Beck addresses his previous comment that Ganges River "sounds like a disease," says he "didn't mean to offend anybody"
December 16, 2009 6:36 pm ET
From the December 16 edition of Fox News' Glenn Beck:
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Regardless, I don't consider what he said to be "racist," but culturally insensitive.
Idiot.
In the course of disparaging it, he ran out of racist things to say and said the Ganges River sounds like a disease.
He implied that OUR system is better than India. Well, I tend to agree.
Also, if you want to talk about REAL racism, how about the caste system in India, and the "dirty and disease filled" conditions that the lower people in the system live in?
Is this your MO, to ignore what people say outright and then throw out strawmen (caste system)? Surely you've been called out for that before, if you post here often.
And incidentally, it's a very Beck like quality.
Did you not hear when he was explaining where the money goes? To the doctors who have years of debt to pay of from medical school and to workers in the medical field.
No, he didn't.
Right now, I'm planning on attending a benefit concert for a dear young friend of mine who will be undergoing treatment for cancer soon. He has insurance . . . the insurance company has denied his medications TWICE now because the insurance company deemed them "unnecessary." Unnecessary really meaning "too darned expensive and we don't want to pay for them." So, this young man and his very talented family will be giving a benefit concert next week for donations to help with his health care. This is in the USA, k1dork . . . he is having to basically BEG for money in order to get health care . . . and he HAS insurance.
Why do you defend this uneducated, unintelligent BUFFOON? He has NO idea what the hell he is talking about and by repeating it, you give the appearance of being the same.
I'm not ignoring what you say, but I just don't think that what he said is racist. He thinks America, and our system is better than India, a country that still has third world elements in its society. I think MOST Americans would agree with his sentiments.
I'm offended that Glenn Beck believes that his viewers are stupid enough to think that Beck's shrugging and guffawing at a country's healthcare system and it's "dirty stupid people" somehow will effectively make that system inferior and those people dirty and stupid in his viewers eyes.
I'm even more offended that it works.
If India wants respect, maybe they should treat their citizens better.
Why are you posting, exactly?
In all seriousness, I think k1dork is setting a great example here by showing that it's possible to discuss an issue, learn something new, and change your viewpoint. I hope I can do the same from time to time.
I doubt, though, that you're really THAT obtuse, Dork. I think that you just PRETEND to be mystified at these seemingly endless examples of winger racism, even after it has been carefully spoon-fed to you. It is your persistent MO here to feign wide-eyed innocence and worrisome levels of dumb-ass naivete as a means of defending reich wing racism, which is your true purpose for posting here.
But why say it in such an offensive, condescending way...? What did India do to p*ss of Glenn Beck? Or is this simply Beck's disdain for dark-skinned people coming to the surface?
There you go, dorkie, I gave you an explanation for Beck's "disdain for Europe," and everyone else who doesn't look, think, or worship like him.
Beck completely dismissed the notion of India having a better and more affordable Health care system, not on any facts, but basically because it was in India. There was no comparative analysis, just that India is sewer and their river sounds like a disease.
I'm no fan of India, but Beck could have said that the WHO ranks India 112, but that would point out the fact that the US is 37th between Costa Rica and Slovenia.
Also, India still has third world elements in its society. I think that FACT is why Beck dismissed their healthcare as not being superior to our own.
Are you really that clueless? Programs in place...? Get out in the real world, man...the real America, not some vision of Wholesome Town, USA.
I've also been to the Middle East when I served in the Army. And by comparison, I think the poor in America have it FAR BETTER than the poor in third world countries.
I agree that India has third world elements and their health care system is not superior to our own. My point was that Beck decided to use racists language to get his point across. All he had to say was that the World Heath Organization ranks India 112th and the US 37th.
You can't just dismiss the entire country because of the name of the river sounds like a disease to us. I'm sure Mississippi sounds like a disease in some other language, but I don't think we'd appreciate being characterize by that.
Being Asian, I've been called names my whole life, but it gets really silly when they start making fun of the names because they sound strange. By your logic, the joke "How do Chinese name their kids? By throwing a handful of change on the floor and listening for the sound it makes" isn't racist. It's essentially the same joke (that he didn't mean to offend anyone) made by saying the Ganges river sounds like a disease.
