That's a promising beginning! What might telling you you look like Jeanne Crain get a fella?

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_CNPZ0JYfo5Y/SvrEoKk1j3I/AAAAAAAANVw/NNPCQLWo71s/s800/JeanneRed.jpg

Ah, sounds like Gingerism.

This reminds me of visiting my friend who was working in Japan at the time. He is a very slight build, head was totally shaved. Me, heavy build, big shoulders and at the time had a full head of hair and long beard...like hanging 8inches and yet people kept think I was him. I also weirded out at a sumo trainee because I was bigger than him.

You look like Cate Blanchet.

Some of my coworkers, mostly the Asian and African women immigrants, constantly confuse me with a nurse who works on my unit who is 10 years older than me, has white hair and is a hyperactive health food nut. I wonder if they, having been raised in countries where everyone has the same skin, hair and eye color, are confused by the huge variety of white people.

And the kids on my unit, all adolescents, often mistake me for Carl Fredricksen, the old man in the movie Up; although I suspect they might be teasing me.

In both of the above cases it never occurred to me to not laugh about it; let alone get all offended and depressed.

My cats never confuse me with someone else. I'm the person who gives them food.

It's a natural sort of thing: Anyone who is primarily around people of one racial group has trouble distinguishing members of other groups.

This is easily explained: We recognize people by their facial features, and something unusual tends to dominate our perception. Just as an example: if you see someone with a huge nose, you may not notice anything else about their face - not eye color, not hairstyle, nothing.

Where I went to high school, there were only two black kids (both guys) in the entire school, both in the same grade. Those of us in other grades, only saw them occasionally, and couldn't tell them apart. I'm sure they looked nothing alike other than skin color, gender and general size - but the unusual skin color was what we perceived.

tl;dr: I can imagine it is irritating to be on the receiving end of this, but it's reality, and it isn't going to change. Find something to bitch about.

My cats never confuse me with someone else. I'm the person who gives them food.

And you look just like anyone else who would give them food.

Cat 1: Did you notice there's a new two foot giving us food?
Cat 2: Wut? hadn't noticed, don't really care, we're still getting fed, right?

Iris Kuo's attitude is simple:
"Do you know who I am?"

Cool!

Acknowledge that this is not something unique to her race, is not done in a harmful way, is something that people apologize for, and is actually a recognized human tendency, AND assign the solution to WHITE people.

HEY! You are smart! Why is the sky blue?

I'd like to ALWAYS be mistaken for Jean Crain. And thanks on Blanchett.

And what about Dolly Parton, Charlie Chaplan, and Elvis Presley among others who came in second or lower in contests for impersonating them? All of them white and all of them mistaken for not being themselves! The horror!

No, Darth. My cats hide from other people (except one, who is a fashion designer and believes that no human clothes look proper unless covered in ginger cat hair).

Animals, including humans, remember those who are important to them. We remember the faces of parents, siblings, friends, lovers, teachers, and bosses. In the military, I've had male and female Commanders who I worked for, and male and female Officers and NCOs who worked for me; of all different races. I've also been deployed with multi-national forces. I never had a problem remembering any of their names and faces, although with reassignments, they were constantly changing. However, I have a very hard time remembering faces and names of people met in casual settings, unless, when I was single, that was someone I wanted to date. I'm certain that had I then met Amy, I would have had no problem recalling her name, and any other details I learned. "Hotness" is important.

Ms. Kuo's problem about not being remembered isn't about race. Its about lack of status. As a WaPo reporter, she's just another cog in the machine, who can be easily replaced by another recent J-school grad. Instead of whining about not being noticed, she needs to figure out how to be noticed, in a positive light, or she will be.

This woman belongs to that ever growing population of whiners who are constantly looking for ways to be offended.

I thought the people with nothing substantive to write about had already been snatched up by Slate and Salon.

Anyone else sick of SJWs deliberately, maliciously, erroneously equating biological/neurological realities with intentional racism on the part of white people?

