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naraburns  nihil supernum  6d ago (text post)   4221 thread views

Quality Contributions Report for April 2026

This is the Quality Contributions Roundup. It showcases interesting and well-written comments and posts from the period covered. If you want to get an idea of what this community is about or how we want you to participate, look no further (except the rules maybe--those might be important too).

As a reminder, you can nominate Quality Contributions by hitting the report button and selecting the "Actually A Quality Contribution!" option. Additionally, links to all of the roundups can be found in the wiki of /r/theThread which can be found here. For a list of other great community content, see here.

These are mostly chronologically ordered, but I have in some cases tried to cluster comments by topic so if there is something you are looking for (or trying to avoid), this might be helpful.

Quality Contributions to the Main Motte

@naraburns:

@TitaniumButterfly:

@orthoxerox:

@charlesf:

@solowingpixy:

@OliveTapenade:

Contributions for the week of March 30, 2026

@Amadan:

@thejdizzler:

Contributions for the week of April 6, 2026

@birb_cromble:

@Rov_Scam:

@RandomRanger:

@BigObjectPermanenceShill:

@EverythingIsFine:

@OliveTapenade:

@ControlsFreak:

@IdiocyInAction:

@CrispyFriedBarnacles:

@SpringFish:

@Shakes:

Contributions for the week of April 13, 2026

@cjet79:

@faceh:

@RandomRanger:

Contributions for the week of April 20, 2026

@self_made_human:

@Rov_Scam:

@Bombadil:

@Amadan:

@CrispyFriedBarnacles:

@urquan:

Contributions for the week of April 27, 2026

@RandomRanger:

@MonkeyWithAMachinegun:

@AmrikeeAkbar:

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I console myself with the (true) fact that I am very, very far from the modal Indian, and that the complaints usually lobbed against them aren't applicable to me

Would you be willing to expand on this a little at some point? I've been grappling with some issues around this personally and some perspective from your side of things might help a lot.

When I was younger, I lived in several places that had notable Indian minorities, and that continued in college due to being in a technical major. Several of my closest friends in those times were first or second generation immigrants. In most cases, they weren't just American, but they felt more American than me. They flew the flag at home, played sports in school, participated in neighborhood cookouts (with mildly weird limits depending on where they came from originally), and did all the things you'd expect from somebody who really liked being in America. One of the best trap shooters I'd ever met hadn't ever fired a gun until he got his citizenship, but he started coming to meets as soon as he could because, in his words, "I'm an American now". Hell, in some ways it was aspirational for somebody like me. I figured that if families from a country as poor as India could manage to live the American dream, maybe a dumb redneck like me could too.

Lately, I've been interacting with the Indian diaspora in the US again and it feels completely different. It's mercenary and extractive. They all seem to want to make bank and go home, or terraform the surrounding area into India-but-not-in-India. The families don't try to integrate or assimilate at all. Kids keep their own cliques in school or go to private schools. Community events are almost entirely held within the diaspora.

Do you have any idea what's going on? It's caused a measure of cultural whiplash for me. I can't tell if it's a change in culture in India, or different social classes and subcultures immigrating, or changing views towards America, or what, but fuck me if it's not a noticeable difference.

Would you be willing to expand on this a little at some point? I've been grappling with some issues around this personally and some perspective from your side of things might help a lot.

I'm not sure what I can add, really. Perhaps it's clearer if I specify that I'm not like most Indians in India, or even most UMC, well-educated Indians. I don't share their politics, their ideologies, or even much of the culture. Back home, the number of people I considered to be on a similar intellectual wavelength could be counted on my fingers. I wouldn't even need both hands.

Abroad? I don't know dawg. I know a surprisingly small number of Indians in the UK, courtesy of living up north, where brown skin can be a mild curiosity. I don't even seek them out when I see them. In the US? How would I meet them by a route that isn't an online exchange?

