Tired of constantly having conversations like this:
“Where are you from?”
“USA”
“But where are you really from?/But whats your nationality?/Are you actually american?.. like… full american?”
American isnt a race! American =/= white. Yes im “full american” even though im ethnically latino! If you want to know my ethnicity/race then just ask me that instead of implying im not a “real” american.
I know most people asking this arent doing so from a place of malice, but damn does it get tiring after the 100th time.
It’s also frustrating to travel internationally as a white America because people expect me to explain US politics and foreign policy.
Im white but I get it… I try to explain all the time that there is not a “standard” American person. We’re White, Black, Latino, Asian — all Americans.
I think it comes from misunderstanding rather than racism, OP
It’s a valid question. Just tell them what ur ethnicity is lol they don’t care which country ur from
Then they should ask what my ethnicity is not which country im from. But no I highly disagree people are only wanting to know what your ethnicity is and not your nationality.
Just assume that is the question they intend. You clearly know that it is. Why go out of your way to find offense?
If they don’t care which country we’re from, then maybe don’t ask which country we’re from?
THe US is thought of as an Anglo country, with some Blacks. So you need to let them know that it is more mixed these days including Latino
Sometimes I say I’m American when I am asked what my ethnicity is.
Actually do often.
I’m Filipino, white. But American.
But all in all, I’ve only been out of the country once.
I’m American but my parents are from Bangladesh. I met some Bangladeshis in Rome who refused to believe I was ethnically Bangladeshi, even after speaking Bangla to them. 😑
Eh, I feel you. Traveling can be a huge pain. Somethimes you just have to take a break and remember why you wanted to do it in the first place.
If I may ask, where do you get these questions the most? I’m a Black American, have been living abroad for almost a decade now and traveling often the whole time. When people ask me where I’m from, I usually just tell them I’m from New York and that ends it there. Every once in a while someone asks me about my ethnicity or if I know where in Africa my ancestors come from. I usually just say that most African Americans travel their lineage back to West Africa but it’s almost impossible to pinpoint a specific location. That usually ends that part of the conversation.
This is a great way to handle it. You meet ignorance with education but in a way that doesn’t leave room for further stupid questions.
I think there are two things. A New York is a very, very well known place around the world. Probably everyone has heard of New York. Its also known via media for being multicultural especially and as being a place black people live. Whether the media representation was your experience, or not, people have heard of New York and will probably assume you mean NYC even if you actually meant Syracuse or Buffalo.
And two, it does depend where you are traveling whether people ask follow up questions.
I’m black and have been in Latin America (Peru, Mexico, and Belize) almost a year now and people always follow up when I say I’m from the US with, “But, where are you from?” I guess because the US is a big place? When I say Virginia, its about a 50/50 chance people know about that state or not, especially outside Mexico.
If I said the specific city I’m from, absolutely nobody would have heard of it.
I find, in Latin America people either assume I’m from the Caribbean until I speak (I blend in in Belize, but my partner —who is Belizean and white-often gets mistaken for a tourist) or African. Its very strange.
But as soon as I speak, even in Spanish, people hear my accent and ask where I am from, and they usually do follow up with, “But where are you specifically from?” even though half the time they don’t know where that is when I tell them.
I read this memoir by a guy who did a group bicycle tour around Cameroon and one of the guys in his group (all Americans) was black.
When the locals learned the black guy was American they were really confused. They didn’t know that there were black people in America. They asked him what his tribe was and when he said he didn’t have one it blew their minds. They asked how there were black people in America and he explained about the Atlantic slave trade and they had never heard of it. In the end they would refer to him using the same (mildly pejorative) word they used for whites.
These were country people they met in the sticks, not educated people, but I don’t think it’s that uncommon. I live in southeast Asia and have met people who’ve never heard of World War 2.
This is the book: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1290572
I’m Asian but once in a while when I get asked where I’m from, I answer, Well we are all originally from Africa. It often gets me a dirty look.
Yea, it usually happens if you are east asian looking , not if you’re black.
Agree, because most people view black people as “real americans” because of the longstanding history and media representation.
I slightly disagree. As Americans, WE definitely understand that black people have a longstanding history, however that understanding differs when it comes to cultures, like Europeans who have only had multi-cultural societies in the last 1 or 2 generations. I get “where are you really from” all the time as a black American living in Europe. But I just see it as them not understanding the deep history of American multi-culturalism.
Another different example is places like London or the UK, where it is multi-cultural, but people often identify as their ethnic background more, being Jamaican or Turkish or XYZ, while still being first or second generation.
