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Why do people keep asking where I'm from? (lemmy.ca)

submitted 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago) by Shampoo_Bottle@lemmy.ca to c/asklemmy@lemmy.ml

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Up until I started working, I didn't really encounter that question. When I did start working, people started asking me that question.

Them: Where are you from?

Me: Canada.

Them: Where are your grandparents from?

Me: Canada.

Them: Ok, where are your great grandparents from?

Me: Canada.

It's irritating sometimes. I just want to exist, do my job and go home, like anyone else. Once is ok, twice is odd, three times is weird, and the fourth time is a pattern.

The only accent that I might have would probably be from Newfoundland, Canada, as I grew up with a lot of people from there. I also talk too fast sometimes.

Have you had similar experiences, and if so, how did you handle it? Can fast speech patterns cause this? Why do random people care so much?

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[-] M500@lemmy.ml 1 points 11 months ago

I think asking where someone is from is a pretty universal way to mean, “What ethnicity are you?”.

Usually, you can understand someone’s question based on the context. Your question, for example, “What race are you?” Is not specific enough. I could answer, “I’m not a race, I’m a person, but I enjoy competing in races.”

So just use context clues to understand a persons question and answer the question if you feel like it.

this post was submitted on 20 Jan 2024

103 points (85.5% liked)

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