US NRIs defends US senator's controversial
statements:
"You cannot go
to a 7-Eleven or a Dunkin Donuts unless you have a
slight Indian accent. Im not jokin",the senator
Biden said.
- The senator's remarks had
touched a raw nerve in the community with many an angry
Indian American calling his remarks variously as racist,
stereotyping or tasteless.
- One angry NRI said, "No
Donuts for you, Mr. Biden"
Washington, July 11, 2006
Ravi Singh
Controversial remarks by
Senator Joseph R. Biden:
On a recent edition of the C-SPAN series Road
to the White House, Biden is shown in New Hampshire
boasting about his support among Indian-Americans.
Ive had a great relationship. In Delaware, the
largest growth in population is Indian-Americans moving
from India. You cannot go to a 7-Eleven or a Dunkin
Donuts unless you have a slight Indian accent. Im
not joking, the senator said.
The incident occurred at a restaurant in Manchester,
New Hampshire, where a reception was being held for Manchester
Democratic state Senate candidate Betsi DeVries
Response by Joseph R. Biden:
- Visiting troops and officials in Iraq this week, Biden
was asked about the comment during an interview with CNNs
The Situation Room.
The senator said he has had an incredibly strong
relationship with the Indian-American community in Delaware
and that his comment was misinterpreted.
I keep waiting to hear a sorry, my apologies,
oops or even a dude
my bad,
but hes got nothing useful like that for us, which
is too bad, because that would have been one way to make
this all go away.
- I was making the point that up until now in my state,
weve had a strong Indian community made up of leading
scientists and researchers and engineers, Biden said.
Lately, he said: Were having middle-class people
move to Delaware, take over Dunkin Donuts, take over
businesses, just like other immigrant groups have, and I
was saying that
theyre growing, its moving.
Oh, well now
that explains EVERYTHING
Other's Selected opinions
July 08, 2006
It's time to move on
I find Delaware senator Joe Biden pretty annoying, but conservatives
are being silly when they attack him for his comments about
Indian-Americans. If you watched the C-Span clip, it's clear
he's talking to an Indian-American when he says, jocularly,
"You cannot go to a 7-Eleven or a Dunkin' Donuts unless
you have a slight Indian accent. I'm not joking." Biden
later explained, "I was making the point that up until
now in my state, we've had a strong Indian community made
up of leading scientists and researchers and engineers...We're
having middle- class people move to Delaware, take over Dunkin'
Donuts, take over businesses, just like other immigrant groups
have, and I was saying that ... they're growing, it's moving."
Posted by Susan Olasky at July 8, 2006 05:02 PM
Manish Antani, 23, a resident of Nashua, New Hampshire, and
a self-described Indian activist, has been quoted as saying
that he was "100 per cent behind him (Biden) because
he did nothing wrong".
Biden was caught on a local television network as telling
Antani, "I've had a great relationship (with Indian Americans).
According to a report in the New Hampshire Union Leader newspaper,
Antani, who kept quiet for quite some time after the incident,
has now said that his not commenting must have been a mistake.
"I thought it was so ridiculous that I didn't want to
deal with it," he told the newspaper. "That may
have been a mistake on my part."
Recalling the incident, Antabi said, "He (Biden) came
in and went around shaking people's hands. I introduced myself
as an Indian American and he said that there are a lot of
Indian Americans in Delaware.
He started to praise them for being business-minded and entrepreneurial.
And then he said many of them were owners of 7-Elevens and
Dunkin' Donuts."
He told the newspaper that the senator "definitely got
a bad rap" from the national media for his remarks.
"You can tell if someone's going to make a derogatory
comment and he wasn't," Antani was quoted as saying.
Facing criticism, potential 2008 presidential candidate
Joe Biden on Friday defended his recent remark that you
cannot go to a 7-Eleven or a Dunkin Donuts unless
you have a slight Indian accent.
I wouldnt have advised the Senator to go that route,
but okay.
The Delaware senator said his words were taken out of context.
Arent they always? Quelle tragédie. Heres
what I heard: one needs to have a slight Indian
accent in order to order a glazed, as if the person behind
the counter wouldnt understand you otherwise. Thats
garbage.
You know, the only proverb I ever memorized as a child
was Pride goeth before a fall. Boast and youre
toast, yheard? Im saddened that the Senator
seems too proud to own his faux-pas.
Oh, and if you need to F5 your memory heres
what started all the drama, Mama:
On a recent edition of the C-SPAN series Road to
the White House, Biden is shown in New Hampshire boasting
about his support among Indian-Americans.
Ive had a great relationship. In Delaware, the
largest growth in population is Indian-Americans moving
from India. You cannot go to a 7-Eleven or a Dunkin
Donuts unless you have a slight Indian accent. Im
not joking, the senator said.
Thats my favorite part by the way when he foolishly
insists that hes not joking. If only he had known
that his poorly-chosen meal of toes would follow him like
a bad case of gas, all the way over to eye-rack. He might
have fasted.
I was making the point that up until now in my state,
weve had a strong Indian community made up of leading
scientists and researchers and engineers, Biden said.
Lately, he said: Were having middle-class people
move to Delaware, take over Dunkin Donuts, take over
businesses, just like other immigrant groups have, and I
was saying that
theyre growing, its moving.
Oh, well now
that explains EVERYTHING.
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