What Do You Think Of Indian People?

[IronLionZion]

Do you like them?
Do you dislike them?



And by "them", I really mean "us" as I'm Indian. And this is a copycat thread.

[La Lioness Priyanka]

1. funny brown people so far far away stealng american jobs

[IronLionZion]

3. Priyanka, I'm coming for your job next. BOO!!! nt

[IronLionZion]

5. I like how we both have "lion" in our names too. nt

[Writer]

51. I smell a conspiracy! n/t

[madinmaryland]

2. Why should I dislike them.

[billyskank]

4. Hard to form a coherent opinion on a billion people

But I visited India and found it to be a striking mix of extremes: crime and corruption everywhere and yet warmth and friendship all around. Yes, I would say I am an Indophile, I have met many Indians I like very much, and their food is the best.

[sasquatch]

6. Too religious maybe!

[IronLionZion]

7. We're a very spiritual people. nt

[La Lioness Priyanka]

9. my goddess can kick your gods ass.nt

[sasquatch]

16. "Hey Ganesh would you like a peanut?"

[doc03]

8. They have a comical accent

[IronLionZion]

11. It can break the tension in very dramatic situations

and should be used more often. We bring it out on purpose as needed.

[La Lioness Priyanka]

41. not me.

[Mad_Dem_X]

74. I like hearing them speak

It's kind of musical, their accent.

[Heidi]

89. In what language do they have a comical accent? (nt)

[Deep13]

10. I'm sure they are very nice people...

...except for the pain-in-the-ass New York City lesbian variety.

[La Lioness Priyanka]

12. outrage!!!!!!!!

[IronLionZion]

14. But Indian outrage intimidates absolutely no one! ;-) nt

[Deep13]

28. Oh, so it's MY fault now! Hurrumph!

Fine, fine, I'll take the blame. I'll just go ahead and be a passive-aggressive martyr, then. My Mom taught me how to do that.

[IronLionZion]

13. that's the best kind

we invented kama sutra! a virgin wrote it.

[IndianaJones]

15. are they considered asian? nt.

[IronLionZion]

19. Yes, Indians are South Asian, Chinese are East Asian.

many east asians will disagree but who cares?

[IndianaJones]

20. then I think they can't be all that bad. nt.

[sasquatch]

17. "Do you have a flag?!"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hYeFcSq7Mxg

[Tikki]

18. I think they are nice...This young lady is absolutely gorgeous...

Navi Rawat



Tikki

[JitterbugPerfume]

21. like everyone else

they are people to be judged as individuals, not as a group.

[IronLionZion]

23. Yes, you'll find a hell of a lot more variance between two people of the same group

than between two groups. There are wonderful and dreadful individuals of every demographic.

[Ohio Joe]

22. Over the last 18 years....

I've become friends with many people from India. I've also worked with/had work for me hundreds more. In that time I've only met one I did not like. Also, in all that time I've never been able to aquire a taste for Indian food, I just don't like it.

[IronLionZion]

26. "Indian food" means absolutely nothing

since there are so many types of Indian foods that I've never tried, let alone you.

The "Indian" restaurants in the US are garbage. They try to americanize the typical punjabi dishes to what they think Americans would like and it rarely works out for them.

[Ohio Joe]

31. It's true I've not tried every Indian dish

But I have had many, many, many a home cooked meal. I've only had one dish I liked, it was kind of a creamed spinich (though not exactly, not sure how it was made) with lamb in it. Unfortunatly, the woman that made it for me moved back to India. You are also correct about the restuarants and it's not only with Indian food. I currently work with a girl from China and she refuses to eat at chinese restuarants. I've also heard the same about Mexican restuarants here.

[NewJeffCT]

69. That's similar to Chinese restaurants

Unless you're in a big city Chinatown, it's rare to find authentic Chinese food. It's mostly Americanized and sweetened up... you can find some, but not too often.

[IronLionZion]

72. It's shockingly different in Canada and the UK

in Canada you can get great Chinese food even in rural areas. And the UK has great Indian food in most places even rural areas. Interesting how that works out. America is too diverse for food to be "adapted to American tastes". So I've noticed that a lot of newer places will be a little more authentic especially if there is a decent sized population of that ethnicity there. But the places that have been around since the 70's or so tend to be bland and boring because many parts of rural and suburban America were much whiter then.

[NewJeffCT]

81. I think groups like Chinese & Indians

that have been in the US for a long-time have different ideas about food from their countries than more recent immigrants from those countries.

