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Racist? "Indians Only..."

Discussion in 'Copywriting' started by recraig2, Aug 14, 2011.

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  1. #1
    I saw an ad today looking for a writer, that said "Indians Only" and they wanted writing in English. There was no justification in the posting why they needed ONLY Indians. In fact, I cannot think of a reason why you would need ONLY any particular race, except to promote that race ahead of others = RACISM.

    Now correct me if I'm wrong, because I realize how human I am - each ex of mine has made that perfectly clear ;) . Shouldn't racism be against the forum policies?

    Yes, I am sure someone out there is thinking that asking for native English speakers is racist. Stop and think a moment longer and you'll realize that it can be any race who is a native English speaker. You can be Chinese, by race, but a native English speaker. You can be Indian, by race, but a native English speaker. So asking for a native English speaker cannot be racist.

    Any thoughts on the issue of asking for a particular race when you post an ad?
     
    recraig2, Aug 14, 2011 IP
  2. saladflorida

    saladflorida Well-Known Member

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    #2
    hmm.. the other day i also saw an ad asking to buy for a website, but also the requirement is 'Indian Only' But that is just because of the fact that he can only pays with local currency/ bank.
    Would that also be the case of that writing ad?
     
    saladflorida, Aug 14, 2011 IP
  3. Wulkanen

    Wulkanen Well-Known Member

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    #3
    Man, there could be plenty of reasons.
    Communication, payment processes, maybe he needed someone to translate from Indian to English, who knows.
    I don't think you should worry about it.
     
    Wulkanen, Aug 14, 2011 IP
  4. recraig2

    recraig2 Well-Known Member

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    #4
    Good ideas.

    However, I don't see how any of them justify asking for only "Indians". I like sound arguments that change my mind. It is what I love best.

    I am worried if someone is posting racist ads on our forum looking for whatever, "White people only", or "French people only", or "Indians only". If they can only pay to a local bank account in India, it does not mean he needs people of a certain race. He needs people who have bank accounts in India, and he should say that. I have a bank account in Finland, but I am not Finnish. I have a bank account in Poland, though I am not Polish. In fact, right now I live in Poland while I am working a project here. I am not Polish at all.

    I know foreigners who speak great Polish, but are not Polish. One Ukrainian friend speaks such perfect Polish his classmates were shocked to learn from someone else that he is actually Ukrainian.

    This guy with the ad says he needs them to write in English. He does not mention anything at all about translating, so it is not a translating job. There is too much detail in the ad. He even talks about not needing good English grammar, which is where he would mention translating, if it were a translating job. Nevertheless, Indians are not the only RACE that speaks Hindi. There are foreigners who do too. They are not Indians.

    Now, if he needed someone who was a native Hindi speaker, then the ad should indicate this, not a Racist statement such as "Indians Only". It is highly offensive to people from the Western countries who have been through revolutions over the race issue, especially if you are a lot older than 19 years old and have a living memory of it.

    More thoughts?
     
    recraig2, Aug 14, 2011 IP
  5. GrandRoyal

    GrandRoyal Member

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    #5
    I think Indians work more for less pay, so that ad might have been targeting only them.
    And there are many freelance writers available who write articles to many blog marketers and article marketers for a low price,:cool:
     
    GrandRoyal, Aug 14, 2011 IP
  6. recraig2

    recraig2 Well-Known Member

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    #6
    Good point about Indians working for less pay, but many races do. In fact, though I am of a mixture of Indian and European stock and am a native English speaking American, I work for a lower rate because I am living in Poland. So the point is still inadequate for posting Racist ads.

    The ad should state "Low Pay Only", or something of the sort, not "Indians Only", which reads to everyone else "F@ck You!" It is very offensive! There are politer ways to get what you want. But if the guy is trying to hire only Indians because he is Indian and wants to give preferential treatment to his own people, this is illegal in most civilized nations and could get him fined, in some cases thrown in jail. There are good reasons these kinds of things are illegal.

    So I am not convinced yet. Maybe I am overlooking something.
     
    recraig2, Aug 14, 2011 IP
  7. saladflorida

    saladflorida Well-Known Member

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    #7
    well if you put it that way, i second your opinion
     
    saladflorida, Aug 14, 2011 IP
  8. GrandRoyal

    GrandRoyal Member

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    #8
    Are you sure that guy who ran that ad is from India ?
     
    GrandRoyal, Aug 14, 2011 IP
  9. recraig2

    recraig2 Well-Known Member

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    #9
    Actually, the guy's own Race is irrelevant.

    I have known white Americans who want to be black and try acting like what they think black people act like. One told me she hates being white. :-D She was a bit loose in the screws.

    You can be Racist in favor of people who are not your own Race. It is still Racism.

    When someone is Racist, though, they are more often Racist in favor of their own Race than of another.

    No matter how you look at it, Racism is Racism. It is the act that is Racist and does not depend on the Race of the Racist person. It depends on the heart.
     
    Last edited: Aug 15, 2011
    recraig2, Aug 14, 2011 IP
  10. recraig2

    recraig2 Well-Known Member

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    #10
    Look at the number of threads at the bottom, under "Similar Threads". :-D Ha! Digital Point is helping us find the very ones we are talking about.
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    recraig2, Aug 15, 2011 IP
  11. contentboss

    contentboss Peon

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    #11
    Indian writers are perceived as being cheap, yet having good English. Both assumptions may or may not be correct.
     
    contentboss, Aug 15, 2011 IP
  12. recraig2

    recraig2 Well-Known Member

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    #12
    True. They are not the only Race who meets that bill, though. So why not just say they are looking for cheap, good English and leave it at that? Why do these advertisers have to insult the rest of the world with their Racist demands?

