I'm NOT White, Should I be a Dentist?

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Hi, I am really considering going into dentistry. I am Indian but born in this country. From what I have seen, there seem to be very few successful Indian dentists around, but TONS of successful Indian doctors. Most successful dentists seem to all be white or Asian.

so my question: Do you think me being Indian could (1): reduce the amount of people who would come to see me and/or (2): majorly put my chances for being successful in jeopardy?


Please no smart-ass comments, this is a serious topic.. I REALLY WANT TO BE A DENTIST!!

Scroll down I have posted some additional concerns.


Thank you!!!

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Hi, I am really considering going into dentistry. I am Indian but born in this country. From what I have seen, there seem to be very few successful Indian dentists around, but TONS of successful Indian doctors. Most successful dentists seem to all be white or Oriental.

so my question: Do you think me being Indian could (1): reduce the amount of people who would come to see me and/or (2): majorly put my chances for being successful in jeopardy?


Please no smart-ass comments, this is a serious topic.

Thank you.

I disagree with you. I know several VERY successful indian dentists (and they do not live in areas saturated with other Indians). One of the most successful orthodontists I know is Indian. I do think that more often than not, Indians go to medical school rather than dental school when deciding about pursuing a healthcare related field.

I think you need to follow your heart and do what you want to do. When you chose what you want to do, you ensure you are happy going to work everyday and that leads to better treatment for your patients and more success in the long run.
 
your race won't matter if you are set on becoming a good dentist. in fact, many people feel more comfortable visiting a dentist of their own race so this might work to your advantage if you really think there are so few successful Indian dentists (which I don't believe to be true at all!).

you might want to stay away from the word "Oriental" and start using "Asian" before you offend anyone. this is not a "smart-ass comment" ... just fyi.
 
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Hi, I am really considering going into dentistry. I am Indian but born in this country. From what I have seen, there seem to be very few successful Indian dentists around, but TONS of successful Indian doctors. Most successful dentists seem to all be white or Oriental.

so my question: Do you think me being Indian could (1): reduce the amount of people who would come to see me and/or (2): majorly put my chances for being successful in jeopardy?


Please no smart-ass comments, this is a serious topic.

Thank you.


Thats the dumbest post ever my boy is Indian third year student and guess what because there arent many Indian dentist's he's going to have monopoly on the Indian patients in his community.
 
Hi, I am really considering going into dentistry. I am Indian but born in this country. From what I have seen, there seem to be very few successful Indian dentists around, but TONS of successful Indian doctors. Most successful dentists seem to all be white or Oriental.

so my question: Do you think me being Indian could (1): reduce the amount of people who would come to see me and/or (2): majorly put my chances for being successful in jeopardy?


Please no smart-ass comments, this is a serious topic.

Thank you.

Oriental, what the hell!!!!!!!
 
This is one of the saddest and most upsetting posts I've ever seen...
 
Indians are all over the place now, but they still obsess over other brown people as if this is 1962 and there's only 3 other Indian families in a 100 mile radius. Especially the older Indians. I can't tell you how many times I've been out with my family and had random Indians come over just to talk about how we're all Indian and what's going on in the mother land, even though there's a gazillion of us in the area now. I know you know what I'm talking about. And there are so many Indians like us who are born and raised in the US and are totally Americanized, and still the vast majority of their friends and people they associate with are Indian.

Since most Indians go into medicine, it means that you, as one of the few Indian dentists, are going to attract all the Indian people in your area who need dental care. As for everyone else, I would hope that in the year 2009 and beyond, that people won't discount you just because of your race.

I wouldn't worry about it
 
Are you saying that patients won't come to/stay with you because they: 1) Recognize your name is of Indian origin or 2) will see you are of Indian origin when you treat them?
 
I think this post hit the proverbial "nail on the head" IMO.

I think it give a perfect example of why so many people of all races, cry "race" when things dont work out their way. Now before you think I am going the smart arse route, please hear me out.

If you want to be a dentist, then go be a dentist.

But if you keep this mental attitude of "well since I'm a (insert your race here), I wont be successful" - then you probably wont be successful. As a dentist or at any other career path you decide on.

