I have a slightly different take on Bobby Jindal from some of my co-bloggers here at the Mutiny: I know, if I lived in Louisiana, that I wouldn’t vote for him. I just disagree with him too strongly on the social issues — intelligent design and abortion rights, for starters — to let my sense of ethnic loyalty get the better of me.
But I can’t help but be somewhat torn when I see photos like this:
The rest of the very interesting New York Times profile explains what this represents: Jindal is slowly winning over the rural white voters in northern Louisiana, staunch Republicans (can anyone say David Duke?) who couldn’t bring themselves to vote for him when he ran for governor four years ago. He’s also learning how to avoid giving the impression that he is an overachieving policy wonk (which he undoubtedly is), so as to better connect with ordinary Louisianans.
For me, Jindal’s growing success at this (again, encapsulated in the photo above) taps into an anxiety I myself have had as a child of immigrants — who became the first (and only) person in my extended family to earn a Ph.D. Even if your tastes and cultural values are profoundly “Americanized,” as mine are, there remains a sense that you don’t quite “fit,” which tends to be exacerbated (for me, especially) every time some a-hole on South Street (in Philly) mutters something about “there goes Bin Laden” when I walk down the street. Part of the anxiety comes from the ignorance and xenophobia of some Americans, but a good part of it comes from myself, an internalized sense of remaining not-quite-pukka despite everything.
If Jindal wins, his victory will suggest to me he’s somehow overcome both sides of the immigrant’s anxiety syndrome: the part that comes from others’ mistrust, and also the part that comes from himself — his own sense of being something different, something other than a “normal” American, or in this case, a representative Louisianan. If he wins, I won’t cheer, but I will, I expect, quietly feel a certain sense of pride at his accomplishment despite my strong disagreement with his kind of politics. Not just because he’s a fellow desi — it’s actually more complex than that. Rather, the pride will be because he’s a fellow desi who’s evidently achieved, after a struggle, something I’ve long aspired to do: shake that dude’s hand.
You could call his parents dumbasses too for nameing him Piyush. It was not as if he was born in India. What were they thinking? Its obvious that some of his attempts to fit in are from his childish trauma from being teased (“Peee Yuuu”). Slade is an unusual name, and I personally have not met anyone by that name. It seems ANNA liked it though
http://www.sepiamutiny.com/sepia/archives/003691.html
I think some people are coming down too hard on Jindal for ‘selling out’. Why do we think that just because he is desi and was a Hindu at one point, he has to live up to some benchmark we set for a brown politician. As other have pointed out, his conversion may have had nothing to do with politics nor his name change. The fact that he is married to a desi would be quite an aberration, he could have been even more politically viable marrying WASP or something. Sure he probably was never a campaigner for brown issues and maybe even an apologist while growing up but I would seriously take his brown wife and kids into consideration while analyzing his motives. Now Dinesh D’Souza is a guy who gets on my nerves a lot more but that’s another story. I would be very uncomfortable with Jindal for his views but not because he does not wear desiness on his sleeve (relatively). After all he is a politician and he found a makeover that works for him and is sticking to it. Only caveat that I wont be too excited or hopeful for desi issues based on his success, but then he is still better than a white supremacist nut.
What song is Kahan hai woh deewana? I am a DBD and even I don’t have it on my iPOD. I do have Skynard. Though I would think something like Dylan’s The times they are a changing would be more of a Pan American song than a heavily southern one like Sweet Home. But then Dylan’s songs were more of pan generational than pan American. How about ‘Take Me out to the Ball Game’ for a more all American song.
I find this whole “he converted to sell out” and “he’s not really desi” dialogue confusing and more than a little bizarre. As someone with an “Americanized” name, I really don’t think you can gauge someone’s desi-ness by some strange and narrow definition of what you think a homogenous desi identity is, including one that extends to political beliefs. I’ve definitely met a fair share of desis who were politically polar opposites from me — there is no dearth or “dying breed” of desi Republicans, let alone far right desi Republicans. It seems like Jindal is pretty firm in his convictions. Is there a political element? Maybe, but I don’t understand why we’re all jumping to assume that that’s necessarily the case.
