Pream Anandarajah is a Canadian born Tamil teenager whose uninsured Scarborough home was recently firebombed, sending his mother Jeyaluckshmi to the burn unit at the hospital [via UB]. And yes, this was an ethnic attack, but not in the way you might think. His attackers weren’t white, they were Sri Lankan Tamils, but FOBs recent immigrants instead of Canadian born. Is FOB as bad a word as n–er?
That’s right — there’s intragroup gang violence between CBD and recent immigrant Sri Lankan Hindu Tamils, serious violence:
Hours before the firebombing, a friend of Anandarajah’s was stabbed … He rattles off the names of gangs that he says recently arrived Sri Lankan youth have formed: EST (East Side Thugs); BNS; BNS Juniors; Tux Boys (Tuxedo Park); Tiger Boys; Gilders (Gilders Street). [Link]
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The house is now largely destroyed |
The firebombing was part of an escalating series of retaliatory attacks, including one where Anandarajah was jumped by 12 students in the high school parking lot and knifed:
Touching his neck he says, “I don’t know how I got this scar. It happened after I was knocked out. They beat me up real bad. My mom couldn’t even recognize my face.” [Link]
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p>One major beef between the groups is the use of the word FOB:
Frequently tossed around in the escalating feud between the groups is a loaded word, used to bully, label and shame. The mostly Tamil Sri Lankan youth around Scarborough who get called FOBs say the word is used as a weapon against them.
“It’s like calling a black man, n—–,” says a Grade 10 student. [Link]
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p>Apparently, that name calling also played a role in the firebombing:
Anandarajah says it was older youths who were responsible for the attack on his house, most of whom either dropped out or have been expelled. “I understand why they’re angry, calling them FOBs. But they took it too far with this…” [Link]
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p>The whole thing seems to be about being “square”. Recent immigrants say they get harassed for not fitting in:
… [Recent immigrants] say the tension begins in high school. They get harassed for playing cricket, having unfashionable hairdos, wearing tight-fitting shirts, too high pants and speaking Tamil. [Link]
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p>Their Canadian born brethren seem to agree. Recent immigrants are just uncool:
“They can’t speak English, they have these weird haircuts,” says Chris, a Grade 12 student at nearby L’Amoreaux Collegiate. “The way they walk and they dress bad. It gives Sri Lankans a bad name, it’s embarrassing.”
One of them blurts out that they’re “fresh off the banana boat, they’re all FOBs, Tiger Boys, and they always will be…” The differences seem minor. Unless you’re in high school. “It’s stupid,” Anandarajah says. “But when we’re playing soccer, why do they have to come over and play cricket? We don’t play cricket here…” [Link]
So what say you? Is FOB a highly offensive term? What term would you prefer? NRI is both exclusionary (doesn’t apply here), and imprecise (to the Indian government I’m both an NRI and an ABD). Is there a different term that works better?
Would you start a fight if you got called a “FOB” ?
Huh?, Agreement at last !
You are right about the casual way that some of us use terrible words.
I just had guests from the desh in my house and I had to call them out on some racist views and specifically the casual use of the ‘n’ word. I do not allow that word in my home.I mean “atithi devo bhava ” and all that …but principles are principles!
I think I got a little charged up because of recent events…..
You should’ve called her a you-know-what.
Umm no you should not have.
Why not? What’s good for the goose is good for the gander.
Floridian, are you really gonna have me believe that Yanks don’t use slurs against ethnic minorities? Give the American triumphalism a rest.
I personally don’t have a problem with the term FOB. Reading this blog I’ve got the feeling that teen years are especially hard for ABDs. I am not surprised in their attempts to fit in they turn on FOB (or DBDs) to define the other they do not want to be seen as or be. All this stuff about weird haircuts, etc, sounds so stupid, but all this is serious business when you are a teen. So I don’t see the FOB/ABD divide going anywhere in those early years, no matter what word you decide to use. Replacing FOB with something else will just be another wee bit of political correctness that will essentially change nothing.