It sickens me to no end to hear over and over again things like "I didnt get hired because I was (insert race here)." These people dont get hired because they think they are not going to get hired because of their race... and their piss-poor attitude shows through in the job interviews.

If you do good work as a dentist, why in the world wouldn't people send their friends and family members your way? Because your are Indian? That's rediculous. That's sterotyping all the other races as being racist - which in and of itself is being racist, is it not?
 
This is the most ridiculous thought I've ever heard. Your race has nothing to do with being successful. Other than that, if you think not a lot of dentists are Indian, come on man, you will then be considered minority/ special which would then boost up your chances getting into dental schools! Also, you were born here man. What the heck !
 
This is the most ridiculous thought I've ever heard. Your race has nothing to do with being successful. Other than that, if you think not a lot of dentists are Indian, come on man, you will then be considered minority/ special which would then boost up your chances getting into dental schools! Also, you were born here man. What the heck !

First of all, you can maybe reword your TITLE so people will have more respect for you about this discussion. By posting something like that just totally sounds unprofessional and not many people will take you serious.

Second of all, yes just like everyone else is saying on here. It doesn't really matter what your race is. If you are able to provide excellent care, then why shouldn't people come to you? Just be positive and do your best in your school and the DAT. Things will work out. Good luck to you!
 
Learn Spanish and be a dentist for Mexicans. They'll go to you b/c they got no choice.
 
I agree 99.999999% except I am fairly sure I know that being black helped me get an interview at Howard. I know many other people who had better everything but they were rejected without an interview.

I think this post hit the proverbial "nail on the head" IMO.

I think it give a perfect example of why so many people of all races, cry "race" when things dont work out their way. Now before you think I am going the smart arse route, please hear me out.

If you want to be a dentist, then go be a dentist.

But if you keep this mental attitude of "well since I'm a (insert your race here), I wont be successful" - then you probably wont be successful. As a dentist or at any other career path you decide on.

It sickens me to no end to hear over and over again things like "I didnt get hired because I was (insert race here)." These people dont get hired because they think they are not going to get hired because of their race... and their piss-poor attitude shows through in the job interviews.

If you do good work as a dentist, why in the world wouldn't people send their friends and family members your way? Because your are Indian? That's rediculous. That's sterotyping all the other races as being racist - which in and of itself is being racist, is it not?
 
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Hi, I am really considering going into dentistry. I am Indian but born in this country. From what I have seen, there seem to be very few successful Indian dentists around, but TONS of successful Indian doctors. Most successful dentists seem to all be white or Oriental.

so my question: Do you think me being Indian could (1): reduce the amount of people who would come to see me and/or (2): majorly put my chances for being successful in jeopardy?


Please no smart-ass comments, this is a serious topic.

Thank you.
I dont think your race/ethnicity has all that much to do w/ success (or not) in dentistry. Open your eyes and look around, there are plenty of Indians around (I am one too).
 
I agree 99.999999% except I am fairly sure I know that being black helped me get an interview at Howard. I know many other people who had better everything but they were rejected without an interview.

If someone "had better everything" than you but were rejected and you were accepted... wow that is sickening.
 
I am not accepted, I had an interview. They were rejected. Higher GPA, Higher DAT, more extras

If someone "had better everything" than you but were rejected and you were accepted... wow that is sickening.
 
Race has a lot to do with admissions, particularly at state schools or minority schools - Howard + Meharry. For example, UNC paid A LOT of attention to race in the last cycle. African Americans and hispanics were given significant extra points when they scored applicants -- this came directly from the UNC dental dean.
 
No, race should have no effect on how successful you are. Your attitude does however.
 
If someone "had better everything" than you but were rejected and you were accepted... wow that is sickening.

This thought process reminds me of a little movie called: American History X.

Anyway, don't turn this into a race thread (to everyone). Those really are pointless and the arguments made really are sickening...
 
The post had to have a harsh title because I think it is a harsh reality. About being Indian and having Indian people come to you, that usually is not true. I have some relatives with huge indian populations in their area and they say Indians rarely support Indians. Besides I can't rely on an Indian client base forever. I'm not worried about dental school admissions and I'm not going in with a wrong mental attitude (of course I want to do be a good dentist!), but I am worried:

I am very worried that non-Indian patients won't come to/stay with you because they: 1) Recognize your name is of Indian origin or 2) will see you are of Indian origin when you treat them

Are the successful Indian dentists you guys talk about with other white dentists, or are those successful Indian dentists in private practice (I intend to go into private practice eventually)?

