That awkward moment when a white boy thinks you're Ethiopian.
I wasn't expecting that. But then again, I don't think anyone could.
I got the, "What is your ethnicity? Are you like African or African American?..." question, which I've never gotten from a white boy before. Usually they just assume all brown people are brown Americans. That, or they're just too afraid to ask. Or they don't know the difference between brown Americans and Africans. Whatever it is, this was new to me and didn't trip my EQAS or "Ethiopian Question Alert System".
I quickly responded without thinking, "I'm African American". I don't usually give that response but I've never had that question posed to me, and given the options available, I'm obvi not African.
He said, "Oh, so what part of Africa are you from?" and that's when it dawned on me that I should provide some clarification, "I'm just 'regular black'...what did you think I was?". I certainly wasn't expecting "Ethiopian", but that's exactly what I got. I proceeded to go on about how my father is frequently mistaken for West Indian, which he politely responded, "yeah, I was gonna say either Ethiopian or West Indian. Something like that."
There are several hilarious things about these moments as they took place:
1. Since when do white boys know about Ethiopia or the West Indies?
2. Since when do white boys know about other brown cultures other than the American Negro?
3. Since when do white boys know about the American Negro?
4. "Are you like African or African American"? - this whole statement
5. "What part of Africa are you from?" - THIS.
6. The fact that this whole thing even happened
We continued on about how I go around breaking the hearts of real Ethiopians when they realize their Ethiopian-radar may need some fine tuning after incorrectly guessing my heritage, and I shared a few stories of past Ethiopian run-ins. Even after we talked about it for a little while, I was still taken aback, and I told him this was the first time a white person ever mistook me for Ethiopian. Of course I didn't mention how I didn't think they knew about other brown cultures. I just opted to soak up the hilarity of the moment. I must befriend this culturally knowledgeable white man.
Day made.
I wasn't expecting that. But then again, I don't think anyone could.
I got the, "What is your ethnicity? Are you like African or African American?..." question, which I've never gotten from a white boy before. Usually they just assume all brown people are brown Americans. That, or they're just too afraid to ask. Or they don't know the difference between brown Americans and Africans. Whatever it is, this was new to me and didn't trip my EQAS or "Ethiopian Question Alert System".
I quickly responded without thinking, "I'm African American". I don't usually give that response but I've never had that question posed to me, and given the options available, I'm obvi not African.
*SN* Yes there is a difference between "African" and "African American".
He said, "Oh, so what part of Africa are you from?" and that's when it dawned on me that I should provide some clarification, "I'm just 'regular black'...what did you think I was?". I certainly wasn't expecting "Ethiopian", but that's exactly what I got. I proceeded to go on about how my father is frequently mistaken for West Indian, which he politely responded, "yeah, I was gonna say either Ethiopian or West Indian. Something like that."
There are several hilarious things about these moments as they took place:
1. Since when do white boys know about Ethiopia or the West Indies?
2. Since when do white boys know about other brown cultures other than the American Negro?
3. Since when do white boys know about the American Negro?
4. "Are you like African or African American"? - this whole statement
5. "What part of Africa are you from?" - THIS.
6. The fact that this whole thing even happened
We continued on about how I go around breaking the hearts of real Ethiopians when they realize their Ethiopian-radar may need some fine tuning after incorrectly guessing my heritage, and I shared a few stories of past Ethiopian run-ins. Even after we talked about it for a little while, I was still taken aback, and I told him this was the first time a white person ever mistook me for Ethiopian. Of course I didn't mention how I didn't think they knew about other brown cultures. I just opted to soak up the hilarity of the moment. I must befriend this culturally knowledgeable white man.
Day made.
