Oh, and to echo a PP, do please drop the habit of calling those with whom you disagree "retarded." We don't use that word anymore--it's not nice to those of different mental abilities, and it's not nice to the target of your intended epithet.

NP. Boy, you go away for vacation for a week and all fucking hell breaks loose.

Cindy, you make some great points. You sound nice and well-intentioned.

You also say you're troll-proof, yet you've been jousting valiantly with some of our most well-known trolls. Like the first one who welcomed you, our Italian-American friend who thinks it's racist for an Indian immigrant to inquire what neighborhoods have concentrations of Indian-Americans and Indian immigrants, to get an idea where her Indian parents and in-laws might be more comfortable visiting. Or the second one, who thinks AA's need to get over their sensitivity and stop worrying about how the rest of America perceives them or treats them. You're pretty much doing nothing but jumping in to battle trolls here.

Finally, despite sounding tolerant and enlightened in some ways, you also sound pretty superior, lecturing, tone-deaf, and a bit lacking in self-awareness. Welcome to DCUM. You're going to fit right in.

P.S. Anonymous commentary is the custom here. (I'd say dominant cultural more, but since I don't know how to type an accent over the e, I don't want to see what kind of angry accusations of ignorance and poor usage that expression would precipitate.) By creating a name, you've definitely put a target on your back. (And a pretty easily-mocked one at that.)

Anonymous wrote:

In response to your question, we were going to Mumbai. Interacting with bankers. Thanks for the links I'll take a look.

Ohhh, I get it. Was this before or after 2008? In 2008, the Chabad House in Mumbai was the site of an anti-semitism attack. Guns and torture were involved. It was a shocking attack because it was the first time in modern history that Indian Jews had ever been targeted by terrorists. Also, the terrorists were Pakistanis, so it wasn't Indians hating on Jews. (And I should mention, even Pakistani terrorists do not represent real Pakistanis). But that must be why he warned you. Because Mumbai's Jews have always co-existed peacefully.

CindyBindy wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Cindy
When my boss and I went on a work trip to India one of our Indian coworkers asked us if either of us were Jewish. He said he just wanted to warn us of antisemitism. So I don't think it's all roses and kittens.

Interesting. Where in India was this, who were you interacting with? Questions about anti-semitism are usually met with, "There are Jews in India?!" But seriously, they have a history of being accepted and protected. If anti-semitism exists in your experience, then I'm really curious about where this happened and in what context. A Deoband town or something? FYI, there are fringe groups of religious fundamentalists, and any anti-semitism is most likely going to come to from practitioners of another Abrahamic religion, because dharmic religions don't have the religious history with Judaism.

Indian Jews created the Bollywood film industry, and their synagogues have always been protected by local kings. There's a running joke about how Israelis routinely holiday in India in droves before/after fulfilling their military duties. There are also stories about Israelis being boorish when drunk, but they all pretty much come to India because they know they'll have a good time and it's cheap.

For your random reading pleasure, if you feel like it:

http://articles.latimes.com/1991-01-27/news/mn-324_1_jew-town

http://www.israelnationalnews.com/Articles/Article.aspx/12312#.UhbjfH_5ExI

http://www.forbes.com/2007/08/05/india-jews-antisemitism-oped-cx_gw_0813jews.html

In response to your question, we were going to Mumbai. Interacting with bankers. Thanks for the links I'll take a look.

Anonymous wrote:Cindy, everyone's allotted the same number of words at birth, and I regret to inform you that you've used yours up.

But I pay extra every month!

Cindy, everyone's allotted the same number of words at birth, and I regret to inform you that you've used yours up.

Anonymous wrote:Cindy
When my boss and I went on a work trip to India one of our Indian coworkers asked us if either of us were Jewish. He said he just wanted to warn us of antisemitism. So I don't think it's all roses and kittens.

