Where are you from?

Not in an existential type of way but it is probably the third or fourth question I get asked in a social or work setting when I run into someone I have not met before.

So I thought about the blog I recently penned around 'identity' and it hit me that people are always trying to figure out a social connection when they ask this question. Sometimes it appears they are reaching even if there is none.

The 'where' in the question is really about 'who', as in who are you? Can I feel comfortable around you? Are you someone I could trust (if it is a long term deal they are looking at)? Can I perhaps leverage our new formed relation to parlay for something else?

I suppose its natural to some more than others to probe thusly. It is a matter of what their social upbringing has taught them. It might well set the stage of how someone perceives you from that point forward.

I often think of various possible responses that may include -

I am from the ghetto (as a minority in a land that is foreign)
I am from a legacy of brilliant minds that once occupied a seat at the king's table in ancient India
I am from all over
I am a citizen of the world

Of course this question is responded to differently depending on which part of the world I find myself in and who the askor of the said question itself is.

In America there is also a phrase oft heard - knowing where he was coming from. To me it first sounded like an intruder tiptoeing into a venue where the occupant was bound to react suddenly.

But that phrase merely attempts to define the source of someone's comment or question. Much like where does the Nile come from? Or, where does the chick come from?

Now that you know where I am coming from perhaps you can go away and do something more fruitful.

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