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Sen. Biden Lands in Hot Water with Remarks About Indians and 7-11
India Post , News Report, N.C. Srirekha, Posted: Aug 14, 2006
NEW YORK: Weeks after Senator Joseph Biden (D-Delaware) made seemingly stereotypical remarks linking Indian Americans to 7-11 and Dunkin' Donuts stores the debate over his "gaffe" is yet to die down in the community.
Even as a section of the community is still smarting over the "insensitive" remarks, which were widely publicized by the mainstream media, a number of Indian American political activists in Washington D.C. have come out in defense of the Senator and his comments.
Interestingly, the issue has come down to becoming a spat between the Democratic and Republican activists in the community. Early in July, the ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and a potential 2008 Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Biden was on a campaign stop in New Hampshire where he spoke to an Indian American political activist in the group, and impressed upon him about the support he enjoyed among Indian Americans. ""I've had a great relationship (with Indian Americans). In Delaware, the largest growth in population is Indian-Americans moving from India. You cannot go to a 7-Eleven or a Dunkin' Donuts unless you have a slight Indian accent. I'm not joking," Biden had said.
The clip showing Biden making the comment was aired on the C-SPAN series "Road to the White House," and was soon picked up by the various print and television media, besides blog sites, blowing it up into an embarrassing issue with Indian American leaders taking umbrage to the comments and Biden's office trying to cover the gaffe.
Reacting strongly to the comments, founder-chairman of the Indian American Republican Council, Dr. Vijay said in a press release that the gaffe was "clearly over the top."
"Joe Biden has a history of making insensitive and inappropriate remarks," said Dr. Vijay. "But even for him, this recent gaffe is clearly over the top."
Dr. Vijay pointed out that this wasn't the first time a Senate Democrat has insulted Indian Americans. In 2004, Senator John Kerry referred to Sikhs as terrorists and Senator Hillary Clinton jokingly referred to Mahatma Gandhi as a gas station owner.
Further drawing the divide on party lines, Dr. Vijay said, "A clear double-standard in the mainstream media will likely ensure Senator Biden gets a pass over these comments that would get a Republican in deep trouble if he ever made a similar statement."
"Senator Biden will be surprised to hear that I am a cardiothoracic surgeon, leading a national association of Indian Americans who are physicians, attorneys, and small business owners. It's amazing to know we don't all work at Dunkin Donuts or the local 7/11. The contributions to America by Indian Americans in the fields of medicine, education, science, and business have been well-documented. We're not asking Senator Biden to apologize for his embarrassing, stereotypical comments. However, we do appreciate knowing what he really thinks of his Indian American constituents in Delaware," he said in the release.
Republican candidate for Congress from Philadelphia Raj Peter Bhakta blasted Senator Biden's remarks, which he termed as "callous and racist."
"These are ridiculous, callous and insensitive comments which would simply be laughable if they weren't coming from a Democratic presidential candidate," said Bhakta. "You'd never know from listening to Biden that Indian Americans have contributed to this country other than making a mean cup of coffee."
Biden's office sought to explain the gaffe, stating that he admired, supported and respected the Indian-American community. "The point Sen. Biden was making is that there has been a vibrant Indian-American community in Delaware for decades. It has primarily been made up of engineers, scientists and physicians, but more recently, middle-class families are moving into Delaware and purchasing family-run small businesses," said Margaret Aitken, a Biden spokeswoman.
"These families have greatly contributed to the vibrancy of the Indian-American community in Delaware and are making a significant contribution to the national economy as well," she added. Later, Biden himself told MSNBC that his comment was "meant as a compliment."
Democratic activists in the community were quick to rise in Biden's defense. Supriya Christopher, executive director for the bipartisan US-India Political Action Committee (USINPAC), said in a statement that she did not consider the comments derogatory or racially charged. "For anybody who's been in office that long, I'd hope he'd speak extemporaneously," she said.
Defending Senator Biden, Mini Timmaraju, a former IALI (Indian American Leadership Initiative) Board member, wrote, "As an Indian American Democratic political consultant who spent close to two years working in New Hampshire, my reaction to watching the original video (widely circulated on the internet) was something like: "there are that many Indian Americans in New Hampshire and Delaware now?"
Timmaraju is currently a partner in Outreach Development Services, LLC, a consulting firm with political and non-profit clients based in Houston, Texas. During the 2004 election cycle, she was the Executive Director of the New Hampshire Senate Democratic Caucus. She currently serves as President of the Asian American Democrats of Texas. "While I was concerned that Senator Biden's comments were stereotypical and could have the unintended consequence of offending elements of the Indian American community, I did not personally find them offensive. I did find them remarkable," Timmaraju wrote in response to the IARC press release.
"Here was a powerful American Senator commenting on class diversity within a relatively small immigrant community at an event in New Hampshire, where the entire Asian American population is less than 1%. Senator Biden was correct when he said the community was "growing, moving," she wrote.