A few of the newer Chinese restaurants in the Hartford area were more authentic...and, I know that there are several Vietnamese restaurants in the area that the Vietnamese I know say are authentic. But, they're often run by people that immigrated from Vietnam, and not the children or grandchildren of immigrants - which might be the case of many Chinese & Indian restaurants here in the US.

The thing is, I know a lot of Americans would love to try authentic foods of other cultures. To be honest, I find it hard to eat "mainstream" Chinese-American food now, unless I can request white sauce on the food instead of the standard brown sauce.

[JuniperLea]

98. Not all...

I live near an Indian community with clothing shops, spice shops, and restaurants that cater to Indians. You can't beat them! Italian food, Mexican food, Irish food... all the same deal. You can find restaurants that have "Americanized" the menu, and you can find restaurants who cater to Italians, Mexicans, and yes, even the Irish. And every authentic Italian restaurant will be much different from the others because Italian families have their own recipes and cook things slightly differently, likewise for Mexican, Irish, and Indian families... and Chinese, Japanese, Swahili, etc.

[IronLionZion]

107. Yes, I was on a work assignment in Jacksonville, FL

and was completely blown away by the quality of the South Indian food in this one neighborhood. There were many excellent authentic restaurants due to the large population of Tamils and Telegu people who live there. Interesting stuff. Indian people don't believe me until they go there and try it for themselves. other places are Devon St. in Chicago, Schaumberg, IL, Jackson Heights, NY, and many other places with concentrations of Indians (or other ethnicities)

[JuniperLea]

110. It's fun to go in...

All blond and blue eyed, and tell them I want it as hot and spicy as they make it for themselves You can see them waiting for me to break a sweat. Shoot. I grew up eating jalapenos and habaneros in So. California. The hotter and spicier the better for me!

My people met my people at Plymouth Rock, but I prefer the melting pot didn't get too melty... Americanization can and has ruined a lot of good things that various peoples have brought here.

[IntravenousDemilo]

137. Well, that does it!

Now I'm compelled to go right this minute and have supper at the excellent Indian restaurant across the street. Happy now? Yeah, me too.

[KitchenWitch]

24. The Indian people I have met in real life have been very very nice.

[BarenakedLady]

25. They have yummy food

And wonderful clothing, imo.

I also admire their sense of the importance of family, at least the ones I've been lucky enough to meet.

[kay1864]

27. I talked to an Indian taxi driver in London who referred to himself as "black"

He was a young guy, nice-looking, telling me how he got pulled over when visiting a friend in a white neighborhood, and he asked the constable, "Is it because I'm black?"

I had to ask him to repeat it. No one in the US would ever refer to him as black.

Sad that "Driving While Indian" gets you pulled over in London like "Driving While Black" does here.

[IronLionZion]

29. Yes, Indian-Europeans often identify with blacks

but I've never heard of the "driving while Indian" problem.

[kay1864]

32. Apparently in that neighborhood

"Driving While Not White" was the problem.

[IronLionZion]

34. I hate people who hate people. nt

[cuke]

44. In South Africa, both Indians and blacks were referred to as "coloureds"

[Lydia Leftcoast]

83. Actually, not quite

In South African usage, "Coloured" refers to the mixed-race population that arose before inter-racial relationships were banned. Along with the Indians (referred to as "Asians") they were considered an eensy-teensy step above the black population ("Bantu"), but still below the whites ("Europeans").

In public facilities, there were separate areas for "Europeans" and "non-Europeans," so that black Africans, Coloureds, and Indians were lumped together. However, they were all supposed to live in separate sections of town.

Interestingly, the Dutch were in South Africa long before the English, and most of the Coloureds speak Afrikaans (the local descendant of 17th-century Dutch) as their first language.

[cuke]

86. Thank you for those details

[FloridaJudy]

30. To quote a completely Politically Incorrect friend of mine

Red dot or feathers?

Both are incredibly diverse groups of people, so it's impossible to have one opinion. Some are great, some are awful, and most are somewhere in between.

[IronLionZion]

33. country not casino, taj mahal not teepee, brown not red, curry not frybread

I thought the pics would give it away.

[Deja Q]

35. Indifferent to national origins.

As with most people, regardless of ethnic origin, it is the individual personality I will find endearing. (Like how some people love to hang out with nerds and other people love to despise nerds. A nerd is a personality type. We did not come from the nation of Nerdopia and have aluminum colored skin and half blinking LEDs where are genitalia would be...)

