Sometimes, when I mention that I encountered racist spew while growing up in Northern California, I am greeted with extreme skepticism; “No way. Not in CALIFORNIA!”. Yes way, in my beloved golden state. Yet again, someone’s father/brother/grandfather almost died because of ignorance and hate. Via the Mercury News (might require registration) (Thanks, Dave and Kamala):
The day after the stabbing of a Santa Clara grandfather left South Bay Sikhs reeling, prosecutors are weighing hate crime and attempted murder charges against his neighbor, who apparently believed the man belonged to the Taliban.
Iqbal Singh, 40, was waiting in his carport with his 2-year-old granddaughter around 10:50 a.m. Sunday when the suspect approached him and stabbed him in the neck with a steak knife, Santa Clara police Sgt. Kurt Clarke said.
Singh was still in the hospital Monday with serious injuries. The girl was unhurt.
I thank any deity you prefer that Iqbal Singh’s baby granddaughter wasn’t also attacked by this sick @$$#0(#. What is this world coming to, when you aren’t safe in your own driveway? From people who probably know you better than strangers, even if we’re all bowling alone?
Santa Clara police arrested Everett Thompson, 20, of Santa Clara, later Sunday, Clarke said. He was booked into Santa Clara County Jail on suspicion of attempted murder and a hate crime, Clarke said.
Perhaps we have an explanation for something so senseless:
There are indications that Thompson, who may suffer from mental illness, believed Singh was a member of the Taliban, officials said Monday. Singh is not.
I love that clarification at the end there, just in case anyone was unclear on the concept that SIKHS ARE NOT MEMBERS OF THE TALIBAN.
I’ve always maintained that there is a special place in hell for people who attack others when they are praying (or about to):
When Singh was attacked, he was waiting for the rest of the family to come down to the carport from their upstairs apartment on Agate Drive. They were on their way to worship services at San Jose Gurdwara Sahib, Gurmeet Singh said.
(Sikhism)…promotes peace and understanding.
“We are simply trying to peacefully live, earn a living and practice our religion,” Gurmeet Singh said. “This hate is driven by ignorance.”
Its common for white people to give that type of response, dumbfounded amazement that racism is still quite common, because remember, we promulgated that racism is bad, so therefore it doesn’t occur anymore. You must be a hyper-sensitive minority trying to play the race card anytime something doesn’t go your way. Chal, whatever, karma is a bitch and everyone, including the goras, will get their bhari
I was considering condeming the attacker in fairly strong terms, but if he really is suffering from mental illness as mentioned in the main article, such behaviour wouldn’t be appropriate. If he’s ill, then he needs psychiatric treatment not reciprocal hatred.
However, people who undertake such attacks in full control of their faculties should be prosecuted to the full extent of the law.
It’s terrible that Sikhs don’t have a higher profile in the US — both in the public eye and in the media (apart from a turbaned Sikh being somewhat dubiously referred to as “Omar” in a recent episode of Scrubs, and of course Spike Lee’s last film which did a good job of briefly handling the “mistaken identity” problem). I guess if there aren’t huge numbers of Sikhs around compared to other ethnic minorities, and the only people with beards and turbans other Americans are familiar with are the Taliban or OBL, unfortunately this is an inevitable consequence.
Since the rest of the population obviously isn’t going to do the job for you, there needs to be a concerted, nationwide educational effort by either Sikh organisations and/or South Asians involved in the national media. South Asians as a whole had a lot of stupidity to deal with here in the UK too until GGM came along, and although that certainly didn’t eradicate many of the problems (and we’ve had some new ones to face post-9/11 & post-7/7), it did do a hell of a lot to raise the profile of (South) Asians in the country as a whole and address many preconceptions. So someone there really needs to be dynamic and focused and go all-out to deal with the issue.
Not necessarily via a comedy show, of course (although that’s one option), but certainly via some kind of coast-to-coast programming which will reach a sufficently wide audience and gain a sufficiently high profile. Assuming that’s feasible, which is much easier said than done…..
