So....India

Mistake

Member
Preface: I have personally met some nice Indians, but also a lot of annoying ones. Your results may vary

Recently the internet has been aghast at a documentary about a poop throwing festival in southwestern India. This comes after harsh criticism over their other practices, such as throwing trash off trains, polluting local and foreign water sources, and even airplanes. Suffice to say, their reputation is in the shitter. Is this a cultural problem? An education problem? Or both? Whatever it is, I think it's gross
 
It's pretty disgusting, obviously, but it's also very specific to a local region of India. I feel like there are regions of America, too, that if we judged the entire country by said region one could come away with a very distasteful view of Americans.

All I knew of America, in my youth at least, was Tennessee as I was raised there after my family left Ohio. As a result, I believed it was completely normal for most humans to be uneducated, morbidly obese, racist, unbelievably ignorant and comfortable in their ignorance(also known as stupidity), arrogant, lazy, rambunctious, myopic in thought, and uncultured.

I moved to Florida for a bit before joining the Army, and then realized that people can also be insane, vain, and compulsively dishonest. I then moved to Seattle after joining the Army and realized that folks can be weak, disingenuous, manipulative, pretentious, litigious, outstandingly selfish, biased, envious, and two faced.

Humans are weird everywhere, we've all get our goofy dumb shit that makes our whole society look like a bunch of flailing morons, and a country as large and populous as India is going to have plenty of weirdness.

Still though..... fuckin gross.
 
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It's complex. In general we Indians have a long way to go in terms of social contract/civil sense.
But this guy. He goes to the an obscure festival that 99.9% of us haven't heard of and then clickbaits on it. This is a recurrent problem for us. People make videos on India, good or bad, to get views from us and outsiders both. If it's good, our huge population will give views to that white person. If it's bad, some people will be up in arms and you can claim victimhood and still get views.

We got a huge problem with outside cleanliness though. People will keep their homes super clean, but throw garbage outside without a hesitation. Same situation with driving. People drive like absolute brain-dead morons. The sudden influx of money and internet penetration hasn't helped either in this regard as everybody is too high and mighty to take any constructive criticism. We also love to blame the government for everything while most of these things we as citizens can solve with our good behaviour.

Bottomline is India is rapidly transforming and going through painful but necessary convulsions. The hope, though faint, is that in a couple of decades things would be better in this space.

Fuck the clickbaiter foreigners and racists online though, who find it easy to say the worst thing about Indians, things they would never say about any other ethnicity. Constructive criticism is more than welcome, of course.
 
Lmao I actually watched the viral poop festival video and it was hilarious

I don't know who Tyler Oliveira is but that kid is going places. Places where they have poop festivals but also other places. He famous now
 
Some good responses in here. I appreciate it. I remember there were similar complaints about Chinese people once they got some money and started traveling abroad. I think it has more to do with poverty and education to be honest. It was very interesting seeing these two worlds collide while I was in major Chinese cities. Don't forget they also had their local festivals which aren't culturally common, like eating cats and dogs. So yeah, this is a bit nit-picky in a way. However it is known that sanitation is a huge problem in India, and I think public shame isn't necessarily a bad thing if it improves their quality of life. Reading up online, access to toilets and other services has been increasing in the country, which is good. The scam callers don't help their image either though, which is how most Americans get their first impression
Play The India Game on Google Maps. Drop into street view anywhere in India, and your almost guranteed to see trash or open sewers somewhere right there.
yeah I saw some youtubers started this "find a clean spot" challenge. No one has won it yet
 
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2 Gurus 1 Kulhar

i am sorry netflix GIF by mortifiied
 
I've spent a lot of time working and living short term in India. I could only stay in the country for about 11 weeks at a time due to visa restrictions. Some of the cultural norms were really shocking to me at first, like people openly throwing trash on the ground and people stepping off the sidewalk to pee in the bushes. I went to Hussain Sagar to visit the Buddha statue. There were visible oil slicks on the surface of the lake from boats leaking into the lake, and there were people water skiing in the same oil polluted water with no regard to the effects. Public safety never really seemed to be a priority as the government just seems to expect people to not do stupid things, and if they do and get hurt then they lean toward the person probably deserved it. Nothing was bubble wrapped for anyone's protection.

I experienced many festivals in India and they were all wonderful experiences. But I never attended a poop flinging festival. Imagine the pinkeye afterward!
 
Fuck the clickbaiter foreigners and racists online though, who find it easy to say the worst thing about Indians, things they would never say about any other ethnicity. Constructive criticism is more than welcome, of course.
That's because other ethnicities don't treat their holy river and the economic driver of their country like a toilet.
 
