Tuesday morning, 8 a.m., on the bus :
Middle-aged asian woman: Excuse me, can I ask where you are from.
Me: I have disappointing news; Minnesota.
Middle-aged asian woman: Oh, I was certain you were from Russia.
Me: I honestly get that all the time. What makes you think that?
Middle-aged asian woman: You just have a very distinct eastern europe look.
Me: (Heavy sigh), yeah. That's not helpful at all.
Ok, let's re-group:
A couple of things come to mind. First of all - is this appropriate to you? In what world would it be Ok for me to walk up to her and say, excuse me, are you from China? You just look very
Chinese. Honestly. Second, even if I said "why yes, I'm from Russia" what was she going to follow that up with?? Clearly she was not from Russia-- it's not like we could bond over where our favorite bakery is in Moscow.
Enough is enough. From the moment I moved to San Francisco (Approx 2 years and 2 months ago), I have been hounded by strangers, insisting I am Russian. I mean, this literally happens a minimum of four times a month. I kid you not. On the bus, in line at Starbucks, at the bar (mostly at the bar), shopping, etc. In fact, on Saturday I was at a bar and a very gay (so clearly not a pick-up line) black man stopped grabbed me as I was exiting to ask me what part of eastern europe I was from. When I informed him that I was from the great U S of A he followed up with : what ethnicity are you? OK - AGAIN -- let's flip the roles here, my friends. "Excuse me sir. What part of Africa are you from? Oh, you're from California? Oh, ok. Well what part of Africa did your ancestors come from?" I just feel like that wouldn't fly. Am I wrong?
I mean, sure, I walk with a certain level of authority, possibly giving off a Stalin-esque vibe. But it's not like I walk around with a fur hat on, or, you know, doing some sort of Russian dance.
Baffling, indeed.
Middle-aged asian woman: Excuse me, can I ask where you are from.
Me: I have disappointing news; Minnesota.
Middle-aged asian woman: Oh, I was certain you were from Russia.
Me: I honestly get that all the time. What makes you think that?
Middle-aged asian woman: You just have a very distinct eastern europe look.
Me: (Heavy sigh), yeah. That's not helpful at all.
Ok, let's re-group:
A couple of things come to mind. First of all - is this appropriate to you? In what world would it be Ok for me to walk up to her and say, excuse me, are you from China? You just look very
Chinese. Honestly. Second, even if I said "why yes, I'm from Russia" what was she going to follow that up with?? Clearly she was not from Russia-- it's not like we could bond over where our favorite bakery is in Moscow.
Enough is enough. From the moment I moved to San Francisco (Approx 2 years and 2 months ago), I have been hounded by strangers, insisting I am Russian. I mean, this literally happens a minimum of four times a month. I kid you not. On the bus, in line at Starbucks, at the bar (mostly at the bar), shopping, etc. In fact, on Saturday I was at a bar and a very gay (so clearly not a pick-up line) black man stopped grabbed me as I was exiting to ask me what part of eastern europe I was from. When I informed him that I was from the great U S of A he followed up with : what ethnicity are you? OK - AGAIN -- let's flip the roles here, my friends. "Excuse me sir. What part of Africa are you from? Oh, you're from California? Oh, ok. Well what part of Africa did your ancestors come from?" I just feel like that wouldn't fly. Am I wrong?
I mean, sure, I walk with a certain level of authority, possibly giving off a Stalin-esque vibe. But it's not like I walk around with a fur hat on, or, you know, doing some sort of Russian dance.
Baffling, indeed.
3 comments:
I wish you walked around doing a Russian dance...what's that one where they squat and jump??
Absolutely.
dunno i stumbled upon this, but you are so spot on with your reverse role argument.
nate
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