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Comment by yummyfajitas | Hacker News Reader

In India, it's hardly unusual to make sexist or racist jokes at work. It's all in good fun and no one takes it seriously. This idea that everyone must be ultra sensitive and take jokes seriously is a cultural practice of the anglosphere (and perhaps a couple of other European nations).

The jokes made about me when I worked in India were along the lines of "no American jokes - he'll sue."

It does extend a bit beyond the US, but it's not remotely universal. Similarly, my remarks about Indian perception of babymommas and family values aren't restricted to India, but are certainly representative of a big cultural gap between India and the US.

Pretty much any logical justification one could provide would be hopelessly based on other cultural practices and ideas, though I'd love to hear you try to cook one up that isn't (you might surprise me).

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You're completely missing the point. Sexist and racist jokes shouldn't be acceptable anywhere, not in India, not in Europe, not in Sticksville, Stickscountry.

Acceptance is not the same as acceptability.

"Unwed mothers shouldn't be acceptable anywhere, not in India, not in Europe, not in the US."

This is simply a statement of a moral value. The fact that a certain group of people tend to agree with such a statement is a cultural thing.

You should choose your words more carefully. "Ignorant" implies a lack of knowledge, I believe "immoral" is actually the word you were looking for.

Nope, I definitely meant "ignorant". You have no idea what it's like to be a woman in technology, I'll bet, and your attitude is very indicative of this.

I didn't say anything about unwed mothers.

Once again, acceptance is not the same as acceptability. Just because sexist comments are accepted in India doesn't make such comments acceptable from a normative moral standpoint. The same thing can be said about your unwed mothers statement. Such a statement might be accepted somewhere, but shouldn't be acceptable.

I'm not quite sure what point you're trying to make about cultural things - you seem to be advocating some sort of moral relativism, is that correct? If so, then okay, but then we need to look at the context for the original comments, which is at a Danish Dell professional event, not India, or anywhere else. It's an environment where sexism and racism is not generally accepted, and where it is considered unacceptable, which is a good thing, from a moral evolution standpoint.

Perhaps India and its casual acceptance of sexism and racism has something to learn from its more morally enlightened neighbours.

You have no idea what it's like to be a woman in technology, I'll bet, and your attitude is very indicative of this.

What relevant facts do you believe I am unaware of, and how do those facts invalidate my reasoning?

Note that accusations of ignorance without actually demonstrating it usually fall into the realm of ad-hominem (i.e., a logical fallacy).

I'm not quite sure what point you're trying to make about cultural things - you seem to be advocating some sort of moral relativism, is that correct?

I'm not advocating any particular moral beliefs, you are.

I'm suggesting that the best way to understand these American attitudes on jokes/etc is to merely treat them as an American/western cultural/moral value rather than look for a logical basis for them. I.e., the same thing I'd suggest to Americans asking about Indian attitudes towards unwed mothers.

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