Mutineers, we have our first brown Governor. 🙂 Join me, as I bold my favorite parts of the NYT article which declares this history-making outcome.
Bobby Jindal, a conservative Republican congressman from the New Orleans suburbs and the son of immigrants from India, was elected Louisiana’s governor Saturday, inheriting a state that was suffering well before Hurricane Katrina left lingering scars two years ago.
Mr. Jindal, 36, defeated three main challengers in an open primary, becoming this state’s first nonwhite governor since a Reconstruction-era figure briefly held the office 130 years ago.
With more than 90 percent of the vote counted, Mr. Jindal received 53 percent, above the 50 percent-plus-one threshold needed to avoid a runoff in November. He will be the nation’s first Indian-American governor when he takes office in January.
Have I popped champagne? Yes, I have. No, I don’t believe in teaching Intelligent Design, I certainly am not an advocate of getting rid of a woman’s right to choose and I still support hate crime legislation.
I can guzzle bubbly despite all that, because there’s something else stirring within me– recognition that someone who looks like me did something so significant, combined with an uncomplicated thrill over the fact that Bobby made history.
There are so many valid reactions to Jindal; I know about them because thanks to Amardeep’s post, we have hosted a lively discussion regarding his background, his policy positions and the greater implications of his politicking, for “the community”. Amardeep’s thoughts resonated with many of us who are conflicted about Louisiana’s new Governor. The good news is, there are no wrong reactions.
Each of us is allowed to feel how we do, so while some of you gnash your teeth, I’m happy for him and by extension, us. Better than that, the next time some little kid decides that they want to be in government when they grow up, their immigrant parents now have a visual, a template, a precedent to latch on to, much the same way my English minor was suddenly acceptable once Jhumpa won.
There is much to do, much which is owed to the great state of Louisiana and her people; this is just the beginning of that story and I idealistically hope that it has a happy ending. What Jindal can do (and really, whether he can do it) remains to be seen. But I don’t think it’s disrespectful or inappropriate to raise a glass to him tonight and wish him a sincere congratulations.
Doing so doesn’t mean we buy in to his positions lock stock, neither does it mean he’s like, the greatest thing EVAR. It just means that we are happy for someone who accomplished something extraordinary. Congratulating Bobby is something I humbly think we should do, because ideally we should each choose generosity of spirit over bitterness and rancor. Choosing the former and congratulating a winner doesn’t lessen us or diminish our passionate convictions, it just demonstrates our tolerance, equanimity and good faith that we will allow a person’s actions to speak before we do, negatively and presumptously.
I don’t mean to put a damper on things. However, if you disagree with Jindal’s policies, what’s to celebrate? Is this not unthinking ethnic solidarity at best, racism at worst? Does race trump ideology, and should only all groups think that way?
cheers.
We’re coming closer to a time when a person’s color doesn’t mean anything. I’m not a fan of Jindal, but congratulations to the Governor.
No, you’re not putting a damper on things at all. Either that or the champers have kicked in and I can’t feel damp. w00t politics!
I don’t think so.
We’re all different. You seem to think that if I dislike his policies, I have to dislike him. Well, I don’t. I don’t love him either, and I loathe all binary bullshit thinking, when it’s always, always greyer than that. I’m happy for him because it’s a first. I don’t believe that people should get a free pass for shit, just because they’re brown. If they’re criminals, I don’t feel extra sympathy for them. If their books or records suck, I don’t buy them or support their efforts. But if they win such a visible office…I am going to sit up and take notice.
If you told me that a desi would be elected Governor a few years ago, I wouldn’t have believed it. I’m allowed to be excited about exactly that aspect of it, because like most humans, I identify with those I have something (note: I didn’t say everything) in common with…a child of Indian immigrants grows up to be Governor? Yeah, I’m going to react positively to that, at least on the night of victory, because that IS fantastic and cool. Being happy doesn’t mean he gets a blank check from me or that I’m going to love him forever ever (forever ever?).
