| Username |
Post |
| Nhuchche |
Posted
on 30-Sep-01 02:08 PM
Before Sept 11th racism was limited to White against the Rest. Now, after the Sept 11th incident, it's Whie & Black against the Rest. Funny how it's brought the US residents 'together' but on the other hand shows how deep rooted racism is - in one form or other.
Before Sept 11th, racism was not OK, racial profiling was not OK, but now racial profiling is OK?
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| VillageVoice |
Posted
on 30-Sep-01 02:45 PM
Dear Nhuchhe:
You bring up a solid point for discussion. Since Sept. 11, many South Asians have reported various forms of hate crimes - a Pakistani, and a Sikh were killed while a third, and Indian Christian, had a close shave.
I personally hold American leaders and America's chest-thumping media responsible for the ethnic backlash. Bush, and his cabinet memberrs, have lately done quite well to call for restraint, but the call came a bit too late. American leaderrs, and the media, lost invaluable few days right after Sept. 11.
That said, let me add. There have been some exemplry media coverage and leadership in display. On Sept 12, Dan Rather in CBS interviewed an old CIA hand, who said let's not jump to conclusions yet and the NY Times and The Washington Post have run great stories on ethnic backlash.
While the scale of ethnic backlash has been much muted, given the magnitude of the tragedy, the harrassments continue, which leads me to ask - are they doing enough?
But here's my worst nightmare. How will the American public react to Middle Easterners and those who look like them - as many South Asians certainly do - once there are American casualies in Afghanistan, or elsewhere?
I would also like to ask Nepalis in the US whether they have experienced any form of harrassment since Sept. 11. An Arab friend tells me his co-workers, well educated people, ask him whether he had come across terrorists in Egypt, or Saudi Arabia.
I have faced very subtle froms of harrassment, which I ddin't even notice to begin with. People looking quzzically at me in stores, and public places, asking me where I was form. Others tell me they get stares from people who consider themselves "more American" than the brown-skinned persons.
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| Sunakhari |
Posted
on 30-Sep-01 03:44 PM
Although I do agree that I read and hear a lot about how bad its getting for the Arab(looking) people, I have to admit that had something of the sort happened in Nepal, I don't know if we would have been that tolerant.
For instance, that Indian actor who passed an idiotic comment, what did the public do ??
Therefore, I think being a "foreigner" in this country, I have to give my hats off to people here who seem pretty civilized. I ask myself the same question - WOULD I HAVE BEEN THAT TOLERANT? I'm still asking myself (in other words - I don't think so).
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| Nhuchche |
Posted
on 30-Sep-01 03:54 PM
Sunakhari,
America has always claimed that racism is bad and they have had numerous cases regarding racial discriminations. Hence, the current racial profiling seems a little contadictory.
We cannot compare this to Nepal, where we have cast discrimination and opposite of racial discrimination - people seem to suffer from inferiority complex of one's own race. Nepal has never claimed 'we do not discriminate on the basis of race, creed, national origin...' etc, whereas in any pamphlet you read in the US, you see that.
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| VillageVoice |
Posted
on 30-Sep-01 04:47 PM
I agree with Nhuchche.
You can't quite compare the American situation with Nepal's. Foremost, America is a land of immigrants.
If America made rapid progress right through the 19th and 20th century, and eventually surpassed Britain as the world's leading power, it was because its success in harnessing its rich natural resources with a strong rule of law. Law and order gave way to development. How else could the gun-weilding greedy colonialist be discouraged from killing his rich neighbor and run way with his beautiful wife?
Surprisingly, discriminaion against the minorities continued in its overt form until 1960s. But once the campaign for civil liberty gathered momentum during the Kennedy era, minority groups have felt increasingly empowered in the land of opportunities.
I find the American press very liberal. They are quick to point out incidents of racial discriminatioins, hate crimes, and slights against minorities. Well, largely so. (There are exceptions. For instance, America's Israel policy, I think, deserves a more critical look in the mainstream media.)
These liberal/secular values coupled have given America a distinct edge over most other countries. While some developed countries, Japan stands out, continue to treat their immigrants as second-grade citizens, America's immigration policy has been a resounding success. To quote a Kuwaiti diplomat, "This is what made America America."
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