The Shilpa Shetty Controversy
Ok. This would be a nice topic to blog about only because so many people would be searching for this tag. That! Without doubt is the greatest accomplishment of this entire hullabaloo. As the story unfolds, it’s fascinating to see the players jumping in to generate as much as noise as possible. I live in India; we don’t get the British Channel that’s airing Big Brother and are definitely not part of the 4.5 million that’s tuned into the show post the melodrama of the past week. Why are we up in arms? because a celebrity is also not protected against racial abuse. Come on!
Racism is a reality in this multicultural globalized world. I’m reminded of a question I saw posted in a forum, the aspiring Indian student wanted to know from the moderator as to which of the American Universities were most tolerant to Asian students. Not which was completely rid of racist abuse, but which of the temples of learning was the least of the evils. The moderator surprised everyone with his answer, he said every nation had their fair share of racists including India and that the American Universities were no different.
I overheard an innocent piece of conversation the other day; Lea had landed in Bangalore along with some NRI friends. She wanted to get her hair done and since for various reasons she had to go alone for this usually rather mundane activity, she wanted to make sure she was prepared for it. This is how the conversation went: ‘I need to get my hair fixed. Where would you suggest I go and how much does it usually cost?’ this to a bunch of girls, who would know the answer. “That depends on the kind of salon, location, etc… etc...’, the girls answering the second question. ‘Yeah! I know that, but I would get cheated anyway because as a foreigner I usually get charged twice as much!
I say, the winners are: Jade Goody, Shilpa Shetty, Channel 4, Incredible India Campaign, Gordon Brown and Carphone Warehouse in that order
The losers: Us
Racism is a reality in this multicultural globalized world. I’m reminded of a question I saw posted in a forum, the aspiring Indian student wanted to know from the moderator as to which of the American Universities were most tolerant to Asian students. Not which was completely rid of racist abuse, but which of the temples of learning was the least of the evils. The moderator surprised everyone with his answer, he said every nation had their fair share of racists including India and that the American Universities were no different.
I overheard an innocent piece of conversation the other day; Lea had landed in Bangalore along with some NRI friends. She wanted to get her hair done and since for various reasons she had to go alone for this usually rather mundane activity, she wanted to make sure she was prepared for it. This is how the conversation went: ‘I need to get my hair fixed. Where would you suggest I go and how much does it usually cost?’ this to a bunch of girls, who would know the answer. “That depends on the kind of salon, location, etc… etc...’, the girls answering the second question. ‘Yeah! I know that, but I would get cheated anyway because as a foreigner I usually get charged twice as much!
I say, the winners are: Jade Goody, Shilpa Shetty, Channel 4, Incredible India Campaign, Gordon Brown and Carphone Warehouse in that order
The losers: Us
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