Member-only story
This Is How Microaggressions Sound
Most of this happened — not so long ago.
“Your English is excellent!”
“Thanks. Yours too!”
“But it’s my first language!”
“Yeah, mine too.”
“Really? How can it be? You don’t look like you are from around here”
“English is spoken the world over. And I am from around here. Just two miles down the road, in fact”
“Yeah but that’s where you live! Not where you come from!”
“It’s both.”
“Like, I was born here, I have a passport, and all my family and friends are right in this town.”
“Me too. Mine too.”
“Are these new friends you made then?”
“Nope.”
“Oh! Did you meet them here? Small world, eh? We are one big global family!”
“Well, we are all from here…”
“Do they look like you? Am sorry. I mean, do you share the same culture or language?”
“Quite like yours, really. Like we speak English and have similar cultures…”
“No way! That’s so cool!”
“Yeah, I guess…I would like to travel more though, see the world…”