I look Indian. I don't sound Indian. I don't act particularly Indian, beyond a fondness for biryani. I have little interest in, or engagement with, any popular form of Indian culture or media from home. I'm a Bay Area rat in spirit. I know more about American cultural trends and politics than I know about India, let alone the UK. I'm happy keeping it that way, unless I have a pragmatic reason to do otherwise.

Several of my closest friends in those times were first or second generation immigrants. In most cases, they weren't just American, but they felt more American than me. They flew the flag at home, played sports in school, participated in neighborhood cookouts (with mildly weird limits depending on where they came from originally), and did all the things you'd expect from somebody who really liked being in America. One of the best trap shooters I'd ever met hadn't ever fired a gun until he got his citizenship, but he started coming to meets as soon as he could because, in his words, "I'm an American now". Hell, in some ways it was aspirational for somebody like me. I figured that if families from a country as poor as India could manage to live the American dream, maybe a dumb redneck like me could too.

https://www.themotte.org/post/565/culture-war-roundup-for-the-week/116844?context=8#context

That's my post popular post on the Motte. Ever. So I can only presume that, if I were lucky enough to be in America, you'd describe me in much the same way as those other Indians you first knew. I envy them. They're living the life I wish I had. I consider myself to be a temporarily estranged American, by misfortune of birth and circumstances outside my control. But if wishing were horses, I'd have given PETA a heart attack and paved the Bering Strait with equine corpses to get there. Right now, I impatiently wait for future opportunities, while feeling barely suppressed rage at how my options were curtailed.

Do you have any idea what's going on? It's caused a measure of cultural whiplash for me. I can't tell if it's a change in culture in India, or different social classes and subcultures immigrating, or changing views towards America, or what, but fuck me if it's not a noticeable difference.

No clue. I don't even have solid speculation to share. I haven't been in the States after 9/11, and it might just be random chance that you just ran into people who happened to be less ideologically motivated and more in it for the money. To be fair, I'm also in it for the money too, American doctors make salaries that make me salivate, even after moving to the UK.

beyond a fondness for biryani.

Can you change my view that Biryani is just crappy fried rice?

You must have had bad biryani. This is understandable, since the best stuff is only truly available in India.

Even in the UK, I've struggled to find anything as good as what I was used to at home. The best I've found is acceptable, it's biryani-shaped and roughly tastes like biryani. And then the "Indian" restaurant I ordered from yesterday served it with peas.

Fucking peas. I haven't been as flabbergasted since I tried lasagna with peas in it. Why not just piss in my mouth instead? I'd probably enjoy that more, in all honesty.

Of course, there's regional variation. Pakistani biryani is different, so is the Afghan kind. There's like half a dozen other variants from India. The one I'm most fond of can't be found anywhere nearby, for love or money.

I believe @DirtyWaterHotDog mentioned finding actually appetizing biryani in the States, he might be able to guide you better.

Man... who the fuck serves biryani with peas? I'm not even Indian and I know that's a food crime. It reminds me of the SNL black jeopardy skit where they talk about a white woman making potato salad, and say "she probably put something unnecessary in, like raisins". You have my sympathies.

You sir, are a gentleman, a scholar, and possibly a gourmet too.

Yeah. British mushy peas can stay in the dishes where they belong.

At any rate, I love biryani lol. Without peas. We used to have a great biryani place here in town - if you went for lunch you could get biryani, the curry of the day, some boneless chicken appetizer, naan, and gulab jamun, all for only $12 or so. Truly the restaurant of the gods. Unfortunately they went out of business, and I've yet to find anything on their level since. Probably good for my body, but less good for my soul.

if you went for lunch you could get biryani, the curry of the day, some boneless chicken appetizer, naan, and gulab jamun, all for only $12 or so.

Unfortunately they went out of business,

I'm not a restaurateur, but I think I can draw the line between these two statements.

Perhaps. But they were in business for years and years with the lunch special, so I have a hard time envisioning that it was that which did them in.

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