Even my die-hard Dem of a father would’ve popped champagne tonight…and once I realized that, that’s when I went to the fridge.
i celebrate what lion celebrates. anericans can take pride that the great experiment is working, as i think its possible to celebrate examples of colorblindness while simultaneously acknowledging racism. i don’t much like jindals social conservatism either but i feel the same way about him as i do obama. both have some repulisive politics that are probably hurtful to POC in particular, nonetheless, their existence is a testament to MLK’s dream.
A huge day in our lives if you ask me. The possibilities, in the least the psychological ones that have been opened in the minds of brown people everywhere will have a ripple effect. Much in the same way katyal, menezes, pandit have shown us all what is possible. not to mention nooyi. Indians have arrived! I am glad to see my people empowered. However, personally – I see race playing a role in his policies, almost as if he is trying to cover up his browness or part of his browness and tendencies to lean to liberals by adopting a conservative stance. but that is just me. I feel the same way about dinesh d’souza. the horrors of being damamged in grade school :).
But I agree with anna, my diet coke can is raised in the air.
Okay, I’ll confess the urge to have a sip of champagne toasting an Asian guy who doesn’t at all look like me making governor.
But I think that’s a petty, if very human, impulse that ought to be transcended.
better than that, the next time some little kid decides that they want to be in government when they grow up, their immigrant parents now have a visual, a template, a precedent to latch on to, much the same way my English minor was suddenly acceptable once Jhumpa won.
I would think Jhumpa’s standing in her craft is far more credible than that of Bobby in his policies. IMO I don’t think that he would be a good example to give when justifying your choices for participating in politics, unless ofcourse you wanna say “Hey! if he can make it with those policies… ..” This makes me think.. are there young politicians out there who might be modeling their political career after Bush ?
I think maybe you miss Anna’s point. If I’d have had a vote, I would have cast it for someone else. Nevertheless, in the political arena, he is the first Indian-American to rise so high. That in itself is historically significant (to Indian-Americans,anyway) even if the guy holds policy positions completely antithetical to mine.
There is something pretty remarkable about this guy, only 36 years old and the child of immigrants, occupying the same State House that Huey Long once held and David Duke almost held. In the completely positive, non-ironic sense of the phrase, only in America.
Speedy
I wouldn’t, I hated Interpeters of Malodorous. 🙂
::
I’m curious about some of you, who (mostly in Amardeep’s thread) are recoiling at his “policies”. I’m not advocating agreeing with them, not when I don’t. But I don’t have this weird rxn some of you have had, which makes me wonder if there is only one “valid” set of policies. Are people not allowed to disagree? People who are pro-life feel just as strongly as their opponents do. Did it ever occur to some of you that there might be brown people who like his policies?
Is Jindal undeserving of Congratulations just because he doesn’t fit in to some neat little box of what a desi politician needs to be before everyone’s fucking happy? THAT’S what’s bothering me about the conversation…
When someone won a debate, even if I couldn’t stand them, I walked over, shook their hand, and congratulated them. It’s the right thing to do. Not being able to congratulate a legitimate winner is petty, IMO.
Incidentally, Jindal’s victory is also a victory for wonkishness. In the least educated state in the union, Louisiana voters refused to be baited attacks on Jindal’s Ivy League pedigree.
From the NYTimes:
“Insinuations about his excessive intellectual capacity are still being made. “It’s not going to be about the smartest person in this race,†Walter Boasso, a Democratic state senator and one of Mr. Jindal’s opponents, said recently. But such remarks do not seem to be catching on with voters apparently weary of bumbling at the Capitol in Baton Rouge and at City Hall in New Orleans.”
Take the Indian angle out of it. If someone got elected who didn’t support abortion in the case of rape, incest, or the life or health of the mother to point of opposing the termination of an ectopic pregnancy (assuming the Wikipedia article is correct), supported the teaching of Intelligent Design, and was an enthusiastic supporter of Bush; I wouldn’t be happy about his election no matter what his ethnicity. His being Indian has nothing to do with it.
Putting the Indian angle back into it, it’s nice to see one more affirmation that ethnicity is no bar to advancement. The two sentiments are not mutually exclusive.
