Yes, an obligatory post about poor Nikki Haley. There's nothing Haley can do right, or so it seems. Born to Indian immigrant parents, the Sikh-turned-Methodist daughter of the state of South Carolina is now the target of a witchhunt by the good ol' boys of her state's political establishment. She is accused of having an affair with not one but two rather unsuitable men, if one can call them that. Haley is also slammed for being a "raghead", not fit to occupy the Governor's mansion.
I think there are two things going on here, both of them working against poor Ms. Haley. First, in American politics, one of the surefire ways to derail a political candidate's run for office is to insinuate, assert or establish salacious sexual scandal. Given the odd mix, particularly in the South, of extreme religiosity and sexual licentiousness, Haley was bound to be subject to the test of sexual purity, the Bible Belt's own version of the Agnipariksha, or a trial by ordeal. She must be made to suffer and endure, and if found guilty, banished, exiled, sent away. I don't know the truth about Haley's personal life and choices, but this is not about her lack of morals, it is about the morals of the society she wants to govern as an elected candidate. A society she wants to govern as a woman. Tough society you chose to live in, Nikki.
The second way to defeat a candidate even before the voters decide, is to cast him or her as alien. This is an especially tempting strategy for the good ol' (otherwise unelectable) boys for there is nothing that Nikki Haley can do about her lineage. She was born into a Sikh family, was raised a Sikh and only changed her religion because she fell in love with someone of a different faith. She cannot change her DNA or even the color of her (rather light) skin. Her current, ardent Methodism holds no merit for her South Carolina opponents, for no amount of religiosity can change the fact that she is, well, desi. And she is therefore quite susceptible to being called a "raghead" over and over again. Just ask Barack Hussein Obama.
If ever there was a moment when the politics of race and sex combined, this is one of the leading examples. The way forward, Nikki Haley, is to take a deep breath and keep moving forward, regardless of your private deeds and/or misdeeds. Or, to embrace your desi roots and sing like Guru Dutt in Pyaasa about how, even if you win this world, is this world really worth it? There's one particularly nice line about "this world of societies, the enemy of human beings...so what if you win this world?"
Showing posts with label Racism. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Racism. Show all posts
Friday, June 04, 2010
Thursday, May 14, 2009
No More Jobs for the Boys
Oh no! I guess this means that there are going to be fewer jobs for the Minute Men. Recession sucks, doesn't it?
Tuesday, July 01, 2008
More thoughts on Racism in India
I have been thinking more about the racism that many of us Indians demonstrate to those who look different than us such as Africans, Chinese, etc. The most vivid display of bigotry is from those who consider themselves "mainstream" Indians towards those who are considered "outsider" Indians. I am talking of the often shocking treatment that people from the North-east of India - from the Seven Sisters states (Mizoram, Arunachal, Nagaland, Meghalaya, Tripura, Manipur and Assam) - have to endure at the hands of Indians elsewhere.
This problem always existed but thanks to the internet, these badly-treated Indians have been making their voices heard loud and clear. The news, people, is not pretty or palatable. Read for example, the blog post by Kima who writes from Mumbai, and think about how much prejudice these people face from landlords, taxi drivers, and even the police. Men from the northeast are viewed as drug addicts and drunkards, women from these states are viewed as morally loose just because they dress in western clothes and like to party into the night and don't fit the stereotypical "good girl" mould of Indian society. I feel ashamed that fellow Indians have to endure such humiliation.
[Update: Kima blogs out of Mumbai, not Bangalore as I had mistakenly assumed. But his posts about racism towards Northeastern Indians are still wrenching to read, especially because he writes about it in a matter-of-fact way with no self-pity. Read for example, his post specifically about the treatment of Indians from the Northeast.]
In his June 21 op-ed piece for The Telegraph from Kolkatta, the historian Ramachandra Guha - a Bangalore resident - provides a historical context for the stepmotherly treatment that Indian politicians and the Indian people have dealt to their fellow nationals. And yes, I insist, we have to remember that these are our own people who are being shabbily treated. Not that one should treat foreigners with less consideration, but it's saying something when even fellow nationals are so badly mauled by the prevailing culture. Small wonder that there are so many seccessionist problems in the northeast region of India. Who would want to put up with such shabby treatment?
This problem always existed but thanks to the internet, these badly-treated Indians have been making their voices heard loud and clear. The news, people, is not pretty or palatable. Read for example, the blog post by Kima who writes from Mumbai, and think about how much prejudice these people face from landlords, taxi drivers, and even the police. Men from the northeast are viewed as drug addicts and drunkards, women from these states are viewed as morally loose just because they dress in western clothes and like to party into the night and don't fit the stereotypical "good girl" mould of Indian society. I feel ashamed that fellow Indians have to endure such humiliation.
[Update: Kima blogs out of Mumbai, not Bangalore as I had mistakenly assumed. But his posts about racism towards Northeastern Indians are still wrenching to read, especially because he writes about it in a matter-of-fact way with no self-pity. Read for example, his post specifically about the treatment of Indians from the Northeast.]
In his June 21 op-ed piece for The Telegraph from Kolkatta, the historian Ramachandra Guha - a Bangalore resident - provides a historical context for the stepmotherly treatment that Indian politicians and the Indian people have dealt to their fellow nationals. And yes, I insist, we have to remember that these are our own people who are being shabbily treated. Not that one should treat foreigners with less consideration, but it's saying something when even fellow nationals are so badly mauled by the prevailing culture. Small wonder that there are so many seccessionist problems in the northeast region of India. Who would want to put up with such shabby treatment?
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
Sexism and Racism: An International Tour
[Note: You may need to create accounts for some of the news websites I've linked to on this post. They are all free accounts, as far as I can tell.]
