Actually the title for that post was misleading. There were a lot of things wrong with this photo as you will read later in this post. The “overexposed” picture, incidentally, was snapped from a moving trolley and, being a casual photographer, one rank below amateur, I’m darn proud of how it turned out

The sign for the motel said “American Owned”

As Patrix pointed out, there was a footnote to the sign for the motel that proclaimed they were “American Owned”. What’s wrong with a little bit of patriotism? We will discuss that in a minute after reading what our readers had to say.

Ashoe pointed out that the pink building with the blue trims and the signs were more akin to a Nevada brothel. Bess describes the color as “pepto pink”. So unless your name is Pimptastico Money and you look like this the guy pictured below, this motel would hold no appeal for you.

What’s Your Pimp Name?

DesisWife also noted that the parking lot for the motel looked rather empty, suggesting perhaps the footnote “American Owned” was actually turning away customers than attracting them. Lucky is the desi guy who is married to this astute woman, but I digress.

Salil commented on the overgrown plant underneath the sign that would be enough to scare away most potential clients.

For NPE, presumably of Indian origin, this hit a lot closer to home, as his father, who owns a motel in Florida had to put up with competitors who displayed these kind of signs.

Before riling about political correctness and painting me as an unpatriotic villain, lets deal with the question:
So what is wrong with saying “American Owned”?

Starting with the motel business, more than half of all motels in the US are owned by people of Indian origin.

Drop by at a highway motel in the US and in most cases, behind the reception you will find a distinctly Indian presence.
The “Patel motel” phenomenon, as it is popularly known, has made a major impact on the American hospitality industry.
As many as 60% of mid-sized motels and hotel properties, all over the US, are owned by the people of Indian origin.

Remember the keyword here is “origin“. Even though these motel owners are of Indian origin and may have extended families still in India or other parts of the world, you have to be a permanent resident of the US or a citizen, to own and operate a business. So, in essence, these people are already Americans or on the path to becoming a citizen of the United States.

When someone puts up a board saying a motel is “American Owned” it has a racial connotation. What they’re trying to say that the motel in not owned by a person of Indian or other Asian origin, which in their warped minds makes it superior to ones that are owned by Indians or people of other Asian origin. In more blunt terms, it also suggests that people of Indian or other Asian origin are not “American”, only whites are.

As Emily Priddy, owner and Webmaster for route66motels.com and president and cofounder of Friends of the Mother Road Inc., a Missouri-based Route 66 preservation group, explains on the Route 66 Motels website:

Q. What’s wrong with saying the motel is American-owned? Isn’t that just being patriotic?
A. No. It would be patriotic to fly an American flag or put up a sign that says something like “Support our troops” or “God bless the U.S.A.” The phrase “American owned” has a racist connotation. Forty percent of the motels in the United States are owned by people of Asian descent. Unfortunately, a lot of negative — and inaccurate — stereotypes have sprung up about these property owners. Some people think a motel owned by someone from India or Pakistan will be dirty or poorly maintained. A few people even say mean things like, “If you smell curry, leave in a hurry,” as if a person who knows how to make a good batch of tandoori chicken is somehow less qualified to run a motel than a person who fixes hamburgers or lasagna for dinner. When a motel owner puts up a sign that says “American owned,” he is pandering to this unfair stereotype. There is no legitimate reason to advertise one’s pedigree on a billboard or in front of a business. Emily has stayed in many, many motels along Route 66 and elsewhere, and she never has been able to find ANY correlation between the owner’s nationality and the quality of the service she receives. Some of her favorite motels are Asian owned. As Route 66 enthusiasts, we owe a debt of gratitude to the dozens upon dozens of hardworking motel owners of ALL nationalities who have gone out of their way to keep these cool old motels alive and well and safe from the wrecking ball.

“Racism under the guise of patriotism”. Obviously, these signs are a carryover of the Mississippi Masala era perception of Indian motel owners. Studies have pointed to the lack of a correlation between the origin of the motel owner and the quality of service provided. That’s not to say all motels owned by people of Indian origin are top of the line. Like any other industry, you have the good ones and the bad ones and, that is exactly why it is wrong to stereotype based on ethnicity.

This speech by Route 66 author Michael Wallis (link via Route66Motels.com), has some touching tributes to the contribution of motel owners of foreign origin and their efforts to make travelling on Route 66 a better experience.

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