For all those who don't know, the new Miss America 2014 is of Indian Origin.
So this is what is happening on twitter: According to some Americans on Twitter, the new Miss America is not American, but an Arab Terrorist. Then there are people who are calling all Indians terrorists and some are bringing in Barak Obama, as if it was his "fault" ~ Some Twitter user. Some brilliantly connecting the tragedy of 911 to an Indian-American girl who won a pageant.
Here are a few samples of the whole Drama:
To take a look at more tweets from the source, click below:
http://publicshaming.tumblr.com/post/61388585374/americans-call-first-indian-american-miss-america
Then there are some who are reminding Americans that they're all immigrants, and if going by calling the new Miss America "not an American", then they're all "not American".
Then there are people(Indians and non-Indians) pointing out that India is not Arab while at the same time, somehow managing (or apparently) degrading Arabs, which led to some presumably Arabs bad mouthing Indians.
Here is a look at one such conversation : https://twitter.com/MarinaDiamonds/status/379478873445912576
Here is an Interesting tweet, which clearly is on the Indian defensive side by pointing out "We" are not "Them".
Anil Dash points out a reality that a lot of Indians living in America might actually be facing:
However this post particularly hit home when it comes to prejudice against Indians, which ironically comes from within India and is prominent within the Indian community more than anywhere outside of it. The fact that Indians with darker skin are discriminated in India and by Indians outside of India because they are "Too Indian"!
Another interesting topic that came out was the question of whether beauty pageants like Miss America should even exists. The unrealistic expectations that girls face today regarding physical beauty, weight issues and the general objectification of women. There were also questions raised on the validity and fairness of the contest.
This one kind of makes me appreciate the fact that I'm Canadian! Lorin Lee, we'll be happy to welcome you. 🙂
This one is witty:
Then there is the typical mob mentality where everyone is bashing everyone else:
Americans getting bashed:
Here's an interesting post. This gentleman shuns racists, but does it in “all but wrong” fashion – Arab getting bashed.
Which leads to this twitter, responding in an equally interesting manner. Indians getting bashed by Arab:
This person really needs to work on their disses – she made me laugh.
But for those who think this is all but too depressing, never fear, Twitter has it all covered, so on a lighter note, these following tweets made me laugh:
Here is one of my favourites – Quite clever way to be able to laugh at a classic stereotype that affects him.
So what's Kapil's take on this. I personally don't have much use for such beauty pageants, but I think the new Miss America, Nina Davuluri has her work cut out for her. Not only is she now Miss America, but she is the first Miss America of Indian Origin (I say that as if I'm expecting to see more Indian-American Miss Americas, but hey, how knows? Right?), on top of that she is already a target for racists across her country, but this also means she will have more support from her fellow Americans who may feel the need to stand up to racism.
The reality is that it is difficult for a person of Indian origin to be a public figure outside of India. She will have to work twice as hard and take extreme precautions to stay away from controversies and scandals.
And of course, no pressure but she's not just representing America, she'll also be representing NRIs across the globe. But then diamonds are only formed under extreme pressure! Good Luck Nina Davuluri!