Talk:The conjunctivitis scam
About Shunyo's comment quoted, "Puja, lovingly known as Nurse Mengele, was not liked or trusted by anyone. Something about her swarthy, puffy face and the way her eyes – mere slits – were always hidden behind tinted glasses" ...
It is true that Puja was not well liked, and one does not have to dig deep to find "Nurse Mengele"-type stories and anecdotes, perfidies and atrocities. But Shunyo's "explanation" of this widespread dislike is embarrassingly ignoble, not just verging on racism but crossing the line with gusto, making the dislike based on purely racial attributes. Why not just mention her misdeeds?
It is perhaps understandable that in her hard-copy version, this comment -- already pretty bad by early 90s standards -- escaped notice when it was copied whole into her blog, but that it should remain there still is somewhat mysterious. Perhaps no one has actually read it till now?
Anyway, the wiki will reproduce her comment until it gets updated, but in the meantime express our regrets. At least in the personal view of this editor, Sarlo, writing as doofus-9 16:19, 23 October 2020 (UTC)
- Just a question from a non-English native speaker and from a country where there is less engrained racism: is this term "swarthy" necessarily racist? Could it be that it is meant metaphorically?
- I have never felt any trace of racism in the sannyas community. E.g. in relation to Sw Anand Nivedano or Ma Yoga Sudha, just very beloved peers.
- When I was a sannyassin of 1 year I was on the Ranch for the festival in 1984. I had to be in the medical centre for something minor. I saw an obvious boss ("mom") interacting with other people there (didn't know her, learned later that this was Puja). The way she treated these people, the way she spoke... I was flabbergasted, revolted, and got out as soon as I could.
- That afternoon I had an experience that I had never felt before, nor after: I was walking aimlessly on the dusty roads, had to find a place for drive-by. People were having fun, but I felt depressed. I mean: I got into something that must be real depresson, a fathomless darkness, meaninglesness, hopelesness. --Sugit (talk) 09:44, 7 August 2022 (UTC)
