tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37823526.post5462549628494941861..comments2024-03-26T09:45:42.475+05:30Comments on Looking at Cartoons, Getting Along: Institutionalised Racism Runs Deep amongst Middle and Upper Class Urban IndiansAniruddha G. Kulkarnihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09246236261997672943noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37823526.post-17121124534014230242008-01-31T11:00:00.000+05:302008-01-31T11:00:00.000+05:30Thanks Chetan.One request. Never apologize for wha...Thanks Chetan.<BR/><BR/>One request. Never apologize for what you express here as long as you do it with certain amount of decency. "son of a bitch" is fine!<BR/><BR/>You have done this not just with decency but grace. Thanks again.<BR/><BR/>Kanyadan. My favourite. All my life, since I read it, I have tried NOT to be "Kanyadan socialist"!<BR/><BR/>I am not sure if you miss my CENTRAL point sometimes. All I am saying is that it's likely Bhajji made a mistake as we all do and we must grab every opportunity to introspect. <BR/><BR/>I apologize to my wife and my son and many other people all the time because I think I make mistakes. Some times horrendous ones.<BR/><BR/>I am not opposed to globalization. I am its ardent supporter. I don't endorse NEW Quest. In fact, I endorse nothing other than some great writers like Marathi saint-poets, artists and some ordinary people who have been very kind to me and loved me without any conditions, like my mother and my wife.<BR/><BR/>I know Vinay Hardikar. He used to write for now defunct "Manoos". I haven't read his writing enough to post my comments on that.<BR/><BR/>Your comments are not juvenile at all. They are "young" and that is their beauty. I might say the same thing as you say here although I must say I don't write English as well as you.<BR/><BR/>Yes, race, caste are very complex. No easy solutions there. But doesn't mean we cannot try incremental things.<BR/><BR/>Lastly on my writing, remember John Maynard Keynes's words: "Words ought to be a little wild, for they are the assault of thoughts on the unthinking". <BR/><BR/>I guess you too follow Keynes!Aniruddha G. Kulkarnihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09246236261997672943noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37823526.post-2316280055203064202008-01-31T09:25:00.000+05:302008-01-31T09:25:00.000+05:30“But Bhajji won’t be racial. He’s our boy.” This r...<I>“But Bhajji won’t be racial. He’s our boy.” </I><BR/><BR/>This reminded me of FDR's quote on Nicaraguan President <A HREF="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anastasio_Somoza_Garc%C3%ADa" REL="nofollow">Anastasio Samoza</A> <BR/><BR/><I>"Somoza may be a son of a bitch, but he's our son of a bitch."</I><BR/><BR/>The tragedy is that Indians are shying away from acknowledging the crime that would qualify Harbhajan to be called a 'son of a bitch.' <BR/><BR/>Whether or not Indians are racists, however, should not be a used as an excuse for not protesting the fact that Harbhajan was convicted by Mike Procter without any unequivocal proof of his crime. That goes against the first principles of jurisprudence. So, even though it is a shame that our media which could have used this opportunity to explore the issue of racism and Indians' response to it in depth rather than pandering tp jingoistic tendencies,it should not justify condoning of Procter's faulty decision. <BR/><BR/>Also, this may be a point where I may touch a raw nerve of the other commenters of this blog and even with you, but, I think that left-liberals (socialists) have a tendency of confusing co-relation and causation. My grandfather (a staunch one) and my parents (not so hardcode) were socialists who admired the idealism of Sane Guruji and subscribed to Sadhna. There seemed to me a proclivity amongst them to favour social engineering in order to get rid of what they viewed as the ills of society. They believed, and still do, in the power of the state, the media etc to pass laws to curb these 'ills.' One just has to read Vijay Tendulkar's Kanyadaan to know the limitations of such an arrangement. <BR/><BR/>I know that the issue of racism, just like the caste system is not a simple one to address in a comment on a blog. However, let me share an anecdote with you regarding the use of Fair and Lovely ads and matrimonial ads seeking fair brides as means to establish racism in Indian society. I offered a similar argument to a conservative (Hindutvavadi) friend of mine. He counterposed a question to me saying that those same matrimonial ads also talk about height of the bride. You will always see a bias in every society around the world regarding a person's height and its relation in the context of beauty, marriage etc. He said that just as there were offensive words used against people of dark skin or skin colour different than your own such as negro, kalya etc., there are also offensive words in the context of people of short stature; such as, butlya, butkya, thengnya, midget etc. How many times, he asked me, had I objected to that practice, calling it Heightism? His reasoning was that so long as there is no 'direct' discrimination in society in terms of livelihood opportunities commensurate with one's abilities, motives such as racism, casteism etc. should be not be ascribed to such phenomena. <BR/><BR/>I know that this is part sophistry on his part and that caste and race are much more complex than to be discarded with such a frivolous analogy. However, the larger point remains. If, we (progressives in the society) want to raise objections on these issues we better argue with some causal examples where 'discrimination' has actually occurred on account of a racial/casteist slight rather than a call to 'soft' examples which may have other explanation apart from or in addition to 'racism/casteism' etc.