Quote:
Originally Posted by peter12
Does this really ever happen all that much? Most of the time, I think people are perceptive enough to ask because they know the other person is longing to make a familiar connection.
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It really, really does. Every Asian person or Hispanic person I know is sick to death of the question and frequently gets some kind of even-more offensive addition to it like "oh, you don't
look like you're from Venezuela!"
Hell, I'm an expatriate living in Asia and
I'm sick to death of the question. It's the first or second thing every person asks me here. It's a constant reminder that you're different, an outsider, and 'not normal'.
I know that people aren't trying to be mean or judgmental when they ask the question, so I don't get offended per se, but it's aggravating and annoying and is a sure-fire way to get me to disengage from what could have been an otherwise rewarding personal interaction.
It's the equivalent of saying to a coworker "looks like someone's got a case of the Mondays!"