Avoiding Stereotypes While Communicating
Here’s an actual conversation I had one time with a co-worker:
Co-worker: Where are you from?
Me: Canada
Co-worker: I mean, like, where were you born?
Me: Toronto
Co-worker: C’mon, I mean like, where are you really from? Like you’re background?
Me: I’m Filipino.
Co-worker: I knew it! Hey, I love Adobo.
If you’ve done something like that, then you’re probably racist. No, I’m joking, but it’s something that minorities tend to encounter all the time. If you are truly interested in finding out about someone, then you shouldn’t ask “Where are you from?” you should ask, “What’s your ethnicity?” then you can proceed to tell them about that other ethnic person you know and ask them if they know each other.