Unfortunately there have been more attacks on Sikhs in California than any other state of the US including fatal attacks. (Correct me if I am wrong .. but I think my info is right) This could just be because CA probably has the highest population of Sikhs.
No worries, I think I did that. 😉
Reciprocal hatred wasn’t the look I was going for, in case anyone is curious. I’m just outraged and upset that this keeps happening, in my home state, no less.
Anna,
It’s going to keep on happening unless and until some South Asians in America really grab the bull by the horns and become much more assertive about dealing with these issues. In fact, until they become significantly more proactive about handling the perception and image of desis within the majority population per se (something I touched upon in the “colour” thread).
You guys need to take control of a) your public image, b) your depiction within the mainstream American media, and c) educating the wider population about the realities of South Asian culture, communities, religions, and history.
Nobody else is going to do the job for you.
We’ve had some success here in the UK over the past decade or so as you may know, so that’s proof that it can indeed be achieved. The fact that, percentage-wise, there are significantly less of you in the US (compared to the black & Hispanic populations) substantially complicates matters, of course, but this does not mean the goal is impossible.
People don’t realize that California isn’t all sun and fun. According to the Southern Poverty Law center, it tracks 52 active hate groups in the state. Most in the country.
Maybe people from the Sikh community can team up with a organization such as this to pursue and promote awareness?
This reminds me of a conversation I overheard at the Pearson airport (Toronto) while waiting for my mom at the arrival terminal. A group of Sikhs came out through the gates, dressed in Indian clothing, big bearded, women with turbans also. There was an annoying blonde girl behind me with a man with a british accent. The conversation was as follows:
Annoying girl: Oh my, look who just came outÂ… blah blah blahÂ…. (proceeds with a very matter-of-fact tone) You know theyÂ’re not supposed to wash their hair, itÂ’s part of their religion.
Brit dude: Really, I thought they werenÂ’t supposed to cut it.
Annoying girl: No, itÂ’s part of their religion!.. blah blah blahÂ… in Pakistan theyÂ’re supposed to wear that thing, theyÂ’re Muslim, itÂ’s part of their religion.
Brit dude: Errr, I thought they are Sikh, and theyÂ’re not supposed to cut their hair or something, but I donÂ’t know if they are from Pakistan.
Annoying girl: Whatever man, I just donÂ’t want them in my country!
At this point I turned around gave her a look, and moved to a different area. Normally I would have diplomtically confronted her, but I didn’t have the energy that day nor did I want to greet my mom with pissed off energy. Oh did it take restraint!!
Sometimes I donÂ’t know if I should even be shocked at how much ignorance there is out there!
And this is in a metropolis in Canada, where Sikhs have a relatively high profile and are even represented in the government!
Pardon my ignorance, do Sikhs wear black turbans ever? All sikhs I have seen to have white or other light colors. The darkest might be Manmohan Singh’s trademark UN blue. But elite shia leaders like Nasrallah and Moqtada Sadr wear black usually.
I did see white on the heads of OBL and some Sunni insurgent leader in Iraq on TV… So I guess that’s not a very helpful distinction.
I think a lot of the racial tension in the UK, France, Spain involving people from former colonies would be some sort of ‘bhari’ for colonialism, or the beginnings of it.
Aren’t they also attributing “mental illness” as the cause for that Pakistani-American running amok at the Jewish center in Seattle ? Must be something going around…
Not to detract from the tragedy that story is, its just another example of an idiotic racist a55hole that should be locked up for life, but just found it ironic that a Sikh would say that “they just want to live in peace” when so many actively promote or, at the minimum, symphatize with anti-Indian organizations, and celebrate the life of a terrorist, Bhindrawale. Many Gurudwaras openly display signs calling for Khalistan, and even framed pictures of terrorists such as Bhindrawale. Guess they feel it is as important to respect these animals as it is the Gurus. Tragedy? yes, do they want to live in peace? A good many do not act like it.
