As an American with an "interesting look" I too have been asked "Where are you REALLY from?"

[FM123]

[link:http://www.cnn.com/interactive/2017/08/opinion/where-im-really-from/|

[Angry Dragon]

1. kick

[cyclonefence]

2. My best friend's parents were from Korea

she was born in Chicago. People would ask her where she was from, and she'd say "Chicago," knowing full well what they meant. The reason it pissed her off is that there was never any point to the question. No one ever said to her, "Oh, I have friends in Seoul," or even "Geeze I was sure you were Chinese." They would just say "Oh."

Why the fuck would they ask? They could see she was of Asian heritage; what the hell difference did it make to them *which* Asian country her family was from?

[Cracklin Charlie]

3. I grew up in the south.

I moved away 35 years ago. I still here "where are you from?", and when I say where I live now, they say "where are you Really from?"

My friends from the south say I've lost my accent.

[left-of-center2012]

4. My asian eye doctor is from Kentucky

Born and raised.

He sounds like he's from some real rural area.
Went to Harvard and John Hopkins.

[FM123]

5. The line that stood out to me in this CNN video

was that we always have to carry a "baggage of explanation" whenever we meet new people. Sigh.

[mythology]

6. Is there a variation of that question that isn't load?

I used to ask that question, not because I believed people were automatically from some other country, but as in what part of the U.S. But since I've learned how it is often meant, I don't do so.

[FM123]

7. I don't know if there is or isn't a variation that isn't loaded......

My personal experience has been that if the real reason for asking has to do with race as opposed to geography (here in South Florida we do have many transplants from other states) they don't stop asking when an answer is given. So unfortunately, I can't tell at the onset of the question,only afterwards.