Asking someone where they are from

Dis86 said:
Right but the context you've given again impacts women that aren't black. You've mentioned being judged for their hair but I cannot honestly believe any normal human interviewing a black woman for a job (for example) would be even subconsciously think...oooof, you're great but that curly hair of yours...naaaah. If it's an industry thing (movie industry for example) then that industry needs to be challenged, not you or I!

There are absolutely instances of people projecting their past negative experiences. That is prejudice and it needs to go. I gave an example to @Craterloads in this thread about one of my first encounters with a friend of mine which exactly shows that. I know why he had his initial reaction, fully understand it, it doesn't mean he was right to react that way.
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Well that's the thing, it's not any normal human being doing that individual interview. Some older people may see afros, braids and locks as unprofessional even though they're just a protective hairstyle.

Yeah I can't really argue against that
 
AtreuS said:
Im only joking just making a point... i cant put irish italian white british can i? race is no longer a simple thing to declare.t
I am "white" i was also born in britain to persons with british citizenship, but my heritage is Irish and Italian..... my features are more mediterranean than anything else but if a cursory glance was the decider i would be classed a white rather than non white. But i am not a celtic decendant so im not white british? all gets very confusing when we mix race and nationality and heritage.
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Yeah my bad, whooooosh
 
Wow what a over reaction, if she asked me I would gladly and proudly say my parents are from Pakistan.

a lot of my customers are in the sticks, they're not familiar with black or brown people.

Sometimes when on the phone they will ask where your from (after trying to pronounce your name! ).

Its a genuine question as they are curious and genuinely interested.

And guess what 9/10 are lovely people, pay on time and better then scummy businesses.
 
AtreuS said:
Im only joking just making a point... i cant put irish italian white british can i? race is no longer a simple thing to declare.t
I am "white" i was also born in britain to persons with british citizenship, but my heritage is Irish and Italian..... my features are more mediterranean than anything else but if a cursory glance was the decider i would be classed a white rather than non white. But i am not a celtic decendant so im not white british? all gets very confusing when we mix race and nationality and heritage.
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It's great isn't it, I actually had a similar conversation with a nice chap the other day when I was test driving a car.

He asked where did I come from and I told him the area of Birmingham. He clarified that he meant where was I from, since I didn't sound very brummy, so I clarified that I was born in Glasgow, but spent my teens/early twenties in Bath, hence the strange mix of Glaswegian posh farmer. Also my mum is Dutch and my dad is English but with Maltese heritage, so I have dark hair/skin/eyes rather than being a ginger sun dodger as to be expected of a Glaswegian. I guess I could have taken offence and since the guy was Asian, I probably could have decided to claim it was racially motivated. But I didn't, because I'm not a ****. (Well, depends who you ask I guess :p)
 
B&W said:
Wow what a over reaction, if she asked me I would gladly and proudly say my parents are from Pakistan.

a lot of my customers are in the sticks, they're not familiar with black or brown people.

Sometimes when on the phone they will ask where your from (after trying to pronounce your name! ).

Its a genuine question as they are curious and genuinely interested.

And guess what 9/10 are lovely people, pay on time and better then scummy businesses.
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I think there is a lot of genuine interest. There's also awareness of some international difficulties (India Pakistan for example) that people will want to be sure they don't cause offense over.
As you say, people are immensely proud of their heritage and its often nice to learn about it.
I had a polish gent who worked for me and loved chatting to him about Poland. He was usually a quiet guy but it really got him to open up.
 
Haggisman said:
It's great isn't it, I actually had a similar conversation with a nice chap the other day when I was test driving a car.

He asked where did I come from and I told him the area of Birmingham. He clarified that he meant where was I from, since I didn't sound very brummy, so I clarified that I was born in Glasgow, but spent my teens/early twenties in Bath, hence the strange mix of Glaswegian posh farmer. Also my mum is Dutch and my dad is English but with Maltese heritage, so I have dark hair/skin/eyes rather than being a ginger sun dodger as to be expected of a Glaswegian. I guess I could have taken offence and since the guy was Asian, I probably could have decided to claim it was racially motivated. But I didn't, because I'm not a ****. (Well, depends who you ask I guess :p)
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I fully get this! I have a preposterous accent too :cry:
 
Junglist said:
Some older people may see afros, braids and locks as unprofessional even though they're just a protective hairstyle.
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protective in what way ... I think the average British person looks at these braids/locks and wonders, in ignorance ? how you would maintain it and keep it clean.
 
Imagine how this poor woman must feel anytime she goes through passport control

Where are you travelling from?
NOT FROM AFRICA REEEEEE
 
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jamoor said:
After being asked five times? She’s answered the question but kept being asked.
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It just comes across like she was being deliberately awkward, albeit the lady asking the question maybe couldn't quite read the situation. My wife has been asked similar questions all her life but has never assumed malice as a default position.
 
SpeedFreak said:
It just comes across like she was being deliberately awkward, albeit the lady asking the question maybe couldn't quite read the situation. My wife has been asked similar questions all her life but has never assumed malice as a default position.
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There is no deliberately awkward. She answered the question with her identity and it wasn’t good enough.

If this woman thinks she’s from london she will say she’s from london, if she thinks she’s from Nigeria she will say so. No further questions
 
jamoor said:
There is no deliberately awkward. She answered the question with her identity and it wasn’t good enough.

If this woman thinks she’s from london she will say she’s from london, if she thinks she’s from Nigeria she will say so. No further questions
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Which is completely different from everyone else answering the question unless you’re being a ****.
As everyone else on this thread has managed to communicate a persons background and family history is often complex and interesting.
Unless you want to be a ****.
Tick.
Got her fame. Will be finding out what abuse means now via the internet.
 
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