A Hilarious Take on What White People Really Mean by ‘Where Are You From?’

December 5, 2015 / Hari Kondabolu

“But where are you really from?”

When comedian Hari Kondabolu gets this question, apparently “New York City” isn’t the answer people are looking for. It may seem like people are just curious about his background, but the truth is, white folks often ask this question in a way that others people of color and normalizes whiteness.

Hari’s had enough of it, and in this stand-up comedy set filmed at Seattle’s Comedy Underground, he really gets to the heart of what’s behind the inquiries about his origins.

If you get these inquiries as relentlessly as he does, we hope this gives you a good laugh that helps you deal.

With Love,
The Editors at Everyday Feminism

Click for the Transcript

I was hanging out with some friends the other night, and they introduced me to one of their friends, and the first thing this guy asked me is, “So, where are you from?”

Which for those of you who don’t know, is code for, “Hey, why aren’t you white? I noticed you had different skin color than me. What’s up with that?”

I decided to answer honestly, and I told him. “I am from New York.” Then he says, “So, where are your parents from?”

Oh, that’s good. That’s good. Good work, detective. Nice. Nice. “My parents are from India.” “Oh, okay, okay. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to pry.” You asked me a follow up question, what the fuck do you think prying is? I knew what your first question meant, I just didn’t want to answer it the way you wanted me to. We can introduce each other by name first, how about we do that?

I was getting kind of frustrated, and I started to think what if I didn’t play along at all? What if I chose not to answer any question the way he wanted me to answer them. “So where are you from?” “I’m from New York.”

“Okay, so where are your parents from?”

“They’re also from New York.”

“Oh, aren’t you-“

“I’m white, I’m white. My parents are also white.”

“You’re not white.”

“Yeah, I’m white.”

“You’re not white.”

“I’m white.”

“You are not white.”

“I’m white.”

“You are not … you … YOU ARE NOT WHITE! You are not white! Only I can tell you what you are, and you are not white! That is a very serious thing. You do not fuck around with something like that, you understand me? Tell me the truth! Who are you? Why are you here? Why are you brown? Tell me! Where are you from?”

“My parents are from India.”

“All right. All right. Good, good. I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to pry.”

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