"Don't presume people are ignorant!"

I have a simple question for you. Does assuming someone doesn't know something in turn assuming that they are ignorant? I guess the word "ignorant" has negative connotations these days; people associate it with being stupid or dumb or dense or whatever, but the literal definition is that someone just doesn't know something. So I guess my question is kinda moot and talks in circles, &c.

In the words of a wonderful actress, "Let's see if I can make it easier." If you were American, and asked me where I was from, and I said "I'm from the southern part of Australia", would you be offended and think I was claiming that you are ignorant? Because I totally encountered this situation at Subway the other day.

I'm serving a couple guys, cutting their bread and putting the meat on their sandwiches. They're nice guys, very friendly, a tad rough about the edges, but very friendly and funny. One of them asked where in Australia I was from. I said, "I'm from the southern part of Australia."

There was another guy at the counter paying for his purchases, and upon hearing that he turned to me with a look of incredulation (is so a word) on his face, and said, "Do you know how big the southern part of Australia is?!?"

My first thought was, "Wait, is this a trick question?" To him, I good-naturedly replied, "Well I lived in Australia for the first 23 years of my life, so yes," and he said, "But that doesn't narrow it down at all! To say you're just from the southern part of Australia is like saying you're from the southern part of the US!" By now I'm thinking, "Dude, chill out." To him, I replied, "Well yeah, but the vast majority of people I encounter don't know where any place in Australia is, except Sydney." And then his face got more serious and intense and he says, "Don't presume that people are ignorant. Don't presume we're ignorant!" By this point, my coworker and the two friendly guys were looking like "what the hell", and Crazy Guy then challenges me: "Tell me where you're from." I said, "I'm from the south-east of South Australia."

Sadly, he knew exactly the area I named. He replied, "Oh nice, good wine country down there." Don't you just hate it when annoying and possibly crazy people are right? I grinned and said, "Yes that's right," and he said, "See? Don't presume people are ignorant!"

This was getting old fast, so I said, "But when I'm having to tell my life story ten times a day, in an industry where I hardly get any time to speak with anyone, it's much easier to simplify." Apparently that's a sucky reason, because Crazy Guy kept going on about how wrong it is to presume ignorance in people.

Okay. Crazy Guy? You're crazy, firstly. No doubt there. Secondly, have you ever lived with an "affliction" that people immediately notice when you open your mouth? Have you ever had people stare an extra second longer at you when they hear you talk? Have you ever had people say, "Oh I love your accent!" or "I could just listen to you talk all day long!" or, even worse, "Ooh say something!"? Have you ever had people say, "Oh my cousin lives in Perth, Sarah Smith?" What, am I meant to know her?!?!

It just really bugged me. Aside from the reasons I listed just now, I really don't think I was assuming ignorance. I really was just trying to simplify. For the most part, people are chuffed to know I'm from somewhere that isn't America. If I said, "Oh yeah, I grew up in Keith, moved to Adelaide for uni, then lived in Bordertown for awhile," it's not going to clear it up for them.

I'm not saying I don't want people to learn about things, or that I shouldn't try and give people more information. But it's not an ideal location. People who go to Subway are usually in the store for three minutes tops. It's fast food; they want to get going fast. Plus, they're the customer - it's not about me, it's about them. If they ask me questions, I'll answer them simply and politely. But if someone says, "How did you end up in Minnesota?" I'm not going to go into intricate details about our courtship, marriage, visa woes, etc. Why the hell would I want to share stuff like that with a stranger who just put mayonnaise on a meatball sub, for crying out loud?*

I don't presume ignorance in a bad way. If people in the States don't know anything about Australia, well that's just how it is. And it works in reverse. I bet the vast majority of Australians don't know where half of the US states are. Heck, until I met Aaron, I didn't know that LA and NYC were on opposite coasts. But don't misunderstand me. I'm not saying this is necessarily a sign of the bad kind of ignorance. Both Australians and Americans seem to have this inwardly-facing sense of the world. "Australians are best at everything." "America rules the world!" It's not up to me to say one or the other country is right or wrong or supreme leader of the universe. I'm just saying, not knowing something about a country that's on the other side of the world is pretty common. It's literally ignorance, I suppose. But my blanket statement of "I'm from the southern part of Australia" was not said because I thought people were dumb.

Crazy Guy, you are the stupidest link. Buh-bye.