You meet someone. “Where are you from?”
Why do you ask? Why is it so important to frame your initial meeting by another’s place of origin or residence?
You travel somewhere. “Where are you from?” You’re not the only person who asks such a question.
We’ve seen the stereotypes: Texan, West Virginian, Dane…. The list is as indefinite as there are places. You, regardless of your denial, are also subject to a stereotype associated with your “place.” You carry it with you wherever you go. You are the embodiment of place as is everyone.
Been in prison? Embodiment. Been in a monastery? Embodiment. Been in a mental health facility? Embodiment. You know I could go on.
You and I—all of us—are mobile embodiments of place. We carry the stamp of place with us even if, in our home communities, we seemed to be oddballs, misfits, or people who just couldn’t “get it.”
Now the mirror: Look and ask. Where am I from? Does it show?
Why do you ask? Why is it so important to frame your initial meeting by another’s place of origin or residence?
You travel somewhere. “Where are you from?” You’re not the only person who asks such a question.
We’ve seen the stereotypes: Texan, West Virginian, Dane…. The list is as indefinite as there are places. You, regardless of your denial, are also subject to a stereotype associated with your “place.” You carry it with you wherever you go. You are the embodiment of place as is everyone.
Been in prison? Embodiment. Been in a monastery? Embodiment. Been in a mental health facility? Embodiment. You know I could go on.
You and I—all of us—are mobile embodiments of place. We carry the stamp of place with us even if, in our home communities, we seemed to be oddballs, misfits, or people who just couldn’t “get it.”
Now the mirror: Look and ask. Where am I from? Does it show?
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