No one is hating it because some kids had a house party. Btw, house parties where you have to wear nametags is called a conference. People are hating it because of the whole Bangerlore branding and trying to make Bengaluru into something that it is not. Blr has been a start up hub since the 80s and it never tried to be SF. It was the first Bengaluru. Blr is beyond just the two streets in Indiranagar and one block in Koramangla. My city has a life...
People see these hyped up photos with fancy filters and think that this is where they have to be to build something. But, most come here, fall into this trap of hustle culture, get burnt out before turning 30 and go back to their cities and shit on Blr for being a city without a soul and how they felt empty living here. And, I don't want people to reduce my city to a giant techpark.
I respect that most of you have taken a giant leap of faith, quit careers and want to do something on your own. That's great. While you are at it, live a little. Trust me, with this whole interaction with objective, only doing things that are productive, grow every day mindset you're only setting yourself up for disappointment. I would have been much happier if it was just a bunch of young people partying and going crazy like actual 20 year olds but this whole performative SF thing is what got to people. And, definitely not because they didn't get a paid invite...
Also, were there 300 people in that place? God bless!
Btw, most Indian accounts including me wrote about people dancing on an airport tarmac without context or basic decency.
This was Paris yesterday
Just saying we criticize India and move on, but many places across the world aren’t exactly safe either.
People talk about H1B workers as if millions of Indians randomly woke up one day, booked flights to America, and started taking jobs. That is nowhere close to reality.
In many cases, American corporations themselves spent years and millions of dollars building offshore development centers, either directly or through partner firms. Certain projects become so deadline driven and market sensitive that bringing over one or two engineers who already understand the systems, architecture, and business logic becomes the fastest and most efficient option.
These are not random people picked off the street. They are often engineers who have already spent years working on the exact product the company depends on.
The H1B process itself is long, expensive, and heavily regulated. It can take anywhere from 3 months to over a year, involving lawyers, documentation, approvals, and sponsorship from the US employer because it is ultimately in the company’s business interest.
At the end of the day, the engineer arriving in America is also just another human being trying to improve their life. They leave behind family, comfort, and familiarity for opportunity. Most are not arriving with hatred or entitlement. They come with hope.
Then the everyday American asks:
“Why wasn’t this job given to an American?”
That is a fair question, but it should primarily be directed at the corporations making those hiring decisions, not at the individual worker who was asked to come help, again initiated by the US firm.
Ironically, the same immigrant likely grew up consuming American culture for years. Hollywood movies, American brands, American technology, American fast food, American dreams. After watching a movie back home, maybe they celebrated the weekend with Pizza Hut or KFC with their family, contributing to American businesses long before ever stepping foot in the country.
Little did he/she knew that the so called "American Dream" wasn't meant for a brown person from India.
The world is interconnected whether people like it or not. Americans enjoy butter chicken and Indian mangoes. The rest of the world enjoys American products, entertainment, and innovation. That is globalization.
And if corporations are free to choose where they manufacture products, where they outsource labor, and where they expand operations, then hiring talent globally is simply part of the same free market system people claim to support.
You cannot fully champion capitalism only when it benefits you personally and reject it when competition becomes global. Otherwise, what people actually want is selective capitalism protected by government intervention.
The uncomfortable truth is that neither large corporations nor politicians are truly loyal to everyday people. They primarily protect their own interests. Most people, regardless of nationality, are simply trying to survive and build a better future for their families.
I just wish people saw each other as human beings first. The world works far better when humanity thrives together instead of constantly searching for someone else to blame.