Strange things you're not used to

[athena_ny 1]

I recall having to put my race on our application for the marriage license, and many job applications also ask for race. In Canada, this is illegal. btw, I put "white" on the marriage license application, the lady behind the counter looked at my passport, scratched it out and put "Canadian" under the "Other" checkbox! We tried to explain the difference between nationality and race, and she would have none of it! *snarf*

Lots of labour laws (labor) in the US are a lot different than in Canada and take some getting used to.

LOL I don't know how you didn't pass out laughing right in front of her.

Yeah, race is illegal in Canada. It should be here too. I think I better get up to snuff on labour laws here in the states. I want to start my own business.

I had a call about an application I put in somewhere the other day; they're going to do interviews. The lady says, "you're from Canada right?". So I said, "yes I am". She then asks, "how old are you?". I was thrown for a loop and responded, "I'm old ENOUGH". I don't know if that's illegal here but I know it is in Canada. I was just floored.

OMG she did that?! You mean you can't be white if you are from Canada?!?! Sounds like she had a screw loose

She probably thought only Eskimoes come from Canada.

that's crazy...even for for me as an american. it is illegal for any american company to ask those questions. i'm not even sure why that question was asked, but it should not have been allowed.

Again, it is not illegal to ask the questions. You don't have to answer them.

[mox 298]

Again, it is not illegal to ask the questions. You don't have to answer them.

It is, however, illegal to ask most of these questions at a job interview. Questions such as age, race, ethnicity, religion, immigration status (although you can ask "are you legally allowed to work?"), gender (seriously!), country of origin (including where you were born), marital status, and disabilities are all illegal questions. The interviewer cannot ask these questions at all, even if they say "you don't have to answer that." Some of the answers may be obvious (e.g., the interviewee shows up in a wheelchair), and the interviewee can of course volunteer any information they want, but they can't be asked.

[caybee 21]

When we got married, the clerk put my husband's race into the computer as "Arab," without asking us, just because he is Moroccan. First, Arab is not a race. Second, my husband is not an Arab! Most forms we've seen that request race have people originating from MENA grouped as white, so that's usually what we go with, if we put anything at all. The whole race thing here has surprised my husband. There are people of every skin color in Morocco (a little girl in northern Morocco was mistaken for Madeleine McCann for a few days, and my husband was blond as a child) but he's not used to people being pigeonholed by skin color.

[Mononoke28 135]

Some people are just beyond moronic status. I have a very good friend from Iceland who is incredibly white, almost albino looking and her husband is an American but his whole family is from India. So she's really pale and he's really dark. Then they to go to Immigration and the guy at the window was all confused about their forms, changed her as the petitioner and him as the beneficiary without asking. Once my friend's husband saw he went nuts. He kept saying "I'M the AMERICAN citizen, SHE'S the FOREIGNER!!!!" But the Immigration guy was just baffled and almost didn't get it. It's funny now when they tell the story but it sure wasn't funny back then.

Diana

[athena_ny 1]

Some people are just beyond moronic status. I have a very good friend from Iceland who is incredibly white, almost albino looking and her husband is an American but his whole family is from India. So she's really pale and he's really dark. Then they to go to Immigration and the guy at the window was all confused about their forms, changed her as the petitioner and him as the beneficiary without asking. Once my friend's husband saw he went nuts. He kept saying "I'M the AMERICAN citizen, SHE'S the FOREIGNER!!!!" But the Immigration guy was just baffled and almost didn't get it. It's funny now when they tell the story but it sure wasn't funny back then.

Diana

I have no words.

That's so disgusting.

[Nessa 23]

I thought we were all considered Latinos since we come from Latin America, and that includes Brazilians as well. I'd much rather use that word than Hispanic, it makes more sense since it's based on geography and not "race".

Diana

well I have no problem with people calling me latina, after all, I'm from a latin country, it makes sense. I do have a problem with ignorant people trying to convince me I'm hispanic.

Hispanic

It now refers to the Spanish language, its speakers and its geographical distribution the same way Latin (Latino) refers to Romance languages in general. The corresponding term referring to Portuguese is Lusitanic.

Really, besides the litre/gallon issues, etc. almost all of those problems you listed just come from you not living in a very big city.

maybe so, but then again, I can't find those things in Kansas City neither. And I know I have to get used to it cuz I'm not moving to any city like those in NY, FL, CA that has lots of brazilians and you can find lots of the same stuff you find in Brazil. Still, doesn't make them less weird to me. Same way I'm sure Charles would have an infinite list of weird stuff in Brazil specially if we went live in the interior, God forbid.

