FOBS and 'Freshies'..My pet peeve! - Page 2

Originally posted by: raksha.l

Evee,I agree with you on most of your points...

Accent matters Evee, but only in the proffessional set ups..Not when you were cassually chatting and looking down upon someone who doesnt speak in a certain accent, is gross..And that's what some ABCDs do..

Loong time no see Evee..How are you?? 🤗

luv,
Raksha

Exactly!!

Why should a college student jibe at a fellow classmate for his/her accent.....Agreed professors need to speak in a manner that can be understood by everyone,but why taunt students??

Indira Nooyi has said that when she tried to be what she was not(i.e. when she played to the gallery by faking an accent and dressing up in clothes she wasnt comfortable in),she was refused work...Then a friend told her to be herself,she went to her next interview in a saree,and clinched the job...and today she's PEPSI's CEO👏

My cousin brother has been in the US for 7 years,he is making millions,and he didnt have to resort to modulating his accent to rake moolah....Thus I find it strange,when people make the accent the sine qua non of success😕

Oh Buffie,Accent is certainly not the least of the requirements to reach up the corporate ladder..Have you ever heard how Lakshmi Mitthal speaks???The man whose property is more than all the Ambanis,Vipros,Tatas ecetera put together, he cant speak proper English??? 😲 ...

Bohot na insafi hai.. 😔

Originally posted by: Buffie

so,lets mull a few questions over...

a)your general opinion on this issue

see below

b)Why does accent command paramount attention,even the Silicon Valley doesnt give as much importance to accent as much it does to the brains??I guess its this patronizing attitude and barbed comments that lead Indians to faking an accent,which sounds so awful when they are back in India(people who have lived in the US for a meagre 6 months have such a heavy twang,that it seems preposterous🤢)

There is a lot of difference in the work environments in both the situations, In India the work environment is put your head down, do work, you will not be bothered much, In US, you need to be able to communicate, if you have a problem understanding a problem, meeting a deadline, come to the manager, dont just spend days trying to figure out something you lost on conversation, Your manager is more of your friend, establish the communication links, many a times you have a problem communicating with the language you have, it is generally British English, when you try to mix with the culture, if you catch a accent, that is ok

I have lost so many intelligent people lose their jobs, judt b'cos they could not communicate

c)Indians arent doing UK and US a favour by working there,as reiterating,outsourcing has proven mutually beneficiary to both parties..Thus why this helluva disdain and hauteur??

correction, Indians do not have the same opportunity in India, that they get in UK/US, besides the IT world, if they had, they would not have left the homeland

d)When the "Indian Americans" and POI(people of indian origin) in Britain can disesteem immigrants using derogatory words such as Freshies and "Fresh of the Boats",then why blame the newly immigrated indians for retreating into a shell,afterall why would they want to mingle,when they are made the butt of ridicule and scorn??

See below

e)Thus besides havig to confront the racist slurs mouthed by some goras,these people also have to put up with the name calling by other desis

This is more of a initiation

Correct me if I'm wrong,but this is the general impression I've formed after having acquainted myself to a few second and third generation desis,and after having heard this word used in a rather aspersive vein...I would also like to know the other side of the story,the side which I am not seeing,the other side of the coin😃

There is far more to this than what meets the eye, I used to hold the same POV as you

Ok, since no-one has come from the other side of this, let me be a advocate 😉

Most of the kids have that accent just due to habitat, there is a kid I know, who is 6 year old and he has such a thick accent, but I know it is more due to surrounding than what he is taught, as he grows up, he is going to carry the accent. Now most of these kids are straight A students, plus they make an effort to learn the Indian culture, some take up classical Indian dances, some take up literature study, some take up sports and these kids are pushed really hard by their "FOB" parents. By the time he/she is just getting a hang of the whole American/British culture he gets to college. Many a times these kids pay for their own schooling to get out of school, by working off campus etc.

