Who are you? Where are you from? These questions seem innocuous on the surface. But sometimes, they can be code for questions about race, ethnicity, and national origin. The sort of inquiry that can land you in a hotspot in a job interview.
What are they fishing for? That is the question you ask yourself. You fear that they are trying to find some way to put you into a convenient box that they’ll label Hispanic, Anglo, Black, Asian, or whatever. The more check marks they can add to your profile, the more uncomfortable people who ask these sorts of questions become. “Oh my God, he’s Jewish, Brazilian, and Japanese! And he’s from New York!
I only found out years later that I did not get a favored job because I was considered not Latino enough. My many qualifications mattered little against my lack of accent. Stupid, huh? On the other hand, having a Spanish surname has had people making all sorts of assumptions about my race, ethnicity, and home culture.
One individual had issues with the Latino part of my heritage. Then he found out about my Hungarian grandmother, who had the same surname as his and was from the same locale in the old Austrio-Hungarian Empire. Oh, lord! A possible cousin?
Of course, many of us view a multiplex background an attractive feature—maybe because we are ourselves multiplex. Call it a built-in extravagant feature; a richness of background.
But beware. Many people can’t get beyond the superficial.
There are people who can’t deal with complexity and want things simple and unmixed. Not all of these people are crude enough to use ethnic slurs. It’s more subtle, and they are the ones who ask – Who are you? Where are you from?
Discover more from Louis N. Carreras, Woodcarver
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
My daughter-in-law runs into this all the time. She is Muslim (has a muslim first name) but carrries my son’s surname (decidedly British). Really throws employers off and makes it difficult for her to secure work.
Sounds familiar. With some people It will never be about who you are, just what they fantasize.
🫤
Most people can’t get beyond the superficial and they don’t even know it’s superficial. They think they have a bead on reality. Living here where Hispanics and Whites keep apart I’ve even told people, “I’m not as white as I look.” It’s complicated and stupid and each group finds ways to abuse the other. I’m so sick of it.
The racial constructs are just that constructs, as you point out lots of people indicate that “I’m not as white as I look.” It’s the same on the Hispanic side of things. In NYC there was lots of predjudice against Puerto Ricans which completely missed the racial, ethnic and class distinctions of the Puerto Ricans themselves. We all tend to want to dice things as finely as we can – even when it’s totally idiotic to do so.
I think humans are easily overwhelmed and maybe basically lazy. 😀
Basically lazy? ooooh A new pan cultural trait!!!
🤣 Maybe we can all unite around it!!! If we can summon the energy and interest…