A Lot Of People Are Very Upset That An Indian-American Woman Won The Miss America Pageant

A Lot Of People Are Very Upset That An Indian-American Woman Won The Miss America Pageant

Okay, I read the series of tweets and had an interesting reaction to it.  Every category of tweet as broken down by this article (unsurprisingly) me made me very upset except (surprisingly) the section of tweets called “outright racist”.  Which I guess means that racism doesn’t bother me as much as…what?

If the sight of an Indian America makes you think of 7 11 or Subway and that’s you’re knee-jerk reaction.  I don’t really have a problem with that.  We all have prejudices both subtle and gross that make us have immediate and unthought-out reactions.  In fact (although I’m sure it’s not popular to say) there is a correlation between Indian-Americans and 7-11’s.  The latest census shows a huge growth of small businesses run by Indian Americans, particularly convenience stores, hotels and motels and in the health-related fields.  It’s a statistic.  It’s out there.  Discretely taken without any other information, it can lead to stereotyping…but at least it’s based on something true.

I know…somehow prejudice based on some morsel of truth doesn’t bother me that much.  Partially because prejudice is a spectrum that we all fall on somewhere between one extreme and the other, but we’re all somewhat guilty of it.  That and the fact that some people will always be jerks and use information as they see fit, as unpleasant as that might be.

What bothers (okay, infuriates) me is if you are not just a jerk using some past experience as a catalyst of his jerkiness, but an ignorant jerk that creates jerkiness out of thin air.  I guess some examples to illustrate; if you’re not an idiot…you don’t really bother me.

CHEEZ-IT @JPLman95 tweets “Miss America? You mean Miss 7-11.”

You’re obviously trying to be funny.  I guess some people would find that amusing.

Audrey Graham @_AudreyAnn tweets “Miss America is a terrorist. Whatever. It’s fine.”

Are you an idiot?  Do you know what a terrorist means?   Has Nina Davuluri ever implemented a systematic use of violent terror as a means of coercion?  No, she hasn’t.  Learn what terrorism is before opening your mouth.

 

anthony ridgeway @anthonytkr tweets “#MissAmerica ummm wtf?! Have we forgotten 9/11?”

Are you an idiot?  No, we have not forgotten 9/11.  What does an Indian-American Miss America have to do with 9/11?  Let’s form the closest connection that we can.  9/11 was committed by al-Qaeda.  Al-Qaeda is an organization run by Muslims.  10% of the world’s Muslims live in India.  DESPITE THIS FACT al-Qaeda has made no headway in recruiting Indians.  If we want to remember 9/11 in a truly patriotic stand, having a Miss America with a heritage that as been nothing but a hindrance to the growth of al-Qaeda’s growth in Asia is a perfect commemoration of our alliance against them.

 

Jessica Ayres ⚓ @JAyres15 tweets “I swear I’m not racist but this is America.”

Are you an idiot?  This tweet is an action that reflects your “belief that humanity is divided into distinct biological groups called races and that members of a certain race share certain attributes which make that group as a whole less desirable, more desirable, inferior, or superior.”  You are, by definition, a racist.

 

Jake Amick @jakeamick5 tweets “How the fuck does a foreigner win miss America? She is a Arab! #idiots”

You are an idiot on several levels.  Are you an idiot because you don’t understand what the word “foreigner” means.  A foreigner is a person in a country who is not a citizen of that country.  This does not apply to Nina Davuluri, who was born in this country.  Or perhaps you’re an idiot because you’re unfamiliar with the 14th Amendment of our country’s constitution (a document that truly makes our country great).  I’m not going to explain it to you; go look it up.  Are you an idiot because you think Indians are Arabs?  I admit that since Arabs are a panethnic group, it’s not as cut and dry as a distinguishable, self-identified and self-sustained ethnicity, but since the people of India do not have direct or partial ancestral relation to the nomadic indigenous inhabitants of the Arabian peninsula and the Syrian desert they are clearly not Arabic…and you’re an idiot if you think they are.

 

I guess what I’ve learned from this backlash is that I can deal with you if you are an asshole, just don’t be an ignorant asshole.