Bobby Jindal is tops in the Louisiana primary . The general election will be tougher, the two Democrats combined received more votes. This is in Louisiana, a state where David Duke won a majority of white voters several times in the early 90s. I think this result points to two things:
We overemphasize how important race is to voters (Duke won the white vote for more than racial reasons. Though racism might have been part of his appeal, he packaged himself as a pretty standard conservative)
And racial attitudes, like acceptance of homosexuality, have shifted at warp speed in the past 15 years. What was once the work of generations is now closer to a cycle of MTV V-jays.
Back specifically to Jindal-his possible victory points to a mode of assimilation for new non-white minorities, especially ones who are economically successful[1]-he is a conservative Christian (though the top google news site for "bobby jindal" is an Indian operation!). I assumed that Jindal’s family was Christian when they came to the United States when I saw it mentioned that he was a Roman Catholic-there are a non-trivial number of Catholics in India, and a disproportionate number of Indian immigrants are Christian. But tonight after a little googling, I found that Bobby Jindal converted to Catholicism from Hinduism in college. His Indian American wife, Supriya Jolly, is also of that faith, and they are raising their daughter as a Catholic[2]. Additionally, it is curious that "Bobby" gave himself that name when was 5, his "real" name is "Piyush." His brother Nikesh apparently does not go by "Nick."
Things that make you go hhhmmm…. I don’t deny Bobby Jindal is sincere, but becoming a conservative Catholic while you are majoring in public policy and seem on the fast-track to prominence, added to the fact you are from a predominantly Catholic region of the country, seems a bit fortuitous to me. I am all for assimilation, but I’d be lying if I didn’t say that Christian conversion as a path to acceptance kind leaves me a bit unenthusiastic. I’m not the only one (check out this funny cartoon, though as a sell-out & Republican I don’t agree with the substance of it-via Manish Vij). Bobby has been pushing his religious conservative creds by wooing the Christian Coalition (control-f "Christian Coalition") & speaking about the importance of the Ten Commandments. Oh, and Creationism in the public schools, from a guy who studied Biology in college & almost went to medical school! All the hot-button issues….
But Jindal is not my vision of the brown future. First, he’s married to a brown chick, which doesn’t foster the emergence of a Jeurasian class. Second, as a secular humanist, I’m a bit suspicious of religious traditionalists and their cosmic vision, though as a conservative & Republican I acknowledge their place of primacy on the American Right. Just as secularized Jewish intellectuals lost their Jewishness without becoming Christian, I envision the absorption of Western values & outlook by non-white non-Christian immigrants without necessarily becoming Christian. Personally, I think it’s probably an improvement if Muslims convert to Christianity, but I don’t see a great gain in Hindus converting, because that religion seems rather innocuous in comparison and more congenial to the liberal order[3].
If you read this blog frequently, I think you can intuit that a future for Asian immigrants where they maintain their racial identity and become conservative Christians is not my fantasy. Rather, I imagine a Jeurasian Reconstructionist/Episcopalian/Unitarian-Universalist/Brahmo Samaj/Zen Budddhist/Secular Humanist ethnos more defined by their broadly liberal values & mobility than race or religious devotion.
So Bobby, good luck, especially on the economic front, from one brown sell-out Republican to another. But you ain’t no brotha to me!
Update: Shanti posts on this issue. I put a comment over there. I want to reiterate that when I say Jindal is no brotha to me-it’s a rejection of a racialized (he looked up a brown chick when he moved to Louisiana when he could have dated anyone) and religiously focused (he’s a zealous convert, at least by appearance) life that seems to characterize the South-and which Jindal seems to be falling into the pattern of recapitulating. Please note that I’m not saying that southerners are racist. It’s easy to point fingers when you live in Imbler where most people are white so race isn’t an issue. I am deeply concerned about the racialization of California that is happening just across the border. I am a Republican and I’m satisfied that Jindal won, as a Republican, not as a brown guy.
Susanna in her comment seems to have misinterpreted me-I don’t want Jindal to hew to the old time religion (though Hinduism is not Druidism after all, not matter how pagan you think it-it is a viable world religion), rather, I would have preferred that he as a professional and educated South Asian would become a citizen of the bobo class. I know many people have problems with bobos-hell, most of them are too liberal and complacent about Islam for my tastes-but they are the closest thing to a people I have. I think bobos are natural defenders of the bourgeois liberal order and I want to see them prosper and multiply (and focus on their own personal life rather than railing against the traditionalist masses)…the crystallization of a South Asian identity, and the conversion of Hindus to Christianity, is an impediment to boboization. Therefore, I stand opposed.
Also, check out Susanna’s post Tell me about racist Republicans. I don’t think Republicans, especially the elite, is racist at all. They are somewhat classist, and also a bit anti-secularist, but those are different things alltogether. Steve Sailer is supposed to write a piece at some point about conservative Republicans marrying Asian women-when is that going to happen Steve? "Racism" is an overused word that has been devalued like "Fascist" or "Nazi." Perhaps we need a new term of abuse to heap upon "bigots"-oops, another overused word….
Update II: Another post on Jindal.
Update III: American atheist Republicans of Bengali origin seem to agree on Jindal.
fn1. To save you time-Jindal has degrees in Biology & Public Policy from Brown University and went on to be a Rhodes Scholar, yada, yada, yada. His brother graduated from Yale Law School and his father is an engineer (the only one of 9 siblings to graduate high school).
fn2. His parents are still Hindu.
fn3. Present fanatical outbursts excepted.
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