There is a common belief on Indian and South Asian-oriented subs that American culture and society does not take racism and discrimination against South Asians as seriously as racism against African-Americans, Latinos, and East Asians, or that it is even encouraged sometimes. Does that belief have some truth in it in real life?
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None that I’ve ever noticed. I doubt most Americans would know what South Asia means.
This isn’t true in my experience. There are simply far fewer South Asians than there are of some other ethnic groups so issues don’t come up as often to be addressed.
No, I don’t think it is more tolerated. That being said, I also think Asian advocacy in general does not have nearly as strong a voice as Black of Hispanic advocacy. Either from within the media establishment or in politics.
Racism is generally frowned upon period.
Indians and Asians are treated a bit differently by many people when it comes to racism because they are often very *successful* so people don’t feel the same urgency about it, not that it is condoned or tolerated.
As a general rule, racism or persecution of any group considered a minority in the USA is socially unacceptable and not condoned.
And before anyone brings up a personal anecdote or any form of “you are wrong, for example this one time…”, I do not mean that individuals or small groups can’t be racist or ignorant, but society as a whole, it is not accepted.
No. Racism of any kind isn’t more tolerated then the next. That doesn’t mean that there aren’t people out there that will treat some races of people differently then others.
>that American culture and society does not take racism and discrimination against South Asians as seriously as racism against African-Americans, Latinos, and East Asians
I can see why they may believe that though I imagine it has to do with speaking out about it. From what I’ve seen, Indian and Middle Eastern communities don’t speak out about such things as often as other races of people, so you don’t normally hear about it. Doesn’t help that Middle Eastern people tend to stay with those of the same race so only those within their sub-culture community would hear about such acts, that and they have a smaller population number in America.
You hear more about racism against Black, Latino / Hispanic and East Asian’s for 2 reasons. Black people have the highest rate of being victims of hate crimes in America, followed by White people, then Hispanic / Latino people (when based on race). Anti-Asian hate is the 4th. Anti-Middle Eastern (or South Asian) hate crimes are among the lowest next to Anti-Asian crimes which is why you don’t hear about them as much.
We are hearing more about Anti-Asian crimes because they have increased over the last 2 years due to COVID blaming. Those crimes have seen spikes in major cities (LA and NYC) which have higher media presence and reports on such acts. Most cities in America actually haven’t reported an increase or any Anti-Asian hate crimes in the last 2 years despite this spike in select cities.
[https://crime-data-explorer.fr.cloud.gov/pages/explorer/crime/hate-crime](https://crime-data-explorer.fr.cloud.gov/pages/explorer/crime/hate-crime)
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Still, it’s a problem, but I wouldn’t say racism is tolerated more then others, unless you’re a racist yourself.
Indian and South Asian oriented subs seem to think Americans spend significantly more time thinking about them than we actually do.
Like, why would any form of racism be actively, openly encouraged? And if there were any acceptable groups to be racist towards, why would it be you guys?
No form of racism is condoned or encouraged by the general public.
I like to think no racism is tolerated in the US.
Pretty simple, either someone is being racist or they aren’t. People generally aren’t differentiating between various ethnic backgrounds.
I live in an area with a lot of Indian, South Asian, etc. people and work alongside a lot of people from those backgrounds. I’d say that the type of racism people from those backgrounds experience is very different. If you’re a black man, you’re worried about being in the presence of the police — that generally isn’t a big concern for Indian people. It’s usually more subtle, and usually older generations that grew up ignorant of people from that part of the world apart from what they saw on Johnny Quest and Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom. It’s still thankfully very rare.
I think people are generally less aware or able to spot that type of racism unless they deal with it regularly. I don’t think it is more accepted per say, but it isn’t confronted as much.
I think the only truth to this is that it’s not common or tolerated for most so it may be taken less seriously at the first hint than say racism against black people which they know exists among certain people in the US in a way they’re watching for.
The only caveat I would say is some experiences I’ve personally had where female friends/coworkers primary interactions with Indian men was to be disrespected, sexually harassed, and generally made very uncomfortable and it was insistent.
Tried to insist upon some cultural/language motives to it but that can certainly cause an issue with people judging others before they meet them. So I’ve seen that, but overt racism is generally hated by Americans.
That leans sort of more into the subtle racism that can start with repeated negative experiences even if they consciously know it’s not because of the race.
Have met people who feel that way about black people, the polish, Italians, people from different US states. Etc.
That’s the only possible example I can imagine if someone works where culturally a lot of people from India/South Asia are being very rude on accident due to cultural differences and don’t realize
At least from what I have seen both in my local community and in my career, discrimination against Asians is not acceptable.