Delaware's population is less, but these two states are among the 10 fastest growing Asian American populations in the country according to a report done by the Washington D.C. based Asian American Justice Center.
Reacting to the widespread coverage the comments received in the mainstream media, Timmaruju said, "Despite passage of US-India Civil Nuclear Cooperation, this is the most media attention the Indian American community has received all year."
The IARC "attack" on Sen. Biden, Timmaraju said was "disingenuous and borderline irresponsible considering that Senator Biden had just been instrumental in guiding the pro-India nuclear legislation through the Senate Foreign Relations committee."
"As a political consultant who works with candidates and community groups on their ethnic outreach strategies, and lobbies for community concerns, I question the wisdom of manipulating community sentiment for a minor partisan gain. We will need Senator Biden's friendship again. Luckily, for us, I am sure we will be able to count on it," she said.
Timmaraju said that in the course of her work in New Hampshire she saw nine different Democratic presidential candidates in different settings, making all kinds of comments, the kind political junkies treasure for their unscripted nature. "I do not make this point to minimize the significance of what Senator Biden said. After all, he is a powerful man who wants to be President. His every word should be scrutinized, but let's be honest- not every random comment the actual President says gets this much attention."
Whether the fact that the mainstream media kept harping on the comments indicate the political power of the Indian American community or not, Timmaraju says she saw no reason why the community should take offense at all. "General consensus in my personal circles has been, this was not a very smart comment, but hey, lots of Indian Americans do own and work in convenience stores, gas stations, and Dunkin Donuts. A lot of them have accents. What's wrong with that? Would anyone be so "offended" if Senator Biden made the same comment about engineers at software companies or doctors in an emergency room? What about motel owners in the South? Cab drivers in New York City? Is our dirty little secret the fact that after years of fretting about model minority stereotypes, we don't like being perceived as working class either?" she questions pertinently.
Timmaraju feels that in order for the community to get the most out of this "incident", Indian Americans should reflect deeper than the typical "knee-jerk" reaction allows.
Timmaraju too scaled political battle lines when she said, "When it comes to issues that truly affect the Indian American immigrant communities, particularly those who do work at stores such as 7/11 and Dunkin Donuts, (not just the ones who own them) Democratic Senators Biden, Clinton, and Kerry have always stood up for our entire community, not just the financially privileged few who make large political contributions.
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Looks like history repeating!
India Post , News Report, N.C. Srirekha, Posted: Aug 14, 2006
NEW YORK: Weeks after Senator Joseph Biden (D-Delaware) made seemingly stereotypical remarks linking Indian Americans to 7-11 and Dunkin' Donuts stores the debate over his "gaffe" is yet to die down in the community.
Even as a section of the community is still smarting over the "insensitive" remarks, which were widely publicized by the mainstream media, a number of Indian American political activists in Washington D.C. have come out in defense of the Senator and his comments.
Interestingly, the issue has come down to becoming a spat between the Democratic and Republican activists in the community. Early in July, the ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and a potential 2008 Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Biden was on a campaign stop in New Hampshire where he spoke to an Indian American political activist in the group, and impressed upon him about the support he enjoyed among Indian Americans. ""I've had a great relationship (with Indian Americans). In Delaware, the largest growth in population is Indian-Americans moving from India. You cannot go to a 7-Eleven or a Dunkin' Donuts unless you have a slight Indian accent. I'm not joking," Biden had said.
The clip showing Biden making the comment was aired on the C-SPAN series "Road to the White House," and was soon picked up by the various print and television media, besides blog sites, blowing it up into an embarrassing issue with Indian American leaders taking umbrage to the comments and Biden's office trying to cover the gaffe.
Reacting strongly to the comments, founder-chairman of the Indian American Republican Council, Dr. Vijay said in a press release that the gaffe was "clearly over the top."
"Joe Biden has a history of making insensitive and inappropriate remarks," said Dr. Vijay. "But even for him, this recent gaffe is clearly over the top."
Dr. Vijay pointed out that this wasn't the first time a Senate Democrat has insulted Indian Americans. In 2004, Senator John Kerry referred to Sikhs as terrorists and Senator Hillary Clinton jokingly referred to Mahatma Gandhi as a gas station owner.
Further drawing the divide on party lines, Dr. Vijay said, "A clear double-standard in the mainstream media will likely ensure Senator Biden gets a pass over these comments that would get a Republican in deep trouble if he ever made a similar statement."
"Senator Biden will be surprised to hear that I am a cardiothoracic surgeon, leading a national association of Indian Americans who are physicians, attorneys, and small business owners. It's amazing to know we don't all work at Dunkin Donuts or the local 7/11. The contributions to America by Indian Americans in the fields of medicine, education, science, and business have been well-documented. We're not asking Senator Biden to apologize for his embarrassing, stereotypical comments. However, we do appreciate knowing what he really thinks of his Indian American constituents in Delaware," he said in the release.
