Always nice to see that neocolonial racism hasn't totally lost its will to exist in the countries it once colonised. A French restaurant in Islamabad had a sign up that said 'Foreigners Only.'
If they had been smart, they would have just done what Delhi establishments do and allegedly what they did before and simply discriminate without making a sign to draw attention to it.
Adding further intrigue is that this tidbit is brought to you by the letters TOI - picking up from the wire only the truly important and useful stories on Pakistan from across the border ;)
In Chennai, this aspect of neo-colonial racism appears not-so-subtly as signs that specify "Right of Admission Reserved" and in other cases the slightly more subtle "High Class Vegetarian" Restaurant.
I am having images of the New Yorker magazine monocle wearer explaining why he is a vegetarian. :)
In seriousness though - this matter of completely obnoxious racism against indigenous people has to stop. It's really bad for just about everyone concerned, no? Or is there some weaselly person or group of people who are making stable profits from this who won't get their stores burned down by some populist revivalist group at some point?
I fully agree that this obnoxious racism has to stop. I do what I can to contribute to its cessation, which is plainly not enough.
With respect to your questions, Dr. A, my humble opinion is that capitalism and racism are siblings. There are certain social groups who are making stable profits on the basis of various forms of racism, no doubt. But the explanation for neocolonial racism is probably much more complicated, demurs the political theorist that acts as my alter ego.
True. Yes, I think that last sentence is what I was trying to get at. I don't really grasp the participation of, say, a restaurant owner, neocolonial racism. It is easiest to take a cultural theory approach to it and say that the lingering effects of colonialism and contemporary race atittudes are manifest, but I am still intersted in the psyche and the local social and political dynamics that allow something of this sort to occur. Maybe it's because I come from the diaspora so the sources of my resentment are different.
I wish to modify the statement about that "[i]n Chennai, this aspect of neo-colonial racism appears not-so-subtly as signs that specify "Right of Admission Reserved" and in other cases the slightly more subtle "High Class Vegetarian" Restaurant." I continue to maintain that signs announcing "Right of Admission Reserved" express a not-so-subtle racism, of course, but am having second thoughts about the latter part of the claim after a debate with a friend.
With respect to cultural theory, I have an open mind. I have read Said, for example, and his arguments seem convincing. My problem is that I have been trained as an economist, although I disavow that label. :-)
well apparently e.p. thompson is considered a major influence / founder of british cultural studies (and by implication all cultural studies) so some room can be made for some of it? :)
on a more serious note, it is hard to understand the minutiae of life with solely social scientific abstractions. looking at culture as an object of analysis i find useful too, though i still find the concept of culture uncomfortably nebulous...
In Chennai, this aspect of neo-colonial racism appears not-so-subtly as signs that specify "Right of Admission Reserved" and in other cases the slightly more subtle "High Class Vegetarian" Restaurant.
I am having images of the New Yorker magazine monocle wearer explaining why he is a vegetarian. :)
In seriousness though - this matter of completely obnoxious racism against indigenous people has to stop. It's really bad for just about everyone concerned, no? Or is there some weaselly person or group of people who are making stable profits from this who won't get their stores burned down by some populist revivalist group at some point?
I fully agree that this obnoxious racism has to stop. I do what I can to contribute to its cessation, which is plainly not enough.
With respect to your questions, Dr. A, my humble opinion is that capitalism and racism are siblings. There are certain social groups who are making stable profits on the basis of various forms of racism, no doubt. But the explanation for neocolonial racism is probably much more complicated, demurs the political theorist that acts as my alter ego.
True. Yes, I think that last sentence is what I was trying to get at. I don't really grasp the participation of, say, a restaurant owner, neocolonial racism. It is easiest to take a cultural theory approach to it and say that the lingering effects of colonialism and contemporary race atittudes are manifest, but I am still intersted in the psyche and the local social and political dynamics that allow something of this sort to occur. Maybe it's because I come from the diaspora so the sources of my resentment are different.
I wish to modify the statement about that "[i]n Chennai, this aspect of neo-colonial racism appears not-so-subtly as signs that specify "Right of Admission Reserved" and in other cases the slightly more subtle "High Class Vegetarian" Restaurant." I continue to maintain that signs announcing "Right of Admission Reserved" express a not-so-subtle racism, of course, but am having second thoughts about the latter part of the claim after a debate with a friend.
With respect to cultural theory, I have an open mind. I have read Said, for example, and his arguments seem convincing. My problem is that I have been trained as an economist, although I disavow that label. :-)
well apparently e.p. thompson is considered a major influence / founder of british cultural studies (and by implication all cultural studies) so some room can be made for some of it? :)
on a more serious note, it is hard to understand the minutiae of life with solely social scientific abstractions. looking at culture as an object of analysis i find useful too, though i still find the concept of culture uncomfortably nebulous...