Comments on: Ajai Raj speaks out

By: EOFIA

EOFIA — Fri, 06 May 2005 08:41:17 +0000

Desi careers: 1) Doctor 2) Kwik-mart Ajai chooses #2

wow, patel. at least ajai raj HAD a point, though neither of you are particularly impressive in how you express yourselves.

(i'm in the "he should've stayed at the mike vs running off" camp.)

and sonal...uh, yes'm. i'll be happy to sit in the back of the bus, too. no fuss from second-class me, no ma'am. i knows MY place. rolls eyes

By: KashMoney

KashMoney — Fri, 06 May 2005 07:48:49 +0000

Hey Sonal? Sorry to burst your bubble, but there’s absolutely nothing wrong with a Desi voicing his nonconformist opinion. Why should we sit quiet while societal stereotypes dictate our lives and personalities? You obviously agree that it sucks being labeled as a terrorist, so why not work to change the mindsets of the idiots around you? OH and by the way, 9/11 was three and a half years ago. Go Ajai, fight the ignorant conservative right-wingers. I’d like to see if Coulter would take away the marriage license of a non-procreating couple.

By: Sonal

Sonal — Fri, 06 May 2005 07:12:23 +0000

We Desis cant act like that anymore. We need to be more controlled in our behavior. After 9/11 we are going to be targetted for everything we do..even when we dont do it. He’s pretending like its the late 90′s when we were in college and did as we pleased. Those days are over buddy..Desis are supposed to shut up and not fight the reigning system. Thats it..it really sucks..Come on really..do you know any other people who are more hated right now that arabs and south asians? I dont think so..

By: siddhartha m

siddhartha m — Fri, 06 May 2005 00:56:30 +0000

She's ridiculous! She operates by put-down, sarcasm and innuendo. She's perfectly worth dismissing -- not as a right-winger (she's perfectly entitled to be right-wing) but as an interlocutor in honest exchange. That's the problem -- she, like all the others in the Fox cosmology, is dishonest -- and is making millions out of it.

If you're going to be a snake-oil salesperson, you shouldn't be surprised if someone lobs some excrement at you.

You ask if I'd welcome Ajai-like intervention at one of my events -- well, I don't do events... but if I did, I'd hope to be honest, forthright and respectful of my audience. Whatever happens after that, happens. It's out of my hands.

Peace, Siddhartha

By: Manish Vij

Manish Vij — Fri, 06 May 2005 00:16:04 +0000

... in the simulacrum of politics that Ann Coulter inhabits, an appropriate response in the simulacrum of critique that Ajai offered.

As far as I know, Coulter doesn't lob a 'fuck you' and then run. She lobs one and then defends it to the hilt at the same event, which makes her worthy of scorn but not outright dismissal. For him to sink below Coulter really makes Raj an unserious commentator. I guarantee you we've now expended more neurons on this than he has.

Btw, Raj shouldn't have been arrested, though the organizers would've had every right to ask him to leave.

Ask yourself: would you welcome Raj's behavior from hecklers at your own events?

By: siddhartha m

siddhartha m — Fri, 06 May 2005 00:02:18 +0000

Manish, you’re overreacting. We’re not elevating incivility. We’re simply noting that in the simulacrum of politics that Ann Coulter inhabits, an appropriate response in the simulacrum of critique that Ajai offered. Were Coulter and her crew to even offer a shred of a sliver of courteous, back-and-forth political conversation, we wouldn’t be in this situation to begin with.

By: vurdlife

vurdlife — Thu, 05 May 2005 23:56:13 +0000

This is the same misplaced team spirit that propels Mexicans to chant 'Osama' when playing the U.S. soccer team.

Are you sure its the same?

By: Manish Vij

Manish Vij — Thu, 05 May 2005 23:44:56 +0000

He simply asked her a question which called into question her hypocritical views.

I don’t object to the question (insultingly phrased though it was). At its core, he made a good point. I object to the dirty bird victory dance / run for the end zone afterwards. That makes it weak theater.

As a direct consequence of his statement, we are seriously discussing the issue his comments brought up.

As a direct consequence of Janet Jackson’s wardrobe malfunction, people seriously discussed the hypocrisy of TV censorship. Doesn’t make the stunt itself an intelligent political statement.

To all you Ajai Raj defenders, I reserve the right to pull a Raj at your public events– weddings, speeches and such

Seriously, folks. You’re elevating incivility to discourse because you happen to like the message. This is the same misplaced team spirit that propels Mexicans to chant ‘Osama’ when playing the U.S. soccer team. It’s exactly what we complain about when Americans consider Brits/Aussies ‘us’ and brown people ‘them.’

By: vurdlife

vurdlife — Thu, 05 May 2005 23:39:34 +0000

It is clear from Ajay's post-comment statement that there is serious policy behind his statement. Lets not dilute the efficacy of his statement. He did not put down Mann Coulter. He did not threaten her. He simply asked her a question which called into question her hypocritical views. And he used explicit language.

If it was a real, open discussion, he was making a point in the laziest way possible, a way that precludes anyone from taking it seriously.

As a direct consequence of his statement, we are seriously discussing the issue his comments brought up.

By: siddhartha m

siddhartha m — Thu, 05 May 2005 23:16:23 +0000

I wasn’t there of course, but I’ve seen Coulter on TV enough times (lord have mercy on my soul) and with her and her ilk, it’s NEVER a “real, open discussion.” Assuming this event conformed to that trend, one can only congratulate the kid for answering Coulter’s nonsense (and I agree with you, Manish, she is her own parody) with nonsense of his own. There is a place for guerrilla theater; that’s what the kid did, although I don’t think he’s quite ready for prime time…