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Vent: It gets quite frustrating traveling as a nonwhite american. (alien.top)

submitted 10 months ago by CanalBloody@alien.top to c/digitalnomad@expats.zone

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Tired of constantly having conversations like this:

"Where are you from?"

"USA"

"But where are you really from?/But whats your nationality?/Are you actually american?... like.. full american?"

American isnt a race! American =/= white. Yes im "full american" even though im ethnically latino! If you want to know my ethnicity/race then just ask me that instead of implying im not a "real" american.

I know most people asking this arent doing so from a place of malice, but damn does it get tiring after the 100th time.

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[–] JETinVI@alien.top 1 points 10 months ago (5 children)

As a white American I used to do this too!

I had an experience one time in the military that helped me to learn. Thankfully it was pretty painless.

There was an Asian service member who was helping me do something administrative for some kind of training school.

I asked them "Hey Lee, where are you from?" Without skipping a beat or looking up, Lee: Georgia

Why did I expect him to say Guangzhou, China? Because I had a, previously unknown to me, bias against Asian Americans that they weren't "really" American.

In my conscious mind I never felt that way. But there are times where this does happen. Sadly because of supremacy culture POC not only have to be patient but incredibly intelligent to convince people not only that it is real but that they might be contributing to it.

I'm sorry that you had this experience. But please continue to share. It is because I heard stories like yours over and over before I was able to self-correct.

[–] SalusPopuliSupremaLe@alien.top 1 points 10 months ago (1 children)

Thank you for admitting that and growing.

[–] JETinVI@alien.top 1 points 10 months ago

Fortunately, I had been exposed to progressive ideas for a long enough time to see that I was unintentionally adhering to racist ideas.

If you asked me in my day to day life I would have said that of course I accept everyone. I wasn't even aware that I had learned these attitudes about people.

I can only guess that it was something taught to me at an age that was before I knew that those ideas were wrong.

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