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Inspired by the "stereotype" and "Facts about indians" threads.

This is just an observation of mine.
Whats your take?

Let's assume you are born in one country (India) and lived there for a 2 years, then moved to another country (England) and lived there for the rest of your life.

Then you move to Dubai and you encounter 2 types of people who ask you where you are from:

What do you tell them?

My observations:
The one asking you is NOT from India:
You introduce yourself and say you are from England. They say you don't look like someone from there, then you explain its because you werent born there, but raised there. But you come off like you are trying to hide the fact that you are from India and are embarassed of it.
OR
You introduce yourself as an Indian, and often get "stereotyped" right after that (see facts about indians thread).

The one asking you is from India
Introduce yourself as someone from England. They roll their eyes because you apparently are trying to be "better" than them or coming off as being "fake".
OR
You tell them you are Indian, and then they suddenly get a chip on their shoulder and think you are "white-washed".


I'm basing these observations solely on the Dubai mentality. I've noticed it is FAR more prominent here than anywhere else I've been. And I've travelled a fair bit.

Discuss? Let's try and keep it clean with no personal attacks (even toward PP).

I'm sort of in the same boat. I just tell people the short story: I was born in the Philippines but I was raised here. After that, I let my actions do the talking and I would hope that their impression of me as a person is borne from that rather than specific prejudices.

hahah i know where you got it dresden , isnt it from karans rants on the facts abt. indian thread...

And Busa's reply with his son dating a Canadian/Indian girl.

check out the facts abt. indian threads again, theres a new rant now its zukku...hehehe

I guess this poll can only be answered by those of Indian descent.

Off topic I know, but I, for one, have gotten used to the fact that there are Indians who hold British passports, and Canadian and US passports for that matter, as I have gotten used to the fact that there are many Arabs who hold British, Canadian, US and even French passports.

So, if someone is clearly of another "nationality" and tells me that they are from another country, and by looking at them and listening to them speak, I can assume that they are generational or are hypenated-passport holders of the country they claim as their nationality and to which they have citizenship.

But how do you identify yourself when one holds dual passports? For example: if you are Egyptian and hold an Egyptian passport and the US passport. Are you Egyptian when it's convenient, American when it is convenient? How do you serve the country you were born in and continue to be a citizen of the country that you have adopted and given you citizenship?

Usually passports are just papers, its only us who divided and made bounderies to the earth. during the ancient age anybody can be anybody and they only belong to tribes. but people who will deny the facts abt. their origin or what their nationality is.

These kind of people i consider as no better than a smelly fish. - AKA RIZAL ang hindi marunong magmahal sa sariling wika/bayan, daig pa ang malansang isda.

Hey, English speaking forum, please translate or delete....?

portland wrote:Usually passports are just papers, its only us who divided and made bounderies to the earth. during the ancient age anybody can be anybody and they only belong to tribes. but people who will deny the facts abt. their origin or what their nationality is.

These kind of people i consider as no better than a smelly fish. - AKA RIZAL ang hindi marunong magmahal sa sariling wika/bayan, daig pa ang malansang isda.

Why not just say "I was born in India but I grew up in England" ?

Bora Bora wrote:

portland wrote:Usually passports are just papers, its only us who divided and made bounderies to the earth. during the ancient age anybody can be anybody and they only belong to tribes. but people who will deny the facts abt. their origin or what their nationality is.

These kind of people i consider as no better than a smelly fish. - AKA RIZAL ang hindi marunong magmahal sa sariling wika/bayan, daig pa ang malansang isda.

what? im expressing my opinions here any problems with it....ggeeeeessssshhhhhhhh im bored.......

portland wrote:

Bora Bora wrote:

portland wrote:Usually passports are just papers, its only us who divided and made bounderies to the earth. during the ancient age anybody can be anybody and they only belong to tribes. but people who will deny the facts abt. their origin or what their nationality is.

These kind of people i consider as no better than a smelly fish. - AKA RIZAL ang hindi marunong magmahal sa sariling wika/bayan, daig pa ang malansang isda.

what? im expressing my opinions here any problems with it....ggeeeeessssshhhhhhhh im bored.......

I do. I asked you to write in English on an English speaking forum, and I'm serious.

Captain Australia wrote:Why not just say "I was born in India but I grew up in England" ?

I was waiting for someone to say that...

Bora, I picked those countries for a reason, but you can feel free to vote as you choose if you were in that particular situation.

The issue is very deep seeded. From my studies (psych minor), it is much more than just an inferiority complex. It also has to do with cultural identity and enthocentricism.
For mere example (in my uni-experiment I did many moons ago), Eastern European's and Europeans in general are far more likely to associate themeselves with their home country, even if it is through ancestry as compared to those from Asia. I found that most europeans who have been born in Canada, or spent the majority of their lives in Canada would still refer to themselves as European (Ie. Spanish, Russian, Serbian, French etc.). Also found that most test subjects from the Asian continent chose to represent themselves from the country where they held citizenship, regardless of the amount of time they have spent there....


-----
For anyone interested, 120 people of various nationalities were interviewed in order to get a proper statistic. Also have to take into consideration discrimination in Canada differ's from that Dubai, so the results cannot be directly applied, but the understanding/findings behind it can explain cultural identity in any part of the world.

I is mostly an alien from planet zog,but due to my devil may care attitude,my stiff.....upper lip and my all around fantasticness people automaticly assume that i am English.






Not that you would guess it though with my unique skill at speeeling most words wrong

portland wrote:Usually passports are just papers, its only us who divided and made bounderies to the earth. during the ancient age anybody can be anybody and they only belong to tribes. but people who will deny the facts abt. their origin or what their nationality is.

These kind of people i consider as no better than a smelly fish. - AKA RIZAL ang hindi marunong magmahal sa sariling wika/bayan, daig pa ang malansang isda.