An answer to Navratan’s query – yes, Sikhs can wear black turbans; there’s definitely no color restraints. While the colors of white, blue and orange do have some meanings; generally speaking, any color is a go. I know in the 70s some disagreements in the community arose when patterned dastars/pugh/turbans became the rage. Critics started saying it was too fashionable and took away from the meaning and commitment of a pugh.
Personally speaking, as a woman who wears a turban and who is also inflicted with a love of style and fashion, I always color coordinate. What can I say, I’m a New Yorker!!
…and yet…you did.
I’d say, each of us should spend a couple of years (at least) dating lots of white guys/gals and bring as little desi baggage as possible into those relationships. At the end of it all, I think lots of the majority population will be very well-educated about desis and hopefully have a positive impression 🙂 Heh heh…
How difficult is it, considering the financial power Sikhs have in the United States, to come up with a Public Service message that can be televised everywhere, all over the US done by promenient Sikh folks in key positions of power out there? I know for sure one of my friends who is Bloomberg’s right hand man and wears a turban to match his tie everyday 🙂 would gladly participate.
After 9/11 happened the Sikh Coalition of America distributed leaflets explaining who they were and stating they weren’t Muslim in the NYC area. However I’m unsure how effective that is. We, our generation of Mutineers has the power to raise this kind of dough to make this happen. I’m just completely unaware how much just such a campaign would cost.
Paging Preet Singh…that educational short film/documentary of yours needs to get shown all over the place, ASAP.
As an interesting aside, I heard a radio broadcast some while back, where a Sikh man was actually calling for the men in his community to cut their hair and remove their turbans, stating that it was a practice initiated by the Khalsa sect, and not Guru Nanak, but more practically, just do it for safety reasons. America and in particular, white America, has a defense strategy that’s unfortunately, turban = bad. Comedian Richard Jeni callously quipped after learning Sikh’s wore turbans too, and they weren’t muslim terrorists, “What, do we need a handbook of turbans now?”
America needs to be educated, but how many people have to be injured/killed to teach the lesson?
SM Intern, perhaps. Suchaiya hamasha karvi hondi hai.
I’d say, each of us should spend a couple of years (at least) dating lots of white guys/gals and bring as little desi baggage as possible into those relationships.
i’m doing my part.
re: about “education.” part of the problem is that those who can be educated are educated. the types who go on brown-bashing jaunts are not listening to PSA announcements, nor do they put much stock in their literacy skills. fundamentally, the problem is one of confusion and impulse control by the less intelligent sorts in society. they see sikhs and their cognitive mechanisms trigger and they go into action before their reflective mind kicks into high gear. how can we alleviate this problem? saturate their mental landscape, which i think living in an area where day to day interactions with sikhs is the norm. they might not listen to PSAs or read much, but they can be decent people face-to-face if you are humanized. the problem, as jai pointed to, is that our numbers as brownz don’t allow this sort of humanization as easily and regularly as in the UK.
p.s. i want to emphasize the importance of visual cues to these sorts. my parents are muslim and they live in the seattle area, but they didn’t encounter any racism, nor did many people at their mosque. rather, it was the sikhs who bore the brunt of the threats and violence because they dress differently.
Navratan, your ignorance here has nothing to do with the color of turbans. In reaching for a public example of a Sikh, you pick the Indian PM. For Shias, you zero in on a pair extremists, and you make it sound as if they are the standard of Islam. It’s the equivalent of saying, “notable Christian leaders like Pat Robertson and Jesse Helms” or “elite Hindu teachers like Bal Thackeray.”
The larger point of this article, as I see it, is that the act of wearing a turban makes no one (Sikh, Muslim or Erykah Badu) a terrorist. The suffering many Sikhs have had to go through since 9/11 should be an opportunity for a partnership between Sikhs and Muslims, and indeed between all people who oppose the formation of a persecuting society. We all need to be saying, “Fuck this, I don’t care what color the turban is, you can’t persecute people for their religious beliefs or their sense of fashion.”
In response to Jai (comment #2), I don’t see a qualitative difference between this stabbing in California and the recent hate incident in Oxford. In Oxford there was no physical violence involved, but the two incidents are in other ways similar: both were attacks based on misrecognition of Sikhs by people who may or may not have been mentally disturbed or intoxicated, respectively.
