[Alison31414]

South Asia is very poor. Many South Asians are as dark as black people. Given these two facts, why are most Indians and other South Asians outside of Asia so arrogant, especially towards blacks? Most black people I talk to have had the exact same experience. Why is this?

User Detail :  

Name : Alison31414, Gender : F, Race : Afro-Caribbean Black, Age : 23, City : New York, State : NY, Country : United States, Education level : 4 Years of College, Social class : Lower middle class, 

[Chris32199]

I am a black male and have noticed the same thing as you, my sister. I think they act this way because white people tell foreigners when they come to the United States that it is OK to treat black people like trash.

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Name : Chris32199, City : Waldorf, State : MD, Country : United States, 

[Julie27043]

Maybe it isn’t that they’re being ‘told.’ Maybe they are just following the example…

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Name : Julie27043, Gender : F, Race : Black/African American, Age : 33, City : Woodbridge, State : VA, Country : United States, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Upper middle class, 

[Tom]

O.k. so maybe I can’t really speak for America but your reply really isn’t helpful to anyone, it just perpetuates racism. As a white person with a Sri Lankan girlfriend and Nigerian step sisters who are practically inseperable, I have to say that it is possible for these different races to get along. I think a few narrow minded people from either side of this debate enjoy having someone to argue and fight against. Throughout history people who see themselves as ‘in a minority’ fight back at any other group also ‘in a minority’. I do not know the pyschology behind this but find it disturbing that your looking to place blame with a third party.

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Name : Tom, Gender : M, Race : White/Caucasian, Age : 27, City : London, State : NA, Country : United Kingdom, Occupation : Architect, Education level : 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, 

[Andrew Robinson]

I have to agree with Chris. Someone tell these foreigners that we black people are the scum of the earth. Thier new how would they know about us? Its sad how people treat us bad when they really know nothing about us.

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Name : Andrew Robinson, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : Black/African American, Religion : Christian, Age : 18, City : Upper Darby, State : PA, Country : United States, Education level : High School Diploma, Social class : Middle class, 

[mjt20280]

So, if I understand you correctly, it is whites’ fault that you are treated poorly by races other than white. That is absurd.

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Name : mjt20280, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Agnostic, Age : 42, City : Austin, State : TX, Country : United States, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, 

[Cynthia31756]

South Asian immigrants only know of black/African American culture from what they’ve seen on television and in the movies, and that, as we all know, is not exactly ‘positive’. Their culture also has a long history of being very ‘proper,’ with rules and regulations of how one behaves. Many see the stereotypes in TV and start thinking that black Americans are, well, not ‘well polished,’ as they say.

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Name : Cynthia31756, Gender : F, Race : Asian, Age : 24, City : Toronto, Ontario, State : NA, Country : Canada, Occupation : Graduate Student, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Upper middle class, 

[Lish25712]

Ii believe it’s because native South Asians would have had far more exposure to Caucasian people than black people, through decades of colonization by the British empire and high exposure to whites in the media, through business, Western politics, etc. When one is not familiar with a person, one tends to be more reserved, which was probably miscontrued as being aloof. I highly doubt it was because white people told us we could mistreat blacks. i definitely have not encountered anything like that. Speaking for my country, there used to be some ill-feeling toward blacks in parts of the community because of a spate of swindles and scams commited by swindlers who were black, which goes to show that every little thing we do when abroad builds the local perception of our country and ethnicity, like it or not.

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Name : Lish25712, Gender : F, Race : Asian, Religion : Christian, Age : 20, City : Kuala Lumpur, State : NA, Country : Malaysia, Occupation : student, Education level : High School Diploma, 

[Angela]

I know exactly what you are talking about. Indians (from India) as well as South Asians have a deep-seated color complex that is based on their own history of racism. Indians have the caste system, where dark Indians are treated like dogs while they praise white white white. Asians do the same: Japanese think they are better than Chinese, who think they are better than the many other dark Asians as well as all blacks. They detest dark skin and hate themselves. Why do you think most Asian women literally throw themselves at white men and only white men? They think the lighter the better. Believe me, Asians have no love for black people because they have been put down and hated for their skin, so what do they do to make themselves feel better? They turn around and do the same thing to black people.

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Name : Angela, Gender : M, Race : Black/African American, Religion : Christian, Age : 30, City : Washington, State : DC, Country : United States, Occupation : writer, Education level : 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, 

[StilBil]

The answer can be answered with a plane ticket outside the United States and viewing the media available to see how blacks from America are portrayed. Throughout the 20th century, most other countries’ interpretation of what defines different ethnic groups within the United States, especially blacks, is done so through media of some type. TV being the worst, with series and sitcoms that are just like radioactive waste: they never go away! Blacks still accept the roles of buffoons and step ‘n fetch-it characters. You need not look any further than what is being portrayed of black images on T.V. and in movies any day of the week . Of course, it’s not right but that’s all they (foreigners) have to go on if they have never met anyone in person to change that preconceived opinion. The same ole singing, dancing, eye rolling, ignorant, dopehead, pimp, ho, armed robber, thief, rapist, thug, superfly, shuffling image hasn’t really changed much in all these years. Media, be it books, mag-rags, newspapers, short or long film and or television, shapes or actually burn images into the core of those who have very little of anything else to balance those negatives with. The media engine is the most almighty and powerful medium of communication on the planet. The media machine is all about shaping minds in the direction that those running it see fit. On T.V. every week, our people keep accepting roles as the lowest forms of human on the planet, because in their minds they have to pay their dues to be fed in this line of occupation. An occupation that they choose willingly! . I remember sitting in the park one day and thinking about how many black toddlers and little kids are set in front of those (TV) images, day in, out and what effects it has when they become adults. To constantly see the image of yourself as the comedian buffoon, or person always on the other side of the law. I had often wished that since black actors could never seem to come together to produce quality images on their own enough, that they would just leave the industry for a year in protest. We would then find those negative roles being given to Hispanics no doubt.

