E-MAIL THIS ARTICLE
	PRINT THIS ARTICLE
	MOST POPULAR ARTICLES

In the United States, there seems to be 2 groups of Desi youth, who dress and act differently, but come from the same family background.  You have those kids who follow Indian films religiously, dressing and acting like their favorite actors or actresses, wearing sunglasses and John Travolta sized dressed shirts on the hottest of days, and then you have those you have all but forgotten where they come from.  You've seen em, in the malls, movie theaters, and all of the Desi events and functions.  You know, the "Indian Thugs," the gangsters that walk around in groups of 5-6, all with long medallions hanging from their necks, baseball caps turned to the side, bandannas tied around their head like broke down versions of Tupac Shakur.  Do these kids even look in the mirror before they leave the house?  And what exactly are they trying to prove by acting and dressing like street thugs?

While I was at a Desi event last weekend, one of these so called "thugs" walked by me at the bar and what was interesting about this kid, outside of the ridiculous outfit he had on, something didn't seem right with his demeanor and aura.  You know, when someone is really who they are, you can tell.  When a person walks by and is comfortable in what they're wearing and presenting, we can pick up on that, but this kid in particular kept fidgeting with his NY baseball cap.  As I remained at the bar, watching him and the rest of his "goons," he kept playing with his hat, first it was backwards, then a minute later it was sideways, then it was in the frontal position.  Not only that, but 2 of the kids had bandannas on with hair that was so slicked up in hair gel, you could almost see you reflection in the back of their heads.  So to the Indian thugs/gangsters/my Dad's a doctor but Ill still kick your ass wannabe middle class Desi "thugs," you're the fakest of the fake. If anyone had the slightest bit of time to dissect your whole background, it wouldn't take long to dismiss you as wannabe thugs in need of a serious hug.

But just to be fair, I realized that the problem with these kids lies in the fact that 1st and even 2nd generation born kids here in America are totally disconnected from their family and heritage.  While the majority of our parents are working in the medical, IT, and engineering fields, the children have no way to connect to their parents as to the issues involving them in their own lives, and ultimately become confused about who they are.  In some strange way, the thugged out image is a defense mechanism, used to keep those who don't know these "thugs" at bay, so that we may never ask, "Hey whats your REAL name?  Where do you REALLY live?  What do your parents REALLY do for a living?" Through this tough guy/gangster image, the real issue seems to be that many Desi youth are either embarassed about who they really are, or are totally lost as to who they want to be.

So for those of you walking around, with the huge cubic zirconia medallions, acting "gangsta" and pledging allegiance to "Thug Life" because you're "keepin' it real," remember one thing.  Real thugs and gangsters don't have to walk around like they're tough, real tough guys do the ass kicking and worry bout their looks later.  And stop with the bullshit, fake medallions that we all know came from that mom & dad jewelry stand in the middle of the mall, you know the ones where you can get a whole set of "fake thug jewelery" for $25.  We know it's fake, you know it's fake, so for everyone's sake be yourself, be proud of of who you are and you heritage, and study hard for the upcoming MCATs, mom and dad make too much money for you to be "hood rich."