i said something without even thinking of my reasoning behind it, and now i’m wondering what reasons led me to state something that seemingly lacks of a reason. Some days back i was driving somewhere and my Ammi was sitting next to me. Without even thinking, i saw a desi individual walking on the street, and i told Ammi excitedly, “Look - a desi”. The second after i said that, i thought to myself - why did i just say that ? Firstly, there aren’t many desis here around where i live so it is unusual to see them. But, i mean - do Brazilian people deliberately point out Brazilians on the street and say ‘oh look a Brazilian’. What makes people feel differently, inside, when they see someone who belongs to their same ethnicity.
i don’t even know who that desi person was, but to spontaneously see someone, when you are least expecting it, who shares your ethnicity - is there a big deal about this ? Does anyone else do this? :o i know it’s different for you folks in NY, Cali, Houston etc - you guys have a relatively large desi population currently. But where i live, i don’t see desis that frequently. It just made me wonder - why did i say that. What’s the big deal about seeing someone who shares your same ethnicity - does it make you feel like you share a bond even though you know nothing about the other individual ? Would Brazilians, as just a random example, do something like that ?
Maybe it’s like an evolutionary built-in mechanism whereby people sought groups with which they felt an ‘inherent’ affinity, thereby offering protection due to belonging to a larger group.
i think in a alien environment it's the sense of 'belonging','safety','identification' that leads someone to spontaneously recognize someone from the same race. I think it's inherent.
How often, when ur attending a party, and you do not know anyone, how often don't u sigh of relief when u recognize someone, even if u don't know that person that well
Nescio, yeah you are right. Very pertinent analogy of the party and recognizing someone there.
AhmadJee, :o phew :D Now i feel less weird. :D
It's kindof umm 'disappointing' (for want of a much better word ?) that - one is living in the 21st century but yet we still rely so much upon ethnicities to feel a bond. Kindof like we associate with each other based upon the "tribes"/ethnicities we belong to... still a race thing.
Hi Nadia.
I think all desi's are like this if they see a other desit
they think hmmm probely he/she is a desi or they
think like maybe he/she is a Paki or a Indian.
I dont have that very much coz where i live there is
many desi's here lolz.
Erm.. may i ask where you live?
still does not explain why desis just stare with their muppet like beady little eyes..abay crack a smile, look away, but this blank stare that wont just go away is annoying. I sometimes wink at them or just nod my head, then they dont know what to do..
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*Originally posted by Ma Mooli: *
Depends where your living, come to britian and there are places here where you'll be going, 'look ma----------->theres a gora!'
[/QUOTE]
yeah plenty of eye candy in the big cities, especially at melas n stuff.
dont worry Nadia je, i do that, my family does that, my neighbours do that, i think every desi does that. Y'know i do that a lot, we'l be drivin and i'll see a desi and say stuff out loud and then we'll have a conversation on it , i'll say something like, "i love the contrast she's used on her shalwaar kameez", i know its silly, but u see desi's around our neck of the woods all the time and i do it all the time.
Bah, y'all are just thinking too much. It's just home-sickness. Even if you've never lived in your homeland you still recognize it as such, right? It's your cultural identity. Everyone wants to know where they came from where ever that may be and however long ago it may have been. There's nothing wrong with that. Frankly it'd be kind of odd if you didn't. Every now and then you'll come across someone familiar, even if only in imagination and out comes "Look, a desi!" ;)
Shoot, even white people do it in all-white populations so it's not racial. Look at all the Little Italys, not to mention the Irish pubs in every city in the world. :)
If you guys want to take it even further, don't you guys who follow sports do the same thing if you see someone wearing your team's jersey away from home?
It’s a totally normal thing to do but the rude part is to keep staring and figure out if you know them.
I always look away but there are people who will walk the streets, come across desis and look at you, as if you murdered their mother.
chill people.
Funny thing… In Pakistan, people do this when they see a gora. So while I was riding in a car with family. .. I point and yell out “voh dekho, Pakistani”
It’s called the Rule of Adaptation…when you are desensitized to a certain stimulus, the intensity of that stimulus in elevated and you shout out…Look-A desi
j/k