2 ms·

I don’t get it either. Because acceptance is not automatic. There will always be people who won’t accept you as you see yourself.. it is their right. Having sa

I don’t get it either. Because acceptance is not automatic. There will always be people who won’t accept you as you see yourself.. it is their right. Having said that.. As a counter example: as immigrants, we always get ‘where are you from originally’. One can’t be ‘outed’ as an immigrant. It is what it is. And so what? If I had to hide that I am an immigrant, then it would mean that I am ok with discrimination against those who choose to disclose or can’t hide that they are immigrants. It is a fear based position. The calls for suppression of truth comes from a place of fear. I have some compassion for those acting out of fear, but we cannot sacrifice rational means to find fixes to problems ..neither can we suppress freedom of expression. If trans people are discriminated against, we should tackle that phenomena of intolerance. We can’t pretend that trans people don’t exist and we can’t feed the paranoia..justified or not. The only way to figure out answers is to dig down deep to get the root of the issue. This is impossible if we are not allowed to talk about it.

eesmith 6y ago
> as immigrants, we always get ‘where are you from originally’. That question in the US usually means either 1) your accent is noticeably not American, or 2) you or your ancestors didn't come to the US from Europe or via the African diaspora. Native Americans get asked that question. Fourth-generation Chinese-Americans get asked that question. Puerto Ricans are asked that question. But a white friend of mine, born in the US to English parents, with no noticeable non-US accent, doesn't get asked that question. So "where are you from originally" comes across not about "immigrant" but about being "different" and even with an implication of being a second-class citizen. See for example the opinions given at https://edition.cnn.com/interactive/2017/08/opinion/where-im-really-from/ https://edition.cnn.com/interactive/2017/08/opinion/where-im... . Quoting Samantha Geovjian Clarke, born in the US, raised in Portland, Oregon: > Sometimes I think they feel like it's more polite to ask ambiguously "where are you from?" or "what are you?" because they're afraid to say race, ethnicity, heritage or nationality – lots of white people don't even know the difference. But they end up being hurtful and displaying deep-seated biases about race by implying I'm not really from America if I'm brown, even though I was born here, or worse, implying that I'm not human because I'm brown (with the "what are you?" question). If the question "where are you from originally" and variants are interpreted by many as a sign of intolerance, and not simply one of curiosity - which it surely is for some! - then perhaps it's not a particularly effective counter-example? If you want to dig down deeper to get to the root of this specific issue, here are some resources which talk about it: "Everyday Racism: ‘Where Are You Really From?’" at https://theglobepost.com/2017/08 https://theglobepost.com/2017/08 , /10/everyday-racism/ ; "Is It Racist to Ask People Where They're From?" at https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2014/07/question-where-are-you-from-racist/373818/ https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2014/07/qu... ; and an essay more focused on examples of when that question is asked with racist overtones, "“Where Are You From?” Racial Microaggressions" at https://othersociologist.com/2017/07/15/where-are-you-from-racial-microaggressions/ https://othersociologist.com/2017/07/15/where-are-you-from-r... .

eesmith 6y ago

> as immigrants, we always get ‘where are you from originally’. That question in the US usually means either 1) your accent is noticeably not American, or 2) you or your ancestors didn't come to the US from Europe or via the African diaspora. Native Americans get asked that question. Fourth-generation Chinese-Americans get asked that question. Puerto Ricans are asked that question. But a white friend of mine, born in the US to English parents, with no noticeable non-US accent, doesn't get asked that question. So "where are you from originally" comes across not about "immigrant" but about being "different" and even with an implication of being a second-class citizen. See for example the opinions given at https://edition.cnn.com/interactive/2017/08/opinion/where-im-really-from/ https://edition.cnn.com/interactive/2017/08/opinion/where-im... . Quoting Samantha Geovjian Clarke, born in the US, raised in Portland, Oregon: > Sometimes I think they feel like it's more polite to ask ambiguously "where are you from?" or "what are you?" because they're afraid to say race, ethnicity, heritage or nationality – lots of white people don't even know the difference. But they end up being hurtful and displaying deep-seated biases about race by implying I'm not really from America if I'm brown, even though I was born here, or worse, implying that I'm not human because I'm brown (with the "what are you?" question). If the question "where are you from originally" and variants are interpreted by many as a sign of intolerance, and not simply one of curiosity - which it surely is for some! - then perhaps it's not a particularly effective counter-example? If you want to dig down deeper to get to the root of this specific issue, here are some resources which talk about it: "Everyday Racism: ‘Where Are You Really From?’" at https://theglobepost.com/2017/08 https://theglobepost.com/2017/08 , /10/everyday-racism/ ; "Is It Racist to Ask People Where They're From?" at https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2014/07/question-where-are-you-from-racist/373818/ https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2014/07/qu... ; and an essay more focused on examples of when that question is asked with racist overtones, "“Where Are You From?” Racial Microaggressions" at https://othersociologist.com/2017/07/15/where-are-you-from-racial-microaggressions/ https://othersociologist.com/2017/07/15/where-are-you-from-r... .