I then moved to Seattle after joining the Army and realized that folks can be weak, disingenuous, manipulative, pretentious, litigious, outstandingly selfish, biased, envious, and two faced.
When did you move here? I moved here in the early 80s and it was none of this. I used to go skateboard with my friends in Seattle and, although, like any major city with its share of crime and homelessness, we never felt unsafe.

With the tech boom, all these people came in from all over the map. (Note: MS was a "small company" in Redmond and I wish I took pictures of the campus then and what it looks like now. They have a shuttle service to get people around campus and they "recently" tore down a bunch of their old buildings in main campus in a HUGE remodel.) When these people came in making huge salaries, there was, and arguably I would say, still is, a "we are better than you attitude." If you go out to the smaller towns, or where the locals have not been out priced out of the area they grew up, you get a more honest, open communication.

People talk about the Seattle freeze and personally I think it is because people move here and then are too busy to talk to anyone in their neighborhood with the exception of the people at work. When you talk to them, and dude, I am not going to lie, I was part of this group, we were just too busy because we assumed you were also in tech and were being polite in the same manner. Being in tech, with a family, especially if both you and your wife qork in tech, you just have no f'ing time. So while we would love to go out and do things, I will be friendly to you but don't expect anything. Add kids into the mix and forget it...

People expect to move here and make all kinds of friends. I met my friends in junior high when I moved here. If you are coming here to work in tech, I suspect you will run into just what I mentioned above. You will make friends at work and, if your wife doesn't work, will also make friends with your coworkers and their family. I feel like you have a better chance meeting honest, open people coming here and NOT working in tech. You have to remember, people in tech learn to be pretty aggressive at work as this is how they "make rank". When you do it for so long, it bleeds into your social life.

There was a Microsoft meme that I can't find just the MS frame. It showed an MS org chart with people grouped into sub orgs with guns pointed at each other up and down the org at the other groups. People are friendly to each other but also aggressive as hell. However, people will look out for you when they advance up the chain. I had co-workers move into different organizations then try to poach me to work on projects with them.

Edited for Grammer jeez
 
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One step above savages.


Ironic considering we're seemingly going to let them into the USA almost unrestricted via the H1B program, which 100% needs to end.
I could have had ultimately stayed up to 6 months at a time instead of 3 months at a time, but there were some geopolitical reasons for the shorter timeframe at the time.

Politics of the issue aside, India controls immigration very tightly. Due to the size of their population they tend to have a large enough talent pool where they don't have as pressing a need to allow the long-term import of skillsets.
 
I have zero problem with the poo festival. I wouldn't take part but I don't look down on those that do.

The reaction to the video is disturbing.
Considering the health risks involved, I don't think it's a good idea at all. You know what was one of the biggest improvements to human longevity? Toilets
 
Considering the health risks involved, I don't think it's a good idea at all. You know what was one of the biggest improvements to human longevity? Toilets
It's a religious thing right? I'm not saying it's a good idea but I'm not going to mock all of India for one village festival. India seems to have more of a problem with it than anyone on the outside.
 
Considering the health risks involved, I don't think it's a good idea at all. You know what was one of the biggest improvements to human longevity? Toilets

it's also not a good idea to participate in those wierd ass bull chases in Pamplona, but I say let the idiots who wanna get spiked in the ass by a bull do it if they want 🤷

I am always rooting for the bull in those. too bad it's made too easy these days. the bulls are at a disadvantage I say! it needs a balance patch!
 
When did you move here? I moved here in the early 80s and it was none of this. I used to go skateboard with my friends in Seattle and, although, like any major city with its share of crime and homelessness, we never felt unsafe.

With the tech boom, all these people came in from all over the map. (Note: MS was a "small company" in Redmond and I wish I took pictures of the campus then and what it looks like now. They have a shuttle service to get people around campus and they "recently" tore down a bunch of their old buildings in main campus in a HUGE remodel.) When these people came in making huge salaries, there was, and arguably I would say, still is, a "we are better than you attitude." If you go out to the smaller towns, or where the locals have not been out priced out of the area they grew up, you get a more honest, open communication.

People talk about the Seattle freeze and personally I think it is because people move here and then are too busy to talk to anyone in their neighborhood with the exception of the people at work. When you talk to them, and dude, I am not going to lie, I was part of this group, we were just too busy because we assumed you were also in tech and were being polite in the same manner. Being in tech, with a family, especially if both you and your wife qork in tech, you just have no f'ing time. So while we would love to go out and do things, I will be friendly to you but don't expect anything. Add kids into the mix and forget it...