[Reynaldo 0]

I thought we were all considered Latinos since we come from Latin America, and that includes Brazilians as well. I'd much rather use that word than Hispanic, it makes more sense since it's based on geography and not "race".

Diana

well I have no problem with people calling me latina, after all, I'm from a latin country, it makes sense. I do have a problem with ignorant people trying to convince me I'm hispanic.

Hispanic

It now refers to the Spanish language, its speakers and its geographical distribution the same way Latin (Latino) refers to Romance languages in general. The corresponding term referring to Portuguese is Lusitanic.

Really, besides the litre/gallon issues, etc. almost all of those problems you listed just come from you not living in a very big city.

maybe so, but then again, I can't find those things in Kansas City neither. And I know I have to get used to it cuz I'm not moving to any city like those in NY, FL, CA that has lots of brazilians and you can find lots of the same stuff you find in Brazil. Still, doesn't make them less weird to me. Same way I'm sure Charles would have an infinite list of weird stuff in Brazil specially if we went live in the interior, God forbid.

What is the problem with being hispanic anyways?

I love it.

[athena_ny 1]

I thought we were all considered Latinos since we come from Latin America, and that includes Brazilians as well. I'd much rather use that word than Hispanic, it makes more sense since it's based on geography and not "race".

Diana

well I have no problem with people calling me latina, after all, I'm from a latin country, it makes sense. I do have a problem with ignorant people trying to convince me I'm hispanic.

Hispanic

It now refers to the Spanish language, its speakers and its geographical distribution the same way Latin (Latino) refers to Romance languages in general. The corresponding term referring to Portuguese is Lusitanic.

Really, besides the litre/gallon issues, etc. almost all of those problems you listed just come from you not living in a very big city.

maybe so, but then again, I can't find those things in Kansas City neither. And I know I have to get used to it cuz I'm not moving to any city like those in NY, FL, CA that has lots of brazilians and you can find lots of the same stuff you find in Brazil. Still, doesn't make them less weird to me. Same way I'm sure Charles would have an infinite list of weird stuff in Brazil specially if we went live in the interior, God forbid.

What is the problem with being hispanic anyways?

I love it.

Nessa already detailed her reasons that she doesn't want to be referred to as Hispanic. What's the problem with someone feeling differently than you anyway?

[athena_ny 1]

I thought we were all considered Latinos since we come from Latin America, and that includes Brazilians as well. I'd much rather use that word than Hispanic, it makes more sense since it's based on geography and not "race".

Diana

well I have no problem with people calling me latina, after all, I'm from a latin country, it makes sense. I do have a problem with ignorant people trying to convince me I'm hispanic.

Hispanic

It now refers to the Spanish language, its speakers and its geographical distribution the same way Latin (Latino) refers to Romance languages in general. The corresponding term referring to Portuguese is Lusitanic.

Really, besides the litre/gallon issues, etc. almost all of those problems you listed just come from you not living in a very big city.

maybe so, but then again, I can't find those things in Kansas City neither. And I know I have to get used to it cuz I'm not moving to any city like those in NY, FL, CA that has lots of brazilians and you can find lots of the same stuff you find in Brazil. Still, doesn't make them less weird to me. Same way I'm sure Charles would have an infinite list of weird stuff in Brazil specially if we went live in the interior, God forbid.

I live near a rather large city in FL and I think you'd have the same issues you're having now - therapists are overbooked, and you can't schedule it weekly, no fresh breads and pastries on every corner, etc etc etc. The stuff is THERE but you do have to look for it. Obviously downtown Miami is a little different from the rest of the world, but even in downtown Tampa you have to look for stuff. The Peruvian and Colombian and Cuban and Brazilian restaurants tend to be a bit more hidden (other than La Teresita, which is Cuban, but meh they are the exception to the rule, I find).

But if you move to Florida (I know you aren't ) you'd find at least wine in the grocery store - and hard liquor is sold at one of the grocery stores, they just have to have a separate entrance to the "liquor store". When I moved here from NY, I found that so salacious. Now when I go visit my parents in NY, I spent a half hour looking for the wine aisle at the grocery store only to remember there is no wine at the grocery store.

Regardless, big city or not, things are way different here. My husband is constantly telling me "well in my country...well in my country" and not in a bad way because while there are similarities at times, there are way more differences

[Reynaldo 0]

Nessa already detailed her reasons that she doesn't want to be referred to as Hispanic. What's the problem with someone feeling differently than you anyway?

