And by “we,” I mean brown people.
Piyush “Bobby” Jindal is the new governor of Louisiana. He’s the first Indian governor in America’s history. While it’s great to see anyone break so many racial barriers, especially in the South, it’s unfortunate that Jindal could become the most prominent Indian-American in the country.
Just like Mark Foley with gay people, Alberto Gonzales with Latinos, and Alan Keyes with African-Americans, Bobby Jindal doesn’t represent most Indians.
Not me, anyway.
He’s the anomaly, not the norm.
It’s not just that he’s Republican — many Indians are (for some odd reason…) — but he holds several beliefs that just mystify me.
From The New York Times:
A born-again Roman Catholic, Mr. Jindal made a particular campaign target of these areas, visiting them frequently and bringing his brand of devout Christianity to their rural churches. His social-conservative message — teaching “intelligent design” as an alternative to evolution in public schools, a total ban on abortion, repealing hate-crimes laws — would have been welcome in these areas.
He also once wrote about a friend who was possessed by the devil.
He voted against allowing embryonic stem cell research.
What’s sad is that he is so well-educated. Yet, he holds positions that require such irrational thinking.
A little more detail on his Intelligent Design position:
It comes from a gubernatorial debate that took place on September 27th of this year:
Baton Rouge Advocate columnist Carl Redman: “What about intelligent design? And the issue really is, it’s not what’s on the books, but if this comes up again. Because this state has wrestled with creationism and spent a lot of time and resources. I was covering the legislature for a couple years when they wrestled with the abortion issue. It could come back at any time. What the governor does is very critical [in those fields?].”
Jindal [nodding]: “Sure, and let’s talk about intelligent design. I’m a biology major. That’s my degree. The reality is there are a lot of things that we don’t understand. There’s no theory in science that could explain how, contrary to the laws of entropy, you could create order out of chaos. There’s no scientific theory that explains how you can create organic life out of inorganic matter. I think we owe it to our children to teach them the best possible modern scientific facts and theories. Teach them what different theories are out there for the things that aren’t answerable by science, that aren’t answered by science. Let them decide for themselves. I don’t think we should be scared to do that. Personally, it certainly makes sense to me that when you look at creation, you would believe in a creator. Let’s not be afraid to teach our kids the very best science.”
Of all the representatives we could’ve had as Indians, this is the best we could do?
There are Indians who disagree with his politics but still cheer his victory.
I’m not sure what there is to cheer about. An Indian may have become governor, but how much damage will he do in his new role?
[tags]atheist, atheism, desi[/tags]
