And some days I really miss America.

Blame it on Bin Laden.

That was poetic E.

Sadly, it takes more than one man (or 20) to tear down 200 years of civil liberties.

I suppose I remain hopefull, ennis - defiantly speaking to my parents in Bengali, and speaking of bombing a presentation or exam...

...but you know what - I get pretty upset when my dad and brother don't check in when I expect during their plane trips.

No, this is just about the little reminders you get, like the whiff of an exes’ perfume, of what you’ve lost. And some days I really miss America.

*sigh* yes.

Ennis

America is a work in constant progress - there has always been dissonance between the ideals and the reality - that is the story of African Americans and others. The job of people like you and me is to make sure we keep America close to her soul and ideals.

Aww Ennis, what a heartbreaking post - I'v still got goosebumps.

It's funny living just on the other side of the border with this immensly powerful nation of yours, one with the kind of ferment and repression that I hope to never know. The fear and the anger that I hear about and the stories I read sadden me beyond words. And make me count my blessings that my parents decided to immigrate here instead of there.

When you live in the "freest nation on earth" and Billy Bragg's too much of a threat and you're afraid of being disappeared for what you wear and the colour of your skin (I'm still reeling from your the "Patriot Act Checkins") when speaking in your own language is something that you're afraid the government might get you for - WHAT THE HELL. I have to commend you on your ability to keep on keepin' on and to be able to voice these dark shadows that seem to be everywhere - I think it's important to be sad and angry and most importantly, vocal. I'm sorry this isn't more articulate but it's such an emotional post and I'm having a totally emotional reaction to it. And I hope one day - for all our sakes - that your country regains its (troubled) sanity.

Maybe it's just because I've had a long week, but I do not see how this merits the "woe is me" attitude. As far as limitations on language go, where have you been? You could not say "bomb" on an airplane back in the 90's. (Remember the scene in "Meet the Parents" where Ben Stiller gets tossed off an airplane?) After Oklahoma City, even mild criticism of the federal government has to be preceded with a disclaimer that you did not have a garage filled with fertilzer and a Ryder truck.

I do not hesitate to speak Bengali on a cellphone or in public with family - I've never had any one give me grief for it or even toss me a curious glance.

Ennis, thank you so much for your awesome post. Many of us have had similar moments of dissonance and I’m really glad you wrote about this, because these are the stories that don’t go in statistics, don’t go in police reports, don’t go in newspapers, but so dramatically and drastically affect the way that so many of us (now more than ever) live our lives in the United States. The things we say, don’t say, or can’t say; the things we do, don’t do, or can’t do.

The one that always gets me is when on seemingly random (perhaps there is some logic that I don’t understand) days there will be uniformed men (always men) posted at train stations, airports, subway stations holding guns that seem longer than I am tall. Their fingers are always poised right on the trigger as their eyes bore into me. “Is he a threat, is he not a threat? Is he a Muslim? Why does he wear what he wears? Why is he looking away? Why is he looking at me?” I try to keep telling myself I haven’t done anything wrong, I’m not going to do anything, I’m just minding my own business, going to work like anyone else, going home like anyone else. But, as they say, that shit don’t mean nothin' when you’re staring down the barrel of a gun.

"We're going to get it together right?"

Yes we are. This is our country, and we're going to make it better, in all our myriad knuckleheaded ways.

I loved this post. Very measured, and honest. It says something beautiful about one person doing their own thing in this complicated time and place.

I sincerely hope you don't get any dumb comments in response to this.

Ennis - I have such a fondness for Worker's Playtime - I used to listen to it incessantly in college. Funny, that song was running through my head the other day...

Your experiences differ from mine, according to our past 'conversations', desi with short-short hair and super midwestern accented gal that I am. My heart breaks when I think about how you have felt threatened. Ennis, dear Ennis! How could anyone threaten you, my blog-friend?

I do miss a certain feel of pre- 9-11 America - I'm furious that murderers purposely targeted civilians and that the public square doesn't feel the same anymore. Sometimes, riding the subway, I think thoughts that I never had before. That package sitting unattended, that wierd guy muttering in the corner, what is that noise? What the heck is that rattling noise? Actually, those feelings have faded with time, but it's still there, under the surface. Such bastards, those murderers. Such complete and utter bastards (will that language get me bleeped? Can I have a little leeway just this once - I'm usually so good on this site.)

I have to commend you on your ability to keep on keepin' on and to be able to voice these dark shadows that seem to be everywhere

Brownfrown, you said it perfectly. Thanks for this, Ennis. It's good to be reminded.

Oh, and to add to KXB, as long as we are into the anecdotes I asked my father who travels a lot, used to have a very heavy dark, long beard, and an accent, if he has any problems traveling. I really wanted to know because of your experiences, but he said no and sounded surprised. Sorry, Ennis, I just feel I have to add that. He sounded really surprised that I would even ask him.

I've never had any one give me grief for it or even toss me a curious glance.

Do you wear a turban?

I live in NYC and have not personally experienced even one negative incident post-911, this does not make me disbelieve my mother's story of some douchebags screaming 'Go back to your country' at her at the grocery store parking lot. She don't look so Mediterranean no more. Nowwhatimean?

sirc - it's the turban, I think, that is the salient feature. But, I also think that some people go out of their way to assume that everyone will be treated the same and that one anecdote represents the whole. Ennis has one experience, I have one, my father another. What is the truth? It's all three. And then we break it down. One - American raised desi in western clothers. Indian raised man with heavy beard - two. Man in turban - three. I'd be nervous if I wore a turban, too. It would be interesting to survey a large group of Sikhs in the US - from all strata and political groups. How does your experience go?

