Who's the FAIREST of 'em all? INDIANS cannot LECTURE

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Posted: 12 years ago

Opinion

Who's the fairest of 'em all?

Why the Indians are in no position to lecture Americans over racism and an unabashed partiality for color white

By Aijaz Zaka Syed

They say beauty lies in the eyes of the beholder. If only it were that simple. Plato, to whom the much exploited pearl of wisdom is attributed, suggested "beholding beauty with the eye of the mind" and cautioned against falling for the physical aspect or mere "images of beauty."

The recent crowning of a 'dark-skinned' American of Indian origin and the instantaneous and far from beautiful response it has generated on the Net and in media--both conventional and new-age kind-has Indians in America and back home fuming and rightly outraged.

Within minutes of Nina Davuluri's anointment as the new Miss America, Twitter went into a tailspin with many of the famously informed Americans expressing disgust and outrage in various degrees over a dark "Arab" and "Muslim" being chosen for the honor. Some called her Miss Al Qaida. Others trashed her as Miss Terrorist. Still others taunted her for the color of her skin.

The garden-variety racist barbs directed against Ms Davuluri, ranging from the old-fashioned mistrust of all foreigners to Islamophobic bilge, are hardly new and unprecedented. In 2010, there was a similar row when Rima Fakih became the first ever Arab and Muslim woman to win the Miss USA title. The winsome Ms Fakih, who belying her lithe frame trained to be a professional wrestler, was called 'Miss Hezbollah' because of her Lebanese roots.

The Arabs, Asians and other colored fellow travelers have routinely faced the hostility in America and elsewhere in the West although often it is only a tiny fringe that demonstrates such bigotry. The poor Sikhs, because of their beards and turbans, are often mistaken for Arabs and Muslims and paid a heavy price in the post 9/11 chaos.

Over the weekend, a Sikh professor, who wrote a New York Times op-ed last year about hate crimes against American Sikhs, was attacked by a group of teens in New York. Prabhjot Singh, who teaches at the prestigious Columbia University and sports a flowing beard and a handsome turban, was assaulted in upper Manhattan amidst calls of 'Get Osama.'

Reacting to all the sweetness and light seen over Davuluri's selection, Indian American standup comedian Aasif Mandvi, who is a big hit on Jon Stewart's Daily Show, said, "You took this county away from the Indians, and now a different group of Indians is taking it back!"

But jokes apart, all said and done you cannot look past the fact that this is the country that has twice elected a black president with a Kenyan Muslim father. America has certainly come a long way since the days of African American slavery and near total elimination of redIndians or the Native Americans--the original inhabitants of the land of plenty.

As President Barack Obama reminded in his UN address this week, this is after all a country where blacks not long ago weren't even allowed to vote or share the same space with the whites. In any case, when you are being sold and bought like cattle, exercising your democratic right would be the last thing on your mind.

Today, if a second generation woman of Indian or Arab ancestry can get to wear the beauty crown--shallow and superficial as these contests and notions of beauty are--the Americans can truly celebrate and take pride in the fact. Perhaps, as they say, it can only happen in America.

This may be why Nina Davuluri, who traces her roots to Andhra Pradesh, hasn't let all the bitterness and bickering touch her poise and dignity. The same cannot be said of all the socialites, pundits and commenterati back home in India though.

There has been much righteous outrage in the Indian media over the xenophobic rants against 'our girl,' forgetting our own hopeless, perpetual preoccupation with color white and what is considered 'fair and lovely.'

Indeed, our whole concept of beauty begins and ends with 'fairness' and melanin quotient in our skin. Just glance through some of those matrimonial adverts; everyone wants a fair and beautiful bride. And those who are stuck with a darker shade are hawked by their anxious families as 'wheatish', gifting a whole new word to the English language.

Perhaps no country spends as much as we Indians do to get a fairer and lighter skin-the lighter the better. Indeed, it's a billion rupee industry with top sportsmen and Bollywood stars, fairness fascists of them all, shamelessly selling fairness creams and lotions. Even Shahrukh Khan, the reigning superstar known for his dark looks and a razor-sharp mind, endorses one such magical potion for instant fairness and looks rather ludicrous doing it.

I wonder what would have been the chances of the 'Andhra girl' making it to the top of the beauty pageants in the fairness-obsessed land of her ancestors. The Hindu newspaper offered an answer in its editorial, "In a country where a multi-million rupee cosmetic industry thrives on promises of lightening a woman's skin color in 10, 20 or 30 days, it is fair to say that the dark complexioned 24-year-old wouldn't have stood a chance. The truth is, the Indian idea of beauty is not very different from the imagined ideal of 'Miss America' that those racist hate-tweeters in the US hold dear: white or nothing."

