H-1B Row: US political activist Laura Loomer calls out Bollywood 'rape culture' to counter Vivek Ramaswamy, says...

The ongoing debate over H-1B visas reignited after DOGE co-chief Vivek Ramaswamy emphasised the many things that, according to him, are wrong in the American culture. 

Let us first understand what the controversy is about. The H-1B controversy erupted after Indian-American venture capitalist Sriram Krishnan was appointed as Senior Policy Advisor for AI in US President elect  Donald Trump’s administration.

Several criticised the move and claimed that the appointement of an Indian worker undermines the "America first" agenda. While many blamed the US immigration policies for displacing American workers, Vivek Ramaswamy claimed that the issues lies in the country's culture itself. 

In a detailed post on 'X', Ramaswamy wrote, "The reason top tech companies often hire foreign-born & first-generation engineers over “native” Americans isn’t because of an innate American IQ deficit (a lazy & wrong explanation). A key part of it comes down to the c-word: culture. Tough questions demand tough answers & if we’re really serious about fixing the problem, we have to confront the TRUTH: Our American culture has venerated mediocrity over excellence for way too long (at least since the 90s and likely longer). That doesn’t start in college, it starts YOUNG."

The reason top tech companies often hire foreign-born & first-generation engineers over “native” Americans isn’t because of an innate American IQ deficit (a lazy & wrong explanation). A key part of it comes down to the c-word: culture. Tough questions demand tough answers & if…

— Vivek Ramaswamy (@VivekGRamaswamy) December 26, 2024

Ramaswamy further claimed that a culture "that celebrates a prom queen over a math olympiad champ will not produce the best engineers". 

"A culture that venerates Cory from “Boy Meets World,” or Zach & Slater over Screech in “Saved by the Bell,” or ‘Stefan’ over Steve Urkel in “Family Matters,” will not produce the best engineers. (Fact: I know *multiple* sets of immigrant parents in the 90s who actively limited how much their kids could watch those TV shows precisely because they promoted mediocrity…and their kids went on to become wildly successful STEM graduates)", he added. 

The DOGE co-chief continued, "More movies like Whiplash, fewer reruns of “Friends.” More math tutoring, fewer sleepovers. More weekend science competitions, fewer Saturday morning cartoons. More books, less TV. More creating, less “chillin.” More extracurriculars, less “hanging out at the mall.”

"Most normal American parents look skeptically at “those kinds of parents.” More normal American kids view such “those kinds of kids” with scorn. If you grow up aspiring to normalcy, normalcy is what you will achieve. Now close your eyes & visualize which families you knew in the 90s (or even now) who raise their kids according to one model versus the other. Be brutally honest", he added. 

Next, he advocated the need for a culture that prioritises "achievement over normalcy; excellence over mediocrity; nerdiness over conformity; hard work over laziness". 

"That’s the work we have cut out for us, rather than wallowing in victimhood & just wishing (or legislating) alternative hiring practices into existence. I’m confident we can do it", he highlighted. 

Silly white people.

Stop watching Boy Meets World and turn on Bollywood so you can watch rape culture steal your job culture.

— Laura Loomer (@LauraLoomer) December 26, 2024

In a fierce response to Ramaswamy's claims, political activist Laura Loomer wrote, "Silly white people. Stop watching Boy Meets World and turn on Bollywood so you can watch rape culture steal your job culture."

Pertinent to note that H-1B is the largest visa category in the US that allows US companies to employ foreign workers.