I would like to know about whether you guys see a lot of successful Indian dentists who have their own practice.

I REALLY WANT TO BE A DENTIST!!

Thanks for responses, KEEP THEM COMING! 👍
 
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no you should not be a dentist.
 
Yea dude it happens. Race has nothing to do with how succesful or unsuccesful you are. Will you not get patients because they don't want to be treated by an Indian dentist? Sure racism is still happening but the majority of the people don't care. As long as they are able to be treated and respected you will get patients coming to you. BTW what region of the country do u live in? If you live in Cali or the Northeast you shouldn't be asking this question b/c we know that there are succesful indian dentists.
 
The post had to have a harsh title because I think it is a harsh reality. About being Indian and having Indian people come to you, that usually is not true. I have some relatives with huge indian populations in their area and they say Indians rarely support Indians. Besides I can't rely on an Indian client base forever. I'm not worried about dental school admissions and I'm not going in with a wrong mental attitude (of course I want to do be a good dentist!), but I am worried:

I am very worried that non-Indian patients won't come to/stay with you because they: 1) Recognize your name is of Indian origin or 2) will see you are of Indian origin when you treat them

Are the successful Indian dentists you guys talk about with other white dentists, or are those successful Indian dentists in private practice (I intend to go into private practice eventually)?

I would like to know about whether you guys see a lot of successful Indian dentists who have their own practice.

Thanks for responses, KEEP THEM COMING! 👍


Dude, you have 2 options, grow a pair and get over your ill conceived stigma about Indian dentists, or become something "more suitable" for your family, ie engineer or doctor.

I don't know why you're really worried about this at all...I know a few Indian dentists, who do very well (esp my orthodonti$) and see a both racially and economically diverse population. As everyone else said, race shouldn't be an issue, it all comes down to how good you are as a dentist--treat your patients as patients and not clients. Once patients are comfortable with you as a dentist, word of mouth goes a long way, and your patient base will build.
 
Dude, you have 2 options, grow a pair and get over your ill conceived stigma about Indian dentists, or become something "more suitable" for your family, ie engineer or doctor.

Couldn't have said it any better.👍
 
I have personally gone to an Indian dentist before and she was great -- she had her own practice in Michigan, near Ann Arbor. Make yourself as available as possible to potential patients by joining insurance networks. You probably wouldn't want to practice in a rural area, where they don't know the difference between a muslim and a sikh... I think Indians and Pakistanis in healthcare are viewed positively by the majority of Americans. It's a "good" stereotype, if such a thing exists. If you are really worried about your last name, consider changing it. My ancestors changed the spelling of my last name around 1900, from a Polish spelling to a German spelling, to attract more business in a German neighborhood. And it's still just as ethnic and difficult-to-spell as it ever was.
 
I don't really think that fact that you're Indian will matter as long as your patients like the way you treat them, they'll keep coming to you instead of switching to a different dentists.

I actually work with an Indian dentist at the free clinic I volunteer at, the clinic is located in southern virginia, but none of our patience seem to have a problem with her at all.
 
Im West Indian (trinidad,guyana) and a future dentist and all I can say is the GP who I regularly see is African American and my orthodontist is African American and they are both successful (at least judging by their cars and the fact that its alway busy when I see them) so it rly matters that your good.



Btw speaking of whether an indian dentist can be good or not, take a look at this guy, he does cosmetic spa dentistry for a lot of upper class/famous ppl:

http://www.drmaddahi.com/
 
That's because most Indians that come to America are intelligent.

So according to you, doctors >> dentists? Generally, I would agree and say they are, but I know plenty of exceptions on both sides of that equation. Let me ask you one thing though, why does a general practitioner usually make considerably less than an 'idiot' general dentist that probably works a fraction of the time he does?

People are worried more about their appearance than their health, either that, or they have good health and are now working on their appearance which means, you're out of luck unless you do something that's in demand (not that all family practitioners are dissatisfied with their lives).
 
Hi, I am really considering going into dentistry. I am Indian but born in this country. From what I have seen, there seem to be very few successful Indian dentists around, but TONS of successful Indian doctors. Most successful dentists seem to all be white or Asian.

so my question: Do you think me being Indian could (1): reduce the amount of people who would come to see me and/or (2): majorly put my chances for being successful in jeopardy?


Please no smart-ass comments, this is a serious topic.

Thank you.


Thanks to the OP hahahahah, I am having a great day now! Just waiting for the moderators to close this one. Shouldn't be long now hahahahha!!:meanie::meanie::meanie::laugh::laugh:
 
Hi, I am really considering going into dentistry. I am Indian but born in this country. From what I have seen, there seem to be very few successful Indian dentists around, but TONS of successful Indian doctors. Most successful dentists seem to all be white or Asian.

so my question: Do you think me being Indian could (1): reduce the amount of people who would come to see me and/or (2): majorly put my chances for being successful in jeopardy?


Please no smart-ass comments, this is a serious topic.

Thank you.

Most successful dentists are not indian because patients dont like the idea of Indians putting their hands anywhere near them, let alone their mouth.

They tend to "eat with the right, and wipe with the left".

I am Indian myself, and have a baday in my office to let the patients know I don't use my hands.

Alternative careers, go become a slumdog millionaire.
 
Im West Indian (trinidad,guyana) and a future dentist and all I can say is the GP who I regularly see is African American and my orthodontist is African American and they are both successful (at least judging by their cars and the fact that its alway busy when I see them) so it rly matters that your good.



Btw speaking of whether an indian dentist can be good or not, take a look at this guy, he does cosmetic spa dentistry for a lot of upper class/famous ppl:

http://www.drmaddahi.com/

oh boy, judging someone based on their car and their ability to look busy. you got a lot of learning my friend.

Dem na teach you a bombaclott ting inna ya school.
 
Errrr what do you mean by "support?" Do you mean co sign your student loan(probably not) :laugh: or say nice things to you about you and your practice to your face or spread the good word about you. Latter is very possible. It depends on you though! In any practice people come, some stay, some go, sometimes without any rhyme or reason.

Will you face racism? Yes. Criticism? Yup. But are you thick skinned enough to plow on none the less?
 
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I want to become a dentist because Im asian. Its what we do. In grad school Im gonna change my name to Asher. BC I think its neat.
 
oh boy, judging someone based on their car and their ability to look busy. you got a lot of learning my friend.

Dem na teach you a bombaclott ting inna ya school.


Desi, a weh yu com fram Jamaica? cause yu seem fi kno how wi talk hahaha! Yu definitely cool wid mi still brap brap!! hahahahaa :meanie::meanie::meanie::laugh::laugh::laugh:
 
Well, if you live around some KKK/Redneck area, you're likely not going to be successful. Otherwise, you can be what you make yourself to be.
 
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Hi, I am really considering going into dentistry. I am Indian but born in this country. From what I have seen, there seem to be very few successful Indian dentists around, but TONS of successful Indian doctors. Most successful dentists seem to all be white or Asian.

so my question: Do you think me being Indian could (1): reduce the amount of people who would come to see me and/or (2): majorly put my chances for being successful in jeopardy?


Please no smart-ass comments, this is a serious topic.

Thank you.

Being a successful (monetary success was the implication I got) dentist largely depends on your interpersonal communication and business skills- has very little to do with your race and relatively little do with with how good of a dentist you are compared to your peers.
 
Unfortunately I've been seeing too many "controversial" posts like this on SDN lately
 
well, well im not thinking alone. some guy just responded on this thread saying that people dont like the idea of an indian guy putting his hand in their mouth. i think that is prevalent a lot. AND I LIVE IN CALIFORNIA, AND I HEAR PEOPLE MAKING RACIST COMMENTS ABOUT INDIANS ALL THE TIME. I USED TO LIVE IN THE SOUTH, BUT CALIFORNIA IS NO DIFFERENT FROM THE SOUTH. I mean for god's sake ppl in california said slumdog millionare was a bad movie and you could tell by the expression on their face that they were being racist as hell. That is why I have my doubts that Indians are respected (even if they are good. ex: slumdog)

so i dont think im being overly fearful/paranoid/pessimistic.....im just takin a glance at the HARSH REALITY.