People expect to move here and make all kinds of friends. I met my friends in junior high when I moved here. If you are coming here to work in tech, I suspect you will run into just what I mentioned above. You will make friends at work and, if your wife doesn't work, will also make friends with your coworkers and their family. I feel like you have a better chance meeting honest, open people coming here and NOT working in tech. You have to remember, people in tech learn to be pretty aggressive at work as this is how they "make rank". When you do it for so long, it bleeds into your social life.

There was a Microsoft meme that I can't find just the MS frame. It showed an MS org chart with people grouped into sub orgs with guns pointed at each other up and down the org at the other groups. People are friendly to each other but also aggressive as hell. However, people will look out for you when they advance up the chain. I had co-workers move into different organizations then try to poach me to work on projects with them.

Edited for Grammer jeez
I moved there in 2009 for the Army, was stationed at Fort Lewis. My daughter was born in 2011, so I stuck around even after getting out of the Army. I left four years ago for Maine and it was the smartest decision I ever made. I won't get into it much, but I saw the opposite of a freeze to be honest with you, made tons of friends, but I just think the entire Puget Sound area is ran like absolute shit. I'll never forget passing two roads that were both closed down for shootings while driving my daughter seven minutes down the road for school, both shootings on the same day. I'll never forget the absolutely toothless bully cops that would never do shit if you called them and were incredibly goddamn rude assholes. I'll never forget the massive wave of green and blue hairs always throwing a shit fit about one thing or another. I'll never forget the BLM riots, ahem, protests......that utterly destroyed so many black owned businesses while cops and civilians alike did jack shit to stop it.

I always say that WA would easily be the best state in the country if not for Washingtonians. I moved to Maine because New England is the last part of this country left with at least some common sense left, and so far so good. The crazies are here too, but in VASTLY smaller numbers, so they're easy to ignore, and cops here do not fuck around.....hell if anything they might be a bit overzealous, but that's a different conversation.

For what it's worth I'd still take Seattle over the south. There's not enough money in all the bank accounts in North America to ever convince me to live in the South again, not even for a year. I've never hated a place more, and I used to think it was just because I grew up there so perhaps it was just one of those things, ya know? I meet people all the time her who can't wait to get out of Maine, which I get man, if it's all ya know then you have to travel, it's important. I stayed in TN again for a week about six years and my whole family utterly abhored the experience. It's just fuckin disgusting down there, just giant disgusting ignorant fat smelly loud idiots as far as the eye can see..... except anyone on Neogaf who lives in the south obviously. ;D

The south has become 'Rightland' while the west coast has become the left coast. They can have both of those dumps, I'll stay in the northeast.
 
I work with mostly Indian coworkers and they're good people.

A bunch of them were talking about how they never fly on Air India. I (all American white dude) chimed in and told them I flew on Air India once and they all went silent and looked at me in disbelief so I had to tell them my experience lol

They had the cheapest flight to Germany so we figured might as well.

1. people on the plane had no concept of waiting in line for the bathroom. You have to assert your position or they will cut right in front of you.

2. On the way out of Germany, all the Indian ladies refused to take their bangles off while going through security. It took forever while each person had to be hand screened with the wand.

3. The worst part, our flight out of Frankfurt was already delayed. Then they made some announcement at the gate asking someone to come to the desk. I guess some people got the idea that the plane was about to board so they went up to the desk too. Then other people saw and decided "they're going to the front, I guess I should go too!" They kept making announcements like "we are not boarding yet, please don't come up to the desk unless we call you". "Please go sit back down or else we will have to delay the flight further" over and over but nobody listened. Pretty soon fucking everybody was making their way to the doors even though it wasn't boarding time. When it finally came time to board, people were practically shoving their way to the front to get through the doors, they completely gave up on boarding by group. Flight got delayed an additional hour due to the chaotic boarding process


My coworkers were cracking up. One of them was like "SEE!! This is exactly why I never fly on Air India. Indian people in America can behave themselves and act normal, but as soon as they get on Air India that all goes out the window and they act like they're back at home, it's so embarrassing!"
 
My coworkers were cracking up. One of them was like "SEE!! This is exactly why I never fly on Air India. Indian people in America can behave themselves and act normal, but as soon as they get on Air India that all goes out the window and they act like they're back at home, it's so embarrassing!"
That's pretty much my stance with people coming into the country. You have to have a standard so everyone gets along. But if you lower the bar then you get all the above happening and people get pissed. A fair number of Indian people moved in where I live in the country, and most of them seem alright
 
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That's because other ethnicities don't treat their holy river and the economic driver of their country like a toilet.

