Dr. Rahul Parikh
Dr. Rahul Parikh, a San Francisco-area physician, writer, and sometime CNN contributor, responds to Joel Stein’s “My Own Private India“:
So … because you weren’t funny or incisive, what’s your point? Are you trying to make Indians prove our worth to the fraternity that is America? Is your essay part of some kind of hazing? Put up with your callous insults, and we’ll be able to live in the frat house?
What litmus test do we all have to pass to become bona fide? Does our God have to wear a big white beard and have only two arms? Do we have to turn in the dots on our foreheads for a baseball cap with “N.Y.” stenciled on it? Trade in our samosas and chai for potato chips and Bud Light? Should we make our parents throw their Hindi language newsmagazine in the garbage and subscribe to Time?
If it’s about fitting in with your standards of Americana, please, allow me to prove my culture’s utility to you.
Some of us have become wildly successful. We run Fortune 500 companies, have been elected to political office and have won Pulitzer prizes. Many of us work 40-plus hours a week to pay our mortgage. Some have paid their dues serving this country in war. Still others struggle to pay the bills, keep their children fed or their marriages together; and yes, there are those of us who are criminals locked up in jail. In other words, we’re just like everyone else.
Read the full colum here: Column vilified, insulted Indian Americans
[...] CNN?s Rahul Parikh Responds to Joel SteinDr. Rahul Parikh, a San Francisco-area physician, writer,and sometime CNN contributor, responds to Joel Stein’s “My Own Private India“: So … because you weren’t funny or incisive, what’s your point? Are you trying to make Indians prove our worth to the fraternity that is America? Is your essay part of some kind of hazing? Put up [...]Read More [...]
I think the real racist here is Dr. Parikh.
Thousands of US soldiers died in WWII and continue to do so even today so that the Steins and their ilk could not only enjoy the freedom of expression, but also to practice their religion freely in this country with-out the fear of retribution from any bigoted communists or Nazi-fascists and how does Mr. Stein use his freedoms? – he turns around to abuse it against other races, cultures & religions. His Stanford degree doesn’t seem to have given him any education.
He would do himself a favor to learn about the tumultuous history of his religion and the result of the bigotry faced by his ancestors in Europe and the Middle-East.
To start with Stein’s article, a very average piece of writing, that reminisces his childhood days in his hometown and his inability to reconcile with the drastic changes that have taken place. This is a feeling that anyone can sympathise with. He appears to be quite self-effacing and aware of the shortcomings of the “whites”. This is completely ignored by the self-righteous, highly-sensitive, chest-thumping, outraged Indians, among other things.
About Dr. Parikh’s rebuttal. Where do I even start?
What jumps out instantly, is the lack of any sense of self-examination and of course, humor. We have very abstract notions of national and communal pride, that we cling to so vehemently, that reject all debate, reasoning and upsetting opinions. Moral outrage is always right under the surface.
It is so easy to throw the “ignorance” accusation at an American while it can, with the same ease, be directed toward us in innumerable situations. Parikh just could not come up with a satirical or even a humorous retort to the supposedly racist opinons. And don’t even get me started on the racism bit. When “gujjus” make fun of “bongs”, it is all in jest! Of course!
What outrages ME the most- “Should African-Americans still drink from a different water fountain from you?” This is out of proportion and boderline hysteria.
We, Indians, have a serious inability to laugh at ourselves. Hence, it is not surprising that we cannot stomach criticisms/views/feelings from an “outsider”.
I think Parikh needs to be tutored on humor, apart from racial tolerance.
Mummy, mummy. The big bad white man is saying nasty things about Indians.
Thank you Dr. Parikh for your article. It is good to know that people like you and Kal Penn are proud to be AMERICANS that still embrace and are proud of your South Asian ancestry. Wonder where Nikki Hailey and Bobby Jindal are?? Also, I called the antidefamation league- an organization that monitors antisemitism and racial bigotry. I informed them about the attack by a Jewish American on the South Asian American community and the Hindu religion. Still no comment or response from the ADL. If they don’t come out with a strong statement agains Time magazine and Joel Stein that would really be an outrage!! So still waiting. It will be really interesting to see which politicians speak up for the South Asian American Community…and remember to show your gratitude by voting for them and contributing to their campaign! Lets see what us “poor damn Indians” can do.
wow.. You’re an amazing writer, as a desi NJ resident, agree with you!!
however, I don’t think we should villify Mr. Stein and supress his freedom of speech. like it or not, we’re being judged by the weakest links of our community (usually first-gen immigrants who are not cool hipters fitting in: our most poor, most voiceless, struggling). We should all join hands as one community to move forward now…
Edison’s India-section is a treasure of India’s culture: art, food, fashion and films. We’re Indian food buffs. We go to Edison’s Indiatown section EVERY WEEKEND, driving 1.5 hours (best food in the U.S… we’ve eaten everywhere from NYC to PA to California to Delhi to Mumbai at all the Indian restaurants.) The fact that the restaurants are all so close together and competing, just makes each one try all that harder;; and the taste beats the 5-star places of Manhatten’s desi places….
