"Well, since you are from Italy, I thought..."
"She's a Latina. You know what that means..."
"I always love people from England, they are so..."
Every time I hear something like this, I cringe.
Even more, if the person is perceiving the sentence as a positive comment about someone or, even worse, if they think that they are paying ME a compliment.
What are they actually doing?
Easy to say, less easy to stop doing it or to understand that it is not nice: They are culturalizing someone else and, mostly without realizing it, deciding that whatever that person is, does, looks like, thinks, feels, and says is just because of where they are from.
"Where are you from?"
"She's a Latina. You know what that means..."
"I always love people from England, they are so..."
Every time I hear something like this, I cringe.
Even more, if the person is perceiving the sentence as a positive comment about someone or, even worse, if they think that they are paying ME a compliment.
[My style? It's because of where I am from.
My hair? It's because of where I am from.
My smile? It's because of where I am from.
Oh wait, let me think... Probably not really.
Pic: Me, December 2018 © Radoslaw Kosiada]
The hard truth is, you don't have to be intentionally racist to do things that have racist effects.
John Oliver
What are they actually doing?
Easy to say, less easy to stop doing it or to understand that it is not nice: They are culturalizing someone else and, mostly without realizing it, deciding that whatever that person is, does, looks like, thinks, feels, and says is just because of where they are from.
"Where are you from?"
Every time I hear this apparently innocuous question, my brain goes like "Oh, my goodness. Thanks for asking me this question. Nobody asked it in the last 45 minutes and I was starting to feel puzzled and lost." Yep, seriously.
What if someone would talk about you that way?
Tags: Stereotypes, Cultural stereotypes, Culturalization, Diversity, Intercultural communication, Cultural awareness, Self-awareness, Quotes
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