I’ve read news articles that there are incidents of caste-based discrimination between Indian employees in some industries. But the articles I read were by people trying to spread awareness so American Companies were prepared to deal with these issues.
In some sense a lot of the stereotypes of Indian immigrants are largely positive ones. Doctors and other high earning professions with a lot of prestige. They’re the “good” immigrants that even anti immigrant people like. These are still bad stereotypes and a form of discrimination
I don’t think so? But that’s a complicated question
I don’t see any Indians or South Asians where I live at all so there’s not really any opportunities to witness any racism against them.
I feel like that’s going to be the case with a lot of folks on this sub.
I would reserve judgment until some actual Indian-Americans or Asian Americans can chime in
Not that I’ve noticed, but with that being said you can always feel discriminated against if you are looking for it. I have interactions everyday that If I was wearing my yamaka I could claim some sort of bias. In general though I think people are either good or shit and race has nothing to do with it.
Yes, it is and its very well documented, especially in hiring practices and college admissions. Why? Lots of dumb reasons, but primarily because our pop culture morals are mind-numbingly inconsistent.
My casual experience has been that the East Asians are discriminated/attacked more often than Indian/South Asian but I live in the SF bay area and we’ve had a spate of attacks on East Asians here recently which can color that view. All those communities are quite common here but the East Asians have been here in numbers since the Gold rush whereas the Indian/South Asian population increase has been a last 40 years thing.
I don’t believe it’s encouraged at all by most people. There are a minority of people across the groups who certainly discriminate. I’ve experienced a little of that as white guy in certain parts of Fremont. Nothing that I’m going to worry about but there was a definite us versus them mentality.
As a South Asian American I can say that from my experiences it’s not tolerated or condoned. You’ll find assholes in any country. Black people, Latinos, and East Asians have a longer history in the US so that’s why you may hear more about racism that affects them. Also, South Asian Americans on average are highly successful in the US so that’s why racism against Black people/Latinos is taken more urgently. This is all just my opinion
I’d definitely say it’s not condoned, but as many have said, the manifestation of it towards south Asian folks is very different. Where I live I don’t have a lot of Thai, Vietnamese, or other neighbors from that part of the world, but there are a lot of Indian residents. The racism towards Indians more boils down to people expecting them to be like caricatures (Apu from Simpsons) or the “bobs and vagene” sexual harassment stereotypes. Even then, I’ve not seen it expressed as hatred or belief in subhuman status the way I see some racists talk about African or Latin people. I’m not quite sure why the distinction exists the way it does.
Some of the comments here exemplify the soft stereotypes and unconscious bias people carry.
Growing up I definitely heard some anti-Indian shit. Apu, “dothead,” etc. And I got weird comments and intrusive questions around arranged marriages and stuff. There’s also a lot of weird exotifying – Sanskrit names everywhere, everyone doing yoga but feeling uncomfortable over its Hindu roots. And people assume I’m a doctor or engineer when I’m not in any of the stereotypical fields. People don’t realize the subtle racism fueling all of this.
I don’t think so, but can depend on where you’re located. If you’re at a big city then it’ll be very diverse than rural areas.
I’m in Raleigh and we have a huge South Asian population. No big issues here. Just have to be street smart like anyone else. I’m also a person of color, just have to be socially aware and confident.
I’m not sure, but I literally just spoke to a real estate agent who told me landlords don’t like renting to Indians around here because of the caste system; something about Indian college students around here won’t clean kitchens or bathrooms because doing so makes them commoners or something… Basically they live in filth to please their ego??? Not sure if any of that is true but but sounds pretty racist to me.
>Is racism against Indians/South Asians more tolerated or condoned in the US than racism against other groups? If so, why?
I am of Indian origin and also in my 40s, and yes, I do believe racism against South Asians is more tolerated, even in big diverse cities, and not just online, but IRL – at school, in college, in the workplace, in social situations, in dating, etc. The making fun of our names, mocking the immigrants’ accents, saying we smell, telling some that they’re “attractive for an Indian” or saying that we don’t “look Indian” if we aren’t dark and/or unattractive, telling us to “go back” whenever there’s a disagreement even to those of us born and raised here, calling us “street shitters” or “terrorists” when people feel like lashing out at Arabs and Muslims. There is lots of casual racism from self -proclaimed liberals as well who think there’s nothing wrong with their comments (like repeating offensive stereotypes, and again mocking the accents and names). And this racism doesn’t just come from Whites, but other minorities as well. Then you have the people who deny that we experience racism or not as frequently as we say we have experienced (just like you see here in the replies), and people who are not of South Asian origin speaking on our behalf that no, there is really no racism or that it’s not “too bad,” so basically we don’t have anyone to really talk to about this except to each other, and our concerns aren’t taken seriously.
