A few good ones from some Indian friends

Sarabjit
- One billion people,
- 5 major religons,
- 14 major languages (over 30 local languages),
- 4 ethinic groups (races),
- numerous cultures, political affilliations

ALL co-existing in a country ONE FOURTH the size of US.


There are countless sources of stress: geo-political, security, literacy, health, economic, ethnic. Indians meet these challenges everyday. Besides race they deal with many other issues.


Now try this experiment:

1. Increase the US population by 3 times
2. Settle this population in north eastern States
3. Introduce a significant proportion of 3 more religons
4. Add just 2 more languages in the mix
5. Stress the system a bit - throw in a recession, public health issue or maybe have Stein write another "master piece"

What do you think we get? MAYHEM! People like Stein who do not respect other cultures will go bonkers and will cause the society to crumble.

Americans like Stein (and burqa fearing French politicians) can learn a lot from a tried and tested civilization like India. "Melting pot" approach does not work. Societies based on Tolerance and Co-existence are on a much sounder footing. Freedom of speech alone is not enough. Every Right comes with a Duty - something that Stein and TIME do not realize.

prashchopra
There are two ways you can react to a culture that is different from where you grew up:

[1] You take your time. You understand the differences. You learn about the other culture. You show them what you bring to the table. You pick the best of both, they do the same to some extent, and you slowly assimilate.

[2] You come in, you are insecure because more than you are proud of the good things about how you grew up, you immediately notice the 'negative' points and are readily ashamed of it. Not knowing how to keep up your heritage AND be a respected citizen of the world AND a worthy multi-cultural American, you kneel down, and say "I leave everything that I grew up on, please accept me". And that moment onwards, you uncomfortably do what it means to be 'American', and write it all out here to assure yourself that you did the right thing

Column vilified, insulted Indian Americans

http://www.cnn.com/2010/OPINION/07/13/parikh.stein.rebuttal/index.html

When someone calls you a black please leave your skin at home!!

I did not even read through Sagarika's blog (http://ibnlive.in.com/blaze/blogs/sagarikaghose/dotheaded-and-elephantnosed/223/61931.html?from=blaze) beyond a para and I could not control my adrenalin rush. Hoping it would flow out of me through the fingers on my keyboard I started to write this piece. I hope it would really deplete the adrenalin levels in my blood.

My outrage at Joel Stein's controversial article in Time magazine (http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1999416,00.html) was of a much lessser degree. I might excuse him for writing in a fit of nostalgia or xenophobia. I am yet to find an excuse for Sagarika.

When a chinese is called a flat nose, or an african called black and when they protest against such racist remarks Sagarika would sound somehting like this in her article: After all you are black or flat nosed. The lesson is simple get plastic surgery on your nose and skin before venturing into any gloabalised market place otherwise sit at home. Learn to be less hung up about culture and identity ....blah blah blah.....

A section of the society having a misplaced sense of identity with the americans does not extenuate an American racist attitude towards Indians. I do not expect the americans to embrace my culture but for sure I do expect them to respect it. Its my fundamental human right. Unlike many Indians including you who are not assertive about their culture and advise others to follow suit Italian and Irish people are perhaps more assertive.

Acceptance would follow familiarity and it is not the other way around. If you do not assert yourself with your culture it would never become acceptable. How could you just imagine that one day suddenly Indian culture would be accepted by the americans when they dont even know a thing of it. Today American culture is accepted world wide only because they were assertive and at times coercive. Not because they practised their culture in secrecy in fear of being looked upon as alien or eccentric.

"Indian ghettos", my God (I know He is our God, but I need him exclusively now to help me in this hour of stupor) where did you get that word. I dont know of any Indian ghettos in America. The word ghetto is used for the place where a section of the society was forced to be confined to. Like the place where Jews were confined to live in Europe or the Dalits were confined to live in India. I have difficulty imagining you could discriminate against Indians with the use of such derogatory vocabulary!!

Your article seems to project that a cultured behavior would be one that would conform to the behavior considered decent in the American society. You also have contradicting advice for the Indian Americans. You ask them to practice their culture in secrecy and then ask them to be unafraid of being a little eccentric. I would take the later and igonre the former.

When I go to an Indian restaurant in San Jose, California I see more white americans than Indians there. When I go to an American Restaurant filled with mostly white american guests I find it overly tumultuous with hilarious laughter and loud conversations. I dont know what made you think that Indian culture and food is unacceptably alien to Americans. I am forced to steroetype you with the American speaking urban Indian of your article, though you might be living in Mumbai.

Now the adrenalin is low and my fingers can rest!!