judge you on appearances? Go figure.

Finally, no one should have the unfair burden of being made a representative of their race in the eyes of others, but for many, who they are as an individual is often tied in some way to their cultural background, which can include many factors (race among them, but certainly not exclusively).

--

Edited for grammar!
 

TooPatient

Super_Ideal_Rock
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Sep 1, 2009
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10,295
Re: How Do You Feel When Strangers Ask , "Where Are You From

Interesting conversation!

I am used to people asking "Where are you from" as a sort of greeting. Usually right after introducing and giving names. Not in any sort of a prying what culture/race/religion/etc question but more of a curiosity about where people live now and may have lived recently.

I will certainly keep this thread in mind when I meet new people. I don't want anyone to feel uncomfortable!
 

dk168

Super_Ideal_Rock
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Jul 7, 2013
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12,492
Re: How Do You Feel When Strangers Ask , "Where Are You From

I came from Hong Kong to study in the UK in 1979 and decided to stay and call this place my home.

I worked on my speech and accent in the hope to achieve a better social standing in life, which was the teaching back in those days when regional accents were considered as undesirable.

I consider myself a Brit, and I have a British accent that peeps abroad can recognise.

When I am asked where I am from in the UK, I would say the town and/or county where I currently live, and some peeps would go on to ask "where originally". :)

I don't mind that, as I am officially a first generation immigrant.

However, I am not so keen to engage in a conversation about Hong Kong, as it is all alien to me now.

I truly believe a home is where one lays one's hat, regardless of where one came from.

DK :)
 

packrat

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Dec 12, 2008
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10,614
Re: How Do You Feel When Strangers Ask , "Where Are You From

so...pretty much what i'm getting is that if I walk outside tomorrow and find a small green hairless man w/big eyes and a large head, I'm just going to smile and say Hi, beautiful day isn't it? and keep on a walkin.
 
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