Interesting. Where in India was this, who were you interacting with? Questions about anti-semitism are usually met with, "There are Jews in India?!" But seriously, they have a history of being accepted and protected. If anti-semitism exists in your experience, then I'm really curious about where this happened and in what context. A Deoband town or something? FYI, there are fringe groups of religious fundamentalists, and any anti-semitism is most likely going to come to from practitioners of another Abrahamic religion, because dharmic religions don't have the religious history with Judaism.

Indian Jews created the Bollywood film industry, and their synagogues have always been protected by local kings. There's a running joke about how Israelis routinely holiday in India in droves before/after fulfilling their military duties. There are also stories about Israelis being boorish when drunk, but they all pretty much come to India because they know they'll have a good time and it's cheap.

For your random reading pleasure, if you feel like it:

http://articles.latimes.com/1991-01-27/news/mn-324_1_jew-town

http://www.israelnationalnews.com/Articles/Article.aspx/12312#.UhbjfH_5ExI

http://www.forbes.com/2007/08/05/india-jews-antisemitism-oped-cx_gw_0813jews.html

Cindy
When my boss and I went on a work trip to India one of our Indian coworkers asked us if either of us were Jewish. He said he just wanted to warn us of antisemitism. So I don't think it's all roses and kittens.

Anonymous wrote:Cindy, I think your posts are well thought out, clear and concise. You've provided rational discussion, but you are obviously new to DCUM because rational and well spoken "conversation" or dialogue is not what the great majority of the threads here are about.

People come on here 1) to vent or 2) share a thought or 3) ask a question or 4) stir the pot. It's almost entirely anonymous because anonymity gives the go ahead to speak the most darkest and ugliest thoughts.

They've already got their minds made up, it's like trying to reason with a hyena. Some threads like this one are draining and can make you lose faith in the human race.

Please do stick around though, it can sometimes be fun and lighthearted here too.

Thanks for explaining and for the support. I think I will probably stick around, if only to be the lone logged-in person here.

Cindy, I think your posts are well thought out, clear and concise. You've provided rational discussion, but you are obviously new to DCUM because rational and well spoken "conversation" or dialogue is not what the great majority of the threads here are about.

People come on here 1) to vent or 2) share a thought or 3) ask a question or 4) stir the pot. It's almost entirely anonymous because anonymity gives the go ahead to speak the most darkest and ugliest thoughts.

They've already got their minds made up, it's like trying to reason with a hyena. Some threads like this one are draining and can make you lose faith in the human race.

Please do stick around though, it can sometimes be fun and lighthearted here too.

CindyBindy wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

I grew up in a diverse middle class neighborhood and I didn't really see blacks in this area having a disadvantage and many excelled at a high level. That being said, this is a separate issue to what I'm speaking of... Those with low SES, mid SES and high in a high number of instances expressed this behavior that certain things were off limits to discuss and verbalized insecurities that didn't reflect often the situation that they were in....

Just because you didn't see the disadvantages, doesn't mean they didn't exist. In fact, I'd wager it wasn't even on your radar to notice. Would love to hear some examples of displays of insecurities.

I saw your post earlier but didn't respond to it because I was dealing with everyone else. I'm also not sure why you're asking me talk about African-American insecurities. If I recall correctly, it was you who claimed that the black community was insecure and sensitive. I, along with another poster, told you it was wrong to think that way. Or maybe it wasn't you who wrote that. You're all anonymous here except me, so I think I can be forgiven for not knowing who I am talking to.

Well if you can follow someone quoted me incorrectly and responded, so their response looks like part of my post

Anonymous wrote:

I grew up in a diverse middle class neighborhood and I didn't really see blacks in this area having a disadvantage and many excelled at a high level. That being said, this is a separate issue to what I'm speaking of... Those with low SES, mid SES and high in a high number of instances expressed this behavior that certain things were off limits to discuss and verbalized insecurities that didn't reflect often the situation that they were in....

Just because you didn't see the disadvantages, doesn't mean they didn't exist. In fact, I'd wager it wasn't even on your radar to notice. Would love to hear some examples of displays of insecurities.