Living in Southern California, I know many, many people of Asian and Southeast Asian heritage and I never get them mixed up, because they have distinct personal styles and attitudes. Perhaps Iris needs to buy a clue or a personality transplant.

Maybe people are "rude" to Miss Kuo because they unconsciously detect her shitty attitude. tl;dr I didn't see any reporting on the scientifically supported steps one can take to offset this behavior, and more importantly what police forces and legal entities can do to increase conviction accuracy.
I occasionally accost exotic strangers and ask, as politely as I can, where they are from and engage in chat. Rude? Anti-PC? Perhaps, but not to me, and none of my "victims" have ever objected. I'd be thrilled if someone thought this chubby, bald middle-aged white dude was exotic in any setting.
The few times I've been abroad, I've striven to avoid being an Ugly American, though I can see that such striving could be almost as annoying as overt or ignorant insults, given the solipsism it requires.

She was mistaken for someone else?

It's not like she was accused of hanging out at the park drinking chocolate malted Vulcans and giving away free high schools or anything.

I'm ranking her rant at a measly 1.2 - at most. I was going to give her a 3 but she reminds me of someone I don't like too much...

She thinks she has something to grip about?!

Hey, I'm a white male, always mistaken for a filthy rich guy who is expected to pay for everyone else! Whether it be financially, or via "affirmative action."

And, if I hear one more f&cker tell me that "this position needs to go to a woman or minority because it is high profile; and you, being a white male, should have no problem getting a job elsewhere . . ." I think I'll f&cking clock 'em.

Oh, and for whatever it is worth; folks who are not used to seeing people of any certain race will, until they get used to seeing more people of that race, find "they all look alike." That's true for any race; including whites.

Glad I'm not her surpervisor!

"Maybe if your personality came through more ..."

Probably not good career advice but I'd love to say it.

LOL I'm white and can't always differentiate white people. When I watch some TV shows or movies with my husband (who is good a recognizing people), I frequently ask, "Is the the guy/girl who...". I constantly get confused because I don't recognize people.

I've even not recognized someone I went on a date with several years after the fact. He, obviously, recognized me. I was mortified when I asked who he was...because my mind was so blank I couldn't even fake it.

When I do recognize actors, I usually ask my husband if he is proud of me for recognizing them (as it is unusual for me).

I've had awkward moments at work introducing myself to someone I was already introduced to.

I've also had it happen to me. I had someone on public transportation come up to me and ask me if I was Felicia.

So yeah, hardly something to get worked up about as racism.

What do you know? We really do all look alike to them.

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/09/20/nyregion/the-science-behind-they-all-look-alike-to-me.html?_r=0

I have a poor memory for names and faces. If someone introduces you to me, and then I don't see you again until three months later, the odds that I will recognize you are nil. It's nothing personal; my brain just doesn't work that way. Over the years I've learned how to fake it. I can only recall the faces of people that I see frequently, and even then I sometimes have trouble associating the name with the face.

People used to tell me that I looked like Vince Gill. I never saw it myself.

If you were a Martian, would you be unable to tell Kate Beckinsale from Henry Kissinger?

LOL I'm white and can't always differentiate white people. When I watch some TV shows or movies with my husband (who is good a recognizing people), I frequently ask, "Is the the guy/girl who...". I constantly get confused because I don't recognize people.
__________________________________

Same here, I admit.

Even so, things can get REALLY ridiculous sometimes.

A former male schoolmate of mine and I were watching the 2010 documentary by Martin Scorsese "Public Speaking" (about Fran Lebowitz). Since she and Toni Morrison are good friends, the latter appears in a few scenes. My schoolmate asked "is that Oprah Winfrey?"

I said something like "can't you even be bothered to notice that her hair is completely GRAY?" (Morrison was well into her 70s at the time. If Oprah has gray hair at all these days, I haven't seen it.)

Or, another time, later, I had the radio on and the same man (a classical musician, among other things) said something like "all black singers sound alike to me."

The singer was Dusty Springfield.

