I’d been waiting for this Evite from SAFO-DC for over a month now because I’d been tipped off that it was coming:
Host: South Asians for Obama (SAFO)
Location: Karma, 1919 Pennsylvania Ave NW, Washington, DC
When: Friday, May 18, 8:30pm
Phone: 202.331.5800
South Asians for Obama (SAFO) would like to invite you to our first official OBHANGRA!! As you may have guessed, Obhangra is a clever combination of Obama and Bhangra! Bhangra fever has taken over the country and we want to give you an opportunity to learn and dance at Obhangra! So whether you support Senator Obama or are still undecided, we hope you will join us and many others to learn some Bhangra moves and dance the night away!
I must say that I am REALLY worried about the appropriation of bhangra for use in overtly partisan politics. In the same manner that K-street lobbyists are corrupting our political process by lavishing money on politicians, I believe that soon our desi customs and food will be used as a cheap tool to battle for the attention (and money) of the pivotal South Asian vote. Let me just give you all a glimpse of the future. It is scary:
Jalebis for Giuliani: A fundraiser organized by “Law-and-Order” browns.
Henna for Hillary: A fundraiser organized by feminist browns.
Raas for Romney: A fundraiser organized by Gujarati Mormons.
Bindis for Biden: A fundraiser organized by 7-11 and Dunkin Donut employees.
Katha for Kucinich: A fundraiser organized by religious browns who want a “Department of Peace.”
Masala for McCain: A fundraiser organized by Independent (maverick) browns who love good curry.
PLEASE, let’s not participate in any attempts to use our culture, traditions, or food to raise money for politicians.
Hmmmm. I wonder if there will be any cute, politically active, single women at the Obhangra. Balle Balle.
you made a whole list! i didn’t even hear of ‘Bindis for Biden’ or ‘Katha for Kucinich’. you have to admit though, Obhangra is the most ludicrous sounding of them all! it makes absolutely no sense!
So what would be T for Republican candidate Tom Tancredo.
I wonder if there will be any cute, politically active, single women at the Obhangra.
having attended the SAFO event in NYC, i can say that there were some definitely cute and politically active desi women there. i’m sure the same would happen in DC.
Tandoori
Yes, but would it happen in Houston, TX? That is the real question. 🙂
Too bad it’s in D.C. If it’s in Atlanta, then I’ll definitely will be there.
my god this site is funny. abhi for 2012
There is a fascinating article on the actual Obama in this week’s New Yorker. Highly recommended.
Fabulous, just fabulous. I can’t tell you how many “meetings” I’ve had thinking of desi kitsch phrases as it relates to elections…
So what would be T for Republican candidate Tom Tancredo
Tassa for Tom
atlanta happaned a month ago.
Alu Gobi for Abhi: A comment on Abhi’s post created by a brown insomniac
too bad obama has to now bhangra with the secret service–don’t know if they have the right moves.. maybe someone should volunteer to teach them the ‘screw the lightbulb in’ dance.
They can’t be any worse than those damn Gujarati’s, right?
And before some zealot jumps all over my comment (as if anyone ever acknowledges my comments, haha), I am Gujarati.
What a read! He’s all cadence! He triangulates triangulation and the result isn’t disjointed, polled, or platformed. He’s the space between the bullet points, a rich artistic performance, and there ain’t nobody like him in politics.
I can picture the Secret Service chanting to Obama: Mundeya too bach ke rahi…
M. Nam
abhi: you have the perfect light touch for this kind of thing. Very funny.
Or if you want to make it really up-scale, Alphonsos for Abhi!
here i was thinking that president bush is the only public servant who can dance…
Abhi – you’re CRAAAAAZY! 🙂
There are a lot of hotties in Houston… for sure they will be there.
I have no problem typically with the “South Asian” moniker in its cultural use, but its use in this case, and the whole event in general, is more than a little disturbing and hopefully not reflective of Mr. Obama’s broader approach. This is problematic on many levels including:
The broad assumption that South Asian (democrats) have a common political agenda. This may be the case on a domestic policy level, but is certainly not the case on an international policy level. To the extent that the U.S./India relationship is important to a voter, and/or to the extent that this voter cares for India’s overall standing in the world, they might have a very different policy perspective than someone who might feel similarly about Pakistan, or Sri Lanka (and yes, in certain matters, support for India and Pakistan is mutually exclusive). This extends broadly to “headline” issues such as military coalitions and approach to Aghanistan, as well as matters as mundane as mango subsidies.
Given the efforts that India has made to build its lobby in Washington, it seems like this grouping with its neighbours and adversaries is something of a slap in the face. It makes it feel as if India will not be treated as an emerging power in its own right by Mr. Obama.
