5 ms·

I am always slightly astounded by people who are completely cut off from their cultural roots. Likely because I am a white Australian guy with English parents a

by hartror 15y ago

I am always slightly astounded by people who are completely cut off from their cultural roots. Likely because I am a white Australian guy with English parents and am envious of those around me with (to me) more interesting and varied cultures.

hasenj 15y ago
Once in high school, I asked a few Asian looking guys about where they're from, they said "We're Canadians". I went "wtf?" in my head, and instead asked them about where their parents are from. What astonished me is how the seemed to "reject" their roots. Or at least that's how I interpreted it. I would seriously hate it if my children rejected their origins. EDIT: To clarify, I'm not white myself.
- barrkel 15y ago
  As an Irishman, taking my "roots" for granted, I and my countrymen find Irish Americans visiting quite amusing in how much emphasis they put into this "identity-seeking" behaviour. Perhaps your astonishment is only reflecting a lack, or insecurity, in this area, of yourself.
  - bane 15y ago
    As an American with some Irish roots, I know someday I too will make the pilgrimage to the motherland...please don't laugh too hard as I look for pubs with resident fiddlers and set dancers.
  - marshray 15y ago
    You guys over there get a bit invested in your identity too, you know. :-) I think for most Americans of European descent, it's a mildly-romantic curiosity at most. Keep in mind, to us in the US a "really old" building is 100 years old. Visiting almost anywhere in Europe is like going to an ancient history museum. When we have great-grandparents that came from other places, they often came when they were young, or for whatever reasons didn't want to talk much about what they left behind. But on some other side of the family there may be names, letters, and pictures going back hundreds of years. So yeah, for a lot of families it does seem like big parts of the binary tree are unbalanced.
    - barrkel 15y ago
      It took me 2 hours to figure that you meant the Northern Ireland conflict in that first sentence; it's that far away from my consciousness. NI is another country, and most people in the Republic don't pay much attention to it.
      - marshray 15y ago
        I didn't mean NI quite so specifically, though it's certainly an example.
- FlemishBeeCycle 15y ago
  Why should one identify with a country they may have never been to, or a culture they may never have experienced? What's the point of romanticizing an intangible connection that only exists if you want it to? As a person of mixed-raced descent, the idea that I should somehow be confused over where I "belong" always amused me. I am myself - the incalculable chain of events that led up to my existence are not particularly informative or suggestive of who I am or should be.
- msbarnett 15y ago
  They weren't rejecting their roots, they were answering the question you asked: they were from Canada. "Where are you from?" isn't synonymous with "what is your ethnic background?", especially when there are 3rd and 4th generation Canadians of Asian decent. A lot of people will recognize when being asked that "Where are you from?" is supposed to be a politer way of asking "So why aren't you white?", but refuse to play along because it feels kind of asinine to say you're "from Taiwan" when your family has been in Vancouver for close to a century and you've never even been to Taiwan.
  - hasenj 15y ago
    > A lot of people will recognize when being asked that "Where are you from?" is supposed to be a politer way of asking "So why aren't you white?" In my case, I'm not white myself, so there's no way my question would be perceived as "so why are you different from us?".
    - potatolicious 15y ago
