First Time For Everything

They say you are never too old to try something new, and as I approach my middle ages, I experience the notion of teaching an old dog new tricks. Sometimes I am simply adverse to change and as much as I try to think of myself as being progressive and open to new things, I have to say, I am really not. But earlier this week, I did do something that I have never done before. And it was kind of cool. I finally for the first time in my life voted on American Idol. I formally registered my vote for Sanjaya Malakar, the new tween-heartthrob of America, who happens to be Indian.

Is it not the coolest thing that this adorable Indian kid is in the hearts of every 13-year-old in America? I know people say that Sanjaya is ruining American Idol because he can't really sing, but come on, can the Backstreet Boys really sing? Sanjaya could very well be the newest sensation sweeping the nation, and yes, I will vote for him just because he is Indian.

It aggravates me beyond belief when I read all the blogs and articles out there that say that Sanjaya is getting all his votes from Indian call centers that are hijacking the phone lines and registering multiple votes. Please. Are you trying to tell me that if you had two phone lines and you were trying to vote, you would not use both lines to call in? These crazy theories about Indian call centers remind me of the conspiracy theories that there is no way that black people built pyramids during Ancient Egyptian Times so it is obvious that aliens came down to build it for them. And it is difficult not to notice that all these theories are coming from white people. Now in the technological age of blogs that publish pictures of the authors, it is pretty easy to see who is complaining about the call centers. All I have to say to these white people is why don't you open up your own call center, and then you can use all the phone lines to call in and vote for your favorite American Idol.

What I find even more aggravating, is that these same white people always complain about any edge that any race may have over them. Correct me if I am wrong, but is it not true that we live in a society that breeds white privilege? How can any white person complain about something not being fair? I remember a couple of years ago, there was this Hawaiian girl on American Idol that made it to the top three and all the white people got mad because she really could not sing. But, she had all the Japanese and Hawaiian people calling in and voting for her. So what?

America is all about identifying with your culture within this melting pot society. I have a Greek friend who had a speeding ticket and had to go to court to fight it. He came back from court to tell me that he was so relieved that the judge was also Greek because he felt that he got a much more lenient ruling than he might have if the judge was of some other ethnicity. I know that when I have ever been in any position of power, I have always tried to look out for Indian people. So here we are, with an Indian kid with big dreams and such a lovable sense of style that has made it all the way to the top 8 contestants in American Idol. Of course there are going to be many Indians that vote for Sanjaya just because he is Indian without any regard to how he sings. I do not see anything wrong with that. I will buy his CDs when they are released because he is Indian and I believe in his dream and I want to buy into it.

I say that we all vote for Sanjaya and if anyone questions us or makes us feel bad about voting for someone that all the white people are hating on, we should confront it. We are not voting for talent, we are voting for a dream that we believe in. Can Britney Spears really sing? No. Can Jessica Simpson really sing? No. Why can't an Indian kid have that same dream? I certainly am not going to let a white person tell me that it can't be.