I think this a very legit concern....I REALLY WANT TO BE A DENTIST...
 
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well, well im not thinking alone. some guy just responded on this thread saying that people dont like the idea of an indian guy putting his hand in their mouth. i think that is prevalent a lot. AND I LIVE IN CALIFORNIA, AND I HEAR PEOPLE MAKING RACIST COMMENTS ABOUT INDIANS ALL THE TIME. I USED TO LIVE IN THE SOUTH, BUT CALIFORNIA IS NO DIFFERENT FROM THE SOUTH. I mean for god's sake ppl in california said slumdog millionare was a bad movie and you could tell by the expression on their face that they were being racist as hell. That is why I have my doubts that Indians are respected (even if they are good. ex: slumdog)

so i dont think im being overly fearful/paranoid/pessimistic.....im just takin a glance at the HARSH REALITY.

I think this a very legit concern.

Then don't do it. And if you are really concerned about it then do engineering or go back to India. And this cannot be a racist remark because i am from India too.
 
well, well im not thinking alone. some guy just responded on this thread saying that people dont like the idea of an indian guy putting his hand in their mouth. i think that is prevalent a lot. AND I LIVE IN CALIFORNIA, AND I HEAR PEOPLE MAKING RACIST COMMENTS ABOUT INDIANS ALL THE TIME. I USED TO LIVE IN THE SOUTH, BUT CALIFORNIA IS NO DIFFERENT FROM THE SOUTH. I mean for god's sake ppl in california said slumdog millionare was a bad movie and you could tell by the expression on their face that they were being racist as hell. That is why I have my doubts that Indians are respected (even if they are good. ex: slumdog)

so i dont think im being overly fearful/paranoid/pessimistic.....im just takin a glance at the HARSH REALITY.

I think this a very legit concern....I REALLY WANT TO BE A DENTIST...LOL!

You are paranoid. And I think that poster was being sarcastic...you should learn how to pick up on these things.

Okay, so here's something that all the other posters didn't really point out. I don't know where you got this crazy idea from, but wouldn't your rationale be extended to MDs as well? There are countless Indian physicians and surgeons out there who do well, and a majority of their patients are white. These doctors do procedures that are much more invasive and/or life threatening than a root canal. I work at a major hospital, and I can tell you that the Indian docs are very highly regarded by all patients. CNN's Sanjay Gupta is a famous neurosurgeon who presents medical segments on CNN regularly...now why on Earth would one of the world's largest media outlets employ an Indian physician to give medical advice to a country whose viewers are overwhelmingly white?

Being a health care professional requires you to have an open mind..and judging from your statements, it seems that you have some sort of reverse stereotypical bias against whites. Check your self. If you really want to be a denstist, who's stopping you? Like I said before, you have two options, refer to previous post.
 
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Are you kidding? Indians can't possibly be dentists. Reality check, you're brown. Who would want something brown going in and out of their mouths? Forget it dude, you're screwed. 🙂
 
You are paranoid. And I think that poster was being sarcastic...you should learn how to pick up on these things.

Okay, so here's something that all the other posters didn't really point out. I don't know where you got this crazy idea from, but wouldn't your rationale be extended to MDs as well? There are countless Indian physicians and surgeons out there who do well, and a majority of their patients are white. These doctors do procedures that are much more invasive and/or life threatening than a root canal.

Being a health care professional requires you to have an open mind..and judging from your statements, it seems that you have some sort of reverse stereotypical bias against whites. Check your self. If you really want to be a denstist, who's stopping you? Like I said before, you have two options, refer to previous post.

WOW YOUR'RE POST WAS INSULTING. Ok dude you have no idea what youre talkin about. Indian doctors have established a reputation for being damn good. The same DOES NOT HOLD TRUE FOR INDIAN DENTISTS. I never hear people boasting about Indian dentists, but hear countless boasts about Indian doctors. SO NO THE RATIONALE COULD NOT BE EXTENDED TO MDs. My idea is not crazy, it is based on concrete evidence and my mind is obviously open buddy. I am indian and I hear plenty of racist comments against extremely smart, friendly Indian people even in California. Oh and also I know a **** load more about racism than you (lived in the south for 15 years!), and no I am not racist against whites.


