what's wrong with working in a gas station ?

[JI7]

isn't it true that many indian immigrants DO work in gas stations among many other places ? why is this offensive ? do you consider it demeaning work ? i happen to think the people who do that work are hard workers like many other americans and immigrants to america. would that type of work been considered "low class" or "offensive" to the brahman born mahatma ?

(and i say this as someone who has some s.asian background)

[FDRrocks]

1. It's a stereotype...

A symptom of a black and white view of the world. It is not funny.

[JI7]

2. i know it's a stereotype

but it's not a bad one and there is some truth to it.

[FDRrocks]

3. Theres some truth to every stereotype...

and I disagree, it is a bad one. I've never seen an indian working a gas station. - NEPA

edit: Actually, when I was younger, my psychiatrist was Indian. My psychologist was Indian. And since I've moved here I've had an Indian family physician.

This is crap, imo.

[JI7]

4. why is it bad ?

do you find gas station work to be offensive ?

[FDRrocks]

5. No its relating a race of people to a no-skill low class job.

Does it need explaining?

[toddzilla]

7. how about relating a job ..

to someone that has no skill and low class?

[FDRrocks]

9. same deal...

but this was about Indians.. not about every race and gas stations.

[JI7]

14. many indians are immigrants

haven't been here as long as some other races. immigrants often work in lower paying jobs when they get here. and for indians gas station work seems to be a common one and there is nothing wrong with it.

[FDRrocks]

19. Give me some figures...

I wanna know the proportion of Indians working at gas stations, if you could. Like I said black and white. Hillary wouldn't have said much different if she was talking about a Jew opening an accounting firm.

[_Jumper_]

28. 52% of Indians are in "high skill occupations"

That is the highest % of any group.

http://www.asian-nation.org/demographics.shtml

[FDRrocks]

31. Thank you....

All the Indians I have met, which truthfully in my whitewashed area is very few, have been profressionals.

[_Jumper_]

21. Indians are the wealthiest, most well-educated group in the USA

South Asians are very successful in the medical field. She chose the worst stereotype about South Asians.

[JI7]

29. yeah, we have money, we rule

haha

[_Jumper_]

34. I didn't say that

I was responding to your comments. You are right, if she stereotyped South Asians as doctors this likely would not have made the news.

[FDRrocks]

35. Don't worry...

That last post was just a sign that you are winning the argument.

[_Jumper_]

37. ; - )

n/t

[JI7]

41. actually, it shows my point was right

people are offended because it involves work at a gas station. no problem if it was an elite job in some high profession like the medical area.

[_Jumper_]

42. Not with everyone

I would have denounced her if she had stereotyped South Asians as doctors. I simply detest ethnic and racial stereotypes. Don't you? Haven't you, as an Asian, suffered because of them?

[JI7]

46. not really

can't think of anytime i have suffered from it. are you a recent immigrant or something ?

[_Jumper_]

50. Where do you live? It must be very tolerant!

My parents are immigrants but I have been discriminated against several times due to my ethnicity. I have seen the gas station stereotype dozens of times.

[JI7]

51. how have you been discriminated ?

i live in southern california. can't remember ever actually being discriminated myself, the same goes for family. may i ask how old you are and what state you live in that you say you get discriminated against ? and how exactly were you discriminated ?

[FDRrocks]

44. "yeah, we have money, we rule"

"haha"


Proves alot.

[nothingshocksmeanymore]

53. Wow that was a nice thing to say

Frankly, the stereotype is not empowering. Anytime whole groups are BOXED into an interpretation, it is NOT a good thing.

[JI7]

61. my point

is that people seem to be bothered by the thought of work at a gas station rather than stereotyping itself. if it was the stereotyping that's the problem why the need to show how indians are really so successful in this country and have money etc. i happen to think both are true. there are many indians who are successful. and there are many indians, especially the immigrants who do work in gas stations. don't you think what i say is true ? people seem to be offended at the thought of gas station work more than stereotyping itself ?

