Culturally Sponsored Racism

In America we value diversity and that two-faced word "multiculturalism." On one hand (and what a great hand it is), this has greatly contributed the "melting pot" that America has often been called. Appreciation of diversity and uniqueness, especially racial uniqueness, has made this country a beacon of hope and freedom to the entire world. Now I'm not saying we're the only beacon, but we might as well have been the first and brightest.

However, multiculturalism has also bred tolerance to the point of submission in several cases, the most prominent being the invention of Islamophobia when there is no such thing. But I'm not writing this to talk about that...yet.

Talking with an Indian friend of mine recently, I became, for the umpteenth time, frustrated that a great majority of Indians have no intention of branching out from their closed-minded and archaic culture. They would much rather prefer to live a purely Indian life, even to the point of only dating/marrying not just other Indians, but other Indians from the same province as their family. This is wholly unacceptable.

What if whites decided that only whites should marry or date whites, and not just that, but only whites from Rhode Island can date/marry whites from Rhode Island? Does this make sense to anyone? No, because it's fucking racist, and that's exactly what Indian culture is. It's one thing to like Indian food, practice an Indian religion, wear Indian clothes, speak an Indian language, or even be brainwashed into a paternal idea of original sin by one's parents, but it's a whole other thing to suggest that just because someone is not of the same race as you, they are too inferior to be considered for a romantic relationship.

Please, nobody try to argue that it's not inferiority, but simply difference. The difference is in the color of the skin, and it assumes that only those of the same skin are worthy of romantic endeavors. Therefore, those of a different skin are unworthy. Therefore, those of a different skin are inferior.

Additionally, the idea of restricting oneself to their own race is completely defying one's ability to be happy. There are about 7 billion people in the world. There are 1.2 billion in India. Let's assume that the sexes are split 50/50. Therefore, an Indian assumes that the person (of the opposite sex) who is to be the love of their life resides within 8% of the world's population. Does anyone else see that as fucking stupid? Why not judge someone based on their character and not whether or not they're of your race?

Let's be clear that I don't hate Indians, I'm not racist, nothing crazy like that. I just hate closed-minded, stupid thinking, especially when it continues to exist in this day and age. I love Indian food and language, and I love the women--god I love the women--and I have a number of swell Indian friends, but this is unacceptable thinking. What is it other than racism? Please, try to defend it. If you think they're concerned about blending too much with other cultures and losing theirs, I should remind you they account for almost 20% of the world's population dammit.

Seriously though, I love Indian women and this is very frustrating to deal with.

I love Archie Panjabi.