Before, there were curious eyes, and now its just ignorance (hatred).
there are abundant moments in a day that remind me of where and what I am

word

Sirc,

No, I do not wear a turban, and I will admit that probably affect my viewpoint, but most Indian Americans in the U.S. do not wear turbans. But if I'm on an L platform, talking to relatives in Bengali, no one is going to confuse that for Spanish. If anything, I am then approached by other brown folks asking what part of India my family is from.

I can understand where postings like Ennis come from - but to draw that personal experience to a whole nation is faulty. Consider that this coming Monday, hundreds of thousands of Latinos will be engaging in rallies, expressing their desire to stay and work to become Americans - this can't be as bad a country as its detractors claim.

in the heat of the moment, i didnt even type my name right...sheesh

MD- You just echoed my point. Why would we all have anthing but varied experiencs? I'm not a Sikh, I was just pointing out to KXB, you don't belittle someone's experience because it's not your own.

actually, sirc, I should have pointed my comment to brownfrown. :) When I was growing up I heard how horribly canadian desis were treated, and to this day, despite having relatives in Toronto, my parents general feeling is that the US treats desis better than canada. Okay, I don't want to start a canadian versus american desi flame war, it's just that I find the attitude of your comment incredibly irritating. I love America and I'm glad I live here. I don't feel that I live in a repressive state, sorry, I am happy and successful and well-treated. I don't need your sympathy for being a brown american.

Thanks Ennis, for the post.

The days immediately following 9/11 were tough for even women with brown or olive complexions, and even if you lived in Canada. It suddenly became okay to target minorities - it was the PERFECT opportunity to practise racism without anyone doing anything, and sometimes with a stamp of approval.

A few days after 9/11, my oft mistaken for middle-eastern sister, was waiting at the bus stop (a bus she took every day to go to school) one morning. The bus driver stared her square in the eye and passed her by. My point is if two people in my immediate family have been affected, and those two people are women living in Canada, I can't even begin to imagine what brown men in the U.S. have to go through. It's bad enough for most browns, and it's gotta be 10x worse for those who are muslim and wear the traditional hijab and other clothing, as well as sikh men. Still worse for those in service positions - most of us on this forum have cushy jobs in universities and hospitals and downtown offices - and are thus protected from alot of the ignorance. You probably don't even hear half the incidents.

And don't know if you guys heard this story - but a Torontonian woman of indian origin, who was wearing a sari, along with her young son, was denied access to a bus the days following 9/11, while the passengers cheered the driver on - ethnic slurs and possible physical violence were mentioned as well. My sister told me about the story - it was in the globe and mail, sept or october '01... I'll try to find it. I can't believe this would happen in Toronto of all places - Toronto has a huge South Asian population, and really, you'd expect people to be less ignorant.

Hmm. I was afraid I was going to get that. I'm not trying to be sanctimonious. There are race issues here like there are in the States. It's not a perfect country, but this post would never be a reality in Canada. At least not currently. And I was responding to it - not to you and your clear love of your country.

Of course you're allowed to love whatever it is you want to. And if you don't find the States repressive - that's fine, that's your experience. Would I ever want to live there? Not particularily. Does everyone share your sentiment of

I don't feel that I live in a repressive state, sorry, I am happy and successful and well-treated.

probably not. Don't worry, you don't have my sympathies at all.

I just want people to try to think outside of our cushy, educated, successful 2nd gen experiences. That's all. Try to empathize with the shit that people, often 1st gen or recent immigrants, have to go through.

I am happy and successful and well-treated. I don't need your sympathy for being a brown american.

Aren't you very fair though MD? My memory is fallible. But what we regard as an arbitrary difference in our melanin can make all the difference. We (hopefully) think we're all Indian, but a racist may look at a fair-skinned Indian and say nothing, then see someone darker and call them a sand nigger paki coon fuck. Etc.

I hear you Ennis. Maybe its because we believed in this country and what it stood for, as Sikhs there was always the sense that, you do things right here and you'll be given a fair shake in the end. Before recent events, there was a sense that you could go pretty much anywhere in the country and sooner or later you could earn people's respect, even if you had a turban. I'm sure there's different reactions based somewhat on community. I wouldn't be trying to compare sob stories by ethnicity or religion....but sometimes I think for Sikhs the dream kind of died a little bit. and it _was_ a pretty good dream. There's a bit of of over-statement, but this country and its ideals were a place Sikhs felt at home, and that's just kind of a little bit gone.

BTW I love Alt Country music too

We (hopefully) think we're all Indian, but a racist may look at a fair-skinned Indian and say nothing, then see someone darker and call them a sand nigger paki coon fuck. Etc.

That could make a difference, but my sis is pretty light-skinned and she was targetted. It all depends on the "targetters" pereception of what middle-easterners look like, I guess.

