Woman wonders why people ask about her name
Dear Amy: I am a foreign-born U.S. citizen from Hong Kong, a formerly British colony for more than a century.
I have lived in the U.S. for over 40 years.
It is common for people in Hong Kong to use a western name and our Chinese name together.
Occasionally strangers in the U.S. ask me if "Lily Wong" is my "real" name.
It is on my British passport, U.S. passport, global entry card, driver's license, property deed, and so on.
I feel discriminated against because I have an Asian face and an Asian accent and they want to point out the obvious -- that I am not born here.
I think corporations should include sensitivity training to educate their employees not to ask if someone's name is a "real" name -- to point out the obvious that I am not born here.
-- Upset Citizen
Dear Upset: People ask all sorts of insensitive questions, not always because they are trying to discriminate, upset you or point out your "otherness," but because they are curious -- or clueless -- or a combination of both.
I agree that corporations should include sensitivity training, so that people are sensitized to realize that what sounds like a benign question: "Is that your real name?" or, "Where are you from?" has the opposite effect from what they might intend.
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