As for corporeal appearance, those of Indian origin are quite possibly the most beautiful in all of Creation.

The "stealing jobs" aspect does not truly pertain to this discussion; the world economy and the numerous variances within are a totally different realm of discussion. But if it makes everyone feel better, I've worked with Indian people far smarter than I, and far more dense than I. With nice Indians and not-so-nice Indians. (Insert MLK speech here.) Ethnic origin is not a preponderance of being any more or less intelligent, nice, evil, et cetera than to anyone else. The world is made up of all types. But here comes a typical hypnotangent: Though if corporate leaders refuse to hire Americans simply because they are American, or to other people because of their area of origin, does that not make them guilty of racism?

[La Lioness Priyanka]

70. it is illegal for corporations to hire based on national origin. nt.

[IronLionZion]

78. then they hire indian contracting companies

who are required to have at least 10% local hires.

[sakabatou]

36. Each individual is different

I've met some nice ones and some assholes.

[yellowdogintexas]

37. those I have known, I have liked quite a lot. And they do have yummy food

[frogmarch]

38. My mother was Indian

and I was born in the Himalayan foothills. But to answer your question, I like some Indians and some I don't. Same with Americans.

[Cobalt Violet]

39. Awesome people. I love them.

[DeposeTheBoyKing]

40. I like them very much

And I like Pakistani people (my husband is Pakistani). His parents and older brothers were born in Delhi and migrated during the partition. I have found them to be very kind, loving and generous.

[Starbucks Anarchist]

42. I hate those fuckers.

[IronLionZion]

80. I though self-hatred was a uniquely Republican phenomenon! nt

[Starbucks Anarchist]

90. I'm changing it, damnit!

[City of Mills]

43. Are you afraid of my cat?

It's just a cat, it's friendly, don't worry it'll stay off of you. It don't bite!

[cuke]

45. I find Indian culture overwhelmingly spectacular

One could spend a lifetime studying it and only scratch the surface.

[Jersey Devil]

46. I love pagoras

My neighbors, who are maybe the first Indian people I ever got to know well, called us up one day when it was raining and said we absolutely had to come to their house for pagoras (sic), a fried fritter with veggies inside that are absolutely delicious.

They are simply the best neighbors I've ever had.

[qwertyMike]

47. More intelligent

and cultured than us - we thrive on greed.

"I remeber how with my one jab with my needle in the Punjab
How I cleared up Beri-Beri
And the dreaded dysentary"

Peter Sellers/Sophia Loren in some movie I forget

[AnneD]

134. Obviously....

you have never had to pay a bribe to get through the airport in Hyderabad .

[Connonym]

48. what's not to like?

[La Lioness Priyanka]

60. me. starbucks anarchist.

we both try to give you good reasons why not to like the indian people :p

[Starbucks Anarchist]

62. Don't drag me into this!

[Connonym]

71. well hell, you are 2 of my favorite people here on DU

[IronLionZion]

76. me too! I've been trying so hard! nt

[Aristus]

49. Astonishingly beautiful women.

Lionesspriyanka not least among them...

[Jamastiene]

50. I can't say based on "as a whole."

I tend to take people one on one and then see what I think of them. I don't really care about whether someone is Indian or not, honestly. It depends on the individual.

[La Lioness Priyanka]

56. thanks aristus

[Beausoir]

52. As a pink skinned Scandanavian woman....I COVET their beautiful skin.

I've met a few people from India. Only just a few ( like a dozen or so) because I live on the glacier.

They were, without fail, very kind and sophisticated and intelligent people.

And pretty? Such beauty.

[IronLionZion]

77. hehe.. My mom warns me about white women

she says "you know those people have bad skin; they have to hide it with makeup." And she also says that white women "only want one thing from you" meaning sex. I had to laugh.

[AnneD]

135. Hubby's dad warned him too....

he was relieved to find out I was an American Indian. He heard that 'sex' rumour too. He is the one that had to do all the pursuing. I do quality, he does quantity. For someone that comes from a nation that gave the world the Karma Sutra, he wasn't to versed.

The funny thing is that my Aunt (by marriage) also married a man from India back in the 50's. They were always welcome in our home and family because he treated my Aunt (and Grandmother)like a queen. They had trouble every where else though...... until he made his first million. I loved Uncle Rollo. He told the best stories-I know them now as the bagva gita.