And don't know if you guys heard this story - but a Torontonian woman of indian origin, who was wearing a sari, along with her young son, was denied access to a bus the days following 9/11, while the passengers cheered the driver on - ethnic slurs and possible physical violence were mentioned as well. My sister told me about the story - it

brownfrown - how do you know the topic of this post could never be a reality in Canada? What if a 9-11 like event happened in Canada? Are you so sure that things are more open and less repressive? Sorry, I know it seems like I'm attacking you, and I don't mean to. your response to ennis was touching and kind, it's just that, honestly. You make it sound like North Korea down here. It's not. If it's so horrible, why are more Canadians moving to the US than the other way around? Why?

Thanks for corroborating and correcting the bus story. I think that's the one - I remember she was punched in the face.

MD:

how do you know the topic of this post could never be a reality in Canada?

Also, yes, there are some Canucks moving south for the money, not the lifestyle. I wouldn't equate money with happiness. That's why.

Oh lord, I really should think before I post. BB: that was the point to my first comment: it's the turban. But some people take that experience and extrapolate to all browns and all of America. That's not fair.

brownfrown: yikes, how many times can I say sorry :) Sorry, sorry, sorry :) Maybe I should go get some coffee and chill a little, I can see you didn't mean anything by your comment. I guess it's just that if you spend enough time on SM you get tired of the constant slagging-off of some 'mericans. Did I do that slang right, BB?

MD - check your eyes, girl. I don't think you even know who or what you're responding to anymore! ;)

thanks metric, embarrassingly I didn't read your comment. Oops. Can I say sorry again brownfrown?

Ugh. Off for coffee.

Oh, and Ennis? We all still love you here in blogland! I'm sorry you had that experience.

And before I head out - just wanted to add something else as MD's comment struck a chord. I too have never really been targetted by anyone (except the police!) I can't recall ever having been victim to a racist insult. So I'm like you MD. In fact I would wager that most people would agree South Asians probably receive less abuse in the UK. However, I differ from your final conclusion.

I am happy and successful and well-treated.

I am well-treated, but I know that plenty aren't. Hence I do think things have got ample room for improvement.

I am well-treated, but I know that plenty aren't. Hence I do think things have got ample room for improvement.

Exactly.

okay, lied about the coffee. Bong Breaker, I think we are all talking past each other. I specifically stated that the truth is complicated in my first few comments and that anecdotes don't tell the whole story. Is Ennis's experience more emblematic of the US or is mine? Or, are they all part of the whole.

I am sorry the dream died for some Sikhs in the US. Some of you were cultural collateral and it's unfair. Deeply unfair.

Are the Punjabi girls in Vancouver really all that? Or is it hype? Discuss.

"I mean, it’s inconsiderate to sing along while on a public carriage."

Now if only we could arrest everyone who did that....

Are the Punjabi girls in Vancouver really all that? Or is it hype? Discuss.

Is Ennis's experience more emblematic of the US or is mine? Or, are they all part of the whole.

They're moving down there 'cause y'all make more money, it's a fact.

And oh god do I not want to get into this but come on - September 11th has a lot to do with the country that was attacked. Canada just does not feature the same way in global politics and doesn't have *quite* the same relationship with Saudi royal families, Isreal, imperialism and oil. I'm not going to say a word on what I think of any of those things - I'm just saying for better or worse, the two countries work on entirely different social and political visions. We're not the hegemonic superpower and we don't have the same hegemonic superpower issues - abroad or at home.

Of course, as metric has pointed out, there's horribly racist stuff that happens in Canada too. However, I don't think anyone is afraid to enter airports becuase they're brown (unless it's to or through the States - and then we really do start to freak a bit) and I've never heard of anyone have to text home periodically to let them their loved ones know they're still free and not rotting in jail without any outside contact or a trial for months. So saying, indefinite detentions do happen in Canada - however, what's missing is the widespread fear amongst the brown community that it could be one of them at any time, which is what this post, and the post about the Clash song seems to point to.

So while I understand why someone commenting who doesn't even live in your country and doesn't have the sentimental ties to it that you do, may be irratating, I have this to say: 1. That's the point of a blog like this. We all sit here and wax long and hard about all kinds of brown issues and this is no different. 2. While your experience seems to have been a good one - and I'm glad that it is - you can't deny that there is a systemic and institutionalised prejudice in the states against people who "look like terrorists" because the "terrorists stole our/your freedom". And when those people happen to look like our fathers and brothers, that makes me mad. 3. I like Billy Bragg and would be really really sad not to be able to sing along to the lyrics for fear of having security called on me as a possible seditious threat.

nah i don't think cultural collateral is what it is. things are a little rough right now, but I think it will get better. they already have actually

haha b/c it took me so long to hit post on that goddamn long ramble - MD my last comment comes way after this thread has moved on already. And don't appologise anymore - we're allowed to disagree about this stuff and not feel badly for it.

