From: tstpcc@gwunix1.gwu.edu (Paul C. Chemmanoor)
Newsgroups: alt.culture.kerala
Subject: Re: Being Americanized.
Date: 28 Jan 1993 16:31:28 -0600
Organization: UTexas Mail-to-News Gateway
NNTP-Posting-Host: cs.utexas.edu



0] The following is a article I recieved from susan chacko, she was
    unable to post, and wanted me to forward to ack.

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Date: Thu, 28 Jan 93 14:47:37 -0500
From: susanc@helix.nih.gov (Susan Chacko)
Subject:  Re: Being Americanized.......


This is not meant to be a flame, nor do I imply that Sajith 
espouses all the beliefs I argue against below. Some of this
post is free-association sparked by his article. Comments,
as always, are welcome, however fiery their content :-).

sajith@athena.mit.edu writes:

>a) Race: this is relatively easy for most indian americans to decide, at 
>  least in terms of geographical origin. e.g. I can say my genetic 
> composition is very similar to that of certain peoples living in the 
> state of Kerala in southwestern India.
>
>( Aside -   An aspect that we often forget is that the race of our 
>children is determined by us and not by them, so very careful thought 
>has to be given to this question when considerations of procreation 
>are on the block. )

I'm not quite sure how to interpret this, but it sounds to me like 
"We must remember that our children will suffer the effects if we
marry non-Malyalis" (or non-Indians? non-Asians?).
I presume the implication is that life would be more difficult for
them if they're ethnically mixed. 

Yet at the same time we've seen posts on this newsgroup which talk
about feeling simultaneously Indian and American, and while there
might be some internal conflict, none of the Indian-Americans have
said that they'd rather have been fully Indian (which to some extent
also implies living in India) or WASP-American. We all carry some
emotional baggage from our parents, and why should a mixed heritage
be any different? In fact, I'd guess that a mixed-race couple is
*more* likely to be aware of the potential problems for their children,
since they may have faced some conflict themselves. Whereas a
single-ethnic couple may be less able to empathise with their
Indian-American children.

All sorts of things about our children are determined by our 
genes, including for example their intelligence, their musical 
ability, and their athleticism. Should we then also take care
that these qualities are present in our mates so that our children
may inherit them and perhaps significantly enhance their lives?
How can one decide what's the best for one's children, considering
that the world is changing very fast, and these questions of
mixed ethnicity may mean nothing twenty years from now?

I have lived all over India, but never in Kerala. Perhaps this is
why I feel less 'Malyali' than 'Indian'. No doubt there are
people who would feel that I have lost something of the Malyali
culture, but I feel that I've gained as much as I've lost. If
my parents had decided that it would be better for us children
to grow up in Kerala, I'm sure I would be just as happy as I am
now, but I would not be able to cook alu-posto, know the thrill
of getting off a DTC bus alive and whole (:-)), waded through the
Bombay monsoon, or watched the ack-ack flashes of '71 in the 
Jalandhar night. I would probably not have as many non-Malyali
friends as I do. Who's to say what I've gained or lost?


Not that long ago and sometimes even now, the argument against women
working was that the children would suffer. Now all the studies show
that happy and satisfied parents make the best parents, so that 
working mothers who are unhappy at work tend to take it out on
their children, and at-home mothers who wish they were working have
equally unhappy children. Thus, parents who are happy with their
own choices in life are the most likely to transfer this satisfaction
to their children.

It may be a stretch to extend this to the mixed-race scenario, but
I believe that much the same argument applies. 


>b) Culture: what sort of values does one want to adhere to? Western 
>culture tends to be more materialistic than the more spiritual 
>eastern ones. 

I keep hearing this but I have strong doubts about it. It's true that
the average American lives surrounded by the material benefits of
this country -- the washing machines, the cars, the suburban houses,
the holidays in Disneyland or Hawaii. But is it true that the average
Indian would *not* like these things too, or would give them up in 
favour of a simple life in the village? Why is the 'Gulf' culture
so prevalent in Kerala -- surely not because of its spiritual
benefits? The middle-class in India, who are slowly getting access
to things like blenders and disposable diapers, are embracing them 
with all the warmth of Americans, and I don't believe it's because 
they're getting too 'Westernized'; *everyone* wants the same comforts. 

A few people, scattered through the world, are truly 'spiritual', in 
the sense that the material world affects them very little. More 
power to them. But I don't include in this group people who don't 
have access to material benefits, or people who have the wealth and
luxury not to need to think about them.

There are certainly wonderful things about the Indian culture, and I
think some of them are the respect for old age, the strong sense of
family and the stress on education. Some of the great things about
life in the US are the respect for individual liberties and non-
traditional occupations, and the dignity of labour. They both have
their points, and to identify one as spiritual and the other as
material does both a disservice.

(need I say 'imho', or can I trust the honourable ackers to add
it on their own? :-))

Susan.

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.    ~ ~                                                                  .
.    o o         signito ergo sum.                                        .
.     |       i sign therefore i am.               paul chemmanoor        .
.     =                                            washington d.c.        .
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