[Prefer]

53. After a decade of working with Indians, I've come to the conclusion

that Indians are just like everyone else in the world.

My theory is that you have the same range of mankind within any population. All the same characters.

What else do I think? I like Goat and Chicken65.

[Drunken Irishman]

54. I don't mind 'em.

But to be honest, I don't know many Indians.

I do dislike calling for service and getting an Indian. Not because I don't mind them, but because I'm retarded and have a hard time understanding them and then I get embarrassed by saying "What was that?" over and over again.

[tjwmason]

55. Those that I've met have been charming

I suspect as a group they're not particularly better or worse than any other group one could imagine.

In terms of appearence, they tend to have some of the most beautiful skin-tones around.

I'd love to visit India, a number of ancient civilisations were there which strike me as utterly fascinating.

[RebelOne]

57. I don't know any, so I can't give an opinion. n/t

[PassingFair]

58. WannBe PassingFair is living in India.

For 11 months.



It is KILLING me.

She LOVES it.

She is on a foreign exchange in Pune.

Four months down, seven to go. I only HOPE I can make it....



She absolutely LOVES the Indian people.

The vestiges of the PATRIARCHY, however......

Can we TALK about her not being able to LEAVE THE HOUSE when
she's on her PERIOD?????

This drives her NUTS!

[La Lioness Priyanka]

59. pune is wonderful. why cant she leave the house when she gets her period?

thats the strangest thing i have heard.

[PassingFair]

61. Her host family is from a small town where they have pretty ...

strict religious rules. They don't want to risk her
going near a puja or celebrating any religious
ceremonies.

It basically SUCKED for her, as she missed out on
most of the Diwali celebrations. She cut out on her
host family during Ganpati and spent the festival
with another student's family who didn't know it
was her "time of month" and so was able to participate
in Ganpati to it's fullest in Pune. She had a BLAST.

If I had it to do over again, I would have given her
Norplant or Depo or something before sending her over.

Her best friend's host Mom considers this medieval,
by the way, so it's NOT like all Indians in Pune
have these restrictions.

Elle has lost 30 pounds, by the way. And is THRILLED
with her vegetarian diet, but her HAIR is falling out!

[La Lioness Priyanka]

63. i am a bit confused. i know that in large parts of india, you arent allowed to worship if you are on

your period.

but she was not even allowed to leave her house? thats way bizarre. seems like she got stuck with some very nutso fundamentalists.

[PassingFair]

66. She can go to school.

But if they suspect that she'll be passing by
street pujas, or taking part in ceremonies at
others homes, they get bent out of shape.

She has another friend that is IN a small village
that is made to sit on a special PLASTIC CHAIR
during her menses. I ask you, how TRADITIONAL
can the PLASTIC CHAIR be to Indian culture?

This girl is in Amravati.

Anyway, bizarre menstrual filth beliefs not withstanding,
Ellie LOVES India.
She loves the people.
She loves the food.
She loves the philosophies.

She hates the traffic!
She dislikes the cows.

[IronLionZion]

79. Every religion has their fundamentalists

every demographic has some extremists.

If she stayed with my family in Kerala, she would get fish and coconuts with every meal, and meat of all kinds, and she would be most welcome to stand up in church for a few hours every Sunday without sitting down. We're Catholic, but one thing that Indians love to do is make ourselves suffer for religious reasons. It's one thing that all Indians of all religions can agree on.

And of course she would be allowed to leave the house during her period and no one would even ask.

I've heard some good things about Pune. My company has the world's 4th fastest supercomputer at our lab in Pune.

[PassingFair]

92. All of the exchange student's families vary to some extent....

One of them can't even go into the kitchen when it's "her time".
One of them is forbidden to wear tampons....

Don't get me wrong.

I'm NOT complaining about India! She IS on a cultural exchange!
She just had no experience with this "unclean" factor...

She has had no homesickness, in fact, she is having the time of her life!

I'M the one who is missing HER!

Her family is NOT strict veg. They have some meat (poultry) around religious holidays....

[otherlander]

111. When she's...

You mean they keep track?

[PassingFair]

112. Strange but true.

It is not unusual for her to be asked before
she is allowed into a temple...

And "paper-use" in the bathroom is noted.

She's used to it now.

[IronLionZion]

124. I'm surprised they let her in the temple

some places won't let you in unless you convince them you are a true believer. George Harrison of the Beatles had problems going to some temples and he was a white Hindu.

