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My Caste

cs.toronto.edu

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Re: My Caste

#331

Post by rhuru »

mikrl wrote: post #209

How do foreigners / non-Hindus fit into the caste system? Are there caste equivalent attitudes towards Arabs, Euros, East Asians and so on? Or from a different angle, Muslims, Christians, irreligious, etc. Or does the framework not apply to those outside of the Hindu community?

Think of caste system as a set of prejudices about a certain group and it is easy to see how one gets treated. The answer is complex and simple at the same time.

The question you need to ask yourself is "Does this person come from a background that makes sense to my own principles?"

So the answer to the question depends both on the person asking the question and he subject of that question.

Note: You also need to differentiate between "external" world and "private affairs". Most castes in India dont give much shit about caste when it comes to doing business, hiring, casual friendship, offering/accepting services etc. but care about it deeply when it comes to sharing food/getting married/dating/renting private spaces etc.

Re: My Caste

#332

Post by rhuru »

911e wrote: post #42

This caste problems continue in the US, instead of leaving behind such ridiculous biases it becomes a part of an US company… https://www.newyorker.com/news/q-and-a/googles-caste-bias-pr...

Since I worked at Google I can clarify.

There are far too many caste grifters in USA pushing an "agenda". Equality Labs for example is an Islamic Organization with a Christian Thenmouzi as its face who talks about "caste" but in reality is she is born to very rich doctor parents in central California. Most of these claims and propaganda is not just bogus but outright harmful for the very people they pretend to fight for.

Re: My Caste

#333

Post by [deleted] »

lucb1e wrote: post #287
soligern wrote: post #219

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It mostly doesn’t. Historically there have been lots of mass conversions to other religions the first one being Buddhism in 600BC. Buddhism came about primarily as a response to Hindu orthodoxy and the caste system.

What does "doesn't" mean? Would I, random Dutch person of christianity or no religion as you will, be treated equal to the highest of castes or to an average one for example?

[deleted]

Re: My Caste

#334

Post by naravara »

OkayPhysicist wrote: post #228
hn_99 wrote: post #157

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This discussion made me curious, how is the cause of their poverty and lack of opportunity relevant? There are hundreds of millions of underprivileged people in India, why should those from a lower caste be given precedence over others, even if there is a history of oppression behind their poverty?

So there's basically three views on social welfare. The far right doesn't want it to exist at all, or if it must exist it should be funneled towards the already powerful, because nobody deserves it. The left says that we need to distribute social welfare in order to equalize society, because everyone deserves a good life. The liberals, in between the two, view welfare as a means to make up for societal failures or ou…

You’re presuming Anglo political dynamics and cleavages onto a completely foreign culture here. The Indian right wing I wouldn’t characterize as “anti-welfare” at all.

Re: My Caste

#335

Post by geephroh »

shitlord wrote: post #169
arxenix wrote: post #55

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Are you indian / have you actually observed this? I'm Indian-American and in my experience this has been entirely non-existent so this article kinda baffles me. I've been asked whether I'm vegetarian before, but always in the context of grabbing food (respecting dietary preferences), and certainly haven't noticed any discrimination after saying that I'm not. I worked in SF for a year and currently in Seattle. Have se…

I was born in the US, and my parents immigrated from India. I encountered this once at a tech company in Seattle. My team's previous manager left the org, so we were assigned a new one. On our very first 1:1 meeting, he wasn't interested in discussing projects, but he kept asking all of these bizarre personal questions. At first, I didn't understand, but it became clear later on.

I'm really sorry that you experienced this. If you're still in Seattle and it ever happens again, know that caste discrimination is now formally banned as of March of this year. Please spread the word that claims can be filed with the city's Office for Civil Rights.[1]

1. https://www.seattle.gov/civilrights/civil-rights-enforcement...

Re: My Caste

#336

Post by unmole »

Ar-Curunir wrote: post #170
madcaptenor wrote: post #116

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There's definitely some correlation between name and socioeconomic status in a lot of cultures. I'm surprised to hear that's not so in India.

It definitely is. Brahmin names might be more Sanskritic, for example.

First names are defined more by fashion than anything else.

Re: My Caste

#337

Post by [deleted] »

tptacek wrote: post #84
User23 wrote: post #73

What’s the hypothesized reason why American universities are evidently discriminating against OBC persons? To my knowledge most Americans know little to nothing about caste, few of us can reliably tell caste from name, and even if we could we wouldn’t care.

The subtext is that other people of Indian descent are doing the discrimination. So far as I know, nobody asserts that non-Indians are aware of caste, or could possibly identify caste from names.

[deleted]

Re: My Caste

#339

Post by raincom »

lozenge wrote: post #212
raincom wrote: post #21

Maybe, it is time to think what discriminations are, what caste-discriminations are: https://www.hipkapi.com/2011/03/24/normative-assumptions-dis...

The article boils down to "discrimination is bad, treating people differently by sex or caste is okay, therefore I don't want to call it discrimination, regardless of whether it is or not".

Any charge of discrimination requires one of making normative moral assumptions: everyone ought to be equal, everyone ought be to be same, etc. Without such moral assumptions, it becomes a mere choice.

Re: My Caste

#340

Post by mmmmmbop »

janiman21 wrote: post #338

[dead]

I know very little about the caste system, but it does strike me as odd that only 1 in 180 professors is from a group representing 50% of the population. It becomes even more suspicious if there's a quota for admissions as you say. At some point between admission and tenure, there seems to be a great filter.

How do you explain that, if not for discrimination?

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