Things may be better in terms of recognition/visibility in the UK, but they aren’t that much better, I don’t think.
btw, in emphasizing the importance of dress, let me offer another somewhat similar example: during the riots over the babri mosque/ram temple years back, bohra ismailis were often more obvious and clear targets than sunni muslims because the latter often dressed like the general population, while orthodox (about 70-80%) of bohra men dress in a very specific and clearly obvious manner which sets them apart as muslims. of course, the bohra leadership (the dai) did not get involved in the babri mosque/ram temple issue at all, the community tends to stay clear of communal controversies.
My girlfriend is black and in the starting she had all the questions in the world about why, how and what etc. I cleared all those and more from her friends. Now she wears a KARA (steel bangle worn by all sikhs) 😉
I guess it is easy for the crowd from colleges and universities to have a better understanding of Sikhism than most. At Rutgers Uni, they have RUSIKH org which does a lot of good work and promotes awareness.
To think that everyone around the world knows who is President of USA but ask Americans who is the PM of India?
How come Pattie Kaur has not posted here yet? Does she no longer lurk here? I kind of miss her.
Absolutely horrible that such things can still happen in the US.
I’ve seen Sikhs wear all colours of turbans, usually to coordinate with their ties or shirts – very trendy some of them can be.
AFAIK, black turbans are worn by sayyids (those who claim descent from the prophet) among the Shia clergy.
I think it goes without saying that it would be just as awful if the person who was killed had belonged to a Muslim sect (turban wearing or not) and was assumed to be Taliban because of it. I’ll never forget the time a half-crazy guy took out a knife on a Sudanese student waiting for the campus bus with me a few days after 9/11 and ranted about “you Bin Laden types” (luckily said student fled).
A story about Sikhs, and ten comments in, there we have it. Not bad.
Stop blowing things out of proportion with sweeping statements like – “What is this world coming to, when you arenÂ’t safe in your own driveway?”. This is probably an isolated incident and IF it isn’t, it should be a wake up call to the members of the Sikh Community to wake up and spread the message. Or just change the way they live. I for one would rather be safe than be overly demonstrative about my religion.
I see a LOT of comments about white racist assholes. Seriously, its again a very very small percentage of the whole. Again, the IMAGE of Osama Bin Laden in his white turban has been ingrained in their head. What do you expect them to do? Know the distinction between the Sikhs and the Muslims. Why should they?
I watch a LOT of BBC, love British comedy, love British Football and British music and yet I couldnt make out the difference between an Irish and Scottish accent. A Scot was very offended that I thought he was from Ireland. But he laughed it off saying that he couldnt possibly expect me to know. In the same way, why are the whites expected to know the difference between the Sikhs and the Muslims.
Besides, I have lived in India for 22 years and I know a LOT of Indians who cant make out between Marathis and Gujarathis. Tamilians and Telugus.
Prashanth,
i am not one to see white racists everywhere, but i think your comment and your analogies are out of line and not appropriate. yes, muslims and sikhs can be confused, but, the difference is obvious after being told one or two distinguishing points. it really is egregious that people get attacked and sometimes killed for how they dress.
DT2004:
I wasn’t going to respond to your post (#10), I know I’m going to regret responding, and I’m not even going to address your main point, but since theking singh has already called you out on it, I just want to say you’re showing the typical hatred towards Sikhs that unfortunately way too many Punjabi Hindus have. Since you’re a 2nd gen, I assume you picked this up from your family/relatives. I think it boils down to the fact that the two communities have charted very different paths in terms of how much to assimilate (at the expense of losing their identity) into the ‘Indian mainstream’, and also how much of Punjabi language and traditional culture to hold on to. Furthermore, some Punjabi Hindus seem threatened that Sikhs would try to assert their own identity and religion and not be ‘on the same page’ as the Punjabi Hindus on every issue. Many Punjabi Hindus would like (and have tried) to dismiss Sikhi as just a derivative of (and nowhere near as pristine as) the version of Hinduism practiced by them. Bollywood and the Indian television industry, in which Punjabi Hindus are overwhelmingly represented behind the scenes as well as on-screen, is particulary merciless towards Sikhs and Sikhi.
