6:59 AM - posted this on slashdot today about indians....
Original author pointed out there are a lot of supposed anti indian stories lately. Here's my text:
You are right! There are a lot of stories about indians taking jobs, hacking, credit card fraud, etc. I see a pattern.. india is becoming a real country! They have the same problems that everywhere else does.. imagine that.
The constant comments from indians that everyone is racist is getting old though. I'm starting to feel racist because i'm tired of being accused of being a racist.
1. india is cheap labor. They get outsourced jobs. This started when us companies outsourced jobs in the US to other firms. They got used to cheap, outsourced, substandard work. Now its ok. We suffered. Blame people who run outsourcing companies in the US!
2. It is pointed out that someone is indian because he/she would point out that he/she is indian in any other case. This is probably a stereotype, but I see it on the Internet and at my university all the time. Indian students tell me they are better than me because all the jobs are going to india! Since indians are "better", they must brag about their greatness to others.
3. Indians have technology as does everyone else. Technology is knowledge. Anyone from any country can do anything. No one is better than another.
4. Finally, I'd like to point out that India has two flaws from my perspective in their education system. I realize these are being addressed, but I'd just like to share. First, India focuses on memorization instead of practical hands on experience. That means when an indian comes to my university in the US, he can not code and has difficulty doing tech support work. Why? Because he was told to memorize software and settings for the DEFAULTS! Defaults are not god people.. many people customize their setitngs. Its NORMAL to do so. Indians complain about programming because their grade will not be based on memorizing, but on a real life skill! Second, many indians i've encountered learn outdated technology. For example, most indians at my university don't believe there is a Java 2 yet and actually want to use Forte 1.0!!!!!!!!! I used to work in the computer lab at the engineering college, and i'd get questions like "Where is forte? I only use forte!!!" We had netbeans installed. :)
In fairness, americans probably focus to much on practical knowlege and don't memorize enough. We depend on computers to remember things for us. I do expect someone working on a computer science degree (especially a masters degree) to be able to write code!
I think americans get angry because of experiences like this. We see individuals that can't do our jobs and yet they get them. I've known quite a few intelligent, capable indians at my university. The could program, solve problems, and were great conversationalists. Interesting thing is they usually didn't live in india their entire life before coming to the US.