I don’t know if there’s still any residual dislike within ABDs for FOBs after teenage, but I have never personally felt it. Also, if someone over the age of twenty looks down on me for stupid things like haircut, accent or fashion sense, I don’t think we FOBs need to dignify such a moron with a reaction.
The preferred term is Macacasian, thank you very much.
Because when has an eye for an eye ever worked?
An eye for an eye works real well. After 2 iterations, you have eliminated 2 participants from the game. Lather, rinse, repeat.
@ # 141:
Interesting write-up. I’ve been to Singapore and Malaysia myself, and the racism (although not experienced directly by me) is stifling. The majority of the Indians, as you alluded to, are 4th-5th generation Tamils, most of whom are working-class, and they are viewed (and treated) somewhat poorly. The Gujju/Sindhi/Punjabi people are more middle-class (or rich in many cases) and are treated somewhat better. To some extent it is based on color, as Chinese are the fairest, followed by Malay, followed by most Indians (and predictably the European ex-pats are at the top of the heap). In Malaysia it’s even worse since with the Bumiputra policies (ironically an Indian word), even the Chinese are discriminated against by the Malays. America ain’t perfect, but it’s a LOT better than most alternatives. As for the whole ABCD vs FOB thing, speaking as a 2nd gen, I think it is true that people who come across too ‘fobby’ make us feel on some level that others might view us in the same way, and reduce our social standing. I know that I used to feel that way when I was younger, and can’t say that I never feel that way now, in rare circumstances. But now I just scold myself and try to get rid of it.
I have been to singapore and malaysia myself. I have some relatives there. I live in chicago and I personally have experienced some racial teasing while growing up. Not much of it but on one or two occassions I was made fun of for being hindhu / indian. I didn’t experience much racism in my stays in malaysia and singapore, in fact being a Tamil I always thought those places were much nicer than the US because there is a much larger tamil population over there..
I also thought to add to the ABCD and FoB situation by pointing out that most parents are FoB’s and their kids are ABCD’s..
Hurt feelings is not a justification to become violent. People need to grow a thicker skin. FOB does NOT have the same history/context behind it as does the N word, or other labels. It may be insensitive and unfortunate CBD groups look down upon newer immigrants. But getting violent and shit and taking that anger out on CBD groups is plain ol stupid.
@D2 #142 – “Replacing FOB with DBD is silly. It’s like saying African American instead of Black, you mean the same thing… “
No its not. It’s like saying ‘Black’ instead of the N word . Its like saying ‘Bangladeshi/Indian’ instead of Paki . You are replacing a derogatory term with a PC term. Not a PC term with a PC term ! ( Both African American and Black are PC terms )
@Floridian #148 – “It doesn’t matter whether it should or should not offend anybody. The fact is that it does, and I am sure SM writers and commenters feel a responsibility to lead by example.”
Ditto.
156 · Tired Canuck on May 23, 2007 07:53 PM · Direct link
“Floridian, are you really gonna have me believe that Yanks don’t use slurs against ethnic minorities? Give the American triumphalism a rest.”
I was being facetious in my #148 comment, Tired Canuck. No American triumphalism here.
If someone’s feelings are hurt or offended from a term referring to a group of people, maybe it’s a good idea not to use it. Of course, this may go against freedom of speech, but there are some cruel words that should never be used to describe a culture or race of people. Some examples of “forbidden” words are the n word (used to demean people of color), any deragatory word used to describe people of the Judaic faith, etc. If people do use such words in public, like Imus or Michael Richards, they may have to search for another career or job.
As of now, I will stop using the term FOB even though I never had bad intentions. You just never know who you may offend. (Yikes! I never knew that Desis had their own gangs. Sepia Mutiny is a great place to get enlightened and educated!)
@141 and 161:
i concur. singapore and malaysia are to me the hotbeds of racism. not to say other places (incl. india) are lands of virtue, but there is no f&^ing guilt from *any significant quarter in those places—not from “progressives”, not from expats, not from anyone. it is like travelling 200 years back in time. amazingly those places put whites on top of the heap instead of themselves. that attitude i never get. if you are going to be a stupid racist, at least put yourself on top!
that said, india is pretty horrible as well if you are black. things are improving now, thanks to positive cultural icons which makes me hopeful that it is mainly stupidity which can be resolved with reason.
