Nice guys, rasmalai coffee, and Riz’s 007 pitch
Some of what I’ve been reading these last few weeks.
Issue #104
Hi all —
When nice is not nice:
Brown History — a fellow Substack publication I highly recommend and enjoy — recently published a piece from writer Nashia Malik about what she calls “Nice Guy Syndrome” among South Asian men. Malik writes about how kindness isn’t bad, but “the problem arises when niceness becomes a strategy rather than a character trait.”
While I don’t agree with many aspects of the essay and believe South Asian men and women shouldn’t be flattened to overly simplistic stereotypes, a piece that has you thinking for days after you read it is one worth sharing:
I really appreciated reading this honest perspective from a Brown woman — and it even got me reflecting on my own “nice” tendencies. But I also wondered these things:
At a time where we’re seeing toxic alpha male subculture — AKA the manosphere — run rampant across American society, I wonder if some young men misinterpret perspectives like this as an invitation to slide into another, far more dangerous extreme. There’s already evidence that some Gen Z men (defined as born between 1997 and 2012) hold quite regressive views on gender roles that are more traditional than even Baby Boomers.
There is always the tension of “not enough” in diasporic communities. Too desi? Too American? Too this? Too that? While I suspect that is not the explicit intention of pieces like this, I sometimes feel perspectives that position Brown peers as too <X, Y or Z> can unintentionally be silently coded as: Why can’t you be more white? Or in this case: Be more like white guys.
Curious what people think. Share your thoughts in the comments. (And be nice! Or not nice! Who knows what’s right these days…)
Speaking of Brown guys:
British actor Riz Ahmed is out with a new show, “Bait,” where he plays a British Pakistani actor auditioning for the role of James Bond. It’s quite meta, as the 43-year-old actor’s name has actually been tossed around in speculations about who could play Bond next.
It begs the question: Could the next James Bond be a non-white actor?
Some recent reviews of “Bait” reflect on that question and the show:
Mashable: “Riz Ahmed’s comedy series has us shaken, stirred, the whole lot”
Los Angeles Times: “Riz Ahmed’s marvelous comedy ‘Bait’ is built around a man in crisis, much like James Bond”
GQ: “Riz Ahmed’s ‘Bait’ puts a would-be James Bond to the test”
Thanks for joining the conversation,
Vignesh
Other interesting reads
Workers who helped build the BAPS Hindu temple in Robbinsville, New Jersey, spoke to the Guardian about alleged abuse, visa fraud and medical neglect, including concerns about lung disease caused by inhaling silica dust.
The New York Times’ reported on Jeffrey Epstein’s correspondence with Anil Ambani, the brother of South Asia’s richest man, Mukesh Ambani.
NBC News’ Kate Snow interviewed the Second Lady of the United States, Usha Vance, in a rare interview last week. They discussed topics ranging from Usha Vance’s change in political affiliation, how she advises the vice president, their soon-to-be fourth child, and inconspicuous runs to Costco.
A writer named Sameer M. writes in Brown History about his candid experience discussing a prenup and facing cultural taboos around it.
A recent Carnegie survey of Indian Americans reveals more about desi communities’ latest political beliefs and concerns.
Rapper Hanumankind (Sooraj Cherukat) spoke to the New York Times about his transition from a Goldman Sachs desk job to international musical stardom. Hanumankind, now in his 30s, was a global diasporic kid, having lived in Texas, Nigeria, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Dubai, Qatar and England, as the Times’ Alisha Haridasani Gupta reports.
Spotted on social
These days, I appreciate good coffee (especially filter coffee). And I love rasmalai.
So when wellness influencer Sid (sidandlisten) recently mashed the two flavors together in a rasmalai iced coffee recipe, I was captivated. Rasmalai coffee looks delicious for these warmer spring days and with summer on the horizon:
From the RWB archive
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