Sangam Diaspora

By – Anish Thakkar

According to the esteemed sociologists Omi and Winant – and common sense – the immediate things people notice when they first meet are gender and race. It is fairly easy to discern that I am an Indian male. Its past this point where things start to get murky, as both specific internal and external definition becomes quite difficult. In this current environment, there are unfortunately few signs of improvement regarding this situation.

The problem I just stated was vague, as indeed it should be. To begin, it is safe to say that maintaining complete objectivity is virtually impossible; therefore, I will undoubtedly recall my own experience. Born and raised in the United States, as a child I was instilled with all of its guiding principles. We should all be tolerant of one another, since though we are all different, we can all be winners. The United States is the place where people from all cultures can come together as Americans and succeed.

The neoconservative mindset is dominant in this country. Backed by men like John McCain , Dick Cheney, and Ronald Reagan, this project claims that after the Civil Rights movement, all races are equal under this great nation. We should thus adopt a ‘color-blind’ view upon each other. Such a movement makes it socially awkward to even discuss racial issues with someone. After all, what are these advocates even complaining about? Black power?! Surely, such extremist groups are trying to elevate African Americans to a hegemonic status.

Such a status was in fact held by a specific race, for a minimum of 3 centuries. Nowadays, race is hardly brought up, but it is still just as present in the undercurrents of policy making and social behaviors today. Latinos and African Americans are linked to urban dwelling, ironically as a direct result of racist housing projects such as the Federal Housing Act and the Housing and Urban Development Act, all giving preference to Whites for home mortgages and low-interest bank loans. Not only did minorities have to deal with this unfairness up until the ‘70s, but they must now face the blame for our Federal banking crisis today. Senator McCain claims to be ‘post-racial’, but referred to Senator Obama as ‘that one’ during a national debate. These latent racial themes have been consistently present, ranging from accusations that Obama doesn’t respect (white) women, as well as the hood-like qualities of his community organizer position in Southside Chicago. Meanwhile, Palin flaunts ridiculously ‘white’ catch phrases like “you betcha” and “well golly”… statements she has oddly never used before joining the campaign.

What does all this mean to us? Depends, really. I feel it is an honor and a privilege to not only be a minority, but to have a proud heritage and culture, which serve as the backbone of my life decisions. Of course I gravitate towards others that share my passions and possibly even my style of upbringing. As Indians, we have so much to offer to the rest of our friends, this campus, the world. We also have much to learn. It is indeed quite easy to be oblivious to the plethora of racial issues that surround us. Sangam, albeit an excellent organization, has minimal contact with other groups such as the Asian Students Association, Black Student Movement, CHISPA, Arab Student Association, MOSAIC, the Hillel, etc. All of these groups are under MASALA, the multicultural umbrella organization here at UNC, but few actually use this vehicle to its full potential. Cultural representation is vibrant at UNC. Unfortunately, multiculturalism does not follow suit. Now, this doesn’t mean that you have to join Japan Club (I did) or Black Student Movement (yup) or even MASALA (obviously) if you don’t want to. If but one thing can be extracted from this garrulous article, let it be this: follow your passions, and know that there always more to be found. Note prejudice and know segregation for what it really is: self-segregation. All in all, just find your peace on campus… even if it includes dealing with that ‘r’ word.