a response to a racialicious article

http://www.racialicious.com/2012/01/24/not-my-arab-spring/

Interesting stuff. I agree, my parents come from the Punjab region of India, I was born in the United Kingdom and was raised in the United States. When I came here I was perhaps a little too British for these guys, but over time I think I've become sufficiently American so as to be accepted. I think coming here when I was 10 probably helped me there. But I am aware that alot of children of immigrants from countries like India seem to feel they have a connection to the country their parents were born in. In my life, and in my mind, I don't feel as if I have any such tie to India. I was not born there, I haven't lived there, I am not of their culture. It is a foreign place to me. I am often asked about India, most specifically what I feel about certain things, where can you find the best Indian food, or what language do I speak. Most commonly, arguements with me about whether or not I am Indian. I always tell them I am not, that I'm British, and i currently live in America.



But my point is... when I am looked at with brown skin, black hair, I am assumed to be Indian. This annoys me to no end. I don't for instance look upon someone with white skin, fair hair, and assume they are from America, or Europe. I think we live in a time where we can no longer look at skin or hair and derive a persons origin. Ultimately, my skin has no bearing on my views. And similarly, neither does where my parents come from. My parents may be from North India, but I have no tie to the country. I don't believe things like nationality can be passed down from generation to generation. I would have to live in India and be immersed in the culture to call myself properly exposed.



I understand when you say you are asked to give expert views on topics you are far removed from. You may say it's because you are Muslim or Arab and because of this you understand that others may assume things about you. I am similar, and yet different. I am not Sikh, nor am I Indian, however I am brown skinned and black haired. I feel fools will approach me and assume I am something or the other, and bigots will ignore what I reveal myself to be, and attempt to brand me with names and distinctions of their own coining. I am who I say I am, especially when it comes to the identity I bear. I hope in the coming century people like me will not have to fight tooth and nail to be accepted in the ways we wish to be. I see parallel's with the gay community in America, I have seen them fight for their right to be accepted as their name, and similarly I seek to escape the branding of immigrant, or Indian, and be known for who I am, what I am of, and whom I seek to be. For instance, I am interested in punk music, I play in a rock band, I am interested in entrepreneurship, but I don't get noticed or recognized for these things on a street corner or in a bar room. I am instead recognized as a brown skinned black haired potential-Indian, and these people will assume my identity, and talk to me about topics they believe I am knowledgable of. I have brown skin, but I don't bear my skin as a badge of my expertise in the South Asian affairs, or even Arab-spring related stuff. I look at it as a fluke of our times, as like the Irish, now brown-skinned people are being looked at as exotic, different, and other-worldly, and perhaps easily understood. I am just as convoluted as the next guy, whether they be white, black, or otherwise.



Ultimately I'd like to see a move away from the notions of race and nationality, especially when I am asked to reveal my ancestry as a means of being able to better interpret my identity, in the form of requests from others curious about me. But I don't think society will change overnight, and all you, I and others can do is continue to voice dissatisfaction over cultural associations with skin and hair color and continue to show the lack of logic for such things to be done.

race crap

so i got on stage at scarlet n grey after hearing a bunch of race related jokes and of course i offered them a quick diatribe on why race is not cool to use especially if not everyone is allwoed to participate. for instance ,asian people, none of whom were in teh bar, were being made fun of. maybe to giddy white people this is an OK phenomenon, but to the rest of the not backward world these things are deplorable and I'm fucking glad that I got up there and said something about it. If you're going to live in this modern world then I'm sorry but you can't just get up there and rail on people just because they have a certain skin color or whatever the fuck. It's those things like sexual preference, accent, and whatnot. They're fine and all until it goes way too far. Certain jokes just make you shake your head. And if your audience is getting offended by your jokes, it might eb worth taking into consideration. i guess a smart comedian will make sure they dont do things that offend people. If you can make race jokes that delight the majority of THAT race, then guess what, you've made it right. But if your race jokes offend that race, while perhaps delighting others not of that race... you might have made a racist joke. it should not be a requirement of a joke to not be that target race in order to find it funny.

deh shiva

Deh Shiva bar mohe ihai
Grant me this boon O God


shubh karman the kabhu na taroo
May I never refrain from the righteous acts;


Na daroo ar siyoo jab jah laroon
May I fight without fear all foes in life's battles


Nischai kar apni jeet koroo
With confident courage claiming the victory!