Speedy
I’m sorry I should’ve been clearer, I have no issues with congratulating Jindal.. and I agree with Anna on the fact that the opponent deserves a good spirited handshake at the end of the debate, that’s sportsmanship. What I had an issue with was making an example out of him… and so I said IMO he is not the best role model, because I don’t agree with his politics, nothing to do with desi/brown elements here…
Not only that – it doesn’t matter what I sitting in California think, or what someone in Illinois does. Considering that the fact that we’re a federal republic, at the end of the day, we get the people (if one views other Americans as part of their tribe/community) we elect. People are allowed to have a diverse set of opinions that lets them define the parameters of their community from the ground up. If the pendulum starts to swing one way, rest assured, it eventually will swing back if the sentiment isn’t unanimous.
Politics and positions (both on the right and left) have become so intolerant of each other and healthy debate. The dude ran and was elected by the people of his state with an outright victory. Good luck and hopefully he can do something where all the other picture perfect politicians, those who think/behave the ‘acceptable’ way, have so miserably failed.
Louisiana definitely has some characters in politics.
Speedy,
ITA and I think you summed it up well. I don’t think they are mutually exclusive, either.
I wrote what you excerpted because I’m mad at some of the crap I’m seeing in my inbox about how this is not good for the community…or comments on this very blog about how Jindal is the opposite of what “the community” wants. I think that’s lame and inaccurate. Democrats don’t get to claim the entire South Asian community for themselves. There are brown conservatives whether they care to admit it or not. The fact that the person who achieved this milestone doesn’t play in their political sandbox doesn’t invalidate it, if that makes sense. What, something doesn’t count unless it’s on your terms? Maybe for you, not for all.
ANNA – I don’t quite understand. You’re saying that we should allow for desis we don’t agree with politically to make policies, by not voicing our disagreement or discomfort with their opinions?
That said, I don’t think Jindal being conservative makes him a ‘desi sell-out’ or whatever, simply because there isn’t a large enough or cohesive enough South Asian community, politically, on the national level in the U.S., for desis to have ‘one voice.’ While he is representative of the Indian-American community in many ways, I personally don’t feel he speaks for me, which is why I’m uncomfortable with the praise he gets from some Indian-American organizations (mostly 1st-gen ones who are proud of anything every Indian has ever done, except possibly Sunny Leone), as if I should worship at his feet just because he is brown. That said, I am amazed at what he’s done.
I don’t quite understand how you interpreted my statements to mean that I advocate suppressing dissent about policies we disagree with, etc. 🙂
We’re not allowing shit btw, the people of Louisiana are. I don’t think I’m more important than they are, so I’m not going to say that my preferences trump theirs. They voted, they chose.
This guy is on his way to becoming one of the smartest and possibly most influential champions of hatred, ignorance and bigotry in this country. And I’m supposed to drink to him because we trace our common heritage to a pool of 1.3 billion people – a fifth of the world’s population? F_ck that!
I’m consoling myself by revisiting f___thesouth.com. I recommend it.
Over here on this side of the Sabine, people have a habit of disparaging their esteemed neighbors to the East. but I don’t see Texans repeating this feat anytime soon (although it would be awesome if they did: neighboring desi-lead states…It’d be just like Karan-Arjun)…
As for politics, I don’t see the point in moaning about his excessively. There are plenty of politicians in America that I’d love to bitch and moan about all day long, but since they are a dime a dozen, we might as well be happy about the positive aspects of Jindal’s election.
By the way, I’d be interested to see how this becomes covered in the Indian media, especially papers like the Deccan Chronicle and its ilk. I can only imagine the headlines: “Weather-beaten Americans Turn to Indians for Leadership,” “Newest Indian State: Louisiana,” “Cajuns like their politicians like their food: with lots of Mirch-Masala,” or some other such annoying crap that makes me wonder why anyone would pay for the subscription in the first place.
Anyhow, congrats to Jindal, and all the desis out there.
Yes, no politician has ever pandered to biogts before. Jindal is revolutionary!
You’re not “supposed” to do anything. I’m drinking to his victory because I’m not petty, I’m positive. And it’s more significant than your expansive 1.3 billion people…to me, it’s more like a few million, in this country, none of whom has been elected governor before. I’m looking at this as an American, whose parents came here just like his did. That gives me something in common with him that I don’t even share with some of my blood relatives in Kerala.
