Respecting Cultural Beliefs

Would you respect the caste system?

  • Yes, I would follow the rules of the caste system

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • No, its degrading and inhumane

    Votes: 5 55.6%

  • Some other opinion

    Votes: 3 33.3%

  • Refrain from answering

    Votes: 1 11.1%
  • Total voters
    9
If you came to India and were expected to respect the caste system because it is part of the culture

What would you do?
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I just wouldn't come. I'd rather live elesewhere that doesn't have such beliefs as that.
 
lightgigantic said:
technically he couldn't even share a table with himself

kalau śūdra-sambhavaḥ - In the Age of Kali, everyone is born a śūdra.
(Skanda Purana)
:shrug:
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Cool, I didn't know this.

Enmos said:
That's hardly an answer..
How does being of a low caste make you impure and a lesser being? And how is it imagined that this kind of impurity would be contagious?
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Same reason why racism exists. What makes a person of a different colour less human to the point where he is exhibited in a zoo as an exotic species?
 
Enmos said:
That's hardly an answer..
How does being of a low caste make you impure and a lesser being? And how is it imagined that this kind of impurity would be contagious?
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There's the notion of becoming impure by association ... but its kind of rhetorical in this age since practically everything we associate with is degrading ... kind of like a person who is already on face down on the floor should not really entertain fears of tripping over
 
S.A.M. said:
Same reason why racism exists. What makes a person of a different colour less human to the point where he is exhibited in a zoo as an exotic species?
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Hmm sorry, I figured there was some sort of backward reasoning behind it.

Edit: So how did they manage to convince others of their beliefs if there's no reasoning behind it? In other words, how did the caste-system came into being?
 
lightgigantic said:
There's the notion of becoming impure by association ... but its kind of rhetorical in this age since practically everything we associate with is degrading ... kind of like a person who is already on face down on the floor should not really entertain fears of tripping over
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lol :p
 
I don't know why exactly they put me out. I had an afternoon to kill waiting for my brother and I just stepped into this shoe store to look at shoes and this woman comes up and tells me, "I don't think you'll find anything to interest you here" and I'm like whoa, how would she know and then she says, "let me escort you out"

I was zapped. Never expected to have that happen to me in the US of A. I felt like a criminal :eek: I thought there would be a cop mirandising me in a minute or something

Maybe I looked like a criminal?
 
Enmos said:
That's hardly an answer..
How does being of a low caste make you impure and a lesser being? And how is it imagined that this kind of impurity would be contagious?
Click to expand...

Ever seen Legally Blonde? Or tried to be part of a clique? Or tried to enter a fancy restaurant or other fancy establishment?

Do you remember what it was like to be a teenager? Especially girls can be extremely cruel to those whom they think are not "in their league".

The Indian caste system, as it is nowadays, is hardly anything special. Except that the one we have in the West is not so directly stated, but it is there all the same.
 
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S.A.M. said:
Maybe I looked like a criminal?
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He he. I've never been directly told to leave, but poor customer service I definitely got on several occasions. I suspect I didn't look rich/well-off enough.

I was once fresh from the hairdresser, with a very orderly hairdo. This was enough to warrant a super-nice treatment from a shop clerk where I usually was not treated so nicely. The same kind of clothes, same bag, same shoes, but an orderly hairdo - and voila, I was up a few castes!
 
I would respect and understand the purpose of the caste system, but I'm under no obligation to participate in it.

Social injustice pisses me off.
 
S.A.M. said:
I don't know why exactly they put me out. I had an afternoon to kill waiting for my brother and I just stepped into this shoe store to look at shoes and this woman comes up and tells me, "I don't think you'll find anything to interest you here" and I'm like whoa, how would she know and then she says, "let me escort you out"

I was zapped. Never expected to have that happen to me in the US of A. I felt like a criminal :eek: I thought there would be a cop mirandising me in a minute or something

Maybe I looked like a criminal?
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Sounds like racism to me. Did you report her?
 
Orleander said:
How do you know it has anything to do with her skin colour and not her age or clothing?
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I don't, but it's strongly suspect.
I've never heard of someone being shoved out of a store because the salesperson doesn't like her/his clothing or because the store doesn't sell items that are somehow not for his/her age group.
 
Enmos said:
I don't, but it's strongly suspect.
I've never heard of someone being shoved out of a store because the salesperson doesn't like her/his clothing or because the store doesn't sell items that are somehow not for his/her age group.
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seriously? When I was in my early 20s I got tailed by store security all the time because they thought I was a teenager, who usually couldn't afford all the stuff I was looking at.

And in a lot of stores, you are suspect if you aren't dressed a certain way. (ever see Pretty Woman?)
 
Orleander said:
seriously? When I was in my early 20s I got tailed by store security all the time because they thought I was a teenager, who usually couldn't afford all the stuff I was looking at.

And in a lot of stores, you are suspect if you aren't dressed a certain way. (ever see Pretty Woman?)
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I can understand following teens around in a store if shoplifting is a problem in that area. That happened to me as well.
When I was in high school a lot of students/pupils (I'm jot sure of the appropriate term here) shoplifted from the supermarkets in the surrounding area of the school. After a while they started to check up on all students to see if they took something without paying. We even had to open our jackets and empty our pockets. I thought it was insulting back then, but I can understand it in hindsight.
I think I see the point you are making. You're saying that the perception (or reality) in that store was that most shoplifters were colored people. That's still racist though.
 
Enmos said:
...I think I see the point you are making. You're saying that the perception (or reality) in that store was that most shoplifters were colored people. That's still racist though.
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wha??? NO! I was saying maybe Sam looked young and they had issues with that.
 
Orleander said:
wha??? NO! I was saying maybe Sam looked young and they had issues with that.
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Ah ok. But I think SAM is about 40 now and I also think she was in the US less than 10 years ago. I don't think she looked like a teen then.
SAM has to clarify this :p
 
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