Ok, this one is quite touchy. The moment it comes to Race, suddenly one wrong word and everything falls apart. But surprisingly that's not how it is in India! Oh yeah, this is a good one!
Recently I overheard an argument that was taking place in my neighbor's house. All I could hear was, "WE DO NOT ALLOW!" When I found out the root cause, I understood. A couple of students from Iran wanted to rent the house. The owner was ok with it, but the rest of the residents in the building were not! And the reason was clear. In the past, a couple of Iranian students had stayed there but they were forced to leave because apparently, petrol was being stolen from bikes in the parking, and the building watchman was "scared" they were going to harm him. There is no evidence of such stuff ever happening, but who would care as long as they have a scapegoat in hand. The building residents conveniently decided that the blame was to be put on the two guys who came from a different country. It was the most ridiculous thing I ever heard in my life.
Taking that past prejudiced opinion into account, they decided that once again, the two guys from a different country will not be allowed to live in this building. Apparently they have made it a rule now for the building residents. But yet again, like my previous rant, there is a much nicer way to put forward such things. You don't just shout at the top of your lungs at a couple of foreign students and ask them to get out without explaining to them why they can't stay there.
Another important point to note was that the apartment owner was ok with it! I don't get what gives the rest of the residents a right to decide who stays in the apartment they don't own! Because of this, the owner got pissed off at being shouted at and yelled back. Just like every other argument, the main topic was forgotten and these "elder, wiser" men just created ruckus early in the morning. I would say even a group of drunk teenagers would behave more sensibly. These were middle aged fully sober men yelling at each other because of a "possible misconduct" that "might possibly" be caused by 2 foreign students. That's one hell of an assumption.
What an experience we gave them. They land in this beautiful country hoping to learn something new, and what do we give them? Racist arguments and prejudiced opinions! I would like to see these building residents try to find a place to live in a different country and narrate the experience to me.
I had experienced student life first hand in Wichita, USA, and guess what, it was amazing! In fact, we had really friendly neighbors despite being warned that it wasn't a good neighborhood. Incidentally, I also happened to make a bunch of friends from Iran, and again guess what, I had the best time hanging out with them! In fact, I had not experienced a single incident of racism in over three years of staying in so-called conservative Kansas, and also traveling out to quite a few states across the US. When I look back at those three years, I actually had friends of different nationalities, ages, genders, religions and races and never felt bias of any form. I truly learned a lot about the world and life itself.
Two years in India, and I experience age bias, gender bias, religion bias, linguistic bias, racial bias, pretty much everything that can tell two people apart. God damn it! What are we living in! People judge you if your nose is shaped differently! Apparently, that's the Indian way! Sadly...
Recently I overheard an argument that was taking place in my neighbor's house. All I could hear was, "WE DO NOT ALLOW!" When I found out the root cause, I understood. A couple of students from Iran wanted to rent the house. The owner was ok with it, but the rest of the residents in the building were not! And the reason was clear. In the past, a couple of Iranian students had stayed there but they were forced to leave because apparently, petrol was being stolen from bikes in the parking, and the building watchman was "scared" they were going to harm him. There is no evidence of such stuff ever happening, but who would care as long as they have a scapegoat in hand. The building residents conveniently decided that the blame was to be put on the two guys who came from a different country. It was the most ridiculous thing I ever heard in my life.
Taking that past prejudiced opinion into account, they decided that once again, the two guys from a different country will not be allowed to live in this building. Apparently they have made it a rule now for the building residents. But yet again, like my previous rant, there is a much nicer way to put forward such things. You don't just shout at the top of your lungs at a couple of foreign students and ask them to get out without explaining to them why they can't stay there.
Another important point to note was that the apartment owner was ok with it! I don't get what gives the rest of the residents a right to decide who stays in the apartment they don't own! Because of this, the owner got pissed off at being shouted at and yelled back. Just like every other argument, the main topic was forgotten and these "elder, wiser" men just created ruckus early in the morning. I would say even a group of drunk teenagers would behave more sensibly. These were middle aged fully sober men yelling at each other because of a "possible misconduct" that "might possibly" be caused by 2 foreign students. That's one hell of an assumption.
What an experience we gave them. They land in this beautiful country hoping to learn something new, and what do we give them? Racist arguments and prejudiced opinions! I would like to see these building residents try to find a place to live in a different country and narrate the experience to me.
I had experienced student life first hand in Wichita, USA, and guess what, it was amazing! In fact, we had really friendly neighbors despite being warned that it wasn't a good neighborhood. Incidentally, I also happened to make a bunch of friends from Iran, and again guess what, I had the best time hanging out with them! In fact, I had not experienced a single incident of racism in over three years of staying in so-called conservative Kansas, and also traveling out to quite a few states across the US. When I look back at those three years, I actually had friends of different nationalities, ages, genders, religions and races and never felt bias of any form. I truly learned a lot about the world and life itself.
Two years in India, and I experience age bias, gender bias, religion bias, linguistic bias, racial bias, pretty much everything that can tell two people apart. God damn it! What are we living in! People judge you if your nose is shaped differently! Apparently, that's the Indian way! Sadly...