So we aren't exactly qualified to lecture the Americans-at least not on this count. But it is not just the Indians who suffer from this shallow and emasculating notion of beauty. Increasingly, the color white is being seen as a virtue and an extraordinary blessing by many societies across Asia and elsewhere.

A Lebanese colleague of mine, who takes pride in her good looks and her creamy white skin, snorted when she saw Davuluri's picture splashed on newspaper front pages. "She is not at all pretty! How could they choose her as Miss America?" she demanded.

In the Middle East, whiteness of skin has acquired the status of an extraordinary, divine qualification that automatically opens doors for you wherever you go--in terms of career and social mobility whatever your qualifications and experience. Often, being born in the northern hemisphere or carrying a passport or degree from those blessed lands would not just land you a plump job, it actually determines your pay, perks and place in organizational hierarchy. There is a stark gulf between what Westerners get paid and what is offered to the less equal from the Third world.

"Do you have a Western passport or degree--you know from the US, Canada, Europe or Australia?" a prospective employer, who heads a big public sector oil company in Abu Dhabi sympathetically asked me a couple of years ago. "Then we could have doubled your package."

Few organizations in the region believe in ensuring 'equal opportunities'. This despite the fact that the faith that we routinely invoke celebrates and emphasizes equality and brotherhood of men like no other religion does.

In his historic last sermon, the Prophet, peace be upon him, proclaimed: "All mankind is from Adam and Eve; an Arab has no superiority over a non-Arab nor a non-Arab has any superiority over an Arab. A white (man) has no superiority over a black (man) nor a black (man) has any superiority over a white one except by piety and good deeds."

It was this liberating message and spirit of the faith that once won it hearts and minds around the world and brought millions to its fold. How many of us live and practice it today though? Truth be told, from Asia to Middle East to Americas, there is a bit of a racist and fairness fascist in all of us.

*Aijaz Zaka Syed is a commentator on the Middle East and South Asia. Email: aijaz.syed@hotmail.com

Source: http://www.kashmirtimes.com/newsdet.aspx?q=23190

Edited by LoveProfusion - 12 years ago

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DonnaHarvey

@DonnaHarvey

Sparkler

+ 2

Posted: 12 years ago

I understand that we are a prejudiced bunch. That we inflict upon our own people what we receive from our oppressors. But this is an institution of discrimination we are talking about. We need not trivialize Miss Nina's case as one of isolated occurrence. We need not be apologetic for the people who are more privileged that we will ever be, however wealthy. We do not have the luxury to put racism at the backburner.

The color of our skin, our last name, our features will defy us. We have and will continue to face racism as one people. Yes, we are colorist amongst our own selves but that does not excuse what we face as a race. What puts me off about this article is making excuses such as President Obama's election to debunk an entire (very evident) institution of racism. Were you in the thick of it all during the election? Because I was. Have you forgotten how many times Obama was called an angry black man? How many times his partiality toward the single (black) mothers was declared dangerous? How many times other forms of discrimination (debilitating misogyny, homophobia, racism) was brought into play? The newscast refused to call him anything but Barack HUSSAIN Obama even though that is not his name. Do you remember how many times his nationality was called into question? How many times he was called a muslim? An Arab apologist? A terrorist even?

So no, I refuse to gulp this incident as a small nothing and rejoice in our victories. Colored girls around the world know better than to shut up. Colored boys know better than not to fear the cops. The world still hates us, it is only if we want to believe it or not.

Here is something to think about(Source: crackjuice)

on the issue of racism, this is a great illustration.

minority racism towards white people is at most an inconvenience. a singular experience where their race works against them. a truly escapable type of experience because after it, they return to a society tilted in their favor. in fact, even during the experience, they never leave it. they never lose the advantage.

white racism towards minorities is systematic and destructive. we get jailed, shot dead, have our rights ignored, our rights slashed, neighborhoods targeted, job opportunities decreased, healthcare options constrained and more. all these things work together to create a understandable hatred towards whites. a hatred born out of pain, experience, oppression and disenfranchisement. a hatred that makes way more sense than white racism which is born out ignorance. a hatred that is fueled by the knowledge that whites, even those who swear to not be racist, by their actions and words perpetuate the system of oppression. their words of solidarity ring hallow.

i for one have never trusted easily but white people have a even harder time gaining my trust. very very few do. what's most disheartening is when you extend that trust only to be betrayed. i had that happen to me a few months ago. that cut was deep but it was a learning experience. 99.99999% of whites are programmed to hate us. that's just the truth.

