Have been following the story of two RJs in New York who called up a call center situated in India and called the girl names like “rat-eater”, “bitch” etc. I haven’t heard the recording, just read the transcripts. I have been following up on this storey mostly on HERStory and the links on her site. Two jokeys thinking they can do no wrong, thinking that they have the backing the community and then go and abuse a unknown person in a far flung country. I have seen this happen quite a number of times. Why do some people (especially the recently famous ones) think they can get away with antics like this? BECAUSE THEY CAN!! These two jokers created a controversy but as the recipient of their joke can do nothing, the matter is going to die away. And that’s the truth.
And this brings us to the matter that Anna preaches over and over again. Why can’t the Indo-US community stand up to these two jokers? This attack was a racist attack in a country with strong (and enviable) anti-racist laws. Why doesn’t the Indian community (with it’s supposedly huge coporate backing and commendable political standing) lead a campaign (legal or otherwise) against these two individuals? BECAUSE THEY WON’T. Why not? I can think of two reasons
Lazy Indians : No offence but it’s in our blood. We will not take up a cause. Never have, never will…..Until someone does not set an example. I cannot remember the last time Indians took matters in their own hands to get something done. The last one I can think of is the Independence movement and at that time we had superb leaders.
No public outrage : As countless other bloggers have pointed out, where is the public outrage, where is the moral dismay, where are the thousands of calls/emails to FCC. No public outcry….no action. It’s as simple as that. Until the public doesn’t take an interest in the matter, corporations will continue to sponsor the jokers, as long as the sponsorship money rolls in, they will continue to spew their hatred.
The Indian community is in a unique position at the moment. The PR campaign of India by the current government (carried over from the previous one) is in full swing. Hence, India is on everyone’s lips both in a negative and positive way. There are positive forays by indo-US individuals into the political scene in the US. There is no dearth of money in the Indian community. So what we need is someone to push this issue into limelight. What we need is an organisation to take the helm and drive into the conscience of the average black American that racism is a two way street. Who will lead the charge? Anyone? Anyone? Hellllloooooooo…..
