Reply to Why do people asked me where I am from if they don't believe me?

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote]When I answer that I'm originally from Pittsburgh, I'm asked where I'm really from. It's veiled racism. They are trying to stereotype you and you don't fit their mental image of what you should be, so they discredit your answer. [/quote]

How does that work? People can already see that you are Asian. [b]Why is it veiled racism and stereotyping trying to learn if you are of Chinese or Taiwanese decent[/b]? [/quote]

Because PP isn't from China or Taiwan! He or she is from freaking Pittsburgh! It's racism and stereotyping to assume that an Asian person is foreign or can't really be from the US. If you must be so bold as to ask what someone's ethnicity is, then use the right words.  What is your ethnicity? Not "where are you from" because they're from Pittsburgh.[/quote]

This.  The PP isn't "really" from China or Taiwan.  He or she is "really" from Pittsburgh.  Just like I am not "really" from Germany, even though my grandparents were born there.  I'm "really" from California.  But no one asks me where I'm "really" from, because I'm white and so apparently I can "really" be American.  If you want to know where someone's family is from originally, then ask that, not "No, where are you *really* from?"  
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Ok, noted. So it's only racist if asked in exactly that form? 
I'm a foreigner and those questions don't bother me at all. Usually people just try to make conversation. [/quote]

No, it's only racist if you only ask people who are not white where they are really from.  If a white person answered they were from Pittsburgh, would you try to find out if their mother is from Germany or their father from Poland?  If a person does not have an accent, why would you assume that the person's ethnicity is relevant and a conversation starter?  I know many people like me who have absolutely no knowledge of their family ancestry or customs.

What people don't realize is that in the 1950's to 1970's there were many families and Asian Americans who suffered a lot of racism and abuse from anti-Japanese sentiment post-WWII.  During that time, it was very common for Asian Americans to raise their children completely American and to hide their family ethnicity and culture.   So I know households where it was forbidden to speak the original native language, they did not teach their children the native language and they did not pass on any of the cultural heritage.  They wanted their children to be as American as possible to avoid racism and abuse.  It was also common that Asian families hung prominent American flags outside their homes and proudly showed their patriotism for America to ensure they were "proud Americans" and not from Asia.  Racial abuse--physical, social and emotional--was very common against Asians in that era.   And there are many of us that a children, grandchildren or great-grandchildren who were completely sheltered from their cultural heritage and forbidden to learn about it.  So, it can be a sensitive topic to try to pry into a heritage or cultural background that has been suppressed.  I know many people including my family and friends who suffered some form of abuse for being Asian.

So you can try to pry into someone's cultural heritage, but if they're Asian, don't be surprised if they resist your efforts to try to pidgen-hole them as Asian just for your conversational kicks if they give you non-Asian answers.  They may not identify or known much about their heritage.

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I ask seemingly European, African and Asian people where they are from or where their last name is from all the time. Stop this F’d up narrative you have inside your head Op. I suggest therapy.

And I say this as a person with triple citizenship (US, EU, and a MidEast country) who speaks 4 languages and grew up outside Chicago.[/quote]

I am not OP.  I am a DP who has been dealing with these issues for decades.  I will tell you that I also know hundreds of other Asian Americans who have faced similar issues continually.

You can people where they are from, but if they don't want to talk about their heritage stop being a jerk and pushing to try to interrogate them about their ancestry.  Not everyone wants to talk about it or knows much about their racial heritage.  I'm trying to stop you from offending people who may be too polite to tell you to F off like they want to because you just have to single out their race as significant, even if it isn't.

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