How Else Would I Know?

[Shea]

A little info on me. I look odd. I've been told I'm what humanity will look like when all the races finish interbreeding. It makes my nationality really bloody hard to figure out. Instead of asking (Not that I'll tell anyone anyway) or ignoring it all together, some people like to make assumptions. This results in me having a lot of fun.

In chronological order, though a few of my jobs.

Day Camps

I volunteered a lot when I was younger. One fateful day at daycamps, I hear a six year old girl in my group use, in a lighthearted, not knowing she's saying anything wrong way, use the dreaded six letter "N" word. I promptly turn around, realize that she was refering to me, and promptly scold her about using the word.

"But that's what black people are called."

I stop. Blink blankly at her. Then, wordlessly, I take her to see the nice Leader and she takes it from there. I guess my tan was dark that day.

Shoe Store

Couple nice enough old ladies came in. I offered to help, but they just wanted to look and eventually asked my coworker for a few sized while I dusted. Ended up dusting just behind them at one point and I hear:

"It's a good thing they didn't leave that Muslim girl on her own."

I stop dusting. I head to the back and laugh for five minutes. Then I come back out and pretend nothing happened.

and then, a little later in the year...

Younger man comes in looking for shoes. Help, everything goes smooth. Then as we're at the till:

Man: Do you celebrate anything?
Me: Christmas.
Man: Oh, I didn't know Indi-I mean Native Americans celebrated Christmas.

Love that he corrected himself in there. I really do.

Comic Shop

Elderly woman with her husband came from the states to visit family, and came in to try and get something for the grandkids. I offer to help, they want to look, I start putting comics away. Then I overhear:

"See, even up here Mexicans are taking our jobs." Complete with gesture to where I had been standing.

Yes. I'm sure they are.

[myswtghst]

I can feel for you. I'm a bit of a mutt myself, and don't look like much of anything 'cept a white girl. I did Native American stuff in college (I'm part Potawatomi) and when I was offered a Native Aide job (mentor to other NA students), I was concerned they wouldn't take me seriously, since I don't really look it. (I did end up turning down the job, but for other reasons)

Also, one of my best friends in college was the whitest Mexican I've ever met in my life, so much so that we joked about it all the time.

[monolayth]

My mother is half mexican indian and irish. my father is half indian and scottish. One would think I might have a little bit of a tan. But I blend in with the walls......lol.

[scruff]

I've started a new job, and as a Brit in Britain, in this office, I'm actually a minority.
I'm finding it kinda fun, as my colleagues not only are getting my race wrong, they're believing me to be 15 years younger than I am.
It's all cool.

[thegiraffe]

Shea...

Care to supplement with a picture? I assume you're of dark complexion with dark hair, but specific nationalities typically have certain features that make them 'look' that nationality. Do you have a combination of several features, or is it simply your complexion/hair/eye combo that confuses people?

[ThePhoneGoddess]

Gods, I know how you feel but from the opposite end of the spectrum. My Mother looks as white as you can possibly imagine, and my Dad was half Native American. I have fair hair, blue eyes, very white skin and obviously ethnic facial features that no one can place. In fact people have been known to ask me point blank about it, usually people who have no business asking---you know, like complete strangers. I've been asked if I was Sami (like Renee Zellweger) numerous times, among other things. Some people will treat me weird and then I will later find out they will mention to someone 'She's not white. I can tell. She's not all white.' Which just annoys me to no end because I am extremely fair and was totally raised in 'white' American culture, but that doesn't seem to count for anything because apparently I am 'not all white'. Whatever that means.

I have two cousins who are half Mexican---Kelly looks like their Dad---dark skin, straight black hair, big black eyes. Her brother Sonny looks just like their Mother---light brown eyes, medium blonde hair, white skin. People don't believe they're siblings, let alone my cousins! I had a lady once make racist remarks about Kelly to me and Sonny after she had walked out of hearing distance. We turned to her and I said 'That's my cousin.' Sonny goes 'And she's MY sister!' Lady looked flummoxed and slunk off. People really amaze me with their ignorance sometimes.

