For goodness sake, what's the big deal?

[anotheoldgit]

http://www.guardian.c...-brown-answer-curious

People are forever curios, what is wrong in asking someone "where do you come from".?

Colour of one's skin, strange attitude, unusual accent, anything else that sets one apart, people will often say "now that's an unusual accent", what part of the country do you come from? etc, etc.

Do you think this person is being over sensitive?.

[sp1814]

I think OEV summed it up well...it's not really racism...it's ignorance...or perhaps an ignorant way of expressing an unassuming question.

[Oneeyedvic]

AOG - interesting isn't it, that you put a post up saying that you are "English, and proud of the fact."

I to am English and proud of the fact. Which is why I state where I am from. And where my parents are from. Yes, my grand parents are from a different country, just as Queen Elizabeth's grand father (Prince Albert) is from a different country.

What irritates me, is when people look at the colour of my skin and so presume that I am not English. Even when I state that I am English born and bred, they have to ask where my ancestors come from presumably to prove to themselves that I am not (in their eyes at least) 'really' English.

[acoupleleft]

Bet she is a West Ham Fan they are all a bit touchy

[woofgang]

We lived in the US for a while and its actually different there as almost everyone's family is from somewhere else, apart of course from those people with Native American ancestry.
DH got quite used to conversations that went
"so (insert name here) where are you from?"
DH "England, London actually"
"So where are your family from?"
DH "England, London actually"
"and where were they from originally?"
DH England, London actually"
and so on