      There's often not a good answer to that question. If you look at my family tree, I come from Fujian, Guangdong, Taiwan, and Canada. We suspect there's also some undocumented Japan in there too. This isn't trying to split hairs - there's legitimate reason to recognize all of the above in my heritage. My "origin" is complicated and is really hard to pin down into a single word. So you end up with what stands out most strongly in my head - I'm Canadian, because that's where I've lived the longest, my primary language is that kooky Canadian flavour of English, and the sight of fries, cheese curds, and gravy inspires a craving like nothing else.
    - basugasubaku 15y ago
      It doesn't matter if the questioner is white or not; they likely reacted as explained in msburnett's interpretation. As worded, the question seems to presume that they are foreigners/immigrants and the follow-up question that their parents are foreigners/immigrants.
      - hasenj 15y ago
- jbm 15y ago
  It's not about "rejecting" one's roots. My parents are from Pakistan. Or wait - my mother was born in British India before fleeing during the partition. So which am I? British, Indian, Pakistani, or Canadian? Canadian is the least complicated and requires the least amount of baggage. Why make it any more complicated? If you would like to inquire into my personal practices and thought patterns, asking about my religious beliefs, favorite authors and my college experiences matters more than where my parents were from.
- shinratdr 15y ago
  The only reason you did that is because they looked Asian, of course they would react badly. My mother is a recent British immigrant. However, I didn't grow up there, I don't have any connection to there other than extended family we visit occasionally, and nobody looks at me cock-eyed when I say that I'm Canadian, because I'm white. I would find it pretty annoying if people questioned me further about that. Who are you to judge how I define my heritage?
- ojbyrne 15y ago
  Some of us have complicated backgrounds. I was born in Ireland, and live in California, but if you asked me where I'm from I'd say I'm Canadian, too. If there was a little more time and you showed some interest, I'd expand on that.
- MartinCron 15y ago
  One of my favorite professors told a story about a phone interview he gave. The interviewer asked, "So, 'Chan', is that a Chinese name?" "No." He said. "It's a Canadian name". His family had been in Canada for multiple generations, he identified as Canadian. Why is "MacKenzie" a Canadian name and not "Chan"?
  - gruseom 15y ago
    Why is "MacKenzie" a Canadian name and not "Chan"? It isn't. It's a Scottish name, and most people in Canada would understand the question that way.
- reedF211 15y ago
  Most second-generation immigrants (and even the first generation ones who came to Canada as kids) identify themselves as Canadian. I do. "rejecting origins" part of moving on and settling into the society. I would not expect anything else, most of us have nothing in common with the country of our ethnic origin. "Where are you from?" is one of the most offensive questions and it is not white people who ask me that that question that often, it is almost always older first generation immigrants. Perhaps they don't realize how offensive it is. Sticking to your ethnic origins decades after you have moved to a different country leads to tribalism and ethnic nationalism which are two of the most poisonous things to a country.
- andypants 15y ago
  Welcome to the 21st century, where ethnicity != nationality, and white countries are not exclusive to white people. More "wtf" to me is when a guy says he's from China, or India, or Ireland when he's never been there, doesn't speak/read/write the language and culturally has nothing in common.
  - kin 15y ago
    >More "wtf" to me is when a guy says he's from China, or India, or Ireland when he's never been there, doesn't speak/read/write the language and culturally has nothing in common. I've never heard anyone say that in my entire life (a short 23 years). But then again, I live in the melting pot that is Southern California.

