Monday, September 16, 2013

Some Good News on Racism

The new Miss America, Nina Davuluri, is an Indian-American.  I didn't watch the pageant except to see who won as some of my tweeps were most into it.  Our new Miss America is a knock-out.  And she wants to be a doctor, like her father. So, woot for her!

Sure, there are some racists who are upset that it did not go to a white woman, and made stupid comments.  But it did lead to reporting of some positive news--that Indian-Americans actually don't face that much discrimination.  Only ten percent of Indian Americans think that discrimation against them is a big problem, only twenty percent report experiencing discrimination.  Yes, 10% and 20% are too much, but I would have guessed that the numbers would be worse.  I am sure there are off-setting factors like their starting economic status and the like, but there is enough humor aimed at Indian-Americans that one might have guessed that there was more of a problem.  Certainly, there are still issues, and the reporting today suggests that racists are still out there, hating on Indian-Americans, but their numbers may be fewer than we thought.

After today's events in DC, I will take whatever good news we can get.  Our new Miss America seems like an excellent role model in multiple dimensions (she aspires to be a doctor).  The runner up, another Asian-American, Miss California, gave a good answer to the Syria question, so our Miss America's these days are pretty damned smart... just like the Miss Earths of the Aughts.

No comments: