journalman's Diaryland Diary ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Indian Disgratzia in the Paper I was glancing the Times today, and noted to myself that Indian-Americans are making the headlines. Some will say that for a minority in USA that was largely kept out of mainstream media, it's an accomplishment. Having read both articles today, though, these renegade Indians are a bloody embarassment.
There's the Harvard pliagarist, Kaavya Viswanathan. AKA Dumbitch. What's the matter with you? ANY writer... ANY honest intellectual worth their salt knows that 'internalizing' is shorthand for 'never really caring to note the author'. It's a crock of shit, though I wouldn't put it past the average American book buyer to read that much into it. Unfortunately the premise of your book, itself, doesn't apply to American book buyers. An Indian girl who grew up geeky and needs to make friends. Sounds like more of a catharsis/validation piece, to be honest. It sounds like hammy, "Bride and Prejudice" D-minus-rated storyline material. But no matter how much that movie & story sucked, at least the producers that movie can claim that they did it with integrity. But, Kaavya (it seems likely that you Google yourself, and therefore it's likely you'll come to this), your behavior hurts this author's feelings grandly. It hurts me because I am of Indian descent. I had my opportunities to break the rules in exchange for notoriety and profit. Most professionals have these opportunities every day; several times a day, even. I would say thousands of Americans, including those of Indian descent, intelligent ones like you, pass up their chance at fraud every single day as a way of life. We're proud of this lifestyle. You may have the same color skin as I, and our parents may speak the same language, but I'll tell you something: we have nothing in common. Americans don't know much about Indians. Their encounters beget the Indian stereotypes. Recently... Harold and Kumar, the Bride/Prejudice disaster, and a few others have begun to form the less-jocular, more serious amendment to the Indian stereotype in America. You are supposed to be smart. You are supposed to know this. You're supposed to know that your actions will be perceived by Americans-at-large, and in turn, their perceptions will play a huge role in how Indians are perceived in America. Thanks, Dumbitch. I was going to run for mayor of my one-horse town one day, you know. THE OTHER ONE Some spoiled daughter of a prominent Cardiologist got a Bentley and 2 houses as a Sweet 16 gift. Just last month they gave a preparty where invitations to their coming event were handed out by body builders whom Priya ordered not to smile. "Assistants are not supposed to smile," she explained. Indian girl. Come to think of it, this is kind of cool. Ok, scratch this one. Happy Secretary's Day, everybody! 4:26 p.m. - 2006-04-26 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
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