<BR/><BR/>At this point I would like to say that my comments may seem juvenile here. I belong to a much different age group compared to you and the other commenters to follow your blog. As such, you and others may have already considered these points, pondered over them, have developed objections, counterarguments and after rearranging your views based on your experiences may have discarded. acknowledged, or supported the views I am pointing out here and yet may feel strongly about institutionalised racism. In that case please care to present your views and I would be glad to get acquainted with them and enlighten myself. My comments may make me seem to be someone who objects just for the sake of objecting. I just want to assure you that even though my comments mostly take a contrary position to what you have written, they are not meant to be derogatory or dismissive of your views. It is just that in my quest for understanding this world better that I present counterarguments to things I myself believe in, in order to clarify my own thoughts and to listen to and internalise objections to my own positions which may result from your comments defending your position against my objections. <BR/><BR/>So, all this explanation is a ruse to ensure that you take my comments in the right spirit.<BR/><BR/>This comment (and my allusions to socialistic tendencies) stems not only from this post alone but also from the endorsement you gave to the New Quest magazine. I am sure there are many literary reasons to endorse that magazine but the ideological bent provided by the <A HREF="http://www.newquestindia.com/Html/Impact_Of_LPG.html" REL="nofollow">article by Rangnath Pathare</A>, part of which is available online, was infuriating in its arrogance stemming from ignorance. I know I am being blunt here and probably am being disrespectful towards the author in question. But if such intellectually lazy arguments and objections against globalization and its impact are all that socialists can come up with, I think they are seriously underestimating the intelligence and experience of their audience. I haven't seen such shoddy logic, blatant hypocrisy, patronisation and cherry picking of examples bolstering your viewpoint even in Outlook which is a self-proclaimed propaganda piece for left-liberal views. <BR/><BR/>Apropos to nothing, since you seem to be a fan of Mardhekar's poems and their interpretations, do you know Vinay Hardikar? He is the author of Janancha Pravaha and writes columns in various Marathi publications? Do let me know if you have read or heard about him. Thanks. Once again my apologies if I hurt anyone's views or have been unduly and unwarrantably harsh on views not reflecting my own.Chetanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08860208056406768233noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37823526.post-46455321032129865582008-01-30T17:15:00.000+05:302008-01-30T17:15:00.000+05:30I just found your blog when Google searching for a...I just found your blog when Google searching for a dimly recalled cartoon "Now, here's my plan." I wanted to refer to it as providing perspective on my idea for changing the structure of an online workshop that had been scheduled to begin this afternoon. The topic is Diversity, Engagement, and Technology [in higher education]. <BR/><BR/>Now I'm intrigued by your blog. I like your sense of humor and choice of quotations. And I noticed your concern about diversity related issues from a very different perspective than that of most the people with whom I work. <BR/><BR/>If you're interested in corresponding about this more, perhaps participating in some of our online sessions, pls email to me at stevegilbert@tltgroup.org.<BR/><BR/>You can see more about our beginning work on Diversity, Engagement, and Technology at <BR/>http://www.tltgroup.org/fridaylive/dangerousdiscussions/diversityengagementtechnology.htm<BR/>and at<BR/>http://www.tltgroup.org/TailoredWebsites-gigs/LeagueCIT2007/DiversityEngagementTechnology.htm<BR/><BR/>I think that we should seriously consider the role of humor in our work on diversity, etc. and that we should humorously consider the more profound implications!<BR/><BR/>Thanks for your writings.<BR/><BR/>And, by the way, how did you find those cartoons and get them into your blog? <BR/><BR/>Steve GilbertSteve Gilbert TLT Grouphttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07514829309387674855noreply@blogger.com