# Pitting PKBites **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [September 4, 2021, 12:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-pkbites/950075 "2021-09-04T00:42:15Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 23
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2022, 3:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-pkbites/950075/442 "2022-12-17T03:35:26Z")
I’m charitably assuming that he’s complaining about call centers based in India staffed by people with Indian accents, and not people of Indian ethnicity. It’s still an awfully offensive comment, though. ---
**Author:** ![Mighty\_Mouse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mighty_mouse/32/7776_2.png) [@Mighty\_Mouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mighty_Mouse)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2022, 3:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-pkbites/950075/443 "2022-12-17T03:52:03Z")
> [@puzzlegal](#): > > he’s complaining about call centers based in India staffed by people with Indian accents, I have worked with people with German accents, French accents, Polish accents, Romanian accents, Portuguese accents, etc. No one complains about their accents. But Indian accents are fair game. It’s racism. ---
**Author:** ![SmartAleq](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smartaleq/32/163_2.png) [@SmartAleq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SmartAleq)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2022, 3:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-pkbites/950075/444 "2022-12-17T03:56:50Z")
Yeah, that was definitely a cop’s idea of Being Clever. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2022, 4:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-pkbites/950075/445 "2022-12-17T04:03:33Z")
There are more trustworthy charities out there. Just sayin’. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2022, 4:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-pkbites/950075/446 "2022-12-17T04:06:55Z")
No one in America interacts regularly with call centers staffed with people with heavy Russian accents. I suspect many would complain if they did. I’m good at hearing accented English (and really bad at copying accents – i suspect the two are related) and i used to often have lunch with a friend who grew up in Russia. He’d go to the sandwich shop and ask for the chicken sandwich, from a list of 8 sandwiches, and the clerks couldn’t figure out what he wanted. I routinely “translated” for him. He told me his daughter often did the same. She immigrated as a young teen, and had a much less pronounced accent. Ignoring the accent, his English was terrific. He enjoyed reading American science fiction, and grew up doing so. He had an enormous vocabulary and his grammar was fine. His written English was nearly indistinguishable from a native American-English speaker. It was just the accent. And just the accent was crippling in a lot of interactions. But most Americans are never forced to interact with someone who speaks English with a Russia accent. Whereas a lot of us are forced to interact with people (often underpaid and poorly trained people) who speak English with an Indian accent. And a lot of Americans struggle with that. I agree that Americans have a falsely negative impression of call centers based on India. While some are terrible, I’ve been fortunate enough to get excellent user support from some. It varies a lot by company. But i think it’s a little more complicated than simple racism. That being said, that post might have been simple racism. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2022, 4:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-pkbites/950075/447 "2022-12-17T04:17:45Z")
“I don’t like talking to Indians” vs. “I have difficulty understanding Indian accents” come across as quite different statements to me. If I felt the latter, I would not phrase it as the former with no caveats unless I’m being brusque and don’t give a shit if I offend (and, honestly, am kind of hoping to offend some and call them out for being over-sensitive.) ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2022, 4:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-pkbites/950075/448 "2022-12-17T04:19:36Z")
No shit. The statement was incredibly offensive. ---
**Author:** ![Mighty\_Mouse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mighty_mouse/32/7776_2.png) [@Mighty\_Mouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mighty_Mouse)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2022, 4:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-pkbites/950075/449 "2022-12-17T04:31:03Z")
> [@puzzlegal](#): > > No one in America interacts regularly with call centers staffed with people with heavy Russian accents. I suspect many would complain if they did. The Indian people I hear getting shit about their accents aren’t in Bangalore or Hyderabad. They are right there on the same floor with a bunch of people from Central and Eastern Europe, whose English is in general a good deal worse and accents just as thick as their colleagues from South Asia. But the color of their skin protects them from abuse, I suppose. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2022, 9:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-pkbites/950075/450 "2022-12-17T09:20:29Z")
> [@puzzlegal](#): > > But i think it’s a little more complicated than simple racism. No, it’s not. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2022, 11:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-pkbites/950075/451 "2022-12-17T11:47:48Z")
