[prab97]

<rant> The commentary mocking people for their poor English, followed by disparaging remarks about an entire country as if the email senders represent a typical sample from that nation, says more about the blog owner than about the email senders themselves.

The blog owner exudes elitist vibes in the commentary. A quick skim of the blog reveals a request for Bitcoin donations, suggesting $3 as the amount, without considering that a large portion of this donation will be eaten up by fees. </rant>

[magic_hamster]

There are many genuinely talented and accomplished computer scientists from and in India; however, if you are an internet personality and you are constantly bombarded with blatant requests, or even demands, which are indeed poorly written and come off as just trying to get something from you, it points to a possible culture difference. A lot of these requests come from students who are looking for shortcuts, or think that because you have code on GitHub, they are entitled to your personal support. India is a huge country, so even if a very small part of the population acts this way, it can be overwhelming and form some strong opinions on the receiving end - and this is not limited to India.

[meiraleal]

> however, if you are an internet personality and you are constantly bombarded with blatant requests, or even demands, which are indeed poorly written and come off as just trying to get something from you, it points to a possible culture difference

Since I backpacked for 5 years, I started to have a shallow understanding of culture differences but enough to make me think that people from two or three cultures aren't really great to interact with. I keep these to myself, voicing it would say more about me than them.

[nindalf]

Dude really doesn’t like Indians huh.

I can see why these racists come to the conclusion that all Indians speak a certain way. If they see something written with a few quirks common to Indian English they confirm their bias that all Indians speak and write that way. If they see text without that tell, their bias is still confirmed because they conclude this person must have grown up elsewhere.

For the racists at the back - language diverges over time. That’s perfectly normal. As the reader/listener it’s easier for us to make the effort to understand than it is for someone to change how they speak. If you’re ok with making an effort to understand unusual words and phrases used by Australian, Scottish, Irish, Kiwi people but you won’t do the same for Indian people, reflect on why you do that.

People from NZ change most “e” sounds to “i”, so they’d eat pincakes for breakfast for example. I find that quirk endearing. Or Australians using words like ute, jaffle etc. But somehow only white English speakers are given the benefit of the doubt when they do this? Why can’t Indians get the same thing when they’re speaking their second language?

[InsideOutSanta]

"it’s easier for us to make the effort to understand than it is for someone to change how they speak"

Not just change how they speak, but learn entirely new concepts that do not exist in their language, and that they have no intuition for. I'm currently teaching German to somebody whose native language has no tenses, no cases, mostly no plurals, essentially no genders, different phonemes, and is written in a different script.

Having to not just learn these concepts, but be familiar enough with them to form an intuitive understanding and use them correctly in most instances, at a near-native level, is something that takes a decade or more for an adult. To be dismissive of somebody who makes that effort is pathetic.

[nindalf]

Yeah I thought we have a universal consensus that we never make fun of the way people speak English because they’re trying their best in a second or third language. And they’re doing that despite the challenges you point out.

If someone does it, it means they’re racist. The act itself isn’t racist, but I’d bet dollars to doughnuts that they’d have other racist opinions and do racist things.

[meiraleal]

I totally agree with you. But I'm curious about one thing: how do most Indians react to Indians scamming people from all around the world? Is there a movement to push back against them or are we (the world) on our own? Same thing I wish to ask the Nigerians about the Nigeria princes.

[nindalf]

I think no one, from any country, has any sympathy for scammers. FWIW, Indians suffer plenty from the same scammers because it's possible to target Indians much more easily. You don't need to figure out international payments, accents, international calling - just pick up the phone and go.

I would challenge the notion that a "movement" can push back against criminals. This is a law enforcement issue and a difficult one at that because law enforcement doesn't have real time insight into money transfers.

If it is any comfort, India is a democratic country and the government is somewhat receptive to the needs of the people. With Indian people suffering from financial crime and complaining about it the government could start to crack down on it.

[ripe]

People in India suffer from these same scams, too. They are pissed.

I haven't lived in India for decades, but saw an interesting TV show about a famous phone phishing operation run out of a small village in Bihar state. It's fiction, but based on a real news report.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jamtara_%E2%80%93_Sabka_Numb...