The whole “bhangra” team is infantilizing. Could you see a Hispanic-American event themed around merengue, or a Caribbean-American event themed around reggae? When we act seriously, we will be taken seriously. I would imagine that Sri Lankan Americans, for example, would find it even more patronizing.
I have great respect for Mr. Obama, and I hope this is the effort of his misguided supporters, and not a broader policy statement with respect to the Indian subcontinent and those of that origin that are U.S. citizens. If the latter, I would imagine that would be very disappointing to many of his well heeled Indian, Pakistani, Sri Lankan, etc. supporters that would make up a reasonable amount of his campaign war chest.
hmmm… there is apparently a whole mess of votes and $$$ amongst the bhangra loving audience. who knew! god help them. i am all for obama, but this is too much. fabulously funny though! henna for hillary, to make up for her horrible ghandi joke? ew.
Yes this was almost as bad as a Caribbean event being called Obama-Mama’s.
For anyone interested in attending “OBhangra”, RSVP here!
Hmmm… do you know something the rest of us don’t?
Tamasha ?
I guess what I meant is that he can do funny political posts with a light touch, which is actually quite difficult to do. Oh, nevermind…..:)
As one of Obama’s “misguided supporters,” please allow me to respond. First, to be clear, South Asians for Obama is an independent organization that is not part of the Obama campaign. We are an organization whose goal is to unite the South Asian community behind Senator Obama’s campaign, but nothing we do should be thought of as being organized by or even endorsed by the campaign. For example, if this wasn’t clear, the Senator will most definitely NOT be at “OBhangra” on the 18th unless he happens to be in the neighborhood and pops in to see what all the commotion is about. (Given his new secret service detail, I’d say that is unlikely.)
So, not surprisingly, the Bhangra theme is ours, not his. Please don’t overthink this — this is just a party, a low-dollar fundraiser aimed at “young professionals.” SAFO has held kick-off events in several cities across the country (DC, NYC, Atlanta, LA, Chicago, and, last night, SF). The kick-off event in DC was more substantive (we showed this video). We’ve had other events — meeting to watch a webcast of one of Obama’s speeches, for example, and the people of SAFO-NY are planning to be part of a larger march and concert coming up soon. We’re doing policy outreach/focus group type things. But we also like having fun, and OBhangra is just a way for us to have a party and raise money for what we think is a good cause while having said party. Oh, and FWIW, I’m of South Indian origin and have no real clue how to bhangra, and one of the people who did the most planning for this event is Sri Lankan-American. I for one would be better off dancing to Prince, but I certainly don’t find the bhangra theme patronizing.
Again, to be clear, it was OUR decision to be a “South Asian” organization, not the campaign’s, not that we see anything wrong with such a grouping of course. I don’t want to get into a whole “South Asian” vs. “Indian” debate — this site has seen such debates time and again. But as you recognized, we do have commonality on many domestic issues, which we think is enough of a reason for us to be a South Asian organization. And while we may not all agree on foreign policy questions, so what? There are disagreements on foreign policy questions both within the Indian American community and within the Democratic party, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t common ground — and the same applies to the broader South Asian community. In fact, a significant theme in Senator Obama’s campaign and his track record as a public servant is drawing in people of different backgrounds and views and finding the commonality rather than focusing solely on the issues on which people disagree. And it is in that spirit that SAFO includes people from all South Asian countries (well, most countries at any rate — I’m not aware of any Bhutanese members, although they are certainly welcome), to focus on the issues on which we agree and to see if we cannot come closer to agreeing on issues in which our national origina may suggest that we disagree.
Ha! I know the answer, but SAFO doesn’t speak for the campaign, remember? 🙂
Yeah DTK, out with it already! Who needs long winded explanations in a binary world? And when you’re done answering Gautham’s incredibly profound question, perhaps you can also tell us whether Obama supports God or the Devil? Apples or oranges? Shaq or Kobe? WTF.
Mangoes. He supports mangoes. Not sure about Shaq vs Kobe though ….
Shaq or Kobe??? I’m not sure about that, but I’m sure after last night it’s not Dirk Nowitzki.
DTK,
As a person who was encouraged by Obama’s entry into the fray since he brings a fresh perspective to issues, I was dismayed by how quickly the loony left of the party has got to him.
When asked who the best three allies of America are (and have been for 50+ years), he vacillated and wavered and hesitatingly answered “The European Union”. The answer is not only incorrect because the EU member countries go against almost every move the US makes on international forums, but also because the EU is not a country!
The correct answer is: Britain, Australia and Israel. Do we want a candidate who cannot correctly answer this to have his fingers on the nuclear button?
M. Nam
BINGO BINGO BINGO.
