I’d just spent a few minutes having a laughing fit after seeing this Overheard in the Newsroom entry:
Anchor to a reporter of Middle Eastern descent: “Where are you from?”
Reporter: “Well I’m originally from Cincinnati but I grew up in Boston.”
Anchor: “No, I meant where are you from?”
You have no idea how often I’ve had this conversation. Scottish accent? My birthplace? The fact that I’m merely 10% East Asian? None of that matters. What am I and where was I really from matter.
A colleague and I once, during a time when we should be working but couldn’t be arsed, created a bingo card specifically for “foreign-looking” people, which includes “are you an immigrant?” and such. Another colleague – also mixed race – loved it enough to create one for mixed race people. And it was the funniest thing ever.
I don’t have an original copy any more, but here is my to-my-best-recollection reproduction of his bingo card (click on the image to enlarge).