” amazingly those places put whites on top of the heap instead of themselves. that attitude i never get “
Whites really do attain almost ‘god-like’ status in any eastern country… I don’t get that either. Come to think of it, is there any nation in the world where a desi can go and automatically be on the ‘higher-end’ of the social ladder, merely by race ? 🙂 It seems like whatever nation we go to, we are automatically stereotyped as scum ! Unfair!
Like any other word, FOB can have several connotations. If a person calls me a FOB, I can easily identify if there was any malice in his/her statement or not.
At times, I proudly refer to myself as a FOB (love my tea, never say no to Indian food, dig Indian music etc etc) when I actually want to say Indian. 🙂
In my opinion desis who are bron here use the term FOB to make fun of recent immigrant so they can feel better about themselves. they can forget about being made fun of for being indian origin in elementary school and not being part of the cool crowd in high school and so on. its just human nature i suppose the oppressee become the oppressor.
Oops, Floridian. My bad.
Never liked tea, not so hot on desi food, hate new Indian music, don’t see Indian movies but still a FOB.
I am an adult, graduated uni a few years ago and work full time. What I see in Canada however is that many young people around 5 -6 years younger than me (desi in particular) like acting like ‘gangsters’ and behaving badly, I am very bothered by this because close to 100% of the kids I encounter behave like this. I find that many parents, especially those of recent immigrants work long hours and don’t appear to know/ have the time/don’t care what their children are up and not providing them with the guidance and proper upbringing they need. Many parents here seem to spoil their kids too, about a month ago a group of Tamil youths driving (most likely their parent’s very expensive car) almost collided with me because they didn’t check their blind spot and just turned into my lane. I honked at them and fortunately managed to apply my brakes on time. To my disbelief, these kids didn’t signal an apology but instead were all laughing as if they had done a great thing. Why don’t their parents tell them how to behave before handing over their car keys to them? Unbelievable. Whenever I open my window at home I hear kids out on the screen calling each other the F word and other nasty things. Whatever the case, the kids here are OUT OF CONTROL and not being brought up right – if this continues I have to move. Parents: Either raise your kids right or even simpler, stop having so many.
50:
That video was terrible! Bad enough with the “FOB” act, they had to add blackface to it too!
Doesn’t anyone (and i’m hoping there are at least a FEW people here who grew up in intensely caucasian, immensely- ignorant-of-the-outside-world) who grew up as the only brown person in their immediate area (or for several square miles) feel at least a bit wistful about the possibility of having a gang to rely on in your youth?
Now i’m not endorsing the random cruelty, hooliganism or rowdy-type activities that inevitably result from clods of hormonally-charged immigrants banding together for protection/solidarity/sense-of-community, but the sense that you had a safety net if jim-bob and friends decided that a particular summer was to be one of incredible torment and pain; one dizzying succession of random beatings, clumsy verbal attacks and mucus-launching practice (brown-face target not included).
Rahul (160):
I think after 1.5 rounds, you should have a clear winner. In the country of Name-callers…the person who goes firstin the eye-for-an-eye game is King.
Probably it is time for concept clarification.
Identity concerns those features of a person that he/she perceives as ostensibly central, enduring and distinctive in character (about him or her)
Image is tied to the person’s perceptions of how external constituencies (e.g., whites, blacks, ABCDs, old FOBs, new FOBs) view him or her
Identity requires self-description. Image, however, is at the mercy of the crowd.
For example, I might consider myself a proud (not in the sense of ahamkar, but content in the chance that I was born one) Indian, a proud Bengali, a Hindu (whatever that means), a fan of Hindustani classical vocal, my parent’s child, and my grandmother’s grandson as central, enduring, and distinctive in character about my identity. However, I know that in certain circles I might have an image of a ‘FOB’ (although I harbor no intentions of staying in this country).
Whenever there is a conflict between identity and image, the best way to deal with it, in my opinion, is to politely remind the identity imposer that the description is inaccurate, or at best colored by projections of his or her own identity. If the politeness fails, and image fails to conform to one’s identity, it is best to leave the name-caller to the turmoil of his or her brain.
