I meet an American boy in a UK casino. He’s young, just out of university. I ask him, “Where are you from?” I want to know his city, his people, and if he is American...accents deceive. “I...I don’t think I should tell you that. I don’t think that’s right...”
We are forbidden to ask, “Where are you from?” And so we never discover a city in common that we visited, a common family, a common football team, a common interest. We are utterly atomised, reduced to banalities. Always ask, “Where are you from?” Always connect.