When this kid gets to college, he is faced with a FOB who has the same accent his parents, is very preachy, has no life outside of the books and just does the school work 24x7 and displaces that kid who has worked so hard to assimilate with the culture here.

No wonder there is some dislike there

I know I had a strong dislike for people who came freshly out of the subcontinent, bluffed on their resume, went out got a job,bought a BMW as soon as they got a job, at the first sign of trouble parked their cars at the airport and flew back to mommies home.

Making life difficult for rest of the people from the subcontinent to face the problems here

Just a POV from the other side as far as I know

LOL Buffie.

ABCD and FOB - both represent terms that overly generalize and seggregate people of foreign orgin / heritage. ( & I don't support them)
So-called FOBs sometimes smell, of Indian food mainly 🤢 . I used to notice that the most in a public transport. It is not as if they don't shower 😆😆.
Accent sometimes matters, believe me or not, and I don;t think one has to acquire an american / british accent (fear of sounding fake exists in that). However, one must learn to / not to enunciate certain syllables. One must learn to slow down while speaking, so that one can make better sense. Yes, sometimes, it hurts my ears to hear the so-called FOBs (oops sorry friends, i did not coin the term) trying to order a subway sandwitch.
One should not be harsh about their fashion sense / lack of it, because I know several girls from Sophias, Bombay, who are wayyyy hipper than the entire midwestern part of the USA. Fashion is all relative.
Often times, it looks like some of the so-called ABCDs (sorry friends, i did not coin that term either) are merely inspired by bollywood anyway! They can afford to buy those kind of clothes, those pieces of accessories and make up. The difference between a so-called "ABCD" and a so-called "FOB" is that the former may have everything served on a platter, while the other one is struggling to get a platter ready for their children 😉 . The latter will go through a normal time and course of learning the american / other way of life.

Now something funny!
Once someone said to me "Hey, I knew you'd be an ABCD". I said "I am not an ABCD". Then she said, "wow, but you don;t look like an FOB either! "
To that I said,
"That's because I am just a CD" 😆
I have several ABCD friends and many FOBs too 😆😆 (aah , i hate the terms) . All of them are basically CDs, and they all rock 😆 😆

CDs is more like it, QT.. 😆

Originally posted by: raksha.l

Yeah, ABCD is American Born Confused Desi 😆

What is so amusing about ABCD? It is as derogatory as PIGS (Poor Indian Graduates). The new immigrants have certaing notion about second and third generation Indians in US and vice versa. The hard feelings are mutual😛.

I will add more to this debate if this stays in first page when I return😊.

Originally posted by: Maya_M

What is so amusing about ABCD? It is as derogatory as PIGS (Poor Indian Graduates). The new immigrants have certaing notion about second and third generation Indians in US and vice versa. The hard feelings are mutual😛.

I will add more to this debate if this stays in first page when I return😊.

Oooops, Mayaji, I guess my misplaced smiley offended you...I have nothing against American Desis, and rest assured, I am not the one who coined the term...I know that all the American born desis are not the same...I myself know umpteen number of teenagers whose priorities are in place..

FOBS and "Freshies"..My pet peeve

This reminds me of another post in DM about what we dislike about other Indians and their nuances.!!!!!

I was not born in India and my parents immigrated out of India over 50 years ago and I don't think desis belittle fellow desi's or FOB's everywhere. Infact once they get to know each other they co exist very well..

Originally posted by: Buffie

a)your general opinion on this issue

I feel this is about haves and have nots. It exists in India too amongst diff socio economic classes and cities.

b)Why does accent command paramount attention,even the Silicon Valley doesnt give as much importance to accent as much it does to the brains??I guess its this patronizing attitude and barbed comments that lead Indians to faking an accent,which sounds so awful when they are back in India(people who have lived in the US for a meagre 6 months have such a heavy twang,that it seems preposterous🤢)

I have worked with few IT grads from India and sometimes it is very hard to understand them. They write better then they speak and every immigrant needs to "neutralise" their accent to make it coherent. But some take it too far and pronounce "water" as vaater.

