From: avik@icase.edu (Avik Banerjee)
Subject: Re: Views of Whites
Organization: ICASE/NASA Langley
Date: Fri, 24 Jul 1992 15:42:47 GMT

>|>>However having said that, I still don't understand many desi's prejudices
>|>>particularly towards african americans. It's prevalent in both desi
>immigrants
>|>>and desi americans, although more so in the former.
>|>>Ron
>|>
>|>More so in the former? Surely, that is not a ``model group,'' is it?
>|>Discrmination or racial prejudice exists at the individual level, no
>|>matter what their color is. Having said that, I want to effectively
>|>undo the ambivalence in your mind: ``some outsiders are more racial than
>|>some insiders.'' This is the new form of racism, seen through the old
>|>crystal ball called patriotism. 
>
>Look, this is the impression that I have of the desis that I've met. 
>Individuals obviously differ from the stereotype, but I THINK that 
>most FOREIGNERS have a poor view of african americans. Now if you want to
>call me a racist, that's certainly your prerogative. But to say that 
>desi americans do not differ from desi immigrants is in my opinion not
>true.
>
>|>
>|>Murthy
>                           
>I'm not sure if your point about racism and patriotism has to do with 
>desis or just with generalizing about people. Maybe you can clarify this
>point.
>
>Ron

in my experience ive noticed that desi immigrants tend to think of blacks
as a lesser culture more than desis who have been here for a while. i was
talking to an elderly guy and his wife who came here to visit. while walking
along the beach (the usual tourist tour) we saw a bunch of black guys walking
along laughing and talking. he made the comment that you noticed that there
were no whites in the group. blacks are concidered the 'janitors` of society.
now for the past four years ive been going to a private `minority' universtiy
were the student body is like 60% black 20% white 20% other so i have ALOT
of black friends. naturally i took offence at his remark and let him know
exactly how wrong he was. this arrogant ass seem offended that i would actually
think to contradict him rather than think that he might be wrong about his
attitude towards an entire race of people! thats not all when i went back to
the home land to visit the relatives i had a discussion with my cousins fater-in
-law (supposedly some high up in calcutta gov.) and he was saying that blacks
were inferior to us because of some genitic bullshit. since i was on his 'turf`
i didnt argue this as strongly as i should but it still shocked be how the older
generation feels toward an entire race of people because of thier skin color!
the ones my age in the homeland were cool about it and basically had the `live
and let live` idea but the old ones... the young generation starts having problems
when they come over here. i know so many indians who think that they are white, to
which i respond... look in the mirror. think about it like this, if all the blacks
were to vanish the next day, who thinks the clan and other hate groups would simply
pack up and go away, who here thinks that they might not wake up in the morning to
find a cross burning in their front yard? dont get me wrong, there are cool white
people, cool black people and cool others... but some of them ARE full of shit.

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