this post was submitted on 29 Aug 2023
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In another significant moment for the movement against caste discrimination in the United States, a Bill to make caste discrimination illegal was passed by the California State Assembly on Monday, August 28, with 50 votes in its favour and only three against it. It was earlier passed by the state's Senate in May this year. With its passage in the state Assembly, California will become the first US state to ban caste discrimination. The legislation will add caste as a protected category under 'ancestry' in California’s Unruh Civil Rights Act, Education, and Housing codes.

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[–] givesomefucks@lemmy.world 50 points 1 year ago (3 children)

However, the Bill met strong opposition from a section of Indian-American residents who argue that it will 'discriminate against Hindus' and 'racially profile select communities on the basis of their ethnicity and ancestry for disparate treatment'.

Religious extremists love saying not being able to oppress everyone else is somehow oppressing them...

Saying other groups are equal somehow hurts your group only makes sense if one of your groups foundational beliefs is oppressing others.

And as far as I know that's not part of Hinduism. But it's a central tenet of far right extremism

[–] xuxebiko@kbin.social 25 points 1 year ago (1 children)

They want to keep harrassing, humilitating, and persecuting people because the alternative is to accept that all humans are indeed equal which means their claim to superiority and pure-veg purity is & has been just b.s . It also means they and their casteist friends and their casteist families and their casteist ancestors are sadistic bastards without a shred of humanity.

The Nazis implemented their Ubermensch-untermensch discrimination for only 12 years, India's oppresor uppercastes perfected it thousands of years back. Christianity & Islam fucked up their systemised sadistic game by introducing the idea of equality, educating the oppressed, and offering them a way out of the oppressive Hindu caste system.

[–] givesomefucks@lemmy.world 7 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Meh

Christen missionaries weren't saying everyone was equal, they were saying Christians were all equal, and they'd go after oppressed minorities because they were most likely to change religions.

Far right religious extremism is the issue, the flavour of religion doesn't really matter.

[–] xuxebiko@kbin.social 7 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Hinduism doesn't say Hindus are all equal. Christianity and Islam do. There are no castes in Christianity or Islam, and that is the reason many from the oppressed castes renounced Hinduism and accepted those religions. It's also one of the many reasons why Hindu supremacists hate those religions.

[–] Jorgelino328@kbin.social 3 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Right. Christianity and Islam say we're all equal...

Unless of course, you're lgbtq, or a woman, or an atheist, or a member of another religion, or anyone they don't like really.

But other than that we're all equal.

[–] xuxebiko@kbin.social 4 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Unless of course, you're lgbtq, or a woman, or an atheist, or a member of another religion, or anyone they don't like really.

so does Hinduism. We're discussing caste here though, which does not exist in Christianity and Islam.

[–] Jorgelino328@kbin.social 3 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Your argument was that Christianity and Islam preach that we're all equal. I am saying that is not true (Or actually, that it preaches that while simultaneously preaching the opposite). It simply lacks one layer of inequality.

[–] xuxebiko@kbin.social 1 points 1 year ago

Every layer of equality mattered and matters to those who face that inequality elsewhere.

[–] ConditionOverload@lemmy.world 13 points 1 year ago

Yeah apparently a law that says everyone is equal profiles against Hindus, right. These idiots just want to bring the caste problems from India and spread it even more here.

[–] GFGJewbacca@lemm.ee 6 points 1 year ago (2 children)

I'm also surprised it's Indian-Americans talking about this and not Republicans. There's been a caste system in the US since its inception based on race and income.

[–] xuxebiko@kbin.social 9 points 1 year ago

Anyone who is under the impression that Indian-Americans are progressive & hate discrimination needs to know that Indian-Americans carry within them the oppressive caste system that they've been trained into by their families & communities since birth.

Even those born outside India are trained into & practice caste oppression. Since developed countries look down on discrimination, so caste atrocities are carried out behind closed doors and in devious ways. Indian newcomers to college/ work place are asked their full name, because the last name/ surname is a caste marker. They're invited to a pool party to check whether they wear the Brahmin caste thread, or a friendly hand is placed on their left shoulder to check whether they're wearing the Brahmin caste thread under their clothes. Once info on their caste is gathered, they'll either be welcomed as one of 'ours' or severely discriminated against by the oppressor upper castes a discreetly as possible.

Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar, a victim of caste oppression, India's first Law Minister, and the architect of India's Constitution had said this "If Hindus migrate to other regions on earth, Indian caste would become a world problem"

[–] givesomefucks@lemmy.world 3 points 1 year ago (2 children)

You're acting like they're two separate groups, I doubt these far right religious extremists are democrats

[–] xuxebiko@kbin.social 6 points 1 year ago

You'll be suprised, Many are good at wearing a progressive mask in public and behaving otherwise in private.

[–] emergencyfood@sh.itjust.works -1 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I am Indian and know people who have moved to the US. Irrespective of which party they supported in India, most Indian-Americans support the Democrats in the US. This is because of two reasons:-

  1. The Indian political landscape is to the left of the US landscape. So right-wing parties in India are often similar, policy-wise, to centrist Democrats or moderate Republicans.

  2. Even rich, upper-caste Indians face racial discrimination in the US.

[–] givesomefucks@lemmy.world 0 points 1 year ago (1 children)
[–] emergencyfood@sh.itjust.works 0 points 1 year ago (2 children)

???

In the 2020 Carnegie endowment survey, ndian-Americans preferred Biden to Trump 72% to 22%. The three biggest issues for them were economics, healthcare and racism.

From the people whom I know, the biggest concerns were the lack of free healthcare and free / cheap higher education, and racism. Nowadays gun violence and restrictions on abortions are also factors they consider.

[–] xuxebiko@kbin.social 3 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Oppressor uppercaste Indians want democratic values, secularism, and affirmative action in countries where they are a minority so that they can benefit from those policies. Where they'hold the reigns of power, they want casteism, religious extremism, and patriarchy.

@givesomefucks

[–] emergencyfood@sh.itjust.works 1 points 1 year ago

Exactly. In each situation, they are supporting the party that would benefit them.

[–] givesomefucks@lemmy.world 2 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Indians fleeing Modi and then voting Biden over trump in America doesn't mean India is more leftwing than America...

[–] emergencyfood@sh.itjust.works 2 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Ah, so that's the issue. What I meant is that in India, things like food, healthcare, higher education, electricity and internet are free or heavily subsidised. There is also a general expectation that the government should regulate prices of essentials, and even our rightwing parties at least pay lip service to the constitutional principles of socialism and secularism.

So when Indians move to the US, they get much better salaries, but suffer from racism and miss things like cheap healthcare and free uni. So they would support politicians who promise to fix these things, which are usually the Democrats.

[–] givesomefucks@lemmy.world -1 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Now it makes sense...

You're comparing how rich high caste people are treated in India compared to America. And it seems like the only things you know about India are what they tell you, or the ones still in India claim it's like.

I'm talking about the low caste Indians coming here to get away from the racism they experience over there and the fact that their children are starving and the Indian government doesn't give a single fuck about them.

[–] emergencyfood@sh.itjust.works 1 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I am saying that rich upper caste Indians in the US would vote for the Democrats (because the Democrats promise to solve the issues they face there) while continuing to support rightwing parties back home (to maintain their privileged status). Obviously lower-caste Indian-Americans would also support the Democrats; that goes without saying.

the only things you know about India are what they tell you,

I am an Indian living in India, who has Indian-American friends and relatives. I don't remember any of them supporting Trump; even those who supported the BJP in India supported Sanders or Biden in the US.

[–] xuxebiko@kbin.social 1 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 children)

Did you forget Modi publicly supporting Trump's 2020 presidential bid with "Abki baar Trump sarkar!" and a beaming Trump by his side and a stadium full of cheering Indian-Americans?

@givesomefucks : This was in September 2019 when Indian Americans hosted a 'Howdy Modi' event .

[–] emergencyfood@sh.itjust.works 2 points 1 year ago

I didn't. Both Modi and Trump seemed to think that support for the BJP would translate into support for Trump. And yet, Indian-Americans voted overwhelmingly for Biden (see the poll I linked above).