If you have something of value to add, please do so in english. That way we can all understand each other. After all, Passports are not the only things man created to seperate each other...


P.s, In ancient days, it was no different. Certain "tribes" were held in higher regard than others. Do a little reading on ancient civilizations and you will understand what I mean.

dresden wrote:

portland wrote:Usually passports are just papers, its only us who divided and made bounderies to the earth. during the ancient age anybody can be anybody and they only belong to tribes. but people who will deny the facts abt. their origin or what their nationality is.

These kind of people i consider as no better than a smelly fish. - AKA RIZAL ang hindi marunong magmahal sa sariling wika/bayan, daig pa ang malansang isda.

If you have something of value to add, please do so in english. That way we can all understand each other. After all, Passports are not the only things man created to seperate each other...


P.s, In ancient days, it was no different. Certain "tribes" were held in higher regard than others. Do a little reading on ancient civilizations and you will understand what I mean.

In regards to the hierachy in the society and tribes, i have no queston in it, its been there and it is also present from any form of life here on earth.
What im pertaining is during the past anybody can travel and settle anywhere and your origin is your identity. not like now where if a person gets a passport from other countries, they try to deny their origins.

Lets get back on track. Passports are the tip of the iceberg. It has more to do with one's culture/skin color than just a passport (think outside of Dubai).

If you hold dual citizenship then say you are Indian/English. Alternatively, say English, but was born in India if you feel more English than Indian - which is likely if you lived the rest of your life in England as opposed to India.

why not say i was born in this country but i have english passport

Well I'm a mixed breed. My granddad was Canadian - Portuguese and my Grand mom a Goan (Indian). I was born in Abu-Dhabi, then was in Canada and finally for 3 yrs in Goa and Mumbai. The last 3 years was in UAE.

I say I'm a Goan, or Canadian depending on my mood.

kanelli wrote:If you hold dual citizenship then say you are Indian/English. Alternatively, say English, but was born in India if you feel more English than Indian - which is likely if you lived the rest of your life in England as opposed to India.

Now, What if you are born in NY, but lived in Toronto for 99% of your life. Lets say you are travelling to Spain. If someone asks you where you are from, do you say US or do you say Canada?

dresden wrote:

kanelli wrote:If you hold dual citizenship then say you are Indian/English. Alternatively, say English, but was born in India if you feel more English than Indian - which is likely if you lived the rest of your life in England as opposed to India.

Now, What if you are born in NY, but lived in Toronto for 99% of your life. Lets say you are travelling to Spain. If someone asks you where you are from, do you say US or do you say Canada?

Depends on who's president at the time.

LOL

When one is brown-skinned, isn't it funny to say that "I'm American/British?"

My brother once told me, after debating not to name his soon to be born son "Manolo" (FYI, Manolo is an ancient-ancient Filipino name that originated from the Spaniards, and reason of me arguing not to name his son as such is because the child will be bullied in school later on -- because ofcourse of the current generations that had now revolved around the country):

"Why do you want me to name my son John (He meant like John Kennedy)? His skin is brown!"

I just shut-up, he's right -- though I have a point about bullying.

portland wrote::wink: check out the facts abt. indian threads again, theres a new rant now its zukku...hehehe

"New Rant" : who are ya?

farthestpoint wrote:When one is brown-skinned, isn't it funny to say that "I'm American/British?"

My brother once told me, after debating not to name his soon to be born son "Manolo" (FYI, Manolo is an ancient-ancient Filipino name that originated from the Spaniards, and reason of me arguing not to name his son as such is because the child will be bullied in school later on -- because ofcourse of the current generations that had now revolved around the country):

"Why do you want me to name my son John (He meant like John Kennedy)? His skin is brown!"

I just shut-up, he's right -- though I have a point about bullying.

But thats the point.... Skin color does NOT have anything to do with a person's nationality!
Will a African American person living in the US say they are not American? Heck no!

When they have a conscription crisis, if you are a citizen, You can and WILL be drafted for the army. Does not matter how long you have been a citizen. Now would you argue that a person not born in the US should be left out of being forced to joint the Army???

(Conscription means getting automatically selected to join army at time of a war crisi; see: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conscription)

dresden wrote:

farthestpoint wrote:When one is brown-skinned, isn't it funny to say that "I'm American/British?"

My brother once told me, after debating not to name his soon to be born son "Manolo" (FYI, Manolo is an ancient-ancient Filipino name that originated from the Spaniards, and reason of me arguing not to name his son as such is because the child will be bullied in school later on -- because ofcourse of the current generations that had now revolved around the country):

"Why do you want me to name my son John (He meant like John Kennedy)? His skin is brown!"

I just shut-up, he's right -- though I have a point about bullying.

But thats the point.... Skin color does NOT have anything to do with a person's nationality!
Will a African American person living in the US say they are not American? Heck no!

When they have a conscription crisis, if you are a citizen, You can and WILL be drafted for the army. Does not matter how long you have been a citizen. Now would you argue that a person not born in the US should be left out of being forced to joint the Army???

(Conscription means getting automatically selected to join army at time of a war crisi; see: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conscription)

You are right about that Dresden, and I agree with you completely.

However, we live in a world where most people misjudge one another.

No matter how much we try to avoid racism, it's a disease -- and it takes a wise man to understand that...and nationality is part of it.

Yes, your last line is completely true.

I started this thread in hopes of seeing responses and thought processes. There isn't necessairly a wrong answer, but its the reasoning that i'm interested in seeing.

So dresden what conclusions have yo made so far?
And what your reasoning behind such a thread?

Not nearly enough responses to conclude anything.

If you read my original post, I started this thread after a couple of other ones, just to see how people would react in that particular situation.

Whatcha think?