Why do people lie about anything in life?

Answer: because they want to hide it. That goes for across the board.

Now why would anyone want to hide where they grew up? Probably because it's a crappy place and theyre ashamed of that part of themselves.

A lot of it is mental trauma and shame that will never, ever go away. Just anger and feelings of being "less than". That's why you see people actually getting enraged at the idea that anyone would even ask where they're from. Pathological stuff that would best be addressed in intensive therapy

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Do people really do this?

When people ask me where I'm from, usually in a casual setting, I tell them where I grew up. I don't go into an elaborate story about how I was born overseas and immigrated here as a preteen but then grew up in my hometown because I assume people are just making small talk and don't actually care.

A very small subset of people do it, and I find it fascinating. Sometimes I have had to ask a few times to figure out where someone actually grew up. It's strange

If by “a very small subset” you meant to say:

- virtually everyone in San Francisco, then, OK.

Because I grew up just outside the City, and nobody but NOBODY wanted to confess that they actually grew up in Kansas. Or New Jersey. Or Idaho.

Oh no - those places were not “cool” like San Francisco.

So everyone lied.

And that's EXACTLY why people do this. People will rattle off a million excuses "I moved across town when I was seven, so am I supposed to explain that, and besides I moved away for college..." blah blah blah. It's nonsense.

What it comes down to, and everyone knows it, is that some places aren't "cool" and the type of people who lie about where theyre from are uniformly unconfident, uncool, and have a chip on their shoulder about where they came from.

it's a big red flag for other personality issues in general. A lot of these types also suffer from severe envy/jealousy issues, especially towards the "spoiled" or "priveleged" lifelong city dwellers who never had to fight their way out of meth central

x1000
Nail on head

My hometown (technically a neighborhood of a major city) has changed dramatically since I lived there 25 years ago. It is now crime-ridden and demographically unlike anything I remember or experienced. I say I'm from the neighboring town. I grew up right on the border between the two and that neighboring town much more accurately reflects my upbringing.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Do people really do this?

When people ask me where I'm from, usually in a casual setting, I tell them where I grew up. I don't go into an elaborate story about how I was born overseas and immigrated here as a preteen but then grew up in my hometown because I assume people are just making small talk and don't actually care.

A very small subset of people do it, and I find it fascinating. Sometimes I have had to ask a few times to figure out where someone actually grew up. It's strange

If by “a very small subset” you meant to say:

- virtually everyone in San Francisco, then, OK.

Because I grew up just outside the City, and nobody but NOBODY wanted to confess that they actually grew up in Kansas. Or New Jersey. Or Idaho.

Oh no - those places were not “cool” like San Francisco.

So everyone lied.

And that's EXACTLY why people do this. People will rattle off a million excuses "I moved across town when I was seven, so am I supposed to explain that, and besides I moved away for college..." blah blah blah. It's nonsense.

What it comes down to, and everyone knows it, is that some places aren't "cool" and the type of people who lie about where theyre from are uniformly unconfident, uncool, and have a chip on their shoulder about where they came from.

it's a big red flag for other personality issues in general. A lot of these types also suffer from severe envy/jealousy issues, especially towards the "spoiled" or "priveleged" lifelong city dwellers who never had to fight their way out of meth central

I suppose I am somewhat jealous of people that grew up with indoor plumbing. I don't remember a lot of meth. Mostly weed. It was easier to grow. You can't grow meth.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Do people really do this?

When people ask me where I'm from, usually in a casual setting, I tell them where I grew up. I don't go into an elaborate story about how I was born overseas and immigrated here as a preteen but then grew up in my hometown because I assume people are just making small talk and don't actually care.

A very small subset of people do it, and I find it fascinating. Sometimes I have had to ask a few times to figure out where someone actually grew up. It's strange

If by “a very small subset” you meant to say:

- virtually everyone in San Francisco, then, OK.

Because I grew up just outside the City, and nobody but NOBODY wanted to confess that they actually grew up in Kansas. Or New Jersey. Or Idaho.

Oh no - those places were not “cool” like San Francisco.

So everyone lied.

And that's EXACTLY why people do this. People will rattle off a million excuses "I moved across town when I was seven, so am I supposed to explain that, and besides I moved away for college..." blah blah blah. It's nonsense.

What it comes down to, and everyone knows it, is that some places aren't "cool" and the type of people who lie about where theyre from are uniformly unconfident, uncool, and have a chip on their shoulder about where they came from.

it's a big red flag for other personality issues in general. A lot of these types also suffer from severe envy/jealousy issues, especially towards the "spoiled" or "priveleged" lifelong city dwellers who never had to fight their way out of meth central

Honestly, you should be afraid of people who had to fight their way out of meth central yet still manage to fit in with polite society. They are obviously cunning and unlike you, can likely spell "privileged."

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Do people really do this?

When people ask me where I'm from, usually in a casual setting, I tell them where I grew up. I don't go into an elaborate story about how I was born overseas and immigrated here as a preteen but then grew up in my hometown because I assume people are just making small talk and don't actually care.

