Discrimination...

[alone 0]

OMG, I can't believe how people can be so rude and ignorant! That teenage girl has no manners. And as for those Mexicans, they could've just asked your husband first before they made any conclusions. duh

Right after my husband arrived from Egypt, he snagged a job at a movie theater near our home. He requested they put "Moh" on his name tag because he was afraid of people seeing "Mohammed". Well, they printed "Mohammed" on his name tag anyway and one night, as he was taking tickets, a teenaged girl and her boyfriend walked to him with their tickets. The girl read his tag, "Mohammed? Oh my god! Are you going to blow up the theater?" Then she just squealed with laughter thinking it was the wittiest thing she'd ever said.

My husband has also had many Mexicans here confuse him for Mexican. He was in line at the grocery store and two Mexican men started talking to him in their native tongue. Mohammed told them "I'm sorry. I don't understand you." One of the guys became very irrate and accused him in English of being ashamed of his native tongue and being less of a man, and blah blah blah. Mohammed told him "Dude! I'm Egyptian!"

Never and end to it I guess.

[Fandango 1,439]

OMG, I can't believe how people can be so rude and ignorant! That teenage girl has no manners. And as for those Mexicans, they could've just asked your husband first before they made any conclusions. duh

Right after my husband arrived from Egypt, he snagged a job at a movie theater near our home. He requested they put "Moh" on his name tag because he was afraid of people seeing "Mohammed". Well, they printed "Mohammed" on his name tag anyway and one night, as he was taking tickets, a teenaged girl and her boyfriend walked to him with their tickets. The girl read his tag, "Mohammed? Oh my god! Are you going to blow up the theater?" Then she just squealed with laughter thinking it was the wittiest thing she'd ever said.

My husband has also had many Mexicans here confuse him for Mexican. He was in line at the grocery store and two Mexican men started talking to him in their native tongue. Mohammed told them "I'm sorry. I don't understand you." One of the guys became very irrate and accused him in English of being ashamed of his native tongue and being less of a man, and blah blah blah. Mohammed told him "Dude! I'm Egyptian!"

Never and end to it I guess.

Mistaking someone for another nationality is not really racist tho...happens to me all the time when I'm in Miami. People will ALWAYS come up to me speaking Spanish...I can muddy thru, but I'm hardly fully fluent. They'll ask what part of Cuba/Mexico/Spain/Brazil/Colombia/etc I'm from (yes, I've heard them all) I'll be all 'My family's Italian I'm American'...yet they don't believe me.

I get it, I look Latin. I don't think that constitutes racism.

The other things in this thread...now most of THOSE are racist!

Edited May 5, 2007 by LisaD

[DeadPoolX 9]

Honestly, I'm not too surprised a teenager said this. After all, since when have teenagers been the societal model of tact and open-mindedness? Most teens that I've met (now and when I was a teenager) are stuck in their own little world and can't see beyond that.

[MariaEric 0]

Agreed.... I have been told I should go back to Scotland and stop taking good jobs from American people.... I was also asked how long it took me to learn English after I arrived!!!!!!

Kez

OMG, some people just amaze me with their ignorance. I recently was asked if Germany isn't that country in Africa right next to Egypt and why I was white then?!?!

LMAO i was once asked where in Mexico Spain was

[Nancy2015 2]

I will be honest - I can't tell if a person is Hispanic, Arab, Philipino or Native American. I also can't tell the difference between Japanese, Chinese or Vietnamese. Shame on me, I know. But I wouldn't call mistaking one nationality for another discrimination - it's just that for some people it is really hard to tell. Trust me

It is very typical of people to stereotype, there's nothing new about it. You wouldn't believe what stereotypes an average American has about the country I grew up in, especially an average American who remembers the Cold War I actually find it funny that people can be so stupid, and I have learned not to get offended by anything. Frankly, I believe it is entirely up to us, educated and successful expatriates, to be an example of how wrong stereotypes may be.

[homesick_american 1]

When my family moved to the United States, we have suffered from a lot of racism. The Europeans (those who lived here for generations, avoiding the collective term white) perceive us as cheap, thugs, grass eaters, dog eaters, and they also love to vandalize our property. Over the years, the occurrence of these incidents decreased. However, there are still remnants and residuals of these racism surviving in the streets.

Keep a low profile of yourself. That is just a recommendation. Try to blend it with the Americans. For example, when talking to someone use English instead of your native tongue. I always do that. Even when I speak to someone fluent in my tongue, I always use English as much as possible so that I wouldn't make onlookers (those who walk by) thinks I'm saying negative things about people.

LOL, paranoid much?

So, the "Europeans" hate Asians? News to this "European."

Its a shame that more Americans dont get out to other countries....they really are missing so much.

It's a shame that it's so expensive for some Americans to travel to Europe, Asia, Africa, etc. that most of them never go or save their entire lifetimes for that one single trip. Sh!tty exchange rates don't help much. The fact that non-Americans persistently delight in telling us what ignorant idiots we are probably doesn't help either. We can get harassed at home for free.

