From DNSI, three stories about both significant violence and institutional discrimination that we wouldn’t face if we were in the “mainstream.” For those of you who’ve asked if I still feel threatened as a brown Sikh living in America, the answer is, yes I do. Stories like this are why.
First, an 80 year old Sikh man was assaulted in California and fractured his pelvis:
The attack took place … on January 21 when Harbans Singh, a turbaned Sikh, was riding a bike from Guru Nanak Sikh Temple … to his home… According to Singh, four or five occupants of a maroon-colored Chevrolet Tahoe sports utility vehicle hurled rocks and racial epithets at him from the back. Fortunately, the rocks did not hit him, so he ignored it… The men were described as Hispanic or white between 25 to 30 years old, she said…The vehicle overtook Singh’s bicycle and stopped at a corner, where one man got out and pushed Singh off his bicycle. A bystander called an ambulance, assuming this was an accident when she saw him lying on the road. [Link]
The attack is a major surprise given the size and deep roots of the Sikh community in the Yuba-Marysville area:
A hate crime against an 80-year-old Sikh in Yuba City in California has taken the community there surprise and shock, given that it is the first time such an incident has happened there, where 10 percent of the residents are Sikhs with a history of almost a century behind them in the city. [Link]
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Now I know that people can be cruel and enjoy the suffering of others, but it makes my blood boil to think of people making sport out of causing harm to an 80 year old man!
Furthermore, the attackers were dangerously foolhardy. Yuba City is the closest you can come to rural Punjab in the USA. Although only 10% of the population, Sikhs have been there for a long time, and own a lot of the land. They are not afraid of asserting themselves. I hope the perpetrators turn themselves in or are caught by the police before somebody local catches up with them and meets out rough justice, village style.
On a brighter note, a Tacoma judge apologized for earlier kicking a Muslim woman out of court because her head was covered:
I offer my sincerest apology for any discomfort, embarrassment or humiliation she may have felt as a result of my request. My request was a result of sincere and earnest desire to maintain a policy that would be fair to all individuals. There was never intent to discriminate based on religious preference. I will be glad to offer my apology personally should she so desire. [Link]
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p>Of course, this came about because of pressure from a Muslim civil-liberties organization who explained:
“The new policy will be of benefit not only to Muslims, but to Sikh men wearing turbans, orthodox Jewish men and women wearing yarmulkes or head scarves, Christian women wearing religious head coverings, and people of all other faiths who wear religiously-mandated attire…” [Link]
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p>And finally, Muslim students in a Texas high school will no longer be prohibited from praying:
A Texas high school has agreed to allow its Muslim students to pray during school hours. L.V. Berkner High School in Richardson had told its 30 Muslim students that praying on campus violated the U.S. Constitution’s establishment clause … [Link]
This, of course, was either a specious misreading of the establishment clause or the result of blatant confusion. The first amendment prohibits governments from promulgating any particular faith while at the same time protecting individuals’ right to worship as they see fit. That is, it prohibits government sponsored school prayer while allowing students to pray however they want, privately.
Given the prevalence of prayer on high school football fields, I would think that most principals would know that they were not enforcing the law by banning Muslim students from praying at school. [No, I’m not endorsing football field prayer either, since it’s usually not voluntary. I’m simply pointing out that if it’s permissable for athletes to pray at games, then it’s certainly permissible for students to go off on their own to spread a prayer rug.]
In re: to the poor 80 year old Sikh man who was assaulted. As mentioned, it also makes my blood boil, but i just hope it doesn’t start anything like the Cronulla race riots that we had here in NSW, Australia.
I know that the justice systems inst all that just, but sometimes i think its better to leave it to the authorities. But if it comes down to it all i can say is “Boleh So Nihal, Sat Siri Akal”
🙂
I don’t agree with the call for pindu style justice. Best to leave it in the hands of the police. Vigilantism always gets out of hands. It also just gives more ammunition to the bigots too.
I’m not calling for vigilanteism, I’m pointing out that it may be a real possibility in a place like Y.C.
Ennis
I don’t know much about Yuba City so I cannot comment. But I hope that does not happen. It can escalate the situation instead of calming it down. I can only begin to understand that kind of action if there is constant and repeated attacks and a complete failure of the police to respond adequately to them. Unless that point is reached I am sure the Yuba City Sikhs will not respond in kind.
Goes to show that having a large group of a certain minority in one town won’t do any good unless they’re actively out there participating in the community and educating others. Without that, they could have 30% of the population but still be harassed.
A Texas high school has agreed to allow its Muslim students to pray during school hours. L.V. Berkner High School in Richardson had told its 30 Muslim students that praying on campus violated the U.S. ConstitutionÂ’s establishment clause
They should have come up with a better pedagogical justification for denying the students, the right to pray.
No, IÂ’m not endorsing football field prayer either, since itÂ’s usually not voluntary. IÂ’m simply pointing out that if itÂ’s permissable for athletes to pray at games, then itÂ’s certainly permissible for students to go off on their own to spread a prayer rug.]
IMO coaches led prayer before the game, is in fact school endorsement of religion and should be struck down for violating the establishment clause of the First Amendment. Of course no one agrees with me, which isnt new either 😉
They should have come up with a better pedagogical justification for denying the students, the right to pray. I don’t think they should have denied them the right to pray in the first place.
A lot of people on all sides misread the establishment clause, which surprises me, since so much activism was done in the 1990s – at least here in Texas – by evangelical Christian groups trying to clarify it. Students can lead prayers if they want to, as long as they are not disrupting the learning environment. TEACHERS cannot lead prayers, but they can follow along if they wish. What wasn’t mentioned was that ANY prayers must follow this guideline, not just Christian ones… but astute principals should recognize that.
Berkner is located in an area with a not insignificant Muslim population. The school even has a Muslim Students Association that set up Friday prayers (during pep rallies!!) when I was in college in the area. I’m surprised they weren’t letting individual students go pray at the appointed times. Probably because they had to leave class to do it, is the only reason I can think of.
We had ONE very observant Muslim in my high school in Denton. Our teachers had no problem letting her go pray at the right times. She’d go pray in the stairwell,then come back to class. But then, we had a lot of Mormon teachers and others of “non mainstream religions” for Texas, so they were probably more sympathetic to her than others might be.
Oh, I don’t think that they really misread the establishment clause in this case. That was my point about high school football – the probability that any Texas high school principal believes that the establishment clause forbids all student prayer on school grounds is vanishingly small. If you can pray on a football field, you can pray in an empty classroom or hallway.
I have no evidence, but it smells like somebody didn’t want the students to pray, and came up with an excuse for it then blamed the ACLU.
i think this should go through the proper channels. hooligans are a bad idea. you encourage people like that and they turn out to be more of a problem
Sonia said: “Goes to show that having a large group of a certain minority in one town won’t do any good unless they’re actively out there participating in the community and educating others. Without that, they could have 30% of the population but still be harassed.”
My name’s also Sonia, but I’m not the one who said the above. I’m live in Yuba City and I know for a fact that the Sikh population here more than actively participates in the community–just so you all know.
Just wanted to correct myself:
“I’m” don’t live in yc, but “I” do.
🙂