SM Tipster Vishal informed us of something today that I just assumed was a bad joke until I visited the website. There is a new Spelling Bee…exclusively for South Asian children:
About the South Asian Spelling Bee
The South Asian Spelling Bee is a platform that will give all South Asian students the opportunity to test their skills within their core peer group. In the 78th Nationals Scripps Spelling Bee, over 11% participants were South Asian and over the years many South Asian students have been champions. It is the effort of the South Asian Spelling Bee contest to encourage and promote South Asian talent across the US and to bring this aspect of a South Asian student’s life into the foreground by broadcasting this contest on National Television. [Link]
Are you kidding me? Is it not good enough that we already dominate the spelling world like the Kenyans do long distance running, or like Mr. T dominated Rocky in their first fight? Then again, that many geeky South Asian kids competing against each other is bound to provide an environment that engenders accelerated evolution (via hyper competition), resulting in the emergence of a super-speller. Its the same reason why you should always finish a course of antibiotics. If you don’t then the strongest bacteria will survive and multiply to create a superstrain. Speaking of multiply, desi parents can even use this venue to arrange child marriages like in the good old days. Mixing the right genetic lines would guarantee us victory in Scripps for years to come. Perhaps this new event has some merit after all.
Desi ancestors were smart enough to come up with a fully phonetic script to eliminate stupid ideas such as spelling bees. These poor desi kids are paying for the stupidity of the Romans.
This is like White Power.
They should actually have a contest for non-South Asians: “Pronounce the names on the screen and win prizes!”.
Here are a few to get you all started:
Gopichettipalaiyam Ananthapadmanabhachari Sivaramakrishnan Smrti Sheshashayanee
Go ahead! Add to this list.
Fighting teh man: one type at a time.
I meant: Fighting teh man: one typo at a time.
Sorry. Typo.
maybe it’s nice for some kids to practice among one’s peers. i’d have loved to attends activities and clubs when i was a kid where i got to meet other south asians my age. it’s a great opportunity to make friends for those who go to a really white school or maybe have a tiny south asian community.
This is sponsored by State Farm, my bet is an enterprising (shameless) desi agent conceived of this as a business generating activity. The type of people who attend these events are boring enough to sit through an insurance sales pitch without running away
Desi ancestors were smart enough to come up with a fully phonetic script to eliminate stupid ideas such as spelling bees.
? those were the phoenicians/aramaeans from what know? or are you using a wide definition of the term “desi”?
Then again, that many geeky South Asian kids competing against each other is bound to provide an environment that engenders accelerated evolution (via hyper competition)
perhaps this would apply if if brown kids were that much better than the non-brownz in the competition. plausible. but do note that evolution tends to spread up as you increase the population size when you’re doing selection experiments. two reasons
1) more variation the bigger you get the population
2) more potential combinations (if you want to think in terms of culture/learning it would be different techniques)
the peer-group affect might be real, but the evolutionary analogy is a bit off….
and racism is fine if it’s non-white. just how it is in amerika. (e.g., how do they define “south asian”? do half-brownz count or not? this was a serious issue in japanese americanty pageants, especially if the girl had an anglo name).
I don’t know the history, dude. That comment was just tongue in cheek.
I saw an article in one of the Indo-American newspapers the other day about a Gujarati spelling bee, which I thought was ludicrous at first (just as I think the South Asian spelling bee is). After I read the article more closely I realized it wasn’t just a spelling bee for Gujarati youths, it was a spelling bee IN Gujarati. Which is a phenomenal idea – but having a spelling bee in English and meant only for people of a certain ethnic background, sends a strange message, in my opinion.
Any other ABD’s feel there’s a hostility to Japanese culture among Desis? I must say I love Japanese culture (not that I am any sophsitcate about it), but I have been scorned on this front from some ABD’s and DBD’s, I’ve questioned them on it, but none could effectively articulate what they didn’t like so much–sorry if I’m weird on this point, but I have been wondering….
Is that the middle french word meaning small overlapping steel plates joined to slide on one another (as in medieval armor)?
Any other ABD’s feel there’s a hostility to Japanese culture among Desis? I must say I love Japanese culture (not that I am any sophsitcate about it), but I have been scorned on this front from some ABD’s and DBD’s, I’ve questioned them on it, but none could effectively articulate what they didn’t like so much–sorry if I’m weird on this point, but I have been wondering….
I didn’t know if there was any hostility to Japanese. Is there even much history between the people of Japan and India.
Heck I think so highly of the Japanese that I think western countries should look to Japan for immigrants instead of where they are getting them now. I just love how they have the perfect balance of intergrating into western society and at the same time keeping there own culture.
Suki, With all due respect, you’re not exactly the kind of guy I was talking about. I mean, more–hostility towards Japan that I’ve seen in interactions with DBD’s, to be honest. I’m not trying to stir up any pot, it’s just been on my mind (a lot lately, to be honest!), and I’m wondering what’s up, since the DBD’s I’ve dealt with have not been terribly forthcoming (my best guess (and it’s only that! I would really like to know!!) is that some are viewing Japan as some kind of extension of Europe–but–that seems strange to me, again, I’m no expert on Japan, but I have at least visited, for what little that’s worth). . . It makes me feel weird, b/c I feel I’m really missing something.