Is it that we are so desperate to disassociate from Bobby Jindal’s politics that we try to show how “un-desi” he is, instead? Personally I find his political agenda appalling and horrific in and of itself, and that reaction wouldn’t change if he was brown, black, white, purple, Democrat, or polka-dotted. But maybe the underlying rancor is not because he’s so “white washed” or “sold out” (phrases I really hate), maybe we [the people blogging on SM at this moment] just don’t want the first “high profile” desi politician in office to be a representative of the far right.
What song is Kahan hai woh deewana? I am a DBD and even I don’t have it on my iPOD. I do have Skynard. Though I would think something like Dylan’s The times they are a changing would be more of a Pan American song than a heavily southern one like Sweet Home. But then Dylan’s songs were more of pan generational than pan American. How about ‘Take Me out to the Ball Game’ for a more all American song.
Ardy, it’s from “Loafer,” from 1973. I mentioned it because I happened to be listening to it the other day (along with “Koi Shahri Babu” and “Aaj Mausam Bada Be-iman Hai”).
http://www.dishant.com/album/Loafer-(1973).html
Dylan might be a bit too Greenwich Village to fit the idea I was trying to express (for the record, my favorite Dylan song is “Tangled Up in Blue”). I really wanted to say “Led Zeppelin,” but Zeppelin are, after all, British, so it’s hard to claim them.
Kush Tandon, that excerpted quote from Jindal about Jena is a powerful and troubling counterpoint to the lesson Amardeep seems at least partially inclined to draw from a Jindal victory. If his victory comes in part through that kind of open pandering to racism, then it just strikes me as more of the same — a privileged Asian American positioning himself and being regarded as a “model minority” on the racial hierarchy — rather than a sign of “change” to feel very much pride about.
And Razib, I understand that a Jindal victory wouldn’t be causal and that of course the South has changed. But there are many ways in which it hasn’t changed, or in which old pathologies simply now take new form. So I am skeptical that this campaign’s success is indicatory of anything meaningful, rather than something superficial, fleeting, and at the end of the day not all that important for desi folks more generally.
your statement:
but both groups have a lot of variation and are a coalition of many different sorts. wealthy jews are democrats
I dont know exactly how this translates to :
since i implied that 20-40% of jews are not democrats, well yes, not all jews are democrats.
but lets say that was a clear implication, I still disagree with it, as in the NY metro area, I’d say it’s a fairly even split.
you’re so materialistic! ideas don’t matter?
They matter when they’re actually held up. But when they’re used to hoodwink and cajole, they matter less.
Unless of course you think of the ‘When the Levee Breaks Song’.
that’s right.. we know how brutal the kids in scool can be.. he would have suffered a lot of childhood trauma..
I hope he can put on some weight before he runs for President. He looks sickly and revoltingly thin. Jindal for 2012/16 anyone?
i can attest to the curious Balinese detachment from indian identification. when i visited hindu temples on that island, some were terraced with what looked like rice paddies leading to a crowning platform–at each step, a caste qualification was required to advance. Our driver stayed at the first level while my SL Tam family were able to go to the top. The big difference, as I saw it, was that they had many more subdivisions between the basic 4 than I had ever been aware of in the Indian context but they did also assume that we were at the top of the caste hierarchy. I’m not sure if it was because of our ‘south asian’ appearance or the fact that my uncle who lived there was a big shot developer.
You may as well say they’re Indian because of ‘Kashmir’ or Scandinavian because of that song about vikings.
You’ve got to read Gary Shteyngart (either book– The Russian Debutante’s Handbook or Absurdistan) about immigrant anxiety. Dead on and hilarious.
all of these identity debates while interesting and generally important are sort of secondary in this race. louisiana is one of the poorest states in the country with tremendous problems. in that context i think, all of these ideological issues are important but secondary to the economic and education issues facing the state. above all, jindal is a wonky technocrat- he has specific policy proposals for the major issues facing the state.
so if you’re gonna say you won’t vote for jindal, then who would you vote for in that race? i hate jindal as much as the next guy, but the other two leading candidates, the dem and the independent were both republicans before this race started, but switched parties because they knew they could not run against jindal in the same party (since he was the chosen one). boasso, the dem candidate, has been a state senator for some time, but hasn’t really done anything to distinguish himself. he has been good on post-katrina levee issues though. i dunno anything about the independent candiate, georges.
the other candidates probably have similar views as jindal on the social issues- there isn’t much difference in LA between dems and repubs on the social issues. so the real debate should be who would be better for louisiana on the economic issues and improving the education system.
lots of south asians said they wouldn’t vote for jindal back in ’03, which would mean they would vote for blanco who’s economic plan was based on tourism?!! i think its fine to criticize jindal in the abstract, but in the context of this race, if you don’t like him- who would you vote for? also, i just want to add that i’m not giving him leeway because he’s indian, i could care less whether we have an indian governor of louisiana or any other state.
