Vivek Ramaswamy Needs to Feel Loved by White America

And it is a trauma response.

Vivek Ramaswamy and I have a lot in common. We’re a year apart in age and we were raised in Ohio in the nineties. We’re both from the Iyer community, a minority group within the Indian American minority group in the US. We probably ate the same breakfast and spent our summers in Kumon growing up. We were both bullied by the same corn-fed jock, rejected by our popular crush (no one was gonna date the Indian kid, anyway). We also likely watched our parents face the same inequities while trying to assimilate into the unbearably homogenous and shockingly intolerant Ohio community.

I remember being in grade school and ridiculed in the lunch room for bringing the aromatic, organic, vegetarian Indian lunches my mom painstakingly packed for me. Eventually, the hazing got so bad and eating alone became so depressing, I begged my mom: “Please, Amma, just pack me a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, PLEASE. I can’t take it anymore.” I know it broke her heart a little, but she obliged. Once I started eating the white bread at lunch, I slowly made a few friends. I wonder what untold stories like this Vivek is holding.

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Watching his rise in American political life has been fascinating, devastating, infuriating, and enlightening. At a time when I want to be beaming with pride to have this level of representation after so long, I only feel confusion. His speeches, his interviews and even his Instagram paint him transparently as an Indian man desperately seeking the approval of his white counter-parts. Approval he never got as a child. Since it was announced that he would lead DOGE with Elon Musk, he has had tremendous support from white Trump supporters in a way I’ve never seen a person of color garner. On some level, that had to feel good for little Vivek. The good ol’ Ohio white boys were finally cheering him on. He finally gets to be loved, accepted, adored by the people in the community he grew up in.

I feel like I’m watching my cousin. You know the one you don’t really get along with but are still connected to by some ancestral energy? For the record, I hate his rhetoric and the policies he says he supports but it feels like watching this cousin walk right into a trap. One that he very well deserves, yet I feel afraid for him nevertheless. Vivek, it’s a matter of time before they turn their back on you without hesitation. I just wasn’t sure when or how painful it would be.

So I continue to watch him speak about gutting our federal government protections, while posing with JD Vance. A post with Trump from the Tyson fight, another in his Ohio sports gear and yet another with the conservative musical genius Kid Rock. He skips a Diwali post- too brown. Posts a family Halloween pic- perfectly American. Cue thousands of feel good comments from his ex-bullies. I see comment after comment in support of the image of this man.

“Wanted to thank you for taking time in your life for fellow Americans.”

“True American who loves our country!”

“I have a feeling that Vivek is truly the president with Trump being “president” to the public but most likely giving the presidency to Vivek. Apoorva [his wife] is so pretty.”

“America is back baby!”

Everything is going great for Vivek. The American flag crowd loves him. He’s finally in.

But then it happens. He gets too comfortable. He decides to say something genuine about the way he was raised and his values. He decides to chime in about H1B visas. Ahh, you can only run from your truth for so long, Vivek. If you aren’t familiar, H1B visas are given by companies who petition the government for highly educated foreign workers to work in specialized occupations. This H1B status often becomes a starting point to seek full immigration into the US. A lot of the time, the recipients are people in STEM from India. Vivek and I have another thing in common. Our parents were H1B recipients.

Vivek decides to post this on X among other comments in support of granting H1B visas to foreign candidates like his parents:

“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.”

And here are some of the comments from Trump supporters about his X posts:

“You just got here, Pajeet. You don’t get to criticize our culture. At least we don’t shit in the streets.”

“Hey Vivek…when us Americans think about Indian culture, we think of 3 things, those cowshit mounds they cover themselves with, the snot/feet covered pig slop y’all call food AND scammers. Culture my ass.”

And when he went silent for awhile…

“Look at this dot head trying to hide it out.”

Indian Americans now hold the highest socio-ecomic position in the country. Anyone from an immigrant family will tell you that it was built with blood, sweat and tears. We are a growing demographic in business, medicine, STEM sectors and now in politics too. We can debate policies and procedures but we must uphold our humanity first. We need to decide what type of America we want to live in. We must see it with our eyes fully open. We can’t become Vivek, who is attempting to process his trauma through the validation of his abusers.

Vivek, kanna, enough. I can’t imagine the pain of reliving your childhood bullies in public. Despite your history of despicable business practices, questionable policies, and support of the Trump administration, I see you as a brown boy from Ohio who has severely lost his way. Reflect and repent, Vivek, because there is still a sliver of time left for you before it’s too late. There is still some space for you in the light, in the place you’ve actually always belonged. And the food’s way better over here.

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This post was previously published on medium.com.

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