Brainfade Posted August 14, 2011 Posted August 14, 2011 How many times have you heard someone make fun of a somali child? I can answer truthfully for myself none. How many times have you heard the tamils are dark/black comment? I have heard it plenty of times and to top it all sometimes to me thinking I am not tamil based on my appearance and language skills. In case 1 everyone knows it is a booboo, in case 2 many might think it is just national humour. While both adjectives can be offensive, I took more objection to the "dirty" one. What bothers me the most is the crassness, the ignorance and the sheer arrogance of a person who - given her position - should know better. It wouldn't bother me if some punk on the street said it. With her job comes a certain responsibility to know and say the right things - and she failed.
Rajiv Posted August 14, 2011 Posted August 14, 2011 I am surprised about Switzerland, lived there for 2 years and never had any racial issues.
Prakat Posted August 15, 2011 Posted August 15, 2011 Maybe her transfer application in June was rejected and she decided to take matters in her own hands.
The Dark Horse Posted August 15, 2011 Posted August 15, 2011 While both adjectives can be offensive, I took more objection to the "dirty" one. What bothers me the most is the crassness, the ignorance and the sheer arrogance of a person who - given her position - should know better. It wouldn't bother me if some punk on the street said it. With her job comes a certain responsibility to know and say the right things - and she failed. ++
b555 Posted August 15, 2011 Posted August 15, 2011 I know but she is chao and mean :finger: :cantstop:
achilles Posted August 15, 2011 Posted August 15, 2011 Despicable! What's worse is that US has still not apologized, neither has the person in question. I hate this superiority complex. If you weren't ashamed while making a mistake, why are you ashamed while apologizing?
Trichromatic Posted August 15, 2011 Posted August 15, 2011 Despicable! What's worse is that US has still not apologized, neither has the person in question. I hate this superiority complex. If you weren't ashamed while making a mistake, why are you ashamed while apologizing? Some of the news sites report that the person regrets her remarks, apologises for Tamil remark etc. Some people demanded that diplomat should apologise and quit.
achilles Posted August 15, 2011 Posted August 15, 2011 ^ Quitting is a bit extreme. If she has apologized, we must accept it and let it go. Lets hope she has, coz she chose the worst time to rile up people.
StatsRock Posted August 15, 2011 Posted August 15, 2011 If she had made that statement in california, LA will be burning now. It is a tragedy there are people here defending her statement. If she had aired it on US television, the entire nation would have condemned her and got a public apology.
Guest Gunner Posted August 15, 2011 Posted August 15, 2011 If she had made that statement in california, LA will be burning now. It is a tragedy there are people here defending her statement. If she had aired it on US television, the entire nation would have condemned her and got a public apology. LOL! No one defended her statement.
Guest Gunner Posted August 15, 2011 Posted August 15, 2011 While both adjectives can be offensive, I took more objection to the "dirty" one. What bothers me the most is the crassness, the ignorance and the sheer arrogance of a person who - given her position - should know better. It wouldn't bother me if some punk on the street said it. With her job comes a certain responsibility to know and say the right things - and she failed. Fair enough, you are correct on the fact that her position demands better.
DomainK Posted August 15, 2011 Posted August 15, 2011 Sorry to say, but the behaviour by ICFers on this thread leaves me saddened. It doesn't matter if Indians are racist or if we are biased in the favour of those with fair skin. That doesn't absolve Maureen Chao of her crime. I don't know why people bring that up. What kind of horrible defensive statements are those. She is a Vice Consul at the Chennai Consulate. A representative of the US government. She absolutely, even as a jest ( which if it was, is in very bad taste) cannot pass of these kind of comments. She represents the US government here, and they should apologize to the Tamil people. India should just ask her to pack her bags, and leave the country within 24 hours. Declare her a persona non grata. Imagine, an Indian diplomat going to some school in Alabama and saying that his long road trip from Las Vegas to SF in his student days made his skin dark and dirty as the Black Americans. What kind of a reaction would it evoke? He wouldn't be spared. Civil rights groups in the US might even press charges against him for hate speech and what not. :D One can understand if your common Betty or Veronica said something like this in a pool side party in Chennai. But not a representative of the government while visiting a college in official capacity. ++ Good post, as usual.
NareshK Posted August 15, 2011 Posted August 15, 2011 Why do we care so much what some white lady, even if she is a diplomat has to say about Tamilians or someone else ? By discussing this topic, we are giving undue attention and more importance to the rubbish she said. Her word is not gospel so why cant we just brush it off as the opinion of another ignorant moron, which she clearly is.
achilles Posted August 15, 2011 Posted August 15, 2011 No we don't. We need a society where everyone's difference is respected. Agreed.
Brainfade Posted August 15, 2011 Posted August 15, 2011 Why do we care so much what some white lady' date=' even if she is a diplomat has to say about Tamilians or someone else ? By discussing this topic, we are giving undue attention and more importance to the rubbish she said. Her word is not gospel so why cant we just brush it off as the[b'] opinion of another ignorant moron, which she clearly is. Which, in turn, means that she should not be a ranking diplomat. With that privilege comes a big responsibility.
DomainK Posted August 15, 2011 Posted August 15, 2011 Why do we care so much what some white lady' date=' even if she is a diplomat has to say about Tamilians or someone else ? By discussing this topic, we are giving undue attention and more importance to the rubbish she said. Her word is not gospel so why cant we just brush it off as the opinion of another ignorant moron, which she clearly is.[/quote'] She is not just another white lady. She holds an important office, represents a big country here in India. Her statements have significance. Her thought process and her opinion can have an impact. She is part of a system that affects both countries and she is supposed to think and act in the interest of both countries. If she makes a racist comment, it does make a difference.
pinkfreud Posted August 16, 2011 Posted August 16, 2011 so how exactly is this different from people calling Tendulkar a midget and hiding behind the "ohh he short" excuse ? FFS. Calling someone a 'midget' doesn't constitute racism. As for Chao- she pretty much crossed the line when she brought up the whole skin colour deal. It kind of indicated that dark skinned people = dirty folks. Going by that logic then I would've been a dutty mofo if I was born a dark skinned Mallu regardless of my level of hygiene.
Guest Gunner Posted August 16, 2011 Posted August 16, 2011 FFS. Calling someone a 'midget' doesn't constitute racism. As for Chao- she pretty much crossed the line when she brought up the whole skin colour deal. It kind of indicated that dark skinned people = dirty folks. Going by that logic then I would've been a dutty mofo if I was born a dark skinned Mallu regardless of my level of hygiene. Dark = dirty is the oldest American racial slur. They would ask the African American people if they had become black since they don't shower. Such taunts were faced by the African American people for decades.
nballa Posted August 17, 2011 Posted August 17, 2011 she meant dirty, dark like a tamilian guys. you guys are missing the comma and so did the reporter. sensational journalism.
pinkfreud Posted August 17, 2011 Posted August 17, 2011 she meant dirty' date=' dark like a tamilian guys. [b']you guys are missing the comma and so did the reporter. sensational journalism. Where's the comma? And even if there was one, it wouldn't have made this issue any less of a bomb waiting to explode. This is exactly vaat she said: "I was on a 24-hour 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" Either way, it's somewhat xenophobic. She could've talked about her 'dirty and dark skin' without likening it to an ethnic group of any kind. That's where it all went haywire. Nothing 'sensationalist' about the reporting. If opinions are anything to go by, take a few minutes off to read reader comments regarding this issue on some American daily websites. There's no dearth of the 'so what, they really do smell foul' mindset on there.
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