At around 25/2/07 4:02 pm, Yoshie Furuhashi wrote:
>
> It would be interesting to ask the opinion of first-generation
> immigrants from India. Do they tend to lean to left or right?
>
Since you use "immigrant", I assume by first generation you mean the
people who got off the boat i.e., not native born. I would like to know
the answer to that too. My experience (mostly with the mildly successful
career IT types) has been mixed. While none of them is a strong
right-winger, many of them harbour sympathy for right-wing movements
back in the home country (such as Hindu fundamentalism) and in the
context of American politics are demonstratively apolitical in a
paranoid sense. Forgive me if I sound pissy, but the key motivation
seems to be assimilation at any cost, a "don't rock the boat"
middle-class sensibility, which exists alongside private anecdotal and
analytically inconsistent gripes about America(ns). at a recent
gathering I was scolded for deriding (in truth: discussing) George Bush
to an 9 year old youngster who had been encouraged to ask for and
receive a [mass] autographed photograph of the man and his spouse.
In contrast, almost all of the second generation (native born) USers of
Indian origin, that I have met, have tended to be left. Of course I have
never met Ramesh Ponnuru, and remain thankful for that.
--ravi
