People like me? What do you know about me, exactly? You don't even know whether I disagree with this prohibition or not. I'm just pointing out the prohibition exists and it is another example of what the author is talking about. Of course I go along with it now, it's not a hill worth dying on. But that doesn't mean I have to agree with every single interpretation of it that appears on social media. Notice that your interpretation is different from Midnight Burning's.

I agree that there are times when it is inappropriate to ask this question: for example, when you are talking to someone who is of east Asian descent whose family has lived in America for 3 generations and speaks only English with no trace of an accent. Also as Midnight Burning points out if some says "From Pittsburgh", the appropriate response is not "where are you really from" but "how about those Steelers!" We pay a price, however, when we acknowledge this very real problem and assume that everyone will be as offended by this question as someone would be in these cases. Is the price worth paying? I'm not sure, but I think it is important to recognize that we are paying it.