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What is the importance and definition of one's heritage?

I was communicating with someone named Rob who implied they were in Vietnam.
Not a very common Asian name there in Rob.

They kept asking what my heritage was. Irish, German, etc.

I said American caucasion.
They kept on and on about this heritage BS, and said I was an idiot if I did not know what my heritage was.

The context on the communication had nothing whatsover to do with heritage.
What was this fool referring to and why was it so damn important to them?

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slightlyoff

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nickg5

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The person got very angry and called me a liar because I did not know my heritage. I asked them what their heritage was since Rob was not a common name for a Vietnamese.
I got no reply.
I think my ancestors came from England.
That person should not care about that.
It had nothing to do with the conversation.

nickg5

ASKER

Member_2_276102

A potential reason for basic heritage knowledge would be hereditary health concerns. Over many millennia, indigenous populations can become covered by characteristics that help survivability in that environment. Skin melatonin level is a common example, as is sickle-cell anemia. For recent heritage, i.e., the last three or four generations, epigenetics might be more important; but that's only recently starting to be understood.

Personally, I generally claim 'American' as my heritage. If conversation winds around to details, I claim Sicilian even though maternally it's mostly English/Irish/Norman and north European. (I know very little about maternal heritage but hundreds of years of paternal.)

Tom