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]
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]
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]
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.]