What about calling somebody by his or her name in the right pronunciation?
Please don’t sNIGGER at FOBs. It is deSPICable.
Kesh, we’re not going to agree on this. I understand the role that criminal justice plays in gang issues; however, I really don’t think that the “solution to gang violence” is steep penalties and aggressive imprisonment. If you don’t address the roots of a problem, you’re not going to fix the product, you just force it to evolve, and usually not for the better.
PG, how do you figure? I ask because I’ve never heard “angrez” used pejoratively. That said, I don’t deny that it could be used that way, and I just might not know.
Not sure if it was defined for the non-Hindi/Punjabi speakers — “angrez”=English, as in a person of English-origin (unlike “angrezi” which means English the language or English as an adjective). In my experience it’s used pretty across-the-board for anyone white, though.
My problem with FOB, and with other pejorative words, is that they are not only degrading for whatever historical reason (e.g. “Paki” by itself would not be pejorative were it not for its violent racist usage in the U.K.), but these are words that actively seek to degrade and dehumanize people. They are words that make you and I, as people, forget that we have things in common. Whatever, maybe I am too Bay Area or something.
And finally, here is performance by Julian Curry (Def Poetry Jam) that I really appreciate.
Come on, people. IBD means Irritable Bowel Disorder. Granted the Hindustanis have come up through the ranks of giardiasis and amoebiasis, granted all those gol gappas and kachori chaat in the side streets of Purani Dilli and Lucknow have taken their toll, but it seems uncharitable to identify them with it. I suggest behenchots and haramzades for one side and the other. After all, we desis are all brothers, aren’t we, which makes us also behenchots. I’m still working on the argument for the other side.
Oh, and don’t forget the fate of the word untouchable. First Gandhi changed it to harijan because untouchable was derogatory. Then harijan became derogatory, so the People Formerly Known As Untouchable adopted dalit instead. Now dalit has become derogatory. What will happen next nobody knows. All of which goes to prove that fiddling around with words to find the truly acceptable, non-offensive one is a losing battle. The only way to address the problem is to fix not the words but the behenchots using them.
If you are a kid like this:
Click here
And then move to Canada, chances are you would be violently inclined.
Of course FOB is derogatory, in the same way that “WOP” is derogatory and “ABCD” is derogatory. I’m surprised that it’s used so freely by folks who find the term ABCD derogatory, but I suppose that reflects the fact that this board and its writers are overwhelmingly ABD, and what doesn’t touch you doesn’t offend you as much. I think “desi” or “DBD” is better.
As for gangs and kids getting violent over such terms, well, that’s a whole ‘nuther matter. But yes, I’ve met some desis in the UK and in the US who are very embarrassed by more recent or more conservative/poorer migrants from desh who they think will give people like them a bad name, or who represent what they’ve been trying so hard to distance themselves from. It’s not that different from the way people behave back home, treating people labelled “hicks” badly (in Bombay I remember the term used was “ghati”). In desh, you can distance yourself class-wise, in the US people group you together, etc etc.
ok i’m sorry I understand that you can be hurt by the word FOB, I understand that it is derogatory, but what I don’t understand is how it can hurt you so much that you rationalize beating people up and fire bombing someone’s house. I’m sorry but they are just not equivalent. I don’t know to me FOB just different mindset, way of thought, bringing up type thing. I’m sorry but i totally do call my self an ABCD, cause hell yeah it can be confusing sometimes. As you get older you do get less confused and all but still you were confused at least one point in your life. I can understand how some of us do find abCd derogatory, but i don’t think those same people would go and firbomb someone for calling them that.
clueless on May 23, 2007 12:29 PM · Direct link
Does it seem like that the desi gang problem is a much bigger problem in Canada and England then it is in the United States. I wonder if this has anything to do with the type of desi immigrants that go to Canada and England compare to the type that go to United States.
See here. http://www.indolink.com/displayArticleS.php?id=041306085913
If you think America has a magic “desi gang-filter”, it does not seem to work much better than Canada’s or England’s. Unfortunately, the same seems to be true for its desi arrogance-filter.
