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Notes -
I think this is somewhat out of date. For most people nowadays, they're far more likely to associate "Indian" with Rajit from IT than Apu from the Simpsons. I also tend to associate gas stations with Sikhs specifically (I have no idea if this actually reflects the demographics or not), who I think generally have a better reputation in the US than other Indians. (My understanding is that they were disproportionately represented in earlier waves of migration and tended to be better integrated into the British imperial system, which has eased assimilation, though I might be typical-minding based on my own experiences here).
Americans also have a much higher opinion of small business owners who sleep in the back of the shop to make ends meet than professional class strivers "taking away" their children's college spots. The immigrant gas station owner defending his business with a .45 magnum is an American icon, beloved by all red-blooded patriots (see, e.g., roof Koreans). The H1B immigrant working at google, by contrast, comes across as an ungrateful interloper undercutting American wages while working for a despised megacorp.
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