LETTER
income tax
A Message to Dharun Ravi from a Fellow Indian-American
BY ARJUNE RAMA Like many other Indian-Americans and people of Indian descent around the globe, I read with dismay your tweets detailing Mr. Clementi’s private life. I cringed at your secret webcam used to document and broadcast his sexual relations to other equally insensitive college students. While your actions would likely anger me regardless of our shared ethnicity, your actions have hurt me and other Indian-Americans in more personal ways. As I’m sure you’re aware, prior to your case and 30-day jail sentence, people who’ve never met us see our faces and instantly think the words “terrorist,” “job-stealer,” and “smelly” among other more unsavory and racist descriptors. Of course I can’t blame you for the hateful thoughts and actions of others against our people. Instead, my frustration with you is that through your thoughtlessness you’ve built the foundation for yet another Indian stereotype: homophobe.
Perhaps surprising to you, I am pleased by the relatively light sentencing you received. I don’t think your actions were rooted in hate. I don’t believe you intended to hurt Mr. Clementi. Instead I think your actions stemmed from homophobia, immaturity, selfishness, and a nastiness that you were able to conceal via the facelessness of social networking. I don’t think prison time would have done anything to change your perspective on how you mistreated this young man. To illustrate my point, you tolerated constant personal attacks in the international press over the course of the last two years, sat in court mere feet from Mr. Clementi’s family and still were not moved to issue a single apology to his grieving family. If these experiences don’t move you to an apology I’m not sure what prison would do but to perhaps simply embitter you towards the American justice system. I realize that in our culture’s enthusiasm to prepare us for academic and profes-
sional success, some crucial elements of how to interact in the socio-cultural melting pot of the American college system may be lost in translation. While this doesn’t justify your actions, your upbringing is similar to that of many Indian-Americans, including myself. However, unlike most Indian-Americans, now that the world has placed a spotlight upon you, you have a unique opportunity to take a highly visible stand against homophobia on college campuses or anywhere where people from different ways of life intersect. Additionally, by finally apologizing to the Clementis and publicly denouncing your own homophobic behavior, you will not only be standing up for the Tyler Clementis of the world but you will also be standing up for yourself and our community. My hope is that you will pay back the court’s leniency in your case to help promote and elevate the discussion of this issue.
S. Ram and Associates
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INDO AMERICAN NEWS • FRIDAY, JUNE 01, 2012 • ONLINE EDITION: WWW.INDOAMERICAN-NEWS.COM