...to ask people where they are from?

[KissMyA]

read this article: here which was posted on my friends Facebook page, she commented 'yes it's so annoying' and now feel really bad! I've asked people where their family are from and had no idea this annoyed people so much?

My skin is White but I am mixed ethnicities. Aibu to find people ethnicities interesting? I think I'll stick to the weather from now on.

hardgoing - the way you've worded your questions is okay, because you're not going on appearance - you're genuinely making conversation.

I'm really sorry, I got a bit frothy. Apologies, it wasn't intended to be so.

If it's bleedin' obvious the person I'm talking to isn't from where we are having the conversation, be it a Scot in London or an Aussie in Yorkshire, then I'll say something like "you don't sound like you're from here/Scotland/Yorkshire?" because I'm a nosey bint and the very large majority of people are happy to then let the conversation be led to where they grew up/why they are in said current location etc etc. I do like to second guess accents and it's an easy opener to a conversation if you haven't met the person much before.
The article's author clearly feels (and perhaps rightly so?) that the questions about her are purely because of the colour of her skin. If she were white but had an Irish (for want of a better example) accent, and was asked the same questions, then I imagine it wouldn't cross her mind that they were possibly racist in their intention.

It is racist, IMO, the way the article tells it.

My Bil will say that to anyone who is english but non-white "No, where are you really from?" Racist.

When its about accents or names I think its more curiosity & interest in other people.

Pendeen My only reasoning was that these pupils rarely met/conversed with British people of British descent [as opposed to British Indian etc), I know that sounds awful but was very true in school (even the majority of the staff were non-Caucasian or Eastern European) and these families tended to only mix with their own extended families or those who spoke the same languge or who were the same religion outside of school so I think the pupils just assumed that everyone came from somewhere else? I know it sounds like weak logic but we couldn't work anything else out!

I think it's racist to ask black or Asian people "where they are from" as though they couldn't possibly have been born in London, Birmingham, Sheffield or wherever. If I am in a conversation with someone non-white or with an accent I don't recognise, I might ask what there ethnicity is. Mind the last time i said this to someone she said "do you mean where am I from" ..........!