COULD YOU PLEASE BE MORE SPECIFIC?

She put the DVD into the DVD player, put her headset on, and pressed play. Not knowing what she was about to see, she seemed excited. At times, it appeared as if she was very interested in what she was watching. As one scene went to another, her expression would go from blank to puzzled. Although faint, there was a smile when she saw the scene about Eternal Life. The entire package was at least fifteen minutes, but she did not dare to look away for a second. One would assume that if a person is not interested in something they are looking at they would not continue to watch. Afterwards, she turned and uttered the words:

"You sound too ethnic."

TOO ETHNIC!

(composed) "What does that mean?"

"You know you sound too ethnic."

"What does sounding too ethnic mean?"

"You know. Right?"

"No, I don't." (stern, without facial expression)

"Well, have you always lived in the Bronx?"

"No. I was born in raised in Manhattan and I went to private schools in Manhattan."

"Oh, well you see those girls that you interviewed for the Puerto Rican parade. I mean (pause). You sound just like them! Very Ethnic!"

"I have never been told that I sound too ethnic. However, I have been told that I have a New York accent."

"Right. That's what I meant. You have a New York accent."

As a white woman, it is certainly insensitive and ignorant for her to make such a comment out loud.

Any American can be considered ethnic. Whether they are Hispanic, Black, or Asian (just to mention a few). Normally people are a product of their environment. If you live in a city where people act a certain way, then you will likely behave similar to those people. If you live in an environment where people speak a certain way, then you will most likely have the same dialect/accent.

Is it a problem with having an accent? What's so wrong about sounding like a New Yorker? Is it okay to compromise your identity to fit into a certain environment?

There are people who tend to change their speech depending on the crowd they are in. This is a serious identity crisis. Why not be yourself?!