From: mvij@soda.berkeley.edu (Manish Vij)
Newsgroups: alt.culture.us.asian-indian
Subject: Re: Interracial Dating, ABCD's, and Dissension
Date: 24 Jan 1993 23:47:58 GMT
Organization: U.C. Berkeley, CS Undergraduate Association
NNTP-Posting-Host: soda.berkeley.edu

'Checking back into the network, I can see that xenophobia has been
running rampant around Vanderbilt, not to mention the common affliction of
bad analogies.'  :-)

In article <1993Jan24.055900.21391@news.vanderbilt.edu> MARDHEMS@ctrvax.Vanderbilt.Edu () writes:
>
>	Checking back into the network, I can see that schizophrenia has been
>running rampant around acua-i.  What's in the water out there in California?
>Whatever it is, don't bring it down South - There needs to be one place in the
>US that's still sane! <:-)
>
>	However, some rationality shines through, like a hint of sunlight
>just barely peeping out of the gray clouds.


Maneesh, think clearly about this argument, because right now you are mixing
things up:

>	Manish had written earlier that our parents, the "first generation
>South Asian immigrants," were "professional" and "educated."  He also says that 
>these immigrants are the ones who oppose intermarriage.  However, in the same
>paragraph, he states that educated people are less "closedminded" and more
>"tolerant."  Confused?  I certainly am.  Totally contradictory statements run
>amok.
>
>	Manish, if educated people are so tolerant, why are the first
>generation immigrants, many of whom are doctors, engineers, professors, etc.,
>so opposed to intermarriage?

Because, dear brother, there is a difference between education in the common
sense and education in the real sense.  Professionals are skilled, but not
necessarily wise.  True education lies in the opening of the mind, not of
of the bank account.

Hindus and Muslims in India are killing each other on the basis of religion.
This is not religion.  This is not education.  Such people are not educated.

Skills and education are supposed to be linked; that's the university model
of a well-rounded education.  Yet a student who takes all math courses and
no history, literature, or other humanities, will not emerge educated.
Likewise, although I respect the first generation Indian immigrants in terms
of all they have accomplished here, I must disagree with that portion of their
thinking which is narrow-minded.

You will find even in Indian culture examples of tolerance and respect of
other cultures, in real figures like Swami Vivekananda as well as mythical
figures like Rama.  Yet someone who claims Indian heritage in advancing
intolerance is no better than those who claim Islam or Hinduism in murdering
others over a mosque or a temple.

This definition of education is a humanistic one.  It is heavily weighted
toward the things which I believe comprise wisdom: knowledge of human
history, cultures, institutions, arts, etc.  Knowledge of transistor
electronics is just not a wisdom, it is a skill, extremely valuable but
not extremely related to what it is to be a person.

If you claim that 'educated' people advocate racial intolerance and
separatism, I would claim that they have not fully digested what they have
been taught.  Malcolm X, for example, recanted his statement that Caucasians
are 'white devils' in his later years after he undertook the hajj.

>        I thought that you long-hairs at Berkeley, more than anyone else, would
>be in my corner.  Diversity and multiculturalism contribute a great deal to the
>educational experience, and while I hate affirmative action, a certain amount
>of diversity should be maintained at universities to promote cultural
>awareness.

FYI, I am a short-haired computer science major.  (Sorry, guys!  * shear *)
Cultural awareness doesn't mean simply pointing to a black person and saying,
'How nice!  I totally appreciate your culture!'  It means accepting people
as people, looking past racial and ethnic prejudices.  I am shocked that you
would think that multiculturalists would support your intolerance, and
saddened that you seem to think in terms of stereotypes of this campus.
Unfortunately, there are plenty of close-minded people in Berkeley as well.

If you think of races and ethnicities as monolithically and as stereotypically
as you seem to think of Berkeley, that would explain your unwillingness to
accept intercultural dating.

>	This kind of diversity would be destroyed if all the cultures mixed
>into one homogenous mass (I don't buy that "one world, one race BS for a minute
>- I can't even dignify that sort of thinking with a response)

I don't buy that 'every culture is entirely correct in its own way and must
be insulated from others' BS.  Indian culture can benefit from its contact
with American culture, and vice versa.  I personally am trying to pick the
best things from both cultures.

>	Aside: Some of you have sent me private E-mail expressing your support; 
>I wanted to reply to all of you, but I accidently purged my mail file.  I can
>understand why you wouldn't want to post such "incorrect" messages on the
>board, but could you please e-mail me again?  
>
>	Especially the lady from U. of Florida, and the guy from Notre Dame.

Hey, lady from U. of Florida, and guy from Notre Dame, why are you folks
unwilling to post on the net?  If you believe in your views, let's have a
discussion!

Manish
Newsgroups: alt.culture.us.asian-indian