I've come across this notion multiple times: that all Indian-Americans are the progeny of immigrants who came to America with silicon laced gold bricks in their mouths and a platinum high-caste thread around their shoulder.
Being Gujarati, this is a patently hilarious notion.
I've watched people in my Gujarati-American community (Overwhelmingly not Brahmin but also including Brahmins) slave away doing menial jobs at restaurants, gas stations, convenience stores, etc...
From scrubbing dishes to counting dollar bills and in between the same day.
From "may I take your order" to ordering fully loaded Teslas all within 5 years. Busting their ass in between + maintaining family life.
Woke Diaspora don't know shit about the hustle of the West & will find any & every excuse to put down their own.
The sheer level of saffron tinged white guilt I see from these people is lol. They really wanna be oppressed and the oppressor at the same time. Just due to their skin color and last name, they feel they can speak as the voice for a billion+ people and millennia old civilization.
Even as a non-Brahmin, it is intensely annoying seeing the scorn many of these people(who are Brahmin themselves) smear and slander against Brahmins and"Brahminism." It is honestly so strange to see, and I know it's all a cloak to attack Hinduism.
Attacking specific "Brahmin" things like vegetarianism, innocent Hindu rituals performed by ALL castes, general Hindu practices, etc... as a Brahminical conspiracy.
I know it's not about Brahmins because the objects of their attacks aren't exclusively or overwhelmingly Brahmin.
And guess what - if the immigrant was well off and high caste, who cares?! There are so many other communities who send the most affluent or well-positioned people in their society to America!
Let's celebrate Indian-American excellence, not shit on it.
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The Swedish model's collapse was eye-opening to see, especially as people propped it up as another Nordic godsend.
OTOH CV death rate seems abysmally low yet still has the potential to overwhelm hospitals at a terrifying scale if virality spikes.
I just don't know what to think
Lockdown is something I've accepted (I don't mind remote work and my gym is open so idc). But I know it can be crushing for some people, especially small biz owners and workers. Which is why I am much more empathetic towards relief and hate the dilly-dallying in Congress.
Based off my notes of my favorite book of the year; just wanted to share my notes and a preview of a great read and 3000 years of a fascinating culture and civilization.
Let's set the stage: In this map, you'll find our journeys & destinations. "Arabs" are an amalgamation of several groups of ppl who coalesced into one. Initially, they were the "other" by settled folk, but these tribal and nomadic "other" would soon define the settlers themselves
In 853 BCE, Assyrian King Shalmaneser III declares victory over a Levantine coalition aided by "Aribi." This is where the word and identity is first attested.
Tribal and savage nomads from the desert wastelands, their mentioning becomes more frequent among settled Mesopotamians.
In the US, despite screeching from avocadollenials, entrepreneurs are viewed in a highly positive color.
I think that's in part that many of the most famous ones, have drastically changed American society for the better or are pushing innovation (Jobs, Gates, Musk, Bezos, etc..)
In India, is this really true with the biggest entrepreneurs? Jio is the exception to the rule.
But many of India's big entrepreneurs don't capture that same spirit of adventure and innovation as the American crop of the last 40 years.
For a second, they kind of remind me of "The Men Who Built America" - Rockefeller, Carnegie, Morgan, Ford.
But even then, they really don't seem as "value add" as much as old US industrialists. Not even close on second thought.
Thread #2 Deux: Why Hindu-Americans Don't Stand Up For Hindus 🕉️
I did "field reporting" this weekend with my Hindu-American friends, asking them:
"Why do you stand up for Black/Hispanic/Muslim people for the injustices they face, but not for Hindus?"
Let's see what happened:
The most common responses were along the lines of-
"What injustices faced by Hindus are you talking about?"
"I honestly don't know what type of issues we face, besides normal 'brown' discrimination here."
"I've never seen any from the media I consume"
A general theme of genuine innocent unawareness was what I saw.
So I prodded further and mentioned the atrocities Hindus face in Pakistan 🇵🇰, Bangladesh 🇧🇩, and even parts of India 🇮🇳🍁.
Still, the answer was "I literally never heard this before."