That's a problem for sure (coincidentally I was just there last week and boy did I get angry at people throwing flowers in the river, though it did seem much cleaner than I expected it to be), but that's a pass for random racism? One can find hundreds of idiotic backwards things for any country. I don't see such casual online racism given a pass for any other country.
I don't want to get into arguments with strangers and it's fine to have whatever opinion you want. I have my opinions on USA, but I don't pretend to be OK with tarnishing whole US population for whatever backward shit the country has in multitude of areas.
I will leave my piece at this. Got video games to play. Take care.
 
Well, stereotypes don't come from nowhere. It's fine to openly discuss issues like this, otherwise nothing gets better. I agree stuff can occasionally go too far, but at the same time, saying any kind of criticism on race issues as being racist is just being dishonest. You have to gauge intent, and that's more difficult online
 
I moved there in 2009 for the Army, was stationed at Fort Lewis. My daughter was born in 2011, so I stuck around even after getting out of the Army. I left four years ago for Maine and it was the smartest decision I ever made. I won't get into it much, but I saw the opposite of a freeze to be honest with you, made tons of friends, but I just think the entire Puget Sound area is ran like absolute shit. I'll never forget passing two roads that were both closed down for shootings while driving my daughter seven minutes down the road for school, both shootings on the same day. I'll never forget the absolutely toothless bully cops that would never do shit if you called them and were incredibly goddamn rude assholes. I'll never forget the massive wave of green and blue hairs always throwing a shit fit about one thing or another. I'll never forget the BLM riots, ahem, protests......that utterly destroyed so many black owned businesses while cops and civilians alike did jack shit to stop it.

I always say that WA would easily be the best state in the country if not for Washingtonians. I moved to Maine because New England is the last part of this country left with at least some common sense left, and so far so good. The crazies are here too, but in VASTLY smaller numbers, so they're easy to ignore, and cops here do not fuck around.....hell if anything they might be a bit overzealous, but that's a different conversation.

For what it's worth I'd still take Seattle over the south. There's not enough money in all the bank accounts in North America to ever convince me to live in the South again, not even for a year. I've never hated a place more, and I used to think it was just because I grew up there so perhaps it was just one of those things, ya know? I meet people all the time her who can't wait to get out of Maine, which I get man, if it's all ya know then you have to travel, it's important. I stayed in TN again for a week about six years and my whole family utterly abhored the experience. It's just fuckin disgusting down there, just giant disgusting ignorant fat smelly loud idiots as far as the eye can see..... except anyone on Neogaf who lives in the south obviously. ;D

The south has become 'Rightland' while the west coast has become the left coast. They can have both of those dumps, I'll stay in the northeast.
Yeah it is weird man. They leave California and Oregon to come up here and they turn it into what they left. Seattle finally realized that, you know, you can be liberal without being absolutely batshit crazy and are reigning in the ideas like, defund the police. Businesses are leaving in droves from Seattle so now they realize they need to do something about crime. However I think it is much too late for that now. Amazon was shifting out of Seattle and into Bellevue because they are tired of it.
 
That's because other ethnicities don't treat their holy river and the economic driver of their country like a toilet.

I'm not sure what people expect. It's a developing country and overcrowded. It's GDP per capita is like a days salary for a lot of people in the west. Are there other poverty stricken countries with this much crowding that are cleaner and less polluted?
 
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Has there been a people who fumbled their reputation as badly as Indians? Not too long ago when you spoke of India you'd think of a beautiful place, spiritual people and gurus and shit. Then they got mass access to the internet, immigrated en masse and now look at their reputation.
 
Has there been a people who fumbled their reputation as badly as Indians? Not too long ago when you spoke of India you'd think of a beautiful place, spiritual people and gurus and shit. Then they got mass access to the internet, immigrated en masse and now look at their reputation.
Before the internet happened I just thought their accent was funny (it still is)
 




Its just hopeless.


I was in Mongolia years ago, and I had an empty plastic water battle. I carried it around for ages cause there weren't any bins. I was in some buttfuck nowhere place that you could barely call a village. Eventually I asked a local dude where I could throw it away and he happily grabbed it from me and tossed it to the side. I was kinda dumbfounded, then I looked with more focus around me and saw piles of discarded plastic that had blown into corners.

It was obvious that there was no system for getting rid of garbage, and historically these people probably created very little being that they were mostly goat herders nomadically living in yurts. Now convenience was making its way into their lives in the form of plastic and shit that didn't biodegrade easily.

I've heard that Ulaanbaatar is now one of the most polluted places on earth. Progress has happened out of step in 3rd world places, they got some things (material goods, pollution) before they got others (sanitation, clean water, refuse infrastructure)
 
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