Indian Americans upset over US senator's (Allen, R-VA) remarks

[varun]

http://ia.rediff.com/news/2006/aug/20nri.htm?q=tp&file=.htm

Senator George Allen's controversial comments about an Indian American youth flashed across the country last week, but nowhere more rapidly than in Virginia's Indian American community, where frustration over ethnic stereotypes has intensified since the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001.

Dolly Oberoi, chief executive of a Northern Virginia technology company, says: "To me it sounded like, 'You dirty kid, get out of my way.' That was very painful to a lot of people."

Virginia is home to about 80,000 adults with Indian ancestry, most of whom live in Northern Virginia, according to the US Census Bureau. In interviews across the state last week, many said they were offended and disappointed by the comments from the one-term Republican senator and former governor, according to a report in the Washington Post on Sunday.

...Many of its members are successful, especially in the region's information technology industries. And they are tight, placing a high value on sharing information quickly. When Allen's comments became public, the video link was sent nearly instantly across a very wired community...