The nature of endogamy is such that, in my experience, the first preference is that their family member marries someone of a similar South Asian background and social standing. Marrying someone Indian outside of those bounds is the next preference and then marrying someone non Indian. In all of these categories colorism is at play.

Think of medieval clans using marriage to form ties or to consolidate wealth and influence via marriage. Marriage is seen almost as utilitarian with individual wants and needs set aside for the collective.

It’s an ancient way of thinking and I don’t doubt for a second that it’ll be eradicated with time as it has been in many parts of the world that successfully defeudalized who did not have to deal with foreign occupants further entrenching a feudalistic mindset.

Colorism predates the modern era in nearly all cultures.

During the Elizabethan era England, women used Venetian Ceruse, a mixture of white lead and vinegar, to paint their faces and necks chalk-white even though it caused hair loss, skin corrosion, and muscle paralysis.

In the early phases of globalization and during the great divergence, white/Western societies began to see themselves as the nobles of the world and their colonies as the inferior laborers. Essentially, it is what you’re describing but on a global scale. This further entrenched colorism globally.

Reversals of this mindset have only happened in the past 75 years.

Yash, who plays Ravana, and Sai Pallavi, who plays Sita, are both South Indian and not typically considered fair skinned. Sai has particularly spoken out against colorism in Indian film industries.

The caste system is not based on skin color. That was a misreading of ancient Indian texts by colonizers in the 1800s. There are darker skinned people of an upper caste background in South India and vice versa in North India.

It is based purely on pedigree / who you are born to.

The caste system is medieval feudalistic bullshit that needs to be eradicated in all forms from every society.

“The British class system is so complex, so riddled with microscopic nuances and unspoken rules, that it functions essentially as a caste system. It is not about how much money you have; it is about an intricate tribal code of accent, vocabulary, and behavior that is almost impossible to learn later in life.”

Anthropolgist Kate Fox: Watching the English

“Class is a skin on the back of caste… In England, the class system is so rigid, so tied to ancestry, accent, and birth, that it functions essentially as a caste system”

Isabel Wilkerson: Caste: The Origins of Our Discontent

“Nevertheless, the essential point about the English class-system is that it is not entirely explicable in terms of money. Roughly speaking it is a money-stratification, but it is also interpenetrated by a sort of shadowy caste-system; rather like a jerrybuilt modern bungalow haunted by medieval ghosts.”

George Orwell: The Road to Wigan Pier.

Whoever did JDs hair and makeup is killing it. True visionary.

Supraphysiologic dosing of testosterone will do that. That and really really really tiny balls.

At their core they don’t believe in merit. They believe in birthright.

The astounding progress humanity has made in the past few centuries doesn’t happen without oppurtunity being, in some way, distributed based on merit. No country on Earth is a true meritocracy but the standard until very recently was feudalism where you’re either born lucky or you’re not.

For some right wing folk, there’s not a lot to offer on the basis of merit so they’d rather move back to the coinflip model being lucky even if they have little to offer.

Look at RFK - does he really have anything to offer besides his name?

High income

It was an aspiration for white men specifically. It took centuries for the definition of humanity to expand from that perspective.

Sometimes moralizing is necessary. In Canada we had one teacher go into detail on the kidnapping of indigineous children and the residential schools they were sent to where they were often beaten or raped. I’m glad that teacher did that since many of my contemporaries were not aware of that history and some remain oblivious into adulthood. There’s nothing worse for a nation than people having a false sense of pride in it (as we’re seeing in the US currently).

There is no argument to be had here. That is literally a wallet.

Is Aliexpress better than Temu?

It may not be as long a stretch as it seems.

Climate change is in many ways an extension of neocolonialism ie. localizing benefits while externalizing harms. Western countries, despite making up 20% of the global population, are responsible for 50% of global cumulative emissions.

Back during the Earth Summit in 1992:

“In view of the different contributions to global environmental degradation, States have common but differentiated responsibilities. The developed countries acknowledge the responsibility that they bear in the international pursuit of sustainable development in view of the pressures their societies place on the global environment and of the technologies and financial resources they command.”