Razib, it really is egregious that people get attacked and sometimes killed for how they dress
Couldn’t agree with you more. But my point is this: These sort of things CAN happen. Didn’t the policemen in London mistake a Brazilian Electrician to be a suicide bomber because of his large backpack and also because of his features.
If this is going to become more common I believe its up to the Sikhs to adapt themselves.
DT2004:
Furthermore, not to defend Bhindranwale IN THE SLIGHTEST (I have NO comment to make on him), but purely in linguistic terms, I bet you many Punjabi Hindus would not even understand one of his speeches, so far removed has the community become from its own language.
Thanks, Sona.
Mr. K,
I think my ignorance was indeed restricted to the color of turbans. I didn’t pick the Indian PM as an example of a turban wearer, but simply as the darkest turban I have seen. The hate of the haters is born from watching the Moqtada Sadr, OBL types,
I think we all have said this on this forum and else where many times. Doesn’t seem to stop the crimes. I was wondering aloud about a different idea. I haven’t seen muslims wear turbans in the US, though they might wear it in the home country. Sikhs end up receiving the hate of the racists. It is equally bad for Shia to pay for the extremists actions as it is for Sikhs. But Shia are largely safe because of not having identifying turbans (though they suffer from other identifying factors). Why not let the Sikhs have some safety too?
I would never suggest that Sikhs stop wearing turbans like the Shias do in order to stem hate crimes… Maybe if people can atleast leave alone the light turbans (all turbans they see here) even if they ideally should leave alone all turbans anywhere….
Anyway, it’s a moot point because of the OBL example. But please don’t jump to conclusions
If this is going to become more common I believe its up to the Sikhs to adapt themselves.
easy to say in your shoes, isn’t it? i’m speaking as someone who does believe that ethnic minorities in western countries should adapt and assimilate (and disappear demographically). but no matter my political beliefs, when it comes to day to day interactions i’m not going to pipe and say “stop dressing like that!” right after i hear about someone being killed for how they dress. there are plenty of groups that dress “strangely” in america. amish and hasidic jews come to mind.
Folks:
What Prashanth is basically saying is that Sikhs should remove their turbans, cut their hair, and shave off their beards…oh, I mean ADAPT themselves.
OK, leaving aside what I said for a moment, isn’t Bal Thackeray indeed a notable Hindu leader, whether I like it or not? Isn’t Pat Robertson a well known Christian leader, regardless of his bench pressing. If he were not, why do people care about what he says? It’s not just because of the content. Many people say whackier things.
i say bring the comment box that used to be on the left part of the site where conversations would always roll back and forth. one could be devoted to “all things punjabi.” 🙂
Sometimes I wonder what kind of jobs we all have that we can sit around and furiously write these posts to each other in amazingly rapid real time. And that goes for me too.
tech jobz 🙂
Razib:
THAT was impressive (the speed of your response).
tx.
and look hooz talking, re: speed of response.
Back to work for me.
DT2004
The next time an unfortunate Hindu man is stabbed in the neck by a racist and people say that Hindus just want to live in the peace, maybe someone can point out that many Hindus actively gloat and promote a politics of hatred and mass pogroms against Muslims in India. I have lost count of the number of times I’ve heard Hindus amongst my friends and family revel in the acts of bestiality commited under Modi. So what’s the deal? That man isn’t innocent because of the crassness of others? What a putrid and rancid morality.
Prashant,
These sorts of things CAN happen so Sikhs should adapt themselves?
