Page 2 of 2 FirstFirst 12
Results 21 to 31 of 31

Thread: Asking a person about their family history

  1. #21
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    Jul 2020
    Posts
    308
    Thanks
    264
    Thanked 424 Times in 204 Posts
    Rep Power
    4

    Default Re: Asking a person about their family history

    Thank you, I found your story and experience to be fascinating.

    I grew up in a city of 100,000 people where anything other than a white English speaking person was very unusual, there was one Chinese family that owned a restaurant, no persons of color, no religions other than Catholic and Protestant, just one Polish boy at my school of 650 boys, I never spoke or even saw anyone that was dissimilar to me until I was 19 years old.

    Little wonder that I was interested in how others lived their lives and what was important to them the older I became. This interest accelerated when I did research into my family tree which produced verifiable evidence back to 1600 and good guesswork back to 900.

    I like your honesty and openness Kaz, I may be off centre here but I follow the principle that our ancestors and family history shape who and what we are today, if you are interested in people then an interest in their family history goes hand in hand and not a bad way of having a cup of coffee conversation.
    Last edited by RobJohnson; December 2nd, 2022 at 08:45 AM.

  2. The Following 2 Users Say Thank You to RobJohnson For This Useful Post:

    dneal (December 2nd, 2022), kazoolaw (December 2nd, 2022)

  3. #22
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    Apr 2013
    Posts
    6,658
    Thanks
    2,027
    Thanked 2,189 Times in 1,419 Posts
    Rep Power
    18

    Default Re: Asking a person about their family history

    I, too, have had all sorts of strange reactions to my last name (Pennsylvania Dutch). Including the, "What kind of name is that?" type.

    Of course.

  4. #23
    Senior Member Chip's Avatar
    Join Date
    Mar 2021
    Location
    Wyoming
    Posts
    2,132
    Thanks
    98
    Thanked 1,079 Times in 632 Posts
    Rep Power
    6

    Default Re: Asking a person about their family history

    I grew up and went through grades 4-12 in Las Vegas. Owing to the casinos and entertainment along with Nellis Air Force Base and the Nevada Atomic Test Site, it was the proverbial melting pot.

    Names I recall: Arakelian, Armel, Ayoub, Bean, Brady, Cavaricci, Cortes, Dejeunette, Edwards, Feinstein, Garbus, Heidinger, Ifland, Jakubowski, Jimmerson, Kimball, Lowenthal, Mendel, Naiser, Norton, Taubman . . . Zobrist—you get the idea. Arab, Armenian, Black, German, English, Scots, Swiss, Jewish, Polish, and French. I took that diversity as normal.

    I liked it. Made things interesting. I remember going to Leo Lowenthal's house for dinner, with almost no cognizance of Jews as different than me. The mama thing– it was good.

    We lived on the outskirts and the school bus carried the black kids to the ghetto in West Side before dropping me (the minority) off, so I got to know quite a few of them. I liked their good spirits and sense of humor. I knew their lives could be rough. Ralph, my PE mate in high school, used to stash his gun in our gym locker.

    I miss it it here, 30 miles from where I was born, surrounded by heavily-armed white Trump voters.
    Last edited by Chip; December 3rd, 2022 at 01:48 PM.

  5. The Following User Says Thank You to Chip For This Useful Post:

    RobJohnson (December 3rd, 2022)

  6. #24
    Senior Member Chip's Avatar
    Join Date
    Mar 2021
    Location
    Wyoming
    Posts
    2,132
    Thanks
    98
    Thanked 1,079 Times in 632 Posts
    Rep Power
    6

    Default Re: Asking a person about their family history

    When we lived in New Zealand, I noticed that the Kiwis (ever tactful) would ask if we were from Canada.

    Asking if someone was a Yank was a bit of a put-down.

  7. #25
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    Apr 2013
    Posts
    6,658
    Thanks
    2,027
    Thanked 2,189 Times in 1,419 Posts
    Rep Power
    18

    Default Re: Asking a person about their family history

    A WaPo opinion column on this topic: WaPo opinion column

  8. #26
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    May 2013
    Posts
    1,735
    Thanks
    139
    Thanked 608 Times in 444 Posts
    Rep Power
    12

    Default Re: Asking a person about their family history

    At some point Americans will realize that where our people came from is part of our country's pride, and not let anyone diminish that.

  9. The Following User Says Thank You to kazoolaw For This Useful Post:

    dneal (December 11th, 2022)

  10. #27
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    Apr 2013
    Posts
    6,658
    Thanks
    2,027
    Thanked 2,189 Times in 1,419 Posts
    Rep Power
    18

    Default Re: Asking a person about their family history

    I love this suggested response to the "Where are you from" question: "Africa, same as you."

  11. The Following User Says Thank You to TSherbs For This Useful Post:

    Chuck Naill (December 12th, 2022)

  12. #28
    Senior Member dneal's Avatar
    Join Date
    Mar 2014
    Posts
    6,000
    Thanks
    2,402
    Thanked 2,281 Times in 1,306 Posts
    Rep Power
    18
    "A truth does not mind being questioned. A lie does not like being challenged."

  13. #29
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    Sep 2019
    Location
    US
    Posts
    6,788
    Thanks
    642
    Thanked 897 Times in 689 Posts
    Rep Power
    11

    Default Re: Asking a person about their family history

    Quote Originally Posted by TSherbs View Post
    I love this suggested response to the "Where are you from" question: "Africa, same as you."
    The cradle of civilization.

    That said, I used to be asked where I was from because of my accent at my first pharma job at Hoechst with American headquarters in Somerville.

  14. #30
    Senior Member Prettypenguin's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2022
    Posts
    156
    Thanks
    298
    Thanked 152 Times in 69 Posts
    Rep Power
    3

    Default Re: Asking a person about their family history

    As someone who gets asked this question regularly, it really depends on what unspoken information I am picking up from the person asking. If it registers as genuine interest, then I go down the rabbit hole. My family’s history has many different cultures, I am part of the first generation born in the US, and what I look like doesn’t necessarily reflect my cultural background- so I get the curiosity. If they’re looking for a reason to put me down due to race or ethnicity, then I answer politely but succinctly and let the conversation show everyone else in the group what they are doing. When others catch on, they usually nip any untowardness in the bud. I have a mother in law who tries to pull things like this and while often tiring, it’s also amusing to watch her show her whole ass to her kids and husband when she does.
    (here’s hoping I didn’t break any forum rules in my post, I read the rules sans coffee after taking care of a food poisoned husband all night)

  15. The Following User Says Thank You to Prettypenguin For This Useful Post:

    dneal (December 31st, 2022)

  16. #31
    Senior Member Chip's Avatar
    Join Date
    Mar 2021
    Location
    Wyoming
    Posts
    2,132
    Thanks
    98
    Thanked 1,079 Times in 632 Posts
    Rep Power
    6

    Default Re: Asking a person about their family history

    It's not hard to tell whether the person is really interested in you and your family background, or they're just trying to one up and score some cheap points.

    In the former case, they usually want to tell you about their family origin and history.

Bookmarks

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •