[seanccox]

A quick scan of jigneshg's past comments reveals that they are definitely not a native English speaker, and as was pointed out above, in Indian culture, this is a perfectly polite way to empathize with another's suffering. The irony that this apparent cultural misunderstanding has caused jigneshg's karma to plummet gives me no end of mirth, but the clearly anglophile Western (and perhaps white male) reaction to jigneshg's statement is no more accurate for it. There's plenty of self-righteous indignation to go around this holiday season, so maybe a little forgiveness is in order, after examining the situation?

[pc86]

What exactly does race or gender have to do with anything in this comment thread?

[Confusion]

Where exactly does seamccox reference race or gender? Cultural differences have everything to do with this comment thread.

[pc86]

> (and perhaps white male)

[seanccox]

As an American male who is white, my first reading of jigneshg's comment led me to a negative reaction, similar to those expressed above. So, for my part, race and gender had a great deal to do with my initial reaction, and I felt it important to bring that to light in my comment, because many of the reactions to jigneshg's comment insist that his language says something that, in the Indian context, it does not say. That insistence is unapologetically Eurocentric, since the West holds no monopoly over the English language or its use/meaning in India. Furthermore, those reactions are consistent with the racism I have witnessed among white males on a self-righteous power trip. It's a simple misunderstanding, blown wildly out of proportion because the parties reacting aren't taking the time to acknowledge that a misunderstanding has taken place.

Also, to make it abundantly clear, adopting another culture's religious concept and using it as a gamified point system – karma – is kinda shitty. Karma isn't a point system, except in the most limited Western view of the concept, and here HN deploys it synonymously with points, and jigneshg, who is likely SE Asian (based on their use of English) is getting nailed to the cross according to a Eurocentric, stripped down definition of Karma. That power dynamic (abstract though it may be) is what makes this racist.

[pc86]

My point was that you reaction would not have substantively changed if you happened to be a white American female or a black American male.

Even taking into account the fact that Africans Americans are more religious as a group than their white counterparts, I don't think religiousity (except in the most extreme examples) would affect one's initial distaste upon reading the phrase

> Sometime it is very difficult for human to understand GOD and his punishment !

in that context.

My initial negative reaction was due mostly to the fact that I'm a native English speaker - which is where the misunderstanding stems from as well.

[seanccox]

That's totally true. In fact, because I'm atheist, the theological tune of the comment is what really raised my hackles, initially. I can't speak tot he reaction that black Americans might or might not have, so like I said, I just referenced my own reaction and experience, which I believe should have been more accommodating. But like you suggest, reacting as a native English speaker is totally natural, because we're all just reading words in English. Other than a wonky turn of phrase, there's little that marks the comment as being given by a non-English speaker. For my part, I'm just bitching here in the comments, b/c I'm not entirely sure where I can send a message requesting that people's karma points be restored. For me, that feels frustrating, and so instead I lash out at a kind of privilege that is more ready to correct than understand. Ultimately though, I think yours was a good quetsion to aske.ll