[Paschall]

60. jI7, Indians do not constitute a "race"

You say: many indians are immigrants haven't been here as long as some other races

Race is not the appropriate term here. At most, Indians share a nationality. The country--the world's largest and perhaps most diverse democracy--includes dozens of ethnic and language groups.

But if you do want to talk about "race," I think the dominant ethnic strain in India is Caucasian, or what is commonly referred to as "white."

It's good to have at least this basic knowledge under one's belt before moving on to Diversity 201: Racial Stereotypes.

[blondeatlast]

76. Thank you, thank you, thank you!

It's a difficult concept; I can't even convince my SA husband of it, but it is true.

We need to educate the world that Caucasian doesn't always mean "white," which many SAs decidedly aren't.

[JI7]

10. "no-skill low class job"

yup, just what i though. offended at being seen as working in a "no-skill low class job". i happen to think the people who work there are hard workers. many if not all of them happen to be recent immigrants. they work hard so their kids and themselves can have a better future, especially financial security.

[FDRrocks]

12. "People" or "Indians"?

Indians have as many skills as every other race. And black people eat stuff other than fried chicken. And hispanics are not generally lazy. And minorities aren't the only people who commit crimes.

[JI7]

43. she was talking about gandhi who was indian

and my point was made as nobody or most would not have been offended if it was a stereotype about indians working in the medical area, or science or some other elite profession. people were offended at gas station work.

[FDRrocks]

45. Stereotypes are stereotypes...

and Positive and Negative stereotypes imply either positive or negative things. Either way... its a stereotype. It's a black and white world to the person who espouses such views.

[JI7]

48. yeah

but there is a problem when one is offended because it involves working at a gas station though has no problem if the stereotype was about working in some elite job like medical profession. and there have been many references to indians and the medical profession.

[_Jumper_]

49. Right

And all stereotypes are dehumanizing.

[_Jumper_]

16. Amen again

FDRrocks: :yourock:

[JI7]

24. you see it as "no-skill low class"

i see it as a certain group of immigrants being hard working.

[_Jumper_]

26. Right

But that is not the intent of the stereotype. It is designed to paint South Asians as being people working at low-paying, "no skill" jobs.

[blondeatlast]

77. I have to disagree there; Jumper. It may be the implication, but I don't

believe it was the INTENT. Hence the argument.

[FDRrocks]

27. Every person I've seen here at a gas station was ...

a white national.... You see gas station work as 'a certain group of immigrants being hard working'?

[JI7]

6. a lot of indians are into the medical issues

i'm sure many who are offended by the gas station thing would not be offended by the stereotype of indians in the medical profession though.

[FDRrocks]

8. That is a positive stereotype...

as you noted in a previous post.

[JI7]

11. and i think it's positive to be hard working

in a gas station.

[FDRrocks]

13. Did she say that?

[JI7]

18. no, nor did she say indians only work in gas stations

.

[_Jumper_]

15. Amen

n/t

[creativelcro]

17. That's right. Stereotypes codify what are strong correlations

between certain groups and certain features/behaviors. Saying that ALL people in the group do this or that is an error and is simplistic. But it is a good approximation. Attaching moral judgment to it is a different story.

[FDRrocks]

47. see post #28

I knew a black man, he owned a fried chicken stand. Jeez.

[IndianaGreen]

20. What if Trent Lott has made the Gandhi comment instead of Hillary?

Why should we give Hillary a pass? She voted for PATRIOT Act and for IWR, and she should not get a pass for that either!

[_Jumper_]

25. I agree completely IG

We should not hold our leaders to lower standards than we hold right-wingers.

[JI7]

33. but why is working in gas stations offensive ?

it'snot like saying things would have been better if some anti indian bigot had been president or something similar.

[IndianaGreen]

52. Hillary was using stereotyping, as in the Qwik-E-Mart of The Simpsons

which is run by Apu, who is from India.

[JI7]

54. and what is wrong with that work ?

how about the stereotypes of indians being doctors ? why not complaints when those are used ? it's because it's not stereotyping that's the problem with some, but rather the work.

