11–20 of 51 posts
Here's the problem: once you allow ascribing a particular laudatory quality to a certain group, you HAVE to concede that certain groups have bad qualities. That is, unless group qualities are only good, a claim for which there is no evidence whatsoever. So... Gujaratis have an ethic of capitalistic success. Are you also comfortable saying Blacks have an ethic of failure, Jews have an ethic of in-group morality, Gypsi…
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Your argument is basically slippery slope. The article merely documents the entrepreneurial genius of the Gujarati community which is worth lauding. Gujarati is not a race.
The article itself contains formulations like "Like the Jews, Chinese, English, Scots and Lebanese, they have come to form an impressive global commercial network.", suggesting that this about more than just the community. At the very least, it must be the values that matter. And once you acknowledge that some sets of values are preferable to others, and that different religions come with different values, you are al…
I'm a Gujarati. My ancestors established businesses in most British colonies at the time, from Ceylon to Hong Kong, from Siam to Réunion, from Australia to the Suez, from Kenya to Rangoon. Our family names are based on places where our dad worked for a living. For instance, my mother's family name is Siamwala (an indicator that my grand dad and his family were involved in international trade based in Thailand). This…
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Your argument is basically slippery slope. The article merely documents the entrepreneurial genius of the Gujarati community which is worth lauding. Gujarati is not a race.
The article itself contains formulations like "Like the Jews, Chinese, English, Scots and Lebanese, they have come to form an impressive global commercial network.", suggesting that this about more than just the community. At the very least, it must be the values that matter. And once you acknowledge that some sets of values are preferable to others, and that different religions come with different values, you are al…
We know that this is not permitted if we are attributing negative qualities to a group of people. Why is it then permissible to generalize when we are praising the same groups? In doing so the author is sort of admitting that it is at times logical to generalize groups of people and that there is no risk of prejudice in doing so.
I'm a Gujarati. My ancestors established businesses in most British colonies at the time, from Ceylon to Hong Kong, from Siam to Réunion, from Australia to the Suez, from Kenya to Rangoon. Our family names are based on places where our dad worked for a living. For instance, my mother's family name is Siamwala (an indicator that my grand dad and his family were involved in international trade based in Thailand). This…
I'm a Gujarati. My ancestors established businesses in most British colonies at the time, from Ceylon to Hong Kong, from Siam to Réunion, from Australia to the Suez, from Kenya to Rangoon. Our family names are based on places where our dad worked for a living. For instance, my mother's family name is Siamwala (an indicator that my grand dad and his family were involved in international trade based in Thailand). This…
I'm a Gujarati. My ancestors established businesses in most British colonies at the time, from Ceylon to Hong Kong, from Siam to Réunion, from Australia to the Suez, from Kenya to Rangoon. Our family names are based on places where our dad worked for a living. For instance, my mother's family name is Siamwala (an indicator that my grand dad and his family were involved in international trade based in Thailand). This…
Aakar Patel is Indian
I'm a Gujarati. My ancestors established businesses in most British colonies at the time, from Ceylon to Hong Kong, from Siam to Réunion, from Australia to the Suez, from Kenya to Rangoon. Our family names are based on places where our dad worked for a living. For instance, my mother's family name is Siamwala (an indicator that my grand dad and his family were involved in international trade based in Thailand). This…
That is a very rosy view of Gujaratis. A lot of non-Gujarati folks think of them as ruthlessly miserly and capable of going to any lengths to make money. Surely an attribute that helps in a business, but not one that endears them to the 'host' society.
Finding moral fault in others is often just a way to explain their own lack of accomplishment.
Not always, of course. But something to be very careful of.