> [@Mighty\_Mouse](#): > > > [@puzzlegal](#): > > > > No one in America interacts regularly with call centers staffed with people with heavy Russian accents. I suspect many would complain if they did. > > The Indian people I hear getting shit about their accents aren’t in Bangalore or Hyderabad. They are right there on the same floor with a bunch of people from Central and Eastern Europe, whose English is in general a good deal worse and accents just as thick as their colleagues from South Asia. > > But the color of their skin protects them from abuse, I suppose. Okay. Not my experience. I’ve actually done a lot of “English to English translation”, and never for an Indian. In my (limited) experience, Indians who live in America rapidly sound American enough to be easy to understand by other Americans, and I’ve never heard anyone complain about it. But maybe that’s because I’d scorn someone who did. If you are hearing those complaints, yeah, that’s racism you’re hearing. ---
**Author:** ![pkbites](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pkbites/32/204_2.png) [@pkbites](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pkbites)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2022, 1:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-pkbites/950075/452 "2022-12-17T13:10:01Z")
Unlike ALL of you I have actually been in a call center staffed by Indians. Mumbai, March of 2005. For the Indian people I have much affection. But I hate having to speak to one with a terrible accent I cannot understand on the phone. And companies in this country are only using them instead of employing Americans because it is cheaper. It is those companies you should be pitting. Beyond that, carry on. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2022, 1:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-pkbites/950075/453 "2022-12-17T13:11:12Z")
> [@pkbites](#): > > But I hate having to speak to one And you’ve been very clear about that. > [@Scammer calls. Does anyone actually fall for them?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scammer-calls-does-anyone-actually-fall-for-them/945018/194): > > For a guy that sounded exactly like Apu from the Simpsons this guy got pretty pissy. > [@Fucking stop sending my cellular directory assistance calls to India!](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fucking-stop-sending-my-cellular-directory-assistance-calls-to-india/255034/1): > > I am Gawd damn sick of having to talk to an Indian every time I use Directory Assistance on my U.S. Cellular cell phone. > [@What is the weirdest thing that you have ever mailed?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-weirdest-thing-that-you-have-ever-mailed/847348/48): > > {Stereotypical Indian accent} ---
**Author:** ![pkbites](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pkbites/32/204_2.png) [@pkbites](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pkbites)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2022, 1:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-pkbites/950075/454 "2022-12-17T13:17:12Z")
And yet if I made reference to an American with an ununderstandable southern twang it would be acceptable. The hatred exhibited on these boards is disgusting. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2022, 1:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-pkbites/950075/455 "2022-12-17T13:24:09Z")
> [@pkbites](#): > > The hatred exhibited on these boards is disgusting. On that, we can agree. ---
**Author:** ![Mighty\_Mouse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mighty_mouse/32/7776_2.png) [@Mighty\_Mouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mighty_Mouse)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2022, 1:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-pkbites/950075/456 "2022-12-17T13:38:27Z")
> [@pkbites](#): > > The hatred exhibited on these boards is disgusting. Our unwillingness to accept your belief that we are subhuman is so INTOLERANT! ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2022, 1:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-pkbites/950075/457 "2022-12-17T13:39:59Z")
How dare you not tolerate another’s intolerance. ---
**Author:** ![Mighty\_Mouse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mighty_mouse/32/7776_2.png) [@Mighty\_Mouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mighty_Mouse)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2022, 1:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-pkbites/950075/458 "2022-12-17T13:43:06Z")
I must be the real bigot. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2022, 1:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-pkbites/950075/459 "2022-12-17T13:52:37Z")
> [@pkbites](#): > > And yet if I made reference to an American with an ununderstandable southern twang it would be acceptable. If you’d said, “i hate talking to southerners” you’d get flack, too. That’s an obnoxious statement, whoever you are directing it to. But yeah, it’s worse to direct it at Indians, who get more shit than southerners. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2022, 2:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-pkbites/950075/460 "2022-12-17T14:03:55Z")
> [@pkbites](#): > > And yet if I made reference to an American with an ununderstandable southern twang it would be acceptable. We have a problem with real bigotry, and you have a problem with imaginary bigotry. ---
**Author:** ![Mighty\_Mouse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mighty_mouse/32/7776_2.png) [@Mighty\_Mouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mighty_Mouse)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2022, 2:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-pkbites/950075/461 "2022-12-17T14:04:31Z")
I’ve actually had to point out to my proudly progressive coworkers that just because someone has a southern accent, it doesn’t mean they are stupid. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-pkbites/950075.md?page=22) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-pkbites/950075.md?page=24)