ANTI-GLOBALIST EXPATRIATE writes:

Devyani Khobragade, the Indian diplomat arrested for visa fraud this week, should not have been strip-searched, but the irony of a supposed advocate for ‘women’s affairs’ paying substandard wages to a domestic employee and then falsifying official government paperwork hasn’t been remarked upon, so far.

And I suspect she’s lying about the cavity-search and all the other nonsense. The typical Indian (and Asian) reaction to accusations is to heatedly deny, then launch wild counteraccusations.

And note the pettiness of India’s response in regards to U.S. diplomats and diplomatic facilities in India. They don’t care whether or not this woman may have mistreated her domestic staff, as mistreating domestic staff is the norm in India. They don’t care whether or not this woman may have falsified governmental documents about the pay scale of her domestic staff, as this is the norm in India.

Indian politicians are whipping up a frenzy of ‘outrage’ around this incident to distract attention from the abysmal way women have always been treated in India, including several high-profile rape and murder cases (including cases involving Western tourists) which have been in the media for quite some time. Note how they’re now doubling-down, stating that they’ll move her to a higher-status post at the U.N. (which requires U.S. assent).

Laura writes:

One interesting aspect of this case is that the prosecutor, Preet Bharara, is Indian as well. To understand how strange this is, imagine a white American, born in, say, West Chester, New York, becoming a prominent prosecutor in Calcutta and charging an American diplomat with a crime.

It does appear that Khobragade was cavity-searched, which is indeed highly inappropriate for a diplomat. There should be outrage about that. It’s an insult to a diplomat and unwarranted in light of the charges. (See comments by prosecutor’s office that she was “fully searched.”) Nevertheless, if the charges are true, she obviously is comfortable with lying and mistreating her staff.

— Comments —

Diana writes:

Anti-Globalist Expat has never steered me wrong. When he guessed that the Indian diplomat was lying about the cavity search, I felt that familiar ring of truth.

I see no reason to disbelieve the U.S. Marshals. They could be lying, but at this point, I will favor their testimony over that of Khobragade.

Get a load of that rent-a-mob in the picture. I suppose they think we are so racist that we ought to take in 100 million surplus Indians. They needn’t worry, we will.

Laura writes:

In the story you linked, the U.S. Marshals say she was not cavity searched. I would agree that this explicit statement is believable.

Expatriate writes:

It’s also quite possible that the Indian domestic slave was attempting to blackmail/extort her employer, as well. It would run to type.

Note that the Indian government aren’t denying that Khobragade falsified paperwork, suborned her slave into submitting false paperwork, and underpaid her slave. They simply allege that Khobragade was being blackmailed by the slave, as if that somehow makes up for the fact that Khobragade broke the law.

This kind of thinking is typical of Indians (and Asians). It is how disputes are typically settled in India (and Asia) – accusation, counteraccusation, and then some sort of deal. The Western ideas of objective reality, absolute morality, and the rule of law do not apply in their culture(s). Societal hierarchy and power dynamics, money, and situational morality inform their dealings with one another and with Westerners.

Steve writes:

Anti-Globalist Expatriate makes some good observations here, and I can tell from his writing that he is very intelligent and thoughtful.  That said, the level of generalizations he makes is ridiculous.  He says, “The typical Indian (and Asian) reaction to accusations is to heatedly deny, then launch wild counteraccusations,” and again, “This kind of thinking is typical of Indians (and Asians). It is how disputes are typically settled in India (and Asia) – accusation, counteraccusation, and then some sort of deal.” Of course, this never happens in the U.S.  There are never counteraccusations between parties and resulting settments.  When accused of wrongdoing, U.S. politicians never try to shift blame.

As “Asia” is defined by Wikipedia, it contains approximately 60 percent of the current global population.  To say that all these countries are the same or think similarly is not in my experience accurate or helpful for much of anything.  Japanese and Koreans, for instance, want nothing to do with Indians.  Indians may even be more similar to Europeans genetically (they are sometimes called “caucasian”) and culturally than to North-East Asians.  At least, one could certainly make that argument.

It’s easy to say, for instance, “Asians are tricky and deceitful” as a stereotypical statement.  I guarantee you that Koreans (for whom the word “yaksok” is much more culturally significant than its primary English counterpart “promise”) and Indians are not at all the same in this regard.  These kinds of overgeneralizations are actually very dangerous, because they cause other intelligent people who may be on the fence and checking out what we have to say to simply write us off as uninformed bigots.

By the way, I didn’t respond previously, but AGE’s assertion on another post that I must be married to a Chinese and have my kids in China is wrong on both counts (as were his previous assumptions about me).  He is a keen observer, but I think far too quick to jump to conclusions and to generalize.

Expatriate writes:

In response to Steve:

Stereotypes are stereotypes for a reason.

