The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) recently released a pair of posters aimed at assisting authorities with properly identifying and searching Muslims and Sikhs.
The posters come from the DOJ’s Initiative to Combat Post-9/11 Discriminatory Backlash, and offer detailed explanations of each religion’s different head coverings. The posters also include seemingly obvious instructions such as “show respect,” and “searches should be done by members of the same sex.” (Can one request searches from the opposite sex, or does that cost extra?)
For
the most part, the photos on the Sikh poster are effective in demonstrating a
pagri, patka and chunni. But on the Muslim poster, one of the images is sure
to generate confusion in the field (photo on the right). We can only pray that
former Attorney General John Ashcroft doesn’t completely lose it when graduation
ceremonies commence in May.
Common
Muslim American Head Coverings (PDF, 1.5 MB)
Common Sikh American
Head Coverings (PDF, 1 MB)
My good friend Super Jagjit was so impressed by the posters that he created one for the DOJ to offer South Asian shopkeepers in rural areas:
Common Redneck Head Coverings (PDF, 255 KB)
Hindustan Times: U.S. Justice Department issues poster on Sikhism
Super Jagjit’s poster is very funny 🙂
wake up clueless mutiny. apul is superjagjit. he likes to wear tights and pretend he’s a superhero. but it is funny. so i won’t destroy you today
Wait. Is that why Apul disappears every time Super Jagjit is around?
Sorry for the delay in reponding. I was away from my computer covering a scoop about Super Jagjit.
Hypothetically speaking, if I’m Super Jagjit, and let’s say Sepia Mutiny is the Daily Planet, then where the fuck is my Lois Lane?!
In the Charotar region of Gujarat waiting for her green card.
I just dont know what to say ! User manuals can never take the place of actual hands-on experience.
So let me get this straight: after everyone (correctly) moans and groans over the government’s insensitivity to South Asians, when they start trying to do something, albeit in bureaucratic baby steps, your reaction is to then mock people from the South? This is a great example of why folks from “red” states (no matter their actual political leanings) are resentful of the rest of the world. It’s not funny, it’s just as mean-spirited as much of the just-as-unfunny “humor” making fun of South Asians and people from other parts of the Eastern Hemisphere. This is not a facet of American culture to be imitated…
kyle – i think this was a joke aimed at rednecks (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Redneck) not southerners
I am a southerner from a “red” state and I giggled all the way down each bullet on the poster. I also absolutely adored the banter between Apul/Superjugit and Ahbi.
How to distinguish an American terrorist/religious nut might also be helpful, as well as amusing. And that is what is of utmost importance. I mean, as long as we are, you know, poking fun at religions and races and poor people.
I forgot also to note to Kyle that there are rednecks in Washington State, too. It was like a trip through the eastern part of my state (Kentucky) up in those Washingtonian mountains.