I had been to an Indian Cultural festival meet very recently. The sight of washrooms reminded me of the public washrooms in India.

Why can't we clean up after our "acts & ablutions " correctly here in Canada. I understand that back in India the population pressure, water scarcity, illiteracy were the principal causes which lead to dirty washrooms. Not here. I saw one person blow his nose - out comes a snot and he cleans his hand on the wall. When I asked him why he did that - he just smiled and walked away.

I think we need to have civic sense.

The other day I was at the Hindu temple. A car was parked on the Fire Route.. When I called on the PA system and asked the lady whose vehicle it was to move the vehicle to the vacant parking lot , she simply smiled and continued to do what she was doing. Only when I threatened to call 911 did she bother to get the vehicle parked in the parking lot. Why this chalta hai attitude. Why do we accept this?

I think we lack discipline.


Any suggestions on how we can improve / cultivate a better civic sense and discipline? Expect people to come up with their suggestions/ experiences to make this place better for us, our children and others.

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A CANADIAN INDIAN

"WHAT??? HOW DARE YOU MAKE FUN OF DESIS? HOW DARE YOU SAY ANYTHING AGAINST US? THESE GORAS (FIRANGIS) ARE DIRTY TOO. WHAT ABOUT THAT??? THE OTHER DAY I SAW SOME GORA PUT A FINGER IN HIS NOSE WHILE EATING. THESE FIRANGIS HAVE COME AND ROBBED OUR COUNTRIES, SO WHY SHOULD WE NOT SPIT IN THEIR COUNTRIES?? WE HAVE THOUSANDS OF YEARS OF CULTURE, WHAT DO THESE FIRANGIS HAVE???

ARE YOU SOME RACIST??? YOU SELLOUT WANNABE CANADIAN!!!!" etc etc.

That's not how I feel, by the way . I think you're making a very valid point and highlighting something we lack pathetically as a community. But that's the reaction you'll get from many desis when you mention stuff like this. The other most common reaction is indifference.

The roots are planted in India for sure. Although things are changing there these days and the number of people with a broader outlook has gone up quite a bit, the majority still only follows rules if they're going to be arrested for not doing so.

I was in India recently and I saw numerous examples of this. Case in point, I was at the ticketing office of a local airline. When I went in, the employee behind the counter was entering something into her computer. She did not look up so I assumed she was in the middle of something. I figured I'll wait till she's done. After about a minute of waiting, I was losing my patience and this girl's still engrossed in her computer. And then another guy walks in. He sees me waiting there but what does he care! Just bypasses me and starts talking to the girl as she's typing. She stops doing her work and starts attending to him. I was absolutely FURIOUS. Called the manager and complained. He did reprimand the girl, but I doubt if that will make any difference.

"THIS IS BECAUSE OF POPULATION!!!!"

Yeah yeah, whatever! And there are so many other examples like this that I'll just boil my blood if I recount them. (Let me also add here that I ALSO met some very nice people who filled me with hope for India. And overall my trip was super and I had a ball. But these things did happen. )

I think many people bring the same mentality here. Its the "Mere baap ka kya jata hai?" kind of attitude. And many actually feel themselves to be superior beings because of this attitude.

At temples, like you correctly pointed out, there are specific rooms for putting shoes. But you'll always see a bunch of shoes outside in the way. And even though there's plenty of parking space usually, cars are always parked in non-designated parking spots. Signs specifically mentioning that "Kids should not be running around the temple, it is a place of worship." But there's always kids runnig around and parents just watching them and smiling with pride, all this while puja is going on. "Yeh hamara pappu bada hi chalaak hai!! Engineer banega!" says the expression on their face. And you can see the poor pujari getting frustrated but trying to keep his cool.

I think one of the major factors for this is lack of discpline for sure. But another one you did not mention is EGO. A lot of people don't follow rules because they think that makes them inferior to others. They just don't get the big picture. And when they manage to abuse the system, they think "Look how I fooled these stupid Canadians!!!"

"YOU ARE A TRAITOR !!!!! A DISGRACE TO THE COMMUNITY!! WE WILL SPEND A LIFETIME POINTING OUT OTHER PEOPLE'S FAULTS, BUT WE WILL NOT CHANGE OURSELVES!!"

Suit yourself. Remember, your kids are watching you.

The biggest problem with this all? People who want to follow the rules are left feeling like idiots when they try. And eventually they just give up and join the mayhem.

Suggestions?

1) We should start with ourselves. Whether in India or in Canada, try to follow rules. Read the posted rules and follow them yourself. Regardless of whether someone's watching or not.

2) If you see a fellow desi breaking the rules, please point out politely the fact. If that does not work, follow up with more concrete action.

3) Teach your kids the value of learning and following the rules.

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Why is this thread in jobs?

Canadian Desi > General > Jobs > Civic Sense & Discipline

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I agree lets start with ourselves. In bombay when I was still a teeneager, something I learnt from my gf(now promoted to wife) was to keep all the littter like bus tickets/wrappers etc in my pocket and empty them back home in the garbage. It sounds futile in a place like bombay but sometimes it takes only the littlest of acts. If we were in India now I know our kids would have the same habits. But what do I know I'm just a white wannabe without any sanskar and I do not wear a kurta often enough
One more suggestion...and I know I'll face bricks for this. Lets stop refering to other races/cultures/people in a negative way or stereotyping. Then we can expect others to do the same for us. It only gives us a false sense of superiority. Clean ourselves inside and out.

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Thanks Raj. I've moved it now.

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BL,

My apologies,got it into the wrong folder. Thanks for moving it into the designated folder.

I have nothing against any particular community/ race/ religion. - it was just an example that I came across and thought of putting it down.

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A CANADIAN INDIAN

Sudhish,

I was just being sarcastic when I was screaming, hope you got that. . As a matter of fact, I think you've brought up a really good point and I agree completely with what you said.

Maybe I'm being a bit too critical, but its only because its about my community. I would like to hold us to a higher standard, higher than any body else, whether whilte or black. I don't care what X or Y does, let us adopt this discipline.

And there are many amongst us who have. Sometimes when I'm frustrated about a few people jumping the line (and feel like doing it myself), I notice someone waiting his turn with a serene calm. And it is from people like this that I learn.

I don't think the people breaking the rules or the people following them are necessarily bad people. The guy who didn't park in the right place will probably offer me his lunch if I approach him while he's eating. You won't see that in any other communities except the desi communities. We have a kind of warmth in our community which I'm hard-pressed to find anywhere else. I hope we append this discipline attribute to that, rather than try to become exactly like someone else.

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