4 ms·

As a non-veg Indian who does not come from an upper caste and has worked in Seattle, I have yet to experience any instance of caste even being mentioned in Indi

by screye 4y ago

As a non-veg Indian who does not come from an upper caste and has worked in Seattle, I have yet to experience any instance of caste even being mentioned in Indian circles, let alone experience any semblance of discrimination or see it happen near me. > By admitting to eating meat, the tech worker had exposed himself as a member of an oppressed caste This is backwards. Most upper-caste people eat non-veg food, and continuing to be pure-veg is viewed as being behind the times in urban India. On the contrary, I know many people who started eating non-veg food because they didn't want to be seen as prudes. > dominant castes are unwilling to eat with those from oppressed castes I'd believe it if someone told me IITians didn't eat with those from other universities. Or that 2nd gen Indian-Americans didn't eat with 1st gen immigrants. But this sort of thing is practically unheard of. Our Indian circle is pretty huge, and I haven't ever even so much as heard a whisper about this. > Cisco Might be that such stuff is prevalent in certain companies. I don't know anyone at Cisco, so I won't know. It must suck to have caste follow you from your rural town in India. But, these stories sound pretty cherry picked to me. I find that Americans have some bizzare views and opinions about India. Like they read some colonial era British report about the nation, watched slum dog millionaire and that's it. India has changed an insane amount since independence, and it has changed even more than that just in the last 20 years. I consistently find that HN threads about India are among the lowest quality of discourse on this forum. Highly opinionated while still being misinformed. The worst combination. > Kshama Sawant if you know, you know....... why am I not surprised

belltaco 4y ago
My experience mirrors yours. In my large groups of Indian coworkers, family and friends, mention or discussion of caste comes up zero times. It's so bizarre to read HN articles and comments on caste and they feel surreal. I think there is a certain section of HN'ers who make a big deal of this and upvote nonsense posts so it helps them compete against Indian Americans for promotions to managerial positions. For disclosure, I am not a high caste Indian, and both sides of my family eat meat.
yutijke 4y ago
Have you spoken to your American colleagues about their opinions on these topics (unfiltered)? My experience on the internet essentially has been that you cannot discuss a topic even peripherally related to India with Americans on the internet without a mention of Hindu Nationalism, Caste, Religion and "It's not racist if it's actually true"-isms. Does this belligerant ignorance extend to IRL interactions (maybe more polite). The HN discourse on India and related topics is giving me a serious feeling of Gell Mann amnesia. The lack of intellectual rigour and over generalisation of a few cases has been making me adjust my priors on the weight of any discussion here on other unfamiliar topics which can't be proven to be objective fact. A lot of the supposed cases of casteism seem to be willful ignorance of linguistic/regional/other cliquey behaviour that is common among Indians (and the rest of humanity). This makes it hard for me as an Indian who hasn't worked/lived in America to actually judge if these people actually know what they are talking about.
- screye 4y ago
  I try my best. I have given long spiels to friends who I could convince to sit down for a 60 minute lecture. But, It is difficult talk about such a complex issue in a 5 minute conversation without being grossly misunderstood. I usually leave it at "this is piece is terrible. India is a vast civilization. The problem is nuanced and if you ever have an hour & an open mind, then I could run you through the reasons."

by screye 4y ago

belltaco 4y ago

My experience mirrors yours. In my large groups of Indian coworkers, family and friends, mention or discussion of caste comes up zero times. It's so bizarre to read HN articles and comments on caste and they feel surreal. I think there is a certain section of HN'ers who make a big deal of this and upvote nonsense posts so it helps them compete against Indian Americans for promotions to managerial positions. For disclosure, I am not a high caste Indian, and both sides of my family eat meat.

yutijke 4y ago

Have you spoken to your American colleagues about their opinions on these topics (unfiltered)? My experience on the internet essentially has been that you cannot discuss a topic even peripherally related to India with Americans on the internet without a mention of Hindu Nationalism, Caste, Religion and "It's not racist if it's actually true"-isms. Does this belligerant ignorance extend to IRL interactions (maybe more polite). The HN discourse on India and related topics is giving me a serious feeling of Gell Mann amnesia. The lack of intellectual rigour and over generalisation of a few cases has been making me adjust my priors on the weight of any discussion here on other unfamiliar topics which can't be proven to be objective fact. A lot of the supposed cases of casteism seem to be willful ignorance of linguistic/regional/other cliquey behaviour that is common among Indians (and the rest of humanity). This makes it hard for me as an Indian who hasn't worked/lived in America to actually judge if these people actually know what they are talking about.

screye 4y ago
I try my best. I have given long spiels to friends who I could convince to sit down for a 60 minute lecture. But, It is difficult talk about such a complex issue in a 5 minute conversation without being grossly misunderstood. I usually leave it at "this is piece is terrible. India is a vast civilization. The problem is nuanced and if you ever have an hour & an open mind, then I could run you through the reasons."