Amardeep Singh, the kind professor who refused to engage me in debate writes about his strong support to forming SAALT [link thanks: Gaurav]
The group has published a position paper endorsed by dozens of local South Asian American groups, which attempts to assemble a South Asian political agenda that might find broad support amongst various constituencies who can all be described as “South Asian American.†The groups that have endorsed the document are pretty diverse — including a number of South Asian women’s groups, gay rights groups like Trikone, and progressive youth groups like SAYA and DRUM
Position Paper or demand for dole?
The sheer genius of his post lies in the number of weird acronyms it contains, which in a word, stands for: groupism. And asking to become a potential votebank. You need to come up with a really good reason to convince me otherwise. As much as I find this idea extremely distasteful, let me assume I am for it. Note that I’m also setting aside an important aspect: Indians cannot be clubbed under the meaningless and often misleading, South Asian umbrella.
Let’s proceed.
- If you clamour for SAALT or whatever acroymn catches your fancy, why do you holler when Hindus in the US complain against injustice, and/or invite Hindu leaders from India? Any organization formed to promote Hindu culture is viewed primarily as a fascist/fundamentalist outfit.
- If you don’t like whatever policies/laws out there, just get out, and return to your native countries. I don’t think they invited you because they were particularly fond of you, or you were God’s gift to their land or whatever. Here’s a very perceptive comment.
It does bother me that one someone becomes an American citizen through the naturalization process the rest of us are supposed to see them as “one of us†but then they form all these organizations based on their racial/ethnic group.
It is hypocritical. Should I as a white non naturalized but native born American form an organization I would be accused of being racist. Well how about groups like La Raza. Their slogan (translated from Spanish) is Everything for the Race – Nothing outside the Race.
If one is an American citizen through either birth or naturalization that person should focus only on the concerns of America as a whole. For if we don’t then we can never move beyond racism.
Identity politics must end because it is tearing ourselves apart. United we stand. Divided we fall.
(as you see from my Hispanic example) I am not attacking Americans of South Asian descent but I am attacking the concept in general whomever employs it).
Also I find the concept of diaspora when it is used related to citizens of the United States. For Expats sure, but if you are a citizen of America then you should be loyal only to America. If you can’t do that then you should politely renounce US citizenship. We will still let you remain in the country but then you can at least be honest in who you are.
- If you do face genuine trouble/discrimination/whatever, seek redressal as per their laws, and as a U.S. citizen. If you still don’t get justice, get out of the country. Don’t demand that laws be enacted to further your identity-separateness.
- The way I look at it, outfits like SAALT are mere opportunistic tie ups to further identity-separateness or to boil whatever beans on their agenda.
It amuses me that we hear not one remotely-similar complaint from the likes of Amardeep Singh, who are settled in the Middle East/Gulf.