Or American cause they wrote the immigrant song 😐 Actually, the song Kashmir was a misnomer – a screw up on their part I think, Plant was actually writing about the Sahara. Hence the lyrics
Anyways, back to Bobby J and LA.. sorry for the digression.
Amardeep, you wouldn’t shake that guy’s hand if you really know what northern Louisiana stands for – bigotry, bigotry and more bigotry. The white people of that part of the state vote for Jindal because he may not be white, but he’s not black, and he’s their only chance to keep Lousiana Republican. Jindal would endorse the study of creationism in schools as well as irresponsibly not vote on key health reforms required by New Orleans and other impoverished Louisiana cities. Jindal is a Bush-bot and there’s no getting past that. Just because the other candidates suck doesn’t make him the greatest thing since sliced bread in comparison.
37 Reasons To Vote Against Jindal
Dude, Immigrant Song was the Scandinavian tune I was referring to. It’s not about America, it’s about the Viking invasion of Britain a thousand years ago.
Check here.
And the tune itself. Two things the city of Birmingham has given the world — heavy metal and UK bhangra music.
That was the point. Anyways lets drop this, we’ve derailed this conversation enough.
I think it’s quite possible that the change in religion led to political activism and not that his political ambition led to religion change. Christianity of all sorts in America has always been more about community service and fellowship than any of the indian religions.
Non fundee hinduism is incompatible with political activism. It favors a denial of the world, and it encourages humble complacency and solitude. This is especially so in US since many Indians live in places where there aren’t alot of other indians so the more social practices of the religion (going house to house in navaratri and, ostensibly, thinking and talking of political things) are curtailed.
Blacks and republicans is not so strange. You forget that it was the Democratic party that ruled the south in a reign of terror from deconstruction to the 1960s. Republican presidents, and the republican party has more continuity since civil war than do the Democrats, were generally nicer to blacks than were democrats. Lincoln as president signs e.proc, also allows afams to join military. Eisenhower desegregates the military, which is huge, and forces desegregation in Arkansas. Nixon inaugurates affirmative action.
The basic “father” of the democratic party is jackson, and he represents a large racist contingent of that party that goes all the way through current senator byrd and includes pro-segregationist Poppa Gore of TN. That blacks should so easily throw their lot in with the democrats off of JFK and his brother’s ostentatious support of a “civil rights movement” is nothing but a big successful marketing ploy. Even Jimmy Carter won his democratic GA governorship by race baiting. The democrats have done little for blacks other than in the basic way that they’ve tried to buy poor people’s votes with social spending.
northern desi and Mytri you raise fair points. Normally I would think the very fact that someone who looks like him gets to the point that they’re glad-handing a tatooed, bearded white guy in overalls – even just by itself – means something has changed – in the South, in Louisiana, in the way a South Asian is perceived. But you make the point that almost nothing might have changed, it is politics as usual. I confess the whole thing still has me confused.
Amardeep, I jumped into the comments without reading your post – so I’m a little late in saying that it is well written and brings up an issue with which even I, as a DBD, can relate!
Chachaji: There is a Maitri and a Mytri here 🙂 You are referring to Maitri who is from LA actually. I am from Penn State 🙂
Oops! Sorry. it’s the homonymic pseudonyms eponymous of ‘friendship’ – that did it!
I just love the fact that some people are making judgements about the guy that Jindal is shaking hands with cause of the way he looks. It kind of funny we desi’s can judge someone by the way he looks, yet we get upset when other judge us by the way we look.
