The oblique or slash doesn’t imply they are the same thing, it stands for “or,” meaning the preceding predicate applies to both, i.e., they are treated the same way essentially in this context.

No, I’m not in denial, I just have the rational ability to let principles override my occasional emotional reactions, it’s part of being a truly high-minded and intelligent adult human being, certainly too much to expect from everyone, I’ll acknowledge that.

Race is not superficial or irrelevant, it should be, but racists exist. You’re in denial about this because you have a deep-seated inferiority complex and what some call “internalized racism,” which again, is quite typical of a certain sector of desi immigrant populations, especially those who come from very disadvantaged or discriminated backgrounds. You want to believe race or racism isn’t a thing because otherwise you’d have to face the facts that you’re often thought of as lowly just for the way you look or where you’re from, and you don’t really fit in with the people around you, that you are and will always be thought of as “different.” Again, I know how that feels, but unlike you, I have principles that allow me to engage with the world without being in denial and also not discriminating against others because I faced discrimination myself. I’ll say though, I appreciate you not denying that you feel this way.

Racism and culture are not the same but they are subject to very similar forms of discrimination and very often by the same kinds of people. The Venn diagram of racists and xenophobes is the closest thing to being a circle without actually being one. I am not in denial also that there can be elements of corruption in a culture, and I’ll admit some of those exist among South Asians. But, the reality is there are elements of corruption in every culture, do you think American culture is perfect? If you do, I have to believe you’re not living in the same reality as the rest of us. The glorious Nippon you believe in is also steeped in cultural corruption, you deliberately ignore their recent history and in fact their current culture as well. Ask people belonging to discriminated classes there or even regular Japanese people if things are perfect over there. There is rampant debauchery, exploitation of women and young girls, problems of alcoholism, high levels of work-related stress because of cultural expectations of showing loyalty to the company and leadership. These are all elements of corruption that have negative impact, the only thing Japan does really well is cleanliness and crime prevention. Things aren’t perfect but they do try to be orderly, so why are you regularly visiting them when your brown self is prone to being dirty and committing crimes? Why make more work for them?

Lastly, I have this nagging feeling you’re not actually born/raised in the US, because I know a lot of desis like myself who are and none of them have this kind of self-hating feelings of inferiority. I think it’s because we naturally take for granted the 1st world benefits we grew up with whereas people from disadvantaged backgrounds who immigrated as adolescents sometimes seem to think they’ve reached paradise and go out of their way to present themselves as servile and not concerned with discrimination at all, just being thankful and humble to glorious white people, and in this case even adopting their externalized nationalism towards Japan. This is just a feeling though, I am not saying it with any certainty.

> The oblique or slash doesn’t imply they are the same thing, it stands for “or,” meaning the preceding predicate applies to both, i.e., they are treated the same way essentially in this context

But you shouldn’t treat them the same way. They’re fundamentally different. You can be perfectly happy being Bangladeshi as a matter of DNA, while hating the culture of the country. Shit, that’s like half my extended family. We all got the fuck out. How many people are there in NYC or Chicago from the redneck parts of Alabama who hate the culture back home? It’s the same thing! Those people aren’t “self hating white people.” They are just people who think there are better ways to live and act than the way their ancestors did.

> Lastly, I have this nagging feeling you’re not actually born/raised in the US, because I know a lot of desis like myself who are

Haha, that explains a lot. You’re surrounded by white people, so you feel this affinity to your co-ethnics, which compels you to defend a culture that you didn’t even grow up in. That’s irrational. You’re an individual. You can look at the world and just see who is doing stuff that works and who is doing stuff that doesn’t work. You don’t have to yoke yourself to people you have nothing in common with other than skin color.

You’re correct, I wasn’t born in the U.S., and neither was my mom or my dad. So we actually understand the problem with the culture back in old country. We lived there. We’re not analyzing it through the lens of white people from the other side of the world. You don’t need to psychoanalyze me to understand why I like Japan and dislike Bangladesh. I have eyes to see, ears to hear, a nose to smell. This is objective stuff. The people who talk quietly, cross at crosswalks, queue up, etc., have a better culture than the ones that don’t. And they have every right to be afraid of immigrants from places that don’t do that.