Teenage gangs and fighting is inevitable in schools (in any country,any race) since we started herding same age group into classrooms/schools.Everybody who has been to school has seen/experianced that .There is no need to get out your “How I beat the bully and got lucky with girls” stories out.yes I’m talking to you the “atheist formally known as the god”.;-))
What stands out in this story is not the use of word FOB as a epithet by Sri Lankan Tamil on Tamil.It’s firebombing your rivals house and nearly murdering his family!
Sri Lankan Tamil gang probelm has graduated from teenagers fighting each other into a whole new level(Canada/Britain/Australia and nobody mentions France where there was a recent crackdown).Some commenters has semi-clearly identyfies the problem as absent parents and teenagers gone wild . That’s only a part of the problem.The parents themselves are fleeing a war situation.Some of them are former fighters and specially in Last 30 years Sri Lankan Tamil culture was a celebration and glorifying of the violence.Majority of the recent immigrant worship a blood thirsty murderer as SUN GOD and attend meetings gloryfying suicide bombers quite freequently.So what would a teenager with self respect do if you are mocked in school.Bomb the mo-fo (and his mom) who insulted you !
Several promiment Sri Lankan Tamils voiced there concern about the celebration of violence in Sri Lankan tamil culture and harm the LTTE have done to it’s own people.The most proiment figure who brought up the issue is Lakshman Kadiragamar ,Sri Lankan Foreign minister who was assinated by LTTE.Then you have Anandasangaree the leader of TULF ,who is barely keeping alive by hiding .Radhika Kumaraswamy , UN Secretary General’s Special Representative for Children and Armed conflict , who brought up the issue in speach in Canadian university was asked to shut the f— up by LTTE sympathising “intellectuals”.
Chandare, I agree that there tends to be a glorification of violence among the Sri Lankan Tamil diaspora. I’ve attended “Tamil Cultural Shows” where young girls and guys around 8-12 years of age sing the glories of Prabhakaran and enact plays that celebrate suicide bombings and other acts of violence. Why one would want to expose kids of that age to such things I don’t know, but it’s a common occurence. Anyone who resists becomes an outcast in the community, or worse, harassed and threatened for not toeing the line.
On Sunday I went on a little cultural excursion with my parents – in Mississauga, a suburb of Toronto. It was the so-called South Asian Festival with my parents. Basically the Tamil equivalent of the CNE with vendors hawking saris and shalwars, a mini-Midway with rides in an industrial parking lot, and some karaoke and dance and magic and circus performances thrown in. Huge turnout too – attendance in the mid-thousands.
Having lived in Waterloo, Connecticut, and then back in Waterloo the past 12 months – where there are like no people of my background – I feel I’ve grown distanced from the Tamil community, and I took this as an opportunity to get in touch with my people. But what it instead did serve to highlight was the growing rift I feel between myself and my parents, and the Tamil community at large.
What I observed is that most of the guys in my age group like to hang in packs, are loud and raucous, and are a bunch of thug wannabes in their FUBU, Phat Farm, Sean Johns, oversized plaid shirts, and Ecko jeans. I slightly felt out of place there looking very clean-cut and genteel in a grey Calvin Klein crew neck top and Banana Republic jeans – clothes that actually fit.
I actually had a guy on my floor last term ask me what my background was, and then ask me why a lot of Tamil guys act like their black guys from the ‘hood. I basically relayed to him what one of my good buddies in high school thought (a Chinese guy) – that it has to do with a lot of these guys just looking black. Most middle-class white and Asian kids would shun this subculture as crass and low-class, but Sri Lankan guys can get away with being posers and not look too ridiculous.
This squares with the observations my friends and I made as we strolled through Milliken Mills Park, a northern suburb of Toronto a couple of weeks back – basically a bunch of mostly brown guys loitering in circles of 3 or 4, just standing around, not playing frisbee or tag football or baseball as a group of guys usually do at the park. That and with the poor landscaping and all the litter strewn about, Eddie remarked that it was like the opening five minutes of Coolio’s Dangerous Minds.. And it was a stark contrast to the pleasant environs of Main Street historic Unionville, with mostly WASP and Chinese couples and families – young and old alike – in a very idyllic, well-maintained park, free of garbage and Scarbage.
