I see that something ottle said has led to a long conversation. I can relate. When she says "you should feed the dogs," it can lead to a two-hour argument over which of us need to spend 10 minutes feeding our increasingly annoyed dogs. (Species
canis aggravatus.)
But unlike those discussions, I'm on her side here
When you're talking about reaching out to Indians specifically, you're doing something complex. I see some discussion about dividing people by either race, nationality, or culture. There's a difference in reaching out to, say, black people (race), Canadians (nationality), or Jews (culture). When you're talking about Indians, you're sort of talking about all three at once. Add to that their sheer numbers AND the inroads they are making into the West these days, and I think they deserve special attention.
Indians, in my admittedly limited exposure to them, tend to identify themselves as Indian first, whether they live in Mumbai or New York, whether they are Hindu, Muslim, or Catholic, and whether they wear saris'n'dots or U2 tees and blue jeans. Even ottle, who is the least "Indian" Indian many of you will ever meet, would probably say "Indian" first when asked to describe herself before giving her height or measurements or anything like that. Even before she'd say "skeptic" or "atheist."
I'm not saying Indians are unique in this. I'm saying that just taking a passive "everyone is welcome" approach is not enough to get through all that. They are each part of this vast community from their first breath, and simply inviting them to question something so integral to their self identity is not going to impress them. We have to evangelize a bit, push them into thinking critically about their assumptions, and help them to realize in their own way that they are still Indian (whatever that means to each of them) even if they become critical of homeopathic treatments.
Of course, we do the same thing now among us Westerners, but I think it's a little different. Our cultures aren't as connected to ESP and palm reading and all that other crap -- no one is going to feel like they are betraying fellow caucasians or fellow Midwesterners or fellow Brits by deciding that Tarot cards are no more magical than Uno cards. (With the exception, as usual, of American fundamentalism, but one thing at a time.)
It's not just showing them critical thinking skills and reports from double-blind tests. It's getting them to think that the supernatural crap is not a necessary component of being an Indian. And at this stage, I think the only people who can do that are other Indians. Non-Indians don't have the street cred.
I'm sorry if I'm rambling. My first post here
And I have made a giant pile of generalizations, to which all of you know some exceptions. Hell, I married one of them
mr. ottle
(P.S. I enjoyed meeting everyone at TAM. When ottle told me about all of you, I assumed you were each insane. I'm thrilled to know my intuition is spot-on
)