However, I don't think anyone is afraid to enter airports

hush, hush, keep it down now...

ok... this is horribly off-topic - but couldnt help add that toronto airport would shut down if they got nasty on bearded people with turbans. and there're some mighty fine she-sikhnis there .. frisk me, frisk me... !! ooo.. aa... thand pai gaee um.. 'scuse :-)

Lol - that's true. I'd say 70% of the people at the TO airport are brown. I love the TO airport.

ok... this is horribly off-topic - but couldnt help add that toronto airport would shut down if they got nasty on bearded people with turbans. and there're some mighty fine she-sikhnis there .. frisk me, frisk me... !! ooo.. aa... thand pai gaee um.. 'scuse :-)

*laughing uncontrollably*

When I'm with a group of people I know, I usually avoid talking in Hindi (on phone or otherwise) . I don't give a damn when I'm with total strangers (train, airport etc).
offtopic:
I've been in US for 5 years now...find it funny when some people ask me - How do you Indians speak "so good" English ? My usual answer is that we had English in school..they same way as they did. The replies that I get are usually to the effect - "but I can't speak french/spanish/german ..which was my 2nd language in school". People somehow fail to grasp the fact that we too had proper English instruction. We also had Shakespearean dramas in class 9th-12th, and had fair share of tennyson, frost and gb shaw in our textbooks. English was not a second language for most of us..it was the "medium of instruction". The only class during which our teacher spoke Hindi was the Hindi class.
I've been told numerous times by my (american) professors here that most of the Indians speak (and write) better English than "american undergrads" (in engineering).

Two of my uncles in California wear turbans and I have heard them speak punjabi in public all including the San Fran airport and at Disneyland. And nobody freaked out.

I'm sorry about what Ennis is going through. But being Canadian and having spent alot of time in the U.S after 9/11 I have not had there problems. I guess the fact that I'm non-religous sikh, who don't wear a turban has alot to do with it.

As for post 35 and 37, yes those girls are all hype.

The British crew here might want to discuss their experiences post the London bombing last year - I know for a fact that all brown skin men were nervous, jumpy and felt accused in the aftermath - I know I did. You had to have been there to understand it in the month after the Underground suicide bombings - not just Indians, Pakistanis, Bengalis, but mixed race, Greek, Turkish - everyone faintly cocoa colored was stared at and under suspicion, especially after the Brazilian was shot dead for running to catch his train. And that does not feel good and is not healthy. One other thing - a lot of Hindus who for ages sneered at the victimisation that Muslims felt and came out with the usual right wing baloney that they brought it on themselves, or ignored what Sikhs occasionally underwent, all of a sudden realised what the hell it felt like to be under gaze and accused and actually started to develop some empathy.

As for September 11th, two days afterwards on the way home on the bus in Camden Town I was shouted and screamed at, and I am a clean shaven, groomed Hindu Punjabi wearing a pin stripe suite working at a law firm. All the Bangladeshi men in my area were keeping their heads down low around then. Quite something to be at the end of a hateful rage for something you did not do - and those people who are lucky enough or cosseted and protected enough never to be on the end of a verbal or physical attack like that with all the vulnerability you feel, shouldnt extrapolate themselves that it is not a problem or shouldnt be worried about.

The tension in the air in London was palpable. The vulnerability you feel, especially away from the more cosmopolitan urban centres, can be bad sometimes.

As for post 35 and 37, yes those girls are all hype.

Having spent more time on Friendster than I care to admit, I too will agree that Canadian Punjabans are hype. And California ones too.

I thought it would be easier for people (atleast newyorkers) to know about sikhs. I assumed this as sikhs are everywhere in nyc. But after 9/11, the ignorance was so overwhelming.
But as a proud sikh, i love to explain to people who have the decency of asking without assuming.

Of course after any major event like 9/11, the spain or london bombing there will be people who act out because if anger.

But if you look at the anger after 9/11 in the U.S after 3000 people died and you compare it to the anger after the Danish Cartoons in the muslim world. The Americans look better then do people in the muslim world.

But if you look at the anger after 9/11 in the U.S after 3000 people died and you compare it to the anger after the Danish Cartoons in the muslim world. The Americans look better then do people in the muslim world.

But that doesnt have anything to do with it. That is 'the Muslim world's' issue. Just because it isnt as bad as Saudi Arabia in America doesnt make the issue, or the need to discuss the vulnerability people feel over it, any the less relevant.

Of course after any major event like 9/11, the spain or london bombing there will be people who act out because if anger.

Of course, of course - and so you can look forward to a spit in the face when Toronto finally gets bombed too, and then tell the people who did it that it's OK, you understand their anger.

But if you look at the anger after 9/11 in the U.S after 3000 people died and you compare it to the anger after the Danish Cartoons in the muslim world. The Americans look better then do people in the muslim world.

Uh, yeah... the US only invaded 2 countries and are now setting their sites on a third. It's funny what you can do when you have the flow for enough armament to just roll in and flatten places that make you mad. Or have oil, whatevs. Why bother having angrily demonstrate when you can calmly colonise?

I too will agree that Canadian Punjabans are hype

What on earth are you guys talking about? What does this have to do with Ennis' post?
You're hurting my feelings!

sigh. typos are going to be the death of me. sorry "sights" and there's a "to" in the last sentence.

Thank you all for such lovely reactions. I went away to a meeting and came back (2.5 hours later - ugh) to find some very thoughtful responses that I've really enjoyed reading. Just a few minor reactions on concrete points:

KXB said:

Maybe it's just because I've had a long week, but I do not see how this merits the "woe is me" attitude. As far as limitations on language go, where have you been? You could not say "bomb" on an airplane back in the 90's. [Link]

Firstly, although I may not have conveyed it well, what I'm feeling is not self-pity (at least I hope not) but tristess, sadness, a heaviness of the heart. And I grew up with the restrictions about not joking about a bomb when you cross airport security. There are big signs making that very clear.