Any how, upon getting home I relayed my reservations about the appearance and lack of civility of the young guys at the function to my mom, and I was a little surprised when she didn’t immediately share in my indignation. “Did they bother you?†Well they didn’t bother me per se, but I was bothered by their raucous behaviour. Then my dad pipes in – “They’re just kids.†Kids?! At 17, 18, 20, 22 – they’re my age!
I think this is symptomatic of lax parenting and the “boys will be boys†mentality that I think may be all-too pervasive in my community (though not in my household – neither me nor my brother are like that). I also didn’t see much intermingling between girls and guys, and I think this is a cause. When a group of guys get together, there’s much greater propensity for rowdy behaviour. But this is less likely when women are present because women have a civilizing, pacifying effect on young males.
I think this lack of intermingling is a really unfortunate remnant of British colonialism, and the uptight 19th century Victorian prudish priggishness that infected the indigenous Hindu culture to the core. Look at East Asians, and how easily the girls and guys get together in social settings.
But I also wonder how much of their behaviour is a function of attracting girls. To the broader public their appearance and behaviour may appear at times ridiculous, at times threatening (Sivji once remarked to me that it seemed to him that Tamil guys had permanent-PMS which was kind of funny, but has a ring of truth). If these girls like these thugged-out guys well… a girl that’s attracted to that, I wouldn’t be attracted to anyway, so I’m not missing out. I think this is partly why I like conservative Asian girls – they have style, and they also carry themselves with a certain class and a quiet grace and feminine elegance, like French-Canadian women. And they’re smart.
I guess I may have just tarred people of my background with a broad brush, and this shouldn’t be construed as an expression of self-loathing; there are good and bad apples with any group. But I have a desire to see my community looked upon with a certain begrudging respect and admiration – as we privately acknowledge with certain communities – and I have yet to see that. And such behaviour is symptomatic of that, because 1 bad besmirches 10 goods. And maybe my motives are not always altruistic and have more to do with what preconceived judgements people will make when I say I belong to x ethnic group; as much as we’d like to judge everyone on their own individual merits, we don’t always do that.
exhibit A
I think that was a stupid statement to make.. It all depends on the personality of the guys and the personality of the girls..
Maybe their mothers will have a pacifying effect on them but not women in their own age group..
I have also noticed what Sen observed in Scarborough
Most of them looked and sounded(overheard) ” recent immigrants”. I wondered how they would fair in Chicago,LA,Cleveland or Philly in the actual ‘hood.
I like the following terms:
FOB – you know it
BOB – Been off the Boat – in the diaspora for a long time, or immigrated in middle school (the former would be my parents’ generation, who have now spent more time in the US than India, and are oddly in some ways less comfortable in India than myself! The latter would be kids who grew up til about 12, or 14, or whatever, and then immigrated)
NOB – Never on/off the Boat – when referring in a US/western context to the desis in the desh
Are all of these stereotypes, and either discriminatory or derogatory? Depends on how you use them.
I post them for your enjoyment.
Might I add, FOB is a term that’s often used up here in Canada among the Chinese community to distinguish them from CBCs (Canadian-born Chinese), but amongst them there is a certain cachet to the term.
Among the huge and affluent Hong Kong Chinese community up here, FOB means you live in upper-middle class Chinese enclave in Markham or Richmond Hill, drive an Acura RSX or Infinti G35 with fuzzy dice, frequent Pacific Mall, shop at Aritzia, drink bubble tea, and own atleast 6 iterations of Hello Kitty apparel.
Amongst desis though FOB = poor, backward, smelly, and uncouth. So amongst browns, FOB has more negative connotations.
If this is how parent behave,how would you expect a child to behave? This is a Sri Lankan- Tamil problem.Meaning other Sri Lankans(specialy majority Sinahalese ) share responsiblity too.They enacted policies which drove Tamils to this position.That doesn’t take the burdon away from Tamils as well.There is a Sinhala saying “Adanna inna minhage ahata angilen anna wage”(Like poking the eyes of a man ready to cry).Sinhalese poked the eyes of the Tamils (specially of the high caste jaffna Hindus) in 1956 who were more than willing to cry and stab back. This is how things end up 50 years down the stream.Death and starvation in own country and gang figting for the ones who escaped to the west.