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441597

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Posted: 12 years ago

Copy-posting my comment from the "Miss America 2014" thread:

Please stop the nonsense that "Indians are racists because they prefer fair colour blah blah blah". In India, Fair and Dark ain't different "races". Bleh.
Racism is a serious issue. It means discrimination as a PERSON on the basis of race. Denying social oppurtunities because of your skin colour. Denying entry at a restaurant because of your skin colour. Being denied basic humanitarian respect because of your race, a la 1780-1950s USA. THAT is racism. Not "dark skinned isn't so beautiful as fair skin". Seriously, ignorance pees me off.

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Mahadevan Venkitaraman

@maha2us

Voyager

Posted: 11 years ago

What is interesting in this World is anyone can say anything to show that he/she is superior to another person and also show that he/she is 'holier than thou.' The article said by the journalist is of that type only. And unfortunately anyone can find some points to justify his/her position.

But whatever could be said, there has been serious issue of racism in the Western World in which colored people were put down by whites in many ways. In this modern world, white person of European origin believes he is always superior. Once the modern age started with renaissance, the progress of a country is determined based on the Western yardstick. And because every nation has accepted that if that country is to be counted they have to play the game in Western way, the whites feel they are inherently superior. And so they have strong racist nature in their minds. Little are they believing the World is going towards destruction unless some drastic steps are done. As what we find now is 80% of wealth is concentrated on 20% of white population. Because America is wealthy, they always get people to write for their country.

Whatever be the discrimination anyone has to face, those people who have determination, grit, enterprising nature and hardworking nature always make it to the top and this applies even to the people in downtrodden positions and it applies to those who are discriminated because of the racism also. Those people will be least bothered about what others think about them because they know God is not racist. They look at the position they are in as opportunity.

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Crux88

@Crux88

Beginner

Posted: 11 years ago

Originally posted by: krystal_watz
Copy-posting my comment from the "Miss America 2014" thread:

Please stop the nonsense that "Indians are racists because they prefer fair colour blah blah blah". In India, Fair and Dark ain't different "races". Bleh.
Racism is a serious issue. It means discrimination as a PERSON on the basis of race. Denying social oppurtunities because of your skin colour. Denying entry at a restaurant because of your skin colour. Being denied basic humanitarian respect because of your race, a la 1780-1950s USA. THAT is racism. Not "dark skinned isn't so beautiful as fair skin". Seriously, ignorance pees me off.

Right. Racism is not limited to the colour of skin alone. If any one believes that it is then we are trivialising the issue.

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chucknorris

@chucknorris

Dazzler

Posted: 11 years ago

Originally posted by: maha2us
What is interesting in this World is anyone can say anything to show that he/she is superior to another person and also show that he/she is 'holier than thou.' The article said by the journalist is of that type only. And unfortunately anyone can find some points to justify his/her position.
But whatever could be said, there has been serious issue of racism in the Western World in which colored people were put down by whites in many ways. In this modern world, white person of European origin believes he is always superior. Once the modern age started with renaissance, the progress of a country is determined based on the Western yardstick. And because every nation has accepted that if that country is to be counted they have to play the game in Western way, the whites feel they are inherently superior. And so they have strong racist nature in their minds. Little are they believing the World is going towards destruction unless some drastic steps are done. As what we find now is 80% of wealth is concentrated on 20% of white population. Because America is wealthy, they always get people to write for their country.

Whatever be the discrimination anyone has to face, those people who have determination, grit, enterprising nature and hardworking nature always make it to the top and this applies even to the people in downtrodden positions and it applies to those who are discriminated because of the racism also. Those people will be least bothered about what others think about them because they know God is not racist. They look at the position they are in as opportunity.

Everything in this world is measured by a western yard stick. Even our currencies are valued in terms of dollar or euro even though its killing our people with inflation. When Saddam tried to move away from the dollar, he was silenced. When Gaddafi tried to do the same by moving to gold dinar, he was silenced. Is this not institutionalized racism ? What about the cultural imperialism of west and their ever intrusive MNCs/corporations ? Now we should even learn from them what racism is and isn't. Oh and here's their idea of what "freedom" and "liberty" means:

"I think if the Iranian people had freedom, they would wear jeans, listen to Western music, and have free

elections," Mr. Netanyahu said.

Read more: http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2013/oct/7/iranians-mock-israel-netanyahu-jeans-comment/#ixzz2j4NH5Sg4

I'm simply sick and tired of western/pro western colonized minds/pseudo scholars telling others how they should lead their lives.

America has more blood on its hand than any nation in this world. They also have the biggest prison population, most of whom are blacks and hispanics. Who do you think is the target of FBI's surveillance activities ? Muslims and Arabs. It's hardly a paradise. Obama being elected twice means jackshit. The guy is bought and paid for by the wall street.

Edited by silverbug - 11 years ago

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Who's the FAIREST of 'em all? INDIANS cannot LECTURE

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