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Trapped in Silicon Valley’s hidden caste system

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Re: Trapped in Silicon Valley’s hidden caste system

#421

Post by ignoramous »

sanmon3186 wrote: post #372
dang wrote: post #8

Past related threads. I think there have been others. How Big Tech Is Importing India’s Caste Legacy to Silicon Valley - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=26435117 - March 2021 (195 comments) Caste discrimination in some of Silicon Valley's richest tech companies - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=24952698 - Oct 2020 (322 comments) How India's ancient caste system is ruining lives in Silicon Valley - https://n…

Every time such articles pop-up, I wonder what rock am I living under. In 22 years of experience (Half in US/UK and rest in India) in eight global organizations, not even a single time I heard or witnessed any cast based biases. What we regularly see is region/lingustic biases. Cast based discrimination exist in India, but in my experience the issue is overblown in the knowledge industry.

> ...in my experience* the issue is overblown in the knowledge industry.*

Let me hazard a guess: You're "not lower-caste" (and that's how you can then dismiss your own assertion).

Re: Trapped in Silicon Valley’s hidden caste system

#422

Post by techzerd »

The Pat on the shoulder to feel something sounded as ridiculous as it was written and I quite couldn't get myself to read the entire article. Never seen this in any place in the tech community in North America. I don't disagree that some bias may exist but the example borders on disillusional.

Re: Trapped in Silicon Valley’s hidden caste system

#423

Post by diebeforei485 »

random314 wrote: post #377
mama123 wrote: post #223

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Historically peoples names included their village name, son of x and their caste/jaati - which indicated their profession or specialization. That meant getting new business when introducing themselves in the neighboring village. This is true with European names too (masson, taylor, carpenter, miller ....), and has the exact same origin. However, today due to the politicization first by the colonialists and the church…

This has to the most contrived and ridiculous comment I have seen. Virtually all Brahmins proudly advertise their caste and their caste is also obvious from their last name. There is literally no need to pat their backs.

> Virtually all Brahmins proudly advertise their caste

Nonsense.

> and their caste is also obvious from their last name

What exactly do you suggest be done about this?

Re: Trapped in Silicon Valley’s hidden caste system

#424

Post by random314 »

diebeforei485 wrote: post #423
random314 wrote: post #377

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This has to the most contrived and ridiculous comment I have seen. Virtually all Brahmins proudly advertise their caste and their caste is also obvious from their last name. There is literally no need to pat their backs.

> Virtually all Brahmins proudly advertise their caste Nonsense. > and their caste is also obvious from their last name What exactly do you suggest be done about this?

I am calling you out for your fake story of Christians trying to figure out who is a brahmin by patting their backs. It is completely unnecessary as you can tell who is a brahmin from the last name. You just made up a fake story to play victim and transfer blame to Christians here and in several other comments.

It is a well known fact that the primary form of caste discrimination occurs against lower castes by upper castes. Your attempts at subterfuge are futile.

Re: Trapped in Silicon Valley’s hidden caste system

#425

Post by diebeforei485 »

simmanian wrote: post #16
rajeshp1986 wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't find any truth in it at all not especially in Silicon Valley. These articles are a coerced effort to bring up the caste divide from India into US and divide the Indian diaspora.

The article mentions there were hundreds of people who joined a Zoom call to give testimonies. In your view, is the author exaggerating?

It wasn't clear that they were all living in the US and working for US companies.

I would not be surprised if a majority of them were based in India, or based in the US but working for an Indian company (similar to Chinese companies in Italy, who set up factories with exclusively Chinese workers to make leather purses that can be stamped with "Made in Italy").

Re: Trapped in Silicon Valley’s hidden caste system

#426

Post by Lascaille »

TedDoesntTalk wrote: post #352
civilized wrote: post #204

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Was the problem your asking the question, or was the problem the apparent pattern of rampant casteism?

I am not Indian. Hope that helps explain.

It doesn't.

His answer could mean two things, and which one it is depends more on his race than yours.

