Have you ever met someone and asked them where they’re from? Well, congratulations: you’re officially a racist. At least according to Uju Anya, a professor who specializes in applied linguistics, as well as a self-described “antiracist” and “feminist” whose research includes “Language learning+teaching, Blackness in multilingualism.”
Oh, and views are hers. So you can go ahead and give her full credit for coming up with this stupid take:
No matter how sweetly you ask it, “Where are you from?” is not a polite question.
— Uju Anya (@UjuAnya) August 15, 2022
Thank you, Antiracist Emily Post, for your etiquette lesson. Now go sit in the corner and think about what you just said and why it’s so terrible.
Or just let us tell you.
I'm afraid you're incorrect. not only can, "where are you from?" be a polite question, it's also a wonderful way to connect with people. I don't strive to be sweet, though.
— Erica Sandberg 舊金山的神奇女俠 (@EricaJSandberg) August 16, 2022
This is your white supremacy speaking in so, so many ways
— Dr Anna Piela (@annapiela999) August 16, 2022
Asking someone about themselves is white supremacy now? Would Dr Anna Piela #abortionisahumanright and Uju Anya prefer that we just spit on them when we meet them? Would that be more polite?
Oh no. This is devastating to me.
I live in a big city and there are a lot of immigrants and I want to understand them and their journey and now I don’t know how…
I’m sorry to anyone I’ve asked it of. 😣
— Brantley Harris 🪐 (@deadwisdom) August 15, 2022
Why on earth would you apologize for wanting to connect with people who are different from you?
“Where do you consider home?” is a better choice. Or even volunteer your home first and talk about your origins, then allow the person to tell you what they want.
— Uju Anya (@UjuAnya) August 15, 2022
Recommended
So you can’t ask someone where they’re from, but you can tell someone else where you’re from even if they don’t ask. Isn’t that presumptuous? Rude? Who are you to think that other people need to know about your home and origins when they meet you? You think your life story is more important than theirs?
You see where Uju Anya’s argument eventually winds up? In the trash. Which, incidentally, is where it belongs.
Good grief https://t.co/YJeF7CK8tV pic.twitter.com/4bzaezhjIr
— Dan (@DanLtcR) August 16, 2022
Antiracists have to make everything about race. Because antiracism is just racism shrouded in wokeness.
“Where are you from” is one of the most common friendly forms of inquiry in Germanic and Romance Languages. It can be found in Hebrew, Arabic, and Urdu as well as Han. Being from “here or there” had huge connotations in the past as they do in the present. It serves as a guidepost https://t.co/wvORioKOUG
— WM (@APTeacher1754) August 16, 2022
Asking someone where they're from isn't an indicator that one thinks a person isn't from the US
I get asked that question due to my slight accent, they're asking where in the South am I from https://t.co/tOEpLSoHiU
— Jen Monroe (@thatjenmonroe) August 16, 2022
https://twitter.com/akfirefly76/status/1559554168645472257
In other words, Tracy, you haven’t allowed your mind to be completely devoured by brain worms.
Everyday we come up with ways to make people feel uncomfortable around us.
We are all from somewhere. Finding it offensive that you’re asked “where are you from?” Show that you’re uncomfortable with where you are from.
My question to you Uju Anya is; why are you uncomfortable? https://t.co/iQiEmvg9Em
— Hrh d'Duchess Onyx (@HRH_onyx) August 16, 2022
We honestly couldn’t care less where she’s from.
Interesting. So, uh…where ARE you from? Because where I'm from, this is an asinine assertion – we don't actively seek out ways to be offended and victimized by innocuous conversation. https://t.co/Slj7dRYGwS
— Leonydus Johnson (leave/me/alone) (@LeonydusJohnson) August 16, 2022
https://twitter.com/OneFineJay/status/1559564724123144192
https://twitter.com/OneFineJay/status/1559564938112376835
Okay. Where the hell are you from, stupid? https://t.co/MevpSlA9SK
— jimtreacher.substack.com (@jtLOL) August 16, 2022
Well, we definitely know where she can go.
***
Join the conversation as a VIP Member