It's a free country...

She has the right to be upset.

And I have the right to say that I think she is wrong for being upset...

[athena_ny 1]

Nessa already detailed her reasons that she doesn't want to be referred to as Hispanic. What's the problem with someone feeling differently than you anyway?

It's a free country...

She has the right to be upset.

And I have the right to say that I think she is wrong for being upset...

And I have a right to say that I think you're wrong for saying she's wrong...?

[Reynaldo 0]

And I have a right to say that I think you're wrong for saying she's wrong...?

Sure...

What Brazilians fail to see is that we have a lot in common with all the other Latin-American country. The only thing we don't share is a common language.

I really don't mind being called a Latino, specially because we call ourselves Latin-Americans down there, why would it be different here?

[Mononoke28 135]

I don't know if you share this with me or not, but outside of the US Brazilians are more isolated from the rest of Latin Americans than when we're here in the States. I know that when I meet someone from Brazil here we try to communicate by speaking slowly and have found a lot of similarities. I don't see them as not being another latino.

Diana

[Simply_Uno 1]

-I never cross any race on any applications... It is not mandatory to cross a box, so we did not do it at all.

-The SSN thing is super weird, also background checks for work??? (you don't want a mass murderer working in the nursing home caring for your grandma do you?)

-I find it weird that health insurance is tied to work, and that doctors always want to perform 5 zillion tests that are obviously unnecessary just to make sure they won't get sued....its called liability. the u.s. is notorious for frivolous law suits (google the lady that sued mcdonalds for serving her hot coffee)

- Speed limits on highways! Terrible!

(how else will you know how fast to drive or how can the government regulate the traffice and the citizens obey, if it were not posted.)

Actually, it isn't just background checks for work....CREDIT checks also. If you have bad credit, they assume you'll steal money, or not be able to do your job properly, or something. For most jobs that I've had (contract) recently, I've had to have a credit check, background check, and drug test. These are just jobs moving computers around and/or fixing them.

Pay-At-the-Pump: This has been a godsend for me since it became common. I hate having to go into the store to pay. Mainly because I have no willpower and I'll buy stuff that I shouldn't. Also because I want to pay and get the hell out of there most of the time....I'm habitually late.

If a prospective employer requires your SSN, then they will probably be doing a background check. Of course, they have to make sure you're legal, too. That doesn't come until after they've made you an offer, though....

And asking race or age is illegal, unless it has the "voluntary" box around it. Of course, many employers throw the ones that aren't filled out in the trash.... we have a quota-system here, ya know. We have to have a certain percentage of men, of women, of whites, of blacks, of Latino, etc. It's a fun system.

the reasoning for employment "credit" checks has to do with the following, if you have bad credit, you have bad character. meaning you don't pay your bills, and you are not honorable. it has nothing to do with stealing, (at least not "theft" in the literal sense). it also verifies where you live and how long you've been at your current resident (i.e. the same address you put on your credit card application, oh say, 5 years ago, is most likely the same address you've put on your job application).

the background checks have to do with not hiring "crooks" or felons (what a joke, the people they should discriminate against they don't, look at Enron). and most jobs do not wait until they hire you to do this, they do it on an as needed basis, why do you think some people wait 2 weeks and still never hear anything concerning their job applications, its because as soon as you fill it out/in (depending on what is grammatical for you), they "run" your social security number and see all of those beautiful marks against you.

[Simply_Uno 1]

I am most offended by questions of race, age or sexual preference

SSN - had a question about race, optional, but still. I chose not to answer it

Marriage cert - race? Is this 1960 or what?

Dr's office - wanted my SSN...told them I didn't have it yet...what the hell do they need that for? Never asked for it in Canada

Dr's office - asked my sexual preference...#######? My husband said, if you put homosexual, they would be concerned about AIDS

Sorry -each of these situations has made the hair on the back of my neck bristle......and also makes me jump to the conclusion that Americans are racist/ prejudice etc....

Not true of course...but I begin to wonder what's up. ...they need revisit some of these antiquated laws

the doctors office needed your s.s.# just in case your insurance doesn't cover everything and you chose not to pay the balace of your bill, it would go on your credit, negatively. and if a company has enough information about you, they can still obtain your s.s.#.

sexual preference = just because you are married, does not make you heterosexual, welcome to the U.s.A.