I guess the reason why I’m able to be happy for him is because I recognize politics for what it is– both parties suck, both parties are more similar than many of us think and at the end of the day, they all go out and clap each other on the back and drink together, after they spent hours insulting one another from either side of the aisle (or at least they did when I worked in the Assembly, in Sacramento). There’s posturing and there’s bullshit spouted on campaigns and that’s all part of the game. If all of them are playing it, why am I supposed to hate on Bobby more?
I’m trying to be positive. I think GujuDude raised an excellent point about how intolerant we’ve become of our opponents.
I think Bobby fits in the same category as Alberto Gonzalez and Condi Rice. Both are people of color and if I despise them so much why shouldn’t I have the same feelings for Bobby? Unfortunately, I don’t know enough about Bobby’s competence in building alliances, getting things done as much as I know about his convictions. Maybe, if he is able to prove himself in office, I will change my mind. There is a part of me that does marvel at his accomplishment. In the end, would I rather have a solidly conservative Indian-American Catholic become Governor of a State or not have one at all? I choose the former.
“[O]nly in America”? Come on! Deepa Mehta is in the midst of making a film of the appalling Komagata Maru incident which took place in British Columbia in 1914 — also the home of legislated discrimination against Chinese and, as on the west coast of the USA during World War II, forcible resumption of Japanese-Canadian property and internment in camps in the interior. And BC has now had three ethnically Indian attorneys-general and one premier, not to speak of numerous superior court judges. And vast numbers of ethically South Asian members of parliament from both BC and Ontario, from all three major parties. (When the Reform Party was in federal opposition before returning to its origins in the Conservative Party and now forming government, its spokesman for French-Canadian affairs was, of all things, a Muslim Gujarati MP from Edmonton, which may indicate that Conservatives have a sense of humour.)
And then there all those ethnically South Asian members of the British House of Lords and the British superior courts. Granted, there are per capita far more South Asians in the UK and Canada than in the USA but that may reinforce the point. America is entitled to its national myths just like every other country; like all such myths they contain a certain amount of truth and a certain amount of malarkey: let’s not confuse ourselves by treating them as gospel. It sounds like Larry King’s perennial “That’s what America is all about” every time there is good news: no it isn’t. “Only in America”? Hardly. “Finally, at last, also in America,” more like.
Hence the champagne!! 😀
Louisiana, unlike BC, or say, Hawaii, has a negligibly small Asian population. It’s about the last place you’d expect to find an over-educated son of Indian parents taking out a mortgage much less getting elected governor.
bobby jindal being gov. isn’t actually in my mind much of an ‘indian’ story. there are many brown politicians. and honestly, i don’t even think it is much of an indian american story. i think it is an american story. one generation ago bobby jindal would have been considered a n**ger by many of the people who voted for him. the fact that an asian american son of immigrants was elected to a position of executive power in the deep south in a state where his co-racialists are trivial in numbers says something about america. race will probably always matter, but how it matters makes a world of difference.
I was reading an earlier post that mentioned alberto gonzales, another person with pedigree from places including yale law who, like bobby, is a person of color. What is upsetting about that situation is that here is a person with a certain minority profile who attained a position with a degree of power attached to it. what is upsetting about what happened with gonzales is that people can use his failures to apply similar deficincies to all people who are of his ethnic group, who are people of color or for that matter; who are minorities. Race is still a game and in this game of race, people who are not racially sound would relish the instance of a person of color come to power, fail in his post and use that failure to degrade an extended group of people. Bobby’s politics make me a little nervous to be frank. Anyone see what I am trying to say.
Race is still a game and in this game of race, people who are not racially sound would relish the instance of a person of color come to power, fail in his post and use that failure to degrade an extended group of people.
you’ll never win the lottery if you don’t buy at ticket 😉
Anna –
I don’t “loathe” Bobby, though I disagree with him quite a bit. But this assertion:
doesn’t quite strike me as plausible without a lot more explanation. If then. Most desis are not named “Bobby”; most desis will not get the support of the Christian Coalition and similar groups for their religious affiliation or for the policy positions that Jindal holds. So how is it that his victory means anything for other desis unless they replicate his particular modes of assimilation? (This disclaimer shouldn’t be necessary, but please note that in saying that, I’m obviously not saying that he “wants to be white.”)