    Let me hypothesize what I suspect is the case with some of these people. I think there are some with chips on their shoulders because they see other Indians who want the jobs that are advertized for native English speakers. These other Indians are turned down, in spite of their own confidence about their imperfect English. I believe that some of these ads may be attempts to compensate for this repeating incident. That is just a hypothesis.

    What do you think?

    Btw, I think many Indians I have met here have pretty good English. It's not perfect, but its good enough to write an article and then just have it edited briefly by a native speaker. It wouldn't take long at all to perfect it from the level most Indian writers write at.
     
    recraig2, Aug 15, 2011 IP
  13. averyz

    averyz Well-Known Member

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    #13
    Personally I think you are looking at this from a western point of view. A western point of view where the legal system is bolted, lawyers run rampant and have played the "race card" to the maximum extreme. I think DP is a global market and in most of the globe the whole race subject is different and actually takes much more to be classified as prejudice or racism. Places like India you have class systems where people are born servants, beggars, untouchables never to leave that state being or have the chance to be different because of their bloodlines.

    So the guy wants a writer from Indian, chief from Italy, tile setter from France. Is it really "racism" or is it just your viewpoint from a culture that is filled with a bloated legal system that warps and classifies every thing into a "racism" "hate crime" "bias motivated" and "prejudice" ?

    There are many reasons to have a writer from India, skill is probably not one of them (sorry if that sounds prejudice) banking and money transactions, knowing how to deal with the culture, knowing who to deal with the native language, similar hours, maybe they live in India and want to meet the people they have transactions with some day.
    Or maybe they are Indian and like to support fellow Indians. I guess a good lawyer could classify that one as prejudice or racism but many folks don't really care about western lawyers and their labels.
     
    Last edited: Aug 15, 2011
    averyz, Aug 15, 2011 IP
    tattoos and bogi like this.
  14. hdwills

    hdwills Well-Known Member

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    #14
    You are crying wolf! That is not racist. Most people in India think that only Indians can have bank accounts in India (which is true to an extent, if we are talking about personal - non corporate accounts). Ergo, if the person is paying in INR, he or she will want somebody with an Indian bank account and the belief that only Indians can have bank accounts in India probably made them write "Indians only". Couple that with the impression that Indian writers will work cheap and produce passable works and you have a plausible reason.

    The other reason might be that the person offering the job may have to communicate by phone with the writer. National and local calls in India are super cheap at 0.50 paisa ($0.01) to 1 Rs ($0.02) per minute, so it does not make sense in spending a hefty amount on international calls . Also the poster offering work might not be fluent in spoken english and feels self conscious and considers it a hindrance or becomes tongue tied while speaking english.
     
    hdwills, Aug 15, 2011 IP
  15. recraig2

    recraig2 Well-Known Member

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    #15
    To Averyz:

    From what you've described, nothing can be seen as racist. From your written perspective everything is merely a difference of culture and there are no human standards that should be applied across the globe. In other words, the conclusion from your statements is that there is no such thing as the human being. We have no connection and commonality. Love is not love and hate is not hate. Affection is not affection and disgust is not disgust. We cannot come to some basic level of human decency, by your written opinion. Is this what you really meant?

    Thank you hdwills. These are very insightful replies. However, I mean to judge the action, not the intention. We cannot know what he actually meant, but the words offered were clearly racist.

    If he is looking for someone who speaks fluent Hindi, he should say so, rather than making racist requirements. If he wants someone with an Indian bank account, he should say so, rather than making racist demands. If he wants someone to work for cheap, he should NOT limit it to people of only a certain race, since people from many parts of the world are willing to work for cheap. So far, I see no reason to make these racist demands on an ad in DigitalPoint. I still insist that these ads should warrant banning the advertiser.

     
    Last edited by a moderator: Nov 8, 2016
    recraig2, Aug 17, 2011 IP
  16. averyz

    averyz Well-Known Member

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    #16
    I think you read way to much into it. Kind of like you read too much into the Help Wanted ad.

     
    averyz, Aug 17, 2011 IP
  17. spujap

    spujap Active Member

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    #17
    Yeah if some one seeks services from people of a Particular nation, he has to clearly mention the reason. Valid reasons would be if he/she needs articles/services some how related to India or in Indian languages.

    And Indian bank accounts, it's never a problem. I think most of the people in DP use Paypal or any other online e-payment system as primary medium of payment, though some people still want to save PP Fees which is very less.
     
    spujap, Aug 17, 2011 IP
  18. parsibagan

    parsibagan Active Member

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    #18
    Chances are that he/she is running a local matrimonial website and wants someone who is familiar with Indian customs? Just my humble opinion, and I've been wrong in the past as well.
     
    parsibagan, Aug 17, 2011 IP
  19. recraig2

    recraig2 Well-Known Member

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    #19
    Yes, that is if they are looking for someone who is in a certain nation. This went further than that though by asking for people of a certain RACE and ONLY that race. He mentioned that he needed articles in English, as I said above. So, again, that leaves us with the irrevocable feeling that it is a racist ad.

    So are there or aren't there common human standards of decency? That is the issue YOU raised by justifying Racism in India based on cultural tradition.

    I'm not sure I would have used the class system in India as an example to show that Racism is sometimes acceptable, because it isn't purely about Race, is it? I think you went a bit weird there, but it is what you argued.

    Sometimes we don't know what we are actually saying, but we say it anyway.
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Nov 8, 2016
    recraig2, Aug 17, 2011 IP
  20. imranamen6

    imranamen6 Active Member

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    #20
    One more reason must be: Here in India people are more into entertainment like Bollywood and if the buyer want an article about a certain celebrity he could make some western people to write about it because he has no knowledge about it. There must be many reasons behind it.
     
    imranamen6, Aug 17, 2011 IP
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