I was at a Kellogg networking session interacting with classmates, alumni and friends when one of my Indian classmates came over. After the initial ice-breaker (Chicago weather, usually), he immediately asked "I assume you are in IT?".
Though not probabilistically a bad assumption to make, I felt it was socially inappropriate. In fact, I felt offended. I felt like screaming - "I am not your typical Indian guy!" While I didn't make an attempt to guess his field of work, I felt he was crossing his social limits. It is almost like asking a woman if she was pregnant!
So what is it with Indians and stereotypes?
I remember a grill house in Dallas that I used to frequent where the server would almost always ask me and my friends - "Veggie burger?". My friend would get annoyed at this and order a double angus burger just to demonstrate the invalidity of the waiter's assumption.
Another typical restaurant situation is for the waiter to assume that my drink for the night is "water, no ice". I might still ask for it, but the waiter has no business to order my drink for me. These days, I say - "water, lots of ice"
The list goes on.
The point is that everyone tries his/her best to demonstrate that he/she is different. That being the case, to make Indians, or for that matter anyone a stereotype, is a cardinal sin!
Thursday, September 17, 2009
If Indian then IT...
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4 comments:
LOL, so true! It's like in Seattle, everytime i meet someone the first question they ask me "do you work for Microsoft?" and when i say no, they have this "i feel bad for you, you didnt get in look" and ask me if work in IT next. I am more than happy to let them know, i have NOTHING to do with that field whatsoever! I am a Food Scientist and i love their expressions of "i have no idea what that is"
Nice post Naga. I totally agree with you.
Ordering a double-angus burger (or water with lots of ice) just to make a bold statement or prove some person wrong doesn't make much sense to me though. We are who we are!.
I am a sterio-typical desi and like my water with no-ice, am a veggie, I drink "hot" milk, work in IT, mostly order a 'fried rice' chinese restaurants..the list goes on.. and I wouldn't change a thing about me :)
-Sree
@Lavanya - I like the "i feel bad for you, you didnt get in look".
@Sree - Thanks for your comment. You are saying exactly what I am saying. We are what we are, but to make assumptions otherwise about someone is totally against that. I am a person who works in Finance, drinks water with lots of ice and my friend eats beef. For anyone to assume otherwise is stereotypical. It is like calling all south indians as madrasis. I am sure all golts are different from tams and vice versa.
Many blessings to you. When I needed help finding sober living in orange county I knew that there was help out there.
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