I want to apologize for my first response, since I see you are taking this more seriously than I had thought you were, so you certainly deserve a serious, and very thorough response. Let's break this down. We must first observe that "borderline" is a construction. Whether its an individual imposing boundaries on oneself of a collective mentality of drawing lines of what's appropriate or not, we must agree that there will always be dissent. Just like you are one who finds dissent with my humor. As exemplified by the laughter in the audience, and the feedback on my blogpost, there are those who did not find such a "borderline" with my material (unless we are talking about the borderline between emitting an audible chuckle and giving a full applause! jk!) But really, don't you agree that these borders you speak of were not shared by the entirety of the audience? Thus, when using "borderline" as a reference point for how racist I was, perhaps you could provide a clearer context as to what social norms and collective beliefs you feel set these particular borders, so I can understand why this is a significant argument that I should truly take into consideration. With no frame of reference, all I can assume is that these borders simply lie in the world of You. Am I wrong? Provide me with the narratives of others...perhaps those who you were with. You mention they were "Asian" and "Indian"...why can't they just be your friends, and not friends of a certain race? Way to be racist Lila! jk...but not really. You found it offensive that I made a joke showing my dislike of being associated w/ Middle Easterners. Have you ever been Indian at an airport before? I have to take off my clothes behind security walls, while my lighter skin counterparts (perhaps yourself?) get to walk right on by and get on your flight, or maybe get a little snack at starbucks yippy!! Of course, I don't like being mistaken for being Middle Eastern, primarily because a) I'm not, and that's racist to think I am because the way I look, and b) Middle Easterners are not Indian, and hence it is rude to them as well for the same reason. The choosing the category of Asian over Middle Eastern is a simple reflection on the fact of the persecution that Middle Easterners face due to past events that did not concern the vast majority of them as individuals. Middle Easterners are often associated with incidents of "terrorism" that they played absolutely no part in. Ask them. They don't like being associated with it. So why should I? So, Asian it is, take it easy. Does it offend you that I use the word "brown" ? what color is my skin? Are we above acknowledging the color of our skins now? Does a lime get mad that I call it green to distinguish it from a lemon? If fruit get mad about hearing colors, it must be hard being an orange, ay? ay?? Look, I didn't invent the word brown, nor am I the first to use it in regards to skin. Bottom line is, people understand what I say when I use it. Should we get mad at an African American when he/she calls herself black? Please, tell me what you think.. Again, on issues of skin color, yes I acknowledge the lead female dancer on the Berkeley team as being "white" in an Indian dance event. Earning the lead role, and not even being from the culture that the dance originates? What a feat! The praise was implicit and explicit. I did no such thing as downplaying her talent. I just made a racial observation. Shall we not acknowledge such things out loud? I wonder if anyone in that room noticed, inside their heads, that she was white, in and Indian dance event. Okay, obviously everyone did. You didn't You? Really? Okay, taking it a step further, how many people do you think whispered to their friends that "wow, the lead dancer is white." I know in my heart that there was at least 10 people who did so. I know because I saw all those 10 people whispering backstage. So imagine amongst the 2,000 in the audience, how many also made an audible observation. But what, the host cannot say such things? I believe that the laughter that resulted speaks for itself. Hey , on the topic of racial observations, have you ever been at Fry's and a "caucasian male" approached you to ask about cameras? Oh, wait, have you ever been Indian? Really, should I have not been there on that day when it happened to me? Or, no sorry, that is ridiculous, of course i can't take back what happened, but i see what you are trying to say, i shouldn't tell anyone about what happened to me...god forbid i make another poor white person sound ignorant. The moment we are censored from observing reality is the moment that we embrace ignorance. Rebut that. Raced based allegiance is a reality...i am an observer of reality...should we not make observations such to reinforce reality even further? Should we not observe that 2 + 2 = 4, so to not reinforce its harsh reality? You are making two invalid assumptions. First, you assume that just because we observe something, we reinforce it. Not true. MLK Jr. observed racial inequality and injustice, not to reinforce it, but to address it, and change it. Result: the Civil Rights movement. Secondly, you assume that these realities are inherently bad. I'm not saying they are good, but it's your choice to view them as bad. Obviously, not all white people are ignorant . But let's face it, there are some white people (just as there are people within all races), who are relatively less interested in the fine details of cultures other than their own. Is this a bad thing? It is what, it is. I am single, living at home with my parents at 24 years old, and am on the computer after midnight addressing an e-mail that attempts to insult my choice of path in comedy, which I feel is my best choice. Is that a bad thing? I'm having fun right now. And I'm not going to lie, I'm drinking!!! What stereotype of "incompetency" do you speak of? It is not clear at all. Proofread, proofread. jk! Take it easy Kabeezy! But really, if this were a term paper, you'd be docked a few. I don't go to Berkeley so I have an excuse. You declared that I attributed athletic and academic ability to race. This is invalid. I made no statement of causation; I simply acknowledged a correlation. You understand the difference right? Do you see Indians on ESPN? Other than in the spelling bee? Why do you think I wrote this joke? Because I wanted to make one in 2,000 people at a distant future gig angry? No, because I observed it. It happened to me. Noticing a pattern here? You seem to want to silence my narrative. Why? I would never wish to silence yours, Lila. Heck, I posted it to the whole world on my website. Who mentioned inferiority? I just said, you don't see indians in sports on t.v. Again, who said thats a bad thing? That was you. That was you!! I made no statement of brawns over brains, so no need for a person who feels they have more brains than brawns to feel bad...I've always felt I have neither, so there. I suck at most sports, and I couldn't even graduate community college. How do you think that feels? Should I not be talking about this. Too real? Beleive it or not, I construct borderlines too. After all I am human. And the place where you crossed my borderline is where you employed the use of the word "tolerant" in the context that you did. I was shocked, given the nature of your letter, and the intentions I thought you had. "Tolerant"? Really? Do you mean "tolerant" as in "tolerant" of minorites and the opressed? "Tolerant" of African Americans, "tolerant" of gays, lesbians, bisexuals? We "tolerate" them as in we accept them? Is that what you mean? REALLY? You are going to employ the use of the word in the context that reinforces the ideas that such individuals are different from the norm, but yet we should be so nice as to "tolerate" their difference? We the imperial hegemony that resides within Berkeley shall "tolerate" the "Other"? Let's just marginalize them with the use of the word "tolerant" while we are at it! If Berkeley was in fact "tolerant" in the true denotation of the word, then Berkeley would in the least "tolerate" the discourse that I presented at the show last Saturday. your fervor in this cause of deconstructing my material only suggests one of the following: a) you feel the need to rebel against something for the sake of rebellion (common to Berkeley Freshman, are you a Freshman?), b) you are taking low course load this semester (13 units maybe?), or c) a latent physical attraction to me, possibly undetectable to even yourself at this point. In any of the above cases, here is my number: (510) 299-0788. I thank you for your attention, Kabeezy TFOC
Hey guys....i would love too thank everyone who came too Berkeley Bollywood Dance Competition that i hosted i had a great time!!! It was a blast....i got over 100 or so positive responses on my jokes and i got one really negative e-mail that i would like to post and see how people think about it. I think it may be the funniest piece of e-mail i have ever got....it's really really funny....so if you went too the show check it out and let me know...what you think of it....so here it is...MY FIRST BLOG OF 2009!!!MAKE SURE YOU CLICK AT THE BOTTOM TO READ AND POST COMMENTS! I REALLY WANT FEEDBACK!
Dear Kabir "Kabeezy" Singh, I attended Berkeley Bollywood and was very impressed with how well it was put together. However, to be blunt, I did not enjoy you as a host. Many of your jokes were borderline - or way past the border - racist, leaving me, my Indian, and my Asian friends very offended. You said that as an Indian you would rather be called Asian as opposed to Middle Eastern, implying that you doesn't want to be associated with Middle Easterners. You later talked about how all the "white kids" have a handshake where they bump fists and "explode" their hands - but you can't do that because you’re "brown" and can't go around blowing things up. This is offensive. After the Berkeley Ishaara performance, you implied that the female lead was cast because of her Caucasian race, completely disregarding her immense talent. Your comment about Indians working at Fry's offended for two reason: firstly, saying that "white guys" assume you work there because you are Indian reinforced your consistent theme of white ignorance, and secondly, the entire joke placed a group of people in seemingly inferior work category. Your jokes about the lack of Indian athletes were offensive on multiple levels. Your claim that your friends brag about athletes within their respective races (i.e. African Americans talk about Kobe, white people talk about Steve Nash etc.) insinuates universal race based allegiance. Then your Spelling Bee bit favored the athletic accomplishments of certain racial groups over the academic accomplishments of other groups. By placing academics, singling out Indians, below athletes, you not only discounted the achievements of the Indian population and furthered the stereotype of incompetency, but also attributed athletic and academic ability to race. The lack of Indian athletes in this country should not imply inferiority. This Academics vs. Athletes comparison was not just offensive on a racial level, but also affected anyone who has ever felt inferior for having ability that is brain as opposed to brawn. Your racist and discriminatory jokes detracted from an otherwise great night, and I hope that next time you visit Berkeley you remember that this is a tolerant and accepting community and act accordingly. Thank you.Sincerely,xxxxxxxxxJUST TO REFRESH YOUR MEMORY EVER JOKE THAT I TOLD THAT NIGHT IS ON MY YOU TUBE VIDEO...SO WATCH IT AND TELL ME WHAT YOU THINK ABOUT HER VIEW!http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rVLHWBBJtFk