Suki, With all due respect, you’re not exactly the kind of guy I was talking about.
I hope its not because I’m a CBCWWD
LOL–no, I am really deeply curious, b/c the issue has been coming up a lot for me, and I feel clueless (no pun intended!)
No body is more clueless on SM then me!!!!!!!!!
Maybe it’s something to do with the Japanese being very pro western. Do desi vistors to Japan get treated bad or experience alot of racism there.
Others may have more to say about that, but–I was with some Japanese hosts, and also didn’t try to test any boundaries, so, I’m not your best judge. But I’m not really asking about treatment of Desis in Japan, I’m asking about the view of Japanese culture/dealing with Japanese among DBD’s/ABD’s (to the extent they can be de-linked, admittedly).
living in india, i haven’t perceived hostility to japanese people or culture, but more of racist condescension. there are a small set of kids, however, that are japanophiles and dig the aesthetic sensibility among other things.
nicemangoes, i’d bet you’d be a big hit with the prepubescent set as a spelling bee judge.
No body is more clueless on SM then me!!!!!!!!!
what about clueless
or like Mr. T dominated Rocky in their first fight?
I think you mean clubber lang.
Re 12:
Rob, did you feel this hostility directed towards Japanese culture only, or towards East Asians in general? I’ve felt, perhaps, a slight vibe from some of the older 1st generation Desi parents who perceive their children and those of East Asians as competing for the same academic niches.
On the other hand, since you love Japanese culture (note that I’m not suggesting that there’s anything wrong with it) and presumably don’t conceal it from your ABD and DBD acquaintances, perhaps what you are experiencing from some of them is their sense that you should identify with/admire your Desi heritage more.
Rob are you sure you don’t have Japanese confused with Chinese?
p.s. PingPong that reminds me of an episode on the Colbert report where he discusses why so many desi children seem to win spelling bees. He pointed out it’s precisely because they have names like Gopichettipalaiyam Ananthapadmanabhachari that they already have a heads up.
After honing their skills in that arena they should be able to turn to the audience at the national contest and say those famous words: “Are you not entertained !” when their opponents fall.
I’m a virtual midget… my last name is only 9 letters long…
but it’s not just desi languages – the vast majority of languages have clear and set rules such that misspelling or mispronunciation is virtually eliminated.
it’s not just length where you can get shafted. my name has very obvious sexual connotations in tamil – that’s what you get when mom and dad aren’t down with the slang…
my mother, who oftentimes is not an easy person to please, was super impressed with japan and its people. she found them neat, polite and highly respectful. she has been in the states for quite some time, though, so i don’t know if she’s part of the DBD population to which you referred…
I was going to say that. I am a DBD but hardly a ‘typical’ one (is anybody ever?) having lived in EE and NA for about half of my life now. Plus, the fact that I would have never survived my PhD years if it weren’t for my coterie of Japanese girl-friends. There were some differences, of course, such as my student apartment was bare and barely furnished and theirs were always so pretty with help straight from Pottery Barn (ok, sometimes Ikea). My dinner-parties were chaotic with curry still bubbling away on the stove and mismatched silverware picked up from Goodwill; their parties were always elegant, sit-down ones where we ate good French food and sushi, everything presented as beautifully as the fresh floral centrepiece with floating scented candles. Yet despite my coarseness (and their almost-intimidating sophistication) our genuine, warm and sincere friendship continues to survive even today even though we are in different places now.
Sujata Massey is one of those who exemplifies the desi (ok, half-desi) love for all things Japan. When I read her 1st novel ‘The Salaryman’s Wife’ about 10 years ago, I was under the impression her husband was either Japanese or Japanese-American. But her bio here makes no specific mention of husband’s race/ethnicity.
If ever I have come across a DBD openly showing unreasonable, generalized hostility toward an entire Asian culture it is usually the Chinese at the receiving end–for reasons as inane as “he is over-achieving” or “stinking up a lab with his fishy-smelling dish.”
This is another example of the desi herd mentality. A herd of nerds wasting time and energy on a useless pursuit.
Hey, spelling is the only reason we had an Indian on the front page of ESPN.com. Though I also think a South Asian only bee is futile (the regular bees end up this way anyway).
Actually, there’s been a “South Asian” spelling bee going on quite a while now. It’s not specifically called “South Asian,” but it is exclusively for desi kids. This one is actually sponsored by a nonprofit organization.
i decided to randomly pop in again after months thinking…i used to be such a comment whore, wonder why (?)…
then i saw the brown bee 😀
lowe it, missed it, thanks for all the work you put into it! 😀
Outside of the fact that this is takeing place, I can’t tell if I’m more bothered by the StateFarm sponsorship of it or by the fact that the bee is brown but the boy on the site has pink ears.