I’m in another country and not speaking about Indians in particular, but my family have been immigrants.
One thing I observed is that immigrants tend to have a stronger anti-immigration stance than other demographics.
I think it’s one part shame. You worked hard and now you feel superior to the “fresh off the boat” person you once were and (by extension) to all those new immigrants.
One part it’s that inside, we all have these shitty feelings toward other people but, as immigrants ourselves, we feel legitimised to express them openly because hey, that can’t be racist if you’re talking of your own ethnicity, right?
And then of course,in many places immigrants tend to be pigeonholed into specific types of jobs, so more immigrants not from your family = more competition. But that is not for the Usha Vance types who made it close to the top.
I see that dynamic being actively exploited for politics everywhere. The lesbian leader of the neonazi AfD in Germany, for instance. “I can’t be racist, I have an Indian wife” is just not true. You can and the Indian wife can be too.
I’m in another country and not speaking about Indians in particular, but my family have been immigrants. One thing I observed is that immigrants tend to have a stronger anti-immigration stance than other demographics.
I think it’s one part shame. You worked hard and now you feel superior to the “fresh off the boat” person you once were and (by extension) to all those new immigrants.
One part it’s that inside, we all have these shitty feelings toward other people but, as immigrants ourselves, we feel legitimised to express them openly because hey, that can’t be racist if you’re talking of your own ethnicity, right?
And then of course,in many places immigrants tend to be pigeonholed into specific types of jobs, so more immigrants not from your family = more competition. But that is not for the Usha Vance types who made it close to the top.
I see that dynamic being actively exploited for politics everywhere. The lesbian leader of the neonazi AfD in Germany, for instance. “I can’t be racist, I have an Indian wife” is just not true. You can and the Indian wife can be too.