Republican candidate for Congress from Philadelphia Raj Peter Bhakta blasted Senator Biden's remarks, which he termed as "callous and racist."
"These are ridiculous, callous and insensitive comments which would simply be laughable if they weren't coming from a Democratic presidential candidate," said Bhakta. "You'd never know from listening to Biden that Indian Americans have contributed to this country other than making a mean cup of coffee."
Biden's office sought to explain the gaffe, stating that he admired, supported and respected the Indian-American community. "The point Sen. Biden was making is that there has been a vibrant Indian-American community in Delaware for decades. It has primarily been made up of engineers, scientists and physicians, but more recently, middle-class families are moving into Delaware and purchasing family-run small businesses," said Margaret Aitken, a Biden spokeswoman.
"These families have greatly contributed to the vibrancy of the Indian-American community in Delaware and are making a significant contribution to the national economy as well," she added. Later, Biden himself told MSNBC that his comment was "meant as a compliment."
Democratic activists in the community were quick to rise in Biden's defense. Supriya Christopher, executive director for the bipartisan US-India Political Action Committee (USINPAC), said in a statement that she did not consider the comments derogatory or racially charged. "For anybody who's been in office that long, I'd hope he'd speak extemporaneously," she said.
Defending Senator Biden, Mini Timmaraju, a former IALI (Indian American Leadership Initiative) Board member, wrote, "As an Indian American Democratic political consultant who spent close to two years working in New Hampshire, my reaction to watching the original video (widely circulated on the internet) was something like: "there are that many Indian Americans in New Hampshire and Delaware now?"
Timmaraju is currently a partner in Outreach Development Services, LLC, a consulting firm with political and non-profit clients based in Houston, Texas. During the 2004 election cycle, she was the Executive Director of the New Hampshire Senate Democratic Caucus. She currently serves as President of the Asian American Democrats of Texas. "While I was concerned that Senator Biden's comments were stereotypical and could have the unintended consequence of offending elements of the Indian American community, I did not personally find them offensive. I did find them remarkable," Timmaraju wrote in response to the IARC press release.
"Here was a powerful American Senator commenting on class diversity within a relatively small immigrant community at an event in New Hampshire, where the entire Asian American population is less than 1%. Senator Biden was correct when he said the community was "growing, moving," she wrote.
Delaware's population is less, but these two states are among the 10 fastest growing Asian American populations in the country according to a report done by the Washington D.C. based Asian American Justice Center.
Reacting to the widespread coverage the comments received in the mainstream media, Timmaruju said, "Despite passage of US-India Civil Nuclear Cooperation, this is the most media attention the Indian American community has received all year."
The IARC "attack" on Sen. Biden, Timmaraju said was "disingenuous and borderline irresponsible considering that Senator Biden had just been instrumental in guiding the pro-India nuclear legislation through the Senate Foreign Relations committee."
"As a political consultant who works with candidates and community groups on their ethnic outreach strategies, and lobbies for community concerns, I question the wisdom of manipulating community sentiment for a minor partisan gain. We will need Senator Biden's friendship again. Luckily, for us, I am sure we will be able to count on it," she said.
Timmaraju said that in the course of her work in New Hampshire she saw nine different Democratic presidential candidates in different settings, making all kinds of comments, the kind political junkies treasure for their unscripted nature. "I do not make this point to minimize the significance of what Senator Biden said. After all, he is a powerful man who wants to be President. His every word should be scrutinized, but let's be honest- not every random comment the actual President says gets this much attention."
Whether the fact that the mainstream media kept harping on the comments indicate the political power of the Indian American community or not, Timmaraju says she saw no reason why the community should take offense at all. "General consensus in my personal circles has been, this was not a very smart comment, but hey, lots of Indian Americans do own and work in convenience stores, gas stations, and Dunkin Donuts. A lot of them have accents. What's wrong with that? Would anyone be so "offended" if Senator Biden made the same comment about engineers at software companies or doctors in an emergency room? What about motel owners in the South? Cab drivers in New York City? Is our dirty little secret the fact that after years of fretting about model minority stereotypes, we don't like being perceived as working class either?" she questions pertinently.
Timmaraju feels that in order for the community to get the most out of this "incident", Indian Americans should reflect deeper than the typical "knee-jerk" reaction allows.
Timmaraju too scaled political battle lines when she said, "When it comes to issues that truly affect the Indian American immigrant communities, particularly those who do work at stores such as 7/11 and Dunkin Donuts, (not just the ones who own them) Democratic Senators Biden, Clinton, and Kerry have always stood up for our entire community, not just the financially privileged few who make large political contributions.
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Looks like history repeating!
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