American culture has a way of making everyone American. It’s inclusive and immigrants eventually adopt American culture as their own. While some multi-cultural societies like the French, will only identify people who have been in the country for 100 years as truly French.
All this to say, you’re right that it sucks when people say this to you. It’s ignorance and I usually explain it quickly but don’t engage more than it’s worth.
I will add an additional comment to the excellent observation above. I’ve noticed that people in other countries do not understand very well that it is possible to become a citizen of the US relatively easily (relative to other countries, that is) if you meet certain standards. Sure there are hoops to jump through, but it IS possible. And then you are a citizen, no holds barred. You can vote and own property and are only barred from becoming president. You ARE an American. And your children are American, no matter where they are born. More confounding to non-Americans is that if you are born on American soil, you are an American citizen, unless you choose not to be. Not so in any other country, that I’m aware of (please let me know if there are other countries in which this is also so). In other countries, you are the nationality of your parents no matter where you were born. It’s difficult, if not impossible, to become a citizen in so many other places. [As an example, I usually think about the Turkish “guest worker” situation in Germany. Allowed to go live and work in Germany in the 1960s, it was assumed that the stays of Turkish people who were “helping out” would be short-term.They were not. If they had children while in Germany, those children were not and could not be German citizens, even though they grew up to speake colloquial German and subscribe to German cultural norms. And THEIR children were also not citizens. You can bet they have been asked ad nauseam, but where are you really FROM? As I understand it, there was no path to becoming a citizen for this group. And yet these descendents aren’t truly Turkish. I think this is slowly being addressed, but is still controversial.] So non-Americans just short circuit because they can’t conceive of a voluntarily inclusive (at least in theory) nation.
Got it. That makes sense.
To most of the world, Americans are either white or black. The actual reality of the mixture of ethnicities is relatively unknown by the majority. That reaction doesn’t surprise me at all.
Perhaps that’s something of a special case, as if you’re black and say you’re from the US the “origin story” of that community is famous around the world (even though it doesn’t encompass everyone’s story) and people would usually not ask any more. Bit different if you’re Asian or south Asian or Arab etc and more so with a non American accent
That’s absolutely not true. The upvotes on this take are misinformed.
I’m a half-black American and look Latino or middle-eastern. Just use it as an opportunity to showcase the world that Latino Americans exist and that they’re dope and have a dope attitude.
You’re literally an ambassador in that sense. That’s how I always viewed it. As an opportunity to represent and show that people like me exist and can travel and live the lifestyle too.
Being an ambassador for your race eventually burns out even the best of us. Some people feel like they need to try to “bring out” whatever stereotypes they have about “your people” when you present too positive of an image. Don’t work too hard trying to convince others that you belong where you are.
Agreed. I just want to be me!
def a much better response than getting upset that some random stranger doesn’t know much about the US.
I just say I’m from this city in the USA and leave it at that. I am of South Asian decent. I don’t think I have yet received a follow up or the “where are you really from?” Though I think that may have a lot to do with the fact that I look very unambiguously South Asian and they probably already clocked me as that, so…
I don’t get it. I am proudly telling everybody that is asking where I am from.
Have you tried giving a more specific answer? Pretty sure if you said, “Atlanta” or any major metro no one would question it. Every white person from Michigan gets asked where on the hand.
Last, I didn’t realize this until later in life (half Asian), but people asked me that because they were genuinely curious and thought I was attractive. The curiosity may be a compliment, not judgement.
Don’t kill me, but I would rather ask such question to “white” US citizen as indigenous people looks different then then,than asking “black” person as we all know history (I suppose).
As a white American, you are 100% American… we are on the same team brother.
Not that you need any validation, just trying to be supportive because I disagree with the people who assumed you aren’t American.
Imagine being 1) Born in the United States, the wealthiest society in human history, and B) someone with enough resources to travel, and still finding a way to feel like a victim because someone asks you where you are from.
I hope you can grow up and see how ungrateful, out-of-touch with reality, and (for me) repulsive this attitude is.
Your parents or grandparents didn’t make tremendous sacrifices to bring you to a wealthy country, where you would have resources and freedom previously unprecedented in your family, so that you could twist reality to cry victim.
I know mine didn’t.
Let’s honor the generation of our Latino parents who made great sacrifices to raise us in prosperity by not falling into victim mentality - they didn’t uproot their lives and travel halfway across the world for us by feeling like victims.
You want to be recognized as a Latino, but crying that someone asked you where you are from while you have $$$ and are traveling the world is the most un-Latino mentality I can possibly imagine and an insult to our parents and grandparents.