[homesick_american 1]

Mistaking someone for another nationality is not really racist tho...happens to me all the time when I'm in Miami. People will ALWAYS come up to me speaking Spanish...I can muddy thru, but I'm hardly fully fluent. They'll ask what part of Cuba/Mexico/Spain/Brazil/Colombia/etc I'm from (yes, I've heard them all) I'll be all 'My family's Italian I'm American'...yet they don't believe me.

I get it, I look Latin. I don't think that constitutes racism.

The other things in this thread...now most of THOSE are racist!

I've lost track of the number of times Polish people in York have strolled up to me and let forth a long, fluent stream of Polish with a hopeful gleam in their eyes. I disappoint them by telling them (in Polish) that I don't speak Polish (well enough to help them, anyway). One of my grandmothers was Polish; I guess there's a Polish 'look' to me. I never thought it was racist. They're sort of right.

[Niels Bohr 72]

When my family moved to the United States, we have suffered from a lot of racism. The Europeans (those who lived here for generations, avoiding the collective term white) perceive us as cheap, thugs, grass eaters, dog eaters, and they also love to vandalize our property. Over the years, the occurrence of these incidents decreased. However, there are still remnants and residuals of these racism surviving in the streets.

Keep a low profile of yourself. That is just a recommendation. Try to blend it with the Americans. For example, when talking to someone use English instead of your native tongue. I always do that. Even when I speak to someone fluent in my tongue, I always use English as much as possible so that I wouldn't make onlookers (those who walk by) thinks I'm saying negative things about people.

LOL, paranoid much?

So, the "Europeans" hate Asians? News to this "European."

Speak for yourself not having experience things. Show some respect.

[homesick_american 1]

Speak for yourself not having experience things. Show some respect.

Are you honestly trying to tell me that I've never experienced discrimination or xenophobia? I'm a WOMAN and an IMMIGRANT. How about you showing some respect?

[Mags 112]

When my family moved to the United States, we have suffered from a lot of racism. The Europeans (those who lived here for generations, avoiding the collective term white) perceive us as cheap, thugs, grass eaters, dog eaters, and they also love to vandalize our property. Over the years, the occurrence of these incidents decreased. However, there are still remnants and residuals of these racism surviving in the streets.

Keep a low profile of yourself. That is just a recommendation. Try to blend it with the Americans. For example, when talking to someone use English instead of your native tongue. I always do that. Even when I speak to someone fluent in my tongue, I always use English as much as possible so that I wouldn't make onlookers (those who walk by) thinks I'm saying negative things about people.

LOL, paranoid much?

So, the "Europeans" hate Asians? News to this "European."

Speak for yourself not having experience things. Show some respect.

I didn't think she was being disrespectful.

Edited May 6, 2007 by mags

[Fandango 1,439]

When my family moved to the United States, we have suffered from a lot of racism. The Europeans (those who lived here for generations, avoiding the collective term white) perceive us as cheap, thugs, grass eaters, dog eaters, and they also love to vandalize our property. Over the years, the occurrence of these incidents decreased. However, there are still remnants and residuals of these racism surviving in the streets.

Keep a low profile of yourself. That is just a recommendation. Try to blend it with the Americans. For example, when talking to someone use English instead of your native tongue. I always do that. Even when I speak to someone fluent in my tongue, I always use English as much as possible so that I wouldn't make onlookers (those who walk by) thinks I'm saying negative things about people.

LOL, paranoid much?

So, the "Europeans" hate Asians? News to this "European."

Speak for yourself not having experience things. Show some respect.

I didn't think she was being disrespectful.

neither did I. If we're doling out respect, how bout we not generalize so much, eh? Isn't that a bit racist?

[Mags 112]

When my family moved to the United States, we have suffered from a lot of racism. The Europeans (those who lived here for generations, avoiding the collective term white) perceive us as cheap, thugs, grass eaters, dog eaters, and they also love to vandalize our property. Over the years, the occurrence of these incidents decreased. However, there are still remnants and residuals of these racism surviving in the streets.

Keep a low profile of yourself. That is just a recommendation. Try to blend it with the Americans. For example, when talking to someone use English instead of your native tongue. I always do that. Even when I speak to someone fluent in my tongue, I always use English as much as possible so that I wouldn't make onlookers (those who walk by) thinks I'm saying negative things about people.

LOL, paranoid much?

So, the "Europeans" hate Asians? News to this "European."

Speak for yourself not having experience things. Show some respect.

I didn't think she was being disrespectful.

neither did I. If we're doling out respect, how bout we not generalize so much, eh? Isn't that a bit racist?

Good point. Consolemaster seems to be lumping Americans into one big pot. According to him they all are paranoid and think he's talking about them, that they all hate his race, that they all give him a hard time and so on...that seems a bit racist to me, but from the opposite direction.

It works both ways.

[mawilson 2,133]

I was also asked how long it took me to learn English after I arrived!!!!!!

Well...how long?

[mawilson 2,133]

OMG, some people just amaze me with their ignorance. I recently was asked if Germany isn't that country in Africa right next to Egypt and why I was white then?!?!

Algermany?

[Fandango 1,439]

OMG, some people just amaze me with their ignorance. I recently was asked if Germany isn't that country in Africa right next to Egypt and why I was white then?!?!

Algermany?

heh

1/2 a point for that one