Disagree. Look under the hood and I think you’ll find it to be Britain, Japan, and…..China, for not going apeshit with their surplus and keeping a stable yuan.
The correct answer is: Britain, Australia and Israel.
MoorNam,
In my mind, I think the answer is Britan, Japan, and Israel.
Also, Germany comes close fourth. During the entire cold war, Germany was United States frontline ally. To this day, any major military operation planned by US for certain parts of the world, they are coordinated out of Germany.
Of course he did. The question was idiotic! See the conversation on the other thread about the obsolescence of the nation-state.
That’s why I chose Britain and Japan, only because of the importance of London and Tokyo has financial epicenters. And China for absorbing the worlds risk premium vis-a-vis their spectacular growth for decades.
Again, to be clear, it was OUR decision to be a “South Asian” organization, not the campaign’s, not that we see anything wrong with such a grouping of course. I don’t want to get into a whole “South Asian” vs. “Indian” debate — this site has seen such debates time and again. But as you recognized, we do have commonality on many domestic issues, which we think is enough of a reason for us to be a South Asian organization.
But what percentage of your members are Indian-American? Not trying to flame you at all, just curious.
Hell no!
DTK –
My misunderstanding. Good luck with the event. Sounds fun.
MoorNam –
Its not that easy a question, or that easy an answer. Britan and Australia are allies no doubt, but Israel has often (and I dare so, justifiably) acted in antagonism to the United States. I could argue that, notwithstanding, our differences, no nations have as complex or profound a bond with the United States as France and Germany. And its not particularly black and white. My ally on one matter could be an opponent on another.
CSM carried this article about Obama’s attempts to woo the Jews.
These are some of the silliest questions. Why are we so obsessed with lists. If the current adminsitration has proven anything it is that the world is a little more complex, we cannot list the 3 most evil countries or the 3 best friends.
I hate to sound pedantic (which is how Kerry, not Obama would sound) but what exactly do you mean by best? Economically? Strategically? With respect to the UN? With respect to the US policy regarding NATO? With respect to the Middle East? How far back in time?
No, why don’t we make a US World News and Report chart and rank US allies on a 5 point scale with
Harvardthe UK topping the list. Then we can watch these countries inflate indicators to climb up the list and bargain for better trade deals. Or seats in the Oscars. It’s the same thing.I dunno Nara, I think North Korea would pretty much end up on any evil list and be well placed. Anyone see the Lisa Ling documentary With the Nepalese, I think, eye surgeon, who visited North Korea to do cataract surgeries? Chilling.
I agree, though, debate questions for politicians are often very silly.
I don’t really have the time to defend/explain everything Obama says, not do I want to. Everyone has their own reasons for deciding who he or she is going to support. That having been said, in case people did not get a chance to watch the debate, let’s look at what he actually said:
In short, the question was who are our most important allies, not the “best.” I love Australia, and was probably one of the few readers of this blog who was actually cheering for them in the world cup after India’s exit, but they are not among our top 3 most “important” allies. The question also did not limit the answer to countries, and I think his reference to NATO is a very good response and his reference to the EU simply recognizes the growing significance of the EU and our need to partner with them to address issues such as terrorism and climate change. There was also no reference anywhere to who have been our allies for the last 50 years.
Rather than judging him on quick snapshots you get in the media or blogs, I encourage people to read the New Yorker article linked to above, and to read his more recent book, in which he goes into some detail on his political views. For more on his foreign policy, read his recent speech given to the Chicago Council on Global Affairs or his speech to AIPAC. You may very well not agree with him on everything, but I’d like to think that you will come away with the sense that he understands the complexity of these problems and the need for the US to balance idealism with realism, soft power with hard power.
Sid/Nara,
While I agree that the nation-state is becoming slowly obsolescent, the process may take more than a century or two to complete. In the meanwhile, for the next four years, the question is neither silly or impertinent, and a would-be president better answer the question correctly.
When I say allies – I mean it from a US foreign policy perspective only. Britain and US may haggle over beef prices, Australia and US may quibble over poultry protectionism, Israel and US may haggle over technology transfers, but when it comes to foreign policy issues on world forums, be it the Iraq war, global warming/Kyoto, Mid-east policy etc, these three countries have consistently supported the US stand (right or wrong) for as long as anyone can remember. I don’t think Japan or Germany or any other country can make that claim.
M. Nam
oooh..i have it, i have it. The US should have a MySpace and list it’s best friends and fav rock bands too. Then the diplomats could send awesome friend comments!
Just like Alexyss K Tylor, but with less mention of the vajayjay.
Sorry, the formatting was messed up in #48 above. Obama’s response, up to the word “president,” should have been block quoted.