Finally, here's something I posted here in 2011:

http://www.advicegoddess.com/archives/2011/01/08/what_chinese_ki.html

A teacher calls on a black girl by another black girl's name. The two girls look very different, but when the first girl politely corrects the teacher, the teacher claims that the two look the same. A white girl speaks up and says: "They do not look alike; you just said that because they're both black."...

...The article I quoted from was by Brooklyn writer Retha Powers, from Glamour, Oct. 1994.

For the record, when I looked at it again yesterday, it said that the teacher had REPEATEDLY confused the two girls in the past - and been corrected multiple times - despite the other girl's being six inches shorter(!) and yes, having much thinner features.

The point is that if even a white child is capable of noticing that it's worse than absurd to confuse the two girls in question, what excuse does an white adult have?

January 11, 2011 1:31 PM

Lenona,

Do you have a point?

I thought it was obvious; some white adults are LAZY - and arrogant - to the point of being ridiculous, in their "confusion."

Cant gauge height while siting.

Also were there photo of these two girls so we could judge for ourselves?

How old was the teacher?

Was she near sighted?

What time of day was this class?

What were the half dozen factor which might effect hr brain that I can think of off the top of my head and were they accounted for

Honestly Lenona, that teacher didn't know how to use a seating chart?

The author, Powers, was one of the two girls - so the story probably happened in the 1970s. (In other words, no, there was no picture.) The article was a lot more about the misunderstandings that white women can have about black women's general lives even when the two are peers - unlike with the teacher and the student. One example given was that white people can SOMETIMES afford to take time off from their careers and, say, "find themselves" by backpacking around the world, without damaging their images, but black people who do that risk becoming seen as unemployable, as a rule. (Unless they're teenagers, maybe.)

And now you've lost me Lenona. That has nothing to do with race and everything to do with wealth. People with rich parents or unique working conditions can do things like that. Doesn't matter what color you are in the slightest. I can say with complete certainty whites who wait till their unemployment runs out (or close to it) have a really hard time getting that next job. Understandably employers see them as lazy. Color has nothing to do with it.

Lujlp,

If we are recounting teacher stories my cousin had a teacher who grew his hair out for the term. He then cut it and put it in a ziplock bag. Whichever student did best on the final got his bag of greasy hair. One who can't tell her students apart doesn't look so bad now, eh?

I had another who was ~200lbs and only wore purple spandex. Heck, I've had professors who were quite clear the more of you fucking students who fail the better. 'I'm here for the research. Just drop my class and go away.' as I recall.

So I don't find Lenona's story unbelievable or even that remarkable. There are a lot of bad teachers out there.

OK, I can see confusing Bill Russell and Morgan Freeman, at least if they're sitting down. But how do you get Samuel L. Jackson mixed up with Laurence Fishburne?

Rex Little: "But how do you get Samuel L. Jackson mixed up with Laurence Fishburne?"

Easy, I don't really know (or care) who they are; but, I've heard their names and know that both are well-known and well-respected black actors.

Until one of them does something, or has something happen to him, that really sets him apart.

Just like (and I am showing my age with this one) I always used to get Rock Hudson and James Garner mixed up. Until Rock Hudson died from AIDS. (not trying to mock him or anything; but, something so terrible did set him apart from James Garner then)

"The point is that if even a white child is capable of noticing that it's worse than absurd to confuse the two girls in question, what excuse does an white adult have?"

Erm, she's bad with names? My mother calls me and my brother by each other's names all the time. She obviously knows which of us is which; it's just a mental quirk.

Let the ripping begin.

I can tell the difference between all of my students but I repeatedly call some students by the wrong name. The more I do it, the more entrenched it becomes. It is simply a brain fart.

It's not racist. My mother rarely called me by the right name but I know that she knew the difference between me and my sister.

The brain is a quirky thing.

" folks who are not used to seeing people of any certain race will, until they get used to seeing more people of that race, find "they all look alike." That's true for any race; including whites."

