Thread by @jai_menon

@lsab17 1/n Here's what I think: (1) Identity issues - wouldn't call it a crisis. It is difficult to reconcile the non-stop subliminal conditioning about non-monotheistic faiths with the reality of the Dharmic imagery which they encounter, in some measure at least - at home & perhaps

@lsab17 2/n with family even in the US. (2) The lifestyles enjoined by what many of them understand as "Hinduism" does not seem consonant with the desired reality - arranged marriage, familial obligation, ritual worship, or even daily clothing. These they naturally resist & they get

@lsab17 3/n peer support among other US-born desis as well as others fresh off the boat, incidentally. (3) association with non-desi peers. I think this is also vital. Note that virtually every "non-white/American black" element broadly conforms to the local youth culture, which is

@lsab17 4/n usually a combination of "white/black" youth sub-cultures drawn from the entertainment industry, local trends, etc. in which the black side probably has a disproportionate influence relative to population; and because the entertainment industry itself is tapping that value.

@lsab17 5/n Naturally, therefore, the desi crowd gets sucked in and there is a sense of "it's fine because everyone is like that, including the rest of the Asians". There are obvious exceptions to this which I do not need to point out, although even there I suspect we do not notice the

@lsab17 6/n the forest of conformers for the big trees that consist of the resisters. Finally, there is of course the simple opposition that most people as teenagers, and sometimes into the late 20s 🙄, have to whatever their parents say or do. My suspicion, though, is that as these

@lsab17 7/n people age & get into their 40s/50s, you'll find a lot of conservatism kicking in. Further, with conservatism (liberal or otherwise) expanding in the US & Europe the tendency towards a closer identification to natural kin will intensify. But who knows, really? /END