Hotter, Badder, and Unpopularer Takes

[_.]

The relationship of Muslims in the Indian subcontinent (particularly Punjab my turf) to arabs should really be more compared to that of Spaniard conquerors and native american tribes. Almost alien languages, ethnicities, cultures, etc. Conflating the two would be like calling Deb Haaland’s laguna pueblo tribe akin to Spaniards because she is catholic. The similarities largely stop after religion (even then there are substantial factional differences in religion too). The biggest difference in this comparison is unfortunately that Muslims in the Indian subcontinent are much more predisposed to being adorers of a hostile foreign invader (and I’d so get killed for saying this in parts of Pakistan lol). You don’t have to scratch very far to find the remnants of a pre Islamic civilization in Pakistan, Lahore is literally named after a hindu god, and sargodha which is one of the biggest military centers is named after a hindu ascetic/yogi pond, etc. The biggest problem this manifests itself for my life is rednecks here conflating Pakistanis with the Islamic terror attacks that have happened in America over the past couple of decades. Like almost every single one of them is an arab, not us. Pick on them, not us.

😭😭😭 Please white man respect me, I'm not like those filthy Arabs! It makes me so angry when you confuse us! 😠😠😠

FTFY


As a Pakistani, throwing a 300-million-person ethnic group under the bus is never cool. What you're doing sets a very bad example of our people in the U.S. and beyond.

I also find it ironic that for all this talk about Desi Muslims being predisposed to servitude, you yourself seem particularly eager to lick the boots of certain racist rednecks. They don't care that you're not an Arab, they'll never care, deal with it and stop trying to win their approval.

[_.]

我猜你有可能是海外的巴基斯坦人。

That'd be imprecise, I was born in the United States to immigrant parents, but I've spent a significant portion of my life in Pakistan and the first school I ever went to was in that country. I suppose my wording was a little inaccurate, maybe "person of Pakistani origin" would be better.

大部分的我IRL認識的美國穆斯林人是desi或者是黑人。

Same

(Posting in Traditional Chinese to be consistent with my avatar and sig. Happy April 1st fam)

Back to you as well.

Do you speak Chinese and did you write that yourself, or did you use Google Translate?

[_.]

I can see how some of what I said is cancellable, but I highly doubt the entire thing is. There is some truth in there, which yes, we are different.

I was mainly taking issue with last two sentences ("Like almost every single one of them [terrorists] is an arab, not us. Pick on them, not us."), where you wanted us to throw our Arab brothers and sisters under the bus in order to gain approval (the way I understood your statement). I understand your frustration at being mixed up with Mexicans, Arabs, North Africans etc., but this is not the proper way to be an ambassador as a minority (as you call yourself).

As for the rest of your take, while I disagree with it wholeheartedly, it wasn't outright horrid, it just was a different opinion.

If you regard my opinion on the matter as lesser than yours since I am only half desi, that's fine too

I do not, I apologize if I gave off that vibe.

You'll never fully understand it like me a mixed a person, so I don't blame you for your shallow statement there, but that's the thing, I am half desi and half white. They are both a part of me, and I am just being myself whenever I lean into either side.

I suppose so.

Your last sentence is also not entirely true, and kind of ignorant. A lot of rednecks are underestimated in terms of their capacities for learning and change. It's why Daryl Davis has gotten hundreds of them to renounce the Klan. You will always have your tfg's (too far gones), but a non 0% substantial amount of them are open minded enough if given the opportunities. I personally myself have educated 4-5 rednecks and got them to renounce their dislike of Pakistanis. I assume it's easier for me, because aside from my full name (even my common name is fairly white), I'm fairly interchangeable with broader American white culture. I use that to put people at more ease at first, and then bring in another friend who is basically fully desi in every sense of the word, and they then see that the sky does not fall down, and the earth does not end. The problem is we are called minorities for a reason, there are not a lot of us, and even less of us willing to be ambassadors, and that's why you don't see a lot of broader societal change fast.

You're correct, my final sentence was rather ignorant, prejudiced, and presumptuous. I'll be removing that and apologize to any rural people who it may have offended. I also commend you on your effort to educate the broader American public that we aren't spawns of Satan 👍 (assuming you don't go, "Well, it's not like we're Arabs lol, those are the guys who cause explosions" after meeting them)

[_.]

I don't say they are all terrorists, but I do make clear that out of the few radical Islamic terror attacks in America in the past couple of decades, even fewer of them were done by Pakistanis.

Both true and fair (In the last two decades, out of 34 Islamists who committed terrorist attacks in the U.S., 3 were Pakistani).

Unrelated to the conversation but I find it quite interesting how many of the terrorists are of Palestinian and Saudi descent specifically (I went through all the articles).

I'm just tired of the superiority complex on us though. Tired of being relegated to being second class.

I fully understand this. The Arabian governments in the Gulf generally suck, the citizens in many of these countries are commonly racist to non-Arabs and the countries there have numerous horrid human rights abuses against migrant workers who literally built up their [UAE, Qatar, Saudi Arabia] nations with their own hands. Generally, the governments of the Gulf Arabs are sellouts who do not care for their Muslim brethren in East Turkestan, having praised the People's Republic even as genocide continues there. This is highly deplorable.

This isn't a mainly ethnic thing, though, this is mainly in pursuit of power and influence (still inexcusable). These same countries accepted zero refugees from Syria (another Arab nation) even as Turkey, Jordan, and Lebanon were swarmed. The countries in the Gulf also are currently in the process of recognizing the state of Israel even as Palestinians (who are also Arab) continue to be persecuted, all for better ties with the United States. The oil wealth they have received has made them supercilious and disdainful.

Even then, though, none of this is a good excuse to go tell other Americans to pick on Arabs in general (Quote "Pick on them, not us"). That only further intensifies the cycle of distrust between Arab Muslims and non-Arab Muslims. Be better than them.

Not to mention that there are plenty of Arab nations where discrimination and superiority complexes like this aren't widespread, such as Egypt (which has a population larger than all of the Gulf nations combined), the Levantine states, and countries in the Maghreb (most Arabs in the United States are from the Levant and Egypt as well).

They are "brothers and sisters" in faith in the same way spanish conquistadors are to native americans that were converted by them.

This is an understandable sentiment coming from a secular standpoint.

From an Islamic standpoint, though, Arab Muslims are our brothers and sisters in faith period. Just like French Muslims, Indonesian Muslims, Turkish Muslims etc. There is no difference between any of us except in piety, and Islam is a religion for all of humankind. The attitudes found among some the Arab Gulf Nations are not Islamic, and upon ressurection, those people will be punished for their actions in this world.

I find it quite odd that you (I'm running on the assumption that you are a Muslim based on the statements you've made in previous threads) hold ethnic grudges based on events that happened a thousand years ago, especially if you consider Islam to be the truth. This is even more far-fetched than a Jew picking a bone against the German people today for the Holocaust.

As a Muslim, I myself am thankful that the truth reached me, no matter how it was done. I'd imagine a religiously observant Catholic Native American in Latin America would feel similarly.

They are richer and more powerful than us, and can fend for themselves without needing me to stick up for them.

Fair.

It's kinda like Superman vs. Batman, one is so obviously outclassed but also has a fanbase of whiney shills

Yeah, IKR! Superman is so obviously outclassed by Batman, I don't get how anybody could put them on the same level /s

[_.]

It's more likely that New York state loses two or more seats after the 2030 census apportionment than it is that Texas gains two seats or less.

In fact, the two states' representative numbers are most likely to look something like this in my opinion:

Image Link

New York state losing 2 and Texas gaining four.

Agree or disagree?