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Google cancelled a talk on caste bias

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Re: Google cancelled a talk on caste bias

#951

Post by india_usa »

rajup wrote: post #742
senthil_rajasek wrote: post #727

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The sacred thread is exclusive to Brahmins and a distinct caste marker. Non-Brahmin Hindus are not allowed to wear the sacred thread. Turbans and burqa do not have such intra-religious restriction. Comparing the sacred thread to turbans/ burqas is a false comparison.

Many Brahmins I know don’t wear it. So how is it a caste marker? Heck I wear it only during certain ceremonies. So the point the gp was making about people wearing the sacred thread condoning the caste system and discrimination is patently false and bigoted.

veda vyas and valmiki were not brahmin by birth by became through their actions

Re: Google cancelled a talk on caste bias

#952

Post by ridiculous_leke »

vijaybritto wrote: post #461
swayvil wrote: post #460

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What if you just lie and tell everybody that you're brahmin (or whatever the alpha caste is)? Do you need identifying papers? Is there a big market for forgeries?

I wish it were that easy. First of all lying like that is near impossible unless you know every single thing done in a Brahmin household, you'll be caught eventually. In a workplace setting, you might be boycotted but if this were in India, you have a high chance of getting murdered brutally. Dalits get killed for just riding a horse, walking through upper caste residential streets and many normal things. In this sca…

> Dalits get killed for just riding a horse, walking through upper caste residential streets and many normal things. In this scale a Brahmin name would be deadly

India is a big country. Where in India is this a common practice?

Re: Google cancelled a talk on caste bias

#953

Post by ridiculous_leke »

swayvil wrote: post #460
thelit wrote: post #312

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As a Dalit myself, I wrote a Dalit 101 for non Indian audience. https://thelit.substack.com/p/dalit-101

What if you just lie and tell everybody that you're brahmin (or whatever the alpha caste is)? Do you need identifying papers? Is there a big market for forgeries?

That's not an easy thing to do as you will be easily identified. However, there is a market for getting identified as "lower caste/tribe" as it bags you affirmative action benefits.

Re: Google cancelled a talk on caste bias

#954

Post by ridiculous_leke »

lern_too_spel wrote: post #751
sizzle wrote: post #676

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Highly agree on your second point, many first generation born south Asians I work for or work with that grew up within the suburbs couldn’t care less caste and simply don’t relate or identify with their parent’s generation and caste affiliation, they just want to be seen as American and are treated as such. Only older heads who immigrated here are the lions share of individuals perpetuating this caste based discrimin…

In my admittedly limited experience, people born to Indian parents in the US don't care about caste unless they are Brahmin, in which case, they'll be taught their caste rituals. Indians recently arrived from India care a lot more because reservation (think affirmative action by caste) and Hindu nationalism have become a big deal in Indian politics.

Only Brahmins are authorized to carry out certain religious activities in Hinduism. So if a Hindu wants to conduct those activities at their house in the US, they ought to fetch a Brahmin. That could be the reason why some Brahmins still stick to their identity.

Re: Google cancelled a talk on caste bias

#955

Post by ridiculous_leke »

LambdaComplex wrote: post #762
JCharante wrote: post #713

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> what you eat etc This may sound uneducated, but do Indians in the US only eat Indian food? How would someone know if you rotate through different cuisines every day?

Apparently (from a cursory Google search) it seems that members of some castes (the higher ones, apparently? maybe just the highest?) are typically vegetarian.

Not necessarily. The so called warrior (and "upper") caste members have been eating meat for centuries. Brahmins (the priests) are supposed to be vegetarian. They are also supposed follow few other rules. These "sacrifices" allow them in forming better connection with gods.

Re: Google cancelled a talk on caste bias

#956

Post by ridiculous_leke »

india_usa wrote: post #949
u801e wrote: post #938

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Americans have no idea of what caste-based discrimination looks like > [...] > Hence i think Google did the right thing in cancelling this talk. It seems to me that this talk could have been an opportunity for Americans to learn about caste discrimination and what it looks like.

The speaker is very lopsided and is not accurate. It will give a very much one sided distorted message. Great google listended to its employees and canceled. Will any company invite a fae right or far left activist to talk on campus. Google is a technology company, not a liberal or conservative think tank. Let us get back to tech talks!

> The speaker is very lopsided and is not accurate

How exactly?

Re: Google cancelled a talk on caste bias

#957

Post by michaelmrose »

skyde wrote: post #918
michaelmrose wrote: post #892

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It doesn't merely average out in terms of population it averages out even in the case of individuals because a single individual in the course of putting out many job applications will deal with far more employers who will give them preference because they are white than those that will give a minority preference.

unfortunately if you are an individual that does not have connection. It will not average out because the business will keep the spot for white people only for people from rich family that have connection. So your probability of getting hired will become less than a minority.

This is completely fictional and provably so. Distinctively black names on identical resumes are less likely to get a call back. This is classic white victimhood.

Re: Google cancelled a talk on caste bias

#958

Post by salawat »

sitkack wrote: post #14
MontyCarloHall wrote: post #5

A good read for some additional context on caste discrimination in the American tech industry: https://www.wired.com/story/trapped-in-silicon-valleys-hidde...

Not just caste discrimination, but also sexism. I have worked at least three companies where if there were Indian women, the vast majority were in QA.

QA Director here.

I actually had a pretty balanced department that only slightly favors women. As a male QA/QE I tend to hire for detail orientation with a back up of actually caring, and a level of either assertiveness or grit in holding the line.

Anecdotal survey of 10 years of QA, and I haven't found any corrrlation with sex and QA, except that women have tended to be easier to work with on average, and the men I work with are either really good, or meh. Amusing historical point though: programming was considered women's work originally.

Re: Google cancelled a talk on caste bias

#959

Post by vijaybritto »

ridiculous_leke wrote: post #952
vijaybritto wrote: post #461

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I wish it were that easy. First of all lying like that is near impossible unless you know every single thing done in a Brahmin household, you'll be caught eventually. In a workplace setting, you might be boycotted but if this were in India, you have a high chance of getting murdered brutally. Dalits get killed for just riding a horse, walking through upper caste residential streets and many normal things. In this sca…

> Dalits get killed for just riding a horse, walking through upper caste residential streets and many normal things. In this scale a Brahmin name would be deadly India is a big country. Where in India is this a common practice?

This will happen in any part of the country Dalits exist. So all of it. The oppression will be localized to that region. Like in southern states there is no ritual where a from rides a horse. So this won't happen there. But in a lot villages in Tamil Nadu Dalits are not allowed to wear footwear while crossing an upper caste St. They have to carry it on their heads. Please Google for these if they are mind boggling

Re: Google cancelled a talk on caste bias

#960

Post by senthil_rajasek »

india_usa wrote: post #951
rajup wrote: post #742

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Many Brahmins I know don’t wear it. So how is it a caste marker? Heck I wear it only during certain ceremonies. So the point the gp was making about people wearing the sacred thread condoning the caste system and discrimination is patently false and bigoted.

veda vyas and valmiki were not brahmin by birth by became through their actions

This is mythology.

What we need is a system based on laws with checks and balances that ensures the poor and the marginalized get their fair shake?

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