But what I was singing was an apposite lovesong, about a relationship gone sour. If a white person was to sing those words, nobody who heard "Time Bomb" would hear it literally - it's about falling in love with a little time bomb, about having an explosive situation in your life, a little nitroglycerine in your heart. However, those same lyrics, those same words, coming from my bearded turbaned visage would produce a very different reaction, a far far more severe one.

I can understand where postings like Ennis come from - but to draw that personal experience to a whole nation is faulty. Consider that this coming Monday, hundreds of thousands of Latinos will be engaging in rallies, expressing their desire to stay and work to become Americans - this can't be as bad a country as its detractors claim. [Link]

I'm not saying America is a horrible place, far from it. I am saying that America has a less equal standard of freedoms now than they did in recent times. This is a racially targetted restriction of rights.

Sirc said, and others said something similar:

I live in NYC and have not personally experienced even one negative incident post-911 [Link]

It varies according to who you are and where you are. Sikhs have had it far worse than any other group, with over 400 hate crimes. I have a few other posts waiting in the back of my head on my personal experiences with this. And while there have been a number of violent hate crimes in NYC, NYC is one of the safest places to be. I currently live in the heartland, in a state that voted average, and that looks like ... what many people think America is. And it's not a very hospitable place. "Metropolis," OTOH, is great which argues that it's not just the region, but also the size of where you live. In general, you're best off in a coastal metro area. When I go home to NYC, I feel great, and I relax some in terms of these precautions. But out here ...

beauty, ennis. thanks =)

one day.. about a year an a half ago.. i was on a commuter bus into manhattan. i sat down, turned on the iPOD -- knocked out. the bus jolts to a stop. doors open. a handful walk on board.. take seats. i'm an obnoxious early-20s, sprawled out over both seats. two men sit in the pair of seats in front of me. late 30s early 40s maybe. tall. dark. one was quite attractive. i turned off my ipod. i'm not sure why. i eavesdropped in on their foreign-tongued conversation. mystified by the hand gestures. they were talking about something very important. i felt a little tightening right under my sternum. i started peaking through the crack between the seats to see what they had brought onto the bus with them. we approached the lincoln tunnel. i suddenly felt an urge to call my mom. i looked around the bus. dude across the aisle was passed out. lady diagonal was putting on lipstick. i was ashamed. still am. that was one of my lowest moments ever. and, to the community generally, i am so deeply sorry.

Being from a sikh background I would feel safer in america, then living in any muslim country.

It's horrible that you even have to write a post like this. I wish some people had more of a capacity to understand these problems instead of simply saying "well, most browns don't have turbans." Though obviously I haven't experienced this hatred first-hand, I've seen it through my husband's experiences. Even now when I see people giving him the eye, I purposely speak louder in English to stick it to 'em. I'm sure this doesn't help, and I'm still not positive why I do it, but it's almost instinct now. When getting on the subway last week with two suitcases, my first thought was what other people would think about the combination of a turban, a suitcase, and a confined area in NYC. It sucks horribly to have to worry about these stupid things.

What started out as "hey, that man looks funny" is now "hey, that man looks like a terrorist." I don't have much faith in that changing anytime soon.

Maybe Waris will run for President and fix all of this =)

Ennis, you took my quote out of context, no fair. I was (less artfully) making the same point you were making. Much respect, tho'.

PearlJamFan,
Can you connect Kevin Bacon to Islamic fundamentalism in six links or less?

Sirc, sorry, you're right. It was just the first geographical comment I came across while scrolling down. Probably I should have used PJF discussing his uncles at SFO and Disney ... I know what you meant though ;)

And it's not a very hospitable place. "Metropolis," OTOH, is great which argues that it's not just the region, but also the size of where you live. In general, you're best off in a coastal metro area. When I go home to NYC, I feel great, and I relax some in terms of these precautions. But out here ...

I agree with this. As the joke went, the safest place for a brown man to be right after 9/11 was New York City...

I also agree that theres a lot of subterrenean racism out there just waiting to bloom. All it takes for a minority population to become prey is a charismatic, bigoted, leader; a serious economic downturn; or another terrorist attack or two. With regard to leadership, I do appreciate George Bush's calming rhetoric in the wake of 9/11.

People dismiss yahoo and related boards as sewers of fanaticism and unrepresentative of "mainstream opinion." But really, they are places where people can honestly express themselves without much consequence.

I also agree that theres a lot of subterrenean racism out there just waiting to bloom. All it takes for a minority population to become prey is a charismatic, bigoted, leader; a serious economic downturn; or another terrorist attack or two.

...and one or two plagiarized nove...eh? what? Oh.

The dreaded Opal Mehta backlash. Someone hold me. Tightly.

Kevin Bacon and Islamic terrorism in 6 links or less

1.Kevin Bacon was in trapped with Dakota Fanning
2.Dakota Fanning was in Cat in the Hat with Mike Myers
3.Mike Myers had his wayne world segment on SNL which Wayne Gretzky hosted on May 13,1989 and Gretzky had part in that Wayne World skit.
4.Wayne Gretzky rookie year he was teammate and roomate of Garnet Bailey in 1979-1980 season.
5.Garnet Bailey 11 seasons in the NHL[107 goals, 171 assists]died on flight 175 on sept 11, 2001 when it hit the world trade center.
6.9/11 was an act of Islamic Fundametalism

I'm the Decider, see? I decide what's best. That's my job. And I decide who internalizes what.

