commonwealth

This one is interesting -

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/...ant-countries/

carolinephillips

Not a surprise at all- India is very caste conscious and thus their racism goes very deep- they don't even want those of a different caste/religion to marry into their families, and think back to the awful bloodshed at partition. (With apologies to those who do not fit this - I realise I'm grossly generalising.)

Creams to lighten the skin are one of the best sellers in numerous Asian countries. Dark skin means a lower caste - think of the poor, generally dark skinned, untouchables- condemned by birth to a life doing the shittiest jobs, and being shunned by those of a higher caste, even today in more enlightened times.

commonwealth

Anglo and Latino countries appear to be the most tolerant...

BadgeIsBack

In parts of Latin America people positively want to be white (or as near as dammit). People of Spanish/Italian/French origin and look western ie. are of Mestizo descent go to the top of the class and often pass the darker-skinned indigenous population. Something like that!

ukecadet

Last 18 months I've been working for a high volume builder doing repair works.
About 70% of my clients are Indian.Half of those treat me as if I've just crawled from under a stone and the other half have been generous beyond belief.One extreme to the other with no inbetween.
I was telling a nice lady about this.'They are all from the south'she said.
She was from the Punjab so make of it what you will.
Being a Manc, I know where she was coming from though.
She mentioned the caste system and said 'in my country you are a nothing and this is why they treat you like this'.
I already thought this was the case but just wanted it confirmed.
She paused for a moment in thought then said ' surprising really because it can be a good thing to have a trade here can't it'.
Good job I can laugh things off.

Kim67

When I was living in Dubai, this is something I had to explain to the Indian parents all the time. They demanded hours of homework every night and were constantly on the teachers backs about it. I was friendly with a lot of them and they would ask why I was one of the parents against loads of homework. I would explain that my kids went home and swam and went riding on their bikes and went to after school sport and dance every day and on weekends (we had no tv connected) and I didn't want them stuck inside doing homework after being at school all day. They asked but what about their future and I would explain that a plumber, electrician, boilermaker could make just as much money as a doctor or lawyer in my country and that I wanted them to pursue careers that made them happy, not that they were forced into. They just couldn't wrap their heads round it.

Gordon Barlow

It's interesting if you believe that Americans don't mind living next door to Arabs! Arabs with pressure cookers, anyway...

carolinephillips

I think the map of the USA should be subdivided- there are a lot of places where it is very cosmopolitan - after all there is a huge Spanish speaking population, as well as blacks and whites and asians, but I bet there are areas where it is still a "whites only" mentality. It would be interesting to find out where they polled people to get the results.

steve`o

and i bet there are just as many black only areas

BadgeIsBack

Trades are respected in Anglo-Saxon countries, not just Australia of course.

Back to my Latin American-based diplomat:

Life can be very good for the people with professional jobs that require an education - maids, groundsmen. People complain about Australia being a third-world country but if you are established in Latin America you can live very well and have a life that is very much first-world after all -in fact more so due to the privilege. There is actually more cultural equivalent between say a lawyer or a surgeon in Argentina and one in London than you might expect with the one in Argentina (for example) doing better.

Noone does any DIY because you employ someone to do it. It's a social responsibility.

Pomster

Interesting I was talking to my colleague from Pakistan the other day. He has 6yr old and 8yr old kids, and was saying how hard they need to study.

We got onto the whole apprenticeship thing and was horrified that his primary age kids might take an apprenticeship ('Never' was his response). In Pakistan people go without to send their kids to uni, so expect great things. He was astonished when I said that a good tradie can easily earn the same as most graduates.
He concluded it is a real status thing.

Back on track...
Mr P is doing flat pack furniture assembly and said he groans when he hears an Indian name...they are horrible to him and treat him as is he is a thief/scoundrel/dog/ escaped prisoner in one. And they expect everything to be absolutely perfect even when the product is faulty..He says that so far no other racial groups have displayed this sort of 'look down their nose at a workman' attiture

commonwealth

Is Mr P in Melby?

NickyC

My OH worked with lots of Indians in IT.

Some of them (particularly the newly arrived) used to do the obsequious, sucking-up thing with him, as he was a manager and perceived as senior to them. They'd try to give him presents, invite him out etc which is a big no-no in the public service. He'd dread them coming back from holidays as he'd have to deflect all the marble ashtrays or bottle of scotch they'd try to give him.

On the other hand the same people would treat others - particularly other Indians - like shit, if they were lower in the pecking order.

commonwealth

In our IT department, the Indians would not talk to the Filipinos and vice versa.

Pomster

Yes