I’m not sure that it’s accurate to characterize the Tamil community at large as the thuggish set from Scarborough. I think you would identify pretty closely with those of us who grew up in non-tamil areas of the city. Scarborough itself is getting a bad rap here. It’s probably the most diverse place i’ve ever been in terms of cultures. Economically as well it ranges from huge mansions to really run down apartment complexes. Its issue is that it’s the primary destination for all kinds of new immigrant groups and the immediate poverty/culture shock/whatever else that happens in those situations leads to a lot of absentee/poor parenting. It’s easy to see how situations like this one arise there.
That said, the vast majority of people I know from Scarborough aren’t hanging on the corner causing trouble. The few that do this are the most visible and the ones who cause the problems that yield the press. I’m not sure what connection the civil war has to the acceptance of violence…that youtube video someone posted earlier blamed tamil movies…no idea though.
Sen’s comment reminded me of this following video.
It’s a Malaysian’s Tamil Rap remix of a Illayaraja’s song with a conflunce of Tamil and Black imagery. From what I gather they are quite popular in Malaysia and the members were born and brought up in Malaysia.
Tamil Rap
Back to the discusssion, any term can be offensive if used with a negative connotation. I think FOB is used as a negative identity more than a positive one. Will I pick a fight over FOB? May be, based on the context and situation. But firebombing?? No way 🙂
I’ve encountered some who even use “desi” with negative connotations. Interestingly in Tamilnadu “Paradesi” (Pardesi) is perceived as a mildly derogatory term and in this context it may mean homeless!
Words can mean different in different places and the conflicts loaded with it can be different. In mainstream India, calling someone black is generally considered offensive and this includes referring to black people. Instead the word “Negro” is preferred but this has changed in a lot in the recent decade because of better awareness.
I guess it is difficult to globalize the meaning/effect of a term. We may just have to be careful, cognizant and conscious of the usage.
Finally, although I grew in up India, I find the calling someone ABCD to be totally offensive. I mean who isn’t confused in this world?? Just living in India or growing up in India doesn’t guarantee a clear identity and understanding of culture. Understanding a culture involves a serious cultural introspection, some reading and practice. ABD have more chance to question their identity and reevaluate their cultural alignment and position compared to an average American or an Indian. Not blindly following what parents follow or friends follow and getting an opportunity to self evaluate one’s identity can be wonderful thing. Albeit, a struggle. So, this sweeping general assessment that I’m Indian and I know better is BS. How did I get here? 🙂
Anyway, these type of conflicts between recent immigrants and established one’s are not just cultural class due to lack of awareness but also a fight over their cultural identity in western world.
I once answered a charge from a DBD, that “to be truly Indian you have to follow cricket and follow Bollywood film” by saying:
“So to be truly Indian, you have to follow the two largest western influenced imports….. And you’re calling me confused?”
All blacks from the hood dress in fubu and Sean John and wear loose fitting clothes? How come I didn’t get the memo on this? I am going to Macy’s now and get me some hood gear before they kick me out. Another question what is acting black?
This, I believe has a lot to do with geography. The very coining of term ABCD I’d say is more of a defense mechanism, a way to assuage one’s own insecurities about being in a new place. I’d imagine if I moved to India and lived/worked/schooled there I wouldn’t be called an “ABCD”, even though I’m equally “confused”
I’d imagine there much worse terms in the homeland for Indian origin folks who’ve grown up in the US. (or anyplace outside of India, for that matter)
Digress # 196
It cuts both ways – I have commented earlier on the fact that some ABDs of South Asian origin choose to paint all DBDs with a broad brush with the use of sweeping generlaizations. See my earlier comments here
Yeah, I grew up in the US and am considering moving back to India for the rest of my life.. I think they will call me an NRI, maybe an American etc.. I guess that very few people do what I am doing, so I guess there is no acronym / nickname for it..