Kevin Bacon was in trapped with Dakota Fanning

I totally misread that. I think I should be arrested.

Now we know, for sure, that PJF is a Canadian.

F'n A. Alright, PJF you have earned your right to be one-track uncle.

I was born and raised in western canada, but in next year will make the big move down south. USA USA USA USA!!!!!!!!!!

Hahaha. How many desi-six-degrees of separation can we do for Kevin Bacon? How about Kevin Bacon and Billy Bragg? I'm sure we could do the six degrees for those two. And, on a totally wierdo note, who's the desi Billy Bragg? It's all so confusing......

sirc what does one-track uncle mean?

And that was the 1st time I ever did 6 disagress of Kevin Bacon.

[9/11 was an act of Islamic Fundametalism]

Yeah, I hear Atta flipped friends flipped out because their Muslim hair band failed to become the next Stryper...

Now we know, for sure, that PJF is a Canadian.

meaning totally obsessive in a slightly genius sort of way?

;)

ennis, this was a great post. Thank you for writing something that stimulated dicsussion like this.

espressa, thanks for posting that confession. I think it takes a big person to care enough about that kind of mistake and publicly apologize for it.

Eddie: The safest place for a brown man to be right after 9/11 was New York City...

In New York: I had a piece of ice thrown at my head, got called a dothead (at a bar in the East Village), and was then told that this was okay because "You're brown and I'm White" (this later turned into a huge fight outside the bar during which bottles were thrown...I was happily not part of it), I attended the funeral of a Bangladeshi man who was killed, a demonstration of another Bangladeshi man who was stabbed to death, and when the War in Iraq started, I felt afraid to leave work both because I was afraid of being attacked in a hate crime (one of which had already occurred in the posh Brooklyn neighborhood I was living in--a Pakistani photographer was beaten severely within weeks of 9/11) and because I was afraid of political violence. In 2003, the police handcuffed me and searched me in a subway station because I was watching two other people get arrested and not complying quickly enough with their directions. I was wearing a kurta, but I don't think that this had to do with it as much as that I was questioning their authority.

And I'm bourgie!

Real fucking safe.

When I was a 12 years old I had a stryper album, I think it was called To hell with the Devil

"People dismiss yahoo and related boards as sewers of fanaticism and unrepresentative of "mainstream opinion." "

i called yahoo boards a sewer, but i do think it represents "mainstream" opinion more than anyone would care to admit.

Kevin Bacon and Islamic terrorism in 6 links or lessKevin Bacon and Islamic terrorism in 6 links or less

Whoa. PJF - I'm... floored. I join sirc in applauding your talents.

1. Kevin Bacon was with Sean Penn in Mystic River.
2. Sean Penn was with Dakota Fanning in I Am Sam.
3. Dakota Fanning was with Tom Cruise in War of the Worlds.
4. Tom Cruise was with Katie Couric in Goldmember.
5. Katie Couric was with Kaavya Vis...see what I’ve gone and done there?

Na, brownfrown is just spitting out the traditional reactionary canadian anti- yankee ism.

it's mostly harmless. Here's a good guide to it from a canadian.

http://www.filibustercartoons.com/canguide_4_aaa.php

I remember visiting Alberta a few months after 9/11. When I spoke with my Chicago accent, they got even more confused.

I was living in Toronto when 9/11 happened, and even though the events that transpired that day had an effect on the people up there, there was never any major backlash towards Muslims or Sikhs, aside from a couple of isolated incidences of vandalism at a Mandir and a Gurdwara in the Toronto area. The mood was sombre and sympathetic, and I never felt the target of untoward sentiments.

A couple of years later, I moved to northern California, and all of a sudden I felt a certain uneasiness despite the time that had passed since 9/11. Perhaps mainly because I had just left a city with such a large and accepted Indian population for an area where that wasn't the case, but it was the stares, body language, and the insulting comments I'd get from time to time that was a little unsettling. The sense I had after moving to California was very reminiscent of the feeling I had when I was the only turbaned Sikh kid in high school - just a certain uneasiness and having to be constantly aware of my surroundings and who's in them. You mitigate your behaviour to make sure you don't pick up the attention of someone who is just looking for an excuse to cause you trouble. Being in a large city doesn't necessarily help. Visiting Venice Beach in LA, my brother and I were "shooed" away by a stall-owner/vendor, because having two turbaned guys browsing his sunglasses stall was apparently bad for his business.

I've of course become used to it again, but I get reminded by my non-Indian friends when we're out, who aren't used to the silent (and not-so-silent) attention you get when you look a certain way.

MD said :

I have such a fondness for Worker's Playtime - I used to listen to it incessantly in college.

I haven't read all the comments here, but I find it amusing that you (a republican ? :) ) like Worker's Playtime. If I remember correctly the liner notes say stuff like "Capitalism kills music" and talks about how great Mao is or something --- and I don't think BB (Billy Bragg not Bong Breaker) was being ironic. Still, I share your (and Ennis's) fondness for the album --- catchy, funny stuff.

Hell, I'll do it three steps (using http://www.cs.virginia.edu/oracle/ )

Osama bin Laden was in Farenheit 9/11 (2004) with Britney Spears
Britney Spears was in Pauly Shore Is Dead (2003) with Sherri Shepherd
Sherri Shepherd was in Beauty Shop (2005) with Kevin Bacon

http://www.cs.virginia.edu/oracle/

Wow. Damn powerful tool. Humanity is victorious at last:

Kaavya Viswanathan was in The Today Show (2006) with Katie Couric
Katie Couric was in Austin Powers in Goldmember (2002) with Clint Howard
Clint Howard was in My Dog Skip (2000) with Kevin Bacon

This is too much fun.

