Sunday, July 29, 2018

Putting Indians to the Head of the Line

I'm against this - this is special pleading for a favored group to get access to jobs in America. It's an attempt to do an end-run around the system.

Why is that a bad idea - after all, Indians have long been regarded as an almost "ideal minority" - they have stable family structures, low crime rates, their children typically do quite well in school - shouldn't the USA encourage that?

Well, no. Favoring one group over another, particularly one that is prone to practicing endogamy, will NOT lead to a better situation for those Americans already here.

According to this writer, approximately 90% of American-born Hindus marry within their religion. In practice, this means that almost all Indians marry another Indian. Any wealth or advantages accumulated will stay within that group.

4 comments:

NITZAKHON said...

As a person in a STEM field who knows, personally, multiple people who were displaced by H1-B visa holders... NO.

I once went to a seminar on offshoring. While there two "suits" were talking about offshoring their tech development to India. Once said "Why should I hire an American when I can get two Indians for the same price?"

Put me up against someone skill to skill; if I win, great - if I don't, OK, the better person won. But I can't provide for my family on 50% of my salary. So there's a depressive effect on wages, and then they wonder why Americans don't pursue STEM careers.

Jess said...

When I started working, I was in the oil field offshore, working for a contract company as a contract laborer The field superintendent told me he wanted to hire me, but minorities, women and veterans were hired first. Otherwise no chance to work for a major oil company.

The doors were closed every other place for the same reason. Even my efforts to join a trade union led to the same loss of opportunities.

I ended up with a shovel, and hard days in the weather. Eventually, I worked my way up the ladder to management. This is where I remained, which was my fate in life, but my life would have been much different with the jobs I was prevented from having due to my white skin, and gender.

Discrimination, for any reason, denies opportunities, and never works, unless you're one that receives special treatment.

NITZAKHON said...

Back in college I had better grades and experience than many of the non-white and/or women students. But they got offer after offer after offer while I went through graduation not having a job in hand.

How do I know this? I HELPED THEM WRITE THEIR RESUMES since mine was, in the words of one of the career-center counselors, at the level where I "had to have" hired a professional. Nope. I just know how to do resumes... so I helped others and saw the relative qualifications.

But I'm as white-bread as you can get, visually. Don't hit any quota checkmarks, so back of the line for you.

Linda Fox said...

Funnily, when I was young, actual diversity was widespread. In Cleveland, non-natives, limited English speakers were able to work their way into jobs. I roomed with one of the first female gas meter readers since WWII. She wasn't a feminist, just a woman who wanted to earn more money. And, she got respect for willingness to work in parts of the city that were almost exclusively Black and poor (Hough neighborhood - and she was a good-looking blue-eyed blonde).

As a woman in STEM fields, I didn't experience bias. I got the same ball-busting that rookie men do - even today, it's common. No problem, I had brothers, and had been a tomboy, so was used to the 'guy' atmosphere.