The whole issue of cheerleaders in the Indian Premier League cricket tournament has brought up both the hypocrisy and the racism widespread in Indian society as well as some amazingly breathless reporting - from clueless western observers - about the entry of "American-style freedom". On the one hand, there is the complete objectification of the skimpily-dressed foreign women. This just reinforces the stereotype of the "immoral, easy" western women who will drop any amount of clothing for money. On the other hand, it provides the occasion for the self-righteous culture police to come out in strength, denouncing the corruption of Indian culture.
I say ban cheerleading in cricket not because it is corrupting of Indian culture (Hindi films have that covered) , not just because it is irrelevant to the sport (it is a ghastly sexist sideshow - go join a women's cricket team, ladies, instead of trying to be "me, too" participants on the side). Ban the damn thing because it also spreads an alarmingly distorted image of western women who are subject to extreme sexual harassment, being both visibly different-looking and often - at least in the Indian case - associated with the dubious lifestyles and shoddy parenting skills of those on the hippie trail. Cheerleading only adds to the woes of the vast majority of ordinary western women trying to visit India or live in the country as expats. I realize that by following this line of thinking I am falling into some dubious analytical company here, that anyone will tell you that in India it does not matter what you wear, that you can be covered from head to toe and still get groped and whistled at. But these cheerleaders are overwhelmingly foreign, either American or Eastern European. Hence they will be associated with cheerleading and its degrading objectification of women.
But the other seamy side to Indian national character that this whole cheerleading saga has uncovered is the horrendously racist one - it's not bad enough being sexist, no sir, we are racist too. See, we think western women are sleazy sluts, but if they are going to come here kicking up their legs in their bikini tops and short shorts, then we don't want...er, the dark ones...you know...
So hoping to find some comfort, I turned to closer pastures. But nah, no comfort here, just more misogyny, sexism and racism. As the national election cycle wends it way down to November, the traveling circus of sexism-cum-racism continues to trail its disgusting path across the United States. Hillary Clinton is subjected to the most degrading language I have seen recently in political discourse (one thing to note - that even with India's poor track record against women, no sane Indian man would be caught dead telling any leading woman politician to "stop running for office and go make me a sandwich.").
And when it comes to Obama, some of the most deep-rooted scary racism comes to the surface. You know, the kind of stuff that you thought ended along with public lynchings in the 1950s. But no, the good old days still live on in sunny suburbs and peaceful farming towns. It's scary to think that in little towns across America, there are people who have no problems telling Obama campaigners that their candidate should be strung up from the nearest tree. They are probably pious church-goers too.
There have always been anecdotal evidence of this lurking racism and misogyny. But given the long-drawn nature of the Clinton vs. Obama primary duel, it was inevitable that both would rise to the surface, showing us that the battles that we thought ended with the 1960s are not over, not just yet. Perhaps they will always be around so we will always have to be vigilant.
The whole issue of cheerleaders in the Indian Premier League cricket tournament has brought up both the hypocrisy and the racism widespread in Indian society as well as some amazingly breathless reporting - from clueless western observers - about the entry of "American-style freedom". On the one hand, there is the complete objectification of the skimpily-dressed foreign women. This just reinforces the stereotype of the "immoral, easy" western women who will drop any amount of clothing for money. On the other hand, it provides the occasion for the self-righteous culture police to come out in strength, denouncing the corruption of Indian culture.
I say ban cheerleading in cricket not because it is corrupting of Indian culture (Hindi films have that covered) , not just because it is irrelevant to the sport (it is a ghastly sexist sideshow - go join a women's cricket team, ladies, instead of trying to be "me, too" participants on the side). Ban the damn thing because it also spreads an alarmingly distorted image of western women who are subject to extreme sexual harassment, being both visibly different-looking and often - at least in the Indian case - associated with the dubious lifestyles and shoddy parenting skills of those on the hippie trail. Cheerleading only adds to the woes of the vast majority of ordinary western women trying to visit India or live in the country as expats. I realize that by following this line of thinking I am falling into some dubious analytical company here, that anyone will tell you that in India it does not matter what you wear, that you can be covered from head to toe and still get groped and whistled at. But these cheerleaders are overwhelmingly foreign, either American or Eastern European. Hence they will be associated with cheerleading and its degrading objectification of women.
But the other seamy side to Indian national character that this whole cheerleading saga has uncovered is the horrendously racist one - it's not bad enough being sexist, no sir, we are racist too. See, we think western women are sleazy sluts, but if they are going to come here kicking up their legs in their bikini tops and short shorts, then we don't want...er, the dark ones...you know...
So hoping to find some comfort, I turned to closer pastures. But nah, no comfort here, just more misogyny, sexism and racism. As the national election cycle wends it way down to November, the traveling circus of sexism-cum-racism continues to trail its disgusting path across the United States. Hillary Clinton is subjected to the most degrading language I have seen recently in political discourse (one thing to note - that even with India's poor track record against women, no sane Indian man would be caught dead telling any leading woman politician to "stop running for office and go make me a sandwich.").
And when it comes to Obama, some of the most deep-rooted scary racism comes to the surface. You know, the kind of stuff that you thought ended along with public lynchings in the 1950s. But no, the good old days still live on in sunny suburbs and peaceful farming towns. It's scary to think that in little towns across America, there are people who have no problems telling Obama campaigners that their candidate should be strung up from the nearest tree. They are probably pious church-goers too.
There have always been anecdotal evidence of this lurking racism and misogyny. But given the long-drawn nature of the Clinton vs. Obama primary duel, it was inevitable that both would rise to the surface, showing us that the battles that we thought ended with the 1960s are not over, not just yet. Perhaps they will always be around so we will always have to be vigilant.
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