Aishwarya rai has a Bacon number of 2:

Aishwarya Rai was in Last Legion, The (2006) with Colin Firth
Colin Firth was in Where the Truth Lies (2005) with Kevin Bacon

OK, I'll stop now.

Or:

In 2003 Senator Robert Torricelli raised money for Democratic Presidential candidate John Kerry and also donated money to a 527 group called "Americans for Jobs and Health Care" that ran controversial ads juxtaposing candidate Howard Dean with Osama bin Laden.

Torricelli was implicated in the Chinagate scandal, investigated by Senator Fred Dalton Thompson.

Fred Dalton Thompson was in White Sands (1992) with John Lafayette

John Lafayette was in Loverboy (2005) with Kevin Bacon

Therefore, Kevin Bacon is a terrorist.

Photographic proof of Kevin Bacon's link to Al Qaeda!

A few years ago I was coming back to the States after an extended period of time and flew into LAX. I didn't know about the Transportation Safety Authority (TSA), which had been created in my absence. I was on my way out of the terminal to immigration along with my fellow passengers, primarily East Asian. There was a TSA officer waiting before immigration (armed, of course). The black hole of my relative darkness drew his wandering gaze away from the other passengers and he pointed to me and instructed me to come over to him. Papers - he looked over them, looked up at me, back at the papers, asked me a few questions which I don't remember - check. He let me go. This was before immigration, mind you, so I can only imagine where I would have ended up if he hadn't been satisfied.

Immigration was, of course a breeze. The woman at the counter asked me how long I'd been gone, stamped my passport, and welcomed me back. Customs too, was very simple straightforward.

Waiting just beyond customs, however, was an officer from the LAPD. As I was going through customs, I saw her interact with the family just ahead of me in line - a white blonde woman with her cute blonde daughter. The officer chatted them up and was very friendly. Then came my turn, and she saw me turned into a completely different person. She grew taller by about 3 inches, got a very serious look on her face, and started interrogating me about where I'd been, why I'd been there, what I'd been doing and for how long, etc. etc. THE LAPD! That's what's really scary about this whole situation - before 9/11 there was a limited number of authorities who could ask such information. Now it seems like anyone in a position of authority can perform such an interrogation, and God only knows where one can end up if one doesn't comply.

So now, planning another return to the States, I'm not only considering what to take with me, but also my appearance - do I shave the beard? Do I cut the hair? What should I wear? Will any of it make a difference? Did I get off lightly last time or was that the worst I'm going to face?

I currently live in the heartland...And it's not a very hospitable place...In general, you're best off in a coastal metro area. When I go home to NYC, I feel great, and I relax some in terms of these precautions. But out here ...

It's amazing how much I've relaxed since moving to a 'coastal metro area'. And I'm easily mistaken for being Mexican - a bit easier to deal with than if I wore a full beard and turban. ;-)

How did those of us who grew up, or currently live, in more heartlandish areas deal with things? I don't know how my parents did/do it. I think at this point, they're familiar with their 'neighbors,' and the neighbors are familiar with them. Mind you, no one else but them - because their proven good folk, who don't eat children, practise dark arts, or blow up buildings.

(The taste in my mouth just now...bitter gourd. Gack.)

Why do white people love chinese food?

Why do Chinese people love McDs?

why do Indian people love Indian-Chinese food

Why do Indian people ask funny questions?

Why do PunjabiJatt's ask funny questions?

Whatever happened to Punjabi Boy, and do you think he's returned, but is simply operating under a different name/names?

I was just trying to introduce some comedy into the convo, but honestly, that question has always piqued my curiosity. I personally love greek, italian, and of course am biased towards indian food.

I'm of a jatt background yet it is something that I could care less about. Yet so many other punjabi's think that being a jatt is the greatest thing ever. Could someone explain to me what so great about being a jatt.

Also since all punjabi jatt are sikh's, but sikhism doesn't believe in the caste system, somebody has to explain this to me.

To PearlJamFan

Firstly, you're incorrect to state all Punjabi Jatts are Sikh, the majority of Punjabi Jatts are actually Muslim (from west-punjab aka pakistani punjab). Secondly, simply because I have Jatt in my username it doesn't mean I feel superior or look down on anyone else. It's my culture and I am proud of that. Why do you feel the need to announce your love of Pearl Jam? :P

But here in Vancouver with the really high punjabi population I have noticed here that alot of punjabi just love saying that word jatt.

But here in Vancouver with the really high punjabi population I have noticed here that alot of punjabi just love saying that word jatt

thats probably the funniest 100th post ever

I am from Vancouver, BC too, but anyways, back to my food query. Besides Indian food(whatever region you may hail from) what is your favourite ethnic food?

How many 100th posts can you recall Sahej?!

The love affair with the word Jatt is just as strong here chaps: GI Jatt, Notorious Jatt, Jeeta Jatt, Gangsta Jatt etc...

PJF,

But here in Vancouver with the really high punjabi population I have noticed here that alot of punjabi just love saying that word jatt.