by hartror 15y ago

hasenj 15y ago

Once in high school, I asked a few Asian looking guys about where they're from, they said "We're Canadians". I went "wtf?" in my head, and instead asked them about where their parents are from. What astonished me is how the seemed to "reject" their roots. Or at least that's how I interpreted it. I would seriously hate it if my children rejected their origins. EDIT: To clarify, I'm not white myself.

barrkel 15y ago
As an Irishman, taking my "roots" for granted, I and my countrymen find Irish Americans visiting quite amusing in how much emphasis they put into this "identity-seeking" behaviour. Perhaps your astonishment is only reflecting a lack, or insecurity, in this area, of yourself.
- bane 15y ago
  As an American with some Irish roots, I know someday I too will make the pilgrimage to the motherland...please don't laugh too hard as I look for pubs with resident fiddlers and set dancers.
- marshray 15y ago
  You guys over there get a bit invested in your identity too, you know. :-) I think for most Americans of European descent, it's a mildly-romantic curiosity at most. Keep in mind, to us in the US a "really old" building is 100 years old. Visiting almost anywhere in Europe is like going to an ancient history museum. When we have great-grandparents that came from other places, they often came when they were young, or for whatever reasons didn't want to talk much about what they left behind. But on some other side of the family there may be names, letters, and pictures going back hundreds of years. So yeah, for a lot of families it does seem like big parts of the binary tree are unbalanced.
  - barrkel 15y ago
    It took me 2 hours to figure that you meant the Northern Ireland conflict in that first sentence; it's that far away from my consciousness. NI is another country, and most people in the Republic don't pay much attention to it.
    - marshray 15y ago
      I didn't mean NI quite so specifically, though it's certainly an example.
FlemishBeeCycle 15y ago
Why should one identify with a country they may have never been to, or a culture they may never have experienced? What's the point of romanticizing an intangible connection that only exists if you want it to? As a person of mixed-raced descent, the idea that I should somehow be confused over where I "belong" always amused me. I am myself - the incalculable chain of events that led up to my existence are not particularly informative or suggestive of who I am or should be.
msbarnett 15y ago
They weren't rejecting their roots, they were answering the question you asked: they were from Canada. "Where are you from?" isn't synonymous with "what is your ethnic background?", especially when there are 3rd and 4th generation Canadians of Asian decent. A lot of people will recognize when being asked that "Where are you from?" is supposed to be a politer way of asking "So why aren't you white?", but refuse to play along because it feels kind of asinine to say you're "from Taiwan" when your family has been in Vancouver for close to a century and you've never even been to Taiwan.
- hasenj 15y ago
  > A lot of people will recognize when being asked that "Where are you from?" is supposed to be a politer way of asking "So why aren't you white?" In my case, I'm not white myself, so there's no way my question would be perceived as "so why are you different from us?".
  - potatolicious 15y ago
    There's often not a good answer to that question. If you look at my family tree, I come from Fujian, Guangdong, Taiwan, and Canada. We suspect there's also some undocumented Japan in there too. This isn't trying to split hairs - there's legitimate reason to recognize all of the above in my heritage. My "origin" is complicated and is really hard to pin down into a single word. So you end up with what stands out most strongly in my head - I'm Canadian, because that's where I've lived the longest, my primary language is that kooky Canadian flavour of English, and the sight of fries, cheese curds, and gravy inspires a craving like nothing else.
  - basugasubaku 15y ago
    It doesn't matter if the questioner is white or not; they likely reacted as explained in msburnett's interpretation. As worded, the question seems to presume that they are foreigners/immigrants and the follow-up question that their parents are foreigners/immigrants.
    - hasenj 15y ago
jbm 15y ago
It's not about "rejecting" one's roots. My parents are from Pakistan. Or wait - my mother was born in British India before fleeing during the partition. So which am I? British, Indian, Pakistani, or Canadian? Canadian is the least complicated and requires the least amount of baggage. Why make it any more complicated? If you would like to inquire into my personal practices and thought patterns, asking about my religious beliefs, favorite authors and my college experiences matters more than where my parents were from.
shinratdr 15y ago
The only reason you did that is because they looked Asian, of course they would react badly. My mother is a recent British immigrant. However, I didn't grow up there, I don't have any connection to there other than extended family we visit occasionally, and nobody looks at me cock-eyed when I say that I'm Canadian, because I'm white. I would find it pretty annoying if people questioned me further about that. Who are you to judge how I define my heritage?
ojbyrne 15y ago
Some of us have complicated backgrounds. I was born in Ireland, and live in California, but if you asked me where I'm from I'd say I'm Canadian, too. If there was a little more time and you showed some interest, I'd expand on that.
MartinCron 15y ago
One of my favorite professors told a story about a phone interview he gave. The interviewer asked, "So, 'Chan', is that a Chinese name?" "No." He said. "It's a Canadian name". His family had been in Canada for multiple generations, he identified as Canadian. Why is "MacKenzie" a Canadian name and not "Chan"?
- gruseom 15y ago
  Why is "MacKenzie" a Canadian name and not "Chan"? It isn't. It's a Scottish name, and most people in Canada would understand the question that way.
reedF211 15y ago
Most second-generation immigrants (and even the first generation ones who came to Canada as kids) identify themselves as Canadian. I do. "rejecting origins" part of moving on and settling into the society. I would not expect anything else, most of us have nothing in common with the country of our ethnic origin. "Where are you from?" is one of the most offensive questions and it is not white people who ask me that that question that often, it is almost always older first generation immigrants. Perhaps they don't realize how offensive it is. Sticking to your ethnic origins decades after you have moved to a different country leads to tribalism and ethnic nationalism which are two of the most poisonous things to a country.
andypants 15y ago
Welcome to the 21st century, where ethnicity != nationality, and white countries are not exclusive to white people. More "wtf" to me is when a guy says he's from China, or India, or Ireland when he's never been there, doesn't speak/read/write the language and culturally has nothing in common.
- kin 15y ago
  >More "wtf" to me is when a guy says he's from China, or India, or Ireland when he's never been there, doesn't speak/read/write the language and culturally has nothing in common. I've never heard anyone say that in my entire life (a short 23 years). But then again, I live in the melting pot that is Southern California.