They don't let me in some temples when they see the cross around my neck.

[GirlinContempt]

64. I'm wary of saying I like anyone I haven't met yet, but in general

I'd have to say I love them.
I just spend 5 days with around 400 Indians and it was the best time ever.
I have a feeling I'll be seeing more of them, as they're now all my extended family.
My first saree, first bindi, first mehndi, first dandiya raas!
Everyone was amazing.
Yay India! Yay Gujarat!

[MissMillie]

65. people are people

ethnicity is a lousy way to judge people. All ethnicities have their good people and bad people.

[redwitch]

67. Like the food, the music, the accents, the dancing, the movies about them.

ie Bend it Like Beckham, Monsoon Wedding. I dreamed once that I was going on a trip to India. I was so happy and excited and I saw out the window a city full of gorgeous colors with mountains in the distance. The plane landed and I woke up. I tried to go back to sleep so the dream would continue but no luck. I was really sad.

I don't really know any Indian people though. Just one young high school aged kid who was adopted from India as a little girl. She is completely the all American kid, not sure if she really counts as Indian, not even a smidgen of an accent.

[NewJeffCT]

68. I try not to judge people on their ethnicity, but on the person themselves

So, I generally don't like or dislike a whole ethnic group/groups based on my anecdotal experiences with them. I've met plenty of very nice Indian people, and a few that I didn't like so much. I've met a wide-ranging and diverse group of Indians over the years, but I was too shy in college to ask out any Indian women despite being attacted to several. So, I've never gotten to experience too much Indian culture through dating or even close friendship (I was too shy to ask out just about any woman, not just Indian women, so it wasn't a fear of dating somebody not of my race.)

Indian food is too spicy for my bland taste in food, though.

[IronLionZion]

73. I hear you, I felt the same way about white women

and yes, I was too shy to ask anyone out of any ethnicity. But assuming that you're white, you should know that many Indian women who grew up in the US just go crazy over white men. There are Indian women I've met in school whose only goal in life is to marry a white man. It makes me laugh.

I think it may be my personality or the fact that I was born in the US and am a completely "white-washed" Indian but it's mostly white women who express interest in dating me, not Indians or any other ethnicity.

[NewJeffCT]

85. I hadn't noticed that, to be honest

Maybe because a lot of the Indians I've known through work over the years have generally been people that immigrated here from India and they've tended to date other Indians. The one Indian guy I knew in college that was more "western" than the other Indians in my dorm (I lived in a dorm that offered vegetarian & regular meals, so we had a good 1/3 Indian residents in my dorm) was kind of an outsider to the other Indians because he dated white women.

I do know that a lot of children of these Indian immigrants seem to be more outgoing in "mixed" social situations than their parents - I know Chinese are often similar, and my wife thinks it's because Chinese are sensitive about their accents.

[EstimatedProphet]

75. I think they're people

I don't like the fact that our jobs are going to India at a rapid pace, but that's not the Indians' doing.

I think he country is extremely crowded.

I think the religions and philosophies are very interesting.

I love vindaloo and rogan josh.

[Marrah_G]

82. The last man to break my heart was an Indian!

He was/is beautiful. I can't say I like the people or don't like them because it depends on the individual.

[IronLionZion]

91. Thank you for not judging us all by that one guy

One white girl refused to date me only because I was Indian. She was madly in love with an Indian guy who left her to get an arranged marriage so she swore off of Indians after that trauma...but she was a conservative Republican. That actually happened to another white girl too but she dated me anyway...because I reminded her of him.

There are good and bad and average individuals of every demographic.

[Marrah_G]

93. It would silly to judge all people on one persons's life

I still talk to him a few times a year and he is a good who made a couple bad choices.

There are cultural things in this world that I dislike but I try to divorce the culture from the individual when judging someone. To judge an entire people as if they had no individuality is just plain stupid.

[kwassa]

84. Indira Varma

Sarita Choudhury



Aishwarya Rai

[IronLionZion]

87. Here are some amazing pics and some sites if you're interested

http://www.keralatourism.org/index.php?zone=4

Kerala is where my family is from. It's God's own country, India's Shangri La. Paul McCartney comes here every year.

http://www.incredibleindia.org /

http://www.exploreruralindia.org /

Some of the best and most beautiful places in India are far away from the traffic and congestion.