Feel happy for him if you wish — I have no objection to that as such, and I can certainly join in congratulating him, at least to the same extent that I would congratulate any other political opponent who wins an election. Of course, despite the fact that our soap opera driven political discourse tends to suggests otherwise, political victories do not matter primarily for the personal achievements they represent for the candidates and their families. And regardless, I think that quite a bit more explanation and justification is necessary before you can persuasively make the case that by feeling happy for him, that gives any serious reason to feel happy “by extension” for the rest of us, who will probably not benefit from Bobby’s victory in any meaningful way unless we agree with his political program.
Finally, I think we shouldn’t too quickly breeze over the issue of Bobby’s pandering to racism against African Americans, which both Maitri and Kush Tandon have noted [one, two]. If you are celebrating his victory and lifting a glass of champagne to toast it, then you also are toasting that — you can’t really pick and choose on that one.
Youngest governor ever!!!! And those of you who have any misgivings about Bobby Jindal’s Jena 6 role figure out why didn’t Barack Obama take part in those protests either. You’ll find the answer in the Economist’s issue from like three weeks ago.
Yes, but tonight I am still celebrating–I think all these Jindal-haters didn’t have my childhood, so–even if I am being self-indulgent–hell–let me get back to the party–literally!!
you’ll never win the lottery if you don’t buy at ticket 😉
that is true razib, but people who I feel exemplify what is so great about so many indian people; their emotional development is a result of years of grounding and experiences in india. One might go so far as to call bobby an abcd, he has an american sounding name that he uses, while he converted out of his ancestral religion. while there is nothing wrong with that, I can’t help but think that if he was born in my neck of the woods we would have an indian american governor who was jewish. He does not provide me with the same level of comfort that other prominent indians, mostly those born in india who have reached positions of power do. There might be holes in his game that people, the kind that won’t stay at desi owned motels, whould love to exploit.
Small world indeed. I just spent the evening with very good friends of the Jindaal family.They were actually invited to the Jindal celebration party but they had to be near my place for some family function. I know I had mixed feelings on this guy’s possible victory a week ago. I didn’t care for his ideology but recognized that Lousiana was too fucked up a state to worry about ideology and the DEmocrats fucked up their chance. I think local politics mandate efficient government first, ideology second. Once the efficiency and competency kicks in, then worry about the guy’s views. That’s why I didn’t care if Jindal won.
Well it looks like I might be able to talk to him whenever I am ready to take a trip down there since my relatives are very close friends of the family and I am close to these relatives. We just never spoke politics before. So his name never came up in our conversations.
It is possible I would be able to interview him too(unless his handlers overrule him).
My relatives asked me to grill them on Jindal. I didn’t want to go too deep into the personal ideology stuff with them because they know his family too well. I brought up ethics since some liberal bloggers got outraged that I didn’t share their concern with them about Jindaal. They said he is very smart, very driven to improve the state. They seem totally confident that he will be an improvement. If I get to meet him, I can relay more.
I had to misspell my name to avoid being googled on this.
They don’t post at SM, but, damn–I am at a desi party par-excellence right now–they seem to be very pro-Jindal.
anna i disagree with you completely
I guess this is generational, but–I am so happy I could cry. I’m not kidding. Woot, woot, ad infinitum!!
I’d like both Kush Tandon and Maitri to provide specific examples of Bobby Jindal’s racism against African Americans. On the contrary and very unfortunately African Americans voted en masse against Jindal in the last election and this after promising him their vote. This might surprise you but in the south African Americans are just as racist as Whites.
let me reiterate my opinion, i really don’t think this is substantively that big of a deal for american browns. emotionally, yes. but substantively i do think it is a big deal for louisiana.
OK, fine–could you take 15 minutes & celebrate–as Razib says, this is politics–have a bit of fun.
Okay, why? I created a safe space for people to express themselves about him, so feel free to comment about Jindal vs. telling us how you disagree with me.
As for the rest of you and those of you to come, please remember that I wrote this:
I have already explained why I feel how I do.
