Asking someone where they are from

Ask yourself: "Where are you from?"

Then ask yourself: "But where do you really come from? Your ancestors?"

I think most people might be able to trace their ancestry back 5 to 7 generations, but what does "really come from" actually mean? Aren't we all from Africa anyway?

It's all BS - because we're all made of stardust anyway.
 
I wonder if the black woman to the right of her was asked a similar question? That could be telling:

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It's not exactly uncommon for people to turn up at Buckingham Palace in national dress, elaborate outfits etc.. the gist of the recollected convo is that it's initially focused on Africa and it does look a bit like maybe she's wearing some traditional African clothing that maybe some cultural significance to a country or tribe. Is she from a particular tribe, is she a relation of some national leader or chief they've met etc.

Lady whatsherface doesn't necessarily know she's just some random British-Caribbean person who's borderline LARPing with the African style outfit/just wearing it as part of some generic black heritage vibe.

jtIGTPF.jpg

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caff said:
I think most people might be able to trace their ancestry back 5 to 7 generations, but what does "really come from" actually mean? Aren't we all from Africa anyway?
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I think it's likely obvious and depends on the context - if you're say British-Asian it's just asking are you of Indian? Pakistani? Bangladeshi etc.. heritage? It's not asking for you to recall the Indo-European migrations.

Likewise, if you've got a foreign accent or name then where is it from? Or indeed if you're a white British person living in say London - where did you grow up, was it London or did you move there after uni, maybe you're a Yorkshireman etc.
 
M1k3H said:
As a foreigner, I have never been bothered when asked where I'm originally from, in fact I know it's a 'sensitive' subject sometimes, however the way it's been asked '.. Really from..' plus asking so many times... Suggests to me that there were other motives behind the question.
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I think the first issue is that the question she asked ("Where are you from?") wasn't the question she intended to ask ("Where does your ancestry lead?"). An understandable mistake in the modern society where ancestry has become seen as the be all and end all as part of the massively promoted modern belief in unchosen group identity.

Then the second issue is that she persisted in re-asking the same question and not accepting the answer because it wasn't the answer to the question she intended to ask.

I get a more regional version and also a national version on a similar scale. I'm from Stoke-on-Trent. Anyone who hears me will instantly know that I didn't grow up in Stoke-on-Trent. Where am I from? Stoke-on-Trent. It's my home. I am a Stokie. I was from another part of England. I am from Stoke-on-Trent. Where am I really from? Stoke-on-Trent. I'm also the first generation of my family born in England. Where am I from? England. Where was I from? England. Where am I really from? England. I am English. My heritage is that of Shakespeare and Chaucer and Alfred the Great and all that. English, all the way through. My ancestors weren't English. I am not my ancestors. I am me. It's the conflicting concepts of "a person" and "unchosen group identity" again.

The wording and persistence would irritate me. But the person in question is 83. She grew up in a different culture, a culture in which "race" was much less important than it's believed to be nowadays. She's not completely au fait with modern fashions and she missed the mark with her phrasing when trying to match up with modern fashions. I'd cut them some slack for that.

EDIT: I've just seen the photos. The clothing changes things entirely. The person was clearly dressed to state a different identity, not British. So the question becomes much more appropriate. Although still lacking in clarity and excessively persistent. But...83 years old.
 
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I was reading this story, and when I read the name I did think "I wonder where she's from though".
When I read she was born in Britain, I was a little surprised given how she looked in the pictures. She's definitely right to be a bit miffed, as I'm guessing gets this sort of question all the time. But I think someone older asking this question in the place they were in, is not the biggest crime of all time. They've resigned and apologised, so the damage is done.

I saw one quote where it said she was left "traumatised" by the event and I lost all sympathy. I'm sure Lady Hussey has probably been more traumatised by it.
 
In these kinds of circumstances it’s better to stick to talking about the weather.

Unfortunately the basic sensitivities are lost on an 80 odd year old. I don’t imagine she’s a racist, from her perspective the question was likely sincere. But clearly it is uncomfortable.
 
It's an awkward conversation and I can understand why someone would be a bit miffed. But if the woman asking is 80+ it's not really a shock.

The style of dress and the name of the lady being questioned does naturally leads to some assumption mind.

Like if someone said 'that gentleman over there is Hamish McDonald' and I look across to see a burly red haired fella in a kilt and a tartan hat. I might be forgiven for assuming he's Scottish.
 
