The Native American dilemma

I attended a session organized by the Native Americans on Columbus day.

Generally, the world sees Columbus as the founder of America. He stumbled upon it while trying to find a searoute to the then best trade country in the world, India. And the day he hit America, is celebrated widely as Columbus day.

However, the Native Americans see this as the day their downward spiral began. They consider Columbus a rapist, murderer and theif. He is the person, after all, who opened up this continent to the subsequent colonialization.

Hence, all is not a bed of roses for Columbus, 500 years after his discovery. There are some thorns too.

It is interesting to see this new side of looking at Columbus.

But to be honest, I was not too impressed by the attitude of the natives. Here are my personal observations...

They associate the words like "guilt" and "shame" to their community, the result of 500 years of abuse by the Europeans. They still refer to the Americans as the "European invaders". Hence, Bush, Kerry and everyone else, is a European Invader. I distinctly heard this statement during the presentation "The European invaders currently in power...."

They want the current Americans to feel guilty and responsible for what was done to their community 500 years in the past. 500 years ago! Boy! at that time, we still believed that the sun revolved around the earth, and that the earth was flat and we would fall over the edge, and that earthquakes were caused by angry gods or a giant turtle moving under the earth's surface. I do not understand how something that was done during that era of ignorance, can be made to feel like a crime committed by a person born in the end of the 20th century.

I can relate to this coz we in India were colonialized. First by the Moghuls, then by the British. For over 700 years! But it would be so stupid to go to Prince Charles of England today, and ask him to apologize for something he did not do. "Charles, dude, your great great great grandmother's army general's soldier killed my great great great grandfather. Hence, apologize to me."

The natives are living on certain islands off the American coasts. These islands are being abused by the government with radioactive wastes. This is a valid cause, worth rallying for. I stand by the natives for this one. It is a real problem, not historical.

If you are a non-American reading this blog, you will be surprised that there are many American students who actually feel guilty for the 500 year old act. Interesting, isnt it? How can anyone be responsible for anyone else's crime? There was actually a guy in the room who said that his family moved to America in 1920s, and he feels guilty. Get a life, dude.

In the presentation, and condemnation of the USA, no one talked about what they want the Government to do for them. I asked this question at the end, and I was told that they want a soverign nation of their own! They never mentioned they are rallying for a nation in their whole presentation. And when I asked them, that does having a nation directly mean that they will have a better and richer life, and that they should look at the fact that most countries in the world are run by their own race, and yet the citizens are not living in the same facilities that are available in America... I was told that the nation-state model itself is incorrect. That the top 5 percent of the society controls 95 percent of the wealth, and vice versa. This is not because of a faulty system. This is because some people work harder, and smarter, and make it big. Most of the top 5 percent, started somewhere amongst the other 95 percent. I hate the Ph.D. people, the so called "Doctors", who always complain about such things. Why don't they stop preaching, and try to make money? Do they forget, that all their research money, and their salaries, are funded by someone who is in the top 5 percenters??

And then, I had to make a comment, and say that the presenters only complained. I told them, that the very fact that they can stand in public and talk against the government, is a freedom not provided in almost any country on the planet. I told them that I agree they have problems, but dont they have a single word of appreciation for the American government, and the American ideals, and the freedom of speech? I was told "Freedom of speech does not mean that our problems are recognized". Dude, you are sitting in a roomful of non-natives, and all of them are upholding your cause. Who is not recognizing you? What do you want? A museum? Photograph on the currency note? Changing the name of America to a native American name?

The presentation talked about the killings of natives by the settlers. However, if you research the facts, the natives killed just as many settlers. Well, the genocides were mutual. If the settlers got the better of the natives coz they had better guns, strategy and more money, it is nothing to feel bad about. The weak shall fall to the strong. Law of nature.

And well, in the 15th century, colonialization was the "in thing". The mantra was, colonialize or get colonialized. We in India, Native America, Africa and Latin America got colonialized, while England, France, Portugal, Spain and Italy chose to colonialize. Nothing to feel bad about, that is the way things were 500 years ago.

I am not against the native American cause, though I may sound like it. I feel that the Columbus day would hurt their feelings for sure. And that there are certain regions even today which require Government attention. However, they do make the whole issue, a bit too far fetched.

Is America Ethnocentric??

Now, during the student interviews, I was given a list of questions to ask. But I added another question... "What will you tell about the American culture in the country you are exchanged to?"