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Name : StilBil, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : Black/African American, Religion : Christian, Age : 52, City : Temecula, State : CA, Country : United States, Occupation : IT Consultant, Education level : 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, 

[MIchelle]

I have South Asian friends and they aren’t arrogant. They might be a little stand-offish, but that depends on a lot of factors. All of my South Asian friends were born in and/or raised in the U.K. or the U.S. I don’t know many others from South Asia because they tend to stick with people from their own culture more. I think your problem might also be your attitude, because you make a lot of generalizations about South Asia and South Asians. You say South Asia is poor, but South Asia refers to a lot of different religions, ethnic groups and countries. Most people from South Asia who come to study in the United States are not poor, but quite rich. There is an unequal distribution of wealth in these countries, but most, like India, have a growing middle class. Just becuase they’re dark doesn’t mean they should automatically like people of a different culture who are brown or black.

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Name : MIchelle, Gender : F, Race : Black/African American, Religion : Buddhist, Age : 23, City : Fort Worth, State : TX, Country : United Kingdom, Education level : 4 Years of College, Social class : Lower middle class, 

[Mervyn]

First, Asians in general (and the rest of the world) find lighter skin attractive. Almost every country I’ve been to in Asia has skin lightening products. Facial creams, lotions and soaps that chemically lighten one’s skin. Asians, especially in the tropics, seem to value light skin, unabashedly. It’s not taboo to talk about it. People will comment on how, after being out in the sun uncovered, you’ve gotten darker. That’s because lighter skin has been associated with wealth. Being wealthy meant not working in the fields, and likewise meant not having the dark, leathery, tanned farmer skin. The wealthy stayed comfy indoors. Also, colonists tended to be lighter skinned. You start to see why light skin became desirable. Second, being poor doesn’t mean you can’t be proud or look down on other people. I know a lot of poor people who react to wealthier, more ‘successful’ people with what might be seen as arrogance. Unfortunately, is also has a lot to do with stereotypes formed from media and work. Most South Asians just immigrated here and the media and their work predominantly form their opinions of people. The media, news, etc, we all know about. Immigrant Asians get all their information about black Americans from TV they get overseas. Imagine if all your impressions of blacks were based solely on the movies, Tv and news put out today. Work, well. Let’s just say the jobs aren’t normally glamorous, high-paying, or in the best parts of town. Seeing blacks in this environment just strengthen the stereotypes. Immigrants willfully come to this country hoping to get something good going. When South Asians and other immigrants see people who have been here for a long time not succeed or not even seem to put out the effort, it doesn’t speak well. Doesn’t matter what race the person is. Been here a while? Excuses about not succeeding or moving up ring hollow, especially when you’re an immigrant to came here specifically because of the opportunity to live a better life. It’s like people who’ve been here and grown up with the opportunity have squandered it and have the gall to complain like someone owes them something. The South Asians I know are friendly and fun to be around. Unfortunately, working past the preconceptions is a lifelong thing.

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Name : Mervyn, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : Other Pacific Islander, Age : 26, City : San Francisco, State : CA, Country : United States, Occupation : Law student, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, 

[Jasmine]

I’m not justifying their actions, but it may be that many South Asians who are able to live abroad usually have higher education degrees (beyond college) and are pretty wealthy in their native countries. Some have to work in retail or business because they’re just not able to find jobs in their fields in the United States.

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Name : Jasmine, Gender : F, Race : Asian, Age : 24, City : Buffalo, State : NY, Country : United States, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Upper class, 

[Observer]

I’m originally from the sub-continent, now living in Australia. If I had a choice to pick the most racist place on this planet, I would say it would be South Asia. I am South Asian myself, and I can tell you from experience that in South Asia you would get discriminated against on everything, from religion to language, and most importantly on the color of your skin. The reason goes back a few thousand years, when the ‘Aryans’ entered India … eventually they realized they needed to preserve their race by not breeding with the local black population. They invented the caste system, which put them at the top and the locals at the bottom, and this was implemented in Hinduism, and along with Hinduism the caste system survived. Almost everyone there, educated or uneducated, has the same view: that black should be kept away from white. The media plays a big role in this. Most South Asians are light brown-brown-black-to-very black, but on TV in South Asia you see mostly white-skinned people. Of course, not all South Asians think like this, but generally they do. I learned that skin color doesn’t matter from white people. If I was in South Asia, i probabily would have thoughjt like them as well, thank God I’m in Australia… They do look down on black (any black) people as inferior to them, even though they are dark themselves. It’s not really their fault, most don’t even know why they act the way they do. It’s the environment they are brought up in, and hopefully they one day will wake up and realize the truth. I hope you don’t think all South Asians are racist.

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[Amita]

I think it’s because India was ruled by the British for 150 years and Indians think lighter-skinned people are better-looking. This sort of racism exists in India, too, where men prefer lighter-skinned brides. Also, the media doesn’t portray a very positive picture of black people in America.

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Name : Amita, Gender : F, Race : Asian, City : Mumbai, State : MA, Country : India, 

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