But another thing we noted: the streets of Oak Tree Road are a mess; many places are appearing run-down. Even the top-rated Moghul (with a photo of Clinton on their celeb wall).. we went to on Friday around the holiday time was empty ! We were the only ones there.
Edison’s Indiatown should be our treasure we are proud of: I think we all can come together to show our pride. Why don’t we all form a community to transform its exterior: clean, flowers, trees, showy.. to show the treasures inside.
We can step forward from this together stronger. Let’s all start discussions within our community on how each one of us can make it better. We ourselves will keep visiing Indiatown in Edison.. see you there.
Even though the article (and its rebuttal) is more than a week-old, I happened to see it today only. So, I had an opportunity to read all the comments and marvel at the underlying spirit of some of these comments. Before we show a classic knee-jerk overreaction to Stein’s article, we should sit back and reflect what we have seen in India ourselves.
Anyone who is willing to acknowledge the truth will say that in India we have all witnessed all kinds of discriminatory thinking and behavior even among the educated elites. These behaviors and thinking are in no way less humuliating than racism. It does not mean that racist comments are justified. However, after coming to the US, the same people become too sensitive about any kind of jokes, specially if it comes from a white man. This has almost become a predictable trend and a culture that if a white man cracks a joke it must have a racial undertone. This almost makes me feel that we as Indians suffer from an inferiority complex (exactly opposite of how we should feel as a community) and therefore are looking for an opportunity to be offended.
I am not saying that Stein’s artcile is clean and free of subtle jabs; nonetheless, have we tried to understand what deficits we Indians have in common as a group? What is there in us that a non-Indian (not only the white Americans) may laugh or frown at? What is in our daily life that may make us stick out like a sore thumb (compared to other non-white immigrants) in our adopted country?
Every ethnic group has strengths and weaknesses. One of the great strengths in Indian community is that Indians are family-oriented, peaceful and patient people (in addition to forming an educated and financially well-off community). That is a great plus! So, an Indian-dominated neighborhood should be very safe to live in. Americans are very well-aware of these qualities in Indians; still what is so funny about us? Is it the way we dress or carry ourselves? Is it the way we maintain the environment that we live in or work in? Is it the way we intearct with people of different culture? Is it the way India as a country has been moving so that westerners who have visited India have brought back not-so-great impression and has spread that around? “Incredible India” slogan can be interpreted both ways (my above-mentioned commnets are not hypothetical!!!).
In this PC age, no one will voluntere to come forward and tell us why don’t you Indians work on these habits. So, we have to use surrogates of Joel Stein (and the like) if we want to learn about our deficits and rectify them. In other words, we have to use our own children who are born and raised here. Has any of us ever asked what our children see in their parents and the “uncles” (their parents’ friends) and the community as a whole that they think is “funny” or “a little weired” or “unusual” or “will not happen with Americans”? Do they truly enjoy visiting India (although it depends on the place and the social status their parents come from)? Are they willing to stay in India for a long time? What in India and Indian people they think is really great (other than the pampering and attention they get from their relatives) and really bad?
We should remember that Indians are not the only non-white people in the U.S. So, why us? Anyone who has visited other countries in the West will know that Americans by and large are quite enlightened when it comes to race issues (we have to live with the fact that there is no perfect place or community in this world). It is high time that we do some soul-searching. Going to Harvard or Stanford or becoming a doctor is not enough to demand respect. Just like the traditional wisdom says that being successful requires that you be aware of your strength as well as weakness, so instead of focusing on achievements only, such as going to ivy-league school, being professionally successful, and driving mercedes benz (all of which indicates success), it is high time that we as a community turn to our weaknesses and start working on them. Only then people like Joel Stein can be truly silenced. Racism and discrimination cry will not change people’s minds or their attitude and behavior, even though they may not verbally express anything.