RE: Self-esteem and Self-Confidence among Goans Samir writes: The biggest causality of this colonialism for not just Goa but India Itself, has been self-esteem, and dignity. I do not know how long it would take, if at all, to restore that self-esteem and dignity.
Response: I beg to differ with Samir's assertion about lack of self-esteem and self-confidence among Goans. I would submit to you that Goans are too self-confident - and sometimes for their own good!!! Thus our youth drop out of school because they are so smart that they do not learn much in school. They are smarter than the teacher! As adults in the work force, we fail to learn and apply ourselves hard enough. Then we say - the pay is not much, the work is boring or that we (the employee) know more than the boss. Finally one of the characterizations of Goans, (by Goans) rightly or wrongly is the sossegad life style. This life style is not one of a person who has a poor self-esteem. It is the mind-set of one who thinks he knows a lot and talks a lot. I do not see any lack of self-esteem and self-dignity among Goans in cyberspace. Do you? If Goans truly had poor self-esteem, they would compensate for it by working harder. This is what new immigrants do in the US. In spite of the cultural and language difficulties, they are successful through diligence and hard work. There is no body to console the immigrant's poor-self esteem. They "lift themselves up with their own boot straps". Samir and others who present a vile anti-colonial bias, believe all of Goa's' problem are due to Portuguese colonialism. Similarly Jose Colaco and those who are terribly anti-Indian, in their view, believe all of Goa's problems are due to India's rule. In my view, and those of a few in cyberspace, Goa's problems of today and their solutions are in the hands of Goans. The earlier we stop finding and making excuses that outsiders are our problem the earlier we will start rolling up our sleeves and doing something. Just talking about "outsiders" on whom we do not have any control is not going to make one iota of improvement. It may increase our egos and blood pressure and the volume of correspondence in cyberspace. Finally, Samir and others blame the colonialists for the poor self-esteem. In fact I would suggest that it is because of the lack of hard work, the colonialist came, saw and conquered Goa and India. The concern is will history repeat itself! In fact from reports, that is already happening with Goa flooded by non-Goans who take up jobs too demeaning for "self-confident Goans". These "baihle" are also taking over our culture, music, dance, cuisine, etc. Regards, GL ########################################################################## # Send submissions for Goanet to [EMAIL PROTECTED] # # PLEASE remember to stay on-topic (related to Goa), and avoid top-posts # # More details on Goanet at http://joingoanet.shorturl.com/ # # Please keep your discussion/tone polite, to reflect respect to others # ##########################################################################