[FDRrocks]

56. the work is not wrong, the stereotypes are....

Go back to your cushy executive job.

[RandomKoolzip]

22. Some wisdom from Uncle Frank

This here song might offend you some
If it does it's because you're dumb
That's the way it is where I come from
Have you been there too?
Lemme see your thumb
Lemme see your thumb
Lemme see your thumb
Lemme see your thumb
Lemme see your thumb
Lemme see your thumb
Show me your thumb if you're really dumb
Show me your thumb if you're really dumb
Show me your thumb if you're really dumb
Show me your thumb if you're dumb....
Hey now, better make a decision
Be a moron and keep your position
You should know how ALL your education
Will help you know how:
You're gonna wind up workin' in a gas station
Wind up workin' in a gas station
Wind up workin' in a gas station
Pumpin' the gas every night
Pumpin' the gas every night
Manny de Kamper wants to buy some white
FISH
Manny de Kamper wants to buy some white
FISH
Wind up workin' in a gas station...

Frank Zappa, "Wind up Workin' in a Gas Station," 1976

PS, that's not "petrol" he's talking about....

[Printer70]

23. This was not cool at all

Gandhi is NOT just another Indian (as if there is such thing as being "just another Indian"). He was an incredible leader who showed us the power of civil disobedience, freed an entire nation, and taught the powerless everywhere how to respond to injustice. He is a hero to Indians, Indian-Americans, and everyone who understands his example. Using a crude ethnic stereotype on him to gain a cheap laugh is not cool at all. I can't believe she said that.

[FDRrocks]

30. Thats a major part of it

Gandhi was an amazing human being.... my fucking god. He didn't do any of that though, apparently he had an affinity for pumping petrol.

[JI7]

36. so the braham born gandhi would be too good for that type of work?

leave it to the untouchables.

[_Jumper_]

39. That isn't what printer meant

What I think he or she meant was that Gandhi was not a run-of-the-mill Indian. That's all, not that Gandhi was too good to pump gas.

[Printer70]

55. When in a hole, stop digging

Are there any other aspects of Indian culture you'd like to criticize while justifying Hillary's remarks? I'm not going to dignify your cheap-shot with a response.

[JI7]

59. caste system should be criticized

and i don't see what the cheap shot was.

[IndianaGreen]

64. Gandhi was an avowed enemy of the caste system

How many upper crud Americans support legacy admissions--a sort of caste system we have in America that allowed intellectual morons like George W. Bush to be accepted at Yale, and to get an MBA with a C-average!

[JI7]

69. of course

i know there is a caste system that exists in this country. i know many who go to top schools and end up with high paying jobs all didn't get it through hard work alone or at all. i have said many times that gwbush would be in prison if not for his name and money. and as gandhi was opposed to the caste system, i'm sure he would not have felt offended towards work at a gas station .

[Printer70]

73. You just don't want to get it

The issue is not "working at a gas station". It could be a banker, a media executive, or the operator of a pawn shop. Ethnic stereotypes are demeaning and I don't know if you don't get this because you haven't been on the receiving end of one or what. Gandhi did not work at a Quickie mart, he did not serve Slurpies, he did not work at a gas station...he was one of the greatest civil rights leader in history and to attach an ethnic stereotype of any kind to him is insulting.

[JI7]

74. why ?

i am of indian descent. and i don't work at a quicikie mart, serve slurpies, work at a gas station either. but i see nothing wrong with doing those things.

[Printer70]

66. Yes, but you don't have a point

Are you saying Gandhi should have been a gas station worker rather than a successful lawyer and eventually a leader of a nation which cast off colonial rule without aggression? Gandhi set an extraordinary example, Hillary cheapened his memory with an ethinc stereotype, and your response is to defend Hillary by attacking Gandhi by implying he thought he was too good for menial labor?? Stop digging.

[JI7]

71. no

i'm not saying he should have been a gas station worker rather than do what he ended up doing. and i didn't say gandhi was too good for that work, i am asking those offended if they think he was. because it seems to me that people are offended at the thought of gas station work rather than stereotypes itself.