Anyone who has spent time in Asia knows that the cultural norms there for dispute resolution are far different from those in the West. I’m certain that Steve knows this.

In the West, people who have personal integrity will publicly admit when they’re wrong in any given dispute, and will seek to make amends or to find a mutually-acceptable solution. In Asia, the very notion of personal integrity is very different than in the West (in Asia, it mainly involves doing whatever is necessary for one’s own family/tribe/clan, it isn’t based upon an abstract notion of probity), and the very idea of admitting fault in public is anathema, as doing so leads to loss of face.

We also observe this type of behavior amongst American blacks, Mexican/Latin American immigrants to the United States, and other minorities in the inner-city; the concepts of ‘dissing’ and machismo are similar to the Asian notion of ‘face’ in many ways, except that in Asian cultures, ‘face’ extends to females as well as to males (there’s some female version of machismo at work in Latin American cultures amongst lower-class women, but I can’t seem to find the proper term to use for it).

Steve should understand that I’m not an ‘uninformed bigot’ – I’m a *highly informed* bigot. My bigotry is based upon considerable direct personal experience and observations of – indeed, immersion in – the cultures which I criticize. It isn’t personal; I understand that their cultural traditions and values are radically different from Western traditions and values. It’s just that I view Western cultural traditions and values as being inherently and quite obviously superior to Asian ones.

I’m obviously wrong about Steve’s personal background and circumstances. I appreciate his kind words, but I must say that he seems for some reason or another to have bought into the notion that Asian culture is at least equivalent in moral tone to Western culture. I couldn’t disagree more.

I get down on my knees and thank God every single day that I was born in the United States of America. I wonder, does Steve do the same?

Steve writes:

Expatriate apparently believes that it’s fine to make blanket statements about all “Asians” (that 60 percent of the global population that happens to be a lot more ethnically and culturally diverse than say Africa or Europe).  I disagree.  Based on Expatriate’s definitions, I would conclude that Russians and Eastern Europeans must also be “Asians,” since they don’t like to directly admit when they are wrong.

Of course stereotypes exist for a reason, and the ones that hold that Westerners are always selfish, argumentative, litigious and lack family values must be true.  It’s not necessary to explain this further and it must be equally true for all Westerners across all countries.

I worship God.  I don’t worship the U.S.  It has been a great country that has achieved remarkable things, but it has largely abandoned God and it is in obvious long-term decline with no clear path to escape demographic reincorporation into Latin America.  Expatriate said that I seem “for some reason or another to have bought into the notion that Asian culture is at least equivalent in moral tone to Western culture”.  I don’t actually believe there is an “Asian culture” that really fits all of what “Westerners” have called “Asia”.  This is my main objection to Expatriate’s blanket one-size-fits-all statements.  However, if we were to pick a disinterested third party observer (not from either country), I have to think that, after close examination, they would conclude that South Korea is a more morally upright (and Christian) country than the U.S. at present (and yes, I’m aware of the chaebols, corruption, and such, but surely you are also aware of what passes for popular culture and the war on Christianity and Biblical morality in the U.S. these days).  Who is a “patriot”?  We called the founding fathers of the U.S. patriots because they fought for their rights against “tyranny”, but the victor makes the history.  Had England won, they would have hanged the “tea party” rebels who were disloyal to their country–this is largely what happened to the South in our Civil War.  It’s all about perspective.  Sure, we can be thankful that we were born into very fortuitous circumstances, but if the collapse happens in their lifetimes (which I hope is not the case, but fear will be), it’s very possible the U.S. (or what is left of it) won’t be the best place for my children to be or raise their own families.  Time will tell.

Laura writes:

There clearly are stereotypes that are reasonable generalizations about white Westerners. For one, their individualism, which has both positive and negative sides, is distinctive. Asians in general, despite the great variety of ethnic differences, tend to be more collectivist, which has both negative and positive sides. Some of the characteristics of Asians that Expatriate has described stem from their orientation to their own extended clans or communal networks. He has focused on the negative part of the equation for a reason. He is responding to the widespread belief that mass immigration by Asians into America is a benign phenomenon.

Expatriate writes:

I didn’t say that it was only Asians who refuse to publicly admit to mistakes; yes, Eastern Europeans, Russians, and the denizens of the various ‘Stans share this trait, as well. I don’t consider them culturally compatible with Western societies, either (viz. the Boston Marathon bombing).

Asians are fine in Asia. I want to keep them out of the United States to the degree possible, due to the cultural contamination and debasement their presence engenders. The espionage scandals, the political contribution scandals, the human-trafficking and prostitution ring scandals, and the academic cheating scandals involving Asian immigrants in the United States provide plenty of examples of the undesirable social consequences to which I’m referring.

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