[CancelMyService]

I often wonder what my kids will look like, I'm mostly Irish - the one quarter of me that isn't is Swedish, so I tend to have albino people look at me like "damn, that guy is pale". My wife happens to be about a quarter Lakota. Her uncle looks like the typical Indian-from-a-western-movie right out of Central Casting. So it's possible, if the genetics fall the right way, for my whiter than freshly fallen snow self to have a child with dark hair and features. I can just imagine the hilarity that would ensue from the clueless/ignorant sections of humanity.

[crazylegs]

My best friend at school was half peruvian and part german/english. Had the most gorgeous skin colour going, noone could ever place her heritage.

[DGoddessChardonnay]

Nobody would know that I'm 1/4 Cherokee . . . my skin is so fair, I tend to be overlooked when waiting in line.

Guess I just blend in with the scenery to the point where I disappear.

[LadyAndreca]

The most beautiful person I ever met had a Japanese mother and a VERY dark African-American father. She had gorgeous skin that looked like a light tan (well, a light tan on ME, I'm Norwegian/Irish/German), thick, wavy black hair, and facial features that were impossible to place until she told you her heritige. Oh, and she had just a hint of a Southern drawl that threw people off even more.

She loved saying that she hated 'ethnicity' questions on college applications and other forms, because most places don't have an 'other' field or let you pick more than one.

[retaildrone]

I am 'white' but I have dark brown hair and eyes. My skin color is also a a few shades darker than your typical 'white' person.

People always guess that I am Mexican....or half Mexican. They are also not so nice and use crude slurs when asking me about "what exactly, I am."

Funny thing is, my heritage is lilly white european. The whole blonde hair, blue eyes, pasty white nine yards. I am the 'darkest' of my whole family. I have the strong facial features of my dad's side of the family or else I'd be questioning some things. lol

[smileyeagle1021]

looking at me it is not hard to guess my ethnicity (euromix... mainly german and scot) but listening to me talk people will think anything from phillipino to british to swedish to russian to canadian (still trying to figure that out)... I think a lot of it has a lot to do with what ethnicity the caller and them thinking that I'm the same as them... I know it's kinda strange.

[powerboy]

I am 2/3 Cherokee. I am 1/4 part Black/German. But I have dirty blond hair and am white. It looks like I have somewhat of a tan on the upper half(longways) of my arms.

[Gerrinson]

I'm part Mohawk, so at my lightest I look like a white guy with a tan and cheekbones. At my high school I was one of the only kids who whose minority background was noticeable. The other being the black lesbian, who was wicked cool, but she just hit the ultra minority jackpot and had to deal with same idiots I did.

There was one kid who just couldn't figure out what minority I was and his method of finding out didn't involve ASKING me. Instead he would just try different racial slurs, hoping to find one that fit. Cue language warning:

M: Moron
Me: Me.

Moron: Hey, n******, how's it going?
Me: I'm not black, idiot.
Moron: Oh.

Next day:

Moron: Why don't you go back to Puerto Rico with all your sp** family?
Me: I'm not Hispanic, moron.
Moron: Go back to Mexico then, w**back!
Me: (tapping my chest a la Tarzan) Me NOT Hispanic. (pointing at him) You moron.
Moron: Oh.

A few days later:

Moron: Ch**k f***er!
Me: Are my eyes slanted? No? Think about that for about three seconds you racist f***.
Teacher who overheard: What's going on here? You both want detention?
Me: He's an idiot and I'm not white. But please, feel free to give me detention for being sick of dealing with this racist idiot every day.
Teacher:
Moron: ... (runs off to class)
Me:

And yet again:

Moron: You're one of those crazy sand n*****s!
Me: Yeah, no. And if I was, would you really want to piss me off?
Moron: Oh...

This continued on and off for MONTHS. Not once did he ever get it right. Nor did I feel the need to inform him. I'd have thought that making my own bow, arrows, and moccasins for a school project about our cultural backgrounds would have been a clue. But no.

[IHateStupidCustomers]

I'm Italian, and I guess some people think I have olive-y colored skin. I, myself, think I'm pretty pale, but whatever. One day, my boss's boss, who works in another office, but who has still seen me a couple times, called and said she was filling out something for the city about the gender and race of everybody that worked here, and she actually asked me if I was hispanic. I couldn't help but laugh, just because I don't think I look hispanic, and my last name is VERY obviously Italian.