I believe that all words used with the intent of separating people into groups are offensive. Rashna, as you said, you do not understand the context in which the words were used to me either, so who made you the judge over whether I should have been offended or not when those words were spoken? First you say that Nastik is not an offensive word, but then you imply that it can be if used in an offensive context right? So you are contradicting yourself more then I am for simply saying what has been said to me, and yes the words I have mentioned were used to me in offensive contexts, but you can never determine the spoken context from someone else typing what was said.
And I never said I am offended by touching peoples feet, it is simply disgusting for me to have to do it or to kneel in front of another person.
What exactly is the bullshit in someone saying what they have experienced? Again, who made you or anyone else the judge over what I say, or how I should feel about it?
British Indian culture is very very different to the culture found in Gujerat and India itself, a lot of people who move to the UK are for some wierd reason very isolated and refuse to mix with other races, which is what my family and Indian society is like.
Do you actually live in Bradford? Or east London? Or anywhere else in the UK where racial tension is very problematic? Just because you are also Gujerati does not give you an automatic insight into what every other Gujerati person is like, and I am not speaking about every Gujerati person either, so do not feel that I am in any way trying to describe you or anyone else from Gujarat because I am not.
Again, if racial tension is a problem or an area is not particularly safe, then parents are bound to tell their kids to be cautious-this has nothing whatsoever to do with religion or culture, also all people want to transmit their culture to their kids, again this has nothing whatsoever to do with either religion or cultural specifics. You narrate a very peculiar story.
If a White American after living in Saudi Arabia refused to have anything more to do with either churches or with Hollywood movies or went as far as refusing to shake hands or wave & greeted people with only a strict "Assalamu Alaikum", obviously their parents & relatives are going to be somewhat upset, they will urge their child to at least shake hands with their close relatives even if the relatives' palm is sometimes sweaty & even if the child finds it disgusting!
Most kids would do that much for their parents, without beginning to find the American culture horrendous or disgusting as a result, even if they happen to prefer Assalamu Alaikum as a form of greeting!
As you yourself have mentioned, you faced no overt problems from your parents except a few words which you found unpleasant.
Yes, when people leave their country, they want to hold onto their culture even more keenly, nothing very wrong with that-that doesn't automatically make them nasty bigots. When Italians or Irish first landed in America, they held on to their culture exactly in the same way, thats' basic human nature rather than a horrendous perversion or ugly racism of any sort. One defines oneself by one's surroundings- in a room of 60+ people, I'll immediately think of myself as a teen & prefer a teen's company rather than older people's company, in a room of Indian men, I'll automatically think of myself as a woman, in a room of White men, as a woman & an Asian brown woman-this is a fact of human nature. If my baby sister refused to play with kids her age & only liked adults' company, I'll encourage her to play with other kids coz I'd think thats' better for her, parents too think that in a foreign country & as a minority, kids will (hopefully) retain the parents language, culture & even might be safer mixing with other kids of a similar background.
Even after people have lived in a nation for years, this is visible to a greater or lesser extent- Jews in U.S.A. would mostly prefer that their kids marry other Jews, Mormons other Mormons &
everyone would prefer that their kids adhere to at least some bare minimum common social etiquette- a Westerner that their kids shake hands with others or wave, an Indian foot touching, an Islamic family a Salaam or a Japanese family a bowing-none of these social graces make one a bigot. If a child refuses to do these culturally specific stuff, parents would well be disappointed & even voice their disappointment a few times-irrespective of culture or nationality, this isn't bigotry either.
Had parents disowned or killed a child, thats' very different, but being offended if parents prefer that you keep minimum social graces which you might not like or voicing disappointment if you don't doesn't make them a bigot. Makes you one maybe.
Btw, even if you happen to completely shake off your culture & become totally Westernized, human nature being what it is, you will still stand out among many whites, who might continue to identify you as an Asian, an immigrant from a Hindu, South Asian background.
Topic: Hi.