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bigup said:
Ah we are all from Ethiopia.

www.npr.org

Scientists determine age of some of the oldest human bones

Some of the oldest human remains ever unearthed are the Omo One bones found in Ethiopia. For decades, their precise age has been debated, but a new study argues they're around 233,000 years old.
www.npr.org www.npr.org
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I've read recently that new evidence has popped up that debunks this and that we started from various different places at once.
 
caff said:
Ask yourself: "Where are you from?"

Then ask yourself: "But where do you really come from? Your ancestors?"

I think most people might be able to trace their ancestry back 5 to 7 generations, but what does "really come from" actually mean? Aren't we all from Africa anyway?

It's all BS - because we're all made of stardust anyway.
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No we're not all from Africa. Significant doubt has been placed on that theory.
 
she's doubling down with an insipid r4 interview now ... moved my hair to look at name badge first, she wanted me to denounce my british citizenship ... rehearsed
 
DB_SamX said:
As a brown person, I would prefer for someone to ask me what is my heritage inatead of where I am from. The latter could mean so many things and I could give many answers given the context. Wity heritage, it's clear what they want to know and I'd love to tell them.
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Was what I was saying this morning to the OH and is something I have asked many times before, without issue and have been fine when someone asks me about my heritage.

My opinion is the 83 year old meant this, but asked in a way someone this age would do so.
 
robgmun said:
Yeah, it's the way she pressed on and made an ass of herself, being 83 she should have know a LOT better and just moved on when she said British
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I think you have got this completely wrong. 83 year olds are usually out of touch with modern sensibilities and give less ***** because they don't have to in most cases.
 
robgmun said:
I've read recently that new evidence has popped up that debunks this and that we started from various different places at once.
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There's some debate about it. It's not debunked and it's not proven that homo sapiens started from various different places at once. One species starting from several different places at once? How would that work? Convergent evolution is a thing, but spontaneous separate evolution of the same species in different locations is something else entirely.

When I was younger, homo sapiens was thought to have started ~100,000 years ago. Now that date is over 200,000 years ago. The evidence is sparse and open to interpretation that far back. Maybe at some point someone will dig up older human remains somewhere. Also, of course, there's the ever-present factor that the distinction between species is often messier than the neat classifications we tend to favour. So the line between "Homo Sapiens" and "a slightly older and very slightly different species in the homo genus" might be a bit arbitrary anyway. So the question of where homo sapiens started might come down to where we choose to draw that line. But eastern Africa still looks the most likely spot, towards the eastern end of the great rift valley complex. Around the middle in north-south terms. Modern day Ethiopia. Or Kenya. Or Somalia. Probably.
 
NVP said:
What makes that racist? Rude, yes. Racist? I'm struggling.


As a British born Indian I have been asked this question a gazzilion times in a bajilion different ways by god knows how many different races of people. Is it racist to be curious? No. Is it rude to ask in the manner she did, yes.
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Because there's literally no need to ask. Not as the opener.

It's like when people regale a story and include "this black guy" as a person's description when it has no bearing or relevance to said story.
 
Russinating said:
Because there's literally no need to ask. Not as the opener.

It's like when people regale a story and include "this black guy" as a person's description when it has no bearing or relevance to said story.
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Having no need to ask a question about someones heritage, yet asking anyway, is racist because... they don't need to know?

Also, I can see no connection between asking someones race and saying "this black guy".

It's like anything to do with race or colour or foreign **** in general is taboo, the sooner that stigma goes the better. I don't see how racism is not such an obvious thing :confused:
 
NVP said:
Sounds like hodge podge, you don't mention the snake or apple or anything...
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I wouldn't, since I'm an atheist. There are lots of creation stories for humanity, none of which I believe in. Incidentally, "apple" is now a misleading translation because the meaning of the word "apple" has changed since the OT was first translated into English. Back then, it was a much more generic term that could refer to any fruit or anything that looked anything like it might possibly be a fruit. Hence, for example, pineapples. A fruit that reminded English speakers of a pine cone. Or earth apples, the original English name for potatoes (and still the French name for potatoes - pomme de terre). Nobody knows what fruit was referred to in the original story - the oldest extant copies use an ancient Hebrew word for which the meaning has been lost.

So yeah, I'll stick with the hodge podge that's the currently probably most likely answer based on the scraps of evidence we've found so far from so long ago.

Or maybe Eru Illuvatar did it while the Ainulindale was being sung. That's Tolkien's creation story. Good as any other.
 
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