Yup. About 20 years ago we lived in a city on the outskirts of Kobe. There had been only two other foreigners in that town until I moved there, a mother and daughter, and they'd been there a long time (the mother, decades). The entire 9 years I lived there I was approached by people absolutely sure that I was the daughter, and we looked absolutely nothing alike. "I'm not Becky" was met with looks of consternation. Of course I was Becky :-)

The other thing people often do here is when they see a foreigner on TV in Japan, is to tell foreign people they know that they look just like this famous foreigner. The last time I got that type of comment regularly was when NHK was airing a drama in the morning starring a young blond woman, playing the wife of the founder of a local whiskey company. I have no idea how many people I know told me they were reminded of me when they watched the program, despite the face that she is in her twenties, blond, and in the drama spoke with a Scottish accent, and I'm 30 years older, brown hair, and am much shorter. Many women that I know on FB said they were told they look like her, and we're all different builds, hair and eye colors. The thing is we're all foreign. Even though we're all so different, we all fit the bill as 'foreign', so we all 'look like' Charlotte Fox (I wish! ;-D )

How would Ms. Kuo explain Japanese people confusing me with a ton of people?

I have Face Blindness or Prosopagnosia. I mix up EVERYONE'S faces *all the time*, including not recognizing my own husband and family members. It's not done out of malice or bias, believe me. Imagine trying to convince her that the problem is in my brain.

Interestingly enough. When I was in the army there was another woman officer that looked somewhat like me. Same general height, build and coloring.

The white and Asian soldiers had no trouble telling us apart.
The black solders had a lot of trouble telling us apart.

The name tags were helpful, but didnt seem to offer the clarification you thought they would have.

Lenona, it isnt an insult, just a sign of how people quite superficially evolved to identify and separate their friends and relatives from outsiders.

Being bad with names is another issue. Not an insult or racial at all. Just the way people are.

Considering that Dusty Springfield was the greatest blue-eyed soul singer ever, she'd have been thrilled to have someone think she sounded Black.

A teacher calls on a black girl by another black girl's name.

Lenona, with that comment, you reminded of this hilarious
Key & Peele bit.

Everyone mixes up Isla Fisher and Amy Adams because they both have light-red hair and pale skin. Keira Knightly looks like Natalie Portman.

Amy, you do have similar facial features to Cate Blanchett. You wouldn't be mistaken for her even if you had the SAME face, because the difference between long, thick red hair and fine, blonde hair is an unmissable visual cue.

Perspective of the beholder matters. When I'm in India, everyone tells me I look like a certain Bollywood actress. To me (and probably to most of you) the comparison is a stretch because she obviously is a different race. To most Indians, however, fair skin stands out, and we both have fair skin relative to THEM.

I second the observation about Fisher/Adams and Knightly/Portman. I used to get the mixed up, until I actually knew who they were. I still get Elizabeth Banks and Rachel McAdams mixed up, and I'm a white lady.

People mistake my husband for someone else all the time- he's a six-foot-tall, 200-pound white guy with a dark hair and dark eyes and a big nose. I'm regularly told that I look "just like" pretty much any woman that has red hair. This experience leads me to conclude that mixing people up has nothing to do with being racist and has everything to do with not having any personal connection to them. Kuo needs to get over herself.

You know, some people just suck at identifying others.

I had a PE teacher for 3 years who regularly confused me with another girl who had a completely different build and a different color hair from me. Mind, she basically taught a couple hundred different kids every day.

Sometimes, making a mistake is just a mistake - or part of a weakness. Like, some people couldn't tell the difference between a french horn and a trumpet. It doesn't mean they are instrument-ist, just that they haven't spent time learning the sounds of various instruments - or haven't done so successfully.

I grew up in a white, pasty area. I was in high school and I thought an Indian guy was black. Why? Lack of exposure. Does that somehow make me bad? Anyone who says "yes" throws out a lot of good people just for lack of experience. Why not, instead, offer them experience or allow people to learn?