Tamilians are "dark and dirty"

[WC2011INDIA]

The US embassy has expressed deep regret over an alleged racial comment made by the Vice Consul of the US Consulate in Chennai, Maureen Chao. She was quoted on Friday as saying that her "skin had become dirty and dark, like the Tamilians." The US embassy has now said that Chao made an inappropriate comment and that they deeply regret the unfortunate remarks. This diplomatic racial gaffe occurred while Chao was addressing a group of students at the Semester Abroad Programme orientation in SRM University. "I was on a 24-hour train trip from Delhi to Orissa. But, after 72 hours, the train still did not reach the destination... and my skin became dirty and dark like the Tamilians," Chao said, going down the memory lane two decades ago when she was a student. Going into a damage-control mode following her controversial remarks, the US Consulate said, "During the speech Ms Chao made an inappropriate comment. Ms Chao deeply regrets if her unfortunate remarks offended anyone, as that was certainly not her intent". The Consulate said in a release that the diplomat was describing 'positive memories from her own study abroad experiences in India 23 years ago'. As US Secretary Hillary Clinton recently noted, the US-India partnership was based on shared values of democracy, liberty and respect for religious and cultural diversity, the Consulate release said. "The US Consulate in Chennai and the US Mission in India are committed to upholding these shared values", it said.

http://ibnlive.in.com/news/us-envoy-calls-tamilians-dirty-and-dark/175447-3.html It sucks that these western people get away with such kind of remarks. The Gov't should demand for an apology letter from her, the consulate and US government.

[tapish]

thats bad

[Rajiv]

Before we go on a rampage, people have done that on this very forum as well..so till we pick them, we have to fix our own

[kumble_rocks]

We need a color blind society !

[Desi Cartman]

Chao-mean .... yes she Chao is mean :hitler:

[Rajiv]

^^ She is white

[suraj]

Before we go on a rampage' date=' people have done that on this very forum as well..so till we pick them, we have to fix our own[/quote'] How is that even an excuse ??

[The Dark Horse]

Just feck off chao..u are the one who is dirty

[flamy]

I dunno wat to say. Does it really matter?

[Desi Cartman]

^^ She is white

I know but she is chao and mean :finger:

[Rajiv]

How is that even an excuse ??

It would be hypocrisy if we pick on someone like chao, but yet do it amongst ourselves. They are both wrong, and its not an excuse Unless, chao meant it sexually which I doubt

[gult]

Maureen Chao :finger::finger:

[Trichromatic]

It would be hypocrisy if we pick on someone like chao, but yet do it amongst ourselves. They are both wrong, and its not an excuse Unless, chao meant it sexually which I doubt

It's Indians who are more obsessed with skin color and many people relate dark complexion to inferiority especially in case of females. We don't see any demands for changing this mindset.

[Guest Gunner]

But it's true :dontknow:

[ravishingravi]

One of the Tamilian commenters on the TOI board offers a candid perspective on Margaret Chao's remarks: S Thangavelu (chennai) 2 hrs ago (09:35 PM) I am a tamilian and don't take offence at tis, this is a fact, majority of our brothers are dark, and as far as dirt and hygine goes we are perhaps last in the world, so many of my tamil friends (non brahamnis) don' take shower daily remeber chennais is a humid place and you sweat a lot here, ideally 2 showers a day are a minimum. if someone calls us dirty and unkempt there is a point in it. Also, look at chennai when it rains heavily, the underground sewage is all over the place making it hella of a place. We should be ashamed of our selves and improve.

[DomainK]

But I thought white women liked tan.:dontknow:

[IKnowU]

But I thought white women liked tan.:dontknow:

We are the ones going around calling racism though, when you have a million ads every day on Indian TV showing fair and lovely cream, powder, soap that whitens your skin. Its the ideology that lighter skin is better. The white race does 'tanning' to get a complexion so they dont look like albinos. Contradiction? :dontknow:

[Trichromatic]

We are the ones going around calling racism though, when you have a million ads every day on Indian TV showing fair and lovely cream, powder, soap that whitens your skin. Its the ideology that lighter skin is better. The white race does 'tanning' to get a complexion so they dont look like albinos. Contradiction? :dontknow:

CHENNAI: The comments made by Maureen Chao, a Vice Consul in the US Consulate in Chennai, about Tamils met with mixed reactions from pro-Tamil groups and members of the public on Saturday. While there was consensus that the diplomat’s comments were extremely inappropriate, opinion was divided over whether they may have actually been racist. Senior officials of the SRM University, where Chao made the remarks in question on Friday, brushed aside the possible racist nature of Chao’s words. “We have watched the tape of her speech several times. What she meant to say has been misunderstood. The confusion has risen because some have linked the word ‘dirty’ with her mention of Tamilians. She was infact talking about her own skin,” said SRM University Provost M Ponnavaiko. “How does it affect us if she calls us ‘black’?” he asked. “It is the natural colour of the Tamil people. Do we not call Africans black and westerners white? What is wrong with that?” Ponnavaiko asked. Political groups and social organisations were less generous and criticised Chao’s remarks. “This is only proof that the US administration and its representatives carry a rotten outlook towards India and Indians. The Vice Consul’s comments amount to outright racial bias. The comments have to be condemned and she has to be chastised,” said CPM state secretary G Ramakrishnan. He added that the matter may not warrant recall of the diplomat. The MDMK, which is staunchly pro-Tamil, too tread a fine line. “She has to come forward and explain what she meant when she said those things. It is up to the US Consulate and the diplomat in question to clear the air over the matter,” said MDMK spokesperson G Nanmaran. There were even voices that call for the strictest action against Chao. “Action should be taken against her according to the strictest of US laws on racism. How can the US claim to stand against the abuse of Tamils if it’s representatives go around making statements like this,” said Thirumurugan of the My 17 Movement. But public reaction was at best lukewarm to the statement. “I don’t think the comments were racist. But they were terribly inappropriate and it wasn’t a good idea to say such things. What I have a problem with is the stereotyping of Tamils as dark-skinned. That is just not true,” said Anand Kumar, an IT professional. “If we had to behave like Chao, we would be referring to Americans as North Indians just because they are lighter skinned. We don’t do that,” he said.

[Pioneer]

The thread name sounds like the title of a really bad porno

[The Dark Horse]

But it's true :dontknow:

Dark- yes(that too cant be said for all), Dirty- no.