Boy! You should see the "look" on the face of the student when faced with this question. Its like something "Einstein-ic" was asked. I guess I will get a look which is less blank if I asked them about the machinery used in the NASA Mars probe.

Here is an example: One person, after a half minute of blank stare, told me that people outside the USA associate it with something bad, or evil. I was told that the USA is ethnocentric. And well, it is ethnocentric, because it is not open to other cultures. The person went on to say, that if people in Persia can learn English, then why cannot Americans learn Persian? Hence, we are ethnocentric.

Wha??? Come again!!

Really, its interesting to note how less people here in the USA, understand and value their own culture.

Everyone has to learn English. I took all my education in an English medium school. And that is not because I want to be multi-ethnic or some other BS. English is a global language, and more so because of the dominance of America in the world. There is no reason to feel bad about being powerful, and dominant.

There is something about being American which is laden with guilt. I am trying to find out the reason, but I am not able to as of yet. For one, there is a blank stare about the American culture, and then, there is a statement which is trying to justify something. All Americans feel they need to justify to the world. Pals, you need no justification, trust me. We, in 80 percent of the world, stand in queues for hours to simply take a chance at being able to get a visa to the USA. And this will continue, whether or not you justify yourself to the rest of the world.

Well, don't forget though, if you want to see what a blank stare is like, ask someone on campus... "Tell me something about the American culture". I bet you a 100 bucks... you will get the best blank stare of your life.

SN Interviews

I took part in interviewing some students from Michigan who are looking at internships abroad. We had to rate whether these people would be good interns, and if they should be allowed to take up an internship at all.

Feels good to be on the other side of the table. Always feels good. Whenever I interview, it inspires me to build my own business as fast as I can, so that I never have to sit on any side other than the interviewer.

I think the people who applied were quite cool. I liked most of them. I wonder why many people reject more applicants. What is the fun of being harsh on someone? I guess, the only selection criteria that matters, is if they are open to more regions on the planet. Like for eg., there was this applicant who only wanted to go to a German speaking nation. In effect, there is almost only one nation in the world which that means.. its Germany. And within that, he wants to have a specific jobrole. This is logistically too difficult to handle.

I guess anyone who is flexible with choice of region and type of work, is a good candidate for internship.

One thing that I have tried to punch into the system time and again, is that the applicants are going abroad for their benefit, not for AIESEC's motives. This is nothing to feel bad about. Someone who is going for "Resume Building", is not automatically a bad candidate. Lets face it, hardly anyone can spend a good amount of time and money, for simply a cultural experience.

Moreover, we are not very strict on the kind of interns that come into the committee. For eg., all the Delphi trainees do not even know that there is an organization called AIESEC, before they reach Ann Arbor. So ideally, by our own standards, we shouldn't accept such internships. A discrepancy in the standards for outgoing interns and incoming interns, is a basic gap in the value system. It should be plugged.

My solution is, as I said before, to allow any one who looks sane, and is flexible, to go on an internship. The rest takes care of itself.

OGX Newsletter

My new baby.

The OGX newsletter is a new thing I am making for AIESEC Michigan. It feels good to be working on something that is fulfilling a purpose.

I made the format and discussed it at the OGX meeting on Tuesday. Now I need to collect the required information and make the first draft.

Once that is done though, I am close to making it into a final format. I plan to make it into a good looking HTML email, like the ones you see as mailers from companies... using a bit of color and design. It provides a more interesting interface to the reader, and looks cool and professional too.

Once it is finalized, I will make a template sort of a thing. Hence, in the future after I am gone, any one can simply type in the data and send a new mailer.

I think this should go a long way in maintaining meaningful communication with our SNs.

Woody Allen

I had never come across any Woody Allen movies in India. But thanks to Aaron, I am a big fan of his comedy.

I love his style. He is so cynical its funny. Honestly, I have seen comedies, but he has a unique style of making fun of reality. Especially man-woman relationships.

Absolutely fantastic.

His movies are the ones which are to be watched with dedication, you cant be doing other things or talking to friends and watching a Woody Allen movie. There are brilliant lines sprinkled all around the movie, and you don't want to miss anything. I wonder how some people catch hold of life's subtleness in such an extraordinary fashion.