Oh and while many Indian places are conservative, Kerala is among the most left-wing places in the entire planet and had one of the first communist (actually socialist in practice) governments. And we're horny as hell; we produce much of the porn for the country. You are welcome to show public displays of affection in Kerala. And no I don't work for the tourism industry.

[PassingFair]

94. Even .....KISSING!

Gasp!

[IronLionZion]

95. Scandalous! oohhh baby!

[PassingFair]

113. What language do they speak in Kerala, ILZ?

My daughter is having a bit of a hard time picking up the
language in any meaningful form, because English is spoken
at her school and by her Father and siblings, her Mother
speaks only Marathi, which is also spoken by the local
rickshaw wallas and vendors/etc. TV and movies are in
Hindi.

She is getting by buying what she needs and in restaurants, but she
has no conversational Marathi.

Hopefully she will continue to pick up the language as she
goes along...

[IronLionZion]

120. Kerala's language is Malayalam

Your daughter must be in Maharashtra if the language is Marathi. I'm sure it's tough in the villages and in talking with uneducated people, but most people will know English in the big city of Mumbai if she goes there.

In Kerala, they have universal public education, 100% literacy, and everyone speaks English, the problem is many refuse to speak it kind of like the French. I asked someone for directions in English one time when I was visiting, and he said I should learn my mother tongue (my ancestral language) first, only then do I deserve to go there! LOL

You're daughter should get a pass on that since she would be a foreign visitor. And of course she will be most welcome to go anywhere and no one would care about her period.

[PassingFair]

136. Ha.

Since she's in Pune, she speaks English at home, school and with her friends and educated Indian friends.
The people swirling around just outside that plane speak Marathi only. Since she basically speaks English
all the time, she's not picking up the language as quickly as she would if she was being forced to learn
in total immersion like exchange students in most non-English speaking countries.....

Believe me, those kids in JAPAN pick up the language QUICK!
Same with the students in Germany, for some reason....

[otherlander]

115. I knew about the communism...

Didn't know about the porn industry, though.

I heard that Kerala has higher unemployment than most of India. Is there a higher minimum wage in Kerala, so companies don't want to hire people there?

[IronLionZion]

123. They're usually on strike

it's the union problems that keep business out. That state is kept alive by remissions from expatriates and people working in the middle east. The most successful industry is tourism, but IT is seeing some minor success and growth since IT doesn't usually have union problems.

manufacturing doesn't work. I sure as hell wouldn't want a factory there. I probably wouldn't want to hire people there either. But Malayalee people are fairly enterprising, the land is fertile, and there is enough food, water, education, healthcare, and other necessities of life for everyone to survive. There are no homeless people in Kerala. Malayalees are too proud to beg. The only beggars are transients from other places who pass through on the trains. Fresh produce and fish are cheap. Nobody goes hungry and no one goes without a bath unless they absolutely want to. You can not go for a long walk without passing by a free school and hospital and probably a college.

It's the Kerala phenomenon. They somehow manage to be a socialist welfare state yet have a much better quality of life than the USA, let alone the rest of India. Alcoholism has been a problem but that's changing as people have more things to do like TV and computers. People still have lots of sex and I don't see that changing even though the traditional excuse is "there's nothing else to do".

Keep in mind that socialist experiments have failed miserable in other parts of India. It has a lot to do with the attitudes of the people and cultural homogeneity. Kerala, like scandinavian countries, is not very culturally diverse.

[Heidi]

88. What I think is that it's limiting to define people solely by their national and/or ethnic origins.

(nt)

[Blue_In_AK]

96. I don't know any

but I sure do like their food, clothes, and those very cool gods they have.

[mvd]

97. Buddism and Hinduism always remained religions of peace

And the ones I've seen are nice. I'm opposed to outsourcing so many American jobs, but that's not because we outsourced to India so much.

[IronLionZion]

99. All major religions are of peace

and they all have fundies and violent elements. India has Hindu fascists who painted the streets red with the blood of muslims and sikhs. Sri Lanka has violent Buddhists who oppress the Tamils and there are Buddhist terrorist groups and child abuse at some temples.

[mvd]

100. Oh, I agree

But it doesn't seem like Buddist and Hindu extremists affect the world conflict level much. And the basic meaning of the religions is still in tact.

[mvd]

102. And I do think that all the major religions started as religions of peace

Here's a good link on Islam:

http://www.crescentlife.com/spirituality/islam_&_peace....