I don't know, man. Hate and racism are so easy to blame for everything, that I think it's pointless to try to examine any other causes.
Yes, evil socialist programs.
Beck speaks of India in such a dismissive fashion, how can it be anything but racist. He responds to the question about "where does the money go" with such dismissive behaviour, it goes beyond the fact that India has to take care of 4 times population of the US.
Becks says "doctors that go to Harvard" like every doctor in America went to Harvard (I know, sound like Winthrope in Trading Places) rather than Gujarat Medical school, like Harvard is inherently better than Gujarat (again he mispronounces the name and tries to be dismissive by fumbling the name) Then he compares India medical schools to "knock off" Gucci bags.
he then states that the money goes "to the pocket of a skilled doctor", again dismissing Indian doctors as not skilled or didn't go to school.
Look, when talking about Beck commentary it often falls to racism, because that's what it is. Dismissing India's entire medical system simply because it's in India is the definition of racism. He can't even acknowledge the India's Medical schools system is credible and I would wager that the best India Medical school is far better than the 150th ranked Medical school in the US... my doctor didn't go to Harvard.
"I don't know, man." You should put that on a t-shirt and wear it, constantly.
I demonstrated earlier that I am willing to change my position when given info that I did not know about. When I learned that the river was a holy sight, I said that Beck should apologize then.
I'm not a troll. I'm here to DISCUSS the issues with people who I know don't share my opinion on much. I do this to broaden my own knowledge. You should give civil discussion a try.
Blueline was factually correcting your error ("if you want to talk about REAL racism, how about the caste system in India") that the Hindu caste system was based on race, not defending the caste system per se. K1dork, you seem to like to argue with points that people didn't make. It's not an effective debating strategy if the other participants are even half awake.
would you agree that making stupid jokes about the dome of the rock or the wailing wall is not offensive. what about jokes about Martin Luther King or Malcolm x. would those be responsible? for a broadcaster on a national tv station?no , they would not because the only purpose would be to gather attention, and this apologist for the John Birch society feels that his viewers share these views anyway so no risk to him
1. "He implied that OUR system is better than India. Well, I tend to agree." What "system" are you talking about? India is a Democracy. It's the largest Democracy on the planet. Did you know that it isn't ruled by Maharajahs with rubies in their turbans who spend their days riding elephants and adding women to their harems?
2. "Also if you want to talk about REAL racism, how about the caste system in India..." You mean the caste system that was abolished in India DECADES ago? You might as well wax poetic about America's racial caste system.
Seriously- do you ever read? I mean, besides reading MMFA posts so you can rush here and type "I don't get it?"
Now, I know why you love Beck so much . . . you use the same form of historical "research," NONE.
"...doctors who studied at Harvard rather than 'Dazhara Razha Medical School.'"
"...and homes with something we in America like to call 'flush toilets.'"
"I'm sure...no offense to India, I'm sure it's beautiful and everything. I've heard, especially this time of year--especially, you know, by that one big river they have there that...SOUNDS LIKE A DISEASE! C'mon it does. I mean if somebody said, 'I'm sorry, you have a really bad case of Ganges.' you'd want Cypro."
Not to mention the overall "India is crappy, America is awesome" comparisons he makes throughout.
Oh and if had even spent the "40 seconds" as he put it researching this topic he could have found a real list of Indian medical schools on Wikipedia.
In fact, I'm not sure why he basically brags that they didn't really do any research at all.
I've never seen a liberal pundit brag that something is obvious so why even bother looking anything about it up.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gajara_Raja_Medical_College
So instead of making up a school like I assumed he did, he instead deliberately picked a school that has been de-recognized by India's medical board.
I don't know if this is worse or not.
But he does nevertheless compare Indian doctors to Gucci bag knock-offs and says they are Buicks to America's Rolls-Royces.
I wonder what he has to say about the doctors that are from India, studied there and moved here to practice. Does he consider them sub-standard too?
Are immigrants who leave crappy third world countries for America racist too, because they want homes with toilets?
Your 2nd response is childish. People leaving home for a better life aren't the same as Beck, a multimillionaire who sits on his fat keester in a plush air conditioned radio room making fun of whatever he feels like without bothering to see if his rants have any basis in fact.
