Categories: Uncategorized

What Do You Think of This Book Title?


Click the picture to see the book’s web page.

Dave Thomas — not the founder of the Wendy’s burger chain, but author

of the highly- acclaimed book The Pragmatic Programmer — helps to put out a series of

useful programming books bearing the Pragmatic Programmer mark. One

such book coming out in August is titled My Job Went to India (and all

I Got was This Lousy Book). Here’s a bit of the book’s description from

its site:

HINT: It’s not “their” fault, it’s ours…

The American IT job market is slowly coming apart at the seams, and

it’s all our fault. Most of us have been stumbling around letting our

careers take us where they may, and now we’re surprised when our

companies are shipping our jobs overseas for a fraction of the

price. It’s time to take control of our careers, and in the process,

learn to stay both relevant and employed. This book will show you how

to take action to avoid becoming yet another casualty of offshoring.

There’s a little more detail about this book in my professional blog, The Farm.

In this blog entry,

Dave notes that some people have written to him claiming that the

book’s title is racist. Dave in turn has set up a forum in the form of

a wiki page where you can comment on the issue and even vote on what he

should do.

My own feeling is that the title is not racist, based on the old maxim “if it bends, it’s comedy. If it breaks, it isn’t.”

What do you think?

Joey deVilla

View Comments

  • How is this racist? Seriously, I don't see it. Is there a slur here that I am not aware of? Am I that naive?

  • I believed that those who allege that the title is racist say that there is racism implied by the title, that it says "Those damned Indians who have no right to do so are taking our jobs". It's quite a stretch, which is why I don't see any racism in this title either. I just see:

    • A play on all those "My parents went to [insert place here] and all I got was this lousy T-shirt" shirts
    • An association connecting India with IT and software, no more harmful than the way Japan and Korea get associated with decent cars and good electronic goods.
  • Lola thinks that this is a hot topic. However, she is not sure what else she can say that would be any different.

  • The fear may be that India will get a bad rep or negative association. Compare to the 70's/80's when manufacturing jobs in North America were lost to Japan etc., some folks held a grudge against the country.

  • My job went to India. India threw it back, and I caught it on the rebound. (Really.)

Recent Posts

The guy behind the “They’re eating the pets” blood libel slurs speech, passes out onstage

Here’s wishing Alex Bruesewitz a speedy recovery — yes, he’s behind a racist lie that endangers…

5 days ago

Sunday picdump for December 15, 2024

Since it’s Sunday, it’s time for me to post the memes, pictures, and cartoons floating…

7 days ago

Sunday picdump for December 8, 2024

Since it’s Sunday, it’s time for me to post the memes, pictures, and cartoons floating…

2 weeks ago

Sunday picdump for December 1, 2024

It’s not just a new week, but a new month! And since it’s Sunday, it’s…

3 weeks ago

Special edition picdump for Thanksgiving 2024

Here’s a special edition of my weekly picdump that features Thanksgiving-themed pictures, infographics, and meme.…

3 weeks ago

I’ll admit it: “D” all the way!

Here’s an early treat in advance of the special Thanksgiving-themed picdump that I’ll post tomorrow.

3 weeks ago