Based on this, the Rio declararion explicitly stated that developed countries must take the lead in combating climate change and its adverse effects.

As we all know, these responsibilities were ultimately betrayed

The world has a way of rebalancing itself. We may not see a complete rebalancing in our lifetimes but the process has already begun.

History doesn’t exist in a vacuum I’m afraid. If an entity, whether it’s a person or a nation, commits atrocities and then stops doing so after becoming rich from it, can we call that justice?

Leopold II turned the Congo Free State into his personal, horrific rubber-and-ivory fiefdom from 1885 to 1908 and used the profits to bankroll massive architectural and infrastructure projects in Brussels, Antwerp, and Ostend (e.g., the Cinquantenaire park, the Royal Palace of Laeken, and the Antwerp Central Station).

The profits were deeply integrated into Belgium’s financial and industrial sectors.

DRC’s vast diamond wealth currently flows straight to Antwerp, meaning Belgium still captures the high-value “refining and trading” end of the supply chain, while the DRC is left with the environmental and human cost of raw extraction.

Major Belgian conglomerates, or companies born out of the colonial structure (like Umicore, formerly Union Minière du Haut-Katanga), transitioned from colonial owners to powerful multinational players. They still hold significant strategic advantages and interests in extracting critical minerals like cobalt and copper from Central Africa.

When the DRC gained independence in 1960, its first democratically elected Prime Minister, Patrice Lumumba, wanted to nationalize the country’s resources so the Congolese people could finally benefit from them. Fearing the loss of mineral access, Belgian officials (with the help of the CIA) were deeply complicit in Lumumba’s overthrow and assassination, replacing him with Mobutu Sese Seko, a brutal dictator who let Western corporations keep extracting wealth while plunging his own country into poverty.

Colonialism may have come to an end but Belgium is still a neocolonialist nation. So we can’t even give it the benefit of saying that it has stopped.

This is for informational purposes only. European colonial history is not well taught in the Western world so it’s important for people to realize that just because it was overlooked in their education that doesn’t mean it’s really ended.

CPR

Damn never realized this but every boomer homeowner is actually an investment savant. Why are we all so stupid? Why can’t we just do this? ^/s

This varies a lot by specialty but many doctors would like to see less patients and would be open to be paid less to do so, so that they can take more time on each case.

There was a time (boomer era) where doctors owned practices and had meaningful leverage in the system. Now all of those practices have been bought out by private equity. Most doctors are employees and if they band together in any way the hospital administration has tools to stamp it out because this is America.

I’ve worked at several instiutions in the US where either doctors or nurses sought to unionize and through that effort institute safer patient care practices. The hospital administration stamped it out in every case. Even just the optics is challenging because if you make the suggestion of a strike they will run to the media and insinuate you’re betraying your oath and putting patients in danger. Many people are guilted out of participating.

There are somewhat successful unions in the country but if you’re in a region where there isn’t one, having a grassroots one succeed is very difficult.

Perhaps the most influential and lucrative specialties (neurosurgery, interventional cardiology, orthopedics) could move the needle if they didn’t have to spend all their time working but everyone else who isn’t an MBA administrator has unfortunately become a replacable cog in the system. This is the nature of American capitalism. It enshittifies everything.

Xi Jinping is a huge football fan. China implemented a plan to qualify over 10 years ago but their federation has been rife with corruption. The previous coach Li Tie (who played in Premier league) is in prison for 20 years for bribery.

https://apnews.com/article/china-soccer-bribes-a3fee6547c9fe9f3734d65d23108cf46

The Pakistan Football Federation has had issues with infighting, political interference, and corruption for decades. FIFA has repeatedly banned Pakistan from international football due to third-party/government interference in the federation.

Do you have any examples of cricket matchmaking? From what I’m reading, the planning amounts to always putting Pakistan and India in the same group to maximize viewership and timing the schedule to optimize viewership in India since that’s where the most viewers are.

Part of the longevity of the US version was the decision to make characters likable, especially Michael Scott / the manager. The UK version leans hard into the cringe / social ineptitude and gives the manager essentially no redeeming qualities.