Original URL: http://headlines.sify.com/1645news1….not~amused~by~’racist’~doll
‘Mr Patel’, a politically-incorrect doll manufactured by a US company, has angered Indians in America.
When smacked on the head, the turban-clad doll talks in a sing-song “Indian accent”. The recorded messages range from “Don’t talk like that in front of my back” and “Hamburger. Everything on it, please, but no beef” to more explicit, unprintable messages.
Manufactures JDK products were forced to change one of the most outrageous messages “In my country, we would have already killed you already” after some customers complained that the message – combined with Mr. Patel’s turban – recalled Osama bin Laden. The message now says: “I do not believe in expiration date. It is always good!”
Spokespersons of JDK Products, however, laughed away allegations of racism. President Jay Kamhi told a newspaper, “Maybe somebody’s going to die of laughter, but that’s it! It’s ludicrous.”
“We played the doll’s recorded messages for Indians of all religions. They were excited about the doll, and we had only a five to ten percent negative reaction,” Kamhi said.
The look of the doll – which sports a Punjabi turban and a bindi, though the two would not normally be worn together and definitely not by a Gujarati named Patel – is part of the joke, said Kamhi
Other Indians, however, were not so amused. Ajay Shah of American Hindus Against Defamation told India-West that “Mr. Patel perpetuates a stereotype that goes beyond ridicule”.
“What would be the impact of this doll on the school children with the last name Patel? Would they be taunted … and when they protest, will they suffer physical harm?”
“Are the manufacturers of this doll ready to accept the legal and moral liability that will inevitably result from the physical and emotional harm caused to the Hindu community?”
Samples of the Mr. Patel doll, priced at $10.50, can be found online at trashtalkerdoll.com.