5 ms·

Removed most to leave the core message. Everyone is equal, no one's birth dictates their worth.

by voz_ 4y ago

kajecounterhack 4y ago
It matters at companies with high levels of south asian representation, for example Apple, Cisco, Google, etc. When people complain of caste discrimination they aren't talking about it coming from white folks like you.
- hef19898 4y ago
  I think you both agree.
- _vertigo 4y ago
  Poor phrasing, but the OP was making the case against caste discrimination, not downplaying caste discrimination. I read it wrong at first. Not the greatest take either way. "I'm from a different culture and I don't notice it so it's probably bullshit". So if you could tell the difference between castes, would it not be bullshit?
  - kajecounterhack 4y ago
    Thanks for pointing it out, I misread it too. But also, "castes aren't based on anything real and are obvious bullshit" (paraphrasing the original comment) is not going to be obvious to everyone and not a very helpful statement. Kind of like saying "the world really isn't flat" -- we know, but it's not gonna help anyone because you're not going to stop flat earthers from existing or being sincere about their beliefs.
- rfrey 4y ago
  Your parent was speaking to people who think that caste matters, the Indian Archie Bunkers I suppose.
deleted 4y ago
[deleted]
valbaca 4y ago
Your experience is yours, I'm not arguing that. But I've worked with ~100 Indian co-workers and several were very vocal about their caste because they were from the "higher" caste; well-educated, children of politicians and scientists and vegetarian.
manuelabeledo 4y ago
> If someone unfamiliar with your culture cannot see distinctions between castes - maybe its all bullshit? It may be. But there are enough examples in history to understand that this may not be a trivial matter, either. Could you tell if someone is Jewish or not? Could you tell utus and tutsis apart?
kccqzy 4y ago
As someone also not from South Asia, I share your perspective. But the problem being solved is not discrimination of Indians by white people. The problem being solved is discrimination of Indians amongst themselves using caste. Your perspective (and mine) are irrelevant.
nostrademons 4y ago
The same goes for race outside of Anglo-American culture. I'm (half-)Asian and think the whole debate is stupid. I don't fit into your racial categories, my skin color is in-between what you seem to think is the "right" color and the "wrong" color, the rest of the physical features you use to tell race apart have just as little variation as between "white" ethnic groups, and everybody interbred anyway. Interestingly I had the same experience going on a vacation to the Balkans. To an outsider, Croat/Serb/Bosnian are all basically the same - your languages are mutually intelligible, your food is all tasty meat cuts and flatbread, you look more or less the same. But apparently within this region, this is a life-or-death distinction. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Narcissism_of_small_differences https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Narcissism_of_small_difference...
pvg 4y ago
That's not a particularly interesting perspective or at least, not one you should assume hasn't occurred to people affected or not affected by this issue.
paxys 4y ago
I believe you and everyone else here saying that they don't/can't discriminate based on caste, but the fact is that due to how social structures are set up it is very likely that close to 100% of Indians you have ever interacted with at your work are, in fact, from a higher caste. There is still a lot of bias especially concerning upward mobility, and so these are still pressing issues to address.
wumpus 4y ago
> if you think caste matters I think it matters if it's causing discrimination at my workplace.
braingenious 4y ago
Whoa, a white person that doesn’t see caste? Well knock me down with a feather! I’m not sure that this is as insightful of a post as you envisioned.
phantomathkg 4y ago
It is not bullshit, the discrimination came from other Indian manager who has higher caste than Dalits. https://www.bloomberg.com/letters/2021-03-18/caste-based-discrimination-lacks-proof-aishwarya-pratap-singh https://www.bloomberg.com/letters/2021-03-18/caste-based-dis...

Removed most to leave the core message. Everyone is equal, no one's birth dictates their worth.

by voz_ 4y ago

Removed most to leave the core message. Everyone is equal, no one's birth dictates their worth.

It matters at companies with high levels of south asian representation, for example Apple, Cisco, Google, etc. When people complain of caste discrimination they aren't talking about it coming from white folks like you.

hef19898 4y ago
I think you both agree.
_vertigo 4y ago
Poor phrasing, but the OP was making the case against caste discrimination, not downplaying caste discrimination. I read it wrong at first. Not the greatest take either way. "I'm from a different culture and I don't notice it so it's probably bullshit". So if you could tell the difference between castes, would it not be bullshit?
- kajecounterhack 4y ago
  Thanks for pointing it out, I misread it too. But also, "castes aren't based on anything real and are obvious bullshit" (paraphrasing the original comment) is not going to be obvious to everyone and not a very helpful statement. Kind of like saying "the world really isn't flat" -- we know, but it's not gonna help anyone because you're not going to stop flat earthers from existing or being sincere about their beliefs.
rfrey 4y ago
Your parent was speaking to people who think that caste matters, the Indian Archie Bunkers I suppose.

deleted 4y ago

[deleted]

valbaca 4y ago

Your experience is yours, I'm not arguing that. But I've worked with ~100 Indian co-workers and several were very vocal about their caste because they were from the "higher" caste; well-educated, children of politicians and scientists and vegetarian.

manuelabeledo 4y ago

> If someone unfamiliar with your culture cannot see distinctions between castes - maybe its all bullshit? It may be. But there are enough examples in history to understand that this may not be a trivial matter, either. Could you tell if someone is Jewish or not? Could you tell utus and tutsis apart?

kccqzy 4y ago

As someone also not from South Asia, I share your perspective. But the problem being solved is not discrimination of Indians by white people. The problem being solved is discrimination of Indians amongst themselves using caste. Your perspective (and mine) are irrelevant.

nostrademons 4y ago

The same goes for race outside of Anglo-American culture. I'm (half-)Asian and think the whole debate is stupid. I don't fit into your racial categories, my skin color is in-between what you seem to think is the "right" color and the "wrong" color, the rest of the physical features you use to tell race apart have just as little variation as between "white" ethnic groups, and everybody interbred anyway. Interestingly I had the same experience going on a vacation to the Balkans. To an outsider, Croat/Serb/Bosnian are all basically the same - your languages are mutually intelligible, your food is all tasty meat cuts and flatbread, you look more or less the same. But apparently within this region, this is a life-or-death distinction. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Narcissism_of_small_differences https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Narcissism_of_small_difference...

pvg 4y ago

That's not a particularly interesting perspective or at least, not one you should assume hasn't occurred to people affected or not affected by this issue.

paxys 4y ago

I believe you and everyone else here saying that they don't/can't discriminate based on caste, but the fact is that due to how social structures are set up it is very likely that close to 100% of Indians you have ever interacted with at your work are, in fact, from a higher caste. There is still a lot of bias especially concerning upward mobility, and so these are still pressing issues to address.

wumpus 4y ago

> if you think caste matters I think it matters if it's causing discrimination at my workplace.

braingenious 4y ago

Whoa, a white person that doesn’t see caste? Well knock me down with a feather! I’m not sure that this is as insightful of a post as you envisioned.

phantomathkg 4y ago

It is not bullshit, the discrimination came from other Indian manager who has higher caste than Dalits. https://www.bloomberg.com/letters/2021-03-18/caste-based-discrimination-lacks-proof-aishwarya-pratap-singh https://www.bloomberg.com/letters/2021-03-18/caste-based-dis...