7-Elevens Hostile Takeover By Simpsons

In the day and age of mergers and acquisitions, it is no wonder that Apu Nahasapeemapetilon from the Simpsons has made headlines with the recent marketing tactic employed by 7-Eleven stores to convert several locations into The Simpson's caricature of convenience stores called "Kwik-E-Mart." There are mixed feelings on this ploy, as some race relation leaders claim that this tactic is racist and makes a mockery of the entire Indian experience. Already Indian convenience store owners battle with stereotypes and this sort of campaign forces Indian convenience store owners to play into those very stereotypes that often pose as barriers to us.

Some Indians are offended at the fact these marketing tactics associate Indians with improper English, working 90-hour shifts, cheating customers and overall mockeries of our traditions. Such associations downplay our positive contributions to medicine, science and technology. Furthermore, it is reinforced that our people all work in convenience stores. We don't just work in convenience stores, we own them! The fact that we are business-masterminds is also overlooked for a few jokes that affect the minds of Americans and what their perceptions of being Indian is all about.

I wrote about the Simpsons several years ago and asked the India Tribune audience about their take on Apu. Overwhelmingly, our community seems to love Apu. I did not really find that as a surprise, because I love Apu. I have an Apu t-shirt and I have Apu wallpaper on one of my computers. My white friends all love Apu as well, and never have any of my friends had an expectation that my father was anything like Apu.

It is a little hard to get mad at the Simpsons when everyone that is depicted on their cartoon is a big moron. Look at Homer Simpson! I was on a forum where one Internet user commented that we all have to calm down. White people don't get mad at how white people are portrayed on the Simpsons. So why should we?

If the Indian community were to lobby and ask all of us to boycott Apu and the Simpsons, I would have a hard time. I watch The Simpsons, and Apu always makes me laugh. I watch the creators of this show desecrate our traditions. Should I feel guilty for laughing at Homer running around in a Ganesh costume? It is bad, but doesn't American media make everyone fair game for satire? There is The Boondocks, Mr. Wong, and look at all the groups that South Park has attacked. Is there anyone who has ever been safe from a South Park portrayal?

So some people say that we should chill out, however when I see pictures and footage of Indian 7-Eleven employees wearing Kwik-E-Mart shirts standing next to products that are designed to parody the lack of upkeep in Desi-owned convenience stores, it hurts a little bit. Some Desi convenience store owners commented on Google groups with comments such as "I am not bashing The Simpsons, but I am criticizing our company's involvement in this promotion knowing very well that the vast majority of [franchisees] are immigrants. I am not proud to be part of this promotion."

Also commentary found on Google Groups show white people defending the marketing tactic, claiming it to be harmless. Is it really up to white people to say that the tactic is harmless? That is like an abusive husband claiming his strikes to be harmless. As a community, we should be unified in our position.

It is easy to sit in our living room and find a dumb cartoon amusing, but when you walk into a store that personifies racism, and you see our uncles dressed in t-shirts that represent stereotypes, it crosses the fine line between fantasy and reality. When do bars transition into Moe's and feature fat white guys drinking beer and eating donuts? Maybe then the 7-Eleven transition will sit right with me. When I used to look at my Apu-bobblehead, I would see a cartoon, but now I see faces of real Indian people. And that hurts.

Cartoons are not supposed to be a reality, and what was amusing satire is now a real live experience. I have not yet visited a Kwik-E-Mart, however I hope to God that there is no Ganesh next to the cash register with a sign that says "Please do not offer my God a peanut." That would definitely be crossing the line.

Attract the Best People, Accomplish Great Deeds

Immigration has been a hot topic of debate ever since 9-11 with numerous passionate arguments representing both sides. Most commentary in Indian publications are pro-immigration, and rightly so. Many of us second and third generation Indians would not even be here if it were not for immigration, the factor that brought many of our parents together.

A recent motivational conference that my employer assigned all of our staff to attend hosted a workshop on leadership led by none-other-than General Colin Powell. As the former Secretary of State, General Powell addressed immigration by stating how necessary immigration is on a global scale. From his account, he indicated that immigration sparks tourism dollars and the more the rest of the world visits the United States, the better their understanding of our culture. Their overall understanding of what the United States is all about has an impact on the existence of terrorism in a roundabout way. Additionally, in terms of foreign exchange students, the diversity of our leaders is dependent on immigration. Those who come here on student visas develop skills to contribute development here in the United States or back home, and that has an overall effect globally.

It was interesting for me to hear General Powell's analysis of the economic impacts of immigration and of all the countries in the world, he cited India as an example. And it makes sense. Didn't we basically build the Internet and all of what comprises information technology today? General Powell said that 1.3 billion Indians are engaged in a strategic partnership with the United States. His various examples were intended to help his audience understand that many of the arguments against immigration based on security concerns fail to consider that overall, countries are more concerned with economic matters than peace and war issues. Countries are negotiating shelf space allocations at Walmart and how many locations McDonalds can have and where the next Coca Cola plant will be. In many regards, General Powell is right. We allow the focus on immigration to attach itself to security concerns to determine who we are allowing in and whether that immigrant is going to blow up a train somewhere. We often completely neglect the economic factors of immigration outside of whether any Americans want to take the jobs that the illegal Mexicans currently hold.

