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As an Indian immigrant when I see people complaining about Privilege and Inequality in SV (and in America) I feel like laughing. I lived in a society where eve
by tn13 11y ago
As an Indian immigrant when I see people complaining about Privilege and Inequality in SV (and in America) I feel like laughing.
I lived in a society where everyone was almost the same, similar economic status, similar privilege etc. etc. Life sucked. I decided to move out to be among the top 10% instead of one of the 100%. I eventually ended up in SV.
This place is awesome and the very reason I am here is because I can be in the top 10%. I dont want to be equal but I seek privileged, extra-ordinary wealth and stuff that most others can not afford. I think it is an amazing thing that places like SV exist. If you somehow take out that incentive I think I will move somewhere else. Of course I would be moving out of California sooner or later given the taxes.
- tyre 11y agoThis is getting downvoted because it is a shallow and selfish outlook on life, but this is not uncommon. Psychological research shows that humans care far more about their relative status than "objective" wealth. Unfortunately, happiness quickly loses its correlation with wealth. Unsolicited advice to the parent: seek out a strong community. Being "better than everyone" is a great path to dying alone.
- dpweb 11y ago>> This is getting downvoted because it is a shallow and selfish outlook on life Another way to read it is: coming to America for opportunity and upward mobility.. I don't find the 'I seek wealth' shallow or selfish, rather the true feelings of most Americans. We worship money and status in this country too often. Outrage at this - is encouraging, but not from the SV crowd - they seem quite interested chasing massive wealth themselves.
- indubitablytrue 11y agoGiving out unsolicited advice based on wiser-than-thou preaching is a tried-and-true way of projecting relative status.
- GFK_of_xmaspast 11y ago> As an Indian immigrant ...I lived in a society where everyone was almost the same, similar economic status, similar privilege etc. etc. Life sucked. That is certainly not a truth universally acknowledged (http://idsn.org/caste-discrimination/ http://idsn.org/caste-discrimination/ http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/varanasi/Dalit-tonsured-paraded-in-Sonbhadra-7-including-gram-pradhan-held/articleshow/46461562.cms http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/varanasi/Dalit-tonsu...)
- tn13 11y agoPolitical propaganda must be taken with a boatload of salt. A Dalit organization's claims is something like KKK's claim. People of all castes and religion get lynched and burned and maimed all the time in the lawless parts of India for all reasons. However if we look at impartial research such as by James Tooley who was studying history of Education system in India, he points out that literacy and education levels in even the tribals and so called "low castes" in India was reasonably close to "so called higher castes" and most certainly higher than the peasants in United Kingdom. It is a fascinating book in itself and borrows heavily from another book of same title written by Gandhiji's disciple Dharampaal. Beside the third book is a comprehensive survey of all caste related laws, judgements and British Census reports in India and shows pretty big holes in "discrimination" and "privilege" arguments. Here is the essay by Dharampal who notes the British Census in one of the provinces (Madras). It compares schools, school going people in England and Madras which were of comparable size. Turns out that enrollment in Madras is actually higher than that of England and lower castes dominated the students. http://www.esamskriti.com/essay-chapters/Indigeneous-Education-in-the-18th-century-1.aspx http://www.esamskriti.com/essay-chapters/Indigeneous-Educati... [1] http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00ELPRLC0/ref=dp-kindle-redirect?ie=UTF8&btkr=1 http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00ELPRLC0/ref=dp-kindle-re... [2] http://www.amazon.com/The-beautiful-tree-indigenous-eighteenth/dp/B0000CQAWU http://www.amazon.com/The-beautiful-tree-indigenous-eighteen... [3] http://www.amazon.com/Falling-Over-Backwards-Arun-Shourie/dp/9350293552/ http://www.amazon.com/Falling-Over-Backwards-Arun-Shourie/dp...
- whybroke 11y agoWow, such contempt for the people of the country you've moved to and the State that has made you such money is truly breathtaking! Just ignore those down votes and be sure to post your story everywhere you can. Actually, I think you should campaign to be the poster child of Silicon Valley! BTW, Mississippi has lower taxes than California, you should move there.
- neilk 11y agoSeriously? What caste did your family belong to? I'm allowed to ask these questions; the Indian side of my family are Brahmins, and boy does it show! Most of us walked straight from the lawyer/doctor/accountant/businessperson class in India into the lawyer/doctor/accountant/businessperson class in the USA and Canada. Sure things were difficult, but most of us had huge advantages.
- refurb 11y agoI'm curious, why would your caste matter in the US?
- kelukelugames 11y agoBecause classism is a thing. So is legacy of privilege. Literally all of my Indian co workers have been Brahmin.
- deleted 11y ago[deleted]