Incredible India

[k374]

Originally Posted by 60-minutes-II

No, there is no comparison between the two. When the poor in the US start to drink rainwater from the streets then we can begin to compare. Until then, there is no comparison from the poor here to the poor in India.

Sorry, but the comparison is the same. Homeless and hungry is the same everywhere, be it India or the US. The percentages may be greater in India but the poverty is the same. How is it different when you see a person in a cardboard box, tattered clothes, no food to eat on Olympic Blvd in Los Angeles and the person in the same state in India? Both people are equally poor. When you reach a certain low you can't get any lower than that!

I have lived in India extensively so I think I know it better than you People do not drink rainwater from the streets there, even in villages there are pumps and borewells that deliver freshwater, c'mon you are just being extremely ignorant.

If you think there isn't shocking poverty in the United States you are just in denial

[60-minutes-II]

Originally Posted by k374

Sorry, but the comparison is the same. Homeless and hungry is the same everywhere, be it India or the US. The percentages may be greater in India but the poverty is the same. How is it different when you see a person in a cardboard box, tattered clothes, no food to eat on Olympic Blvd in Los Angeles and the person in the same state in India? Both people are equally poor. When you reach a certain low you can't get any lower than that!

I have lived in India extensively so I think I know it better than you People do not drink rainwater from the streets there, even in villages there are pumps and borewells that deliver freshwater, c'mon you are just being extremely ignorant.

If you think there isn't shocking poverty in the United States you are just in denial

I've been in India and have SEEN IT MYSELF. You are just being extremely ignorant to believe that you have been the ONLY ONE whose been in India.
There is shocking poverty everywhere the only difference here is that you can get away from poor people. However, in India you can't. They are everywhere and make the majority. There is no escaping the extreme poverty where the people have their trash all piled outside of their homes and the ugly buildings(excluding New Delhi there at least the areas i saw).

[k374]

Originally Posted by 60-minutes-II

I've been in India and have SEEN IT MYSELF. You are just being extremely ignorant to believe that you have been the ONLY ONE whose been in India.
There is shocking poverty everywhere the only difference here is that you can get away from poor people. However, in India you can't. They are everywhere and make the majority. There is no escaping the extreme poverty where the people have their trash all piled outside of their homes and the ugly buildings(excluding New Delhi there at least the areas i saw).

I didn't deny there is shocking poverty in India, not once did I deny it. I just said shocking poverty exists everywhere, even in the United States, I have seen it with my own eyes on skid row here in Los Angeles.

In any case, I didn't want to start a heated debate here... I just wanted to point out that every place has it's negatives but it doesn't mean there isn't a wealth of positives to experience. I wanted to point this out because a poster mentioned that it was an appalling place to visit because of the poverty which I took offense to.

[sponger42]

I never said it was "appalling" place to visit. I said it was my "least favorite."

I don't understand why India is the way it is, considering they've had years and years of peace. They are industrializing and I'm sure the living standards are rising. However, there are spotless shopping malls for the robber barons and their kids right next to fly and feces filled slums for the poor displaced from their countryside farms. And there are security guards everywhere to make sure the desirables don't have to mix with the undesirables.

You see something similiar in countries like Cambodia, but with years under the yolk of French Colonialism (and neglect) followed by the American War spilling over from Vietnam, followed by the horror of the Kmer Rouge (spelling, I know), Cambodia still seems to have less of a desparity between rich and poor--everyone seems to be enjoying the benefits of the recent period of peace and prosperity--barring the royal family and other corrupt officials, of course.

I think I have to chalk it up in one part to the negative influence of British Colonial rule and in another part to the nature of Hinduism which allows people to believe that you are reborn into a certain status and so those in poverty "deserve" to be there based on their actions in a past life.

Anyway, India isn't a bad place to visit. You can spend USD 50 or 100 per day and live like a king, never having to deal with the great unwashed defecating on the rail track right-of-way every morning before going off to a day of hard hot labor. But, if you visit and try to mingle with the locals, you might find it a little shocking if you're not used to the face of true poverty.

Again, it really is "Incredible India."

[sponger42]

To be fair, I re-read my post and I did use the word "appalling", but I was talking about the difference between rich and poor in India. While the difference may be greater in the US, those numbers are skewed by the enormous wealth of America's rich and do not take into account the numerous local charities within the US set up to help the destitute.

While there are indeed many charities in India, my perception after visiting is that a significant portion of them are foreign NGO's and that homegrown charity in India is less in the forefront of the middle and upper-middle (and upper) classes minds than perhaps it should be.

Again, all this is IMO. If you visit on a package tour, are sent there by your company (who will then probably provide you with nice stipends for comfortable living), stick to the rent-a-temples on some sort of "spiritual pilgrimage", or spend some extra to be ferried around by private companies, (all very common ways to visit the subcontinent) you will definately see a different side of India than we did.

[ihynes]

I would love to visit India, warts and all.