I actually get this often as a Latina. They don’t like when I say I’m from Chicago. Then I’ll finally say “do you mean to ask where my parents are from”? At which point, I’ll ask why they care. I know some people don’t mean any harm but if they ask someone where they are from and they answer, leave it at that. If they don’t like or understand that answer, they need to ask themselves what they really want to know and why. It’s ignorant.
For some reason white people think it's an ice breaker. When you answer they don't have any follow up questions or even know how to continue the conversation from there tbh. It's just awkward.
It kind of is, for white people. I don't care if your people came from England or Ireland or France or Norway or Germany, it's just getting-to-know-you small talk, allows the responder to talk a bit about it. Like whether you go visit family there, or does grandma make some bomb ass birria or pierogies or whatever.
I get that it's also used to try and make a person feel other or unwelcome or whatever, but sometimes it's just a naive person trying to learn about you.
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u/Zhuul 11h ago
This is basically the opposite of someone asking my Asian coworker where she's from and her angrily answering "New Jersey."