Truman was the first to desegregate the military through an executive order, just FYI. I don’t say this to detract from Eisenhower — his role in the Little Rock Nine situation should not be understated. Even if Nixon “inaugurates” affirmative action, it’s initially launched by and outlined by Johnson in 1965. The formation of the Civil Rights division of the DOJ happens under Kennedy (even if he did so cautiously and grudgingly). I think you have a legit argument re: the historic role of Dems in drumming up racist craziness, especially in the South, but I think it’s a little specious to attribute programs initiated by Dems to the Republicans who may have been charged with the continued implementation or formal authorization of civil rights programs. Both parties have used race-baiting, and both have dirt on their noses.
I also don’t buy the argument that non-fundee Hinduism is incompatible with political activism, but since I am not a Hindu, I will refrain from talking about something I know little about.
As a matter of fact he WAS BORN in India.
nope–Bobby Jindal
both parties have changed a lot since the 1960s. more republicans voted for the 1964 civil rights act than democrats.
Polls close in less than 4 hours–woot, woot!! 2012 for Pres., here we come!
This is an interesting point actually, The reason I say this is because I do relate to the part about not fitting in. Heck I am DBD. But I am not able to relate to the part about wanting to fit in. I guess that’s probably because I am not in the mentality of a long term immigrant and thus not ‘fitting in’ is something that I feel natural about. I also don’t feel the desire to really ‘fit in’ naturally into what’s primarily a European inspired culture (well this may be controversial to some readers here but thats what I have felt, that the US culture is primarily European influenced with wonderful eclectic influences. It will someday cease to be so but not yet). This probably comes from the fact that to me the US is still a country thats not home and thus there are no expectations I place on myself regarding fitting in. I believe in this regards my feelings would differ from that of an ABD since to him/her this country is home and his/hers despite having a strong connection to the desh.
Is it just me or is Jindal turning anorexic?
As a resident of Louisiana & a South Asian – I am not at all conflicted with my decision NOT to vote for this neo-Nazi in brown skin. He pretty much stands contrary to everything the Desi community does – not that he should march to the beat of his own drummer but he really freaks me out. His position on abortion is so out there (the bible teaches that abortion is murder and should be banned – EVEN in cases of rape or incest) that even fellow Republicans were trying to distance themselves from him a few years ago. He has toned that kind of talk down now & his tv spots present a theme of ‘family values’ that show his wife & three kids playing around their house. A hard worker no doubt & probably the best thing for the state right now – just not the South Asian candidate we all thought would be the first to do something big like this…
ROFL–yeah, right. We do’t like ambitious technocrats.
That’s a presumptuous statement, since it forces the “Desi community” in to some ideological straitjacket. If there’s one thing I’ve learned from this site, it’s that the “community” is not monolithic.
I’d be fine if you said that he doesn’t speak for you. I’m startled that you chose to speak for everyone.
that’s really nothing to joke about–and you’re forgetting that some people are naturally lean. Campaigns, even the state-level variety, invariably require the candidate to do a lot of traveling, making nice, shaking hands and even for someone with a perpetually sunny temperament, I’m sure it can get a bit overwhelming. Nutritional intake could suffer as a result.
Forgot to add…
1) I think, no, I know, thanks to my Jewish high school, that throwing the term “Nazi” around like that is a bit disrespectful. I laughed along with everyone else at Seinfeld’s “soup nazi”, but this somehow feels different. Anytime we use that term for a politician, I get chills. Yes, he’s a harsh conservative, but does that automatically equate him with Hitler?
2) Let me see if I understood you– you admit that he’s the best thing for the state right now, but you won’t vote for him…because he’s not the person you wanted to break the brown barrier? What’s more important to you? Where you live or…
3) Not all of us thought, well, anything about “the first to do something big like this”. You’re speaking for many, again. To me, the first to do something big, would be the first to do something big, nothing more. I didn’t have some dream scenario wherein the candidate was from this party, espousing this position, for this office.
But that’s just me. And I didn’t slam him for what he names his kids, so maybe I’m biased, or something.
Thanks, Anna, for # 184!