It is natural to pick up the accent after few years and it cannot be helped even though it may seem preposterous to ppl back home.

c)Indians arent doing UK and US a favour by working there,as reiterating,outsourcing has proven mutually beneficiary to both parties..Thus why this helluva disdain and hauteur??

Spending power and standard of living. Generaly POI abroad pay more attention to cleanliness and personal hygiene and are not obsessed with saving a buck . Ppl don't spit, throw trash and are more aware about other considerations. Having acquired good social habits makes one seem hauteur.

d)When the "Indian Americans" and POI(people of indian origin) in Britain can disesteem immigrants using derogatory words such as Freshies and "Fresh of the Boats",then why blame the newly immigrated indians for retreating into a shell,afterall why would they want to mingle,when they are made the butt of ridicule and scorn??

When Indra Nooyi used hand analogy and middle finger gesture when addressing Columbia Uni Business school in 2005, it was considered disrespectful and she issued an apology.

All immigtants have to change and adapt to the new culture and environment. I had a neighbour, highly educated fellow from Chennai and he walked out of his house to smoke or go for a walk in his sleeveless undershirt, dhoti/lungi and chappals in cool weather.!!!!😕 Needless to say what white neighbours were mouthing..

e)Thus besides havig to confront the racist slurs mouthed by some goras,these people also have to put up with the name calling by other desis

Correct me if I'm wrong,but this is the general impression I've formed after having acquainted myself to a few second and third generation desis,and after having heard this word used in a rather aspersive vein...I would also like to know the other side of the story,the side which I am not seeing,the other side of the coin😃

Generally common ground is all that is needed to form bond or likeness. IF is a good example..😃

everyone here is tagged into special groups and what so not.

I really don't know what to comment on when it comes to ABCD and FOBS. they should just be themselves.

Originally posted by: mermaid_QT

LOL Buffie.

<br>

<br>ABCD and FOB - <span>both represent terms that overly generalize and seggregate people of foreign orgin / heritage.

( & I don't support them)</span><br>So-called FOBs <span>sometimes</span> smell, of Indian food mainly 🤢 . I used to notice that the most in a <span>public transport</span>. It is not as if they don't shower 😆😆.

<br>Accent sometimes matters, believe me or not, and I don;t think one has to acquire an american / british accent (<span>fear of sounding fake exists in that)</span>. However, one must learn to / not to enunciate certain syllables. One must learn to slow down while speaking, so that one can make better sense. Yes, sometimes, it hurts my ears to hear the <span>so-called</span> FOBs (<span>oops sorry friends, i did not coin the term</span>) trying to order a subway sandwitch.

<br>One should not be harsh about their fashion sense / lack of it, because I know several girls from Sophias, <span>Bombay</span>, who are wayyyy <span>hipper </span>than the entire midwestern part of the USA. Fashion is all relative.

<br>Often times, it looks like some of the <span>so-called</span> ABCDs (<span>sorry friends, i did not coin that term either</span>) are merely inspired by bollywood anyway! They can afford to buy those kind of clothes, those pieces of accessories and make up. The difference between a so-called "ABCD" and a so-called "FOB" is that the former may have everything served on a platter, while the other one is struggling to get a platter ready for their children 😉 . <span>The latter will go through a normal time and course of learning the american / other way of life.

</span><br>

<br>Now something funny!

<br>Once someone said to me "Hey, I knew you'd be an ABCD". I said "I am not an ABCD". Then she said, "wow, but you don;t look like an FOB either! " <br>To that I said,<br>"That's because I am just a CD" 😆

<br>I have several ABCD friends and many FOBs too 😆😆 (aah , i hate the terms) . All of them are basically CDs, and they all rock 😆 😆

😆 this post is damn old 😆