Most of his movies make me think of the message of "Who moved my cheese". The author in that book says that there are always signs before something comes along, but we choose to ignore the signs until the problem is too large to handle. Woody Allen movies catch the subtle signs that keep coming all the time thrown at us bit by bit, but we generally choose to ignore them and do nothing about them, thinking that ignoring them is going to solve the problem. But soon, it just gets too messy to be handled anymore, and we end up complicating life even further.

Let me try and learn to think simple. Let me try and tune my radar so as to catch life's signals while they are still soft. One thing it is to say though, dude, and another to practice it! I know I am going to complicate again tomorrow morning.

:o)

If you want to watch his movies, watch "Husbands and wives" and "Crimes and misdemeanours". Masterpieces.

American Innocence

At the student event today, I realised that most Americans dont know nothin' about Islam. The students were asked questions and everyone had a total blank look on their face about the simplest questions. I felt like I was one of the most informed about Islam non-Islamic person around. .

This is one thing I have been noticing. There is so much information around, so much access, such open doors, and people from all over the world. But Americans choose to live in their own world, as if nothing beyond America exists. It is a weak point of the culture I have been noticing for a while. If they learn more about different cultures, it will go a long way in redefining America and helping it maintain what it stands for.

Its not just knowing about Islam, but that there are so many other things in the world. Ignorance as a choice? That too in America???

Also, when people in America do learn about other cultures, they act hard-core socialist. They look at everyone from a humanitarian point of view. Boy! things dont work around the world as they do in America. This is probably one of the most innocent countries in the world. They just assume the world is as unbiased as they are. And they believe this even after visiting other countries! I love the Americans.. they are probably the most innocent people in the world.

I was just talking to another friend today. Even today in China, moslems are killed for practicing religion. Even today! Now where do you read news about this? No one touches or talks about China. Its just too dangerous a place to tread. But if in the US, a white man says that he does not like the middle east or east asia, people think the guy's evil. Why do we hold different people to different standards?

Innocent people, the Americans. God save them from the East. I can say so coz I have lived there and soaked in the Orient, the Indian subcontinent and Middle East. We in the East, are hypocrits, and we look innocent coz we are masked. God save America if they hold the Middle East and the East to their own standards. America is not a masked nation, most people live as they see things. Rest of the world, is hardly like that.. we all in the East live more in the closet than we do outside.

I worry about America at times... they are trying to love the rest of the world a bit too much more than they should. The world is ruled by fear, not love. Respect in politics is not gained by love, but for being strong. No king ruled out of love, dude. Only out of strength and fear. I wish the Americans would realise who they are trying to love. We, aren't too lovable... and I say that with modesty.

I love America for its ideals and would not like to see it hurt. Its like the first and only pillar of total human independence in the world ever. I hope to see it stand, sustain and prosper. If America falls, its not a country that falls, its the ideals which lose importance. If America falls, its the fall of personal freedom and a dream of equal opportunities. If America falls, its the beginning of the Dark Ages yet again. I wish for Americans to realise how good and important their country is to the rest of the world, and that they are blessed to be here.

I hope for the best.

Do You Amplify?

Amplify. Yet another student associations presentation.

I love these events. So alive, so kicking, so inspiring. Just go in, meet different people, bathe in new cultures, make friends, learn differences, and break my box of previous beliefs.

Today was organized by the Persian Students Association, a couple of other people and AIESEC.

I heard about a community called the Hmongs. They are a very old community of wandering tribes, and are unaware of origin. Due to Chinese atrocities, they fled to other parts of South East Asia, and were picked up to spy by the US during Vietnam. Hence, they got asylum in the US. They are a community without a country. I wonder how it feels to have no place to call home. On the other hand, I wonder if having a country kinda makes your individuality weaker, and makes you more dependant on your country and its identity. Isnt it better to be linked to nowhere, and make your own mark in the world? But, where do you connect your roots to?? Now that is food for thought, and should keep me busy for a while as I try to find my answer.

I also got my name written in Arabian and Persian. Cool, eh? :)

I love the student fairs and campus events. I wish we have more of such things in India more often. Maybe its an opportunity for me to do something back home...

The Computing facilities

I love the facilities around here. Just close your eyes while walking on the campus, and you bump into a computer. All networked, and ready for use.

I wonder if the students realize they live in a facility only next to the International Space Station!

Especially the Macs in the Fish Bowl, boy they are amazing. I have seen good quality reputed graphic designers at work, but they dont have the facility that I have at the Fish Bowl to use a word processor, which would do well with a 14" screen and a Pentium processor.