A very small subset of people do it, and I find it fascinating. Sometimes I have had to ask a few times to figure out where someone actually grew up. It's strange

If by “a very small subset” you meant to say:

- virtually everyone in San Francisco, then, OK.

Because I grew up just outside the City, and nobody but NOBODY wanted to confess that they actually grew up in Kansas. Or New Jersey. Or Idaho.

Oh no - those places were not “cool” like San Francisco.

So everyone lied.

And that's EXACTLY why people do this. People will rattle off a million excuses "I moved across town when I was seven, so am I supposed to explain that, and besides I moved away for college..." blah blah blah. It's nonsense.

What it comes down to, and everyone knows it, is that some places aren't "cool" and the type of people who lie about where theyre from are uniformly unconfident, uncool, and have a chip on their shoulder about where they came from.

it's a big red flag for other personality issues in general. A lot of these types also suffer from severe envy/jealousy issues, especially towards the "spoiled" or "priveleged" lifelong city dwellers who never had to fight their way out of meth central

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Do people really do this?

When people ask me where I'm from, usually in a casual setting, I tell them where I grew up. I don't go into an elaborate story about how I was born overseas and immigrated here as a preteen but then grew up in my hometown because I assume people are just making small talk and don't actually care.

A very small subset of people do it, and I find it fascinating. Sometimes I have had to ask a few times to figure out where someone actually grew up. It's strange

If by “a very small subset” you meant to say:

- virtually everyone in San Francisco, then, OK.

Because I grew up just outside the City, and nobody but NOBODY wanted to confess that they actually grew up in Kansas. Or New Jersey. Or Idaho.

Oh no - those places were not “cool” like San Francisco.

So everyone lied.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I was adopted from China. Haven't spent more than a week in China since I was an infant. I've had way too many conversations with racists that go like this: "So where are you from?" Me: "Chicago." Them: "No, where are you REALLY from?" "Well, I'm from a neighborhood on the far northside called Ravenswood." "No, I mean where is your family from?" "My dad is from Chicago. My mom's from Cleveland. Most of my family lives in the Chicago area or Ohio." *deep sigh* *frustration* The implication that I'm not REALLY American and the continual probing. OP reminds me of those people.

+1

+1000

My kids were adopted from South Korea. I'm picturing OP grilling them on what town in Korea they're from, even though they have no memory of it whatsoever.

Thanks for starting this thread op. So next time someone asks me “where are you from?”, I’ll first double check with them first what exactly do they mean by their question and what exact info are they looking for before answering so that I do not appear a liar.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I was adopted from China. Haven't spent more than a week in China since I was an infant. I've had way too many conversations with racists that go like this: "So where are you from?" Me: "Chicago." Them: "No, where are you REALLY from?" "Well, I'm from a neighborhood on the far northside called Ravenswood." "No, I mean where is your family from?" "My dad is from Chicago. My mom's from Cleveland. Most of my family lives in the Chicago area or Ohio." *deep sigh* *frustration* The implication that I'm not REALLY American and the continual probing. OP reminds me of those people.

+1

I’m 100 percent white and I have the same issue because I have a European accent. Some people ask “where are you from?” to point out that you are “other” - that you don’t fit in. Obviously for many people it’s just conversation but sometimes it isn’t. It’s clear when someone is asking in a hostile way vs when they are interested or making conversation. I was born in this area but spent my childhood and teen years in Europe. My accent is very obvious to anyone I meet and strangers seem to want to point out that I’m not “one of them”. I have lived back in the DC area for 25 years so when I catch someone asking with hostility, I tell them Washington DC which they follow up with “no, but where were you born?” and I answer “Washington DC” and then they might ask about my nationality, and I tell them I am a US citizen.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, some people are pretentious, and want to pretend they are better than they really are - hence the lying.

If you think where you're from makes you better than other people, then you're not someone I want to be around. I care about who people are, not who their parents were.

So then by this logic I presume you have no issues accurately stating your hometown?

+1

What else are you hiding?

+1

A lot of these people are hiding A LOT

Like?

Guarantee that the assumptions are worse than the truth - so why not just tell people? That bad, huh?

You're right. My parents were in a Satanic cult. I was a priestess in the cult until I was 17. Then I ran away and found Jesus.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, some people are pretentious, and want to pretend they are better than they really are - hence the lying.

If you think where you're from makes you better than other people, then you're not someone I want to be around. I care about who people are, not who their parents were.

So then by this logic I presume you have no issues accurately stating your hometown?

+1

What else are you hiding?

Exactly. I don’t understand why people get so uppity when I ask about their ethnicity, too. I mean what are they hiding???

It's weird and racist to ask this information. The only reason you need to ask that question is so that you can form judgments about them.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, some people are pretentious, and want to pretend they are better than they really are - hence the lying.

If you think where you're from makes you better than other people, then you're not someone I want to be around. I care about who people are, not who their parents were.

So then by this logic I presume you have no issues accurately stating your hometown?

+1

What else are you hiding?

Exactly. I don’t understand why people get so uppity when I ask about their ethnicity, too. I mean what are they hiding???