Not everybody can be a Ram Shriram
Boston Globe staffer Swati Gauri Sharma writes on a Globe blog:
A month ago, blogs and websites scolded Delaware’s Democratic Senator and presidential candidate Joe Biden for making racist remarks about Indians.
“Racist remarks?” That’s interesting.
Here’s what Senator Biden said:
“In Delaware, the largest growth in population is Indian-Americans moving from India. You cannot go to a 7-Eleven or a Dunkin’ Donuts unless you have a slight Indian accent. I’m not joking…”
Not exactly a knee-slapper, but not particularly offensive either. Pretty much the kind of observational humor that many of us use in daily life. The weirdest part of the joke is, in my opinion, the suggestion that one won’t be served at a convenience store unless one has an accent similar to the store owner’s. That just doesn’t make any sense and surely can’t jibe with anything the Senator has actually experienced. One could also wonder whether there are a lot of Indian-Americans in India, but let’s leave that aside.
Anil Adyanthaya, a Republican Indian-American lawyer in Brookline, MA, commented intelligently on Biden’s joke recently, stating that no apology was needed from the Senator. Mr. Adyanthaya continued:
[B]efore criticizing Biden, Indian-Americans should reflect on the consequences of such criticism. Specifically, what message does it send to Indian-American service workers when fellow Indian-Americans in other fields are “offended” that someone suggested Indian-Americans worked in convenience stores and donut shops? Work is work and there should be no shame in doing honest work of whatever kind to support your family and to achieve a comfortable life. We do not need to recreate the caste system in this country.
Perhaps the Globe’s Ms. Sharma doesn’t think very highly of Indians who work in convenience stores.
Ram Shriram? He won’t be serving you coffee anytime soon.
