By THEBOSTONBACHELOR.COM / December 15, 2007
And when I say “my people” I’m referring to both East Asians (such as myself) and Southeast Asians (my brown brothers). OK, I know the picture above doesn’t do full justice. But you try finding a photo containing a mix of Desis, Chinese, and Koreans that isn’t taken on a Saturday afternoon at the Wrentham MA outlets. (Hey, we know a good deal when we see one.)
I recently attended an open house for a GMAT prep course. Shockingly enough to those who know me well, I was the first one there. So I take a seat and slowly wait for everyone else to trickle in.
A few minutes later, I hear the door open and swivel my head to see who walks in.
An Indian guy.
Less than 30 seconds later, the door opens again. Again, I turn to look…
…and see a new Indian guy.
Another few minutes pass. The next student walks in…
…this time, an Asian woman.
A minute later the door opens again…
…another Asian woman.
By this time, the open house is only minutes away from starting.
And just then, another Indian guy walks in.
Finally, with about a minute left on the clock, I hear the door open and a distinct as-white-bread-American-as-you-can-get “Hello” rings out into the classroom. “I guess the streak is broken,” I think to myself. So I slowly turn my head, only to see…
An Indian guy wearing a turbin.
(My friend Deep later chimes in and says “He’s probably a Sikh.”)
This story may surprise those of you who have been outside of the higher education world for the past several years, particularly if you’re one of those xenophobes clamoring about American labor jobs being outsourced to India, China, whatever. Well–get used to it. Because behind your blind ignorance, the real jobs you should be concerned with “protecting” lie in middle and upper management, the same level you may be sitting in right now–not the minimum-wage manufacturing and customer support shit jobs that no one really wants.
If you don’t believe me, sit through any business/IT/e-commerce course at your nearby graduate business school. Even 3 years ago, when I was living in DC, I took a stroll through the University of Maryland’s Business School and I felt like I was walking through a marketplace in Jakarta. The times are a changin’, yes they are.
Be seeing you.
-The Boston Bachelor