Nevertheless, I still really really want to be a dentist b/c it interests me a lot! I really appreciate everyone's responses on this forum. Keep them coming & Thanks a lot for your input everyone!!
 
WOW YOUR'RE POST WAS INSULTING. Ok dude you have no idea what youre talkin about. Indian doctors have established a reputation for being damn good. The same DOES NOT HOLD TRUE FOR INDIAN DENTISTS. I never hear people boasting about Indian dentists, but hear countless boasts about Indian doctors. SO NO THE RATIONALE COULD NOT BE EXTENDED TO MDs. My idea is not crazy, it is based on concrete evidence and my mind is obviously open buddy. I am indian and I hear plenty of racist comments against extremely smart, friendly Indian people. Oh and also I know a **** load more about racism than you (lived in the south for 15 years!), and no I am not racist against whites.


Nevertheless, I still really really want to be a dentist b/c it interests me a lot! I really appreciate everyone's responses on this forum. Keep them coming & Thanks a lot for your input everyone!!


Concrete evidence, huh? You got a source for that? You may be right in the fact that Indian physicians have a generally more established reputation. The reason: the number of Indian physicians vastly outnumbers the number of dentists. There are many Indian dental students and recent graduates who have an entire career in front of them to build a reputable practice. But again, I must say that your outlook on dentistry is completely flawed.

Like a previous poster said, you need to thicken your skin to comments, whether they are racist or simply truthful.
 
I USED TO LIVE IN THE SOUTH, BUT CALIFORNIA IS NO DIFFERENT FROM THE SOUTH.

You think people in California are racist because they didn't like a movie about Indian people? Did you ever think that maybe they didn't like the plot? Just because it's an Oscar winner doesn't mean that everyone unanimously agrees it's a great movie.

For the record, the South is no more racist than any other part of the country. In fact, my family and I have ONLY ever experienced racism and discrimination in areas outside of the South. Believe it or not, Southern society has progressed (shocking!) - it's not as bad as everyone tries to portray it to be. (Well, except for a few oldies who are still stuck in their ways, but no one listens to them anyways.)

CNN's Sanjay Gupta is a famous neurosurgeon who presents medical segments on CNN regularly...now why on Earth would one of the world's largest media outlets employ an Indian physician to give medical advice to a country whose viewers are overwhelmingly white

Obama offered him the position of Surgeon General too, but he turned it down.

The same DOES NOT HOLD TRUE FOR INDIAN DENTISTS.

Are you a troll or something? Most Indians understand that when our parents were growing up in India, medicine was one of the few ways to gain success, hence all the older Indian doctors and the pressure put on many of us kids to continue into medicine. Parents who grow up poor want their kids to be as rich and as successful as they can be, and the general perception is that physicians have a better lifestyle (but those of us in this forum obviously believe dentists have it better), which is why a lot of Indian kids are pushed towards medicine. But as Indian family become more and more Americanized, Indians are starting to realize what a great career choice dentistry is. It's not that hard to figure out.
 
Stop being a d-bag and become a dentist if it really interests you. No one is stopping you and I really doubt anyone cares what you think about your racism problem. Get over yourself and become a dentist or pick another career.
 
Desi, a weh yu com fram Jamaica? cause yu seem fi kno how wi talk hahaha! Yu definitely cool wid mi still brap brap!! hahahahaa :meanie::meanie::meanie::laugh::laugh::laugh:

Me come straight from yarrrrrd. Kingston.

Me a get warn not fe chat bout dem coolie bwoi dem. Eaddeeott bwoi dem parents need fe beat dem picne when dem a chat so.
 
I USED TO LIVE IN THE SOUTH, BUT CALIFORNIA IS NO DIFFERENT FROM THE SOUTH. I mean for god's sake ppl in california said slumdog millionare was a bad movie and you could tell by the expression on their face that they were being racist as hell.
<-- Don't feed the troll, please.
 
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