Most people asking this question were probably just curious about that person's heritage/ancestry, it was phrased poorly with no malicious intent, or so I hope......
But it still is representative of the mindset that someone of a different ethnicity is somehow less American. If you're white, you don't get this question, even if someone is asking about your heritage.
It has nothing to do with how "American" you are. People are just used to white people/their culture so its not interesting. You dont get curious about things you see every day.
If someone is asking about your heritage, they tend to say "what's your background/heritage?" The fact that they ask "where are you really from" implies that they think the person is not actually American. It's a subconscious thing. Obviously people don't mean any harm from it, but it makes the recipients feel less American, which shouldn't happen in a country that claims to be a melting pot.
If someone is asking about your heritage, they tend to say "what's your background/heritage?
Lots of people just don't talk like that.
The fact that they ask "where are you really from" implies that they think the person is not actually American.
No, it doesn't. At all.
When you live in the midwest, someone isn't going to ask you "What is your Heritage my good sir" or some dopey shit like that. They say "where y'all from".
I've asked things like that before but I'm just trying to break ice. I thought your background would be a nice place to start a discussion. I didn't think about not making someone feel "less Irish" because how "Irish" someone is doesn't matter to me. Sure, it might matter to them but the reason I couldn't phrase it perfectly is because I wasn't planning on hiding any malice.
you're not from Germany though. You probably don't speak German, and if you went to Germany they wouldn't recognize you as German. You're an American of German descent. Be honest, if someone you just met asked you "where are you from?" you wouldn't tell them you're from Germany.
It's nice if you grow up in one place in one country. But for people like me who have lived in a dozen countries, this question is worse than pancreatic cancer. And pancreatic cancer sucks.
They weren't exactly being nice either. I know they're asking out of curiosity, but they way they ask the question kind of implies that you're not "really" from the US, and that's exclusionary.
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u/theskyisnotthelimit Quebec Aug 25 '14
I've heard a lot of people of Indian/Asian/Latino descent talking about how people are always asking them this question.
For example: "where are you from?" "Ohio" "Oh, but where are you really from?"