ARGUMENTATIVE WRITING ASSIGNMENT

But Where Are You Really From?

Is it ever OK to ask someone what race they are? Or is it less abrasive to ask "What's your background"?

In my opinion I really don't see how this is ever anything but uncivilized, uncultured, and ignorant. In the short story 'So What Are You, Anyway?' a young girl is inundated with questions about what kind of race she is by an older couple on a plane. In the story the young girl refers to how she feels “as if he is asking her something dirty, or touching her in a bad place” when she is questioned about her parents skin colour. Although she is not socially developed she can still feel that a stranger asking her these questions is wrong from a gut instinct. Even though this story was written in the 1970’s I still feel like these intuitions are true to this day. Maybe you don’t know any better because grew up in a suburb of Oshawa so you think you can get away with being ignorant. When it comes down to facts in no situation would a stranger need to know someone’s race other than to make a cultural judgement or opinion strictly based on why they look the way they do.

Towards the latter half of the story the young girl is starting to have a break-down and people around her on the plane start noticing and speaking up on her behalf. If you feel like you have to be quiet when asking a stranger a question so that the people around you can’t hear you, there’s a good possibility you shouldn’t be asking those kinds of questions in the first place. Asking someone where they’re from is an extremely personal question and I understand how it is still such an untouched issue in such a diverse city as Toronto.