All White Men Look Like Brad Pitt

Here is a funny anecdote shared by Ross F.

I wanted to share with you a story from a trip to China a few years ago. While on a tour bus, we had a local guide come on as we visited the region outside Shanghei. One day, as I got on the bus, the guide looked at me and said “You look like that American actor!” Kind of amused by the thought, I asked who, but she said she couldn’t remember the name. Later, she returned to me and said “I remembered! Brad Pitt.”

Now, I look absolutely nothing like Brad Pitt, save for the fact I might not have shaved that day. So I smiled and said thanks, but I don’t think I look like Brad Pitt.

There was a little ongoing discussion of it, and then a gentleman in the front of the bus asked her, “Well, honestly, we (meaning the predominantly Caucasian tour group) all look the same to you, don’t we?” The tour guide smiled and looked down somewhat embarrassed, then looked up again and nodded in the affirmative.

I thought it was interesting at the time, because during my tour of Beijing and Shanghei, I had become cognizant of the variety of faces that made up the people of China. So her response was striking in its candor. I think it just shows how difficult it can be to identify the unfamiliar.

Thank you, Ross, for sharing this with us.