The dual screen Macs. Boy! I just loathe in the technology. I sometimes become a little kid and just play around moving windows into different screens. And all the macs equipped with a zillion software, and have I-Tunes loaded.

Now this is something so different from India. We generally try to keep academics and fun apart. The Americans keep them together. You can work, create a report, and also download songs and copy them on your i Pod. How interesting is that?!!

And then there is these series of computers at the B-School. Simply professional.

My 2nd favourite spot is the UgLi (Undergrad Library, popularly known as the Ugli). Its the same computers but the arrangement is interesting.

Moreover, these computing halls are lively, and not too quiet. I somehow, cant stand public places which are too quite, makes me think I am at a funeral. I like some degree of noise, hustle bustle, commotion, and a bit of chaos. Though these halls are far from being chaotic, however they are lively and happening. Whats more... if you get tired while working, just look around, soak into eyecandy, and get back to work! Just doesn't get better!!!

The printing facilities are like using a commerical graphical printer. All modern printers, networked beyond imagenation. Costly though.. they charge 10 cents per page (Rs. 5). Darn! I could get a color laser printout for that much in India.

The internet.. gosh! Today I was downloading at above 300 Kbps. I wonder how I will feel when I go back to India and surf at 4 Kbps. I cant even imagene it now.

And the comps are fast, fast! I think they are all the latest processors with tons of RAM and disk space.

I must borrow the Mac Donalds slogan here to describe my feeling..

"I am lovin' it" !!!!!!!

Chilly!!

Chilly ! Chilly! But this one's not hot chilly, its a fuckin' freezin' cold chilly.

The weather is unique. It just drops in a free fall. The temprature is down from well over 60F to 30 F in just two weeks.

I cant understand temprature in F. I need it in C. So, to be honest, I felt very cold but I didnt really know what 30 meant. Then, I happened to look it up.

The temprature was ranging between -2 C to 3 C ! 3 C? Thats colder than the coldest winter in Ahmedabad.

When I walk out in the streets at night, my face, the open and exposed part of my body, chills!

And when I mentioned to Aaron that this was cold, he told me that in winter sometimes it gets this warm as a teaser, and then it becomes cold again. Do you understand that? It gets as warm as 0 degrees?

But I still wonder which is worse.. the 45 C blazing heat which gives horrible days and sleepless nights, or the -20C chill which chills your bones and blood and makes you feel like an icecream. I think just as in everything else, tempratures at extremes are bad enough. Either too hot or too cold, and the body complains. Its better here though, as everyone has heating facility. In India, cooling is almost unaffordable.

Thats the news of me coping up with the chill.

But I am enjoying the Fall. Leaves are looking pretty on trees, like an artist's imagenative painting. They are in all hues from green to yellow to orange to red to purple. Sometimes it feels like walking in a dream, when its chilly, and I walk under colored trees, my feet crackling dry fallen leaves under them. And not to mention an occasional beautiful blonde who passes by, making it even more of a dream walk :)

The earth is coloring up. Fall colors, awesome! Move over Picasso...

The Presidential Debates

Its interesting to watch how the American democracy functions.

The presdential debate was on TV yesterday. 2 people who aspire to be the leader of the most powerful country on planet Earth, spoke for 90 minutes. But, nothing was said.

To be honest, nothing really happened. Each was re-iterating what has been spoken and heard over the last endless months. The war on Iraq is not only the biggest political issue, its rather almost the only issue.

I wonder what would have the parties fought over, if Bush had not invaded Iraq. The only other visible issue, is Gay Marriages and Tax Cuts. Somehow, I am happy the invasion happened, it would have been atrocious to hear a discussion on Gay Marriages for 90 minutes.. considering this is a debate of the person who will almost have the status of a world leader.

No one discussed the environment, the end of manufacturing industry, technological advancements or world policy.

People and the media say that Kerry won the debate, however, I personally feel that he was being too idealistic. A leader needs an idealist on his team, but he needs to be a realist. Bush's statement that we cannot tell our forces and the world that we made a mistake, and then ask for help.. kinda makes common sense. The world respects America for its power, technology and knowledge. To stand up and say we made a mistake, is to acknowledge we are weak at the top. God forbid that the world starts thinking America is weak at the top. I don't think Americans at home realize what fundamental Islam is about, and what dictatorships are about.

