4 ms·

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 you

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 16y 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 16y 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 16y 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 16y ago
    Part of what astonishes me is why people should feel "ashamed" or even "bothered" that they have a different cultural background. I am an immigrant, so what? Why should I or anyone else take offense to that?
    - basugasubaku 16y ago
      I didn't say that. It's the presumption that they are immigrants based on the fact that they are Asian that is somewhat rude. I think it is the wording of the question that is likely to bother people. It makes the questioner sound as if he is not aware there are native Canadians who are Asian. And that is a likely reason for why they responded in the manner they did.
    - lizzard 16y ago
      I would interpret their answer as being annoyed with you -- not as ashamed!
    - buckler 16y ago
      Do you usually ask the same question to white Canadians as well ("Where are you from?", "Oh, where are your parents from then?")? It would be safe to assume that white Canadians are generally confronted with those questions with much less frequency than Asian Canadians are. May be some do have a sense of self-hatred like you said, but I would guess most people are simply annoyed by those questions so they respond adversely. Like others have mentioned already, it's really frustrating from a point of view of a person who might be a 3rd generation Canadian, as the questions can make him/her feel like perpetual foreigner. Why can't you take "Canadian" as an answer when those people have lived there for all their lives and might have never even visited their grandparents' country of origin? As you've said you're an immigrant, your ethnicity and the fact that you're a first generation immigrant might be a big part of who you are (if you do treat them importantly, that is). For second generation Canadians and on, that might be not so true. It's not that they are embarrassed by their respective ethnicity, but it just doesn't play a big part in their lives in their thoughts.
  - jbm 16y ago
- fragmede 16y 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?" It's also a rather normal, conversational, question. See also 'What do you do?', 'Did you catch the game last night?', 'Have you seen Avatar?', etc.
petersergeant 16y ago
Funny, I'm white but born and raised in South East Asia... When people in the country I was born in ask me where I'm from, and I tell them, they say "No, where are you really from?!"

hasenj 16y 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 16y 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 16y 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 16y ago
  Part of what astonishes me is why people should feel "ashamed" or even "bothered" that they have a different cultural background. I am an immigrant, so what? Why should I or anyone else take offense to that?
  - basugasubaku 16y ago
    I didn't say that. It's the presumption that they are immigrants based on the fact that they are Asian that is somewhat rude. I think it is the wording of the question that is likely to bother people. It makes the questioner sound as if he is not aware there are native Canadians who are Asian. And that is a likely reason for why they responded in the manner they did.
  - lizzard 16y ago
    I would interpret their answer as being annoyed with you -- not as ashamed!
  - buckler 16y ago
    Do you usually ask the same question to white Canadians as well ("Where are you from?", "Oh, where are your parents from then?")? It would be safe to assume that white Canadians are generally confronted with those questions with much less frequency than Asian Canadians are. May be some do have a sense of self-hatred like you said, but I would guess most people are simply annoyed by those questions so they respond adversely. Like others have mentioned already, it's really frustrating from a point of view of a person who might be a 3rd generation Canadian, as the questions can make him/her feel like perpetual foreigner. Why can't you take "Canadian" as an answer when those people have lived there for all their lives and might have never even visited their grandparents' country of origin? As you've said you're an immigrant, your ethnicity and the fact that you're a first generation immigrant might be a big part of who you are (if you do treat them importantly, that is). For second generation Canadians and on, that might be not so true. It's not that they are embarrassed by their respective ethnicity, but it just doesn't play a big part in their lives in their thoughts.
- jbm 16y ago
fragmede 16y 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?" It's also a rather normal, conversational, question. See also 'What do you do?', 'Did you catch the game last night?', 'Have you seen Avatar?', etc.

petersergeant 16y ago

Funny, I'm white but born and raised in South East Asia... When people in the country I was born in ask me where I'm from, and I tell them, they say "No, where are you really from?!"