Why do americans or people from the west...?

Question

Why do americans or people from the west or countrys technicaly and economically advanced, think that India as a country has just illiterate people or Indians are dumb? Why talk so cheaply about a country or its people when one doesnt know anything about it? Is it that you all economically or technologically advanced that you consider that these asian countrys or countrys like iraq/pak/afganstan/ so on and all..... and their people are just dumb? i noticed just few hours back on yahoo answers, one person asking why indians have so many people in their family, and many people reply so dumb replys, like people in india arent educated, or doesnt know what contraceptives are or doesnt know what or how to use condoms, ok people if u think you all are that smart? then first do a detailed study on India or such Countrys then talk about it or criticize it, or so on...

I am not blaming or criticizing americans or west people, i am just talking about the people who have such mind sets :)
No offence or hatred against anyone on planet earth from my side, i love and like everyone equally,

Answer 1

Well, some of it is prejudice, but you do have to bear in mind a lot of people only really know about India through what they are exposed to in the course of their education, and through the media. I couldn't tell you for sure how it is in India, but at least in the United States, educational materials tend to have a historical bent to them (so we get a much more detailed picture of India's past than we really do its present), and the media is far more likely to report problems around the world than it is to report all the good things going on.

So, the impression that filters through to many people is one of an overpopulated India where people don't have decent homes, enough food, clean water, or adequate clothes. We see mostly the parts that are underdeveloped, that are impoverished and where the people are suffering.

Is that a fair and accurate impression of India? Of course not, and Indians should be angry their country is largely portrayed that way... but you do have to remember a lot of the ignorance of other people is just that. It's ignorance, and let's face it, not knowing something isn't enough to understand you don't know it. For all they know, that's an accurate portrayal of your country and they've been apprised of the salient facts.

Unfortunately, the most consolation I can genuinely offer is to say India's not the only country which has such problems. Just about every country out there becomes more and more misunderstood the more distantly its related to another country. Even the United States has that problem.

Answer 2

Keep in mind this is hardly the forum for global politics. Also keep in mind the average age of the people that answer most of the questions on here. Considering the vast majority of the questions/answers revolve around how one gets a member of the opposite gender to go out with them, you probably arent going to find a lot of deep discussions on things going on around the world. So you may want to at least try and learn about the audience you are bashing before doing exactly what you are critizicing others of doing and generalizing whole groups.

Answer 3

OMG U R SOO RIGHT...

myself an indian... hav seen the stupidest answers relating to our cntry..... G-D ppl r so.... ignorant
i remeber an answer where smbody is sying "well, they can understand us,uk,australia,canada having international yahoo answers sites (this was b4 taiwan s.korea,japan all came) but why there is site frn india.like do they have bunch of BPO ppl making this site???...

i gues the only thing this ppl knw is bpo,poverty,illiterate come to my state and u will hav more literate ppl than( ur school dropouts) cntry ...
and yes i 4got..SNAKE_CHARMERS and elephant ... and wonder whatelse...

(yes, these all r part of our cntry and not need to be ashamed abt it too..)
hopefully by 2020 the least,, as our leaders put it , ppl will be aware abt asian cntries lke china,india..and our neighbourhood cntries...

sorry if i seem rude , but i find ignorance of ppl in this site abt our cntry , admirable...

definitely they hav no ideas abt our cntry and thats why they ar soooo ignorant...
when u see the answers itselkf, u understand that they hav no idea

yes, we hav a long way to go , there is no doubt abt it...
it is kind of true that almost 70% of our population belongs to villages... and also there is poverty....
but "big family" , my family comprise of 4 ppl... i wonder if that is big famiy???

Answer 4

I think part of the problem is that most of the news we get in the west about India usually involves something like "wife burning"or some other sensational piece of news that most of us in the west consider barbaric or backwards.The fact that our own news contains acts just as terrible gets ignored most of the time.

Answer 5

I dont' know a single person like that. But Americans (might) think that iraq people (or atleast some iraq people) are dumb because they thought they could defeat good old America in a war :).

Answer 6

That is pathetic that people are actually do that. If any of you people that are doing that, read this . . . . obviously you are uneducated yourselves, or ignorant as I like to say. If you think I am being a b*tch, look up the word ignorant. You are if you are racist in any way.
- A 22 year old 'white chick' who is sick of racial profiling.

Answer 7

Americans know next to nothing about other cultures. It's sad but true. The American system of education is in bad shape.

Answer 8

Hon, You are doing what they are doing.

You are putting us all into a category..

I don`t think that way and lot`s of other people don`t think like that.. There are good and bad in all of us.. Don`t let them turn you into one of them.. Don`t hate.

We must stop the hate.. let`s start it here.
Let me apologize to you and others for the hatefulness some folks display to others.

Hate hurts the hater too.. We were all made different and unique and special.. It is OK to be unique and special.. I quite like it... {:-)

Hugs to ya, from Texas... God bless

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Answer 9

Those people just don't know it any better, because they chose to be close-minded and are judgemental about things they have no idea about.
Stupidity might be one word to describe it

Answer 10

some americans prefer to drive their intelligence with insanity.

I am an american, and I have enjoyed friendships with people from India, and they have left me overwhelmed with fascination.

But, you are right. Many Americans wait sooooo long to expand their perspectives beyond their own borders...