I would agree it’s not taken as seriously as racism against other groups, but I would highly disagree w/ the tolerated or condoned aspect. I would also say it’s the same for East Asians because these groups aren’t considered as marginalized as Blacks, and Latinos.
Indians/Pakistanis being the only majority non-Christian in America group has othered us.
Also, we never/hardly anglicize our names. So that negatively impacts us.
We also have very little history in America.
We are as far away from white Anglo culture as one can be.
We also have some of the least positive representation in America but that’s partly because a) culturally we don’t view media representation as useful b) we are very few in numbers c) america media gets a lot of $$ by using us as stereotypical comedic reliefs so trying to counter those stereotypes is not financially rewarding
Hey, I grew in Mississippi and am Indian American.
I don’t think racism in America, particularly the south, is super well understood. I, for one, think it is very prevalent, and manifests in super uncommon ways.
OP, I’ve dealt with this for a while. If you want to talk, or if anyone does, PM me. Indian American culture in America is super strange, it doesn’t quite fit, and is a very difficult cultural identity to have in this country.
can’t say about america, but here in Brazil, most people only take seriously racism against black people, any other ethnic group most people just forget that they are not white.
I knew this woman that was super active as a BLM activist, went to protests and all that shit, and then one day she pointed to an asian lady and said “this is why we have to wear stupid masks”. Crazy how people can be so pationate about something, but just not realize that they are also part of the problem that they hate so much
Depends on what group is doing it. How much society or main stream media cares will vary depending on the perpetrators ethnicity.
Lots of good points being made here. One thing I would add is that racists often lump South Asians in with Middle Easterners, as though they are all one homogeneous group.
Ignorant racists might see a Sikh man and assume he is a Muslim, and feel justified in targeting him because of 9-11, the Iranian hostage crisis, the Libyan assassination attempt on Reagan, or whatever the excuse du jour might have been or be.
Heck, they see brown skin and hear an accent, then they see red. They don’t know an Indian from a Pakistani from a Persian from a Turk from a Libyan…even though we’re talking about multiple continents of origin, religions, cultures, etc.
When you’re talking about racism toward South Asians, it’s not really about being South Asian, it’s about non-whiteness of a different variety than Latin American, African, Indigenous American, or East Asian — and a perceived difference of religion.
Many Americans don’t even know the Eastern Orthodox religions even exist, let alone that there have been African and Indian Christians just as long as there have been Middle Eastern and European ones. They think all Palestinians and Egyptians are Moslem, for instance. They think those non-Protestants in robes and hats are all one kind of Catholic or another.
They have never even heard of Zoroastrianism or any other philosophies and religions that influenced Judaism and Christianity.
The only time I’ve really seen racism directed at someone of Indian descent was when a group of Indian immigrants walked into a car dealership I worked at and refused to work with a certain salesman because his last name was of too low a caste.
The only racism that is truly taken seriously here is racism committed by Whites. Other races get a sort of “free pass” to be racially inappropriate for the most part. When it comes to racism against Indians/Asians (The average American just sees “asian” and doesn’t really differentiate between south/east etc.*****except***** Indians, who while technically **being** from Asia, get their own racial category, and aren’t thought of as Asian), I’ve witnessed more Blacks being racial against them than others. They just aren’t called out on it nearly as much as Whites. Generally speaking, there is a huge double-standard here in the states, where the popular opinion is that only Whites perpetrate racism, and that only Blacks and Browns are recipients of it. In the rare instances I have seen racism against Indians/Asians, it hasn’t really been “I hate your race” kind of racism, but more of a “ridicule” kind of racism. That being said, I have come across instances of people not caring for Indians, as the stereotype is that they can be rude, pushy, and condescending; not to mention creepy and misogynistic towards Women. (Bob and vagene). Unfortunately, I have seen these stereotypes reinforced from time to time. But that is not to say that they are the rule. This is all my own personal perspective, as a mixed race American that has experienced a cultural potpourri throughout his life. The next person’s opinions and perspective may be entirely different.
I don’t think any racism should be tolerated, but for some reason people don’t seem to be nearly as upset by racism against white or Asian people as they are by racism against black people. In fact, there are government policies in place that discriminate against Asians more than black or white people, such as Affirmative Action.