You mean like "dude", or the way many British desis keep saying the word "innit" ? They keep dropping the word "Jatt" into their sentences as many times as possible ?

"Jatt.....Jatt Jatt.....Jatt Jatt Jatt Jatt....Jatt Jatt....."

*wink*

How many 100th posts can you recall Sahej?!

this is pretty much the only one

Bongbreakers

So let me get this right. G.I Jatt is desi MC on record label called "untouchables". Does anything more need to be said.

awesome, ennis! yes, sadly, it often IS the turban and face fuzz. what also odd, is how one can also get knocked for looking too fair. people are funny creautrees with much to learn. as for nyc troubles....we have had troubles. but if you make sure to set the ignorants straight on who the terrorist is for their actions (those making comments or being small minded), and teach them not to be, it will improve.

The lame argument peddled by some here that America is so great because of immigration is silly at best. Saudi Arabia has millions of immigrants while relatively very few Saudis emigrate from Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabia might be the most repressive regime in the World, still people from more liberal, free and democratic countries like India and Phillipines flock to Saudi Arabia while very few Saudis (if any) go to India or the Phillipines.

I love America. I believe America is a great nation and there are hundreds of reasons to love America. Net inflow of people, however, is not dispositive evidence of America's greatness.

For all the jackasses who are asking Ennis not to extrapolate too broadly from his own experiences, I dont think you have any idea of the shit people who wear turbans go through. Wear a turban for a week and then see what happens.

Thanks Ennis for your wonderful post.

And some days I really miss America.

Amen brother.

Guys,

Be care what you say here. I used to ...............I am listening carefully.

[Archie has put his gun down to fist fight with Otto]
Archie: I used to box for Oxford.
Otto: Oh, yeah?
[Otto quickly picks up Archie's gun, and points it at him]
Otto: I used to kill for the CIA.

Fineprint: Quotes from A fish called Wanda

Awww Ennis! This is as tragic as the fact that a woman can't get drunk at a party without having to think about rape because the first thing she is reminded of as soon as she enters the social scene is that she has a vagina. The aesthetics of domination are sad--how the body holds symbols that evoke fear/anger/hate/possessiveness, making them symbols degradation by feminization (as it is understood) and/or bestialization.

Maybe it's just because I've had a long week, but I do not see how this merits the "woe is me" attitude.
I do not hesitate to speak Bengali on a cellphone or in public with family - I've never had any one give me grief for it or even toss me a curious glance.

KXB: Are you saying that just because you speak Bengali in public and no one ever gave you dirty looks, we should discount and brush aside real incidences of racism and racial profiling? I don't agree with you at all, that ennis' story conveys a "woe is me" attitude. Frankly, I think your comment is extremely insensitive. I don't think that by pointing out injustices and/or moving to action to rectify them is a "pity me" attitude.

As a (Desi) American, I have to say that I whole-heartedly concur with brownfrown's argument as to why America, and not, say, Canada, was attacked (assuming that they were attacks and that the culprits were who the US government says they were).

I feel with my Desi brothers who wear a pugdi. I'm a female, and I myself have gone through some nasty stuff. I was living in Italy at the time of the British bombings, and it was not so easy walking around with a black backpack in light of the fact that at the time, the British authorities were speculating that the bombers had been abetted by Moroccan women. The days following the British bombings, many Bangladeshi young men were targeted by the police (Bologna has a sizable population of Bangladeshis and Pakistanis). One incident in particular was with four Bangladeshi high school students standing at the bus stop. Bolognese police arrived, and threw down the Bangledeshi students onto their backs-- and the students, completely scared out of their wits, kept repeating that they hadn't done anything. When the police were done, a group of Bolognesi- get this- actually applauded. Mind you, Italy in general has a lot less racial violence than the States (not to say that racism doesn't exist in Italy), so it brought goosebumps to think that that kind of sentiment could take root there, too.
Airport experience: when I got to Passport Control upon my return back into the States, the lady (who eerily looked exactly like Condi Rice) started to interrogate me about where I had been while abroad, and with whom I had been, etc.The manner in which she was interrogating me-- hostile, kind of barking at me, demanding answers-- started to make me panic and feel nervous because she was somehow making me feel as if I had done something wrong. I noticed that the white American passengers were allowed to smoothly pass through, no questions asked.

(assuming that they were attacks and that the culprits were who the US government says they were).
Let me clarify here before offending anybody's sensibilities,and that sentence doesn't precisely express what I mean: assuming that the US government's explanations as to who the attacks had been carried out by is the truth.

I always thought 9/11 was a conspiracy by Bush/Cheney/Haliburton now I am sure.

Also, I believe enlightened President of Iran when he says that Holocaust is fiction.

You know what, Gaurav?
You are extremely lame. I've noticed your posts in other forums, and 98% of them are composed of 1) Simplistic, insulting and offensive one-liners and 2) links. Why the F*@k are you equating my comments with denying the Holocaust ever took place?

Your posts amply demonstrate your lack of both creativity and intelligence to engage in any kind of conversation. It's too easy to sit behind the computer and virtually mud sling at people's comments, painting them over with your own crude thoughts.

Another thing:

I, like many others, including the relatives of the victims of Sept. 11, still would like to know exactly what and who was behind this atrocity. How is that tantamount to denying the Holocaust? We know who acted act out the Holocaust, and we know it took place. I did not say that September 11th never took place. Dipsh*t.