Thread: The Otherish
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Old 29-03-2008, 10:17 PM
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The Otherish

Seeing the title of Jack Black's thread about putting the 'x' in the British box, I got a little excited that perhaps someone was raising a point about government forms, (and corporate), that ask you for your 'cultural identity'.

I'd be interested to know what you do when asked such a question, especially if you are being asked the question by the very government of your country that you and your family have resided in for thousands of years.

However, it seems that my cultural identity, English, is not present on these forms and I find myself ticking the box at the bottom marked 'other', where I have to designate my Anglo-Saxon status, which is particularly galling when the government of the Anglo-Saxon people is responsible for the form.

This also, interestingly enough, applies to my Japanese wife, who is not thrilled at the option of being designated 'Chinese' or 'Other Ethnic Chinese'. She too chooses 'other' to designate her status. But then again, like most of her compatriots, she considers herself Japanese, and as long as she breathes will never claim to be something she clearly is not. Perhaps this rare self-worth is recognised by the clearly PC form designers.

Another thing I have noticed is the relatively recent introduction of 'First name' appearing on forms, in place of 'Christian name'. I cross out the offensive question and replace the correct term that has been used upon this island for hundreds of years, before entering my Christian name.
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