Goddamned!!!

You heard me right!!!

I am just sick’n’tired of a bunch of Jackasses hijacking my religion and my culture. Not satisfied with just hijacking it they also want to represent me!! And I am not the only one affected by it, almost all cultures and faiths seem to have been taken over by bigots!

I watched the evolution debate rage on in the American education system and didn’t say anything ’cause I wasn’t affected by it but when a bunch of people start messing around with my culture and history in the American education system, I got serious issues with it.

To give you a little background on this issue … It all started with the review of the history syllabus in the California state education system. A bunch of people took it upon themselves to correct some “misconceptions” about ancient Hindu practices in India and rewrite a little bit of history according to them. There were some valid corrections to be made but they used this chance to create their own version of history.

The fact that this effort was led by a bunch of RSS (Rashtriya swayamsevak Sangh) off shoots damages their credence in my sight. Joined together by a group of organisations that we would call “communal” in my country, they decided to make merry. And to support their arguments they were supported by bogus expert indologists.

So how did this bunch outrage me? They denied the caste system as it existed/exists, denied that it was hereditary, denied that the ‘untouchables‘ ever existed/exist in India (sic). They want the kids to learn that the untouchables were called so because day performed the dirty jobs and not vice versa.

Again they didn’t just stop there … they want the kids to learn that the Aryans were the real residents of Ancient India (sic), which negates the widely accepted theory that the Dravidians occupied most of ancient India before the ‘Aryan’ Indo-European race came and settled in the north of India. I should know being one of the Dravidian! Why should we(Indians) ask American kids to learn any different when we are taught the Aryan invasion theory in Indian schools(If you do a google search now, you would see that most of the top results call it a myth or question it).

To those who are not so intimately connected to this development it might not be a big deal but it did touch a raw nerve in me. The fact that they tried to use subversion to get their point of view across by setting up a pseudo website pretending to care about the welfare of the untouchables. The site looks innocent enough now but they didn’t start out that way. Most of the links on their website pointed to communal groups that usually took advantage of them until a research group decided to take notice.

It takes a lot to push me over the edge, obiviously this was not the only event that singularly pushed me over the limit. The protests over the cartoons are still going on.

I wasn’t really going to get into that controversy (for fear of my life ..ha ha) but CrackerJack did give it a shot. What I see in all this is just plain hypocracy. The newspapers claim that they want to prove a point about freedom of speech by printing the cartoons, while the selfsame newspaper refused to print a satiric portrayal on Christ sometime back. The west seems to be wondering what all the fuss is about but talk to them about abortion and watch the violence erupt. The mullahs issue fatwas while teleevangelist issues assassination lists (But ofcourse in the west they apologize).

The Christians protest anything that goes against their definition of family values, the Muslim imams add fuel to the fire by adding pictures that were not even published and go against their own code by carrying around the picture of the prophet. The Muslims don’t want anybody to make fun of their prophet but will make fun of the Jews and the holocaust. The Hindus will not let valentine’s day corrupt their culture (Do you know where Kamasutra comes from?), they will send their sons and daughters to America and wear Nikes and Reaboks, but will blame the west for its own decadence. The Jews, well they just don’t care about anybody but themselves, ’cause we are all gentiles. The Christians, they can’t understand jihad, but the crusades?? That’s another story.

They believe that they are blessed for all that they do, some expecting 70 virgins, some hoping for a higher position in their rebirth and some hoping to get a golden mansion, but they don’t relise that they are “Goddamned”

So where does it leave us all who really want to follow our creed says ?? Somewhere in between

Matthew 5:44 – But I(Jesus) say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you…

P.S: A partial list of violent reactions

Many of you might have read that Ford and GM are going to be cutting a lot of jobs to keep up with the competition and many more of you are aware of the technology driven resurgence of the Indian economy. The connection might not be apparent but there is definitely one if you look below the surface.

I am definitely pro out-sourcing (even though one day my job might be on the line), it is the price you pay to have a capitalistic economy. And the past few years have out-sourcing has been specially good to India. Kids my age are earning what their parents would have earned when they retired (If they were lucky). This has been driven by the information technology industry to a large extent. But the rosy picture belies the harsh well guarded truth, in a word sweat shops have been out sourced to the developing nations by the developed nations.

The bottom line has forced the companies out source, but I still can’t figure out what motivates the off shoring companies to use sweat shops and screw(pardon my French) their own country men!

The source of all this rage is more close at heart… recently the vendor that I am contracted through to MasterCard was bought over by Wipro, one of top three technology/out sourcing companies in India. Though the change of guard did not affect me, it definitely had a big impact on their direct employees (Most of whom were expecting a better deal from such a well know /recognized company. The first transition meeting went on pretty good I guess, but then that was just a charade (Now I know what they teach in business school).

Yesterday one of colleagues who is a direct employee (Now called a wiproite) heard from them, the new package that they were getting. He was pretty let down, not only did they rescind from their word at the first meeting, they pretty much screwed(for lack of a better word) the employees. Their overtime was taken away (Even though my friend spends most of his time at the office), they sick leave was taken away and the vacation days was reduced drastically. To add insult to injury, their insurance was downgraded so they had to bear a part of the month payment.

This is not a isolated incident, my friends working for the technology companies either here or in India are almost slaves to the company. The salary is definitely better than any other business sector, but money does not make all things right. A lot of my friends working both in India and the US work from 7:30 to 8:00 in the morning to 11:00 in the night and a lot of times even later. All this while receiving only 1/5 th of the hourly rate that their companies get paid for them.

My mentioning of sweat shops might be a little exaggerated in the technology context (try making an employee work such hours with no compensation in a US based company), but it still holds good for the other industries like manufacturing (Walmart is a well known exporter of the sweat shops to China). The companies in the developed countries might not be legally in the black but ethically they are. Meanwhile the companies in third world countries are making hay before legislation (often ineffective) is brought in.

The reason I tied Ford and GM to this situation is because they are on the opposite end of the spectrum. They paid too much and are now paying for it. Believe it or not they have one employee working for every three retirees they are supporting, not a good ratio I should say. This is also the reason that these new age companies use for the maltreatment of their employees. The funny part is that they keep complaining about the attrition rate of their employee, what do they expect … uncomplaining bots ??

For all the buster of the top executives, its the working class that gets short changed on both ends of the spectrum!

Some food for thought …
How much would buy a woman for … 20$s?
If you are on the path to a tummy tuck like me
Another reason I am all for the death penalty

History doth repeat itself!!!

Noman's Land

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Category Archives: Society

Goddamned!!!

The Man stiffs us – Indian Style