However, Becky only glossed over this point. And then went on to insult Indian educated doctors and berating the ability of Indians to actually do anything intellectual. I found the "Gajra Raja College" comment particularly offensive. Also suggesting that and Indian trained doctor was somehow "discounted" (a "$4 gucci bag").
These comments are insulting and insensitive to the the thousands of Indian trained doctors who are providing valuable health care services to Americans daily. If you count nurses, physios, medical scietists etc. that numbers in the hundreds of thousands. Not just in USA but in all other developed nations. So when he comments that these doctors are nothing but cheap imitations, simply because they are indians, I find that deeply offensive. That is racial stereotyping at its best. Its saying that Indians are backward and poorly educated (although the the % of indian americans with bachelors degreees is 3 times the national average), just like Africans are only good at sports, chinese are nerds, and jews are cheap.
And you are only reinforcing this stereotyping by your poorly sourced comments on the caste system (a relic of a bygone era, no more relevant today than slavery in USA) and so on.
And just making broad statements such as "I think America is better than India" is juvenile and silly. Everybody thinks their country is the best. Even the Somalians and Zimbabweans. And they have every right to. But that does not contribute to an intelligent debate or discussion. Better how? Why? facts and figures (based on more than 40 seconds of research). Both Becky and you should learn how to hold and argument like a grown up. Instead of just getting bogged down by base emotions and American Jingoism.
Beck's bigotry was on display in the original quote.
If you didnt see what is racist about calling a river considered holy by millions to a disease then you are not too quick on the uptake. What disease does it sound like exactly? Why does it sound like a disease because the word is in another language? I would imagine if you spoke Hindi and a doctor in India told you that you have GlennBeck it would sound like a disease too.
By the way unless you or him have been to a doctor or hospital in India you have no basis of comparison. The woman whom he was seeking to discredit has been to India, I will take her word on this over him or you. You are now dismissed.
Also, India is a country with many third world elements. I haven't seen a doctor there, but I will go on a limb and say that our system is better.
It's bigotry, k1dork. You really need to quit repeating Beck's stupidity without a little research. Makes you look as uneducated, uninformed and bigoted as he.
And his "racist" comments here, could easily be nationalist instead. My thing is simply that I don't blame each and every discrepancy encountered on racism.
Wow, you argued ALL this time without realizing that the Ganges is a holy river to the Indians? Do you not check on anything before you decide to support someone's arguments?
Yes, India is a developing country. Yes, the health care system is spotty. But guess what ? "Health tourism" is taking off. Many people from Canada, US & UK now routinely fly to India for their care, courtesy their insurance companies.
Just sayin'....
In all seriousness, I think k1dork is setting a great example here by showing that it's possible to discuss an issue, learn something new, and change your viewpoint. I hope I can do the same from time to time.
Kdork is a great example of what happens when clueless illiterates jump to post an opinion before they educate themselves on a subject. He spent one post after another questioning our claims that Beck was being an obvious racist- then ducks behind the old "I wasn't aware" bush. And don't worry about his feelings, he'll be right back here tomorrow with another "what's the big deal?" post. Set your watch by it.
Look, even if the river is holy, that doesn't make Beck's comment racist. It makes it culturally insensitive, but not necessarily racist.
K1dork makes a lot of excuses for racism, and deserves all the scorn he gets for that, but I'm not sure this one is all that unreasonable. And is the problem that he's a "clueless illiterate" who needed to be educated, or is the problem that he's like George Allen, saying that he didn't know something he obviously did?
Thanks for confirming my suspicion that you are either eight years old, or illiterate. Seriously, at the school where I teach, kids learn that the Ganges is sacred to the Hindus of India when they are 12 years old.
I appreciate that you spend a lot of your posts apologizing for being a moron- it's a rare trait in trolls.
"Also, India is a country with many third world elements.." whatever, man. Maybe someday you can tell us what a "third world element" is. When you figure it out yourself.
I still don't think what he said is racist, but I do think he should apologize for disrespecting it if it is a holy sight.
And by "third world elements," I mean places in the country with no working utilities and extreme poverty.
Groan.
Why not fully appologize for smearing the country of India and the reason why people go there to recieve hip replacements. There he goes again not telling the whole truth. Even if it is an appology. SMH!