Hey Joe

[Mark Berkowitz]

3 hours ago, hk blues said:

Like most I guess, if it's said in a friendly way I'm ok with it. I do feel mildly irked that all of us westerners are Americano, though. They know full well that not all of us are American and it just makes them seem so unworldly when they do it.

hk, a door-to-door person raising money for a (real or fake) charity asked me if I was an Englishman and I replied with "no, I'm an American." I was then asked "which country are you from?"

I know that this is off-topic but my Filipino family mistakenly believes that the UK is part of the USA. I've tried to explain the truth to them but it never sinks in.

BTW: my Filipino family also believes: that the US State of Texas is an independent country; that Canada and Mexico are parts of the USA and that Americans discovered and colonized the British Isles.

[robert k]

36 minutes ago, Mark Berkowitz said:

BTW: my Filipino family also believes: that the US State of Texas is an independent country; that Canada and Mexico are parts of the USA and that Americans discovered and colonized the British Isles.

Part of the problem probably stems from people with a skewed sense of humor. Not funny to tell things in jest to people who really don't know.

[Tukaram (Tim)]

1 hour ago, Mark Berkowitz said:

BTW: my Filipino family also believes: that the US State of Texas is an independent country; that Canada and Mexico are parts of the USA and that Americans discovered and colonized the British Isles.

You mean we did not discover the British Isles?   Actually I have been asked if Sydney (Australia) is near Texas.  Yeah... right around the corner.... 

[Gerald Glatt]

8 hours ago, Tukaram (Tim) said:

You mean we did not discover the British Isles?   Actually I have been asked if Sydney (Australia) is near Texas.  Yeah... right around the corner.... 

Thought it was a suburb.  It being smaller like Alaska and such.

 

[Dave Hounddriver]

13 hours ago, Mark Berkowitz said:

"no, I'm an American." I was then asked "which country are you from?"

I find Americans to be very ill informed on their own country at times.  This is a perfectly legitimate question but perhaps should have been rephrased as follows:

"America is such a wonderful place.  Are your from the lower 48, or Hawaii, or Alaska, OR (pay attention now) American Samoa, or  Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, or Puerto Rico, or Guam, or U.S. Virgin Islands or some other country but your parent is a U.S. citizen?  I hear that there are even Americans born in Kenya these days." 

Source of information

I'm just having a little fun with you, of course  but the point is that its confusing enough to an American about "what is an American"  Some even say Mexicans and Canadians are Americans because "Y'all are from North America ain't ya?"  So I am suggesting we give the locals a break when they ask "which country are you from" and try to give them a simple explanation instead of getting exasperated (as I have done in the past but now I only get exasperated at fellow foreigners LOL   Luv you guys  )

[Gratefuled]

I have never been called "Joe" or "Kano".

Most of the time they just call me "sir". 

Cashiers, security guards, sales people, vendors, and strangers who I may strike up a conversation with in a jeepney or coffee shop or just about anywhere.

[AlwaysRt]

56 minutes ago, Gratefuled said:

I have never been called "Joe" or "Kano".

Most of the time they just call me "sir". 

Cashiers, security guards, sales people, vendors, and strangers who I may strike up a conversation with in a jeepney or coffee shop or just about anywhere.

I have never been called 'Joe' in a professional/business environment. Can't think of a time I was called Joe by someone over 20. I haven't taken a survey but suspect the current generation thinks of 'Joe' as a name for any foreigner and has no idea where the term came from. My wife still doesn't understand it even though I have explained GI Joe many times.

[hk blues]

I mentioned on a previous post that it doesn't offend me when it's said in an inoffensive way. Unfortunately, it does seem to me that about 50% of the time it's said in a snidey way by kids trying to look cool in front of their buddies. It's a bit like calling a Scotsman Jock - it's all too often used in a semi-insulting way these says - or to put it another way, I'd never call a fellow Scot a jock.

[Gratefuled]

15 hours ago, hk blues said:

It's a bit like calling a Scotsman Jock - it's all too often used in a semi-insulting way these says - or to put it another way, I'd never call a fellow Scot a jock.

Yes, it is insulting but it happens often.

There was a custodian from Thailand where I worked. He was a very likeable person. His wife and 2 sons would be there in the parking lot every day after work waiting for him.

If you are familiar with Thai names you know how long they can be. Well, his name was no exception. His first name was just  as long as his last name and no way to pronounce either correctly by us.

Since there were some Vietnam war vets working there before me, they nicknamed him "Joe". So, that is what I called him even after I knew his real name.

I am sure he understood that we were not comparing him to Vietnamese.

[mogo51]

22 hours ago, Gratefuled said:

I have never been called "Joe" or "Kano".

Most of the time they just call me "sir". 

Cashiers, security guards, sales people, vendors, and strangers who I may strike up a conversation with in a jeepney or coffee shop or just about anywhere.

Same here, always found Filipinos very polite.