In Christianity, Jesus taught peace and tolerance. And even Paul in Romans 1:26-27 can be taken as talking about general sex without love involved.

With Orthodox Judaism, Leviticus you can say it's talking about the parity of mean and women in those times and not homosexuality.

I just think that Buddism and Hinduism seem less diluted. And I'm a Christian.

[Dr. Strange]

101. I like Ramanujan...

[Taverner]

103. I think they originate from India...sometimes

And I'm going to go out on a limb here, but I also think they speak Hindi and Tamil - among other languages.

[IronLionZion]

104. Most languages of any country

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Languages_of_India

Can you imagine a country where different states have completely different languages and cultures? You don't have to imagine it if you're Indian. They drew the state borders by combining people with common languages.

[Taverner]

105. I've heard that. Not just dialects, but outright different languages.

I've also heard their states are more autonomous than ours. For example, some went communist while others remained capitalist.

But I still stand by my words

[LadyoftheRabbits]

106. Well...

considering I'm dating an Indian guy, I'd say I like them very much.

[IronLionZion]

108. Good for you!

That's wonderful!

[ghostsofgiants]

126. And that guy's a wanker, so you must REALLY like them...

[SoCalDem]

109. they have an affinity for the almighty FSM

[Tuesday Afternoon]

114. .

[clyrc]

116. I live near Dubai, so I live around what seems like millions of Indians

Some of our closest friends are Indians. I love the food. We get vegetarian food dirt cheap here, and it is so wonderful. At one of my favorite restaurants, we get dockla, masala dosa, masala chai, and ras malai for about two us dollars, and it is so delicious I'm always near delirious with happiness a few minutes into the meal. I love the clothes, too. I haven't braved wearing a saree yet, but I have a whole wardrobe of shalwar kameez I wear all the time. OMG and the jewelry, truly gorgeous stuff.

What I find kind of funny is this, though: One of my dearest friends is a Punjabi Pakistani, and he clains to have nothing but disdain for Indians. But culturally, I can't see much difference, and he looks very Indian. His first love was a beautiful Indian girl, and and his dhol teacher is Indian. He has Indian friends, and he told us that when he was visiting Pakistan he missed South Indian food. So what exactly he doesn't like about Indians I can't figure out.

[PassingFair]

117. Is he a Muslim? n/t

[tjwmason]

118. Partition is still a very sore point for many Indians and Pakistanis

I had an acquaintance at university who was Indian, she was the absolute image of calm and reasonable until Pakistan was mentioned. The events of 1947 were none too pretty, and the continuing tensions over Kashmir make for some very fierce views.

[IronLionZion]

121. It's not something you or I can figure out

it's irrational. Otherwise wonderful people will get completely bent out of shape if I just mention the word Pakistan. A major part of it is nationalism, another part is the religion because many Indian muslims don't hate Pakistan as much as some Hindus do. Some of it might be the need to blame someone else for your own problems.

But yeah, you would be hard-pressed to find cultural differences between Pakistani Punjabis and Indian Punjabis.

[Skittles]

119. I don't like dealing with outsource folk in India

they make me want to hang myself

[ghostsofgiants]

125. At least they're not actually in the US taking your jobs AND women, amirite?

[La Lioness Priyanka]

127. as i said, funny brown people far away stealing your jobs.

i think there should be a lolcat for this sentiment.

[ghostsofgiants]

128. im in ur global divizun of labur stealin ur jobz

[La Lioness Priyanka]

129. you are priceless~

[ghostsofgiants]

130. I do what I can.

[La Lioness Priyanka]

139. i am pretty sure that the feeling is mutual nt.

[closeupready]

122. Very much like. :-)

Not perfect, but they can work on that.

[Solon]

131. One of my buddies in High School was an Indian exchange student...

I remember he brought lunch to school every day, you'd be amazed at how many school provided meals have beef in them.

Also can I mention that I think Indian women are hot?

[WinkyDink]

132. I think they have a fabulous cuisine!

[Critters2]

133. They invented yoga. So, they're okay in my book. nt

[bertha katzenengel]

138. I'm not very happy about a decision by the one Indian man I know.

Mrs. V. adores him, and his wife, and their baby. They're moving back to India. Happiness for them, I'm sure, and I'm happy for them. But it hurts Mrs. V. Stuff has been so shitty on the job lately that there's hardly anyone there she knows anymore. Bad times.

Oh. In general? Hey. We're all pink inside.