I watched the debate sans-emotions, as I am an outsider. However, the outcome of the election does matter, considering America amounts for being India's largest trade partner. Any change of policy and government in USA, sends the Indian stock markets in a frenzy. The rise of oil prices in USA, hurts the stock exchange in Bombay. So I cannot totally say that the outcome does not make a difference to me.

End in end, I asked many people about the debate, and most told me that they lost interest after about 30 minutes.

As for me, after 30 minutes, I had switched to watching an episode of South Park.

Insight login!

I cleared my test today. I had to re-register, thanks to the technical glitches.

But its done. Only my final approval from @ Michigan remains.. and I am an Insight XP registered USER !!!!!!

Hurrah! Hurrah!

The Study Abroad Fair

Today afternoon, I participated on behalf of AIESEC in the Study Abroad Fair at the Michigan Union in the University of Michigan.

It's interesting for me to participate and watch activities being done by the University. The whole structure is designed for creating better, stronger communities of individuals. The students have an option of going to over 30 destinations worldwide, which is pretty amazing considering it is a University initiative. It is fun to see the program co-ordinators market off different countries as probable destinations.

I dont think anywhere else in the world, the universities are so globalized, and the students travel all over the world during the course of their college education. One thing I see in the USA, is total non-realization of the opportunity of being born and educated here. There is possibility of immense exposure to the world, however most people tend to just close themselves up and vegetate in the same place. Of course I am generalizing, many people do take advantage, but the percentages are appaling low. They end up complaining and talking about vague issues about changing the society and the world, rather than seize the moment and opportunity at end.

I enjoyed marketing AIESEC and its activities to all the interested students who visited. Talking to them about AIESEC activities and answering their questions, makes me believe even more in the grandness of the AIESEC concept.

Probably, we were the only student organization on campus providing this opportunity, as all the other tables were about University funded or University organized programs.

AIESEC is an amazing organization, when you look at the size and depth of the structure. Its like a force, which carries on beyond cultues, boundaries, and people. No one is a permanent member, still the organization is as strong and stable as ever. It's like.. AIESEC lives by itself.

Getting ready for the General Meeting today evening. Its going to be full of newbies of the Fall 2004, and some of them will carry the torch of AIESEC into the next couple of years.

Over to the future!!

Apple Picking

Today evening, I went apple picking with some AIESECers.

As usual, things started a bit later than they should have, and well, as usual, some people got lost on the way. Only one car knew the correct way, the rest were supposed to simply follow. Its really interesting how we become followers when we are expected to lead, and on the other hand, we try to lead when we are expected to follow.

It was a wonderful experience for me. Its not that I have not gone apple picking before, but as I must maintain.. Its different in the USA. Everything's done differently here. I have not heard of a pay-n-pick apple farm back home. Back home, you either own an apple farm, or know someone who does, or steal. Here, you can pay a few dollars, and enjoy picking fresh apples off the trees!

I have always been fascinated by the American skill of marketing to almost any human need and desire. Too much of city life, makes a menial, laborious activity such as apple picking into an interesting group activity. And hence, some smart American came up with the idea of selling this laborious task to the city dwellers as a fun event. Somehow, it reminds me of Tom Sawyer, who sold the idea of painting his wall as something interesting and traded for toys and gifts. However, Apple Picking is interesting. Every bit of it was fun... I am a city dweller too, you see. The farm fascinates me.

The place contained attractions apart from picking apples. Games, group activity centres and even a Karaoke (check my spellings). The best looking thing was a fake blow up apple which served as a game centre for kids.

We reached late, and never picked apples. Nevertheless, we had fun... or atleast, I did. I treated myself to the traditional midwest food during the onset of Fall - Cider and Donuts. I played in a hay stack with Ming, an activity for ages 12 and under. Oh no! nothing else, we just threw hay on each other... I know playing in the haystack could mean lots of stuff. And I had a caramel apple. Yummiiee!!! To top it off, we had a humorous photo shoot on tractors. I am waiting to see the photos, which I am sure have come out interesting.

Btw, here's another example of capitalism. They charge you to enter the apple orchards, and then charge you to take apples out of it. Not even a single apple is included in the admission fee! Well well, nothing deters old timers like me. I never wanted to carry apples home.. so just stole and ate a few. Sshhh..
All of us shared a couple of stolen apples. We termed it as "Lost Innocence".

All in all, a great time. Perfect weather, beautiful farm, fun loving friends, and apples. Sheer happiness.

We call it "Apple Spirit".