How do you suggest Sikhs do that? Change the way they dress or not wear turbans? Because some ignoramus doesnÂ’t want to learn what religion he/she belongs to
Dani California, Every year at the Sikh Day Parade in NYC, they give out soooo much food, water, soda cans its insane. People walk away with bag-fulls of goodies and wait for the next year. I’ve been randomly asked at my father’s gift shop abou t my “good sikh people” and our parade
Indians in general have a problem with staring (especially the older crowd), dont take it the wrong way. Glad you had fun and I am hopeful that despite the little rudeness you would go this year again with more whiteys as you put it and enjoy. All are welcome and its good to ask questions. As for going in the temple, I am SURE that nobody would mind if you do go in, just ask somebody to help you through 🙂
@Razib, Amitabh:
Guilty as charged. I guess the answer lies somewhere between having to invest in a large scale media program and interacting more with the people around them. But, I don’t see these crimes going down anytime soon.
Many Sikhs did actually cut their hair and shave their beards after the riots/pogroms following Indira Gandhi’s assassination and remember that period bitterly today. There is a fair amount of shame and humiliation involved in cutting off one’s hair for many Sikhs (partly because it was associated at the time with having your hair/beard cut off forcibly by bigots). So I don’t think many of them would take kindly to the suggestion that they just have to shave and fit in.
And I don’t think any of us would want to live in the US if it became the sort of society where you had to wipe out all traces of “foreignness” or else risk racist attacks…
Dani California, I can just imagine the food flowing at the Sikh festival…mmm, langar food!
If ANYONE here is responsible for blowing things and making sweeping statements…
No, that’s not sensational at all. What an offensive opinion. Where or how far should we take this brilliant strategy? I guess Muslim girls in hijab who get harassed deserve it, because they were “overly demonstrative” about religion? Lunacy.
This reminds me of how rape victims are slandered with, “She asked for it. Look at how she was dressed…” etc. Everyone should be able to express themselves sartorially or otherwise, without fear of violent reprisal.
“And I don’t think any of us would want to live in the US if it became the sort of society where you had to wipe out all traces of “foreignness” or else risk racist attacks…”
What do you mean, if it became, I think there’s evidence it’s pretty much there. LIke someone said earlier, I think some sort of happy medium is required. If a certain style of dress triggers negative thinking (however erroneous that thinking is, it exists none the less) that could prove fatal.
Also, I believe the only people to go to the extent of violence are those with diminished mental capacity, and moreover, those that have nothing to lose. If a turban’d, bearded, dark skinned man boards the Wall Street subway stop, I’m sure more than one of those financial execs wanna take a stab, but don’t because they’ve got jobs and family and lives to think about.
Anyhow, it’s not a position I’m personally in, so I’m not about yell out “stop dressing like that” But I think some folks have to think whether or not the “juice is worth the squeeze.” But I understand the frustration because ideally, it’s not a decision that one should have to make.
Hey thanks for letting us know and keep us posted of the updates. . .I pray everything works out and the little granddaughter quickly forgets the such a horrible day. . . .
A big problem is the bowling alone scenario Anna referred to, and the segmentation of the population Razib referred to. I am unlikely to run into people who don’t know who Sikhs are, let alone who think they are Taliban, or that Taliban should simply be stabbed in the neck. I do make it a habit to cultivate as much accurate and detailed information about all kinds of cultures, not just my own, and bring them up as appropriate. I do this mostly b/c it’s a good way to gather string on more interesting information, and I like to play amateur cultural anthropologist, but I find it also spreads understanding. Naturally, this only works with people who are willing to talk and listen and share.
How you crack more solid barriers, however, is still beyond me. We live in an increasingly unneighborly culture, especially in suburbia ( I think both rural areas and urban areas tend to be more neighorly). The dating idea is cute but slightly impractical, there’s only a couple of million of us and we’re not exactly famed for our sleeping around abilities as a group. I guess being patient and not keeping to ourselves and getting involveed with the larger community—harkens on my constant political harping on the notion of formulating desi political priorities in terms of principles instead of interests.
I find the whole conversation about Sikhs elevating their profile and public perception slightly distasteful. We (including Sikhs) would be better off if we spend our time on stopping random acts of violence against innocent people than in trying to find ways to raise the public perception of Sikhs so the right kind of people can be targeted.
@Anna:
I guess you missed my apology some where there! It was written in haste.