This post was written by me, but I’ll be saddened if some of you choose to focus on that in this thread, vs the event which I was discussing. I am not “making a case”, I’m discussing why I think it’s okay to be happy/congratulate him; if we were sitting at a restaurant and I said “this will make it easier for others to do the same” or “we should still congratulate him”, would you have the same rxn or expectations of me to write essays justifying myself? I’m a blogger, not a lawyer in court.
Now let’s discuss Bobby, please. This thread can be about him, or I can close it, because I do not have the time to answer for my audacity to disagree with some of you, over and over again. Sorry if that seems blunt, but it’s true. No more from me for tonight.
i’m brown and could care less that he won. does that make me less brown. heck no.
i’m brown and could care less that he won. does that make me less brown? heck no.
i’m brown and could care less that he won. does that make me less brown? heck no-it’s my preogative.
I am told that I can meet Jindal whenever he has time. My relative told me that he can make it happen. If I do, I will solicit questions here. I will expect questions from both sides. The question is when do I feel like going to Louisiana.
I understand what your saying Anna, but as far as I know, hasn’t Gov. Jindal disavowed any affiliation with his former life? The article writer says he’s Indian American, we know he’s Indian American, but for all intents and purposes (again as far as I know) will not make that something on forefront of his life. A little late here, but I guess the point that I’m trying to make, your celebrating something he wants nothing to do with.
I think that I figured Jindal out a little. I was just lying in bed when it came to me. I remember my own developmental process. When I was young I wanted to be called mark so that people would not call me pumpkin and an aspect of my race would be nullified. I think that is what we see with bobby. Maybe this dynamic exists for religion as well. Personally, I embraced jewish culture so that I was – aside for the three days a year – or whatever it is, reformed jews go to synagogue I was no different than them. I feel that bobby’s development maybe iferred by evidence provided to us by these two factors. I feel he nullified any cultural diffrences, or as many as he could in order to not be impeded by his background. I am interested in hearing your thoughts on this, if any of you are still awake. for those of you who aren’t get up and write!
To Mac, #22:
Non-serious answer: America, Canada, what’s the difference? Being from Michigan, I was like 12 before I realized Canada was actually a separate country. So British Columbia counts when I said “only in America.” Complete non-sequitur: Dave Foley once said “I’m a Canadian. It’s like an American, but without a gun.” I fell off the couch laughing at that one.
Half-serious answer: I suppose a more accurate statement would have “Only in Western federal democracies with a history of broad-based immigration,” but it doesn’t quite have the same ring to it, you know? Mea culpa.
Serious answer: While not perfect, Canada has a much better history regarding its treatment of minorities than the United States. More specifically, I’m not an expert on BC history but I’m willing to bet BC has a better history re: treatment of minorities than does Louisiana. I mean, c’mon, 15 years ago a former Grand Wizard of the KKK forced a runoff election for the same office that Jindal just won outright. That kind of progress really is possible “only in America,” if only because, in race relations, America had and has so much further to go.
Speedy
brownout,
I think Razib said it better than I did and if I had written something more like this…
…we’d all know that. I was not aware that he disavowed his ethnicity, though part of me is thinking that if he did, he must be irritated b/c that’s all everyone sees…if the grey lady wants to emphasize that aspect of his candidacy, then no matter what Bobby thinks, I get to celebrate. 😉
Now I reeeeally need to go to bed.
You are 100% correct–but, what does that have to do with Jindal–I love him, other desis hate him…
rob- I just think that it is insightful, and also evidence of similar dynamics playing out in outher parts of the country where the prevailing majority is varied. I just feel that i got a glimpse into who jindal is and the issues that he may have. I think his name is pishyal – or something like that. i don’t think a hindu named pishyul all else being identical would have been elected goevernor.
Anna,#15:
A wise man once said: “The mark of another’s person intelligence is the extent to which [s]he agrees with you.” In which case you are a brilliant and insightful commentator, you get no argument from me.
The only part I find strange is that anyone would make the assumption that Indian-Americans are mostly (or even largely) Democrats; the impression I got growing up was that Indian-Americans tend to be much more conservative than average. Maybe that’s changed some since Bush 43 took office, but I’d guess not much.
Speedy