And with the passage of the Civil Rights Act, many Southern Dems defected to become Southern Republicans 🙂
And with the passage of the Civil Rights Act, many Southern Dems defected to become Southern Republicans 🙂
sure. and some of them changed their tunes, like fritz hollings and robert byrd.
i don’t mind lefties pointing out the right’s racism. but i do get tired of apologia for robert byrd (“he’s changed since he was a klansman and since he set the record for a speech in attempting to filibuster the civil rights act”) and selective recollections of men like j. william fulbright (i.e., anti-vietnam = good, segregation = let’s not remember that). the difference is one of degree, not kind. re: jindal, same sort of thing. sure he uses coded words redolent of racism. but he’s been the target of racism himself, from both the republicans and democrats. everyone has dirty hands, it’s politics. there are particular lines that we all have which we won’t cross, but those lines differ for different people.
diversity is great. well, as long as everyone agrees with your 😉
T – 1…. I am at edge of my seat–this is HUGE! Drinks are on me at the club tonight if he wins (heh–otherwise, we’ll do it when he wins the run-off in november).
correct me if I’m wrong razib, but that really hasn’t been a theme on the left (even in the niche-issues galore blogosphere)recently. I believe it’s more that institutions and politicians involved in upcoming races are getting the free passes with regards to their own prejudices–politicians on the right are far more frequently cited for ‘breakdowns’ in moral conduct (hello prostitutes! hello gay sex!) in overly gleeful tones.
Malkin and her helpers are currently busting a nut over how Jindal is a solid, smart technocrat with the exact conservative social beliefs so lacking in their leading candidated for the Republican nomination (i’m not counting Romney’s recent change of heart). He seems to now represent their misguided quest for the true “color-blind” candidate–it also helps that he is a product of immigrants and seems to have adopted what they view as the theological basis for our Constitution and, at least superficially, a complete abandonment of ‘divisive’ ethnic markers (assimilation, hooooo!!!!)
Hi razib, 🙂
I will quote myself, to clarify: “I think you have a legit argument re: the historic role of Dems in drumming up racist craziness, especially in the South… Both parties have used race-baiting, and both have dirt on their noses.”
What I find alarming is what murali talks about above. I think what’s disheartening is the continued use of racist rabble rousing in politics. On both sides.
correct me if I’m wrong razib, but that really hasn’t been a theme on the left (even in the niche-issues galore blogosphere)recently.
1) byrd said the n-word a few years back. by a few years, i mean less than 10 years ago. and yet he is still a public figure.
2) the right-wing often tries to bring up his slip ups and his past record, but people at places like daily kos point out that he has changed his tune and over the past few decades has been good for black people in his voting (e.g., i think ended up voting for the MLK holiday too). the past is the past and so on. but the fact is that if byrd was a republican i doubt his amends would matter, he’d be attacked for his past.
loox like he crossed 50% http://www.redstate.com/stories/elections/2007/the_bayou_states_heads_to_the_polls
.
2) you’re crediting the Kossacks with a bit too much power. Even in the lib blogosphere, they’re really not king-makers in any sense. Ned Lamont found that out fairly quickly. The right-wing blogs, when rallying around a single issue that they feel is worthwhile (and feasible), tend to have a better track record (debbie almontaser, “amnesty,” etc.)of achieving real-world results. I really do doubt that those Kossacks who point out Byrd’s multi-culti, pro AFAM platitudes and symbolic actions/votes would really believe that those things prove he’s not longer a hardcore racist.
Well then, let’s break out those dinosaur eggs and fry us up a celebratory omelet…just like our ancestors did! And while we’re at it, let’s do a rosary for those brave defenders of unborn lives.
(Preliminary) woot-woot! Muralimannered, as you well know, Gov. of LA has about zero influence on abortion-rights.
Aha, another one of those ‘historical revisionists’!!! But no, i was just having a snide little snark…my apologies if your keen analytical mind interpreted said snark as serious argument.
I do believe, however, that state governments can introduce state-level legislation to restrict abortion-rights or simply make it very difficult to provide or receive such procedures. (sd? nd?)
not really–federal courts nail these.
Anyone have results–I’m still searching, can’t find ’em….
mural, i think lamont proves the netroots power. lieberman won because of the republican vote (see the exit polls), not the democrats (who he lost). or, more precisely, i think the netroots are simply expressions of grassroots sentiments, at least among white professional males 😉
re: abortion, state vs. fed. i think you’re both right. as a practical consideration state laws can make it hard for abortion providers to operate. but that doesn’t matter as much due to the ‘abortion pill.’ also, louisiana is a mostly pro-life state. the dems are often pro-life. jindal might seem nuts to the rest of us, but the more moderate catholics in southern louisiana align with him in a lot of ways.