[BrotherBuzz]

32. Nothing wrong if you own the store...

Sikhs own a huge number of gas stations, convenience stores, and motels in my area and hire all their relatives (I wonder if overtime is avoided). That employee you saw may own the store inside of a year. Indian Ponzi scheme, or just good business acumen?

[demconfive]

38. I've seen plenty of Indians at local gas stations.

I would say that about 40 percent of my regular stations have Indians behind the counter, but not because they work there, but because they own the station. Many immigrants start similiar businesses because of the success they hear about from friends or relatives.

[Lestat de Lioncourt]

40. There's nothing wrong with working in a gas station.

I don't find it offensive, demeaning, or any other negative connotations that have been applied to this type of labor.

Heck, I don't have a job at all. I'd love to work at a gas station right about now. :(

[Printer70]

57. And Martin Luther King...

...worked at a pawn shop when he didn't have his face in a watermelon or bucket of chicken. Do you see why this sort of stereotype becomes offensive? To discuss whether or not working at a gas station is offensive is a RED HERRING. Applying a cheap ethnic stereotype to a Indian civil rights leader is.

[FDRrocks]

58. ((((Printer))))

I love tolerant people with empathy!

[JI7]

62. black stereotypes involve a lot of racism

started by whites such as the watermelon thing. i don't think indians in gas station started that way.

[Printer70]

68. Race and Ethnicity

Stereotypes based on race and stereotypes based on ethnicity are both undesirable.

[LibertyorDeath]

63. The fumes will give you Cancer but other than that nothing.

[JI7]

65. hahahah

funny, though true.

[Virginian]

67. My impression was...

The joke was that the person she was quoting was known to everybody in town because he worked in a location you might visit frequently. He just happened to have the same name as the famous Indian leader, Mahatma Ghandi.

Would it have been an insult if she had said he worked as a teller in the bank? That's a lower paying job, but you don't get dirty doing that job. How about a clerk in the store? What if the store was a 7/11? Would that make a difference?

Where can a person work and have frequent contact with many of the same people so that everyone knows him?

[JI7]

72. RIGHT

she was talking to someone in the audience named gandhi. but notice she apologized right away without trying to get out of it by explaining or anything else. i give her huge credit for that.

[Printer70]

70. Red Herring

Please be aware this question "what's wrong with working in a gas station ?" is a red herring which sidesteps the unfortunate nature of Hillary's comments. Saying that Gandhi was some guy who worked at a gas station in St. Louis is like saying Martin Luther King was some guy who fed his face with watermelon and chicken when he wasn't attending to his Brooklyn pawn shop. What's offensive is not just the use of a cheap stereotype for a laugh, but attaching it to a heroic figure in Indian culture. Comedians might do this, but senior officeholders, in many ways, define what is "politically correct" for the rest of us to say. It was an offensive, irresponsible thing to say and I hope she makes a formal apology. Ethnic stereotyping should not be accepted, no matter where it comes from.

[Nobody]

75. Nothing is wrong with honest work

But you should also get an honest wage to go with it.

I used to work at a gas station back in the day when it was still a full service station that not only pumped your gas but checked your oil and antifreeze, and other fluids.

My neighborhood has a lot of SE Asian immigrants in it (along with a lot of other ethnicities). I haven't really noticed the ethnicity of the gas station employees.

I have noticed that a lot of the family-owned restaurants are owned by immigrants and that their food is MUCH better than the chains.

[Mairead]

78. Jeez, people IT WAS A JOKE!

Gandhi-ji is one of the most famous people of all time. There are probably creatures living at the bottom of the Mariana Trench that know who he was. Hillary (whom I despise, so don't try to give me any guff about being partisan in her favor) was making a slightly sad joke about how famous Gandhi was/is. What she meant is open to interpretation, but either (a) she was taking the mickey out of the people whose knowledge of world history is on a par with slime molds or (b) she was pointing up how unique he was by pretending to talk about a guy with the same family name and honorific who pumps gas somewhere.

Give it a rest, okay? It's not worth it.