And then it happened.
As the connection with the call center operator was terminated by the impatient hero, someone to my right laughed out:
Now, I'm inclined to give Matt Groening the benefit of the doubt. Let's assume that he was unaware that this would be the reaction to his caricature. So let's overlook the Computer Science Ph.D. and assume that it's not deliberate stereotyping.
Moving on to the 7-Eleven/Kwik-E-Mart promotion. Given that we know now that this phrase is used in everyday language to ridicule and deride desis, I cannot help but be absolutely repulsed by the fact that 7-Eleven is actually paying Indians to say, "Thank you, come again". The repercussions of this on how the desi community is perceived by American mainstream society will be extremely damaging. It's almost equivalent to paying a member of any minority - be it Black-American, Asian-American or whatever - to have themselves say to a customer "Sir, please call me [insert racial slur here]".
I could just overlook the issue and say that it's just a cartoon, and a satire. And, to be perfectly honest, I wouldn't be wrong. But given that I know all this, and have borne the brunt of it, I feel compelled to write something about it and, if nothing else, at least raise some awareness about it.
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