In looking at college-educated residents as an asset, there is even an official term for the emigration of educated residents: brain-drain (I know, that sounds silly, I did not make that term up). By definition, brain-drain occurs either when individuals who study abroad do not return to their home country, or when individuals educated in their home country emigrate for higher wages and better opportunities. When I first learned about brain-drain, I thought about India. Often times it is pointed out that all the Indian immigrants that arrived here in 1970's wave were of an educated class. However, according to the statistics, India does not really suffer from brain-drain because less than 5% of Indian college-educated residents leave India. This is a contrast to countries like Ethiopia, where 75% of their skilled workforce is said to have abandoned ship in the 1980's, leaving behind poverty of epidemic proportions and little hope to recover without outside intervention.

An address by a legendary soldier and statesman is enough to make anyone proud to be an American. I suppose for many years, his job was dependent on his ability to make people feel good about America. However in listening to General Powell, I not only felt good about being American, but I also felt good about being Indian. Here we have a country that has made such an impact on the global economy, both in our homeland and abroad. Our respect for our homeland contributes to the low levels of "brain-drain" and though poverty exists, the retained 95% of our college educated residents develop initiatives back home. With minimal exports of our assets, we contribute enough talent to shape technology in the United States. We build, we lead, we research and we develop. Indians win fellowships. Indians comprise a substantial segment of staff at technology companies nationwide. And Indians assume titles such as CEO, CFO, VP of this and VP of that. General Powell concluded by saying "Organization doesn't really accomplish anything. Plans don't accomplish anything, either. Theories of management don't much matter. Endeavors succeed or fail because of the people involved. Only by attracting the best people will you accomplish great deeds." The United States has accomplished some great deeds and our people were involved because we are the best. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise: we are the best!

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.

The Importance of Education

We all talk about how education is so important and for many of us, our parents do not care what we do, as long we as we obtain our education in the process. A Bachelors Degree is a minimal standard in our households and we typically assume that all Indians that are in the 28-year-old age range at least have their Bachelors Degree.

At a recent Samaj I attended, I met many Indians who worked within educational institutions as Department Chairs or Deans of this or that University. Though I think it is great Indian people have such influence in our University settings, I am wondering if they can utilize their positions to better meet the needs of Indian students. I do not even know what the needs of Indian students are because no one has really sat down to identify them. It seems like someone should since we have so many of our people working in the University setting in positions of power.

At the college that I teach at, there is a Hispanic woman named Maria Banuelos who holds the position of Associate Vice President for Diversity and Community Relations. If you were to visit the Madison Area Technical College (MATC), without even knowing anything about the school, you would immediately feel the influence her work has had on this school because it is very welcoming to the Hispanic community. It's not like there are signs on the walls that say "Welcome Mexicans". It is rather in the intangible elements of the school. For example, many of the instructors there are Hispanic. In the hiring process of the school, MATC makes a very active effort to hire diverse faculty. I participated in the convocation for the school, which is basically a big meeting for all the teachers to learn how to be better instructors. I was very pleased to see how diverse the faculty pool is. There were a lot of Hispanic instructors, but there were also instructors of many other ethnicities. That made me feel really good about being a part of this institution.

Additionally, this college offers entire vocational programs where all the classed are taught in Spanish. The premise behind the programs is that individuals learn better in their native language, rather than in their second language, so although many of the students that are enrolled in these programs speak English, they are learning new skills in their native tongue.

Maybe similar initiatives are not made within the Indian community because we all try so hard to assimilate within the culture we are in. I remember as a child when my parents would pack an occasional lunch for me that was not the all-American peanut butter and jelly sandwich, I would be embarrassed. I did not want to eat roti and daal at school. My classmates made me feel bad for being different and teased me about how my food smelled. Now as an adult, I am a little mad that white people made me feel like that about my culture. So at work, I don't care if the masala in my lunch makes the whole floor smell like little-India. I am not going to let anyone make me feel bad about who I am.

Similarly when we expand the scope of that thought to various professions, I know that Indians that hold high positions in any office or profession worked very hard to get there. In the process, they had to face situations similar to what I faced as a child when my classmates made fun of my roti and daal lunch. Whether you are a man, woman, boy or girl, do not let white people make you feel bad about who you are. Look at the effect of that. We sit in these offices and pretend we are one of them, and we completely overlook the needs of our people who we could easily help if we took the initiative to do so.

Ms. Banuelos' work is a good model for us to follow. When she addresses any audience, she always begins her speech with "Buenos Dias," regardless of who is in the audience. It makes a very clear affirmation to pride in her heritage which then undoubtedly extends into her work. We have individuals in our community that demonstrate similar pride. Ms. Indra Nooyi, CEO of Pepsi Company, often wears saris and bindis to demonstrate her cultural pride. That is great for global business, but I wish we can extend that same pride in the world of education.