Think before you ask this question. It can make some minorities feel like they don't belong.

[IronLionZion]

http://www.cnn.com/interactive/2017/08/opinion/where-im-really-from/

NO, Where are you really from? Before you were born?

“Where are you from? No, where are you really from?” It’s a small question that gets asked every day. The question can be off-putting to some people and there’s a reason why: It’s personal. It can make people on the receiving end feel like they really don’t belong. It can be a harmless ask, but it often depends on the context and who’s asking.

About 2,000 people shared their experiences with us on social media with #whereimreallyfrom. From a woman asked about her ethnicity at a job interview to a man told to go back to his own country (he’s American), the experiences are as diverse as the people who shared them. Here are some of their many stories, as told in their own words.

Good stuff about questioning someone's loyalty to our country, which is important for many jobs that require security clearances.

Or making someone prove their ethnicity if they don't "look American" or if they are ethnically ambiguous/mixed and have some obligation answer questions from some random curious stranger.

Then there are people who are just too stupid to know that Americans are diverse or that Puerto Ricans are US citizens, or it's more of a deliberately malicious crab-barreling to see if you quietly accept it like a foreigner or fight hard for your rights like a real American.

Either way, think how you would feel if people decided that you were from Europe or Africa regardless of the typos on your passport that spell out the words "United States of America".

Some of my fellow DUers understand that I'm on super exclusive type of H-1B visa for people born in America with exceptionally fake accents and are involved in a multi-generational job stealing scheme that my grandparents carefully planned out decades ago. Just like Obama's fake birth certificate and newspaper announcements.

My parents and I enjoyed an idiotic conversation with a CBP employee (not a uniformed agent) recently who insisted we couldn't possibly have CBP global entry because it's only for US citizens (it's not, and we are). It blew his mind as he watched us calmly scan our passports in the machines, got our global entry passes, and handed it to the uniformed agent and entered our own country. Some people like to wallow neck deep in their own bullshit and get brain damage from inhaling the fumes.

And yes, I know the vast majority of DUers reading this are woke and don't need it. It's a good read and several people have shared their stories. If even one person reads it and gets woke, it has made a difference to everyone that person meets.

[unblock]

1. reminds me a bit of my brother trying to find a rabbi to perform his wedding ceremony

my whole family is jewish and my brother was raised jewish, and had a bar mitzvah. but when a rabbi found out he was adopted (at the age of 6 weeks!) they told him they wouldn't do it unless he converted to judaism.

to which my brother said,

"from what?"


they had to shop around, but they eventually found a rabbi who didn't have his head up his....

[SethH]

2. I'm mixed and I get asked it a lot

Less now than in the past, maybe it's because I live on the East Coast now instead of the Midwest, or maybe because people are being accustomed to the it, or maybe because people are trying to be more sensitive, which would be great.

But I don't relate 100% to the people in this video. If I were asked to think of a time when I was annoyed, I can't think of any. There may have been, but I can't remember any. Many times I feel like I disappoint people when I say I'm from suburban Chicago, they wanted something more exotic. Far from feeling like I don't belong, I belong too much for them.

I understand the people have different experiences and different attitudes but I wonder if people with my general attitude is underrepresented in these discussions.

I'm part Puerto Rican, and to me the question of whether Puerto Ricans are citizens is almost a trivia question, as far as whether the average person is supposed to know that. To be honest, I've never fully understood the exact status of Puerto Rico and I have to remind myself sometimes of the details. I try not to be ignorant myself, but sometimes I am about some things, I wouldn't call myself stupid.

Again, the general point about being sensitive is taken, but I think a point of view is left out of that video, and similar discussions.

[IronLionZion]

3. It's much more important for government interaction

I know you're thinking about casual conversations with average people who don't know you and it seems like harmless curiosity if they don't have the power to F your life up.

It's a big problem when it comes to legal rights, civil rights, re-entry into our country at the border, random stop and frisk at airports, jobs that are reserved for US citizens, and the general concept of people in a position of power who believe there is only one type of American who is loyal to our country and belongs here.