Can you have caste without casteism? Is it possible to be proud of one's caste affiliations (based on accidents of birth) without feeling superior or inferior about the same? It is not very convincing to me when people who are critical of casteism get accused of being casteist themselves. Those who feel the hot end of the fire are only expected to complain. You can't say that Blacks are racist simply because they raise issues of White racism. Likewise, I don't think 'lower' caste casteism is a reality or possibility (though there can be some ganging up of such groups to corner a share of the spoils, just as the 'uppers' have been doing for centuries). FN
On 12/04/2008, Gilbert Lawrence <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > Fred, > The short answer to your question is - Yes! There is no destructiveness in > Caste. > However, there IS destructiveness in Casteism (prejudice). And one is > casteist towards > members of their own caste / class (and also other caste/class) as we often > see > among Goans and on goanet. > The virulent self-appointed Goan anti-casteists on Goanet are the leading > examples of Goan > casteism - inflating ones ego by demeaning other Goans.