Re: Trapped in Silicon Valley’s hidden caste system

#427

Post by Lascaille »

sa1 wrote: post #382
gunfighthacksaw wrote: post #278

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Putin is not invoking genetic or phenotypic arguments to my knowledge. He wants a cultural genocide, not a biological one. If every Ukrainian tomorrow declared themselves Russian, Putin would be ecstatic. Compare a Dalit declaring himself Brahmin.

Refugees of Indian and African origin aren't being allowed to cross borders or board trains. I presume that is what OP is referring to.

>Refugees of Indian and African origin aren't being allowed to cross borders or board trains.

One man's crisis is another opportunity. I wonder how hard it is to enter the Ukraine now and then cross to Europe with no papers as a 'refugee, formerly expat-student.'

Re: Trapped in Silicon Valley’s hidden caste system

#428

Post by programmer_dude »

ir123 wrote: post #365
thweori234234 wrote: post #363

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Actually, Sai Deepak mentions that 15% of those classified as SC/STs also wear the sacred thread. Of course, we know 'Shudras' have run empires in India and have held high status before the age of colonialism. Unsuprising that the Western press and academia has the nuance of a brick, perhaps because their own history is so grotesquely checkered.

This is extremely misleading and a copout to suggest that even SC/STs wear the thread. Reality is that 99.99% of them don't. I wouldn't trust Sai Deepak with anything, he's a nut job who for some reason sounds eloquent to the upper class Hindus.

>Reality is that 99.99% of them don't.

This is incorrect. I can vouch this is a relatively common practice in Maharashtra.

Re: Trapped in Silicon Valley’s hidden caste system

#429

Post by gadders »

sanmon3186 wrote: post #372
dang wrote: post #8

Past related threads. I think there have been others. How Big Tech Is Importing India’s Caste Legacy to Silicon Valley - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=26435117 - March 2021 (195 comments) Caste discrimination in some of Silicon Valley's richest tech companies - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=24952698 - Oct 2020 (322 comments) How India's ancient caste system is ruining lives in Silicon Valley - https://n…

Every time such articles pop-up, I wonder what rock am I living under. In 22 years of experience (Half in US/UK and rest in India) in eight global organizations, not even a single time I heard or witnessed any cast based biases. What we regularly see is region/lingustic biases. Cast based discrimination exist in India, but in my experience the issue is overblown in the knowledge industry.

I don't think I've seen it in 20+ years in banking, but I don't know the caste of the Indian people I've worked with. For all I know they could have all been the same caste.

Is there a way to tell an Indian's caste? I'm guessing it's impolite to ask.

Re: Trapped in Silicon Valley’s hidden caste system

#430

Post by himinlomax »

sangnoir wrote: post #212
DesiLurker wrote: post #100

I am an indian & have been in valley for last couple of decades. anecdotally speaking between me and my friends I have never heard of the caste based discrimination until that cisco case. so much so that people would bring it up at gatherings etc. Also in case anyone is wondering, I do not belong to the upper caste and most of my friends like me are not (not dalits either). btw in my experience internet dating & marr…

To quote a saying popularized by Donald Rumsfield: "The absence of evidence is not th evidence of absence". I - a male - haven't heard of any stories of sexual harassment or assault in my social circle (or at the office), but that doesn't mean it's not happening.

> I - a male - haven't heard of any stories of sexual harassment or assault in my social circle (or at the office), but that doesn't mean it's not happening.

Counter-point: many cases of sexual harassment seem to occur over a long time, where the problematic behavior is known or suspected widely -- it's just that nothing is done.

Consider: I don't care for celebrities or Hollywood, I'm not American, but I knew Weinstein for being a pig long before he got cancelled, mostly through offhand jokes from comedians. I didn't really know how big of a deal in his business he was, I just knew that everyone seemed to know that he was a pig. So when he finally got cancelled, what surprised me is that I sort of thought that he already had been.

I've known of few instance of much less prominent harassment (sexual or otherwise for that matter) at the periphery of my social circle, and it was a similar phenomenon. I believe there is a type of people that does that kind of things (narcissists), the problem I suspect is that they tend to also be good at manipulating people so that they can keep doing damage for a long time.

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