After the rash of racist tweets that greeted Nina Davuluri as she won the Miss America crown on Sunday, supporters have begun flocking to Twitter to celebrate her ground-breaking achievement in an altogether different territory.
So much so, Davuluri herself tweeted: “Overjoyed by the amazing response & support from so many people across the US! I’m so proud to be your new #GirlNextDoor! @MissAmericaOrg.”
“last night we saw just how easy it is to be racist in 140 characters or less,” rued columnist Sarah Jacoby in New York Observer. “Why can’t Twitter tolerate New York’s Indian-American Miss AmericaIJ” she quizzed, adding: “Come on, she’s adorable!”
Outgoing US point person for South Asia, Assistant Secretary of State Robert Blake, congratulated Davuluri on becoming the first-ever Miss America of Indian descent. “Bravo on your support for STEM and higher ed,” Blake tweeted.
Taking cudgels on her behalf in the face of the initial backlash, Indian Ambassador Nirupama Rao tweeted, “A small minority of people making unwarranted and ridiculous comments about Nina Davuluri cannot tarnish her achievement or her crown.” Her crowning glory is a “matter of pride for all of us”, Rao wrote, adding: “Shabash, Nina!”
“Davuluri is the future of America,” wrote New America Media editor and author Andrew lam in the Huffington Post. “It should be something for all Americans to celebrate. Her story, after all, is one of the more optimistic news about immigration in recent times,” he said.
As lam put it, “Perhaps what the haters resent is that immigration and diversity have irrevocably changed who is an American these days. The US demographic is shifting toward a reality where non-white groups are emerging as majorities, undermining what we traditionally held as majority vs. minority, mainstream vs. ethnic. By 2050, demographers tell us, whites will be under 50% while minorities will reach 54%, an astonishing shift.”
Columnist Jenee Osterheldt wrote : “When Miss New York, Nina Davuluri, danced her Bollywood fusion across my television screen I smiled. This is America, I thought. Here is this gorgeous woman, born and raised in America — a New Yorker at that — paying homage to her culture as an Indian-American. Isn’t that the beauty of our country, built up of so many different peopleIJ”
Congresswoman Grace Meng was “proud to salute her, my fellow New Yorker.” for all she has accomplished on her exceptional journey. I know that whether she pursues medicine or another career, she will always find success in life.” the first Asian-American Representative from New York: