From: baindur@jhunix.hcf.jhu.edu (Satyen G Baindur)
Subject: Re: RACISM
Organization: HAC - Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore
Date: Thu, 19 Nov 1992 05:37:01 GMT

In article <1992Nov18.223314.22221@midway.uchicago.edu> moh2@midway.uchicago.edu writes:
>Two things...
>
>A derogatory word for white is 'honky'.  Silly, I know....but
>seriously offensive a generation or so back.
>
[ part deleted]

>A list of common Anglo-Saxon expletives for those too innocent to
>understand the Ron's post:  shit, damn, fuck, hell, bitch, cunt, dick,
>spic, honky, nigger, fag, dyke (previous few depending on who uses
>them), etc.  Mail me if you need definitions.
>
> - Amirthi (feeling just a tad confrontational today...)
>-- 

Ok, while we're at it, let's also list : chink, jap, dago, gook, pollack, 
kike, and (?) sand-nigger. 

Two points. One, every identifiably distinct group which attains a certain 
level of visibility acquires a slang term of reference, which then quickly 
becomes derogatory. (Just an elaboration of something I wrote earlier)
Thus it probably will happen that some such term of reference 
will be invented and perhaps also attain wide currency to refer to South 
Asians. 

Second, in all the talk of racism, it seems to me the economic/class aspect 
is very important. There was an article in the Washington Post on Monday 
(did you see it, Ron ?) which talked about the problems Indian immigrants 
face, and focused on the serious racial incidents in New Jersey.
It brought out clearly how, in the early days of South Asian immigration 
to the US, most of the immigrants, who were professionals (physicians, 
engineers, etc) took jobs that white people did not want, and for which, 
presumably there was little supply from minority communities - such as 
staffing inner city hospitals. These immigrants faced little, if any hostility 
from the white community. However, the second wave of 'sibling-immigration' 
brought the shopkeepers, restaurant owners, cabdrivers, and laborers, who 
actually impacted and displaced people in several economic sectors. For 
example, there is an interview with a white store owner who said that 
people did not want to shop at her store any more because there were some 
Indian-owned stores on the same block. So now she resented the Indians. 
Note, of course, that while her resentment is economic, the reaction of her 
erstwhile customers is completely racist, and in the final analysis, it is 
her customers' racism which hurts her, but she hates the Indians for being 
there. Also, she thinks (wrongly) that the Indian store-owners got interest 
free loans from the Small Business Adminstration ! 

At the professional/educational level, it seems to me, in the future, one 
would have to watch out also for racism from other minority groups, and 
be really sensitive about how one treats and is perceived to treat them. 
In s.c.as.am someone had recently posted a description of how, in her 
company, she thought that Indians always seemed to prefer Indian 
candidates for a job, while the Chinese always seemed to prefer Chinese.
No white person is directly involved here, but the end result is a racist 
scheme of things. As Indians come to be widely perceived as a distinct
minority ethnic group in the American context, I would be at least as 
concerned about racism from other minority communities as I would about 
racism from the majority. 


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