Ar Sikh hao apne hi mum ko
May thy glory be grained in my mind,


Eh lalch hou guna tau uchroo
and my highest ambition be singing thy praises;


Jab aav ki audh nidhann nanay
When this mortal life comes to end,


Aut he rann me tab joojh maroo
May I die fighting with limitless courage

why im legitimately not indian and actually british

people like to tell me that im indian. they ask where my parents are from. they argue that they are considered german. its so tiring of a process. i hate to waste my effort on such bullshit. its such a rediculous thing that im surprised i have to deal with it still at the age of 25. yet in the comedy scene of columbus ohio, this is something that emerges. a guy blocked me on facebook today because i angrily messaged him after tonight's show about how i didn't want to discuss with him whether or not iw as indian. he's fucking 'afraid' of me. what a little twat. seriously people, when you actually believe in something, and you don't want people to bug you about it, what's there to be afraid of? see what i mean? when people get in your face, bother the fuck out of you, why the fuck do they NOT expect some sort of a RESPONSE from you? they think they can do shit up and down that hits you in ways that arent cool, and you respond to their shit, and they turn around and say: "hey dude, we think you're completely wrong in your summarization of yourself, you aren't at all british and in fact are indian." - this is what i call jackassery.

marginalized minority females

Great article. I'm sortof godsmacked with a certani realiziation whilst reading your words. I think alot of your experience my be chalked up to immaturity. Sheer immaturity of the men involved feeling they have the right to heavy handedly interact with the world the way they do. There is a very real sense of entitlement. Men seem to feel they have an innate right to the world. This isn't inherent in all, but you might see it in some of the immature types who aren't willing to actually act civil, as society dictates. Society is a choice that not everyone participates in. Ultimately the abrasive nature of these people will come to haunt them, either in their lifetime, or in their legacy [im someone who lightly entertains the notion of karma].


In order to successfully interact with society, you have to be willing to allow yoruself to in a way be a bit more open and disarming. Otherwise if you aren't then you are essentially rigidly being abrasive to every person you meet. You shouldn't be an obstacle for other people to overcome, human interaction should be a smooth process. Not everyone learns this growing up, Not everyone's taught this. But I feel when everyone tries to operate on this level less laws are broken, less feelings are hurt.

http://www.racialicious.com/2011/10/26/unsafe-in-seattle/#more-18685

I'm going to go ahead and say that the poster is literally just a reference to a very good john lennon song. and i think that as an english major and a guy who grew up in a family that didn't allow "bad words" i can never really be for the striking of a word from use. it goes to peoples freedom to express themselves. in this case the word is pretty much historical at this point, playing a major role in african american identity and the freedom movement in the united states. i understand people not wanting to be exposed to the word, perhaps because they feel its directed at them, but i feel like when we can't even examine the word then things are going way too far. to understand it we need to be familiar with it. if we dont, not only may we forget the word, but the mistake of it's creation. and then we are doomed to create another such word. lets actually try to enlighten ourselves, rather than get caught in cages. thats just my opinion though, and clearly an unpopular one to have.

http://www.racialicious.com/2011/10/13/theyre-going-to-laugh-at-you-white-women-betrayal-and-the-n-word/#more-18483

i might be the nly person who feels this way but i think that people are definately NOT mocking native art to use a symbol they've seen and be artistic with it. reverence to the point of restriction, and business that is never allowed to sell anything that like... fucking does whatever they do.

a company does what they can to make ap rocut but they won't sell anything people won't want to buy. there is a real market for tehse things; are you going to fault these usbcultures and their providers for offending you? does their existence offend you? perhaps you feel as if you "own" these symbols, that they are only for the natives and not for all peoples. THAT is a bigoted view.

http://www.racialicious.com/2011/10/10/an-open-letter-to-urban-outfitters-on-columbus-day/#more-18375