Updated January 14th, 2022 at 21:57 IST
US journalist blabbers ugly presumption about India on seeing Los Angeles garbage; slammed
NPR's correspondent Lauren Flayer on Friday invited the wrath of netizens by making a distasteful, racist remark against India on a Twitter video post
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American quasi-autonomous media outlet National Public Radio's (NPR's) correspondent Lauren Flayer on Friday invited the wrath of netizens by making a distasteful, racist remark against India. Flayer on her official Twitter handle shared a video shot by photojournalist John Schreiber in which he had given a ground report of Los Angeles train burglaries from Lincoln Heights. In the video, looted packages- Amazon packages, UPS boxes, unused Covid tests, fishing lures, epi-pens- can be seen lying all around the train tracks.
"At first glance, I thought this was India," Flayer captioned the shared video. It is pertinent to mention here that Flayers is NPR's correspondent to India.
At first glance, I thought this was India https://t.co/b4aP0Xzxes
— Lauren Frayer (@lfrayer) January 14, 2022
Netizens react to racist comments on India
As soon as the post was dropped on Twitter, netizens began to slam Flayer. A user, claiming to understand the feelings behind the tweet, underlined that it comes out as very rude to the Indians. "You could rather say it’s not USA," he said.
Another user who happened to be a foreigner underlined that she had been staying in India for the past 8 years, and never ever had any parcel stolen or anything else for that matter. "And I’ve seen worse looking and smelling places right in the middle of SF than anywhere around here. Let’s not even start of LA," she wrote, adding "I’m shocked you can take the hospitality of a country & then go and use it as a cheap prop for a negative comment about your own."
There were many others who questioned as to who was putting such a perspective of the country in her mind. "I think this attitude of casting aspersions of India being underbelly impoverished untidy looking place need a change," a user wrote while the other highlighted, "Why is it so difficult to imagine a similar state in the US?"
I think this attitude of casting aspersions of India being underbelly impoverished untidy looking place need a change. Westerners, colonial rulers, their medias have done enough damage to us, and we are not in a position to take it any further.
— Venkatesh 💙 (@vrishahi) January 14, 2022
How come? These kind of narratives are welded to your brain? By whom? How?
— SB Shetty 🇮🇳 (@sbshetty28) January 14, 2022
It is so difficult to imagine these things in your own country?
I’ve been living in India for almost 8 years now and never ever had any parcel stolen or anything else for that matter.
— Simi B Good (@SimiBGood) January 14, 2022
And I’ve seen worse looking and smelling places right in the middle of SF than anywhere around here. Let’s not even start of LA.
I understand the feelings behind this tweet but it comes out very rude to Indians like us. You could rather say it’s not USA.
— Mitesh (@rathodmitesh09) January 14, 2022
Now you have to realise @lfrayer that things are better in India than in the US. At least you can walk peacefully here without the fear of being shot or you can order something without the fear of things being stolen midway!
— jeet natwar trivedi (@jeettrivedi12) January 14, 2022
We accommodate a lot of dirt from around the world here in India. So thanks. 😬
— Dr. Chitta (@stspring) January 14, 2022
Now that you have seen the real US, I guess you will not make such statements in Future!
— V Gopalan (@TheGopalan) January 14, 2022
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Published January 14th, 2022 at 21:57 IST
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