I am an American (sorry) and this doesn’t seem like it should have anything to do with race… “How’s it going” is pretty commonly used across races in the US.

That justifies the price difference

Power to the port may be hardwired for that feature to exist even though you have it disabled. Usually older models, but some do stay on just from being powered.

If it’s a privacy concern check at your router and see if it holds an address.